Trigger warning: Contains manipulation, bondage, drugging, and non-consent.
Author's note: This is the finale. Finally. There will be a epilogue after, but this is the climax. I wrote this story, at least initially, entirely for myself, as a random exercise in self-indulgence, that I wasn't sure would ever see the light of day. I've edited it heavily since, but ultimately the goal wasn't to please any particular group, or fetish, or anyone really. So I'm expecting this last chapter is probably going to leave a lot people scoffing or rolling their eyes or what have you. I admit it gets ridiculous, but jumping sharks is just so damn fun (seriously you should try it sometime). I can't decide if I've taken all of this too seriously or not seriously enough. But at this point I think I'm done stressing over it. Thank you all for the ratings and followings and comments etc. It's all more than I ever expected. I do sincerely hope that most of you enjoy the story. And as always, thank you all for reading.
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Saving the Doctor
Part 11. The Final Fiasco.
3 days later,
Carly's washed-out face stared hypnotized at the heart monitor. Her eyes followed the green lines zigzagging across the screen meaninglessly, again and again. The robotic beeping long since losing any semblance of representing an actual human beating heart, the hiss and blow of the ventilator like a cushion losing air rather than a real breath. ...but he was there. Jon was still there. His hand was still warm in hers. She held it like a lifeline. Almost like she believed she could give him her life-force if she held it tight enough for long enough. She wished she could.
She didn't feel like much life was really coursing through her veins either though. Her eyes felt dry and irritated, either from a lack of sleep or from the countless tears she had shed over the past 3 days. She had a headache, her joints hurt, and her nausea had come back. She had half-fainted when she had finally gotten up to leave last night and almost had to get into an argument with the nurses that she didn't need to go down to the ER.
Suddenly there was a ding from the machine and Carly jolted up from her trance. She looked at Jon's pale face and back at the machine worriedly, and then back through the window, annoyed that the nurse hadn't come in yet. Finally the young woman walked in with a sympathetic smile and pressed a button. Carly wondered what the hell the point of an alarm was when 90 percent of the time it was a false one.
"You holdin' up okay?" the nurse asked.
"Yeah. Do you know if the doctor's going to make rounds again? Or when we'll know more about what his prognosis is?" Carly asked, with a dry croaky voice.
"Well, it's only the night float on now, so he might check in, but probably won't have more to add from what the attending said earlier today. They're still optimistic though don't worry, he just needs a little bit more time. It's mostly a matter of giving his lung some time to heal," she explained.
"Yeah okay," she said, having heard it before, but still finding no solace in it.
Jeff had said essentially the same thing, and had insisted on confident reassurances that the worst was over. He had survived the surgery, and so it was uphill from here. She wanted to believe it, but she couldn't help feeling like Jeff was trying to convince himself as much as everyone else. The attendings weren't as direct, but more or less agreed. It was so hard to judge their confidence though.
Their competence matters more than their confidence, she told herself, and smiled, remembering her conversation with Jon at the ski resort. Even the awkward and uncomfortable memories were precious to her now. Even the ones that hurt had been good in a way. She had never had a man make her feel so alive before. Now she needed to return the favour and didn't know how.
The nurse had finished checking the machine and jotting down numbers and turned back to her.
"The cafeteria closes at 8 if you wanted to run down and get something to eat," she suggested.
"I'm fine," Carly said dismissively.
"Well just make sure you don't go fainting on us again there girl, okay?" she said with a laugh.
Carly gave a bitter smirk, "Yeah don't worry."
The nurse backpedalled seeing her expression, "Hey, he's a lucky guy to have you lookin' after him."
Carly gave a more sincere smile as she turned away. The smile turned to a pained look as she rested her head against his leg on the bed and a tear fell down her cheek. She closed her eyes and squeezed his hand.
"You better wake the fuck up," she whispered, and shook in a silent sob.
She wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually she heard excited talking from the nursing desk and a few laughs. She eventually opened her eyes and looked over to see the nurses crowded around the central desk reaching into a box of donuts. She was almost about to turn away when she saw Beth walking towards the door of the room, and gave a sigh.
The door slid open and Beth timidly peeked in. "Hey, um, is it okay if I come in for a bit?" she asked. "I can wait and give you more time if you want, no biggie."
"No that's fine," Carly said.
"I'm sorry if I was kinda cold yesterday, I think we were both really stressed out. Peace offering?" she asked offering her one of the two donuts she had brought in.
Carly hesitated.
"Come on we're all pigging out, no judgment here. You'll feel better." Beth said with a friendly smile.
Carly gave her a slightly annoyed look but took the donut anyway. It tasted divine.
"Fuck that's good." she muttered.
Beth giggled, "You're welcome."
Carly smirked back reluctantly. Beth seemed to be legit trying to make amends. Carly wasn't sure if she was in the mood.
They had more or less gotten into a silent, passive-aggressive fight, each trying to be the one most involved with Jon's care after the surgery. They hadn't said anything openly to each other, but their cold insulted stares back and forth had said enough. Finally Carly had left in frustration, to break into tears once she was alone in the hallway.
The one thing that had kept her sane in the insanity of his unstable trip through the ER and into the operating room had been that she could tell the medics and doctors the story and give them the info they needed. It helped her pretend she was doing something useful, and made her feel less helpless.
Beth had shown up during his recovery and 'fortunately' knew one of the nurses involved, who had known they had been dating. Beth had evidently decided to act as though they still were and had quickly taken the reigns. She had opened his phone using his thumbprint and taken the liberty of calling his parents, who were halfway across the country, to let them know what was going on. Carly knew that Grace, Jeff and everyone else around obviously assumed Beth had a stronger connection to him. Carly had no basis to argue without making everything awkward and shocking for everyone, so she had quietly stepped back in frustration. She had made damn sure to come back and spend every possible minute with him though, once everything had been sorted out in the ICU and everyone had slowly dispersed. It was Monday now, and she had taken a personal day off work. She hadn't decided whether she'd do the same tomorrow.
"I'm glad he's got you to be here with him," Beth said breaking the awkward silence that had drawn on as they chewed.
Carly simply nodded.
"Carly, I'm sorry if I got a bit over-aggressive and butted in too much. I didn't mean to push you away, I just... I was really scared and wanted to make sure everything was okay."
"It's fine," Carly whispered, still not meeting her eyes.
"I just... felt so guilty. I had hurt him really bad and even though he said he was fine, and acted like he was over it, I didn't really believe him and now..." Beth broke into tears.
Carly frowned and finally looked up at her, "Why did you break up with him then?"
