Goodbye Kiss

16. Where the Heart Is

Where the Heart Is
Season 7 x 21

i put on a white cami that had lace trim, and on the bottom i had my scrub pants on along with my nurses shirt.
for the past couple weeks i'd been working doubles.
abby decided to stay home with her mother. god i was tired.
i let down my freshly washed wavy hair and headed out the door.
the er had an annual baseball game going on later tonight. little did anyone know, i was a pretty good player. not to toot my own horn of course. but, that was the only thing keeping me on my feet today.

"do i look like a beamer type of guy?" malucci asked me as i came around the desk.
"more like a nissan" i scoffed
"hey!" he groaned
i let out a laugh.
"you planning on playing baseball tonight?"
"sure am"
he raised his eyebrows
"yeah, remind me not to be on your team"
"you'll regret saying that tonight" i shook my head.
——
"where's carter?" i asked haleh
"i haven't seen him all day"
"i think he went out for a break with abby" she said
i raised my eyebrows "oh"
"thanks haleh" i smiled
"gianna" mark waved
"can you come here for a minute?"
"what's up?" i smiled
"i don't know where abby went but could you do me a favour and bandage this kid up for me?"
"of course" i smiled
"just letting you know, it's an abuse case"
i nodded my head
"i gotta get a hold of psych"
"sure thing"
"and it's good to see you back, mark" i smiled
"thanks" he smiled
"baby's doing good?"
"she's a dream" he grinned, walking toward the phone.
i went into the exam room.
"so kiddo,"
"what's your name?"
"ben" he said
i unraveled the bandaging
"i'm gianna" i smiled
"how did you hurt your wrist?"
"i trip at school sometimes"
i smiled at him
"it's okay"
"we're gonna take good care of you here"
"doctors are scary"
"i've known dr. greene for awhile"
"he's friendly"
the kid was quiet
"do you think i'm scary?"
"not really"
"good" i nodded, finishing his bandaging.
"want me to stay with you?"
he nodded his head
"okay" i smiled
——
i was with that kid most of the afternoon.
then, the dad came in.
"is ben ready to go?" he asked
"im pretty sure the doctor is waiting on a few more tests"
"i can go get him if you want" i nodded
i knew that was a lie, i was just stalling.
"sure"
i peaked my head out of the door.
"mark" i shouted
he turned his head.
"the dads here" i whispered
mark came toward me, looking in the room.
"i'll talk to him"
——
it was a little later and i was walking down the hallway with a fresh saline bag.
"there you are" i smiled, carter was heading down the hallway.
"haven't seen you in awhile" he replied
"you were with abby?" i asked
he nodded
"you're mad?"
i shook my head. i wasn't mad, it was just ironic.
"i got turned down from chief resident" he said
i raised my eyebrows
"why?"
i was confused.
"my probation"
"well why does that matter?"
"lost time" he shrugged
"weaver thinks it'll be too much pressure for me anyways"
"that's out of line"i scoffed
"well it's over now" he sighed
"it's bullshit"
i shook my head
"i'm really sorry" i frowned
"it's not your fault" he shrugged
"i hope you know it's not yours either"
"thanks, gianna"
i was really mad on behalf of carter. i mean, that was really unfair.
"anyways, i got two patients to discharge" he grinned
"lucky you" i smirked.

"gianna"
"mark"
"child services are coming to pick up ben soon"
"emergency custody?" i asked
he nodded his head.
"the wrist fractures are from someone else"
"there's no way that could've been from a fall"
"what did psych say?"
"the kids clearly hostile, scared of his dad"
"will you stay with him?"
"yeah" i nodded
i went back in the room.
"thank god, you're back" the father sighed
"hello mr. fossen" i smiled
"how're you feeling, ben?"
"he's doing okay"
i gave a half smile. then, mark came in with adele, the social worker.
"is he really to leave?" the dad asked
i held back ben.
"i'm adele newman from child services"
"we've gained emergency custody of your son"
"what?"
"there's clear signs of abuse" mark peeped
"you can't take my son away from me"
"tell them ben, those bruises are from falling"
"i advice you to get a lawyer" mark said
then, security came in and took mr. fossen away.
the dad was yelling, the kid was yelling. it wasn't good.
i lifted ben up and went into the suturing room.
he was in tears now, and so was his father.
it wasn't what a child should see.
i dad him down on a gurney, wiping his tears away with a tissue.
"it's okay, ben"
"you're gonna be safe now" i smiled
a few minutes later after ben was calm, mark came back in.
"you're off, aren't you?" he whispered
i nodded my head
"i can stay around if you want"
"i feel bad for him"
he nodded his head
"i got it from here"
"social work is gonna take care of him for the night"
"thank you for the help, gianna"
"anytime, mark" i smiled
"let me know how things go"
——
i quickly headed home and put an open yankees jersey over my tank top. i clipped my hair into a claw clip and dug out an old bat i used to play with.
"hey, you made it" luka smiled as i came into the baseball diamond.
"sorry i'm late" i smiled
abby and her mother were sitting on the bleachers.
although, carter was up to bat.
"you're next gianna" malucci pointed
i nodded, holding onto my bat.
carter almost made a home run.
"good job" i cheered, giving him a high five.
"good luck" he panted
"why's it that everyone here thinks i can't play some ball?"
"i don't doubt you" luka laughed
i smiled at him
"after all i grew up in an italian household"
"i was born to play baseball"
after the first throw, i hit the ball. i sprinted to the second base and finally the third. home run of course.
carter was definitely surprised.
he picked me up and twirled me around.
when he let me down, my arms rested around his neck, his were around my waist.
"i didn't know you played baseball" he laughed
"you haven't seen anything yet" i smirked.