Nicole had never been in a more difficult situation.
One of the most difficult times in her life was during her internship when the attending doctor she's been assigned to pushed her so hard that she thought of switching to a less difficult specialty. But back then, she had a strong will and determination to fight it. And she fought it hard; so hard that it earned her a solo surgery.
But it's different now. The trauma of narrowly escaping death, plus the bad shape of her knee has complicated everything. She wasn’t even thinking of her condition but of how to get to Maggie’s house in fifteen minutes. She needs help; but who would she call.
She thought of Joe and cursed the thought. She needs someone that knows nothing about what’s going on; someone that won't raise any suspicion if seen together with her.
"Who can I call?"
She thought for a minute; and the one person that came to her mind was no other than scrub nurse Abby. Nicole almost smiled.
Abby is been observed by her colleagues as smart and unpredictable. She's good and pretty that a lot of male doctors have their tails wagging whenever she passes by. Nicole had the feeling that Abby would be glad to help; she once told Nicole she loves mad adventures.
"This is a pretty mad adventure” Nicole murmured to herself as she took out her pager to get Abby.
"Girlfriend, that was totally cool!"
"I know; that's why I did it. I think it'll be sexy to have my role model tattooed right there"
Abby was in the locker room showing off her new tattoo to her friend Keisha. It was her second tattoo; the first been a bloody heart stabbed with a knife. It's drawn just above her left breast. The second is a picture of Marilyn Monroe tatted on her right thigh.
"Oh my gosh; Girl you are some kind of nasty. With a tat like that, the boys are going to be dreaming of those hot thighs. You are so way to go"
"They are dreaming alright. I had such dreams before; now it's their turn. I'm so gone" They laughed.
"But why do you love Monroe specifically?" Keisha asked
"Her lipstick; it's red and sexy. And besides, she crazy beautiful"
"Are you serious?"
Abby smiled. "I'm kidding Keish. Her life reminds me of mine. The foster home, the modelling stuff; the singing and acting, the..."
"… the dating stuff, the heart breaks; the fame and the money. Then the self destructive instincts; oh I can go on and on.” Keisha cut in.
"Maybe all that, but certainly not the self destructive stuff; I love myself." Abby looked at the tattoo. "She was really beautiful"
"You're damn right girl; even my grand momma loves Marilyn; she said she's the most beautiful white girl ever created. Can you believe that?"
"Yep, your grand momma is right. She is the most beautiful white girl ever created. She was a goddess of beauty. Too bad she had to kill herself." Abby locked her locker.
"So much for a goddess of beauty; self destruction seemed to be a heroic way to die these days." Keisha put away the magazine she was holding in to her locker. "There are suicide bombers on the loose, marines sacrificing their lives to give their comrades a lead in some complicated situations; shit happens all the time. But what honour would Marilyn seek in taking her own life?"
"That's a question I don't want to answer. I just love her and I'd prefer if we leave it at that."
"Girl you better think again. You can learn something from that cuz I know there's a lot of shit all tangled up in it. A lot of people think she's murdered." Keisha was brushing her hair.
"Yeah I know. But let's leave it for now. How was the surgery last night, I heard you scrubbed in for a Bowel Obstruction with Dr Malcolm." Abbey changed the subject.
"Yeah; It's a kid with an intussusceptions; got his bowels swelled up big; he's lucky to have the surgery otherwise it could be too late." Keisha locked up her locker.
"Poor child; sometimes I ask why kids have to go through some conditions adult were suppose to have, you know; kids dying early while adults live longer and do some nasty shit to other people."
"Nasty indeed; Dr Ingermanson was almost killed today by a rapist." Keisha lowered her voice.
"A rapist?"
"What! It got to be. Don't you see that ass? That Dr is as hot as summertime in Nevada but she's hiding it beneath her coat. Girl, a lot of men would love to hit it. Now she ended up here; lucky for her."
"Keish!" Abby's pager buzzed; Keisha sighed.
"Duty calls" Keisha smiled.
"Yeah; only that it's someone who's not supposed to be in the OR right now. It's her" Abby looked at Keisha.
"Who?" Keisha looked back, and then widened her eyes "No!"
The two friends raced out of the locker room. Both nurses happen to be Nicole's fans and they found it interesting to be summoned by her. As they walked, Keisha spoke all the way; bombarding Abby with instructions;
"When you get in there, I need you to find out what actually happened. Also try to find out how she escaped him; is the rapist wounded? Did she give him a scar with her nails or some weapon? And try to find out if he's black or white; and if she can remember how he smells, it...."
"Keisha, stop!" Abby cut her short. "Is that all necessary?"
"Like hell it is. We can recognize him easily on the street if she had given him some scars. And we could use her moves to escape those sons of bitches because pepper sprays don't work these days. There's need for a tighter move, like the one she probably used. I want to know everything, girlfriend."
They got to Nicole's door and Abby had already developed a headache from Keisha’s demands. She looked at Keisha. "Keish, please slow down a minute." She sighed over the momentary period of frustration. "Have you for a second, thought about the reason why she paged me?"
"No, I'll know why when you come out of that door. But in the meanwhile, I'll need those answers. Now go get her girl." Keisha had a big grin.
Abby shook her head, opened the door and closed it on Keisha's face.
"Thank God you're here. Abby, I need a big favour."
Abbey strode to Nicole's bed and smiled at her. "I'm all yours, doctor Ingermanson."
Dr Joe Fleming was watching when the two nurses stopped at Nicole's door, arguing. He didn't know what they were talking about and he didn't care. But when one of them went inside and left the other standing outside, he became curious.
Nicole is a smart woman; he knows that. He also knows how radical she could be with her obsessions and could use any means to get what she wants. And now that they had a fight, it will be unwise to meddle; she could hate him for that. But then, trying to find out what's up won't do any harm especially if Nicole wouldn't know about it. He walked to Keisha.
"Hi" Joe said, sounding so professional.
"Morning Dr. Fleming." Keisha replied.
"Is someone in there?" He pointed to Nicole's door.
"Yes sir; Miss Abby Greene"
"God! What’s wrong with you people? I thought I said visiting time was over? I just sent all the hospital's employees out of that room ten minutes ago."
"Actually Dr Fleming, Dr Ingermanson herself paged her; that's why she's here." Keisha said curtly.
"Oh; I didn't realize. Is everything Ok?"
"I don't know. She just paged; she didn't say."
"Alright then; I guess I'll leave them alone. See ya!" He walked away.
Yeah, whatever; Joe. Keisha stood there like a guard, waiting for her friend to come out. She wondered what they could be talking about. As a matter of fact, she's least concerned. All she'd be delighted to know are the 'behind the scenes' of Nicole's attack. Obviously, whatever it is will be interesting. She smiled on that thought.
Three minutes later, her beeper buzzed. It's O.R three.
What the hell!
She sighed in disappointment. Even though she loves the job, she hates the call to duty sometimes (especially this kind of moments). But what can she do? The hospital owns them. Just when she was about to walk away from the door
, it drew open.
"Right on time, girl fr..." she stopped short. Coming out of the door, Abby was pushing Nicole on a wheelchair.
"Keisha; I know you'll be here." Nicole smiled "I've never been on a tour round this hospital on a wheelchair before and I think it'd rather be fun. See ya later"
Keisha half smiled at her and looked at her friend who was pushing the chair. Abbey looked back and shrugged.
"Don't you have anything to do?" Nicole asked her.
"Yes doctor Ingermanson, I do; OR Three, STAT."
"See you later then."
"Sure; later"
Keisha gave Abby the 'I'll kill you later' kind of look before hurrying down the hall.
"What a friend you've got there" Nicole said after Keisha had disappeared. She sighed and looked up at Abby. "Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Let's go"
Abby pushed Nicole down the hall. People saw them; some of them waved and some wanted to stop and talk. But Abby put on a straight face and kept moving without stopping. That was the order. Nicole had to put up with all the faking; she smiled, joked, waved and even yelled at some interns that wanted to take pictures.
Joe was attending to a nurse when he heard the celebrity noise. He had expected to see Angelina Jolie, but to his surprise, saw Nicole on a wheel chair.
What the hell is she doing?
He watched in bewilderment as they walked passed him. Nicole saw him too; and when their eyes met, he couldn't believe what's in hers. The unspoken words sounded shocking; she looked at him so intently that he's sure she wants him to know what she's up to.
No! He yelled inside.
Screw you, Joe.
By the time she looked away, he's positive she was up to what he thinks she's up to.
Oh damn! Don't leave, please.
Abby didn't look or smile at anyone which is not something odd about her normal behaviour. She just pushed Nicole out to the parking lot where her car was waiting.