RP | Support Network

[surgeonshands]

[For anyone who wants to grab him in the Oncology Unit while he waits]After his hectic string of long shifts during his first couple of weeks on Alpha trying to step into Chris' shoes, Dave really had gone on to sleep most of his days off away. Once he hit the sack, his body seemed determined to crash out and recharge. He knew he had the stamina

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[tenderluvnlisa]

While Lisa was coming to the end of her first day, she wasn't actually sure if she should leave. There was a strange part of her that wanted to see the night through just so she knew Rick and Chris really would stay under the best care but she also knew that she'd be back first thing in the morning. At some point sleep had to come for everyone.

It was silly of her not to expect to see her brother waiting outside the Deleo room when she came back for a last round of obs and she dropped down into the seat next to him before she threw her arms around him tightly and buried her face against his shoulder. "You could have warned me about Miami."

[surgeonshands]

Dave set the magazine on the empty chair on the other side of him to hug her back and smiled. "About Miami, or about Miami City Hospital?" he asked in amusement. He was over the moon to see his sister. The past few weeks, he had been feeling homesick and missing his family. He liked Miami, he really did, but in the mix of everything else going on, Dave had been trying to face his own demons too and it had proven quite taxing on him. Of course he stepped into Chris' shoes when it was asked of him... he would do anything for his best mate, but he still felt himself wondering on a daily basis if he was cut out for the life of Alpha in MT1. And on a daily basis, he had Proctor mentoring him and ensuring he could cope with it. The gossip had been secondary, yet Dave couldn't help be bothered by it. Chris' shoes were large to step into, and now to add to the strain, there was word Eva could be leaving MT1 and people on Bravo and Charlie were already a little bitter in assuming Dave was going to be given the position by default because he

[tenderluvnlisa]

Lisa kept holding her brother for a long moment so she could take the strength she needed from him to get through the last few hours. "I don't know how you do it," she murmured against his shoulder. "And I mean... Miami. And the hospital. And all of it. Both. Maybe none of it... It's just my first day, and I've missed you, and I'm tired, and Chris' brother has cancer. It's just... big."

She pulled back to look at her brother as she took his face between her hands and examined it carefully. "Have you slept yet?"

[surgeonshands]

Dave nodded slowly. "I haven't been doing much but sleep the past few days," he admitted. "It's left me more than a bit behind the eight ball. There's long shifts and there's long damn shifts. Some days it's just a joke. It's more than big, and you've just come in on the tail end of it. Trust me, it's been a hellish few weeks. It's been one thing after another. Everything from Chris diving down sinkholes in the city to save lives to people leaving to random siblings showing up out of the blue," he added, shooting her a tired smirk. "It makes me extremely relieved Aimee is an only child."

[tenderluvnlisa]

Lisa looked at him a bit longer as she waited to see if he was lying about the sleeping, but he wasn't. "Good. Rest is important. Especially during all the insanity. Maybe I should be grateful then that this is the tail end of it? Still full on. Chris wasn't going to give Rick the kidney, and then something changed his mind and then all of a sudden he was giving up the kidney and he was crying and Serena was crying and I was nearly crying."

She slumped against her brother. "You struck lucky with Aims, brother dearest. I'm sorry I was all out of the blue. I thought it would be a nice surprise. I didn't know about Rick..."

[surgeonshands]

Dave played absentmindedly with the string of his hoodie as he watched his sister and draped his other arm around her shoulders. "I don't know, kiddo. I get a feeling this is just the start. But then, I could be projecting. It's hard not to think back to my own crap and how I felt after my first round of chemo..." He cleared his throat softly. "I'm not sure how much you have subsequently found out if emotions have been running high from all angles, but yeah... I think I know what the something that changed his mind was, if the information came out on some level. It's pretty full on. Surreal."

[tenderluvnlisa]

"He yelled at her about it," Lisa told him as she let out a quiet sigh. "I was in Dr Watson's office and he burst in and just went... crazy. I've never seen C like it before, but then it's not like his brother's had cancer before either. I know it's hard for you, it's not exactly a walk in the park for me either and I've only been here for one day. I keep thinking about you, and what it was like. Hard to always keep the objective stuff running, you know?"

[surgeonshands]

"He needed someone to blame for his brother getting sick, and she was in the firing line. It has been bubbling under the surface for awhile. Yelling at Rick doesn't help because they always fight. Bella just got caught in the crossfire. It could have been any of us. At the end of the day, though, it was what swung his decision for him to give Rick the kidney. Sometimes, we just have wake up calls. Bella's my doctor, but she was feeling ill over in MT1 the other morning when I was on shift. Her ex is our Charge Nurse, so he was worried about her. I just signed my name to some path requests, that's all. I can't judge her, or her choices. This might be her only chance," Dave said quietly and lowered his gaze down to his toes and drew in a long, slow breath with his let out heavily. "Objectivity is just a fancy way of saying keep your nose out of things. Which is easier said than done when your loved ones are involved."

[tenderluvnlisa]

Lisa didn't miss the look on Dave's face when he spoke about Bella's only chance. She reached out to nab his free hand and gave it a squeeze. "I don't know how it would work, but if there was ever anything that I could do to help you get a family I'd do it. You know that, right? I know you got Aimee, too. I'm sure she gets it. If you've spoken about it. Are you up to marriage and kids talk yet? Even though I know you'll say the kids part is out, but there are always options, Dave. Always." Lisa smiled a little. "Yeah, I already had Bella talking to me about Tuck. I was kinda quizzing her about the guys here at the hospital. Even if you gave me a quick run down. She even offered up her brother. She might be your doctor, but she could use a little TLC too. Same as she might be my boss, but I'm not about to go blabbing her secrets. I just can't believe it. It really does seem like it's linked with Fate a little."

[surgeonshands]

Dave gave a small shake of his head. "We're not to that point yet. It's early days. When it comes to it, I'll tell her and talk to her about it. She knows that... she knows about other issues, and she's been wonderful with it all. I know it can't be easy for her. I think maybe I'm just one of those guys who isn't meant to be a father. It's not like I ever much thought about it before I was told I couldn't. It's strange how being told you can't have something just makes you decide you want it. But really, I'm not ready for any of that. I haven't even finished by residency yet. I want to enjoy life a bit more... now that I know I still have it."

"You know I think I met the guy on an income the other day. He looks like her a little. Serena's brother is around too, but he doesn't live in Miami. He's only here temporarily as far as I have heard. It's just weird... Rick never seemed the sort to just fall for someone out of the blue. But then, the Big C does make you stop and take stock of your life."