Doctors Need Mending Too

Chapter 5

It was almost 8 o'clock in the evening when we arrived at the hospital. The Telemetry Unit was on the second floor, on the opposite direction of the Intensive Care Units and adjacent to what was labeled as the CV-Operating Room. Blaine explained along the way the Telemetry (or "Tele" as a shortcut) is being utilized as a Recovery Room for patients who have undergone any sort of angiography and that although the procedure has been proven safe and obviously less invasive than an open heart surgery, it still has its complications. I couldn't help the small smile playing on my lips listening to him being all doctor-y and smart in front of me. Forgive me, I really do find it sexy.

The security guard standing by the unit stood from his desk when he saw us approaching the glass doors but quickly recognized Blaine despite him wearing what I called "a really old" hoodie and sweats. Blaine, being as courteous as always gave him a smile and a nod before escorting me through the entrance. The inside was similar to that of the ICU – the same sliding doors per patient, the same bleeping monitors and the same heavy ambiance. There were only 6 cubicles in this unit and my dad was on the third. The first and last two were empty as well. On the fourth unit was an old ill-looking lady but I didn't really pay attention. I saw my father with his eyes closed just as when we stepped in front of his cubicle and passed to approach the nurse's station. Ellie was on the phone and her hair was a tangled mess. She wasn't smiling either but her eyes immediately lit up when Blaine knocked softly on the wooden counter to catch her attention. She waved a hand briefly before turning her attention back to the caller and turning the chart on her hand roughly.

"BP has been fluctuating over the past few hours. She's had several episodes of hypotension was noted to be tachypneic and having some DOB*. We've been trying to taper dopamine since this morning but BP keeps dropping. Her output's aren't looking good either. She's also desaturation, distended neck veins, subcostal retractions, bilateral crackles, abdominal breathing. Yes, Doctor. Of course. I will. I'll update you. Thank you, Doctor. Goodnight."

She groaned loudly after hanging up running two hands through her already tangled blond hair.

"Dr. Watson's patient has been giving me a hard time since her trans-out from ICU. " She whined and from beside me, I heard Blaine chuckle.

"Well, I've told him she'd be a handful out of intensive care." He was leaning against the counter with his gaze focused on the old woman settled on the bed in Tele 4. She was breathing heavily with her back bent forward and a facemask set covering her nose and her cheeks.

"I'll have to intubate." Ellie said before standing up and walking towards the cubicle. The nurses behind her moved too, probably gathering the necessary materials needed in whatever it was they had to do.

"I would say, stay benign**. But I guess that's not really happening now is it?" Blaine tried to suppress his teasing laugh but failed and I couldn't help my own chuckle when I saw Ellie's hand smack him hard on the arm before she walked further towards her patient with two nurses walking right behind her.

"We better stay out of their way." Blaine whispered ushering me towards my dad's cubicle. He dragged the sliding glass door to a close to dampen the gradually loudening noise from outside before settling on the couch on the far end of the room while I took the chair that was right beside my father's bed.

"Hey you." He said groggily.

"Hey." I said with my voice getting caught in my throat. I know Blaine has explained that my dad's out of danger now but still, I can't help but feel scared. I just almost lost him, again.

"Thought visitors weren't allowed 'ere?" he asked looking around curiously before settling on Blaine's seated figure.

"Where are the kids?" He asked through slurred speech and I couldn't help but scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.

"GRANDKIDS." He reiterated whilst raising his left hand on the air and at the same time dozing off.

I stifled a laugh. My dad is pretty stoned right now.

"It's probably the anesthesia. Hopefully, it'd wear off completely by tomorrow." Blaine said from where he was seated, probably sensing my worry and an uncomfortable smile forming on his face. I was surprised when my dad popped an eye open again.

"Aren't you guys like, married?" I felt the blood rise up my neck and cheeks at the question. Where was my dad getting all these ideas?

"No, dad. We aren't." I heard Blaine rise from his seat and walk towards me, a warm hand finding its place on my shoulder.

"Thought you were? You were going to ask him." He said turning to Blaine, a wide questioning expression on his face.

"No, I haven't, sir."

"But will soon?" He insisted. Blaine laughed.

"Probably not. I'll take him out for dinner first."

"Makes sense, kiddo." He said before he started snoring again. I shook my head, a smile on my lips as I looked up to Blaine in disbelief.

"What have you been giving him?!"

"He probably won't remember it, Kurt." He replied defensively raising both hands in the air. After the laughing has died down, I leaned over my dad's bed to kiss him on the forehead. Just as I was pulling away, I heard the sliding door open. Blaine and I turned around to see who it was and saw one of the senior nurse's peak inside with an apologetic smile already forming on her face.

"Dr. Anderson? Dr. Miller was asking if you could come help her. It's kind of an emergency."

"But I'm not on duty." Blaine tried to protest but Ellie's face suddenly appeared from beside the nurse.

"Please? Spot O2's at 60's. They are bagging now. I've tried intubating, TWICE. Please try? Before I call on Pulmo? Please?"***

I saw Blaine shake his head a couple of times but though reluctant, he turned to look at me for a second before following Ellie to the adjacent cubicle. Out of curiosity, I decided to sneak a peek, watching Blaine as he positioned himself at the head part of the bed and with a metal instrument on his hand.

"Bag please." He instructed the male nurse and looked at the monitor. The blue number that kept blinking started rising from 70% until it finally reached 100%. He then asked the same nurse to pull away as he inserted the scope as he called it with a yellow light on its tip into the woman's mouth before reaching out his free hand to the lady nurse on his other side.

"Tube please."

The woman beside him handed him a plastic tube which he inserted into the patient's mouth swiftly before straightening up. The man nurse (yes I don't really know how else I could refer to them) quickly replaced what I have now established to be the "bag" and started pressing on it. Blaine grabbed a stethoscope that was handed to him and pressed the instrument on various spots on the lady's chest.

"I'm in." He declared watching the patient's oxygen saturation rise and stabilized at 98%. Ellie squealed before clapping her hands happily and pulling Blaine for a hug. I remained pinned to my spot, quite impressed.

Just a few minutes later, the alarms started beeping again and I heard him say in quite a loud, urgent voice.

"She's coding. Get the cart in here!"

I figured, by coding, he meant her heart has stopped. I've encountered it once at the Intensive Care back when I was checking up on my dad and it wasn't a pleasant sight. The fright got the better of me and I decided to move back to my dad's room and closed the door behind me.

About half an hour later, I was shaken awake by an exhausted looking Blaine who whispered that it was time to leave. I turned to look at my dad before nodding my head and rising up. I felt a similar hand being placed at the small of my back before being guided out of the unit. I risked a quick glance at Tele 4 and saw what appeared to be a body, now covered up to the head with a white sheet. I guess it isn't too hard to conclude what happened, right? I felt my body tremble and Blaine didn't miss it either but being the gentleman that he was, he pulled me closer to himself.

"It happens, Kurt."

"I know. It's just that, she was alive, like an hour ago!"

He didn't respond this time, but pulled me in tighter against his body. Outside, I spotted an open coffee shop and asked Blaine if he wanted a cup. After agreeing, he offered to get the car while I ordered two cups to-go and hop in once he drives by.

I hurried inside, slightly awoken by the strong scent of brewed coffee. Luckily, there was only one person in line and I took my place just behind her. Her blond hair was turned into a neat bun and if she hasn't turned around, I wouldn't have recognized her.

"Hey."

"Ellie! Hi."

"Sorry about stealing Blaine earlier."

I shook my head to tell her I didn't mind.

"I think I quite liked the view, so don't worry. It was like a scene lifted off of Grey's Anatomy."

"It is, isn't it? Blaine's just awesome at most of what he does."

I heard the click of the cash register and Ellie stepped aside as I walked forward. The barista took my order and asked me to move on to the next counter to claim my cups. I spotted Ellie's blond head on a nearby table and after retrieving my order and still with no signs of Blaine; I decided to take the empty seat in front of her.

We chatted for a bit, she's an easy girl. Our conversation just kept flowing and I decided that I like her. As a friend of course, you know what I mean! Ten minutes later, I started thinking about where Blaine could be and just as I turned to face the entrance to the shop, I heard Ellie make a disapproving sound.

"I can't believe it! He's here again!" She exclaimed looking outside the glass window into the parking lot. I followed her gaze to see Blaine standing with a taller, bigger man, engaged in some sort of serious conversation. Blaine's lips were curved into a frown and he didn't seem to be listening to whatever it was the other man was saying.

"Who is he?" I asked.

"It's Danny. Blaine's ex. They lived together through most of college but Blaine finally left him just before starting med school."

"Finally left him meaning?" I pressed further. Ellie looked at me for a couple of seconds probably thinking about whether she could trust me or not.

"He was an Arts Major, met Blaine in a university party and they instantly clicked. After three months, I was surprised to hear they were moving in together."

I remained silent as I watched her pained expression as she formulated her next sentence.

"Took us a while to notice, but Blaine started skipping classes. We caught him smoking. But he was basically still the same old funny, charismatic guy, you know? Not to mention that he was still excelling in class. But one day, he appeared in class after skipping for a week with a black eye and a lacerated lip. Took me a while, but finally admitted that Danny was hitting him."

I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my lips. Blaine isn't the type people can just take advantage of. He was tough, he was my pillar, he gave me courage and he always knew what to do. So how could that have happened?

"For a while, he made it sound like he deserved getting hit. But in the end, I've finally yelled enough to beat some sense into him and he walked away."

I saw Blaine turn our way and saw me looking right at him. His frown just grew grimmer at the realization that Ellie and I are probably gossiping around him. I'm not sure what he was saying but it appears like they are wrapping up their conversation.

"Danny is a sore topic to him okay? That psycho's been stalking him since we graduated Medical School."

I nodded my understanding and grabbed our quickly cooling cups just as Blaine turned on his heel towards the store. I met him by the entrance where he reached for his cup before nodding towards his car that was parked a couple of yards away. I followed dumbly, without any idea what to ask anyway. I even allowed him to open the passenger door for me and slipped on to my seat absentmindedly.

"Blaine..."

After a few deep breaths and just as Blaine has settled into his seat, I suddenly coughed his name out. I watched his hand grip on the steering wheel tightly but he didn't respond.

"Ellie said that..."

"Don't. Alright? Just don't." He said cutting me mid-sentence.

"I can't drive you back to Lima. I'm sorry. I haven't slept and it's my fault we had to stay at the hospital longer than necessary. There's a hotel just a few miles ahead or you can stay at my place, I have a spare room if you're okay with it." He mumbled rapidly. I felt a part of my heart constrict at how uneasy he looked and hated myself for having no idea how to handle Blaine being this vulnerable.

"Your place would be fine. I don't want you driving around in this state." I assured him.

He nodded and started his engine. Just before he pulled out of the lot, he picked out a cigarette from a pack he apparently had on his hoodie pocket and lit it up. That just made my heart sink a little lower.

"I'll explain. Just... just not today, okay?"

A few side notes I find necessary:

(*)DOB = difficulty of breathing

(**)Stay benign =I'm not sure if you guys would get it. But in my hospital, we say it meaning for the patients not to be bothersome for the rest of the night. That hopefully nothing bad would happen, or that we could get some sleep.

(***)Okay, I'm not even sure why I'm explaining myself. But just to be sure you get it, the patient is desaturating, meaning she is having trouble breathing on her own and needs some sort of assisted ventilation. That's why they are intubating. For the meantime, since Ellie has failed, someone is bagging (ambubagging) as a means to help her breath momentarily. She asked Blaine to try first prior to calling on Pulmo (Pulmonology) since that's how it works in our institution. Once the residents fail at placing the tube, they refer to the fellows of Pulmonology to give it a try.