It’s All Relative 32 of whatever-ish
Author: hawkbehere (hawkbehere@yahoo.com)
Rated: PG, for language.
Disclaimer: The majority of these characters are not mine. No copyright infringement intended.

A/N: Another micro-burst. All mistakes are mine. All my love and thanks to Rosemary for reading first. Love to Anne, Jessica, law_nerd, xenavirgin and Martha.

I like Dr. Allen so I thought I’d give her a brief back-story and then she’ll go away except for a couple of brief cameos.

***

Thinking of leaving the hospital was deeply troubling for Andy and would have remained that way if Dr. Allen hadn’t intervened.

As they were waiting at the elevators saying polite goodbyes, Dr. Allen smiled at Wanda and Carlo and said, “Andy’s staying. I know you were gonna bring her back, so why don’t you bring her back some clothes instead, please.” 

Before Andy could answer, Caroline’s eyes narrowed, “Why is that? What’s up?”

“Up? Price of gas? The rent? I just think your mama would feel a lot better with Andy here, that’s all.” She looked at Wanda and barely tilted her head.

Wanda nodded. “Dr. Allen is right. We will bring clothes back and Andy can shower here and take care of your mami. It’s good for her to have someone to stay. Let’s go.” 

The children stalled as the elevator door opened and Wanda said again, far more firmly. “We are leaving now.”

The Priestly children had learned that a firm tone from Wanda was something to be reckoned with and they obediently followed Juan Carlo and Carlo onto the elevator.

As the doors closed upon them, Dr. Allen turned on Andy, “Now just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Before Andy could answer, she heard a woman’s voice behind her, “None of that Texas tornado crap on my floor, Susie—not with my patient.”

Andy watched Dr. Allen’s body tense at the voice, and then relax into a guarded posture as she grinned. “Oh God. You?”

“Said Adam to Eve, Eve to the snake. Before the uh oh God part, by the way.”

The voice was feminine, warm and unexpectedly sultry. Andy turned to find a petite blonde woman in lime green scrubs behind her. Her nametag read “Esme” and she smiled at Andy, who returned the smile uncertainly.

Esme was an electrifyingly attractive woman in her late 30s but her diminutive stature was belied by a tone that was incredibly stern as she introduced herself, “Esme McDonald, and you’re Andy Sachs and Miranda Priestly will be my patient tonight.”

As they shook hands, Esme smiled past Andy to Dr. Allen, “And this doctor? Who is not my patient’s doctor and is about to read you the riot act about the fact there have been at least ten people visiting a quite seriously ill patient’s room in the last 24 hours? She’s going to cease and desist and let me handle this, isn’t she?  Because, as an ER doc, unless you’re bleeding in front of her, she doesn’t quite understand you’re a survivor of this violent trauma yourself, does she?”

This was said without equivocation and Andy whipped her attention toward Dr. Allen, who stared for a moment and lowered her head. “Fair enough Es. You’re right.”

Esme socked the doctor lightly on the shoulder, “When haven’t I been? Except in one ruinously notable instance?”

She turned, asking, “May I call you Andy?”

“Sure.”

“Follow me and let me show you what we’re working with.”

They followed Esme to the nurses’ station and the woman took an X-ray film from an envelope in Miranda’s chart. She slapped it on the light box on the wall.

Andy gasped. She wasn’t a radiologist but even she could see it was an arm shattered in multiple pieces.

“That’s Miranda’s humerus when she got here, okay?”

Andy nodded as Esme replaced that X-ray with another on the box. It was, Andy thought, both technically impressive and horrifying. Soft black and soft white of human flesh and bone contrasted with the stark white of the inhuman, synthetic.

“That’s Miranda’s left arm now. 37 pins.”

Esme turned to Andy and placed her hand on the younger woman’s arm, “I don’t know you. But I’ve read Miranda’s chart. And her notes from her last stay here. We have every hope that she’ll make a full recovery but this, with her tremendous blood loss, was a life-threatening injury, Andy. Far worse than her injury before. So? I made the call. Vasquez agreed and this is an order, you understand? She cannot have visitors except for you for five days. She’s that sick, okay?”

Andy, who’d visibly blanched, nodded.

“Listening, Andy?”

Andy swallowed and nodded.

“I’m the best nurse in this hospital. You’re taking great care of her but I’m also going to take care of her. I promise you. You need to take yourself off of DefCon5 and take care of yourself, okay?”

Andy nodded again.

Esme grabbed the chart and a bag of supplies, “Okay. Now let’s go see my patient.”

As they walked down the hall, Dr. Allen said, “Damn, Es, you mean you haven’t even seen her and you’re already pulling rank?”

“Can I read a chart, Susie?”

Dr. Allen glanced at Esme and grinned, “Yes, ma’am. You always could.”

“That’s what I like to hear. I have other patients—let’s get this one settled.”

As they entered Miranda’s room, the woman was sobbing. Andy rushed forward and tentatively put her hand on Miranda’s leg, “What’s wrong sweetie?”

She glared at Andy, “I haven’t the faintest idea. I’ve been trying to decide. Wait—it might be my arm. And oh wait yet again? How can I miss you if you won’t go away?”

Andy gave her a tepid smile and kissed her sweating brow softly. “I couldn’t leave you, sweetheart. This is Esme, your night nurse.”

Miranda’s voice was ice, “Delighted to meet you. Are you here to watch me suffer, as well?”

Esme smiled, “You too for the meeting part and no for the suffering part. And I know everyone calls you Miranda so we’ll skip all that. I’m going to hook you up and find out how you’re doing. And then I’m going to chart it and give you the extra pain meds I know you need, alright?”

Miranda’s face changed slightly at this. “Proceed. And could you please render me unconscious?”

“No, but it’ll be very close—and I think you need it. On a scale from 1-10, what’s your pain level?"

“15, and I don’t tend toward hyperbole.”

Esme nodded and put the leads to the heart telemetry on Miranda’s chest, put a blood pressure cuff on her good arm and a pulse oximeter on her finger. “There we go.”

She watched as the equipment adjusted itself, then at the stats presented. She asked without needing an answer, “Dr. Allen, I think we can call all that a reaction to extreme pain, don’t you?” 

“Definitely.”

Esme logged this in Miranda’s chart. “Back in a couple of minutes with more medicine, okay? Once you get that onboard, I’ll do the rest of my evaluation. It’ll be lights out, Miranda. Andy? Say goodnight.”

Dr. Allen smiled and patted Miranda’s arm, “You’ll feel nothing at all soon.”

“I hope so.”

“See you when you wake up, Miranda.”

“You keep saying that,” Miranda grimaced, “It’s almost romantic.”

“Hey!” Andy protested.

“Oh right, Junior’s in the room.”

The doctor grinned and patted Miranda’s arm. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

Dr. Allen gave Andy a brief hug and left the room.

As she closed the door Esme was striding toward her with a syringe.

“Thanks, Es.”

“For patient care? My job.”

“You know what,” Dr. Allen placed herself between the nurse and the room. “For getting right on it.”

Esme looked up into the doctor’s kind and distant eyes, “What can I say, Susie? The charge nurse called me. And like I wouldn’t answer any time I knew it was for you?”

Dr. Allen leaned against the corridor wall, “I didn’t even know you were home. Or here again.”

“Why would you? No need for you to know where I am anymore.” Her voice was wistful but she immediately straightened her posture, “And that’s on me. And I know it. And I’m keeping my patient waiting. And you’re missing your guy. Jake’s closing that graft in, I’d say, about 20. Looking great.”

“You watched Jake?”

Esme’s shoulders sank but her face was completely unreadable, “Yeah. I can’t exactly watch you, can I?” 

Dr. Allen flinched at the words but she pulled the woman into a hug, “Glad you’re back, Es.”

Esme gripped the woman tightly before breaking the hug and forcing a chuckle, “Get out of here, heartbreaker.”

“No. Don’t.” Dr. Allen looked down at her, wondering if this, them, would ever be any less painful. “That was you, Es. You know I would have done—”

“I know. I know.” Esme stopped her, “Don’t I know it?” She chuckled again and mimicked jabbing the syringe in her own arm, “So get out of here. Give my love to Jake for me, okay?”

“Will do.”

***

Andy ran her thumb gently over Miranda’s forehead, as Esme slowly pushed the syringe into the woman’s IV line. Her eyes fluttered and she was out.

Esme looked at the telemetry. “There you go. She’s fine. And I’ll keep an eye on her. Go get some rest and a shower.”

Andy kissed Miranda’s forehead before saying, “So? You and Dr. Allen?”

Esme ignored this, “Glove up—I could call a nurse assistant but I know you’ll do.”

Andy washed her hands and donned gloves.

“Just in case,” Esme said. “Hold her arm here—and here.”

Andy did so and as Esme unwrapped the arm, she saw what no one had let her see yet.

“Jesus Christ!”

“Yeah—but it looks good,” Esme said as she inspected it, “Very good.”

“Uh, I think I want to faint now.”

Esme jerked her head up, “Really?”

“Well, no—but it’s…”

“Scary. Yes.”

“It’s sort of horrible.”

“Survivable.”

“It’s really painful, isn’t it?”

“Excruciating.”

“I didn’t really know, you know. No one told me.”

“No. The general idea is? It would upset the family.”

“Fuck that? Unlike her reaction to pain? That wouldn’t upset me?”

“Fair enough.”

Esme wrapped the arm and pinned it again. “She’s looking really good, and she’ll feel a lot better getting more rest. She didn’t have enough on board to handle her pain.” Esme tidied Miranda’s covers and said, “Go rest—I’ll take care of her.”

Andy nodded, hesitated and repeated, “It’s none of my business but you and Dr. Allen?”

Esme tilted her head? “Yes?”

“You were…”

“It isn’t but I’ll answer because she would. We were. For three years and I wouldn’t commit to her and she wanted it. So I left her. She got on with her life.”

“With a man?”

“Why not? Did you always date women?”

Andy bowed her head, “No. Never.”

The smaller woman cleared her supplies as she said, “So what? Are you judging her for that? She found someone she truly loved. Haven’t you? Or are you just a tourist in the lesbian army?”

Andy saw the fire in Esme’s eyes. She was baiting her.

“No. I’m marrying her. I love her.”

“I thought so.” Esme smiled. “And Susie married Jake. It’s not a crime, Andy. Loving someone’s not a crime. I have other patients. Go home and rest.”