"ER"
"A Walk Through The Woods"
Author’s Note

This would be part two of the story started in "Darkest Hour". As that story ended, Doug was lying in ICU, battling injuries received in a car wreck that very few details about are known and a man has been left dead. This story would pick up immediately after and continue with the next happenings of his recovery.

The characters in this story are not mine and no money is made by me for the use of them in this story.

Robin

Carol:

It had been a long time since I had sat up all night in a chair keeping a watch on a patient, but when I opened my eyes, Kristen had given me a pillow and a blanket to make me a little more comfortable. The chair reclined and I had my feet up. The first thing I heard when I got completely at myself was the irregular pattern of Doug’s heart monitor. I got up and leaned over him. I thought he was sleeping, but the instant I touched his arm, his eyes fluttered open and he peered sheepishly up at me.

"Hi" I smiled down at him. "How are you feeling this morning?"

He didn’t answer me. He just closed his eyes and rolled his head away. I knew that the only way Doug could withdraw was if someone let him...and I wasn’t about to let him. I continued to talk to him as though he were responding to everything I said.

"I’ll get you some breakfast...some nice, easy, oatmeal, OK? With just a touch of milk and maybe even a little brown sugar sprinkled on top, OK?" I looked over a the bed to see Doug was staring at the wall across from him, just blinking her eyes. I walked over and got down at eye level with him. "Are you in there?" I asked him in a coy voice. I was trying anything to get any kind of reaction from him that I could but he wasn’t biting. "OK, Doug, I’m going to go get your breakfast now"

I got on the elevator and headed for the cafeteria, but, in route to there, I went through the ER first. It was fairly quiet down there even for early morning.

"Has anybody seen Mark Greene this morning?" I asked from the desk, rubbing my neck, and sifting through the basket to see what had happened since I’d been out.

"He’s not due in until nine" Kerry Weaver told me from her perch at the chart hanger. "Sounds like I missed all the action yesterday!" she chuckled lightly.

"How is that?" I looked over at her curiously.

"Well, when I came in this morning, I heard Doug Ross was driving drunk last night and killed somebody. I guess most of us knew that was going to happen sooner or later, huh?" she smiled lightly and shook her head.

"That’s NOT how it happened" I gave her a cold look. "From what I understand the other driver, the one that’s DEAD, was at fault in the accident. Not Doug"

"Now, just where did this protective side of yours come from all the sudden?" Kerry was taken aback by my reaction.

"Before you start spreading vicious gossip around this hospital, Kerry, maybe you better check and get all the facts straight first!"

With that, I stormed away without giving her a chance to retaliate. I passed Lydia on my way back to the elevator and I stopped briefly with her in the hall.

"Lydia, could you tell Mark Greene I need to see him when he comes in, please? It’s important"

"Is it about Doug Ross?"

"No, it’s about me"

"Oh? OK" Lydia nodded with a confused look on her face. "Sure"

I got on the elevator and punched the button for the cafeteria, shaking my head as I went. I got a nice, hot bowl of oatmeal and pleaded with the cook to give me some brown sugar for it, telling her it was for a special patient...a doctor on the staff...and she finally gave in. I got a half pint of milk which would be more than enough for Doug and got back on the elevator to go back to Doug’s room. The door to his room had a red card inserted in the plastic holder on the door, which indicated he was on constant watch and his doctor, being Mark, was to be alerted at the first sign of any changes in his condition. I pushed open the door and starting preparing his oatmeal on the table by his bed. I could feel his eyes watching me but I didn’t let on. I just poured a touch of milk over the oatmeal and sprinkled the top of it lightly with brown sugar and pushed the table across his bed.

"OK, can you sit up?" he gave me a reluctant look. "OK, maybe it’s better if you don’t try right now. I’ll help you, OK?"

I reached my hand behind his bed to support him and scooped up a small spoonful of oatmeal with my other hand, bringing the spoon to his mouth slowly. To my surprise, he opened his mouth and let me spoon the cereal in for him. He dribbled some of it down his chin, but he did manage to get a taste of it, at least. But, the instant he swallowed it and it hit his stomach, he began to gag. I grabbed a basin and put it under his mouth quickly and he vomited the one lone bite of cereal back out quickly. The look on his face was one of disappointed and he peered up at me with a hurt expression.

"I’m sorry" he mumbled.

"It’s not your fault" I assured him, stroking his hair for comfort. "I’m the one who’s sorry. I guess it’s just too soon for you to try and eat yet. I just wanted you to try"

"I wanted it" he assured me.

"It’s OK. You can try again later, OK?"

"OK"

"Feel better now?"

"Yeah?" he nodded and slid his head into his pillow, closing his eyes in obvious pain.

"What hurts, Doug?"

"Everything" he groaned. "I just hurt all over"

"Yeah, you’re pretty stoved up, but you’ll start healing fast"

"What am I gonna do, Carol? I’m out of here in less than a month...and there’s no way I’m going to able to look for a job now!"

"Don’t worry about things like that right now, Doug. Just concentrate on getting better and nothing else right now, OK?"

"I’ll try" he nodded. "Won’t be easy"

"Everything will work out OK, Doug" I smiled at him. "You just have to believe that"

"Yeah" he nodded. Then he closed his eyes again and rolled his head deep into his pillow.

"I’m gonna let you get some rest, OK? I have to find Mark and talk to him..."

"About me?" he opened his eyes quickly with a frightened look.

"No...about me" I smiled at him. "I’m sure Mark will be up to see you soon"

I left his room and stopped by the desk to leave instructions to call either me or Mark Greene if Doug needed anything at all and I returned to the ER to wait...

I tried not to listen to the buzzings going on about Doug and his accident. I tried not to listen to the buzzings about Neil Bernstien dismissing him from his staff at the end of his current Fellowship. I tried to just work and watch the door for Mark...

Mark came through the ER a few minutes after nine and I promised myself I wouldn’t pounce on him right away, but, I couldn’t help it.

"I need to talk to you" I told him quietly. "And it’s kind of important"

"Is it about Doug?"

"No, it’s about me"

"OK, let’s go in the lounge then" he motioned me with him and I followed him in. "What’s up?"

"I want to know if I can put in a transfer to stay upstairs with Doug until he’s better"

"I think we have sufficient nurses up there to take care of him, don’t we?" Mark chuckled.

"It’s not a matter of sufficient nurses. It’s a matter of taking care of Doug. He’s hurt, and you know he’s seriously hurt. And it’s not all physical, he’s got a lot of mental energy floating around in his head, too. He’s got nothing to do right not but think about everything that’s wrong. And Doug can be a handful when he’s sick or hurt. You have to know how to handle him and I know none of the nurses up there do. But, I do. It’s the only way he’s going to get better"

"This is something you want to do?"

"Yeah" I nodded. "Think about it, Mark...he’s all alone up there. He’s got nobody in his corner to care what happens to him. And if nobody else cares it won’t take long before he doesn’t care, either. He may cause a lot of trouble, but he’s not a bad person. He just needs some extra help right now. And, I can help him if I can be with him all the time"

"So, you want to work in ICU until he’s transferred out of there and then you want to work where? In rehab?"

"I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. One step at a time, OK? How long do you figure he’s going to be in ICU?"

"I don’t know. I haven’t seen him yet this morning..."

"He’s complaining of a lot of pain, pain just all over, and he threw up the only bite of oatmeal he managed to try"

"Well, unless he shows MASS improvement, I see him being on critical watch for the next couple of days at least. Then I’ll move him into a step down but I think he’s looking at a good 10 days to 2 weeks in ICU alone..."

"I was figuring he’s going to be in the hospital a long time..."

"I can’t release him until he starts rehab and he can’t do that until the cast comes off. I’m guessing no less than 3 or 4 months at least if not a full 6 months"

"He’s going to need a lot of help through that kind of time, Mark. I know Doug. And I know he can be a real problem child. And he’s not in the best frame of mind right now anyway. He needs someone who can make him do the things he needs to do without getting aggravated at him"

"OK...I’ll talk to Morganstern. If he OKs it, I will approve a 2 weeks transfer to ICU...will that work for you for now?"

"Thanks, Mark" I nodded. "I really appreciate it"

"You know, Carol, Doug’s got a long, hard haul in front of him. He’s going to need a lot of help. I think this is a good thing you want to do"

"Yeah" I nodded. and then I slipped quietly away.

Sometime later that morning, Mark stopped by the desk and leaned close to me.

"You want to come upstairs with me a few minutes?" he asked me quietly.

"Sure" I nodded. "Hey, Lydia, cover for me, OK? I have to go upstairs with Dr. Greene"

"Sure" Lydia nodded, even though she seemed confused. It seemed like every eye in the ER was on me as I walked quickly away with Mark.

"Morganstern says it’s OK if you transfer up to ICU for 2 weeks" Mark told me lowly. "He thinks it’s admirable that you even want to try and help Doug"

"OK, I’ll get everything arranged and be up there this afternoon. Thanks, Mark...how long do you think it will take the paperwork to go through?"

"A day or so even with a rush...you should be up there by the time I can move him to a step down unit"

"OK...that’s fine"

"I have to talk to Doug about something serious" Mark cleared his throat. "I got a call from the police this morning...they’re sending someone over to question him and I’m going to allow it, but, I don’t want him badgered. Can you kind of be in there with him when they come? Make sure they don’t harass him or anything?"

"Sure, I can handle it"

"OK, and the other thing is that the arrhythmia isn’t subsiding like I hoped it would. I’m going to give him some medication for it but I want him to understand that if this doesn’t work, I may have to talk to him about a pacemaker"

"A pacemaker?" I made a face. "Are you serious?"

"I hope we can avoid it, but, I want him to be aware of it anyway"

We went into Doug’s room and he was lying back with his eyes closed. His face, however, revealed that the pain he had previously complained about was still with him.

"Hey, Doug" Mark spoke softly so as not to startle him. "How are you feeling?"

"I don’t know, Mark....you’re the doctor. How am I feeling?"

"I heard you didn’t do too well with breakfast?" Doug shook his head. "Well, just keep trying, OK?"

"Yeah" he nodded.

"I’m a little concerned about this arrhythmia that we can’t seem to get under control. I’m going to give you some medicine to try and bring it back to normal. If I can’t do that, then I’m going to set you up for a pacemaker..."

"A pacemaker?" Doug seemed so stunned.

"I’m going to give it some time to try and avoid that, but, I wanted you to do know that it IS a possibility. OK?"

"Do I have a choice?" he grunted. Mark gave him a weak smile.

"A got a call from the police this morning...they want to come by this afternoon and ask you some questions about the accident...are you up to answering their questions?"

"I think so"

"OK, Carol agreed to be in here when they talk to you just to make sure they don’t badger you or anything. I want you to do the best you can but don’t let them get you shook up or anything. Do you have any idea what really did happen out there, Doug?"

"I think so" he nodded. "But, I can only tell them what I know"

"Well, you do the best you can and if you’re not up to it when they come just tell Carol and she’ll tell them to come back later"

"No, I want to get this over with and out of the way so I can quit worrying about it...I’ll do it today...it’s OK"

"Doug, you know, you’re looking at a long recovery, don’t you?"

"Yeah" he nodded slowly and bit it his lip. "How long you figure I’m gonna be in here?"

"Well, you’ll be in this room another day at least. If things go well after that I’ll move you to step down but you’ll still be in ICU. I figure about 10 days to 2 weeks in ICU alone. I guessing a good three months in the hospital at least"

"Yeah" Doug sighed. "That’s about what I figured, too"

"I don’t want you worrying about things like that right now, OK? I want you to just work on getting better and take everything one step at a time" Doug nodded shortly with his eyes fixed wearily on Mark. "It’s not going to be easy...and you’re going to have to lean on a lot of people. And leaning is not something you do well" the both chuckled. I had to smile. "But, just let us help you, Doug and we’ll get you through this"

"OK" he nodded with a sigh.

Mark and I left him there, looking forlorn and dejected. As long as he felt as bad as he did right now he wouldn’t be a problem. But, I knew once he started feeling better, he was going to be a real test to some of the nurses up there. Fortunately, I knew my transfer order would go through before he was to that point.

I was working at the desk in the ER when a very polite man in a suit stopped and spoke quietly to me.

"Excuse me, where might I find Dr. Greene?"

"He’s in a meeting right now...can someone else help you?" I looked up at him with a smile.

"I’m James Adams from the Chicago Police Department" he showed me a badge. "I spoke to him this morning about questioning a Dr. Douglas Ross about an accident on Cartland Way yesterday evening?"

"Oh, yes! He mentioned that to me! I’m Carol Hathaway and I can take you up to talk to Dr. Ross"

"That’ll be fine. Thank you"

I led him down the hall and stood nervously with him in the elevator as we went up to ICU. He seemed nice enough. It was just the idea that he was a cop and Doug might have done something wrong made me nervous. The thought of Doug handcuffed to his bed for the duration of his hospital stay just didn’t appeal to me. I took him into Doug’s room and Doug was awake , watching the door, when we went in.

"Doug, this is Officer Adams. He wants to talk to you about the accident, OK? Do you feel up to it?"

"Yeah, I’m fine"

"Dr. Ross, I just want to get a good understanding of what happened out there. You’re probably the only person who can give us much of a clue. I’ve investigated the scene and I just need a statement from you. Can you tell me what happened out there?"

"I can only tell you what I know" Doug gave him a sheepish look.

"OK, just start at the beginning" he took out a notebook to take down Doug’s statement.

"I left the hospital and went to Vinnie’s Pub around the corner..."

"Do you know what time you left the hospital?"

"Yeah, it was about 4:15"

"OK, go on..."

"I had a few rounds and I left the pub..."

"Do you know what time you left the pub?"

"Around 6 o’clock"

"Can anyone verify that?"

"Jimmy, the bartender"

"OK, continue"

"I was driving home and started feeling sleepy so I pulled off onto the emergency stopping area and turned the car off for a minute. I pulled the emergency brake and leaned my head back just for a minute. The next thing I knew, the dashboard was pressed up against me, the steering wheel was in my lap, and there was a dead guy where the front end of my car should have been"

"So, you didn’t exactly ‘see’ the accident, either?"

"No, sir" Doug shook his head.

"Has anyone from an insurance company gotten in touch with you?"

"No, not yet"

"Well, you have insurance, right? In case the other driver didn’t?"

"I have good coverage, yes" Doug nodded. "But, I doubt it’s going to take care of all this without some kind of help"

"I’ll check at the office and see if I can turn up some insurance information on the deceased. If I can, I’ll call the hospital and leave it for you"

"Thanks"

"Thank you for your time, Dr. Ross" he closed his notebook and smiled as he pocketed his pen. "I appreciate it. And I wish you a speedy recovery"

"Thank you" Doug nodded and let his head sink back into the pillow, almost relieved that this was over.

"Is that all you need?" I asked the officer as we walked out together.

"Everything fits. The skid marks started about a mile and a half up the road before the impact..." he shook his head as we waited for the elevator. "I guess the only reason he survived was because he was stopped, sleeping, and drunk" he ticked his head with a chuckle. "Probably the first time in his life being drunk was a good thing"

"Is he in any trouble?" I asked cautiously.

"None that I know of. Can’t cite him for DUI because he wasn’t driving at the time. Just an accident he had no control over" he smiled. "Thank you, Nurse. I’ll see myself out"

I felt a world of relief once he was gone. He had done a thorough investigation and didn’t come in ready to accuse Doug of something the way the officers the day before had been. I returned to the ER to work and wait for the transfer paper to go through.

Later that evening, I slipped upstairs to check on Doug. Things had been really quiet and I knew he was alone up there...he might welcome some company. I went into his room and he looked at me the second I came in the doorway with a twisted and unhappy look on his face.

"How are you feeling?" I smiled at him as I went over to his bed.

"Can you help me?" he gave me the most pleading voice I’d ever heard from him in my life.

"Sure! What do you need?"

"I need you to change my bed" his voice was quiet...almost embarrassed...and he wouldn’t even look at me now.

"Change you bed? What happened? Did you get sick?" I began checking the bed for signs of soiling but I couldn’t see anything.

"Not exactly" he told me sheepishly. Then he pulled the cover back a bit to reveal that his bed was wet. Not only was the bed wet, but his gown was wet as well.

"Doug, what happened?"

"I couldn’t wait any longer" he told me desperately. "I called for a nurse three times and no one came! I just couldn’t wait any longer!"

"OK, Doug...it’s OK! I’ll go get some fresh linens and be right back!"

I touched his shoulder comfortingly and stormed out to the front desk where three nurses were engaged in gossip and laughter. They stopped short at the sight of me glaring across the desk at them.

"May we help you?"

"Well, moreso than you help patients around here, I hope!" I gave them a sarcastic tone. "Can one of you ladies please tell me why a patient called for a urinal three times and nobody went to help him and now he’s laying in a wet bed?"

"We’ve been really busy this afternoon, I guess it’s possible no one heard his call...maybe we were all away from the desk"

"This is an ICU care area! There should be somebody at this desk at ALL times to take care of patient needs! These people have special cares and demands and it is your job to answer them!"

"We don’t have the staff personnel to keep somebody at this desk at all times..."

"Well, then, you need to be doing something about that! Start screaming to Administration that you need more help! But, don’t let the patients suffer over bureaucratic policies! Now give me some fresh bed linens and a clean gown so I can change a patient’s living space!"

I could tell they felt chagrined, as I was shown the closet where the linens were kept and I gathered up what I needed. I went back to Doug’s room and with him still on the bed, stripped the wet things away and replaced them with fresh ones. Then, I helped him with his gown. I took the old one off and slipped a fresh one on him, tying it up in the back. He sighed, and patted my hand.

"Thanks, Carol"

"I’m going to take care of you, Doug" I assured him.

I left his room and went directly to the ER to seek out Mark. I found him in the lounge and my boiling over anger at Doug’s situation just spilled over.

"I’m not waiting for a transfer order to go through, Mark! As of right now, I am upstairs, full time, and exclusively attending to Doug!"

"Something happen?"

"I went upstairs to check on him and found him in a wet bed! He called for a urinal three times and no one heard him! Their excuse is that they don’t have enough personnel to keep somebody at the desk all the time! I won’t even tell you what I think about that..."

"He’s OK now isn’t he?"

"He’s fine now...dry...and in a dry, clean bed! But he was miserable...and humiliated! A patient should not have to lose their dignity at the hands of the staff, Mark...if we operated like that down here, we’d be out the door!"

"OK, Carol...go ahead. I’ll take care of the papers for you"

"Thanks, Mark" I started away and Mark’s voice called me back quickly.

"Are you sure you know what you’re doing?"

"I’m sure" I smiled at him from the elevator.

I went back up to Doug’s room and leaned over his bed, stroking his hair and talking softly to him.

"I’m here now, Doug...and I’m not leaving. I’m going to take care of you"

He didn’t hear me because he had fallen asleep. I pulled the covers up over him and let him rest, settling down in a chair beside his bed and getting myself ready for a long haul...

October 21, 1998