CHAPTER 13

I hope you're all still with me!
Thank you for the reviews, they give me a push in certain directions

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Romano and Elizabeth were scrubbing in for surgery.

"So which one is it?"
"Excuse me?" asked a focused Elizabeth
"The ER nurse"
"Her NAME is Abby"
Romano furrowed his brow as he continued to wash his hands, looking up into space.
"Abby.....Abby, Abby.."
He couldn't put a face to the name.
"Damn" he stated as they walked into theatre
"What?" asked Elizabeth, annoyed at how lightly he was taking the situation.
Romano shrugged, gesturing at Abby on the table
"...it's the cute one" he explained matter-of-factly.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes as they got to work.

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Susan sat on her own outside Theatre 2, feeling that she should stay, at least until Carter got here.

Poor Carter.
Poor ABBY.
This is such a mess.
I hope she makes it.
She'll be alright.
I don't know how, but she will.
She has to be.
Why isn't he here yet?!

"Susan!"
Susan looked up to see John running down the corridor towards her.
"Oh, thank God"
Her face melted into one of relief, then sadness as she took a look at him.  He looked like a man who was losing everything, and desperately trying to
cling on to it for his life.
"Did you hear anything" he whispered, bent double, trying to catch his breath.
"No, she just went under .... Oh, Carter ... I'm so sorry..."
He sat himself down beside her and put his head in his hands, Susan placing a hand on his back. He sprang up suddenly. He'd obviously been crying, but he wasn't now. Susan recognized he'd gone into "doctor mode".
"Do you know how it happened?"
Susan remembered she did, the paramedic told her .... only she hadn't been listening all that well.
"I..err...yeah - the paramedic said she got hit from the side... and it pushed her into oncoming traffic. She got hit head-on."
He just sat taking all this in.
"and to think we'd just call that an MVA"
Susan started, and then stopped, gathering her thoughts.
"If you need anything ... I mean if I can do anything"
John looked at his friend and managed a smile that didn't stretch as far as his eyes.
"I'm glad you're here" he said putting an arm around her. "And there is something you could do..."
"What?"
"Mom went to get coffee..." Carter looked at his watch "...... fifteen minutes ago"
"She's lost" stated Susan dryly.  "I'll go find her"

As Susan got up Carter sat and waited.
He couldn't do anything else.
His mind turned back to Abby's message.
She was coming back to him.

I don't believe this is happening to us.

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Romano and Elizabeth were struggling to stop all the bleeding from the spleen. Romano finished yet another stitch and then stepped back. They both
sighed irritably when blood seeped out from yet another unseen vessel.
"Suction." Elizabeth was getting more and more concerned for Abby.
"We don't have time for this" sang Romano
"BP's dropping"
"Squeeze in more blood" instructed Elizabeth trying to keep calm
"We only have 2 litres"
"Then get MORE!" she shouted.
"It comes out here as fast as we squeeze it in"
"Patience Lizzy, patience"
Romano tied off the offending blood vessel, and they stood back once again.
And they waited.
And nothing happened.
"Did I ever say what an excellent surgeon I was"
Elizabeth looked up with a mixture of shock and relief on her face, looking back down.
"I - I don't believe it"
"Yeah, well you and me both. Now lets close her up before our luck runs out"
Elizabeth nodded.
This was more than she'd hoped for.
"Page Neuro-surg, tell them we're nearly done."
"Lets just hope they have as much luck as us Elizabeth"
Elizabeth looked at Abby's face, the purple bruise on her head.

She hoped there was still enough time.

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END OF CHAPTER 13

please keep the reviews coming.
I want to make the story as good as possible.
It's getting quite long now!