Single-occupancy bathrooms were a dime a dozen in the ER: privacy for specimen collection, space for walker or chair users and large families. Always in close distance so that somebody that just got out of a cath bag situation didn’t have to go far.
This is poignant because Dennis could have been near any random RR at the time, but by chance, he was by this one.
Where he heard the short, sharp shatter.
A hand mirror? A trinket? The bathroom mirror itself?
Trying the handle in case he needed to call a Code or Security, Dennis found the bathroom door handle unlocked, and—
Blood, mainly. Lots of blood.
He heard mumbles— the scantest tail-end of Abbot’s murmurings— but he hadn’t caught enough to make sense of them.
“Wait,” he told Jack firmly. He didn’t say anything else.
He glanced to Dana, but she was turned away.
He’d have to start filing this report later.
Dennis’ long curls trickled sweat down the back of his neck as he moved to a first-aid kid stocked on the wall.
“Need help?” Santos quizzed shortly as she passed with a patient on a gurney. Dennis shook his head shortly.
“No. Thanks,” he said (in that order), gathering gauze and glue and pads and lots of wipes into his hands.
He moved back to the bathroom in a hurry, half expecting a trail of blood to betray Dr Abbot’s disobedience.
What the fuck had happened? Hallucination?
Dennis kicked the door back open after checking behind it was clear and moved back inside.
Abbot’s breathing was so loud in the bathroom.
“Scale of 1 to 10?” Dennis asked at face, trying to focus Jack’s attention on him.
Hands bled a lot, like the head and face. Lots of vessels. It wasn’t always as bad as…
Dennis’ gaze studiously scanned Jack’s wrists and forearms, his whole scrub-laden body, for additional intentional lacerations.