Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
The team was rushed to Yan Sum Hospital where Shelly and Erin were treated for their smoke filled lungs. Darren and Ted were overlooked by the nurses and concluded that they were okay. The rest were in the waiting room. Chuck came in 15 minutes after the team had arrived “How are they?” was the first question he asked.
“They’re okay.” Doug nodded as he got up “The doctor is looking over the girls.”
“How about Ted and where’s Darren?” Chuck asked hurriedly.
Mia smiled “They’ll be okay. The nurses are checking on them.”
Becca rolled her eyes “How are you Becca? Oh, I just broke my ankle, I’ll be fine.” She snickered with envy.
Chuck turned to her “You’re still alive?”
“Unfortunately, since I can still see your face.” She smiled with daggers in her eyes.
Ted and Darren returned to the team minutes later “Are you two okay?” Mia asked, her eyes directing more towards Darren.
“I’m okay.” Darren nodded “Just a little too much smoke for my lungs. Ted had to have them cleaned out.”
Becca winced painfully “Ouch.”
“I can only imagine Erin. She was locked in there longer than Shelly. Good thing Ryan reacted quickly.” Ted complimented.
Ryan smiled humbly “I just did what I had to do.”
Just then there was a knock on the door “Hello everyone. I’m Dr. Liu. I just wanted to tell you that Sheila Kam will be just fine. Her lungs were washed out and her eyes were inspected. You can visit her now.”
Everyone turned to Ryan as he got up “I’m going to go see her.” He left the room while the rest waited for Erin’s news.
After an hour, they grew worried “What is taking so long?” Ted asked as he paced back and forth, he was in mood to sit.
Becca closed her eyes as she put one hand over her forehead “What’s wrong?” Doug asked trying not to sound overly concerned.
“He’s making me dizzy.” She pointed at Ted.
“Hey man.” He got Ted’s attention and nodded his head to Becca.
“Sorry.” Ted mumbled as he took a seat next to Chuck.
“She’ll be okay.” Chuck assured him “She survived that fire, she could survive anything.”
Mia quickly chimed in “Yeah, we know how strong she is.”
Darren and Ted met eyes as they lowered their head “Maybe not.” Darren commented.
“What do you mean?” Mia looked confused.
“She almost gave up.” Ted explained, “If it wasn’t for Brad, she wouldn’t have answered me.”
“Brad?” Becca looked up “You mean his spirit?”
“I don’t know.” Ted sighed tiredly “She called his name a few times and then a moment later she was calling me for help. I don’t know what happened and if she saw Brad. But I’m worried about her.” He turned to Chuck “What if she ends up having asthma and can’t work? She’ll be devastated.”
Chuck nodded at Ted “She’ll be okay. Have a little faith.”
The room grew with silent prayers as everyone hoped Erin would be okay. The doctor entered and Ted was instantly on his feet “How is she?!” he asked anxiously.
He nodded at them “She had a much more severe condition than Sheila. Her lungs had a layer of black soot. We cleaned as much as we could. Her eyes were a little wet and on top of that, the smoke got inside it. Her vision might be impaired. We don’t know until she wakes up.”
“She’s going to be blind?” Becca asked in shock.
“She can’t be blind!!” Ted cried.
“We are not positive.” The doctor emphasized. "We don’t how bad the damage in her eyes are until she wakes up.” The group was silent “You can visit her now, she might be a little woozy but she needs support more than anything.”
No one moved as Chuck patted Ted on the shoulder “Why don’t you go in first?”
He turned to him like a zombie and nodded. When he got to Erin’s room, he noticed the light was dimmed and her eyes were closed. Her hands were clasped over one another. Silently he took the chair next to her, she must have sensed his entrance as she opened her eyes and turned to him “Ted?”
“Yeah.” He whispered, the lump in his throat grew as he watched her stare at him blankly “How are you feeling?”
“Like I haven’t slept in days. But I’m just glad to be back.” She pushed herself up as he helped her move the pillow behind her back “I want to thank you.” She smiled.
“Don’t. I had to do it, I wasn’t about to let you burn to death.” Ted reached for her hand as he gave it a little squeeze “You’ll be okay.”
She chuckled softly “Silly guy, of course I will be okay. I’m going back to work the minute I get out of this hospital.”
There was a soft knock on the door and it opened slowly, Mia peeked her head in “Sorry to interrupt, but we were anxious.”
Erin smiled as she waved her friend over “Come in! You know better than to be polite with me.”
Mia laughed nervously as she approached the bed and looked at Erin, who had dark circles around her eyes and she seemed be concentrating on the door. Darren followed Mia as he reached out and took Erin’s hand “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Me too.” Erin nodded.
Becca was supported by Doug, her crutches would come later “I’m glad you’re taking this okay.”
“What do you mean?” Erin looked confused. She followed her head towards the voice of her friend.
“She’s just rambling.” Doug said quickly “Don’t mind her. She broke her ankle.”
“You did?” Erin asked with concern “How did that happen?”
“It’s not important.” Becca noticed the glares she was receiving from her teammates.
Chuck inched his way over and sat down on the bed next to Erin. He smiled at her “I have to tell you something, Erin.”
She tilted her head at him with a smile “You’re not going to confess your love to me in front of everyone are you?”
“No, that would be disturbing.” Becca retorted “And I’d be the first to call the cops.”
Erin laughed as she shook her head “What is it Chuck?” he opened his mouth to say something when she interrupted him “Wait. Ted, could you call the doctor inside? I want to know if he can take off the bandages on my eyes, I want to see everyone.”
Ted widened his eyes as he looked at Chuck. She didn’t have any bandages. Mia uttered a whimper and she quickly covered her mouth. Becca turned to Doug “Oh my God, she doesn’t know.” She whispered.
Mia moved away from the bed while Darren took over her other side “Erin…your bandages are off.” He said it so soft she had to concentrate to make out the words.
She reached her shaky hands to her eyes and noticed that was nothing covering them. Her hand waved in front of her eyes. She was hit with a dosage of reality “I’m blind.” Her voice quivered and her lips shook as she began crying.
“Erin, it’s going to be okay. The doctors didn’t say it would be permanent.” Ted quickly assured her.
“NO!” Erin pushed him away “I’m blind! How is that not permanent??” she shook her head vehemently “I have to get out of here…I have to find a better doctor…I can’t be blind.” She pulled the blanket off her legs and pushed her way while Chuck and Ted held her back “Let go of me!!”
Darren turned to Mia “Call the doctor.”
She nodded with tears in her eyes as she rushed out to retrieve a doctor. Instead, she found Ethan “Help! Erin…” she pointed to the room and Ethan frowned as he rushed inside.
She was struggling to get loose “She’s in shock.” Darren explained.
Ethan nodded as he found the anesthesia needle in a kit by her bed. They were prepared for her reaction. He pumped the medicine into the needle and shot her with it. Within seconds she relaxed her struggle and fell limply into Ted’s arms “How did she get like this?” he asked.
Ted settled her down on the bed as he answered “She just found out she’s blind.”
“From what?” Ethan asked calmly.
“Smoke.” Mia explained, “She’s been kidnapped for the past five days and when we got to her, there was a fire.”
“Black smoke…” Ethan nodded with realization.
“Can she be cured?” Doug asked.
Ethan turned to him with a shake of the head “It doesn’t look promising. Although I have seen a few patients regain their vision after being temporarily blinded. But those case scenarios are rare.”
“Is there any way to help her?” Chuck asked.
“Don’t leave her alone. She is very feeble at this point in time. I will do a couple of sessions with her, hopefully she will come out with her true feelings. Then we can slowly work on healing the pain and shock.” Ethan turned to the group with a smile “She’s very lucky to have you guys in her life. Good friends are hard to find.”
“Yes, they are.” Mia added, her eyes digging into Ethan’s.
He turned away uncomfortably “Well, I guess my work here is done. You guys know where to find me.”
“Wait. I’ll walk you back to your office.” Mia announced.
“He’s a big boy, I think he can find his way back by himself.” Becca added.
“Mind your own business.” Doug muttered.
Mia turned to Doug, who was trying hard to avoid eye contact with her “Doug, you come too.”
“But I’ve already seen his office!” he retorted.
“Doug.” She widened her eyes threateningly at him as he got up unwillingly and followed the two.
Becca turned to Darren, who followed Mia with curious eyes “You’re trailing behind. I think you better do something to gain some points.”
“What?” Darren asked, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I don’t think it gets anymore obvious than that.” Becca got up as she began hopping.
“Where are you going?” Darren walked over to support her.
She turned to him thankfully for the help “Get my crutches. I can’t hop like this for two weeks.” He laughed while helping her outside to find the right department.
“Are you going to tell Erin when she wakes up?” Ted asked Chuck, the only other person left in the room.
“Eventually.” Chuck smiled “I think she can only take one bad news at a time.”
“Are you kidding?” Ted arched his brows upward “That is great news! She always felt so lonely without any family. Until she found Shelly, I noticed that she was a little happier. If she knew she had an uncle, it could only brighten her day. Not to mention, she’s always gotten along with you.”
Chuck nodded “I know. I felt a connection with her but the thought of it being romantic gave me goose bumps. I knew it was a different kind of click.”
Ted smiled as he turned his attention back to Erin, who was sleeping peacefully now “I’ll take the first shift.”
“Okay. I’ll be back tomorrow.” Chuck patted him on the back “Take a rest, you’ve had a very long day.” Ted nodded but he still couldn’t tear his eyes away from her angelic face.