Part 8.
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"Courage, my word, it didn't come, it doesn't matter. Courage, it
couldn't come at a worse time" -Courage. THE TRAGICALLY HIP.
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"Did you page Elizabeth and Mark yet?" Kovac looked up from the bloody mess of Dave that Benton was up to his elbows in.
"We've tried.. We're still trying.. They must have them switched off.." Randi said tearfully, standing in the doorway.
"I need the Supracoeliac Aortic. We have to clamp off so we can get him upstairs. We have to get his pressure up people... We're losing him.." Benton's usually steady hand trembled as he threaded the blue prolene.
Haleh burst through the doors. "Peter.. We need you in trauma two.. Lucy's crashing and Weaver's actin' weird."
"HEY! You just can't leave! You're in the middle of this! You can't just-" Kovac trailed off and looked at Dave split open on the table. This was not happening.. It couldn't be. A single lyric floated in his head and he shook it free. "This is not really happening.. You bet your life it is.." But he couldn't bet his life.. There were lives at stake right now.. and they weren't his. This wasn't about him.
*****
Mark smiled at his fiancee and hit his palm flat on the top of the piano. "Hey... You know Tori Amos?" He said grinning drunkenly at the pianist.
"Well not personally buddy.." The man replied sarcastically.
"Do you know the song 'Cornflake Girl'???" Mark shifted on his stool and grasped Elizabeth's hand in his.
"Cornflake girl?" The pianist cocked a brow and looked back at his bandmates. "You guys know 'Cornflake Girl'??"
The band rolled their eyes and nodded. "Yeah we know it Jack.." As they tuned up their guitars to match the un-even key that their 'guests' were caterwauling in, the drummer snickered. "Are these guys on crack or something?"
The pianist seemed to ignore the comment as he played out a new experimental notes and the two doctors began to sing.
"Never was a cornflake girl. Thought that was a good solution.
�Hangin' with the raisin girls she's gone to the other side. Givin
us a-yo-heave-ho.
�Things are getting kind of gross and I go at sleepy time.
This is not really happening. You bet your life it is. Peel out the
watchword just peel out the watchword.
She knows what's going on seems we got a cheaper feel now. All the
sweeteaze are gone. Gone to the other side with my encyclopedia.
They musta paid her a nice price. She's puttin on her string bean
love. This is not really happening. You bet your life it is.
Rabbit where'd you put the keys girl. And the man with the golden
gun thinks he knows so much, thinks he knows so much. Rabbit ...
where'd you put the keys girl..." - Tori Amos (Cornflake Girl)
*****
"W-we have to crack her.." Kerry murmured as the nurses handed her the saw. The prized sternal saw. The saw that she'd butted heads with Romano and Benton to get. The saw that filled her with raw excitement everytime she held it. Now her hands shook and fear paralyzed her like virus invading her system.
Benton watched her frozen, the saw clenched in her grasp. He watched the monitors and Lucy. He heard the monitors click, whir and suddenly sound as Lucy worsened. Slowly crossing the floor, he stood poised as the nurses disinfected the site and he pulled the saw from her hands. Kerry nodded slightly and didn't fight it as she watched Peter saw open the medstudent.
"Rib spreader... Suction.. Come on people.."
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"Time of death.. 2:46." Chen announced, the tears drying on her cheeks as she kept her gaze locked on the clock.
"Do you want me to get the death kit, Deb?" Carter said worriedly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll do it for you."
"No... I'll clean him up. I phoned his family already. They're flying
in. " She said quietly as she busied herself and started cleaning up the
body. "He always stared at my ass. He was such a pig.. But he didn't deserve
this, John. He didn't deserve to die this way." Tears streamed down her
cheeks and she wiped them away angrily. "It's
not fair."
Carter gave a slow nod in agreement and pulled her into a hug. "Nobody deserves that, Deb. Come on.. The nurses can clean him up. Let's go next door to Magoo's.."
"I.. I can't leave him.. I promised him.. I promised him I wouldn't leave him alone by himself. I can't leave him like that John. I can't leave him all cut up like that. Please.." Deb burst into tears, soaking into Carter's shirt, warm, wet and full of pain.
"Everything will work out with Lucy.. That's all we can hope for. There's nothing left to do for Dave now.." Carter whispered hoarsely, leading her from the building.
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"Okay buddy.. It's 3am.. We're closing up now." The Bar owner muttered gruffly as Mark crooned drunkenly on his stool.� The band had gone home hours ago, but that didn't stop Mark from requesting obscure songs and singing off-key into his 'Mark-tinis' as he had started to laughingly refer to them after his 8th one.
"Come on Mark.. We're going home." Elizabeth said angrily, pulling him by the arm.
"Buuut Elisssssssabetthhhhhhhh!!" Mark whined as she dragged him to the Durango.
"Get in you stupid sod! How could you get that drunk!?" She huffed as the parents trailed along behind.
As they got nearer to the truck they could hear the cell phones ringing frantically inside. Quickly Elizabeth unlocked the driver's side door and wrenched it open, annoyed. She grabbed the phone off the seat and hit TALK.
"What in the hell do you want!? This better be good!?"
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�"It... It's Lucy and Dave.. There was.." Randi burst into tears. "Weneed you down here.. We need you.."
"Randi.. What happened?? What's going on??" Elizabeth said worriedlyas she peeled out of the parking lot.
"Lucy.. She.. They.. Lucy and Dave were stabbed.." The deskclerk'svoice wavered as she struggled not to cry again.
"Stabbed!? Oh my lord! I.. Are they okay??" The surgeon said as itstarted to pour rain and she struggled to keep the car on the road,put the wipers on and talk to Randi.
"No.. Lucy.. Lucy's in surgery and Dave.. Dave he-" The phone crackled with static and cut out.
"RANDI!!!??? Dave what!?" Elizabeth cursed and threw the phone ontothe seat. "Piece of shit!" She said hoarsely as they careened around the corner.
"Elizabeth.. What's wrong!?? What happened!? Somebody was stabbed?" Mark said surprisingly lucid for all the 'Mark-tinis' he'd drank in the bar.. "What happened!?"
She shook her head, the thick red hair bouncing down her back. "I.. I don't know Mark.. I don't know.. But we have to get there.."
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