Two weeks later, Ian stood in the hallway of the hospital, making rounds with the Head Nurse. Training for a new job was always nerve-wracking, especially when he was also in school to catch up on the latest techniques.
As it turned out, the hospital had no openings in the nursery as Ian had requested, but would keep him in mind if something came up. He was put on general rounds, which meant that he would float among the floors, working the shifts and departments as need arose. He didn't mind so much being flung from nights to days and back again because he loved this work so much, and Dinah began to notice a definite difference in his demeanor: there was a sense of pride and genuine contentment in her husband now. His relaxed, easygoing personality had finally returned.
The surgical floor would turn out to be his second favorite place to work, next to the obstetrics floor. He enjoyed helping people, making sure their needs were met and trying his best to ease their discomfort after their procedures. He liked being strong enough to lift patients up and help them move about more comfortably.
At 7 pm, Ian came on shift. The first order of business for Ian when floating to a new floor was to look over the patient and medication rosters to get acquainted with who was where, what their surgeries were, and get a general feel for how things needed to be overseen. Every shift brought new surgical patients in, and sent others out, so reviewing the patient list was always an important first step in prepping for rounds. It was that evening, as he stood going over the charts of those in his care, that he saw something that made him go cold in his tracks.
*No!* he thought as he read the name. *It can't be! It simply can't be!*
But there it was, in black and white: Aurora Pritchett. Hysterectomy. Bladder repair. Severe infection caused by trauma. Her chart indicated that she had been there a few weeks fighting a horrific infection, and was just now able to have the corrective surgeries needed. Her surgeries were earlier that day. Her prognosis was still guarded.
His heart was pounding as he filled the med cart. She was on some high powered antibiotics. *I wonder what happened* he thought to himself as he readied the cart for his rounds.
Pushing down the hall, the tile-lined façade echoed the "whickey-whickey" sound that the squeaky wheels of the cart made. Each door had someone behind it who had a story. Each patient was glad to see him, because he mostly dispensed the pain medications that made it possible for them to get a night's sleep. He checked each patient on his rounds with the thoroughness he would want for himself. He gently turned those that needed it, cleaned and redressed surgical sites, checked IVs and offered bedpans or trips to the bathroom. He tried to make small talk with any family members that might be present, made careful notes in the charts of medications, vital signs, and complaints, and then slowly pushed to on to the next room.
When he finally reached room 644, he wasn't sure what he was going to say. Would she recognize him? Would it be worse for him to be her nurse? He readied his walkie-talkie in the event that she refused his help or that he needed additional help restraining her. He swallowed hard, and pushed open the door.
Aurora lay quietly in the hospital bed. An IV was hooked to one arm; the beep of the monitors broke the silence. He stood and watched her for a long time. She was still beautiful, although she showed signs of having been roughly treated. Her breasts rose and fell in a steady rhythm. He almost hated to wake her, for he didn't know exactly what her reaction would be. He removed her chart from the bed and read it: rape w/ severe internal damage. Extensive infection leading to sepsis. Total hysterectomy and bladder reparation performed with today's date and the surgeon's initials next to it.
*I wonder who did this to you* he thought as he looked at her. He once thought he could love her, until she did what she did to Dinah. How innocent she looks now.
About that time, her eyes opened and went wide. She sucked in a loud breath and began to try to scramble to the opposite side of the bed, but the pain medications she was given made it difficult for her to even move.
"Aurora! Aurora, it's okay! I'm not here to hurt you! Take it easy or you will do damage to yourself!" Ian tried to keep her calm, knowing that her tenuous condition left her vulnerable to shock.
"Stay away from me!" she hissed in a voice weakened from the earlier breathing tubes, "Don't you see what you did? You and your uncle? I can no longer have children because of you!"
The air suddenly left the room and Ian felt dizzy. "What do you mean what *I* did?! I had nothing to do with what happened to you!"
Aurora was weak from the surgery, so she slumped back into the bed, wracked with pain, and began to sob long, gulping sobs. "Don't you see, Ian? Your uncle had this done to me. For my cruelty."
Ian could only stare and blink for the longest time. He reached out and touched Aurora, who flinched away.
"Shhhh ... shhhh. It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. All I ever wanted was to be free and for Dinah to be free. Don't you see that?" He stroked her arm and her hair, feeling her tremble under his hands. "I never meant for it to go this far. I am so sorry. I had no idea."
He walked around to the IV monitor and changed the medication bags. He checked the line and then asked if he could see her surgical site.
