Chapter Text
Leanne was first to hear the gunfire. She ran over to the nurses’ station and grabbed a phone. As she waited for the line to ring, she called out, “Everyone, evacuate. Get everyone out!” Jesse began to usher all of the walk-ins out and help stabilize the criticals and get them outside. Leanne spoke into the phone with frantic urgency, “There is an active shooter at Angels’ Memorial. I need EMT, police, everyone you got. Redirect the ambulances to another hospital. I’m in the process of clearing everyone.” The dispatcher responded and Leanne hung up and ran back into the building to check. She saw Jesse taking someone out and called to him, “How many more left?”
He replied, “Just this one. Leanne, don’t go back in. This isn’t some little kid that took his daddy’s gun. This is a trained sniper. Whoever this person is, they aren’t just firing randomly.”
Leanne shook her head, “Jesse, this is my ER. If there is someone left in the building, then it is my responsibility. You know you can’t stop me. Please don’t try.”
Jesse looked at Leanne and said, with sadness lingering slightly in his voice, “I know, Daddy. But be careful, alright?”
Leanne nodded and entered the ER. She saw Christa and Malaya clinging to each other. They sat in a pool of sticky, scarlet liquid. Leanne began to run over, but before she could make it to them, she heard a bang and the already distressed Christa screamed in fear and grief, “Leanne!”
Leanne felt like she was falling with no end. She collapsed to the ground in pain. Crying out with all the pain, her ears rang and she soon realized what had happened. She wheezed out a couple times and looked at Christa and Malaya. She whispered, “I’m sorry.” Christa was sobbing wildly and Malaya was staring on in shock. Leanne’s cry out had brought Jesse running over. The police had also arrived, and Jesse pointed out the sniper to them, of whom they promptly arrested for attempted murder and assault.
After the man was detained, Jesse knelt at Leanne’s side. He murmured, “Lea, you’ll be okay. Just relax.” He placed his hands over the wound and called out, “I need a gurney over here!”
As soon as the police gave the all clear, everyone rushed in to help. They checked up on Christa, who had been grazed with a bullet, but it was a minor, superficial injury. Everyone was most worried about their ER director, Dr. Leanne Rorish. A flurry of activity surrounded her as they moved her to center stage. She was the only patient in anyone’s minds at the moment. Everyone worked their hardest and their best for the woman who had been ‘Daddy’ for years.
As they took Leanne up to the OR everyone stood around grimly. Their faces showed nothing but sadness, pain, and tragedy. Everyone there knew that the bullet had been too close to Leanne’s spine for it not to have caused any permanent damage. It was likely that she would never walk again, and that weighed on everyone’s shoulders. The hospital was pretty much closed down for the moment, so they were able to just sit and cry.
Jesse sat with Christa in one of the rooms. Jesse held Christa in his arms and said to her, his voice gentle and calming, “Christa, this is hard for all of us, trust me. I know first hand. But we all need to stay calm. Take a few days off. Go hang out with Malaya. Help her. We hopefully won’t be busy for a while.”
“But Jesse, I want to be there for Dr. Rorish when she wakes up.”
Jesse replied, “Alright. You rest here, I’ll page you when she wakes up. Could you also tell the rest of the residents and Dr. Hudson for me?”
Christa nodded and said, “Of course. Before you call us, just take some time with her. Help her, because we all know what’s going to happen.”
Jesse stared long and hard at the floor before saying, “It’s going to be hard for her to adjust. Especially in the ER. Not sure if she’ll ever return to us.”
Christa closed her eyes and replied, “I hope that she does. I can see that she is very much needed around here.”
Jesse nodded and solemnly left to upstairs.
Leanne had just come out of surgery, but she was still unconscious. Jesse sat by her side, holding her hand and waiting patiently for her to wake. Even though he hated the thought of having to break the news to her, he knew that was his duty as her friend.
Hours later, Leanne began to wake. She turned her head slightly and a smile came upon her lips as she saw Jesse sound asleep from all of the day’s action. She felt weak, but she couldn’t help but watch how peaceful Jesse looked as he rested. She watched him for a couple minutes before calling out gently, knowing fully well that Jesse would be upset if she did not wake him as soon as she awoke, “Jesse, I’m awake.”
Jesse practically fell out of the chair he was in. He sputtered, “L-Leanne!”
Leanne raised an eyebrow. Jesse rarely stuttered. In fact, the last time she had heard him stutter was when he had to tell her that her whole family had died. “Jesse, what’s wrong? How are Christa and Malaya?”
Jesse had a pained look on his face as he spoke as softly as he could manage, “They’re all fine. Christa just got grazed slightly, but it’s merely a superficial wound.”
Leanne looked Jesse in the eye and demanded, “Tell me what’s going on, Jesse. Don’t hold back, please. Just tell me. Please just give it to me straight, Mama.”
Jesse winced at his nickname. He knew that after this, she probably wouldn’t be able to speak with him like that for a while. He said, pain lacing his voice, “L-Lea, I’m so sorry. The bullet, it hit your spine, and it’s likely that you will never walk unassisted again.”
Leanne stared at Jesse in shock. “You’re lying to me,” she said, with all the seriousness in the world.
Jesse couldn’t bear to see Leanne’s face. He looked down and away. He fiddled with his pager, sending a page to Christa. “Leanne, if you need some alone time, I’ll step out.”
Leanne let a tear fall and choked out, “No. I need you here.”
Jesse apologized, “I’m really sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m sure that you would rather hear it from me than anyone else.”
Leanne nodded and said, “Mama, come here. Sit with me.”
Jesse nodded, moving from the chair to sitting right next to her. He said quietly, “I paged the residents and Neal. They’re on their way up to see you.”
Leanne nodded. “Jesse, could you help me sit up?”
He placed his hands firmly on her back, supporting her and placed pillows under her back. “Good?”
She smiled and said, “Yes, thank you very much Jesse.”
Jesse took Leanne’s hand and said, “Leanne, it’s ok to cry. You’re going through something that is horribly painful. This isn’t the time to be the strong Dr. Rorish. Right now, it’s okay to be Lea again. It’s okay to be vulnerable right now.”
Leanne leaned slightly on Jesse and said, “I know. Do you think this place would be able to manage without me?”
Jesse asked softly, “It depends. How long are you planning to leave?”
Leanne looked up at Jesse and admitted, “A long time, if not forever.”
Jesse said, “Lea, you know that everyone needs you.”
Leanne interrupted, “Jesse, I have a successor chosen already.”
“And I know who you’re talking about. Trust me, it isn’t the lack of attendings that we would be worrying about. It’s your expertise.”
“You know that he was under me for six years, four as part of an emergency medicine residency, and then another two as a trauma fellow. He thinks the same way that I do and is just as likely to get fired for caring too much.”
Jesse shook his head and said, “Leanne, no one can replace you. I’m not going to try to convince you; at least, not right now, but later on, I might. But I already know you’re likely to be too stubborn, so I’m inviting you to come visit whenever you would like, maybe watch the emergency department for a while. Perhaps watching dysfunction will give you pity for us.”
Leanne merely rolled her eyes, chuckling lightly.
Seconds later, the residents and Neal walked in. Seeing Leanne grinning, they were very glad for the head nurse. Leanne turned to Jesse and whispered to him, “Can you call TC for me? Tell him what happened and explain my proposal?”
Jesse nodded and said to the group, “I’ll be right back.”