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When Aimee got out of surgery, she was met with no less than seventeen text messages from Serena first asking her to call, but then begging her to come around to their apartment as soon as she was able. Aimee's heart and stomach felt like they had leapt up in her throat, and she had shoved her things into her bag as quickly as she could and managed to get an early mark off Sable now that the patient was stable and would be handed over to the night staff. Of course, Aimee was terrified now that something had happened to Chris or Rick, but wouldn't Serena be at the hospital if that was the case? That was about the only thing that stopped her panicking completely, and she was the doorstep of Chris - and now Serena's - apartment as soon as she could.

( It was Mrs Deleo who answered the door looking probably how Aimee expected her to be considering Rick was going through his second round of chemo, though for some reason, she seemed to look worse when she opened the door to Aimee.Collapse )

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There had been no question as to whether Chris would accompany Dave to to the ER. In fact, not even Proctor argued with that when he stated it. Dave was in a bad way, but at least when he passed out, he stopped throwing up. When the gurney arrived, Chris could only stand back and watch as Dave was transferred onto it, on his side in case he started to be sick again. All he could remember was Dave indicating that the pain wasn't just in his stomach and it hadn't just come on suddenly. It kept going over and over in Chris' mind, but he couldn't get it to lead anywhere. When Dave was rushed into the depths of the ER, Chris soon had his cell planted to his ear with his Mom to check how Rick was. He interrogated her even when Mrs Deleo promised him Rick was okay. Sleeping and bummed Bella got paged to leave his side, but so far, he was holding up.

( It placated Chris just a little, but he didn't put his cell phone away.Collapse )

When Chris woke up this time, he was extremely disoriented. Spending so much time in a hospital, to wake up now on a sofa with his face squished into a pillow and a blanket over him was weird. In fact, initially, he thought he was dreaming until he realised his torso was aching and he had pins and needles in his foot. He was still half asleep when he shifted to get his stomach into a different position to try and ease the ache, but he highly suspected it was because he had overdone things with the dramatic escape tactics he had pulled. But when he cracked his eyes open a little wondering where Rick's shoulder had gone to because he distinctly remembered that being his last pillow, he found himself looking at a pair of blue-covered legs. His sleepy, heavy-lidded eyes trailed up slowly and found that the legs were connected to... Girlfriendzilla.

Uh oh.

He wondered if it was too late to play dead or pretend he was a clone. She had probably already poked him to check he was breathing without him realising, but now the look on her face anything but relieved. Chris was relieved that she didn't seem to have any items or implements in her hands, or he may have found himself with them shoved in uncomfortable places. "Can you yell quietly? My everything hurts," he told her huskily, clearing his throat as he rested his forehead back down on the pillow so his eyes were level with her kneecaps again.

( Serena really didn't know how to answer Chris' husky murmurs.Collapse )

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Serena really did have to see the amusing side of things. Where once she and Chris had indulged in long showers after being distracted a little too easily during the act of washing each other, she was now relegated to waiting outside his room while he took too long in the shower for other reasons. The nurse had been quite clear on the fact that she wasn't allowed in the room while Chris was bathing. Something to do with another patient and his wife getting into hanky panky and causing the guy to get a head wound from slipping over while getting over excited.

Serena wasn't looking to get Chris hurt. She could have quite easily perved from inside his room and keeping her hands to herself. She might have been back at work, but most of the time she wasn't working she was still hanging around Chris' room like a part of the furniture. Carla had taken Rick home which meant Chris was by himself, and the boredom was already sending him stir crazy. It was all she could do to get him to sit still in bed while they watched movies when Serena had the time.

( She unclipped her pager just to check it hadn't gone off without her noticing and glanced up just as Mrs Deleo was coming down the corridor.Collapse )

[Set before THIS & THIS]

Serena was feeling better now that Chris was not only awake, but starting to eat. She also knew that he was safe sharing a room with his brother so she felt safe doing things like sharing lunch with her brother. At least this way Drew could be sure that she was eating properly. Serena took another bite out of the giant chicken burger he'd bought her as they sat at one of the outside cafeteria tables. The tell-tale takeout bag was sitting out and proud for all to see, but Serena didn't care.

She had found herself starving, and her brother still knew her well enough to know that she needed a junk fix. There was even a big box of fries all for her, onion rings, and a chocolate thickshake. She gave her brother an appreciative smile as she licked some sauce from her lips. "You really do know just how to take care of me, big brother."

( Drew just watched her uncertainly, raising his eyebrows a little. Collapse )

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Chris was in Sulk 101 mode, and had been most of the morning. Though it wasn't technically a sulk, it was just more a slightly freaked out bewilderment with an aggravation at the whole being a patient thing. He really had fallen asleep in the ICU after a nurse took yet more blood from him for monitoring, and when he woke up, he was in a room with Rick sitting up in a parallel bed watching him. In fact, he had literally shrieked in surprise when he woke up, and it took a few minutes for him to get his bearings, along with a hasty explanation from Rick regarding what had happened. Chris still had the heart monitor on and oxygen in his nose, but all the other added ICU extras were gone. They were also beginning to coax him to eat so he could use the bathroom again, a sure sign he was back on the road to recovery. Of course, Chris had a stubborn streak and was hating what they were trying to offer him.

He was just sitting there chatting to Serena on his laptop when he looked up over the top of the screen and found her standing in the doorway. Rick wasn't in his bed. Bella had come a little earlier and talen him out to one of the balconies for some fresh fair, which left Chris alone to sulk again. He hadn't been sure where Serena was, except that Rick had mentioned she would be back soon. Now she was here and he broke into a smile. "Ahhhh, you're trying to fuck with my head even more, aren't you?" he joked, pointing at her with the hand that had the IV lines in it. He would be glad to get rid of them.

( Serena started to laugh as she tucked her iPhone into her pocket and came over to ruffle Chris' hair and kiss his lips softly.Collapse )

Chris only realised he must have passed out again when he was once again waking up disoriented. It wasn't as bad this time, though. The pain was still there, but it had eased, and things weren't quite as hazy as they had been. In fact, despite having a recollection of waking before and knowing Serena had been there along with Rick and his Mom, it was foggy at best. Chris had been injured in the past, but it was nothing like this. This was the first time he had experienced surgery and apparently it had all gone wrong. He might even be a surgeon, but being on the flipside here really sucked and he would have a whole new appreciation for his patients now... if he was ever allowed to go back to work.

He woke slowly, needing to take some time to actually work on getting his eyes open. They felt so heavy, like they just wouldn't have the capacity to stay open ever again. He was also highly aware that this wasn't his own bed. It was too narrow and too scratchy, the pillow to was too hard and he didn't have the luxury of sprawling out on his belly, which was generally the favoured way he slept. Serena had just adjusted to that. It only took a few nights sharing a bed with him for her to realise that no matter how many times she tried to shift him onto his side to comfortably spoon him, he would always end up back on his gut at some point during the night, so she found a way to just fit that. Wetting his lips slowly and swallowing, he finally managed to drag his eyes open at least part of the way and he found Serena sitting there at the bedside watching him. Smiling was a lot easier this time, even if it was groggy. He was more with it this time, not caught up in a confused, terrified panic of just coming out of a coma. He was actually feeling quite chilled, and realised it must be some awesome drugs they had him on. "Hey, babe..." he greeted her huskily and curled his hand over so he could touch her fingers. "Y'still here."

( Serena had been curled up in the chair by Chris' bedside just watching him.Collapse )

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Dave had made the tough decision the evening prior to have the Propofol dosage stopped to give Chris a chance to wake up naturally. It hadn't been an easy one. Carla knew this. She had been there, not too far away, when she had seen Dave in serious talks with his boss and also with Rick's doctor. They then all seemed to take a united front in a decision with the other doctors. Dave looked ill, like the weight of the decision was as heavy as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. She could just see in his eyes that deciding on Chris' medical matters was probably one of the hardest things he was facing. When she had asked him how he was after it, and after the dosage had been stopped, he admitted to her had been vomiting all afternoon just trying to get his head around it. But it came to a point where he didn't want Chris to be kept in a coma any longer than he needed to. If he had strength to be awake to heal, it was better than messing with his brain to keep him in a chemical sleep.

( But Chris had just continued to remain unconscious. He stayed like that all night, with no hint of waking.Collapse )

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Aimee paused in the hallway outside of Chris' hospital room in the ICU. She kept the file tucked under her arm and put a hand on her chest over her scrubs to try and brace herself. She let out a long, shaky breath and kept telling herself over and over that she could do it. She had to do it. Sable had interrogated her about holding up through a conflict of interest, but at the end of the day, it would be a good learning curve. The whole situation could only make her stronger, right? She made her way quietly into the room, finding Serena sitting there by herself next to Chris. She was sat forward with her elbows on the edge of his mattress and her hands cupped around one of his as she just watched his face. First glimpse at this sight and Aimee wanted to burst into tears.

She had heard all about it, of course. She hadn't spoken directly to Serena but she had Dave when she was able. She had been on a training day in Orlando when the transplant surgery was given the go-ahead and she wasn't back in time for the start of it. She only made it back to the hospital when news of the complications came and Sable paged her into work, which is where she had been ever since. Sable had been by later, but for now, Aimee had to assess Chris and report what she believed the best course of action would be. That was easier said than done when your comatose patient was your best friend's lover. She cleared her throat softly and came over to stand beside Serena. When her friend looked up Aimee pressed her lips together to try and keep a hold of her emotions. She splayed her hand over the top of the file in her arms. "I-- he-- the abdominal aorta... part of the cardiovascular system," she tried to explain, even if it sounded a little stupid explaining that to another fully qualified doctor. Nothing about this was easy.

Serena gave Aimee a tired smile and looked back at Chris' face as she rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand. She so badly just wanted him to wake up so she knew he was okay. Right now she had no idea. She just wanted to see his blue eyes and that smile of his that told her he was okay. She kissed his hand and reluctantly let go of his hand to push back and give Aimee some room to move if she wanted it. "It's okay... I get it. Hi, by the way. I've really missed you. You just have no idea. I wish you'd been here before... Their mom's here. Mrs Deleo and I totally screamed at her." Serena reached out to touch Aimee's arm and gave it a squeeze.

( Aimee's eyes widened at the news and she carefully placed Chris' file on the bed beside him so she could lean over and give Serena a secure hug, rubbing her back.Collapse )