Chapter Twelve:
bring the pain S2 : E6
Three days later Nadine woke up to Liam wrapping his arms around her hips and rolling her ontop of him, the woman giggling as she pressed a kiss into his lips. Cara was at her grandparents being babysat so Nadine and Liam could enjoy their day off together, in bed.
"Nay, will you do me the honour of brightening my life in being my girlfriend." He asked as Nadine nodded her head, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him, working her way down his body to his abdomen, and then back up to his lips.
Hours of fooling around later, she fell asleep in his arms as he watched soccer on the television, pressing occasional kisses to her cheeks and forehead. After the match, he decided to scroll through the recordings, finding most of the disney films and harry potters recorded. He pressed play on beauty and the beast and curled up besides his girlfriend, his arm under her head.
The t.v blared in the background as he curled up besides his girlfriend, arms wrapped around her. After a while he fell asleep besides her, the day rolling past as the two slept side by side.
Nadine woke up to her alarm sounding at four in the morning as the two jumped out of bed and into the shower, more time efficient and endorphin releasing. The two showered and kissed, making out in the warm water giggling.
In fifteen minutes they were in the car driving to work. Nadine and Liam grabbed coffee and walked into the hospital together, hand in hand.
Liam headed to check on his patients as Nadine raced to the intern locker, room, red in the face and smiling. "Where's your boytoy?" Cristina asked snidely as Nadine rolled her eyes, pulling on her scrubs.
Izzie and George were on either side of Nadine as they walked out with Alex behind them, waiting for Bailey.
The interns and resident walked into a patient room where the overwhelming noise of moaning and laughing came from the t.v. Cristina presented the patient. "Allergic to all pain medication." Nadine heard as she zoned back in.
"As in porn, porn?" Bailey asked unimpression evident in her tone and on her features. "This is a hospital."
Alex had a smirk on his face as he watched the t.v "Karev, hall." George was also caught staring as Nadine shook her head at the two. "George, hall." Bailey ordered, the two men walking out of the room.
Izzie was asking what it was as Nadine was back in from the conversation. Meredith and Cristina were talking among theirselves about the position and the comfortableness of it, resulting in all three of the interns sent in the hall.
Nadine was the last one standing. "Get in the hall." Bailey snapped as Alex peeked his head through the door.
The two left the room and stood at the nurses station. "Nadine, Alex and George, you three are in the pit today, behave for the love of God. Izzie cardiac patient, Yang keep an eye on the Lammots." The three interns headed to the emergency room, a GSW rolling in.
"Mine." Nadine called as she rushed over. "What have we got?" She asked, the e.r resident running her down on the patient.
Nadine took Pete into a trauma bay as the two boys bickered back and forth. "We have got police watching us so grow up!" She snapped, pushing morphine for the pain. "Page Burke, tell him I'm bringing up a GSW." The blonde ordered as Alex and George followed her.
"We!" Alex shouted, Nadine rolling her eyes for the hundredth time at the pair of boys.
The three pushed the gurney holding Pete down the corridors towards the elevators. "You got shot in the line of duty?" Alex asked as Pete nodded, coughing slightly.
"First month of the job, can you believe my luck? Guy pulls a gun and I freeze up, the rookie lets himself get shot. I'm never gonna live this down." Nadine reached a hand down and squeezed his slightly.
Alex held the elevator open as Nadine and George manouvered the gurney into the lift, the doors sliding shut in front of them. "What's the deal with Izzie?" He asked as Nadine huffed out a laugh.
George rolled his eyes, the bags housing them now noticeable to his twin sister. "She shaved her legs for you and you didn't even kiss her goodnight. Her and Meredith kept me up all night." Pete piped up, shaking his head at him.
Nadine found the cluelessness of Alex hilarious as she laughed at his confusion. "She shaved her legs for you and you didn't follow through?" Pete questioned, shaking his head at Alex.
The blonde was zoned out again, something felt off but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. Her head was rested against the metal wall of the elevator, her thumb picking at the skin on her fingers.
All of a sudden the elevator jolted as Nadine grabbed onto the gurney to keep it in one place. The lights shut off as Nadine felt George's hand squeeze her upper arm.
Emergency lights flickered on as Nadine looked around them. Alex was trying to prise the doors open to no avail as Nadine felt the walls getting closer.
Now was not a good time for her claustrophobia to flare up, she told herself as she took a deep breath and one of the prescription anxiety medications she keeps in her pocket.
Pete sighed as Nadine looked at his vitals. "His pressure is falling, there's more blood in the pleurovac." She listed, her hand shaking slightly.
Fifteen minutes later and Nadine was holding Pete's hand as he squeezed hers tightly. "It's going to be okay Pete. I've got you, I won't let anything happen." She held eye contact and nodded, Pete smiling slightly as his skin paled further.
"What did you three do!?" Bailey exclaimed as her head popped through the window in the door. Nadine looked obviously uncomfortable as Bailey surveilanced the scene in the elevator.
Nadine shook her head. "Nothing. We didn't do anything!" She snapped, slightly, shocking those around her from breaking her normal kind character. "Sorry Doctor Bailey, I don't do well in small spaces. Can you please try and get us out of here soon?" She begged, raising a hand to her forehead and taking a deep breath.
"Pete's not looking so good." George told Preston Burke as everyone looked in on the interns.
Twenty minutes later and Nadine was trying to keep Pete on the gurney. "Pete I need you to stay still." She stated, squeezing his hand as he pushed her backwards. Alex's eyes flashed to her in concern, Nadine sighing and shaking her head. "I'm fine."
The three interns got Pete calmed down as they heard a commotion. "Nadine?" Liam shouted as he dropped down near the hole. "You okay? Do you have your anxiety medication?" He questioned as she nodded, a smile on her face.
"I'm fine. We've got this, just get us out of here." He nodded as he too tried to prise the doors open. "His blood pressure isn't reading, he's too agitated." Nadine told Bailey and Burke, her eye on the monitors. "His pulse is thready but still there." She told her bosses, their eyes burning on her neck.
Burke, Alex and George were bickering back and forth as Burke disappeared. "Intubate him." Nadine and George worked on Pete, inserting the tube as Alex listened for breath sounds.
"You're in." He sighed as Nadine breathed a sigh of relief, Burke arriving back within ten minutes, an instrument tray in his hands.
George was bagging Pete as Alex and Nadine looked up at the sound of Burke's voice and started prepping for surgery. "This isn't going to be too sterile, but we can still try." He told them, his voice steady and void of fear, Nadine's heart hammered in her chest.
Alex looked slightly pale as Burke laid on his stomach outside the elevator. "Take these." He stated, handing the instruments to Karev, well, attempting to. "Karev." Burke warned as Nadine stared at him.
"George help me, Alex ventilate Pete." Nadine ordered. "I've got this, what do I do?" She asked, her voice calm and steady.
Burke's voice was the only noise Nadine was able to focus on. "Make a large anterrolateral midaxillary incision in the fifth intercostal space." Nadine followed his instructions, Nadine using her fingers to count the spaces. "As long as possible to get two hands in there. Long and deep, use the scissors if you have to."
Nadine used the scissors to lengthen and widen the incision. "Be sure not to cut into the lungs and heart." He told his intern, her head snapping up in fear as George held her eyes in his, nodding.
"H-how?" She asked, her voice stuttering slightly.
Burke stared into the elevator. "You just have to be sure." Nadine nodded her head and continued with the procedure, George helping her every step of the way.
"I didn't cut the heart or lungs." Nadine breathed slightly, a smile on her and her brother's faces.
George looked up at Burke who was nodding with a slight smile on his face. "Good, good. Check for injuries and do a pericardiotomy." George looked at Nadine, holding contact with her eyes, sensing messages of encouragement.
"I need lap pads, forceps, met-metzebaums and st-statinsky clamps." She stated, Burke handing the object in question to George, a smile on both of their faces.
Five minutes later and George was giving a run down to Burke so his sister could focus. "She's just removed a small clot from the pericardium." Bambi smiled, his eyes resting on his sister, pride shining in them.
"Cross clamp the aorta. Stick your hand in and bluntly dissect down until you feel two tube like structures." Burke told the interns as George assisted his sister in doing so.
Nadine slid her hand in as her hand shook slightly. "I can't, George, you do it. I can't risk my hand." George nodded as they quickly switched positions.
"I feel one tube that is easily collapsible and the other more muscular and spongy. I can feel the spine just underneath it. I'm touching the aorta." George stated, stunned as Nadine took deep breaths and waited for her hand to steady.
Nadine zoned out again as her hand shook more vigorously and violently. "I have to plug the hole with my finger?" George questioned as she was pulled back into reality.
"Georgie, hey. You've got this, you can do this." She smiled at him as he nodded.
"O'Malley." Burke questioned, both staring up at him, with looks of 'which one' plastered. "Both. You two just flew solo, well done." The O'Malley twins wore identical grins of joy as they parted ways, George following Burke as Nadine went to the closest on call room.
She sat herself on the bed with her back against the wall and took deep breaths, the adrenalin was running out as the fear of everything kicked in.
Her heart hammered in her chest as tears escaped, the entire procedure she was convinced that she was going to kill him, make a mistake and end his life and she was confused as to why he was still alive.
The door opened as Liam crouched in front of her. "You did it. You're out. He's alive. You and George saved his life." She nodded as he squeezed her hands. "Shifts over." He told her as her heart rate and breathing normalized.
He held her hand as they walked to the locker room, Nadine taking off her scrubs and pulling on her leggings, t-shirt and hoodie. "Joe's?" Liam asked as she shook her head, resting hers on his shoulder, a kiss pressed to her cheek as they drove to her parents, picking up a sleeping Cara and heading back to the apartment.