Invisible String

Chapter 2: The Very First Page

"Charge it to 200." He demanded.

"Charged."

"Clear!"

Elizabeth took her hands off and a step back from the patient's bed. Mr. Beckett's body jumped from the shock.

"Still in v-fib." Dr. Rhodes looked at her, and she restarted the chest compressions while he asked the nurse to up the charge for 300. "Clear!"

Another shock. A tense moment, and the rhythm on the monitors changed.

"Normal rhythm." the nurse said.

Elizabeth exhaled, suddenly relieved. A few strands of hair had fallen off the ponytail she was wearing.

If she wanted more, more adventure, more anything, in coming back to Chicago and to Med, she definitely got it.

🦷

Half an hour later, after reporting what happened at least a dozen times, she was getting her much deserved snack.

Taking a sip of her iced coffee, her stomach growled when it finally got something other than water. Elizabeth opened her book, using the much needed break to also study some more.

Three pages later, someone's hand reached for her bag of potato chips, taking a few. Her eyes went from the images of cysts and tumors to see Will pulling up a chair.

"Hey. I heard that you had a hell of a first day." her brother said, sitting in front of her.

"So you heard?"

Will smiled. "You will see that nothing stays hidden around here."

"Great." She chuckled.

"How's looking for a roommate doing?"

"I've been looking on the hospital page, but nothing yet." she replied. Sharing a place just seemed like her best option at the moment. Renting a place on her own would be fairly complicated, and there was not much left from the little money she had saved.

"If you need, you know you're more than welcome to stay with me."

"I know, but I don't think your girlfriend would like that." Elizabeth said, closing her book. Her arms were still sore from what happened earlier, she wondered how ED doctors could do that several times a day.

"No, no. Nina is great, you're going to love her."

She didn't know what more to say. Jay had offered the same thing, but she didn't want to just pop into their lives like that. Also, as great as Nina and Erin could be, having your boyfriend's little sister living with you isn't exactly something that anyone would want."Thanks, Will."

"So..." He started again, and she could tell he was trying to say something he knew she wouldn't like. "I spoke to dad."

"Hmm, good for you?" she tried, putting a few chips into her mouth. She didn't mean to get so defensive, but it wasn't like she and her father were on good terms.

"I told him you're back in town."

She stopped chewing and looked at him.

"Will..."

"Just listen."

Elizabeth sighed. She should have known this was coming.

"Will, the last time we saw each other, he was yelling for me to get out of his house."

"I know, Liz. But listen, he's not so bad. You know that he just never got over mom's death."

Neither did Elizabeth, or Jay, or Will. But they didn't make that an excuse for treating each other horribly. When she stayed silent, Will took it as a good sign to keep talking.

"I think we should try one more time."

"And I think that's a terrible idea." She rolled her eyes.

"One dinner, Liz. And if he raises his voice or tells you anything about your choices, I'll drive you home myself."

"You don't even have a car, Will."

"Not the point, Liz."

She sighed again. Will was ridiculously stubborn, especially with family. He was the one who never let go of their dad, insisting that family is family, no matter what happens.

Whenever they had that discussion, he would always say "We have to be a family. It's what Mom would've wanted." And even if she didn't want to, she would have to agree with him. To their mother, nothing mattered more than family.

"One dinner. And you'll get that chocolate pie from that place that I like."

"Done." Her brother got up from her chair and hugged her, kissing her hair. His pager started to ring, and he looked at her as if he didn't know what to do now.

"Go, we'll talk more about this later. I promise." She reassured her brother. He took a few more chips and left the cafeteria.

She had barely gotten back to her book when a tray of food was slid across the table and someone sat right in front of her, where Will was just a few minutes ago.

"I heard you are looking for a roommate."