RP Log with halfway2heaven | The Aftermath
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Bella clipped her pager to the waistband of her scrubs and gently tucked her hand in under Rick's. He had been trying to wake for a few minutes now and had gradually come-to, though he looked a lot like how Bella seemed to be feeling now... hungover, and like he wanted the rest of the world to disappear. The anaesthetic he was under would have been a lot stronger than the last op he had, and he was under it for longer. This waking would be a bit more of a process and she waited until he seemed lucid and was answering the recovery nurse's questions about his pain levels and if he knew what his name was. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, though, inevitably what quickly followed was a hoarse, strained query about his brother, and as he cleared his throat, trying to fight the groggy wooziness, Bella gave his hand a soft squeeze once the recovery nurse stepped back to her station.
"Rick... sweetheart, you did good," she told him quietly, but loud enough to be heard over the heart monitors and oxgen flowing. She took his surgical cap off and brushed his hair back, hoping it would help comfort him just a little. Pain levels at seven, and newly awakened. He was hardly going to feel in top form, but at least he was awake and coherent.
Rick tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. He hated this part. He always struggled with it, and felt like he was being pulled in about five different directions. He frowned as he tried to wet his lips and kept his eyes slightly closed as he looked up at Bella. He couldn't begin to even put into words how relieved he was to find her there, but his brother was still the most important thing on his mind right then. "Chris," he murmured again. "How's Chris?"
Bella glanced up at the other patients in Recovery, and Chris was prominently not there. In fact, as far as Bella could tell, the only other patients in here so far were day surgery patients and they were in and out of Recovery like a revolving door because their procedures were quick and uncomplicated. Rick wasn't going to take any bullshit about Chris, and if she tried to feed any to him, she knew it would be only detrimental to his own state of mind and recovery. "Rick, I know this is going to be near impossible, but I need you to try and stay as calm as you can or you will make yourself sick, tear open sutures, anything... they will never let you out of Recovery. Chris is still in surgery, love. There were complications... serious complications. He suffered a perforation to his abdominal aorta, which is very close to the kidney cavity, and he had a major hemorrhage. It, um..." She had to take a brief moment to swallow back the urge to cry when images of Chris sprawled on the table being shocked back to life jumped back into her mind, but her voice got strained and choked up. "It stopped the blood flow to his heart and he went into cardiac arrest. I just heard that they repaired the aorta and they have given him a blood transfusion but they're still trying to stablise him. They're still working on him, sweetheart, but he's doing a lot better than he was," she tried to reassure him and kept a firm grip on his hand.
It would have been so easy for Rick to try and struggle to get up, but the truth was he just felt exhausted from the idea of it. Of course he wanted to get to Chris, of course he wanted to see for himself if his brother was alright. The shock was making him feel cold and he shivered as he just stared up at Bella, not really sure what to say. It was like his worst nightmare coming true. He had pulled out of the surgery okay, but his brother hadn't. His brother that had given up a body part to save him was still on the table. He raised his other hand slowly to cover his eyes as he could feel the tears starting to come, the emotional responses not exactly able to be controlled while he was still dopey. "Will he be okay? Will there be... Shit, I can't even--How does this happen? Why him?!"
Bella gestured to the head recovery nurse. "Can I get a heated blanket and an increase in the morphine with a dose of diazepam, please? I'll write up the chart," she requested. Hopefully the valium would help Rick's anxiety. As it was, Bella wouldn't mind a shot of it herself. She looked back to Rick, still holding his hand and brushing her fingers across the back of his hand to try and calm him a little. She could at least keep the contact, if nothing else. She couldn't reassure him Chris would pull through. No one had given her the green light on that yet. "Once they get his blood pressure to a more happy medium and his vitals strengthen a little more, he will come here and then be moved to the surgical ICU. I don't know how is he going to be, Rick. I'm so sorry. He might not be concious. He might not even regain consciousness for a few days while his body recovers from the ordeal. I promise, they are doing absolutely everything they can to get him better. This was just one of those surgical complications people talk about. Perforations can happen, this was just to a major part of the body. It was going perfectly until then, and he's strong and healthy."
Rick just shook his head a little bit as he stared at their joined hands in disbelief. Out of anything he had wanted her to say to him when he first woke up this was not it. He didn't want to hear that Chris was in trouble. He didn't want to be the reason why his brother was hurting, even if it was some surgeon's mistake. Chris had only been on the table because he was giving Rick his kidney. "So he'll be okay... He just might not be conscious. Jesus..." He glanced up to see if the nurse was in the room still before he nodded at her stomach. "Are you okay? I feel like it's been ages since I saw you."
Bella's mind was immediately drawn back to her conversation with Dave and she bit down on the inside of her lip to keep her composure. "I don't know if any of us really have the capacity to be okay right now... but we're doing the best we can. It's only been a few hours since you saw me. I've been there the whole time... almost the whole time," she corrected with a small frown. The nurse came over with the blanket and handed a kidney dish to Bella with the injections in it that she requested. She quickly annotated Rick's chart and then they were alone again. She started to tuck the blanket around him so he would stay warm. It could be a little while before the shock set in. Maybe not until he even saw Chris. "I went into the OR where Chris was when I heard there was an alarm. I had to go through for Serena. It's just something that... it's an image that is going to stick with her, no matter how much she tries to stop it." She was about to administer the first injection into his IV line when her pager went off and she nearly leapt out of her skin and almost peed her pants in fright she was so on edge. Her hands were shaking as she check the message, realising half of her was preparing to read the worst but her breath left her in a rush once she did. "He's coming through to Recovery in fifteen. He's not concious. They've induced a coma to give him time to heal."
Rick's own heart had kicked up a notch as the pager went off and he would have given anything for her pager to have just made some sort of soothing noise. He'd had enough of beeps and shrill noises. He reached out for Bella's hand again and held it tightly to try and get it to stop shaking. "Hey, hey... it's okay. He's okay. He's really okay. Thank god... Serena! I didn't even think. Where is she? I wish I could just do something. I want to help. So, they induced a coma. What does that mean? How will they know when he's healed enough to come out of it?"
Bella put her hand firmly on Rick's shoulder. "Hey, hey... no. You stay right there. The best way you can help is lying there like a good patient and concentrating on your body not rejecting your brother's kidney. You got it? He risked this to give you that and you need to be a good boy and follow doctor's orders. I don't want burst sutures or you spiking fevers or going into cardiac arrest yourself. You lie there and you look pretty, let your body process the meds going into you. Your body accepted that organ like a duck to water. It's your job now to keep nurturing that. No fighting me. That's how you can help him, okay? And letting me and my colleagues take care of him for you. Serena is with her brother. Lisa had him paged as soon as Chris took a turn and he's been with her ever since. They're just waiting on news. Once he is back in the ICU, she'll be able to see him. Rick..." she dropped her voice a little, "sweetheart, you need to prepare yourself for seeing Chris. He's very pale from losing so much blood. It'll be like the movies with all the machines. It'll probably be one of the hardest things for you to see. He's your baby brother. You've never been confronted with something like this before."
"And he'll be asleep," Rick murmured as he held her gaze. His stomach tightened, but he managed not to throw up or start crying again. He was probably saving that for the sight of Chris. He just didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to even begin to process it all. He reached up to run his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. He could do it. He could do what Bella wanted of him, and he wasn't even going to fight her on it. He couldn't. For starters he didn't have the energy, but secondly he just knew she was right. And he was done making the stupid decisions. "So now that you know, Serena will know too, right? She won't have to wait to find out... How long can you stay for?"
Bella cleared her throat with a pained frown. "I need you to give me your approval to tell Serena. Chris has you listed as his next of kin. Always has, apparently. Now that you're awake and Serena isn't technically a family member, I need your consent for her to be kept informed of his condition because he is unconscious. He also requested that Dave be his medical proxy. Which basically means if there are any medical decisions to be made, Dave will step in for that. The rest is up to you, and Dave will make sure you know exactly what is going on at all times. As will I, as much as I can. But I'm not Chris' doctor, I'm yours. It's all very complicated and messy legal stuff, but important, nonetheless. Chris covered all his basis before he was put under. They'll monitor his progress by his vitals. As he starts to ge better, they will ease off the sedative and he should wake up naturally." She finally went back to the medications. "This will help you calm down a little. As much as it can, anyway. We'll get it into you now so when he comes out, it might be just a tiny bit easier."
Rick's eyes widened slightly before he gave a nod. "Of course she can know. She needs to know. You need to make the legal people, the doctors, whoever it is... just know that they tell Serena everything. She's family as far as I'm concerned. She's an honorary Deleo. He made the right choice with Dave. He really is the best for the medical proxy thing. I can't think of a better choice. I think we all know I have shit decision making skills when it comes to the medical side."
Bella found herself falling quiet as she administered the injections into the peripheral line of Rick's IV. She got the medication into him and then had to set the dish down to hold onto the railings of his bed and let her head drop forward a little when the tiredness and a wave of nausea washed over her. She swallowed and coaxed herself not to throw up, but it had just been a really rough week. The relief that Rick was okay was almost crippling, but for it to come at the price of Chris in a coma was just completely screwed up. "I'll make sure they know, and she is told everything. You might have shit decision making skills, but he still listed you as his next of kin. You call the shots."
"It still means that he thinks of me as his brother. That's better than calling the shots," Rick replied in a near whisper. He looked around like he was trying to find something, but it was more just his frustration at not being able to get up or move. Even if Chris was put in the room it wasn't like Rick could sit next to him, hold his hand. Not yet. Not until he was better. He'd have to just trust Serena with that part of things for now. He tugged gently on Bella's hand. "Will you at least sit down. I don't need you passing out on me when I can't even be the White Knight in the scenario."
"I would if I could," Bella told him with a small, tired smirk. "We can't have chairs beside beds in Recovery in case there is an emergency. I'll sit when you get back to the ICU. I'm technically still all yours until I can clear you as stable. You know he never stopped thinking of you as his brother, right? If he did, he would have given up on you long ago. He wouldn't keep bailing you out, paying your bills. He has some faith in you..." It was all she got out before the large doors at the end of the sterile and vast ward opened and a whole team of doctors and nurses arrived along with Chris being wheeled on the bed. As expected, he was hooked up to extensive machines and monitors, as well as a ventilator breathing for him. He was almost unrecognisable and there was a flurry around the bed as people started taking his obs and keeping him on close watch. Bella took Rick's hand again and held it securely as she watched the scene sombrely.
Rick closed his eyes briefly. "What happens when you're not my doctor anymore? Will I still get to see you?" Rick turned his head as the whirlwind of activity burst into the ward, but he didn't even have eyes for the doctors and nurses. He only had eyes for his brother that he could barely see amongst the machinery. He sucked in a breath when he finally caught sight of Chris' pale face. "Are you sure he'll be okay?" he asked Bella quietly, his voice breaking on the last word.
Bella brushed her fingers over Rick's and released his hand. "Just give me a minute," she told him quietly and went over to the surgeon who had been heading Chris' surgery. She had a clearer view of Chris here and other than the familiar blond hair, it was actually hard to pick him as the elusive and usually cheeky Genius Cowboy. Nothing about the ill surgeon on the hospital bed could be linked to Dr C. She was almost relieved Rick had an obstructed view. Chris was pale and had wires feeding out from the top of his gown. Serena was going to be devastated to see this. She had a brief chat to the surgeon, who soberly relayed everything that had happened in the wake the removal of the kidney. She thanked the man and went back to Rick's side with a small sigh. "They want him to get through the night before they make any calls on his prognosis. They healed the perforation and he's had three units of blood, but his blood pressure and cell count are still down. He's at a high risk of infection, so he is literally only going to be here a few minutes before they move him to an isolated room in the ICU. That's just precaution and will probably be only for overnight while he regains some strength. If he is doing better in the morning, he should be on a safe road to recovery. He should make a full recovery also. It's just going to take some time."
Rick rubbed his hand over his face and struggled not to start crying again, or just throw up. He would have felt better if there had been a proper answer for how Chris was going to be, but he understood why there was so much hesitation to give a prognosis. "If he's isolated will Serena be able to be in there? I know she won't want to be far away from him. I can't believe he's just lying there. It's not Chris. This isn't Chris."
"Anyone with authorisation can be in there, they just need to wear sterile clothing. Gowns and such will be given to them. It's just to reduce the risk of him getting any infections. He might not be strong enough to fight them if he does because of the blood loss. He was given both your blood and his, so he's got the best chance to regain his strength rather than just pumping generic cross-matches into him. He'll be watched closely for any fevers or changes, but he wouldn't be here if he wasn't stable. I think it's just going to be a long night." Bella watched him sadly, wishing she could hug him or hold his hand again, but there were too many people around now. Chris would be watched like a hawk for a few days to come, as would Rick. "I'll try and get you as close to him as I can once we get back to the ICU, even just for a few minutes so you can see him."
Rick nodded as he curled his his hand around the bed covers now he couldn't hold Bella's hand. She hadn't even answered his question about what would happen once she was no longer his doctor. It sucked that this was the only way to see her. That he couldn't just straight out talk to her when other people were around. He still appreciated how she was looking after him though as best she could, and that she was going to any length to keep the brothers together. "They really used my blood? So I guess I'm not totally useless then, huh? Thanks for... Thanks for being here, Bella."
"Your blood saved his life," Bella reminded him, staying close to his bedside. She was so relieved she had cleared the rest of her schedule that day. She had, at least, planned time for any possible complications, but she just never expected something like this to happen. There was a higher expectation that Rick would have taken a turn for the worst, if anything, but not Chris. "You get his kidney, he gets your blood. Seems like a fair switch, huh? Rick, I know this is hard. I know it's not a usual situation. We'll wait for the dust to settle, you'll be back in the ICU, as will Chris, and the pressure will come off a little. You need to get some more rest, try and sleep as well as you can. I can give you something to help with that if you want it. Later this evening when things have settled, I'll be able to come back and spend some time with you. You shouldn't be alone, not now. Not while it's touch and go with Chris."
"I'd really like that," Rick replied quietly as he gave her a tired smile. "But I don't want something to put me to sleep. I've already had enough with the anaesthetic. I hate the grogginess and just the insane emotional roller coaster. I can't take much more. But thank you. I think I'm not really in much danger of lacking sleep. I still feel like I could rest for a week. Chris is in good hands, right? And Serena will be with him soon... I don't have to worry. You need to get some rest too. Promise me you'll try."
Bella nodded and patted his leg softly through the blankets. "Okay... but if everything starts to haunt you, and make it tough to switch off, you should consider something to help you sleep. Rest is going to be the best thing for you. And doing what you're told," she added with a faint smirk. "God help Miami City Hospital with two Deleos as patients. Chris is in good hands. He'll have someone with him the whole night in case he takes any bad turns. I'll talk to Serena as soon as I can, and then... you're right. After that, I need to get a bit of rest myself. I might drop home for a few hours and get my feet up. They're killing me. They'll try and get you to drink a lot in the coming hours to encourage the new kidney to keep working. Just do whatever they request, okay? Keep the lines of communication open about Chris, too. They'll give you the information if you keep asking for it."
Rick gave her a salute as he gave her another smile. "Sure thing, Doc. I promise I'll be the good patient. You won't need to worry about that. I'll see you real soon." Rick looked back over to where Chris was, but they were already preparing to move him. A brief thought flashed through his mind of their mother and the fact that Rick hadn't spoken to her in a while. She had no idea about his cancer, or this operation. He pressed his lips together as a wave of guilt washed over him. "He has to be okay."
Bella drew her eyes from Rick and bit down on her lip in an attempt not to cry as she looked back to Chris. The posse of medical staff around him had dispersed. The surgeons and surgical nurses were disappearing back into the OR, while another group of ICU nurses and their specialist had arrived for the handover. Chris was just lying there amongst it all, amongst the machines, unmoving. Sometimes it was nice to think of them as just asleep, but how he looked didn't even afford them that luxury. Even beyond the gown and starched blankets covering his lower body, Bella knew there was a large surgical incision there, and some burns from the repeated defib attempts, possibly even bruising from the CPR. All things people don't think about when you watch things like this on TV or in the movies. This was the aftermath. The real, stark aftermath. She listened to the ventilator pump, inflating and compressing with slow monotony in weird rhythm that matched the heart monitor as it breathed for Rick's brother. "Yeah..." she mumbled in agreement, even losing her optimistic steam. "He does."
Bella clipped her pager to the waistband of her scrubs and gently tucked her hand in under Rick's. He had been trying to wake for a few minutes now and had gradually come-to, though he looked a lot like how Bella seemed to be feeling now... hungover, and like he wanted the rest of the world to disappear. The anaesthetic he was under would have been a lot stronger than the last op he had, and he was under it for longer. This waking would be a bit more of a process and she waited until he seemed lucid and was answering the recovery nurse's questions about his pain levels and if he knew what his name was. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, though, inevitably what quickly followed was a hoarse, strained query about his brother, and as he cleared his throat, trying to fight the groggy wooziness, Bella gave his hand a soft squeeze once the recovery nurse stepped back to her station.
"Rick... sweetheart, you did good," she told him quietly, but loud enough to be heard over the heart monitors and oxgen flowing. She took his surgical cap off and brushed his hair back, hoping it would help comfort him just a little. Pain levels at seven, and newly awakened. He was hardly going to feel in top form, but at least he was awake and coherent.
Rick tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. He hated this part. He always struggled with it, and felt like he was being pulled in about five different directions. He frowned as he tried to wet his lips and kept his eyes slightly closed as he looked up at Bella. He couldn't begin to even put into words how relieved he was to find her there, but his brother was still the most important thing on his mind right then. "Chris," he murmured again. "How's Chris?"
Bella glanced up at the other patients in Recovery, and Chris was prominently not there. In fact, as far as Bella could tell, the only other patients in here so far were day surgery patients and they were in and out of Recovery like a revolving door because their procedures were quick and uncomplicated. Rick wasn't going to take any bullshit about Chris, and if she tried to feed any to him, she knew it would be only detrimental to his own state of mind and recovery. "Rick, I know this is going to be near impossible, but I need you to try and stay as calm as you can or you will make yourself sick, tear open sutures, anything... they will never let you out of Recovery. Chris is still in surgery, love. There were complications... serious complications. He suffered a perforation to his abdominal aorta, which is very close to the kidney cavity, and he had a major hemorrhage. It, um..." She had to take a brief moment to swallow back the urge to cry when images of Chris sprawled on the table being shocked back to life jumped back into her mind, but her voice got strained and choked up. "It stopped the blood flow to his heart and he went into cardiac arrest. I just heard that they repaired the aorta and they have given him a blood transfusion but they're still trying to stablise him. They're still working on him, sweetheart, but he's doing a lot better than he was," she tried to reassure him and kept a firm grip on his hand.
It would have been so easy for Rick to try and struggle to get up, but the truth was he just felt exhausted from the idea of it. Of course he wanted to get to Chris, of course he wanted to see for himself if his brother was alright. The shock was making him feel cold and he shivered as he just stared up at Bella, not really sure what to say. It was like his worst nightmare coming true. He had pulled out of the surgery okay, but his brother hadn't. His brother that had given up a body part to save him was still on the table. He raised his other hand slowly to cover his eyes as he could feel the tears starting to come, the emotional responses not exactly able to be controlled while he was still dopey. "Will he be okay? Will there be... Shit, I can't even--How does this happen? Why him?!"
Bella gestured to the head recovery nurse. "Can I get a heated blanket and an increase in the morphine with a dose of diazepam, please? I'll write up the chart," she requested. Hopefully the valium would help Rick's anxiety. As it was, Bella wouldn't mind a shot of it herself. She looked back to Rick, still holding his hand and brushing her fingers across the back of his hand to try and calm him a little. She could at least keep the contact, if nothing else. She couldn't reassure him Chris would pull through. No one had given her the green light on that yet. "Once they get his blood pressure to a more happy medium and his vitals strengthen a little more, he will come here and then be moved to the surgical ICU. I don't know how is he going to be, Rick. I'm so sorry. He might not be concious. He might not even regain consciousness for a few days while his body recovers from the ordeal. I promise, they are doing absolutely everything they can to get him better. This was just one of those surgical complications people talk about. Perforations can happen, this was just to a major part of the body. It was going perfectly until then, and he's strong and healthy."
Rick just shook his head a little bit as he stared at their joined hands in disbelief. Out of anything he had wanted her to say to him when he first woke up this was not it. He didn't want to hear that Chris was in trouble. He didn't want to be the reason why his brother was hurting, even if it was some surgeon's mistake. Chris had only been on the table because he was giving Rick his kidney. "So he'll be okay... He just might not be conscious. Jesus..." He glanced up to see if the nurse was in the room still before he nodded at her stomach. "Are you okay? I feel like it's been ages since I saw you."
Bella's mind was immediately drawn back to her conversation with Dave and she bit down on the inside of her lip to keep her composure. "I don't know if any of us really have the capacity to be okay right now... but we're doing the best we can. It's only been a few hours since you saw me. I've been there the whole time... almost the whole time," she corrected with a small frown. The nurse came over with the blanket and handed a kidney dish to Bella with the injections in it that she requested. She quickly annotated Rick's chart and then they were alone again. She started to tuck the blanket around him so he would stay warm. It could be a little while before the shock set in. Maybe not until he even saw Chris. "I went into the OR where Chris was when I heard there was an alarm. I had to go through for Serena. It's just something that... it's an image that is going to stick with her, no matter how much she tries to stop it." She was about to administer the first injection into his IV line when her pager went off and she nearly leapt out of her skin and almost peed her pants in fright she was so on edge. Her hands were shaking as she check the message, realising half of her was preparing to read the worst but her breath left her in a rush once she did. "He's coming through to Recovery in fifteen. He's not concious. They've induced a coma to give him time to heal."
Rick's own heart had kicked up a notch as the pager went off and he would have given anything for her pager to have just made some sort of soothing noise. He'd had enough of beeps and shrill noises. He reached out for Bella's hand again and held it tightly to try and get it to stop shaking. "Hey, hey... it's okay. He's okay. He's really okay. Thank god... Serena! I didn't even think. Where is she? I wish I could just do something. I want to help. So, they induced a coma. What does that mean? How will they know when he's healed enough to come out of it?"
Bella put her hand firmly on Rick's shoulder. "Hey, hey... no. You stay right there. The best way you can help is lying there like a good patient and concentrating on your body not rejecting your brother's kidney. You got it? He risked this to give you that and you need to be a good boy and follow doctor's orders. I don't want burst sutures or you spiking fevers or going into cardiac arrest yourself. You lie there and you look pretty, let your body process the meds going into you. Your body accepted that organ like a duck to water. It's your job now to keep nurturing that. No fighting me. That's how you can help him, okay? And letting me and my colleagues take care of him for you. Serena is with her brother. Lisa had him paged as soon as Chris took a turn and he's been with her ever since. They're just waiting on news. Once he is back in the ICU, she'll be able to see him. Rick..." she dropped her voice a little, "sweetheart, you need to prepare yourself for seeing Chris. He's very pale from losing so much blood. It'll be like the movies with all the machines. It'll probably be one of the hardest things for you to see. He's your baby brother. You've never been confronted with something like this before."
"And he'll be asleep," Rick murmured as he held her gaze. His stomach tightened, but he managed not to throw up or start crying again. He was probably saving that for the sight of Chris. He just didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to even begin to process it all. He reached up to run his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. He could do it. He could do what Bella wanted of him, and he wasn't even going to fight her on it. He couldn't. For starters he didn't have the energy, but secondly he just knew she was right. And he was done making the stupid decisions. "So now that you know, Serena will know too, right? She won't have to wait to find out... How long can you stay for?"
Bella cleared her throat with a pained frown. "I need you to give me your approval to tell Serena. Chris has you listed as his next of kin. Always has, apparently. Now that you're awake and Serena isn't technically a family member, I need your consent for her to be kept informed of his condition because he is unconscious. He also requested that Dave be his medical proxy. Which basically means if there are any medical decisions to be made, Dave will step in for that. The rest is up to you, and Dave will make sure you know exactly what is going on at all times. As will I, as much as I can. But I'm not Chris' doctor, I'm yours. It's all very complicated and messy legal stuff, but important, nonetheless. Chris covered all his basis before he was put under. They'll monitor his progress by his vitals. As he starts to ge better, they will ease off the sedative and he should wake up naturally." She finally went back to the medications. "This will help you calm down a little. As much as it can, anyway. We'll get it into you now so when he comes out, it might be just a tiny bit easier."
Rick's eyes widened slightly before he gave a nod. "Of course she can know. She needs to know. You need to make the legal people, the doctors, whoever it is... just know that they tell Serena everything. She's family as far as I'm concerned. She's an honorary Deleo. He made the right choice with Dave. He really is the best for the medical proxy thing. I can't think of a better choice. I think we all know I have shit decision making skills when it comes to the medical side."
Bella found herself falling quiet as she administered the injections into the peripheral line of Rick's IV. She got the medication into him and then had to set the dish down to hold onto the railings of his bed and let her head drop forward a little when the tiredness and a wave of nausea washed over her. She swallowed and coaxed herself not to throw up, but it had just been a really rough week. The relief that Rick was okay was almost crippling, but for it to come at the price of Chris in a coma was just completely screwed up. "I'll make sure they know, and she is told everything. You might have shit decision making skills, but he still listed you as his next of kin. You call the shots."
"It still means that he thinks of me as his brother. That's better than calling the shots," Rick replied in a near whisper. He looked around like he was trying to find something, but it was more just his frustration at not being able to get up or move. Even if Chris was put in the room it wasn't like Rick could sit next to him, hold his hand. Not yet. Not until he was better. He'd have to just trust Serena with that part of things for now. He tugged gently on Bella's hand. "Will you at least sit down. I don't need you passing out on me when I can't even be the White Knight in the scenario."
"I would if I could," Bella told him with a small, tired smirk. "We can't have chairs beside beds in Recovery in case there is an emergency. I'll sit when you get back to the ICU. I'm technically still all yours until I can clear you as stable. You know he never stopped thinking of you as his brother, right? If he did, he would have given up on you long ago. He wouldn't keep bailing you out, paying your bills. He has some faith in you..." It was all she got out before the large doors at the end of the sterile and vast ward opened and a whole team of doctors and nurses arrived along with Chris being wheeled on the bed. As expected, he was hooked up to extensive machines and monitors, as well as a ventilator breathing for him. He was almost unrecognisable and there was a flurry around the bed as people started taking his obs and keeping him on close watch. Bella took Rick's hand again and held it securely as she watched the scene sombrely.
Rick closed his eyes briefly. "What happens when you're not my doctor anymore? Will I still get to see you?" Rick turned his head as the whirlwind of activity burst into the ward, but he didn't even have eyes for the doctors and nurses. He only had eyes for his brother that he could barely see amongst the machinery. He sucked in a breath when he finally caught sight of Chris' pale face. "Are you sure he'll be okay?" he asked Bella quietly, his voice breaking on the last word.
Bella brushed her fingers over Rick's and released his hand. "Just give me a minute," she told him quietly and went over to the surgeon who had been heading Chris' surgery. She had a clearer view of Chris here and other than the familiar blond hair, it was actually hard to pick him as the elusive and usually cheeky Genius Cowboy. Nothing about the ill surgeon on the hospital bed could be linked to Dr C. She was almost relieved Rick had an obstructed view. Chris was pale and had wires feeding out from the top of his gown. Serena was going to be devastated to see this. She had a brief chat to the surgeon, who soberly relayed everything that had happened in the wake the removal of the kidney. She thanked the man and went back to Rick's side with a small sigh. "They want him to get through the night before they make any calls on his prognosis. They healed the perforation and he's had three units of blood, but his blood pressure and cell count are still down. He's at a high risk of infection, so he is literally only going to be here a few minutes before they move him to an isolated room in the ICU. That's just precaution and will probably be only for overnight while he regains some strength. If he is doing better in the morning, he should be on a safe road to recovery. He should make a full recovery also. It's just going to take some time."
Rick rubbed his hand over his face and struggled not to start crying again, or just throw up. He would have felt better if there had been a proper answer for how Chris was going to be, but he understood why there was so much hesitation to give a prognosis. "If he's isolated will Serena be able to be in there? I know she won't want to be far away from him. I can't believe he's just lying there. It's not Chris. This isn't Chris."
"Anyone with authorisation can be in there, they just need to wear sterile clothing. Gowns and such will be given to them. It's just to reduce the risk of him getting any infections. He might not be strong enough to fight them if he does because of the blood loss. He was given both your blood and his, so he's got the best chance to regain his strength rather than just pumping generic cross-matches into him. He'll be watched closely for any fevers or changes, but he wouldn't be here if he wasn't stable. I think it's just going to be a long night." Bella watched him sadly, wishing she could hug him or hold his hand again, but there were too many people around now. Chris would be watched like a hawk for a few days to come, as would Rick. "I'll try and get you as close to him as I can once we get back to the ICU, even just for a few minutes so you can see him."
Rick nodded as he curled his his hand around the bed covers now he couldn't hold Bella's hand. She hadn't even answered his question about what would happen once she was no longer his doctor. It sucked that this was the only way to see her. That he couldn't just straight out talk to her when other people were around. He still appreciated how she was looking after him though as best she could, and that she was going to any length to keep the brothers together. "They really used my blood? So I guess I'm not totally useless then, huh? Thanks for... Thanks for being here, Bella."
"Your blood saved his life," Bella reminded him, staying close to his bedside. She was so relieved she had cleared the rest of her schedule that day. She had, at least, planned time for any possible complications, but she just never expected something like this to happen. There was a higher expectation that Rick would have taken a turn for the worst, if anything, but not Chris. "You get his kidney, he gets your blood. Seems like a fair switch, huh? Rick, I know this is hard. I know it's not a usual situation. We'll wait for the dust to settle, you'll be back in the ICU, as will Chris, and the pressure will come off a little. You need to get some more rest, try and sleep as well as you can. I can give you something to help with that if you want it. Later this evening when things have settled, I'll be able to come back and spend some time with you. You shouldn't be alone, not now. Not while it's touch and go with Chris."
"I'd really like that," Rick replied quietly as he gave her a tired smile. "But I don't want something to put me to sleep. I've already had enough with the anaesthetic. I hate the grogginess and just the insane emotional roller coaster. I can't take much more. But thank you. I think I'm not really in much danger of lacking sleep. I still feel like I could rest for a week. Chris is in good hands, right? And Serena will be with him soon... I don't have to worry. You need to get some rest too. Promise me you'll try."
Bella nodded and patted his leg softly through the blankets. "Okay... but if everything starts to haunt you, and make it tough to switch off, you should consider something to help you sleep. Rest is going to be the best thing for you. And doing what you're told," she added with a faint smirk. "God help Miami City Hospital with two Deleos as patients. Chris is in good hands. He'll have someone with him the whole night in case he takes any bad turns. I'll talk to Serena as soon as I can, and then... you're right. After that, I need to get a bit of rest myself. I might drop home for a few hours and get my feet up. They're killing me. They'll try and get you to drink a lot in the coming hours to encourage the new kidney to keep working. Just do whatever they request, okay? Keep the lines of communication open about Chris, too. They'll give you the information if you keep asking for it."
Rick gave her a salute as he gave her another smile. "Sure thing, Doc. I promise I'll be the good patient. You won't need to worry about that. I'll see you real soon." Rick looked back over to where Chris was, but they were already preparing to move him. A brief thought flashed through his mind of their mother and the fact that Rick hadn't spoken to her in a while. She had no idea about his cancer, or this operation. He pressed his lips together as a wave of guilt washed over him. "He has to be okay."
Bella drew her eyes from Rick and bit down on her lip in an attempt not to cry as she looked back to Chris. The posse of medical staff around him had dispersed. The surgeons and surgical nurses were disappearing back into the OR, while another group of ICU nurses and their specialist had arrived for the handover. Chris was just lying there amongst it all, amongst the machines, unmoving. Sometimes it was nice to think of them as just asleep, but how he looked didn't even afford them that luxury. Even beyond the gown and starched blankets covering his lower body, Bella knew there was a large surgical incision there, and some burns from the repeated defib attempts, possibly even bruising from the CPR. All things people don't think about when you watch things like this on TV or in the movies. This was the aftermath. The real, stark aftermath. She listened to the ventilator pump, inflating and compressing with slow monotony in weird rhythm that matched the heart monitor as it breathed for Rick's brother. "Yeah..." she mumbled in agreement, even losing her optimistic steam. "He does."