Doctor's Orders, an ER fic

[musiclover90]

I haven't posted a story here in a long time, but I wrote this one recently.

If you're unfamiliar with the show, some helpful links:

http://en.wikipedia....i/ER_(TV_series)

http://en.wikipedia....i/Abby_Lockhart

http://en.wikipedia....#Lucien_Dubenko

Feel free to picture Lucien as you wish, with curls:

https://encrypted-tb...SRe23XvLgCXM8p8

or without:

https://encrypted-tb...mI2gj7VxEHoRbl_

And now on to the story:

Doctor's Orders by musiclover90

Chapter 1

Wednesday - 1:17 AM

He was the only surgical attending on call and as Chief of Surgery he was more than obligated to cover any shift. He usually delegated overnights to those below him on the ladder like Dustin, Neela, or another resident but he’d drawn the short straw this time.

Dr. Dubenko was doing some charting at the main desk. He stifled a yawn and reached to answer his beeping pager; it was the ER.

He said a quick ‘I’ll be back’ to Liza, the night clerk, and told her to have OR 1 prepped and ready and took an elevator to the bottom floor.

He pushed the doors of Trauma 1 open. “What’s the story?”

“GSW to the leg, shoulder, and abdomen. Leg and shoulder are through-and-through, abdomen one’s still in there,” Nurse Dawn Archer replied.

Dr. Dubenko listened to the young man's lungs and heart with his stethoscope. “What does the x-ray show?”

Dr. Tony Gates produced an x-ray that displayed a bullet lodged in the left upper quadrant.

“Pressure’s holding at 110/70 after a unit. Crit is 18.”

“Bullet probably nicked the spleen; let's get him upstairs,” Dr. Dubenko said. “Have at least four units typed and crossed.” He and his colleagues wheeled the patient upstairs to the surgical floor. After scrubbing in, he requested an eleven blade in order to begin the surgery.

This patient required a splenectomy to go along with the bullet removal. As the patient was wheeled out to Recovery, Lucien stripped off his gloves and mask. He went to the desk to grab the chart and wrote post-op notes. He put it in a stack and walked off, feeling his throat constrict as he let out a small cough.

‘Must’ve had my mask on too tight,’ he figured internally and went into the lounge for coffee.

***

A SICU patient took a bad turn around 3 AM, spiking an 103-degree fever with a high white blood cell count; both being landmarks for infection. Blood work and antibiotics were ordered and started right away.

After two more ER pages were answered and a bunch of charts were completed, it was now almost daylight which meant that morning rounds and the shift change were imminent. For a graveyard shift it had been relatively slow, but Lucien was completely exhausted.

After passing on his patients to Dustin and Neela, Dr. Dubenko headed for the locker rooms to shower and then went to his car to drive home.

After leaving his shoes, keys, and bag by the front door, Lucien went upstairs to the bedroom. He quietly stepped inside, removed his glasses, and crawled into bed so as not to disturb his wife’s sleep.

His efforts were in vain as she stirred. “...Lucien? What time is it?”

“Almost seven.”

“Did you just get in?”

“Yeah, when’s your shift?”

“Nine.”

Lucien wrapped an arm around Abby to hold her close. He closed his eyes. “Sleep.”

***

Abby got up about an hour later to get ready for her shift in the ER. “I hate this...with me on days and you on nights.”

“The shift gods have been conspiring against us. I’ll come in early and maybe we can grab some dinner.”

“Sure.”

“I can pick up from Ike's or I could get something—” A tickle in his throat causes him to cough. He clears it. “Something else.”

“Ike’s is fine,” Abby says as she leaves the bathroom. “See you later, love you.” They kiss.

“You too, go save some lives.”

“And leave the surgeons to twiddle their thumbs? I don’t think their egos could handle it.”

“But yours would. Go on, get outta here.”

“Bye.”

Lucien heard Abby leave and shut the door before lying back down again. He coughed softly and with a sigh, tried to sleep, knowing he had another shift in about twelve hours.

[musiclover90]

A/N: No responses, I see. Oh well, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 2

Wednesday - 5:45 PM

After sleeping for most of the day, Lucien got out of the house to go get dinner from Ike’s. He ordered a patty melt for Abby, a burger for himself, and some fries. He walked from the bar to the ER that was down the street. Abby was at Admit doing some charting when he buzzed himself in. “Hey, you. Hungry?”

Abby looked up to see her husband holding a bag of food and smiled. “Starved. Let me finish this and pass off my cases. We can eat in the lounge.”

Lucien went to the right and down the hall into the doctor’s lounge, placing the food on a table. He removed the bag’s contents and placed Abby’s order across from him. After grabbing a couple of sodas from the fridge, he sat down to wait.

His throat had been getting increasingly scratchy all day and a pair of coughs escaped his lips. He cracked open his can to take a drink in order to relieve the dry feeling there.

Abby walked in a few minutes later, her lab coat shed and her hair down. “Chow time. Thanks for this,” she said as she sat down and opened her styrofoam container.

“Sure thing, babe.”

Abby took a bite of her patty melt. “Mmmm...so good.”

Lucien nodded in agreement as he ate his burger and had a few fries.

“So what’d you do all day while I slaved away in this cesspool of humanity?”

“Slept, watched a bit of TV; nothing exciting. How was yours?”

“There’s definitely been worse days. Not a lot of traumas, but triage has been insane. I’m so glad I don’t work ‘the cage’ anymore.”

“Thank God for small miracles.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes before Lucien’s sore throat made itself known again.

“You alright?” Abby wondered, her brows furrowed.

“Fine, just swallowed wrong,” he answered and took a drink of soda.

“Wanna go to Doc Magoo’s for ice cream? I'm buying,” Lucien suggested with a wink after they ate and cleaned up.

“Sure.” Abby grabbed her purse and they left the lounge.

“’Night, Abby. ’Night, Lucien,” Dr. Archie Morris said as they passed Admit.

“I’m on at eight,” Lucien corrected him as he and Abby walked out of the ER and across the street to the diner.

They sat down at a booth and waited for a server. “What can I get you two?”

“We’ll have a hot fudge sundae; two spoons please,” Abby said.

“Coming right up.” The server left to place their order and soon returned with their ice cream. “Enjoy.”

They both dug in, with Abby taking the cherry and licking whipped cream off her spoon.

He wouldn’t tell her, but the cold, sweet treat felt good on his throat.

It didn’t take long for them to polish off the sundae. “Good idea,” Abby remarked after they paid and walked back to the ambulance bay.

“You should go. I’m not on for another hour and I wanna get a jump on charts and pass-ons.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” she faux-pouts.

“Never.” He brought his lips to her forehead. “Go home and relax. A bath, some wine, maybe put on a movie...”

“Alright,” Abby sighed. “Don’t work too hard, have a good shift. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” They shared a hug and kiss before parting, with Lucien leaving his wife in the ambulance bay.

Abby could have sworn she heard him cough as he went inside. Concerned for a moment, she shrugged it off and began to make her way home as she was off tomorrow.

[missyv99]

I am LOVING this so much. ER has to be one of my favorite programmers ever, and though I prefer Abby and Luca (chants: Otp! Otp! Otp!) I do love this and I hope that Lucien gets worse! Also, maybe if he passed his sickness onto someone like Neela other than Abby? That way, Neela and Ray could take over as the main characters and I love them even more than Abby and Luca like they re just made for each other and even when they were 'roomies' they were too cute I shed so many tears over the two of them they had some great moments and if Gates (didn't mind him bc wow attractive and he was sweet) and Brenner (very attractive too but he was an a**hole. When he interrupted when they were about to kiss in season 15 and it was so cute and they were going to get together and then he ruined it) But anyway, love this fic so far, keep it up! (And sorry about the veritable novel I wrote in response to this, I just love ER and have since Ep 1 and have seen so few ER fics surprisingly, so I love this. Thank you) xxxx

[musiclover90]

I am LOVING this so much. ER has to be one of my favorite programmers ever, and though I prefer Abby and Luca (chants: Otp! Otp! Otp!) I do love this and I hope that Lucien gets worse! Also, maybe if he passed his sickness onto someone like Neela other than Abby? That way, Neela and Ray could take over as the main characters and I love them even more than Abby and Luca like they re just made for each other and even when they were 'roomies' they were too cute I shed so many tears over the two of them they had some great moments and if Gates (didn't mind him bc wow attractive and he was sweet) and Brenner (very attractive too but he was an a**hole. When he interrupted when they were about to kiss in season 15 and it was so cute and they were going to get together and then he ruined it) But anyway, love this fic so far, keep it up! (And sorry about the veritable novel I wrote in response to this, I just love ER and have since Ep 1 and have seen so few ER fics surprisingly, so I love this. Thank you) xxxx

Thanks for the feedback. I'm a Abby/Luka shipper but I also think that Maura Tierney (Abby) and Leland Orser (Dubenko) had chemistry together as actors and as their characters interacted with each other, so I ship them together but I don't really mind that they were never paired up. I love Ray/Neela, too. I guess you could say that this is set in Season 14 because that's where I went with it. Anyway, this is a Abby/Dubenko story (sorry!), but Neela's in a few scenes.

I'll post the next chapter in a few days, I'm glad you like this so far.

[musiclover90]

Chapter 3

Wednesday - 6:37 PM

He felt bad for lying to Abby, but he really needed to lie down for at least a little bit before his third consecutive graveyard shift started.

He quickly made his way to the ER elevators to go to his fourth floor office. Once there, he sank into the couch cushions, wishing he was home with Abby; knowing that his sore throat was only the beginning of a bad cold that had been circulating through the surgical service for the past couple of weeks.

First Neela, Dustin, Albright, and now him: its next victim.

Lucien must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, he was being shaken awake by Dr. Albright: “Dr. Dubenko...Lucien. Rounds are in five.”

“Okay, thanks,” he mumbled, running a hand over his face.

“Are you...” she started to ask, but trailed off when she heard her boss cough. “Not you, too,” she sighed. “Maybe you should go home.”

“Nah,” he shook his head, dismissing her suggestion. “I’m fine.” He stood, following her out of his office to the main desk where their colleagues were gathering.

After rounds were over and patients were passed to those now on-call, Lucien headed back to his office to relax while he could before potential chaos set in.

No sooner than when he sat down, his pager went off. The screen read 911, meaning that it was the ER.

“Surgery’s here!” Lucien announced as he pushed Trauma 1’s doors open and went to the patient.

“Approximately twenty year-old male, multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. Ultrasound shows blood in Morrison’s,” Dr. Archie Morris said.

“Alright, he needs the OR—”

“Lost the pulse!” Nurse Sam Taggart cried as a continuous beep sounded, meaning that the patient was flatlining.

“Starting compressions!” Dr. Morris began to give the patient CPR. “Charge to two hundred!” When the defibrillator was charged, he took the paddles and yelled “Clear!” before shocking around the patient’s heart.

“No change.”

“Charge to three hundred,” Dr. Morris ordered and shocked the patient again.

“Still no change.”

After two more shocks, two units of blood, and a round of medications, the doctors decided to stop.

“Time of death: 8:21 PM,” Dr. Morris said softly as Sam turned off the monitor.

“Too many holes,” Lucien surmised as he walked out of the room. He ducked into the men’s bathroom just as a tickle crept up in his sinuses. “Esh’shuh!” He sneezed rather dryly into his hands, groaning inwardly as there was no denying it, he was sick. After washing his hands, Lucien went back up to the surgical floor to visit patients in Recovery and pay a special visit to the PICU.

One such patient was a teenage girl named Riley, a thirteen year-old with polycystic kidney disease. Dr. Dubenko removed her left kidney the year before after the illness caused irreversible damage. She was admitted to the hospital last week due to a second bout of renal failure and was waiting for a transplant.

He and Abby had struck up a friendship with both Riley and her mom Michelle. They both checked in with them daily, knowing that Lucien was the primary transplant surgeon at County and would be performing the operation.

A whoosh was heard as Lucien slid Riley’s door open. “Hey.”

Riley smiled. Her complexion was still quite pale, he assumed that she had dialysis earlier as her features were not as puffy due to the removal of excess fluids. “Hey, Dr. D. What’s with the mask?”

Lucien made sure to put on a sterile mask before entering. “I’m not feeling the greatest, so I don’t want to infect you with anything.” He took her chart from the rack on the bed and quickly flipped through it.

“Couldn’t be worse than this,” she mumbled sullenly. “If you’re sick, you should go home.”

“I wish I could, but I can’t. Surgeons don’t get sick days.”

“Well, they should ’cause you look like crap.”

“Says the girl who’s waiting for a kidney.”

She stuck her tongue out at him in response.

“So what’s the latest—’shuh! Excuse me,” he apologized with a light sniffle. The tickle had not completely subsided, his nose burned and he could feel his nostrils flaring impatiently...

“Pancake.”

With that, the sneeze disappeared. “What the...?”

Riley laughed. “My mom hates when I do that.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Lucien replied dryly. “Anything new going on in your world?”

“Besides waiting for some poor sap to die so I can have one of their bean-shaped organs, no. Is Abby working tonight?” Riley asked, her voice hopeful.

“No, she’s off tonight and tomorrow. She’ll stop by then.”

“Cool.”

“I’ve gotta get back to work. I’ll check on you before I leave, get some rest.”

“Sure, ’cause that’s the only thing I’m allowed to do.”

Lucien gave her a sympathetic smile. “It shouldn’t be long now.”

Almost immediately after he left the room, his nose itched and there was no stopping it. “Eh’SHUH!

“Bless you!” Riley called out from behind the glass.

Lucien raised a hand in thanks and took the elevators back down to the surgical floor.

[Oolia]

I am loving this! So well written!

Can't wait for more!

[ichixshiro14]

This is turning out great! Can't wait for more!

[musiclover90]

A/N: Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you guys are enjoying this so far. Here's another chapter.

Chapter 4

Wednesday - 9:44 PM

Lucien had just walked out of Recovery after operating on an ER patient. As he was walking past the main desk, he had just enough time to snatch up a tissue and bury two sneezes into it. “’Shuh! ... Eht’shuh!”

“Bless you.”

Lucien was obviously distracted and didn’t see Abby walk up; his ears perked up at hearing her voice. He looked surprised, then confused. “...Hey. What’re you doing here?” He cringed inwardly, realizing that he was beginning to sound nasally and congested.

“I forgot some files that I wanted to work on,” she answered while walking up to him.

He now noticed the small stack of patient charts that she held in one arm. “I could’ve brought them home for you.”

Abby didn’t say anything as she reached up to feel his forehead. “You don’t feel warm,” she decided softly.

Lucien was feeling self-conscious with his wife expressing her concern in the middle of the hallway in front of the night staff. “I’m alright, Abby,” he said shortly and ducked into the lounge, thankfully finding it empty. He heard Abby come in after him as he went to the coffee maker. “What?”

“How long have you been feeling like this?”

“Since yesterday.”

“Lucien, you should have someone come in for you.”

“Why?”

“You should be home in bed, babe.”

“This isn’t the worst of it, tell me that after rounds,” he said knowingly as he added sugar to his coffee, having seen how this bug affected his staff. “Go see Riley while you’re here, she’ll appreciate you showing up after-hours; she was asking about you.”

“Sure thing.” A small look of worry showed on her face for the young girl, knowing that she had been through a lot with her illness after many conversations with her mom. Michelle’s husband had passed away when Riley was a baby and it had been just the two of them since then. Abby couldn’t imagine having to raise a child alone, especially one who was chronically ill.

Abby was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard her husband cough. She gave him a sympathetic look.

He sighed. “Don’t—” Lucien looked down at his blue scrubs to pick up his beeping pager. “It’s the ICU, gotta go.” He gave his wife a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Lucien,” Abby called after him as he was halfway out the door.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

He smiled and she could tell he was tired. “I love you, too.”

***

Wednesday - 10:25 PM

With a tired sigh, Lucien entered the lounge to pour another cup of coffee and hopefully be able to actually drink it.

“Is your patient okay?”

Startled, he almost dropped the coffee pot. “I uh, I thought you would’ve gone home by now.”

Abby just shrugged as he joined her at the table. “Patient’s stable. Post-op heart was hemorrhaging from the chest tube.” After a few coughs, he sighed. “I don’t know how I’m going to make it to sunrise.”

“Go to your office or the on-call room and rest. Give Liza your pager and only have her wake you if it’s absolutely necessary.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“I took the L, let me drive your car home and I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

“Alright.”

They both stood and went to the main desk where Lucien dropped his pager off with Liza. He then unlocked his office door to get his car keys. He handed them off with a sniffle and quickly turned away from her. “EH’shuh! ... Esh!” He groaned and grabbed a Kleenex, sinking into the couch cushions. “You should go, it’s late. Love you.”

Abby took a pillow and placed it next to him. “Lie down.” He did and she draped a throw blanket over him. “Hopefully it won’t be too busy. Try to sleep.” She kissed his cheek and left, turning off the light on her way out.

[darkness-is-the-light]

Continue, this is so cute!!

[Dutchgirl]

I love this story. ER was such a good program.

[musiclover90]

Continue, this is so cute!!

Thank you, I think I will.

I love this story. ER was such a good program.

I'm glad you love it. ER is great, it's my favorite show.

***

Chapter 5

Thursday - 6:22 AM

Abby was waiting in the ambulance bay as Lucien drug his feet to the car. He got in and buckled before falling back in exhaustion, letting out a few coughs.

“How bad?”

“We were slammed all night. GSWs, a stabbing, two MVAs, and an appy. I think I laid down for all of thirty minutes.”

“Well, then you definitely need some sleep.” Abby observed that her husband looked much worse than when she’d left him the night before. He was pale and weary with his forehead wrinkled in pain.

“Headache?”

“Uh-huh,” he replied as he closed his eyes.

Abby turned the engine and drove home. Once there, Lucien was content to go to the couch, but Abby insisted that he get in bed. He did so after changing into pajama pants and a t-shirt.

Abby crawled in next to him. “Do you need anything?”

“ESH’shuh! ... Eht’shuh!”

Abby passed him a box of Kleenex which he accepted gratefully; his nose was running and still tickling much to his annoyance.

She noticed his discomfort. “Sneeze stuck?”

Lucien nodded wordlessly as he blew into a tissue, trying to coax it out. He sniffled thickly as his breath hitched, “Eht’...SHOO!” He groaned in relief which set off a coughing fit, his body pitching forward in tandem with his lung’s spasms.

Abby sat up with him and smoothed his back until he settled. “Aw, honey...you sound awful.” She felt his cheek and forehead. “And you have a fever.” She got up and returned from the bathroom with a familiar red bottle. She poured him a dose of NyQuil which he drank quickly and laid back down, facing away from her.

“Just rest, I'll be right here.”

“’Kay,” he mumbled while pressing a crumpled tissue against his nostrils, not realizing that this would set off another tickle. “Eh’shuh!”

“Bless you.”

“Thanks,” Lucien replied, sniffling. He pulled another tissue and blew, hoping he could fall asleep soon so his symptoms wouldn’t bother him or Abby. That didn’t seem to be happening any time soon as he kept changing positions which was also keeping Abby awake.

“Sorry, can’t get comfortable,” he grumbled.

“It’s okay.”

“Do we have any—ESH’shuh! Fuck,” Lucien cursed, his hands remaining over his nose and mouth. The sneeze had snuck up on him. He sighed and grabbed a Kleenex, going to the bathroom to wash his hands.

“I’m going to the couch; I’d rather toss and turn downstairs so you can sleep.”

“It’s fine, babe. How often do we get to spend the day in bed together?”

Abby had a point, but he hoped that she would forget he was supposed to work a double at eight that night and in exchange have Friday evening through Sunday off.

With that in mind, Lucien climbed back into bed, once again trying to get comfortable.

“What did you want before?”

“Oh, um...another pillow.”

Abby got up to retrieve one from the closet, setting it down as he lifted his head. “Better?”

“I think so.” He coughed.

“Just relax.” Abby moved closer to lay against him.

The physical closeness seemed to be key as the medicine kicked in, bringing sleep to both of them in the early morning.

***

GSW - Gunshot wound

MVA - Motor vehicle accident

“Appy” - Inflamed/burst appendix or possible appendicitis

[musiclover90]

A/N: No feedback, but oh well. Here's an update. Enjoy.

Chapter 6

Thursday - 10:03 AM

When Abby woke up, the first thing she registered was her husband’s breathing. He was sound asleep, albeit snoring loudly due to congestion. She was quiet as she left the room, going downstairs to make coffee and something to eat.

After a quiet breakfast consisting of an omelet and the morning news, Lucien’s footsteps were heard on the stairs as he entered the living room. “How’d you sleep?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Well, you snore loud enough to wake the dead.”

He just rolled his eyes and went to the kitchen as a sudden fit of coughing hit, with him holding on to the island for support.

The sound and duration concerned Abby. “You alright?”

“Fine,” was the strained reply when he could get a breath in.

She got up from the couch, directed Lucien to a stool, and filled a small glass with water which she placed in front of him. He sipped tentatively.

“Are you hungry?”

He sniffled thickly. “Not really.”

“Go back to bed and rest. How ’bout some tea?”

“Sure.”

“Go on, I’ll bring it right up.”

Lucien shuffled out but stopped as he reached the threshold. “Eh’shuh!”

“Bless—”

“ESH’shuh!”

“Bless you, babe.”

He mumbled a thanks and headed upstairs to the bedroom, coughing.

Abby made quick work of making the tea, bringing her husband a fresh, steaming mug as he blew his nose into a Kleenex.

He sighed as the hot liquid hit his throat, almost immediately soothing the raw irritation that burned like fire.

“Good?”

He nodded. “It’s your day off. You should go out and do something.”

Abby glanced out the window. “It’s snowing and freezing out there. I’d rather stay in and play doctor.”

Lucien shot her a look but started coughing again, making sure to set his mug down so as not to spill the tea.

Abby winced as she observed the pain and discomfort her husband was in.

When he stopped, he took a drink. “Can I have the phone?” he asked, sounding slightly hoarse. “I’m supposed to work a double tonight, but I feel like hell; I’m waving the white flag.”

She passed it to him. “And here I thought I was going to have to restrain you to keep you from working.”

Lucien just rolled his eyes as he dialed the Chief of Staff’s number at the hospital. “Hi, Ginger. It’s Lucien. Can you put me through to Dr. Anspaugh, please?”

“Of course, Dr. Dubenko.”

“Thanks.” He waited a moment for his call to be transferred.

“Lucien, what can I do for you?”

“Hey, Donald. Listen, I’ve come down with this awful bug that’s been going around the surgical floor and need someone to cover my double that I’m supposed to start tonight.”

“Is that right? You sound terrible.”

“I’ll probably need today and tomorrow off. I want Albright as Acting Chief so I won’t be disturbed.”

“Rhinopharyngitis I presume?”

“Yeah, a cold and a nasty one, at that.”

“I will inform Dr. Albright of your condition and adjust schedules accordingly. If you’re not feeling better by Saturday, give me a call. Don’t worry about this place, get some rest.”

“Thanks, Donald. Bye.” He ended the call. “I’m off ’til Saturday, at least.”

“Good.” She sighed. “Why don’t you go back to sleep? I’m gonna run to the store for some things, do you want anything specific?”

“Popsicles.”

“Anything else?”

“Jell-O or pudding, something like that.”

“Okay. I’ll be back.” Abby kissed his temple and went downstairs to put shoes on. She heard Lucien sneeze and called out a “Bless you!” as she slipped on a coat and left to brave the frigid Chicago weather.

[phoenix]

I've never seen ER, but I'm enjoying this nonetheless! As much as I enjoyed seeing him try to tough it out at work, I'm happy they've got some time off to spend the day lounging around. Lots of caretaking opportunities, which I'm always happy about! Looking forward to seeing what comes next. :-)

[Bgrace27]

I just saw this. And it is wonderful

[Firebrand]

Heee! Ooo, this is lovely. Please keep going - I always liked an Abby/Lucien pairing!