trauma [m.s]

xxxvi.

- - -
the first 24 hours after surgery are critical. every breath you take, every fluid you make is meticulously recorded and analyzed. celebrated or mourned. but what about the next 24 hours?
- - -

"two minutes out," owen announces as chloe arrives on the ambulance bay where he is already stood waiting, snapping on a pair of latex gloves.

once she's moved to his side, both their heads turn to look at one another and they share awkwardly forced smiles as they stand there in an uncomfortable silence.

"so, uh..." owen turns back to her after several moments have passed.

"owen..." chloe lightly shakes her head, cutting him off. "we don't have to do this- awkward small talk or whatever."

"chloe..." owen says softly, his eyes meeting hers, but fortunately for chloe the sound of ambulance sirens drawing near, snap her head away.

pulling her hair back off her face and using a black scrunchie to secure it into a ponytail, chloe jogs forward, towards the first ambulance, just as nicole steps out from the passenger side.

"trina paiz, 27, stable. only complaint is a lacerated ear," nicole presents, meeting the surgeons at the back of the ambulance where they had already pulled open the doors, and begun lowering her gurney to the ground. "pretty amazing considering she fell 100 feet into a ravine. apparently her husband broke her fall."

the doctors slowly begin to wheel trina's gurney towards the hospital when ray the paramedic steps out of the second ambulance.

"jason paiz, 27-" ray begins to present, but he is cut off by trina.

"jason!" trina yells over from her gurney.

"i'll take her to trauma two," chloe assures and owen nods, stepping away from the gurney to allow chloe and nicole to proceed inside the e.r.

"is he okay?" trina's voice is barely above a whisper as owen makes his way over to ray. "please. he has to be okay. he has to be okay."

- - -
what happens when that first day turns to two and weeks turn into months? what happens when the immediate danger has passed, when the machines are disconnected and the teams of doctors and nurses are gone?
- - -

"okay, trina, do you know where you are?" chloe asks the young girl once the two of them are inside the trauma room, and nicole has left.

"a hospital i- in seattle," trina tells her, her eyes are glossy with tears. "i... i don't know the name. i'm not from here. i'm here on my honeymoon," she explains before her tears begin slowly running down her flushed cheeks. "my god, my husband..."

"dr. hunt is excellent, so he's in good hands," chloe attempts to reassure her despite the fact it killed her inside to pay owen a compliment. "do you remember what happened?"

"we were hiking up this mountain, and we wanted a picture, so we handed our camera to some guy," trina informs her. "and... we posed... we kissed. no, we were kissing, and then..." she sniffles. "the next thing i know i'm looking up at the sky, and then we're on the ground or... jason's on the ground, and i'm on top of him, and..." she attempts to swallow back her tears, sniffling once more. "please tell me he's not gonna die. he can't die."