InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "don't eat the shrooms"

Jamie Lannister (celticpride) wrote in valarlogs,
@ 2012-12-27 20:04:00

Entry tags:

!complete, alice ayres, leonard mccoy, oliver wood

Who: Alice Ayres, Dr. Leonard McCoy, Oliver Wood, NPC's Kirk and Margaret Wood
When: 27 December 2012
Where: Irvine General
Rating: PG-13 for swearing and medical
Status: Complete

Forty-eight hours after the accident, Kirk and Margaret Wood touched down at LAX. Duffles and passports in hand, they'd clawed their way off the 747 and through boarder control, a mother's tears no match for the stone cold hearts of America's transportation officers. Delayed by distance and security, the Woods did not reach Irvine General until quite early on December 27th. By that time, Oliver had been out of surgery and holding stable in the ICU for twenty four hours, but there had been no further change in his condition, good or ill.

Since that time, Margaret had refused to leave her son's side, her hand clasped tight in Alice's for several hours now, eyes locked on the broken body of her babby boy. He looked so small beneath all the tubes and cables.

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loveisenough
2012-12-28 04:44 am UTC (link)

Alice sat close to Mrs. Wood, still holding her hand and leaning close to the woman. She'd hesitate to ever call Margaret fragile; despite her age, the woman was quite fit and Alice thought she'd be a joy to know during better circumstances.

Alice's own eyes were red and rimmed with tears that just kept falling no matter what she did. She'd gone to get them all tea, black and without sugar, the bitterness punishing her tongue for her good health. She'd have traded spots with Oli in a second.

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celticpride
2012-12-28 04:57 am UTC (link)

Though politely accepting the tea, Margaret did not drink hers. Despite a life of meager income, Margaret was a woman of fine upbreeding; there was no excuse for piss-poor tea. Instead, she held the cup between two hands, warming her fingers to the bone.

'I want to thank you, dear for taking such good care of my son while he's been here,' Margaret said, reaching out to take Alice's hand again with a smile. Her skin was warm, her touch gentle, 'He speaks so highly of you when he rings.' The poor lass was so out of sorts, almost as badly as Margaret; she supposed she must love her son deeply to sit by his side so long and cry so many tears.

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loveisenough
2012-12-28 05:03 am UTC (link)

Alice wiped her eyes with her free hand. "He's been a very dear friend to me," she smiled. "We're both new to the area, and I don't have much family. He's closer to a brother to me than anything else." She did love Oliver deeply, and she didn't want to lose her new family either. She remembered the hospital song and dance from when her mother had passed. It was too familiar.

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celticpride
2012-12-28 05:39 am UTC (link)

Margaret nodded; so that was that then. The lovely girl was just a friend. Pity, but perhaps perfect.

Squeezing Alice's hand again, Margaret returned to cupping her tea, watching her son. How many hours would they have to sit there, waiting for any sign of change? The heart rate monitor bleeped with annoying consistence, Oliver's chest rising and falling, air in and out, in and out, in and out. Until suddenly, it wasn't.

Startled by the subtle change, Margaret tensed up, though always the picture of perfection, mahanednto not to spill her tea as Oliver began slowly waking, coughing against the trache tube.

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	loveisenough 2012-12-28 05:55 am UTC (link)
	Alice's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but gasp. She moved out into the hall to flag down a nurse. "He's waking up, he's coughing, someone come look and make sure he's okay!" She didn't want him to choke on the trach tube. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

adoctordamnit
2012-12-29 05:11 am UTC (link)

The closest nurse was the first on the scene. She rushed in to carefully extract the equipment, then brought her hand to Oliver's shoulder while she punched a code into the machine. "It's all right, Mister Wood." She said, trying to calm him and the women in his room.

Doctor McCoy just happened to be visiting another patient in the room next door. He heard the machinery go off, heard the nurse running in to check on his patient. He perked up a little and excused himself, then poked his head around the corner to check.

Truth was, they--meaning he--wasn't sure if Oliver would ever wake up from his accident. And, truth be told again, McCoy was insanely curious now to see what Oliver thought, what he remembered, how he was doing. He wanted to make sure his patient was well taken care of, so he came into the room.

"Mrs. Wood," he said in greeting to Oliver's mother, "Alice," he added, nodding to the other girl. "He just started to stir?"

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	loveisenough 2012-12-29 05:18 am UTC (link)
	Alice nodded hard. She was surprised that it was Doctor McCoy, but even more surprised that he remembered her. "We were sitting here, talking, and he started to come to, yes. I'd say within the last three to five minutes." She knew that doctors worked in specifics, and she smiled at Mrs. Wood. "Doctor McCoy is wonderful, he helped with one of my friends before." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

celticpride
2012-12-30 04:12 am UTC (link)

Margaret just nodded, a smile braveyly plastered to her face. Inside she was terrified, petrified by fear and uselessness; there was nothing she could do for her son who choked and tossed as he slowly woke up for the first time in three days.

'He's coming to! He's waking up!'

At first everything was blurry. Only lightness and dark made sense, and even those barely gave Oliver a sense of his surroundings.

'Oliver. Oliver!' That was his mother's voice! Why couldn't he respond? What was going on...?

'.....M- Mum?'

'Mr. Wood. Stay calm, Mr. Wood.' How could he stay calm? Where was he? What was holding him down? He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, it hurt to talk, it hurt to think- everything just hurt. 'There's been an accident. You're at the hospital. Please stay still.'

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adoctordamnit
2012-12-30 05:06 am UTC (link)

McCoy really let the nurses do most of the work here. His presence was superfluous. They were all highly skilled and expertly trained, they knew what they were doing. He stayed with Mrs. Wood and Alice at the back of the room, letting the skilled professionals take care of Oliver's breathing tubes and other attachments. He lifted his hand to rest on Alice's shoulder, hoping to give her some support through the contact.

"It's going to be all right," he said to her, letting Mrs. Wood move forward between the nurses if she wanted to. "His vitals are good. Strong. It's a good sign that he's waking up from the anesthetic, and that he recognizes his mother's voice."

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loveisenough
2012-12-30 06:10 am UTC (link)

Alice was biting her lower lip, closing her eyes when McCoy put his hand on her shoulder. She couldn't help crying even though she hated it, and she closed her eyes against the tears. One of her feet stamped a little against her frailty.

"Oli, it's Alice. It's going to be okay, I promise you." She'd have donated a whole body's worth of blood if that was what it took to make him feel better. But the look on Mrs. Wood's face made her resolve crumple, and she was suddenly in tears. It made her want to run from the room, being so naked around strangers, but Oli needed her there.

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celticpride
2013-01-01 06:55 pm UTC (link)

Oliver could hear all the reassuring hushes and feel the hands firmly holding him down but that didn't help to curb his rising anxiety. He wanted to move, to sit up and cough to clear his throat but the tight pressure in his chest and weakness in his muscles rendered Oliver helpless. He thrashed in panic, eyes finally opening wide to stare at the harsh lights overhead, a strange woman's face bent close and dozens of tubes flooding his vision. Trying to breathe was like being underwater, each gulp fighting against him, inhaling when he wanted to exhale, gasping, coughing and ever increasing fear.

But then woman gave a firm pull and the full red in his chest lifted. Air entered his lungs, his vision cleared and he could breathe again. Not that breathing felt any less painful, but at least he had control of that one basic function which contributed greatly to a sense of safety.

With ever slowing breaths, Oliver finally began to calm down, his eyes seeking out something familiar.

In the corner of the room, Margaret was frozen in terror.

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