Work Text:
Jaime had been a critical care float nurse at St. Stephen's hospital for the last five years. She loved her job most days and even enjoyed the night shift for its quirky chaos. Tonight, she was apprehensive as she approached the emergency room entrance. The wildfire had been contained, but she knew they were likely to be overrun with smoke inhalation victims, which was she had been called in to help on her day off.
Once her stuff had been placed in her locker, she headed to the charge desk for her assignment.
"Thank you for coming in," the harried looking charge nurse said. "You are going to go take over Kate's assignment. She has one admission and one discharge left. Her admission needs to go to the IMC, and one of their nurses just called out, so we may float you there and have you keep that patient."
"Okay!"
Jaime headed over to find Kate for sign out. There were stretchers lining the halls full of patients on oxygen. She passed by the trauma bay and saw the trauma team gowned up and awaiting the arrival of a trauma alert.
"It's a GSW, so let's get the rapid infuser ready..." she heard the trauma surgeon say as she passed, finally spotting Kate in the open double bay.
"Hey! How was the shift?"
Kate looked exhausted and relieved to see her.
"It was pretty busy all day, but I'm down to two patients, both police officers, actually. Ready for sign out?"
"Yeah, let's do it." Jaime said, grabbing her pen and the patient info sheet Kate handed to her.
"Ok, we have Lucy Chen, 36 year old female with no major medical problems, caught in the wildfire with her partner, Officer McHottie over there. They apparently used some sort of fire shelter to cover them until it burned out around them. Both suffered smoke inhalation, no burns. She's was on non rebreather for four hours with O2 sats at 98 percent. Just weaned her down over the last half hour to room air, and sats are holding steady. Her lung sounds have cleared, and Dr. Larson thinks she is ready for discharge."
"Ok," Jaime said, looking quickly over to the two officers laying quietly on the stretchers. Officer McHottie, indeed! "How about the other one?"
"Timothy 'Tim' Bradford, 46 year old male with prior back surgery to remove a bullet fragment. He is also suffering from smoke inhalation. Initially he was doing pretty well, but now does not seem to be recovering as quickly as his partner. He remains on non rebreather with sats hovering in the low 90's. Lung sounds with bilateral expiratory wheezing and some scattered rhonchi. He started having some pain as well, probably all the inflammation in his lungs, but was trying to downplay it. He wouldn't rest either, even when his partner fell asleep, so Dr. Larson ordered some morphine which I gave about an hour ago, and he's finally out. He's admitted to IMC for observation. The bed should be available shortly. You probably have time to discharge Ms. Chen before moving him upstairs."
"Okay, sounds good. What a crazy story though! Glad they seem to be doing okay."
"Yeah, it sounded wild. I thought I was having a bad day at work, but they definitely win. Well, hope you have a good shift!"
"Thanks," she called after Kate, reviewing her notes and printing off discharge instructions before heading over to the double bay. Her eyes landed on Tim first, asleep on the stretcher, mask in place. O2 sat was currently 91%.
He's is cute she thought before turning to observe Lucy. Lucy was laying on her left side facing Tim. She seemed to just be watching his chest rise and fall, and hadn't even noticed Jaime walk over.
Interesting. Maybe there's more to the story than work partners.
Despite her current non-existent love life, she was a sucker for a good love story. Of course, they were probably just close partners on the job, but you never know.
"Hi Ms. Chen, I'm Jaime, and I'm taking over for Kate. How are you feeling?"
Lucy startled slightly, then turned to face Jaime.
"Hi, you can call me Lucy, and I'm feeling better. Just tired. Any update on Tim?" she asked, throwing a slightly worried glance his way.
"Well, Dr. Larson would like to keep him overnight for observation since he is still requiring a lot of oxygen, so he will be moved to a room upstairs shortly. Since you are doing so well, Dr. Larson has put in discharge paperwork for you, which I have right here."
"I'd like to stay," Lucy said immediately.
"Do you not feel comfortable going home?"
"No, it's not that, it's um, I'm fine being discharged, but I want to stay with Tim when he's admitted.....please."
Oh yeah, there is definitely more to this story.
"Ok, I can make that work. They are actually going to float me to the floor he is being admitted to, so you can come up with us once I officially discharge you."
Lucy looked relieved and reached over to start signing the discharge paperwork.
"Why do you think it's taking him longer to recover? Could something else be wrong? We were both trapped under that fire shelter inhaling smoke..."
"There's no indication that anything else is wrong," Jaime rushed to reassure her, "It just seems he inhaled more than you, perhaps something to do with your positioning under the shelter or maybe the way the wind was blowing the smoke?"
A look of realization dawned on Lucy's face as she finished signing the papers and put the pen down next to her, raising her hands to scrub at her face before letting out a sigh.
"What...?" prompted Jaime.
"He....he shielded me in there. At first we were just face to face on our sides, trying to keep our heads down, but as the fire continued to rage outside, he pulled me under him and my face was in his chest. It was stifling, and I felt like I could barely breathe, but I guess I was a little more protected from the smoke that way..." she trailed off, eyes once again on the man beside her.
Oooh, he was definitely protecting her. I wonder if she knows how he feels. They'd be cute together.
Jaime's thoughts were interrupted by her work phone ringing. It was the IMC letting her know she could bring her patient up.
"Ok, Lucy, you are officially discharged, and Tim's bed is ready, so you can grab your stuff, and we will head upstairs!"
Jaime busied herself preparing Tim for transport on the monitor, making sure she had a full oxygen tank as well. Tim winced slightly but didn't fully wake as she started to push the bed toward the elevator. His brow was still furrowed as the elevator doors closed. As she checked the monitor, she noticed Lucy, in her peripheral vision, reach out to gently stroke his face once before bringing her hand down to his and giving it a quick squeeze. Tim's features relaxed almost immediately.
Oh, she likes him too. And watching them will make my shift more interesting at least!
Once they made it to the room, Lucy brought the recliner chair over to the bedside to sit by Tim.
"How long do you think he is going to be asleep?"
"Well, the effects of the morphine should start to wear off in an hour or so, but I'm sure he is also experiencing an adrenaline crash after such an intense event, so it's hard to say for sure," Jaime said kindly.
"Yeah, I pretty much passed out for like an hour down in the emergency room from the exhaustion."
"I would be surprised if you hadn't! I have to go get report on the other patients I will have tonight, but when I'm done, I'll bring back a tray of food for you. There is an extra pillow and blanket in the closet if you want to rest in the recliner."
Lucy nodded her thanks and Jaime turned to leave. After she closed the door, she peered back through the window to see Lucy scoot the recliner even closer to the bed. Her small hand enveloped his larger one, her thumb making gentle circles over his knuckles.
I can't wait until he wakes up. Maybe this will push them together. They obviously care about each other.
An hour later, Jaime was back in Tim's room recording his vitals when a pretty Detective walked into the room. Lucy sat up quickly, withdrawling her hand from Tim's.
"Angela, hey, you here to check on Tim?"
"Yes, and no. James was shot in a drive by at the shelter," she said bluntly.
"Oh my God," Lucy gasped. "Is he okay? How is Harper? What can I do??"
Shit, I thought my job was scary...
"It's not great, he was brought here and is currently in surgery. Harper just got here and is waiting downstairs with Wesley. We have a ton of people on it at the moment though. You should go home and get some rest."
Lucy shook her head, not quite meeting Angela's eye.
"What?"
At this point, Jaime had no reason to linger in the room, but she was curious, so she busied herself with the computer so she could listen in.
"The reason he's not recovering as quickly is because he was protecting me. He took the brunt of the smoke inhalation," she said quietly.
"Of course he did. He's an idiot, but he still loves you," she said fondly.
STILL? Ok so they used to be together, but now they aren't? But they clearly still love each other. This is getting juicy.
"He's going to be okay, right?" Angela asked Jaime when Lucy didn't respond.
"Yes, he should be able to go home tomorrow and make a full recovery."
"Keep me posted on James?"
"I will, let me know if you guys need anything." Lucy nodded as Angela turned to leave. She immediately resumed watch over him, her small hand finding his once more.
Jaime excused herself to go check on her other patient. An hour later, she was snacking on some chips when the telemetry monitor started alarming. She quickly scanned the monitor and realized the alarm was for Tim's room. His heart rate was elevated and his O2 sat was 86 percent.
She quickly walked to his room and found him awake with his oxygen mask off, a slightly panicked look in his eyes. Lucy was not in the recliner next to him.
"Tim, I'm your nurse, Jaime, and I need you to put this mask back on," she said soothingly trying to get the mask back on his face. He pushed it away immediately.
"Lucy.." he said hoarsely before coughing a few times.
Jaime heard the bathroom door open behind her and Lucy walked out. She took stock of the situation and went straight to Tim's side.
"Hey, I'm here," she said softly, taking the oxygen mask from Jaime and placing it over his face. "We're okay," she said.
We're? Not you're? Interesting, like she knows his immediate concern is her, despite the fact that he is in a hospital bed.
The effect of her presence is immediate. He acquieses to the mask, and his heart rate slows back down to normal as he scans her face. She smiles softly at him before sitting back down in the recliner.
"Geez, can't even go to the bathroom without you making a scene," she teases. His responding laugh turns into a coughing fit.
Jaime steps to the other side of the bed to listen to his lungs and checks his pulse ox again. 89 percent. Thankfully he is recovering quickly from his little stint off oxygen.
"So Tim, you took in a lot of smoke today. You need to keep this oxygen mask on to help you recover, okay?" He nods slowly.
"The longer it's off, the longer it will take you to recover, and something tells me you don't like to stay in hospitals any longer than necessary."
"Definitely not," he says while Lucy chuckles. "I just wasn't sure where I was when I woke up, and I didn't see Lucy and well..." he trailed off.
"I understand, you were in the emergency room but now you've been admitted. You'll be in this room until your discharge. We have about 8 more hours together, so behave okay?" Jaime said in a teasing tone before turning back to make a note in his chart on the computer.
"Will do," he said resting his head back on the pillow and turning to Lucy.
"You okay?"
Lucy nods.
"Yeah....somebody shielded me so I didn't inhale as much smoke as he did."
"Sounds like an idiot."
"Yeah," Lucy said with a watery chuckle, "he is."
Stop. They are so cute. Just tell each other how you feel already!
"I meant what I said earlier."
"About helping me study for the Sergeant's exam?"
"No, about me still loving you."
Oh my God, it's happening.
"I know," Lucy replied, biting her lip.
You know?? Girl, what are you doing? Kiss him!
"But you're scared..."
"Can you blame me?"
"No, I get it, I messed up. Walking away from you is one of the biggest regrets of my life."
Oh, hell no. You broke up with her?? You really are an idiot. A cute idiot, but an idiot.
Lucy lets out a shaky breath and closes her eyes briefly. Jaime can see the conflicted emotions there when she opens her eyes.
"We know more than most how quickly life can be irrevocably altered which is why I am saying this. It terrifies me, but I do still love you, Tim."
Yes!! I knew it!
Not even the oxygen mask can hide Tim's smile at her confession.
"So I was right..."
Lucy scoffs.
"You're obnoxious."
"But you love me."
"I take it back..."
"You can't take it back.." Tim laughs which sets off another coughing fit. Lucy is up immediately, putting a hand softly on his chest while he coughs, then easing his head back on the pillow once it subsides. He catches her hand as she goes to sit back down, entwining their fingers together.
"I'm glad you're going to take the Sergeant's exam."
"Me too," she says fondly. "Now get some sleep."
"Okay," he says, bringing their hands up to his lips and placing a soft kiss on the back of her hand. "Night, Lucy." He yawns and closes his eyes, drifting off to sleep fairly quickly.
"Night, Tim," she says quietly a few minutes later, leaning over to press a soft kiss to his head.
Jaime quietly leaves the room. The rest of her shift finishes quickly. By morning she is able to turn down Tim's oxygen and put him on a regular nasal cannula. They continue to amuse her with their banter and soft looks as she finishes up in his room.
"Good luck with your recovery."
Tim gives a nod of thanks.
"Thanks for everything," Lucy says with a wave.
Once she finishes signing out to the day shift nurse, she heads back down through the emergency room to get her things from the locker. On her way out, she spots Kate, back for another shift. Kate waves her over.
"Hey, how did Officer McHottie do last night?"
"Oh my God, Kate, do I have a story for you...."