Just Like Old Times (closed)

[BeachBum25]

Information came into the ER that there was a trauma case on the way in. It was a result of a MVC... a female with multiple injuries and possibly multiple broken bones.

Carroll met the rescue squad as it backed into the bay. He started assessing her as they rushed her to center stage. He listened to the paramedics as the called out her vitals that were taken in the squad. Carroll started barking out orders, and moved to check her neck.

That was when he saw her. It was Nicole. He paused. Then, he went back to work. She was a patient and he had to treat her. He was the one who she needed. He was the best. It was up to him to make sure that Nicole survived.

 

[zydrate]

Several days later it was the beeping that woke Nicole. The heart monitor next to her bed was emanating that annoying, yet faint beep of her heartbeat.

She laid there for several more minutes before turning her head ever so slightly and tried to open her eyes. After several attempts, she opened them fully and it took a few moments to focus on her surroundings. The lights were dim and she caught the faint smell of flowers.... it didn't mix well with the medicine smell of the hospital. Yeah, she remembered a little bit and could summon that fact she was in a hospital room...

The crash.

The monitor started to beep a little faster as she remembered she was in her car...

"Well, you're finally awake." A voice said and Nicole turned her head toward the direction the voice came from. She was immediately greeted by the face of a nurse, who proceeded to check her vitals and check the machines, silencing the sound of the heart monitor. "I'll let the doctor know you're awake...are you in pain? Do you know know where you are?"

It was hard to talk but Nicole managed to groan out the answers...she wasn't in any pain...a lie... and she was in the hospital.

"You're lucky to be alive Ms.Mason. That was quite an accident you were involved in. No broken arms or legs, but you have several cracked ribs and a major concussion...but I'll let the doctor fill you in on that, OK? Just keep resting and I'll bring you something to drink after he's done." With that, even though Nicole had said she wasn't in pain, the nurse gave her a dose of morphine before leaving. How did she know?

 

[BeachBum25]

Carroll was at the Nurses' Station in the Emergency Room when he received a call from ICU that Nicole was awake. He finished his notes in a patient chart, and told a nurse he would be back in a little while.

He walked up the back stairs to ICU and stopped to talk to one of the nurses there. After getting a little information on Nicole's progress, he walked to her room. He stood in the doorway and looked at her. Damn, she looked like hell, but she was alive and that was important.

"Well, well.... look who has returned to the land of the living."

 

[zydrate]

"Who are you?" Nicole asked but quickly held up a hand, "I'm joking..."

Truth was, she had been awake for a bit longer this time and had actually eaten a little...well, jello and a little oatmeal.

"I hear I have you to thank for when they brought me in that night... so thank you."

 

[BeachBum25]

"You have a lot of great people to thank...... doctors, nurses, technicians...rescue squad personnel. You are just lucky that I was here to direct their efforts. None of them have the experience I do. It is my combat experience that saved your life."

He watched her closely. He wanted to see signs of her behavior... her reactions. He wanted to make sure that she was healing mentally as well as physically.

 

[zydrate]

How much she wanted to lash out at him and tell him off but at the moment, Nicole didn't have the strength nor the want. She was tired of fighting. Of course she was thankful to all those who helped out but at the moment, she was out of 'Thank You' cards.

"You make it sound like I did this all on purpose.."

Closing her eyes, Nicole sighed carefully, "Let's not start fighting right now, OK...please?"

 

[BeachBum25]

"Nicole, I never said you did it on purpose. I do not think you want to be here. I think you want to be as far away from here as possible. I do not want to fight Nicole. I am just very happy that you are going to be okay."

He walked to the bedside and took her hand. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb as he smiled at her.

"You will be here for a few more days. regain your strength and we will figure out where you are going."

 

[zydrate]

The few more days part wasn't something she liked but in all seriousness, she was weak. Her body was hurt and every time she moved, it hurt all over. But she never let the nurses or other doctors know this. Only because she had wanted to stop them from giving her drugs...it made her mind foggy.

But the pain was pushed back when he took her hand into his own. In turn, she held his hand also.

They remained in silence for a few minutes more. He had said they would figure out where she was going...well, that was easy. She was going after who ever had put her in the hospital in the first place. Of course, she didn't say this verbally.

 

[BeachBum25]

He winked at her and smiled as his thumb rubbed the back of her hand.

"Listen, I have to get back downstairs. You relax, and I will stop back to check up on you at the end of my shift. Don't give the doctors or nurses a hard time... understand?"

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Then, he turned and headed back to the ER.

 

[zydrate]

A few days had passed and Nicole was surprisingly better. Well, she was still in some pain but it wasn't she couldn't handle.

Each day she pushed her body to get better. She got up when she could as she hated being in bed for long periods of time. It wasn't because Nicole was trying to cause trouble, it was, in essence, just her way. She hated being helpless....hated relying on others...

Because of this being an attempt on her life, she had two police officers at her door while the investigation was still going on. She still had contacts within the department and received information about the crash. Looking at the pics of her totalled car made her sick. Physically sick. Had the impact been any harder, as in the driver of the truck had gone faster, she would have been a goner. There were no witnesses...how convinient.

Tim had visited her as often as he could. They kept the conversation light and not one thing was discussed about what had happened. They didn't talk about the accident or her being brought to the ER.

Despite the doctor's orders, Nicole asked to be released. She had argued she was better and didn't need to be in the hospital anymore. Of course she had waited to spring this on the doctors after Tim had gone home for the day. She didn't want him here to argue against her also.

Although it took some doing, she was released and the first place she headed to was her apartment. She wanted a hot shower and a change of clothing.

 

[BeachBum25]

Carroll had spent a lot of time visiting with Nicole. It seemed like she was behaving herself. However, he didn't believe it. He had a feeling she was just playing nice while he was there. She was probably sneaking into the stairwell and running the steps after he left.

He was still angry about the way things had gone between them. He was pissed she hadn't trusted him. Their conversations conveniently avoided their previous interaction. In fact, their conversations were really about nothing.... just idle talk.

When his shift was over, he decided to stop up and see her. He knew it was late, and if she was asleep he would just leave. When he walked out of the ER at 2 am, he walked up the stairs and into ICU. He started to panic when he saw her bed was empty. What had happened? She was getting better. When he found out that she had convinced the doctors to let her go, he was furious.

"Nobody gets discharged from ICU. NOBODY. They have to go to step-down before being discharged. She almost fucking died, and you people let her go."

He stormed out. He wasn't really mad at the ICU staff. He wasn't even really mad at Nicole. He was mad at himself for allowing himself to have feelings for Nicole after what she had done.

 

[zydrate]

Nicole had fallen asleep after her shower. She was dressed in a pair of matching panties and bra, over that she wore a short robe.

She had even forgotten to eat, of course, so when she woke up, she had gone to the fridge and looked at what she had.

Nothing.

"Damnit." That's why she was coming home late that night, she had stopped to get groceries.

There was a knock at her door... well, it was more like a bang.

Picking up her gun from the counter, she walked over to the door and unlocked it before pulling it open slowly. She was prepared for whoever was there but she had this gut feeling she knew who it was.

 

[BeachBum25]

what the fuck are you doing? Signing yourself out of the hospital already? Leaving without telling me you were leaving? You are un-fucking-believable."

There was no doubt in his mind that his face was bright red. He wasn't sure why he had even come here.

"Well, I will be the one to say goodbye then Nicole. I will do what you couldn't do. I am not going to follow you. I am not going to lecture you about what is in your best interest. I am just saying goodbye and leaving."

He turned around and walked away from her door.

 

[zydrate]

He was yelling at her...again!

Nicole tried to interrupt several times but each time he spoke..no yelled at her!

As he walked away from her, Nicole, still wide eyed, called out, "Tim..please...." it was all she could muster with what energy she had left for the day, "Please... just get in here...please...Cowboy, I need you."

She wasn't used to begging. But there she was, begging Tim to not go away.

 

[BeachBum25]

He stopped. He listened to her call to him. He listened to her ask him to come inside. Then, he heard her say she needed him.

Carroll turned around and looked at her. Quietly, he said to her, "What is it that you need to use me for now Nicole? You don't look injured."

He stared at her... waiting for her response.

 

[zydrate]

She leaned heavily against the door and inwardly winced when he replied about using him again. Yeah, she more than deserved that.

"Please...just come in here..."

She waited for him to come back into her apartment and she shut the door after him. As she walked past him, she took him by the hand and dragged him with her back to the couch. "Please...just sit... I'm too tired to stand." As he sat down, she immediately sat on his lap and rested her head on his shoulder, "I'm sorry."

That was all she said for a while. With her eyes closed, she sighed, "I know it's not much but I am sorry. I thought a lot about what you said that night and you're right. I didn't take in to consideration that you can take care of yourself. I should have remembered that was the reason you were on my team back in the day. It's just now... I see you as someone different... I don't know, it's hard to explain right now...it's just I know I was wrong and I really am sorry. I'm sorry I left the hospital early too. I got it in my head that I was going to be well enough to go after these guys who did this to me but end up passing out on my couch..."

 

[BeachBum25]

Carroll walked back inside her apartment. She took his hand. He did not grasp her hand, but he did not pull his away from her either.

After sitting down on the sofa, he was surprised that she sat in his lap. He sat there with his hands at his side... resting on the sofa. He listened to her, but he did not react. He was at the point where he was not very trusting of Nicole. He was very reluctant to believe what she was saying, and he only half listened to what she said.

In another circumstance, he might have been happy to have Nicole sitting in his lap, but not now. He remained quiet; wondering what she had in mind.

 

[zydrate]

He was quiet as she spoke and when she was done, she waited.... as she didn't say anything more and noticed he didn't reciprocate what she was doing. It should have pissed her off but seriously, she didn't blame him.

Nicole placed a few quick kisses on the cheek until she reached his mouth and tried to kiss him... "Please say something Cowboy..."

 

[BeachBum25]

"What is it that you want me to say Nicole? Do you want me to tell you that, all of a sudden, I trust you because you said sorry?"

He looked at her as she sat in his lap. He was careful about where he put his hands. He did not want to touch her and have it be misunderstood.

"I tried hard to help you and be your friend. You didn't trust me. I am not sure how long it will take me to trust you again Nicole. It doesn't mean I don't care for you. You know I do, but ..."

 

[zydrate]

"But what?" Nicole whispered before pressing her forehead against his, "Cowboy...I said I was sorry...I said I was wrong...what else do you want from me?"

Nothing.

With a heavy sigh, she could only nod as she leaned back and slid off his lap before standing up.

"I get it. I can only apologize so much Tim. I fucked up. That's it. I fucked it all up." With a shrug, Nicole closed her robe and walked back to the kitchen.. she got some water and grabbed a bottle of tylenol. Her brain and body were totally numb.

Why was she so stubborn? It cost her a lot in life and now...

 

[BeachBum25]

He sat there for a minute. She was so damned stubborn. She didn't even give him a minute to process everything. She had to have everything on her time.

Carroll watched her go into the kitchen. He heard her grab a bottle of pills. Was it a prescription bottle? Was it just aspirin or the like? He didn't know, but was worried about what she was doing.

Tim jumped out of the chair and walked into the kitchen. He saw that she had tylenol. He didn't want to make things worse by pressing the issue with her, but he also didn't want to just give into her.

"You couldn't give me a few minutes to process it all? I had to respond to you immediately? I am supposed to be your friend, not one of your targets that needs to respond to you right away." His tone was low and soft. He did not want to agitate her.

"Come here. Let me hold you for a second."

 

[zydrate]

She should have resisted but why? Instead, she set the bottle down and turned to look at him.

"Yeah, I am stubborn...but I can't help it.. "

She didn't want to repeat what she had said to him again.... So she just sighed and walked over to him... Immediately she felt his arms embrace her and she relaxed against him, "it's just who I am.. I'm sorry."

 

[BeachBum25]

He wrapped her in his arms and held her close. He listened to her as she said she was sorry.

"There is no need to be sorry. I know you are stubborn."

He moved his hand up and down her back; caressing lightly as he held her close.

 

[zydrate]

She wasn't sure how long she stayed in his arms, but Nicole hadn't expected it turn into this. Hell, she figured he was going to walk out.

It was probably the sound of the pills. Part of her wanted to get made at him for possibly thinking that she would resort to that sort of....end. Hell, if she had it her way, she'd want to go out in a blaze of glory.

Pushing those thoughts away, Nicole didn't want to ruin the moment so just stayed in his arms.... "If I had the strength Cowboy, I'd take you back to my bed and show you how sorry I am.."

 

[BeachBum25]

"Oh, there you go with another excuse."

He laughed a little and playfully patted her ass as he continued to hold her close to him.

"You don't need to do anything like that Nicole. I realize that you are being sincere. I just want you to understand that I don't want you to get hurt. I care about you."