Echo's father was certainly in shape for his age. He was lean and looked to be decently muscled judging by his toned forearms, however he didn't look to be aggressive or frightening in any way, more welcoming and gentle. He did look scared however, his skin pale and his complexion flustered. Of course, it was natural. One can only be scared and worried when their daughter turns up in the E.R. after being in such a car accident.
Dr. Brinne held in her sigh as she stepped to the side and placed her hands in her jean pockets; she would have rather been in her scrubs and lab coat right then. It was far easier to be in Dr. Brinne mode when one dressed the part; granted it was also easier when the patient wasn't a friend. Either way Tas held in the emotional side, she had dealt with worried families before and knew what it was like to be on the other side.
"Micheal White actually....I adopted Echo when she was five." he looked to have calmed down a bit in the time between arguing and being told off by Echo. He turned to look her in the eyes, evidently not in the greatest mood "I trust this is about our little...dispute in Echo's room, am I right? The kind nurse didn't look so kind when I walked out....more like irritated, perhaps worried. I do apologize for the disturbance."
"Yes it is Mr. White," Tas began; making sure to keep her voice even because she knew it if cracked she'd tell him what Tas wanted to say, not what Dr. Brinne needed to say.
"I know you are worried and it is difficult to think straight when one you love is in a situation like this. I have been there personally. But in a time like this it is most important to keep your cool," she said in a compassionate voice.
"Not for you but for her and for her I am about to lay down exactly what I will and will not tolerate within that room. She is my friend, but she is my patient first," Dr. Brinne stressed and it was true. For Tas, her being a patient was far more important than Echo being a friend. Echo's life was in her hands and she wasn't about to let some father-boyfriend spat put her patient in jeopardy. She'd rather have Echo alive and hating her for having them both tossed out on their asses than dead because they stressed her out.
He nodded at her words and looked down, letting out a sad sigh "I know...I shouldn't have done it....b-but she's....she's my little girl.. It's hard to see her like this and when some stranger is bawling his eyes out all over her....I guess....it's been a stressful day..." A few tears had made it down the man's face, but nothing significant was shown otherwise. He looked up at Tas once again "...I doubt you'd really understand...when your child is hurt, you'd do anything to keep them safe...to help them..."
"Not with a child, but as a child I know the pain of sitting there, watching one you love more than anything on this world slip away and there was nothing you could do to stop it," Tas admitted as she looked towards Michael. "My mother, cancer. It was a year of hospitals, treatments and pain. It is why I am a doctor, why I am here today to be able to help Echo."
He rubbed his eyes and looked up to Tas once again "...Just...p-please help my little girl.."
"I am, why I am standing here in street clothes, she had me listed as her emergency contact. I came in so I could but there is only so much I can do. Much will depend on her remaining calm," Tas began to explain as she pulled some tissues out of the box on the table next to them and handed them over to Echo's father.
"I am sure you noticed the chest tube, it is one of the more obvious tubes right now. She has a tear in her lung. If she hyperventilates it can cause it to tear more. This is why it is so critical for her to remain calm. If it does, then it means I have to go in and then we have problems," the doctor stated rather bluntly. She wasn't cold about it but simply factual. Sugar coating such details never construed the severity of a situation and right then she needed to male things perfectly clear.
He looked more stressed out now than ever, having heard that the argument he had had with Jay may have harmed Echo. He went to speak but no words came out. Hospitals had always scared him, his wife had died on the operating table from a very similar accident to Echo's, the only difference was that his wife had the green light and wasn't at fault. He looked over to the room and saw Echo's smile, tears running down his face once again "I'm....I'm sorry I caused you any trouble."
"That man in there I know personally, he is a friend of mine and he does love your daughter. Would you berate me if you saw me crying because my friend is hurt?" Tas asked out of redundancy to make a point.
And then he did something completely unexpected. He pulled Tas in and hugged her, inhaling sharply as he tried to stop crying "...T-thank you so much....I don't know what I'd do if I lost her..." He let go of her, taking the kleenex he was offered and wiping his eyes. He looked at her once before turning to sit down in the waiting room "...And p-please tell that young gentleman that I am sorry.."
"I will do everything in my power to make sure she makes a full recovery, and I think it would be best if you two spoke privately about that. For now, why don't you go sit with Echo for a bit. I need to speak with Jeje now," Tas said calmly as she took his hand and motioned for him to go back into the room.
Tas took a deep breath, now it was Jeje's turn and she wasn't going to be as calm about it with him for various reasons. First though she wanted to talk with Echo now that she was awake. Stepping over to the bed she smiled and brushed some of her friends hair out of her face.
"Hey Yin, how's your pain level? Scale of 1 to 10?" she asked softly.
"..Hey Tas..." she took a shaky breath as she looked up to Tas. It was extremely evident she was in pain. "...Prob-bably a seven...maybe an eight." she reached over and took Tas' hand, Tas squeezed her hand gently and nodded; she had been expecting her to be in pain since the pain meds were at a minimal right now due to the head injury. Echo looked scared, but also more calm than before. Her heart rate hovered around 90 and while that was still a bit high, it was better than it skyrocketing to 120 or 130.
"That Bailey's would've tasted amazing right about n-now actually.." she said, a weak smile spreading across before coughed a few times. Pain flared up in her chest again and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore as best she could.
"I think you and I could use a drink soon as you are out of here. Which if you stay calm and get some rest we can probably get you home within the week. I'll put in for sometime off, how about that? I'll be your personal at home nurse until you get through this?" Tas said gently. She really didn't want to take time off work right then but she hadn't taken any days off for herself since she started there years ago. They owed her at this time and what better way to use the time off, Tas figured, than making sure Echo was taken care of.
"...Oh...did they find m-my laptop anywhere....after the crash? It....it kinda has all my schoolwork on it.."
"I have no idea, but I hope it had some major shock protection and was in a black box after the way you came in here," Tas joked slightly but then pointed over to the bag Sam had brought over from their apartment. "But Sam grabbed us some clothes. Figured you would rather have some of your own stuff than these hospital gowns once the tube comes out. For now though, I will share my fuzzy socks with you, you know, cause I'm just that awesome," she laughed softly. Tas never shared her fuzzy socks, they were one of her little indulgences; for some odd reason she was very possessive of them and had a large collection she would slide across the apartment floors in.
"...Oh...alright. I hope my prof understands...I have a 90 in the course and I worked hard for it." she suddenly wished she'd backed up the projects to her desktop at home like any smart person would do. She sighed. It had taken many hours of working graveyard shifts with little pay to earn her laptop and now it was gone in the blink of an eye.
"I wouldn't worry, I will write you one hell of a doctors note and if he doesn't listen, he'll answer to me," Tas joked as she walked over to the bag and fished out a pair of socks for Echo. Flipping up the bed sheets to her ankles she gently put them on for her friend. They were black with little yin and yang symbols, fitting.
"What I would do without you Tas, I will never know." she smiled weakly at the potential of fuzzy socks and actual clothes. Echo hated hospitals. She hated the smell, the stagnant air and the constant coughing of seemingly everyone that threatened to get her sick. She looked over to Sam with a super appreciative look and gave him a gentle smile in thanks before turning back to Tas.
"Probably having to deal with Nurse Grace and Doctor Mitchell, neither I would wish on my worst enemy, not even Dom," she said lightheartedly as she stuck her tongue out at Echo.
"How long till the tube comes out?" she said, looking down at the object sticking out of her rib cage. It felt so unnatural, and yet, she was thankful it was there. Y'know, breathing and all helps to keep you alive.
"Hopefully just a couple of days. With the tear in your lung I want to keep it in case the lung tries to collapse again. We'll run some tests in two days to see how the puncture is healing. Long as it looks good you should have it out in two to three days," she said before sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking a deep breath.
"Now, you need to listen. No matter what happens, I need you to keep calm regulated breaths. The deeper the breaths the more the lung expands the bigger chance of it ripping further," she explained in a calm voice. She doubted she had anything else to worry about from Echo's father. Jeje on the other hand, she wasn't so sure about and there were several things she needed to speak to him about out of ear shot of Echo.
"I know you're in pain, I can up the meds if you would like or would you rather just deal with it until tonight and I can up them then to help you sleep?" Tas asked, wanting to make sure that Echo had the choice in the matter.
"I think the night time option would probably be best, as much as I want them now. Sleep is more important" she coughs. Where the hell was that nurse with her water? Every cough felt like someone was stabbing her in the chest and she suddenly wished she'd never gone to the party at all, never watched Jay beat the life out of Eddy, never said he disgusted her. None of this would've happened if she'd stayed home. None of it.
"Alright, if you change your mind, let me know," Tas said as the nurse came in with a cup of ice chips and a small spoon. "Little bit at a time to start, need to see if you can keep it down before we let you have more," the doctor explained.
But then what about Jay? Would she still be with him, or would missing the party have destroyed his heart and made him despise her soul?
She shook her head. None of it mattered now, she was alive and that's all that mattered. Everything that came after would be a direct consequence of screaming at Jay and she had to live with it whether she liked it or not.
"Okay, visiting hours are until 8, but visits need to be short. No long term visits until the tube is out. No overnight, period. Jeje, we need to talk, now," Tas explained as she stepped over to Mr. Dual Personality and quickly escorted him out of the room. Shutting the door behind them and crossing her arms over her chest. She had just went from Dr. Brinne to Ticked Tas in 1.5 seconds flat.
