Consequences

A Presidio Med story by Deana Lisi

Disclaimer: I don't own Nick or any Presidio Med character.

"I can't believe how far off we were!"

"Would you stop talking about it, already?" Dr. Jules Keating shook her head as she and Dr. Jackie Collette walked down the hall.

"Well," said Jackie. "I mean, I still can't believe it."

Jules nodded. "Neither can I, but I'm tired of feeling stupid." Truth be told, Jules couldn't stop thinking about it either. The previous day, prescription notepads had been stolen, and used illegally. She and Jackie had done up a profile of the thief, based on the stolen drugs. The short, bald, angina-suffering man with migraines traveling to the Far East ended up turning into a 23-year-old healthy young woman.*

"Weird," Jackie commented.

As they walked, neither of them noticed the stumbling man down a hall to their left. The man came out behind them, going the opposite way.

********************

"Good work, Nick."

Dr. Nick Kokoris turned around to see Dr. Harriet Lanning come into the break room. "Thanks, Harriet," he said, flashing her a beautiful smile as he poured himself some coffee.

"I heard you really brought that woman back from the brink of death," Harriet said, grabbing the coffee pot.

Nick nodded, with a nonchalant shrug. "It's my job."

Harriet smiled. "You do it very well."

Nick smiled again, and sat down with his coffee.

"So…" said Harriet.

Nick looked up at her.

Harriet leaned against the counter, looking at him over her coffee mug. "What do you do, nights?"

Nick blinked, wondering what exactly she meant. "Uh…"

"I mean, do you have a girlfriend, do you spend time with anyone?" Harriet lowered her mug. "I've been thinking about you lately. You're always here, work, work, work. A young, good looking man like you should have some fun in life."

Nick smiled at her motherly attitude. "Well…" his smile faded as he sat down. "There was someone, once…"

Harriet frowned. "No more?"

Nick shrugged. "No…not really."

Harriet gave him a sympathetic face. "Ooooh, that's just too bad." Suddenly her pager went off. She picked it up, and looked at it. With a sigh, she put down her coffee.

"Duty calls," said Nick.

Harriet nodded. "It sure does." Giving him another smile, she walked out, leaving Nick to ponder an important area of his life that was seriously lacking.

********************

"'Scuse me, I'm looking for Dr. Kokoris."

The receptionist blinked, at the obviously drunk man who was talking to her. "Dr. Kokoris…" she looked around, not seeing him. "I'm not sure where he is, do you need help? I can…"

"No, I'll find him," the man slurred, stumbling off.

The receptionist turned, to alert someone about the man, but the phone rang and she answered it, quickly forgetting about him.

"'Scuse me, doc."

Jackie turned around. "Yes?"

"Where's Dr. Kokoris?" the drunk asked.

Jackie smiled. "Right there, actually."

The man turned, to see Nick walking past the receptionist desk. "Him?"

Jackie nodded, frowning as the man stumbled off. She almost grabbed his arm to ask if he was all right, but figured Nick would be asking him that in a few seconds anyway.

"Dr. Kokoris!"

Nick stopped as he passed the receptionist desk, and backed up. "Yes?"

"There's a strange man looking for you," the receptionist told him. Suddenly she spotted him across the way. "He's right over there."

Nick turned around and saw him. Walking in his direction, he saw the man stop dead, and simply stare at him.

"Are you Dr. Kokoris?" the man asked, when Nick reached him.

"Yes," Nick said. "Is there something I can do for you?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. You can die."

Before Nick had a chance to register his words, the man thrust something at him, and Nick grabbed his arm, but not fast enough to avoid getting sliced by what he saw was a scalpel.

The drunk was sent off balance by Nick's grip, and fell sideways, to the floor.

Nick fell with him, landing on his knees, still gripping the drunk's arms.

The commotion caught everyone's attention, and several people ran, in fear, while doctors hurried over.

"Nick!" shouted Jackie, when she saw the bloody scalpel.

"I got him," Nick said, trying to wrest it from the drunk's hands.

Drs. Letty Jordan and Matt Singerland ran over as security personnel managed to subdue the man, letting Nick get the scalpel from him.

"What happened?!" Matt exclaimed.

         

"He attacked me," said Nick, slumping to a sitting position with a wince, a hand clutching his ribs.

"You're hurt," said Letty, trying to get a look at the wound, which had already soaked a decent portion of Nick's shirt with blood. To her alarm, she saw it beginning to pool on the floor.

"I don't think it's bad," Nick lied, trying not to let the pain show in his voice.

Letty made a face at him, and grabbed his arm while Matt grabbed the other, pulling him to his feet.

Immediately Nick swayed dizzily, almost tripping over himself.

"Heh," Letty snorted. "He considers that 'not bad'," she mumbled, as she and Matt helped Nick to one of the treatment rooms.

********************

"Well?" If his left side hadn't been killing him, Nick would've thought it humorous at the way everyone was hovering over him.

"You were lucky," said Jackie, getting to the point.

Nick held in a pained gasp when someone touched him. He felt odd being the patient rather then the doctor. Looking at the IV bag, he wondered how long it would take the drugs to work.

Jules Keating started taking his blood pressure again. "On the low side, but not dangerously."

"Good," said Harriet. "Looks like we don't have to give you a lot of blood, Nick."

Nick sighed, not having wanted any.

"Who do you want to sew you up?" Letty asked him.

Sew me up… "You," he said. "No, make it Harriet, she's gentler."

Harriet took the suture from Matt, and went closer to the table. Looking down at Nick, she gave him another of her motherly smiles.

Nick returned her smile, looking rather pale. Harriet wondered if he needed more blood then they thought.

As she threaded the needle, she tried not to look worried. Everyone was putting on a brave face for Nick, trying not to worry him. The poor guy had just nearly been killed, but why, no one knew.

Jackie handed Harriet the Novocain injection, and she looked at Nick, to see his eyes closed. "Nick?"

Nick opened them, looking at her blearily. The drugs were starting to work.

"You're gonna feel…" a stick, she was about to say. Looking at the long slice, from over his left ribs to around his side, she knew this would feel like more then a mere 'stick'. Especially since she could see bone showing.

"This is gonna hurt," she said, instead.

Nick nodded, closing his eyes again.

Harriet inserted the needle as gently as possibly, hearing the gasp Nick emitted. She quickly injected the drug and withdrew the needle, patting him on the arm. "All right, Nick?"

Nick opened his eyes after the wound went numb, and sighed in relief. "Yeah," he answered her.

"I'll have you done in a jiffy," Harriet told him.

Nick closed his eyes again, drowsily.

"BP's lower," said Jules. "85/50."

"It shouldn't drop any further," said Harriet, the bleeding having slowed.

Everyone nodded, watching as she sewed.

"How you doing, Nick?" she asked, a few minutes later.

She got no answer.

"Nick?" said Jules.

Nothing.

"You think he's asleep or passed out?" Jackie asked.

"Probably both," said Matt.

"BP unchanged," said Jules, relieved.

"I wonder who that jerk was, who did this," said Letty. "And why?"

"I didn't even see him," said Jules. "Was it someone Nick knows?"

Everyone shrugged, having no idea.

Season 1, episode 8, 'Pick Your Battles'