Freaking Out Just a Little
Title: Freaking Out Just a Little
Author: iluvroadrunner6
Rating: FRT
Characters: Robert Pino/Lizzie Anderson, Cait and Hilary McCallahan, Michael Anderson
Content Warning: N/A
Summary: Lizzie finds out about the explosion in New York.
Author's Note: Follows goddess_loki's Explosion. This didn't go the route I'd originally planned on, but I like the way it turned out.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of CSI:NY. They're owned by CBS. Robert Pino is owned by goddess_loki. However, any and all original characters are mine, so please do not use them without my permission.
Lizzie was on the final day of a work conference in LA when her phone started ringing like crazy. Luckily it was on vibrate, and she could choose to ignore it without calling attention to herself, but by the time she got out of the office there were six missed calls from various members of her massive extended family, and one text message from Cait that read “EMERGENCY! Call me back ASAP.” Frowning slightly, she plopped back on the bed and dialed Cait’s number, hoping to get to the bottom of what was going on, before she got ready to pack and head for home on her flight the next day.
“Have you seen the news?” was Cait’s first question when she picked up the phone, and Lizzie’s frown only worsened.
“No, I haven’t.” A knot started to tighten in the pit of her stomach and she tried not to sound like she was freaking out. Because she wasn’t really, not yet. Her mind was just reeling through all the possible bad things that could be on the news. Cait sounded to calm for her dad to be involved, but there was also all the other cops she knew: Flack, her uncle Darren, Maka, Angell, Lindsay, Mac, Stella-oh, God, her father. She was already starting to picture the news reports saying that her father was shot in the line of duty, but was trying to keep her voice calm as she did. “Besides, I’m in LA, so we wouldn’t get the local news.”
“Okay, don’t freak out.”
Don’t freak out? “Cait, having this kind of build up and telling me not to freak out isn’t really working.”
“Okay, good point-there was an explosion at the labs.”
She almost dropped the phone. The possibility of Robert being the one making the evening news was not one she had considered, and it had caught her completely by surprise. “Oh my God-is he alright?”
“No idea-my dad’s working on it, but I wanted you to know.”
“Cait, can I call you back?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
Lizzie hung up, and tried to quell the panic in her chest. She hit the first number on her speed dial, and put the phone to her ear, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up.
“Anderson.”
“Daddy-”
“You heard about the lab?”
“Is he okay? I mean, all Cait said was that it happened, is he alright? Was he even there? Am I freaking out for nothing, because I don’t know what the hell is going on!”
“Lizzie, baby, take deep breaths.”
“Dad, my best friend’s place of work just exploded, and no one is telling me anything. Now is really not the time for breathing deep.”
“Look, sweetie, you’ve gotta calm down, alright? I know some things but I don’t know a lot, and I don’t want you having a panic attack on me when you’re three thousand miles away.”
She closed her eyes and leaned back on the bed, placing a hand over her face, trying to slow her breathing down, and get herself back to calmer frame of mind. “Okay. I’m calm.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, Dad, I’m sure.”
“Okay-Robert was at work that day, and I don’t know how bad it is, but they took him to the hospital, and I haven’t seen or heard from Rachel since, so I’m assuming Robert’s still there.”
“Okay. Okay.”
“Why don’t you call Hilary, alright? She would probably have a better idea of what’s going on.”
“I will.”
“He’s gonna be alright, Liz.”
“He better be.”
“When are you coming home?”
“My flight is scheduled for tomorrow-I’d try to book an earlier flight, but I probably won’t get one.”
“Alright-it’ll all work out, okay?”
“Okay.”
After her father had hung up, she dialed Hilary’s office extension, not wanting to bother her if she was in surgery by having her pager go off. She listened to it ring for a minute, before hearing a voice pick up on the other end of the line.
“Hilary McCallahan.”
“Hi, Hilary-it’s Lizzie.”
“Calling about Robert?”
“Yeah,” she said sheepishly. Is he okay?”
“He’s got some pretty bad burns, and he needed a good deal of stitches, but otherwise he’s going to be fine.”
“Thank God.”
“You okay?”
“Be more okay if I wasn’t across the country right now.”
“When will you be getting in?”
“Tomorrow night, but it won’t be till after visiting hours are over.”
“Don’t worry about it-I’ll get you in to see him.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I’m sure he needs his rest and everything.”
“I know you won’t hound him. And I’m the Chief of Surgery. I can essentially do anything I want.”
“Thank you. So much.”
“No problem, sweetheart. Just call me when you get in. If it’s not too late, I should still be in my office.”
“I will,” she nodded, before saying her goodbye and hanging up. Considering how things were going so far, it was going to be a long flight back to New York.
***
“Marty and Rachel just went down to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat, I think,” Hilary replied as she led the way to the door of the hospital room. “So you should have him to yourself for a little while.”
“I’m surprised they’re not keeping vigil,” Lizzie replied, looking through the glass window once they got to the room.
“According to the chart, he woke up some earlier today, so I think they’re feeling a little better about things,” Hilary replied, before nodding towards the door. “You can go in, ya know.”
“I know,” she said, rolling her eyes, before shaking her head and making her way inside. She moved over to the side of the bed, and leaned against it lightly. She didn’t want to disturb him too much-he probably needed the rest-but she didn’t want to be too far either. She could hear the reassuring beeps of the heart monitor, and that was comfort enough that he was alive, but she was still worried. Something like this shouldn’t have happened. Not that close to home.
But he was going to be okay. At least that’s what everyone was saying. He was going to be okay, and the wounds would heal and he would be fine. But until he opened his eyes and she saw proof that he was really going to be fine, she wasn’t going to take the risk. She wanted to make sure that that was going to happen before she could relax. So she would wait.
She threw a look over her shoulder before slipping her hand into his. She didn’t want this to quite be seen by anyone they knew yet, because she wasn’t exactly sure who he had informed. Not that they were actually doing anything yet, but-just in case. She gave it a soft squeeze, before leaning over gently and kissing his cheek.
“Wake up again soon, okay?” she whispered, before pulling back and staying where she was next to the bed, waiting for when he would actually do as she had asked.
Author: iluvroadrunner6
Rating: FRT
Characters: Robert Pino/Lizzie Anderson, Cait and Hilary McCallahan, Michael Anderson
Content Warning: N/A
Summary: Lizzie finds out about the explosion in New York.
Author's Note: Follows goddess_loki's Explosion. This didn't go the route I'd originally planned on, but I like the way it turned out.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of CSI:NY. They're owned by CBS. Robert Pino is owned by goddess_loki. However, any and all original characters are mine, so please do not use them without my permission.
Lizzie was on the final day of a work conference in LA when her phone started ringing like crazy. Luckily it was on vibrate, and she could choose to ignore it without calling attention to herself, but by the time she got out of the office there were six missed calls from various members of her massive extended family, and one text message from Cait that read “EMERGENCY! Call me back ASAP.” Frowning slightly, she plopped back on the bed and dialed Cait’s number, hoping to get to the bottom of what was going on, before she got ready to pack and head for home on her flight the next day.
“Have you seen the news?” was Cait’s first question when she picked up the phone, and Lizzie’s frown only worsened.
“No, I haven’t.” A knot started to tighten in the pit of her stomach and she tried not to sound like she was freaking out. Because she wasn’t really, not yet. Her mind was just reeling through all the possible bad things that could be on the news. Cait sounded to calm for her dad to be involved, but there was also all the other cops she knew: Flack, her uncle Darren, Maka, Angell, Lindsay, Mac, Stella-oh, God, her father. She was already starting to picture the news reports saying that her father was shot in the line of duty, but was trying to keep her voice calm as she did. “Besides, I’m in LA, so we wouldn’t get the local news.”
“Okay, don’t freak out.”
Don’t freak out? “Cait, having this kind of build up and telling me not to freak out isn’t really working.”
“Okay, good point-there was an explosion at the labs.”
She almost dropped the phone. The possibility of Robert being the one making the evening news was not one she had considered, and it had caught her completely by surprise. “Oh my God-is he alright?”
“No idea-my dad’s working on it, but I wanted you to know.”
“Cait, can I call you back?”
“Yeah, no problem.”
Lizzie hung up, and tried to quell the panic in her chest. She hit the first number on her speed dial, and put the phone to her ear, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up.
“Anderson.”
“Daddy-”
“You heard about the lab?”
“Is he okay? I mean, all Cait said was that it happened, is he alright? Was he even there? Am I freaking out for nothing, because I don’t know what the hell is going on!”
“Lizzie, baby, take deep breaths.”
“Dad, my best friend’s place of work just exploded, and no one is telling me anything. Now is really not the time for breathing deep.”
“Look, sweetie, you’ve gotta calm down, alright? I know some things but I don’t know a lot, and I don’t want you having a panic attack on me when you’re three thousand miles away.”
She closed her eyes and leaned back on the bed, placing a hand over her face, trying to slow her breathing down, and get herself back to calmer frame of mind. “Okay. I’m calm.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, Dad, I’m sure.”
“Okay-Robert was at work that day, and I don’t know how bad it is, but they took him to the hospital, and I haven’t seen or heard from Rachel since, so I’m assuming Robert’s still there.”
“Okay. Okay.”
“Why don’t you call Hilary, alright? She would probably have a better idea of what’s going on.”
“I will.”
“He’s gonna be alright, Liz.”
“He better be.”
“When are you coming home?”
“My flight is scheduled for tomorrow-I’d try to book an earlier flight, but I probably won’t get one.”
“Alright-it’ll all work out, okay?”
“Okay.”
After her father had hung up, she dialed Hilary’s office extension, not wanting to bother her if she was in surgery by having her pager go off. She listened to it ring for a minute, before hearing a voice pick up on the other end of the line.
“Hilary McCallahan.”
“Hi, Hilary-it’s Lizzie.”
“Calling about Robert?”
“Yeah,” she said sheepishly. Is he okay?”
“He’s got some pretty bad burns, and he needed a good deal of stitches, but otherwise he’s going to be fine.”
“Thank God.”
“You okay?”
“Be more okay if I wasn’t across the country right now.”
“When will you be getting in?”
“Tomorrow night, but it won’t be till after visiting hours are over.”
“Don’t worry about it-I’ll get you in to see him.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I’m sure he needs his rest and everything.”
“I know you won’t hound him. And I’m the Chief of Surgery. I can essentially do anything I want.”
“Thank you. So much.”
“No problem, sweetheart. Just call me when you get in. If it’s not too late, I should still be in my office.”
“I will,” she nodded, before saying her goodbye and hanging up. Considering how things were going so far, it was going to be a long flight back to New York.
***
“Marty and Rachel just went down to the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat, I think,” Hilary replied as she led the way to the door of the hospital room. “So you should have him to yourself for a little while.”
“I’m surprised they’re not keeping vigil,” Lizzie replied, looking through the glass window once they got to the room.
“According to the chart, he woke up some earlier today, so I think they’re feeling a little better about things,” Hilary replied, before nodding towards the door. “You can go in, ya know.”
“I know,” she said, rolling her eyes, before shaking her head and making her way inside. She moved over to the side of the bed, and leaned against it lightly. She didn’t want to disturb him too much-he probably needed the rest-but she didn’t want to be too far either. She could hear the reassuring beeps of the heart monitor, and that was comfort enough that he was alive, but she was still worried. Something like this shouldn’t have happened. Not that close to home.
But he was going to be okay. At least that’s what everyone was saying. He was going to be okay, and the wounds would heal and he would be fine. But until he opened his eyes and she saw proof that he was really going to be fine, she wasn’t going to take the risk. She wanted to make sure that that was going to happen before she could relax. So she would wait.
She threw a look over her shoulder before slipping her hand into his. She didn’t want this to quite be seen by anyone they knew yet, because she wasn’t exactly sure who he had informed. Not that they were actually doing anything yet, but-just in case. She gave it a soft squeeze, before leaning over gently and kissing his cheek.
“Wake up again soon, okay?” she whispered, before pulling back and staying where she was next to the bed, waiting for when he would actually do as she had asked.