The last 24 hours...

The Rush

"Alice Strachan, 24 years old. Collapsed and sustained an open head injury. Possible fractured elbow. GCS 10, Pulse 130." Jacob yelled through the ED wheeling Alice who was unconscious towards Resus. Doctors ran over to assist and patients began to stare and watch in a gaze as the trolley raced through across the floor past them. Doors swung open and Alice was plugged up to the machines and a drip which beeped simultaneously. 

"We are in synus rhythm." A nurse recalled jotting notes down in Alice's file. Connie, who had been following Alice's trolley, exhaled in relief. 

"Can we get an X-Ray on this elbow and a CT scan please. Lets also get some bloods" Connie said butting in to examine Alice. Her elbow poked out from her hoodie, like a jigsaw piece which had been misplaced with another, not part of Alice's body. Connie, rolled up the sleeve carefully to reveal a bruise that was beginning to stir under the skin. The elbow joint seeped through her thin skin. Must have been hit on the impact on the fall.

"Mrs Beauchamp." A nurse said with concern looking at the monitor, Alice's heart rate had reached rocket speed. In the time that it took for Connie to turn back around, Alice's body began to rumble and shake. Her legs waving rapidly and her mouth foaming. 

"Okay she's fitting." One of the other consultants said, changing Alice's drip. Within a few seconds her heart rate began to steady and her body regained to still. The doctors and nurses exchanged glances, confused. Connie could have sworn that Alice was fine. Absolutely fine. 

While the team waited for blood results to come through, Alice was rushed off for a scan, which had come back clear to much of the doctor's amazement. Alice returned from CT, a nurse stitched the gouge on her forehead and treat the grazes on her jawline and chin. 

"What do you think caused this?" Jacob asked Connie as they left Resus together leaving Alice with the nurses. 

"I honestly don't know Jacob. She was absolutely fine last night." Connie answered frustratedly her head in her hands. Jacob pulled her into a hug allowing her head to rest on his strong chest hearing his heartbeat which helped to retain the tears in Connie's eyes. "She's a smart girl, she isn't the sort to get herself into this mess normally." she pulled away.

"That is why we have to get to the bottom of this." Jacob smiled at Connie with his hands on her shoulders, he pulled her in for a quick kiss before going back to check on Alice. The kiss gave Connie a little flame of hope ignite in her belly which drove her forward and gave her a rush to dig deeper into Alice's case. 

Connie read the notes carefully at her desk, jotting ideas on a scrap piece of paper from Alice's file. Assumptions and ideas where dispersed in Connie's head who was desperately trying to come to a conclusion as what had happened. Jacob happened to pass the office.

"Jacob!" Connie called out, leaning from her chair, he turned and entered the office closing the door behind him. 

"Yes sweetcheeks." 

"You don't remember anything being left in the bathroom where we found Alice do you?"

"I don't know. We could go and check. What made you think?"

"Something isn't quite adding up." She responded, glancing at her notes as she rose from her chair and paced out of her office assuming Jacob would follow. Connie's heels reverberated across the floor tiles and dispersed down the corridor towards the bathroom. The bathroom had been left unavailable since they had found Alice so all was as it was. Connie inspected the cubicles finding a syringe on the floor.

"Jacob?" Connie said with a tremble in her voice as she grasped the syringe. Connie spotted the purple camo print bag in the corner next to a sink where the worktop had been splattered with blood. Jacob picked up the bag and found a passport in the front pocket. He opened the passport to see Alice's passport photo staring back at him. Connie peered over his shoulder and sighed heavily. Jacob tucked the passport back into the pocket and zipped it up. The two of them left the bathroom and entered Connie's office, closing the door. The contents of Alice's bag was tipped up and searched. Empty packets of sweets, DVDs, a reading book, another syringe, her purse fell out onto the floor. Connie spread them out and arranged them in an orderly fashion trying to make some sense of it all. 

"Is that everything in the bag?" Connie asked. Jacob looked at the floor with the items layed out in front of him. "Well?" Connie asked sharply. Jacob double checked the front pocket, the drink holders and then the inside pocket where he found a smaller purse. Connie snatched the purse from Jacob's hands and opened it. Small packets of different variations of powder were inside, some used and empty. The sight of this made Connie gasp and drop the purse. Alarmed she stared at the small packets and up at Jacob then back down at the packets.

"This isn't possible." Connie spoke quickly, trying to control her breathing. 

"Connie. She's going to be okay." Jacob said as they both stood up "We can get these tested and see exactly what Alice has taken and then we can go from there," he said taking Connie's hand who swatted her hand away from his touch. 

"I know." Connie said, picking up the packets and the syringes and a needle "I honestly thought she was better than this." 

Jacob put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, supportively. Connie shrugged him away and walked towards the door. He took the syringes, small packets and the needle and headed towards the Lab leaving Connie in her office, alone. 

The door allowed a tiny chink of sound and light from the ED pass into her office. Her office: her safe place, it was where she spent a lot of her time, her bubble. Nothing could harm her in her office, she could forget about Sam and Alice for a nanosecond before somebody burst in and interrupted the peace. It was one of the Nurses on Alice's case.

"I have her blood results back." she said, Connie never had much to do with this young girl, Louise her name tag read.

Connie could have sworn that she stopped breathing for a moment, her palm began to wobble as she took the piece of paper from Louise who stood by the door respectfully before smiling and leaving. 

Jacob entered the office and paused when he saw Connie reading the results.

"Connie?"