Chapter Text
Fall was one of the best seasons, in Samira’s opinion. It invited pumpkin spiced lattes and made Pittsburgh a bearable place to live after the summers. Winters, however, were a different story. The onset of November would always make a chill curl up her spine, one that would become an unwanted guest in her bones for the next three months.
Back when she lived alone, it was pretty torturous. She would be so tired that she would forget to eat, which would set off a vicious cycle that fucked over her entire circadian rhythm.
Now, however, she had Jack. He was like the warmth that she so desperately needed in her life, both physically and emotionally. He was always there. Whether it was midnight cuddles or her coming back home to dinner already made — she knew he would be there for her. Home. That used to be the grey studio apartment she lived in with her cat and a dying plant or two, but now it was with him.
It was a chilly December evening that he left for a conference in Miami for a week, that completely uprooted Samira’s life. She had been feeling significantly worse for wear for the past three days, with her period coming in heavier than ever before. She could barely find it in her to get up and go in for her shift, but she figured that women before her had done much more while on their period.
She was around five hours into her shift, and considering she had taken Tylenol right before it started, her pain should have stopped by now. Instead, Parker found her curled up in a chair in the break room, almost whimpering in pain.
She offered her some Paracetamol, but Samira's liver would probably give up if she took anymore.
The shift on the Pittfest shooting had been something sent straight from hell, but this one was somehow even worse for Samira. What, with almost bleeding through her pants five times and having to deal with life shattering cramps, all without Jack, was torture. The worst part was when her shift was finally over, Robby called her to his office. Well, office was an overstatement, more like a dumping area for all his coffee mugs and hoodies. She followed him inside.
“So, Mohan, to put it simply, what was that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Look, I’ve been good to you because you are a great doctor, but you treated ten patients today. Ten.”
“I’m so-“
“No, sorry isn’t gonna help. Your time management needs to be better, or you’ll be removed. You can clock out now.”
Samira left wordlessly. Removed. She was a good doctor, today was on off day. Why was Robby giving her so much shit? God, she missed Jack. She should have called him, but she didn’t. What was she supposed to say, that Robby was being too mean and that he had to resolve it for her? No, she was gonna do what she did best — work. But right now? Right now she had to get her ass home and sleep.
She turned the key and opened the door, and promptly collapsed into her couch. She should have changed her pad, but she genuinely could not move. She had never felt pain this bad before. She wanted to fucking die.
She fell in and out of consciousness, but the next time she actually woke up was when she felt a hand on her shoulder, furiously shaking her.
Trinity liked Samira. They had grown weirdly close after the Pittfest shooting. This is why Trinity had volunteered to check on her when Samira didn’t show up for her third shift in a row. This was borderline psychotic for her, considering Samira was the biggest workaholic everybody knew, and she had enough PTO racked up to give HR a heart attack.
Trinity reached her apartment and knocked, but there was no response. Hesitantly, she tried the door, which was surprisingly open. She went in, remembering to leave her shoes at the door, and saw her.
Fuck.
Samira was curled up on the couch, but she looked like she was unconscious instead of asleep.
“Samira?”, she called out her name, but there wasn’t any response. She went closer to get a better look, and saw that her blanket was bloodstained.
“Shit shit shit, Samira?!”, she shook her, which was when she finally opened her eyes.
“What- Trinity?”
“Fuck Samira what happened?”
“Really bad period. I’m- good.”
“Uh no! You- no, we need to get you to the Pitt.”
“I’ll go in the night.”
“Wha- how long have you been here?”
“Is it not the 10th?”
It was not, in fact, the 10th.
“No no no it’s the 12th- have you- doesn’t matter, we need to go.”
“How?”
Samira couldn’t understand anything. Why was Trinity here?
“Okay, up and at ‘em, we’re getting into my car. You can wrap my jacket around your waist.”
Samira didn’t have any energy to argue, so she agreed.
Trinity helped her get up and led her down the stairs into the car. She sat in the passenger seat and Trinity tried to keep her talking so she wouldn’t faint.
“Okay, when did this happen?”
“Uhm I had really bad cramps so I crashed on the couch after my last shift, and I don’t think I’ve moved after that.”
“Fuck ok, what does the pain feel like?”
“Like someone’s stabbing me in the left of my uterus.”
Wait, could it be? But Samira- no, she wouldn’t-
Samira interrupted Trinity’s spiral by trying to grab her phone, before doubling down in pain.
“Hey hey, what happened?”
“I-I need to call-“
“Your mom?”
“No, I need to tell Jack.”
“Jack? Wait, Dr Abbot?!”
“Yea, we’re together.”
“Wha- okay, I’ll call him when we reach.”
Under any other circumstances, Trinity would be dying for more details, but not now. Not if this was what she thought was happening.
She parked haphazardly parked in her spot and led Samira into the ER. The first person she saw was Ellis.
“Dr Santos I-“
“Wheelchair right now, Samira-“
“Holy shit, what happened? Samira, I need you to keep your eyes open for me.”
“I- cramps.”
“Where?”
“Like really heavy bleeding, left side. And my shoulder aches”
Ellis shot Trinity a terrified look, but continued talking to Samira as she wheeled her away to examine her.
Trinity already had Abbot’s number saved, so she hit call and went to the ambulance bay, waiting for him to pick up.
“Hello, Dr Santos?”
Jack was at his hotel in Miami, tired after a day-long conference. He heard his phone ringing, expecting it to be Samira, who he hadn’t heard from in two days. Instead, he saw Trinity Santos’s name pop up.
“Yes, Dr Abbot, I’m really- okay, uh, Samira is in the hospital. Like she got admitted.”
Jack immediately got up. What the fuck?
“Uh- why?”
“She-she was- I found her passed out on her couch. She-her period was giving her trouble, but she- it’s complicated.”
“What the fuck do you mean it’s complicated?”
“She-she has really bad pain on the left of her uterus and she has really bad shoulder pain.”
“No. Fuck. Shoulder pain and- fuck”
“Yeah. She was asking when you can be here.”
“I-I’ll see. Th-thanks for informing me.”
He cut the call and looked up flight tickets. There was one that left in one hour.
He sat back onto his bed. Shit. Samira’s symptoms were constant to a ruptured Fallopian tube. The mortality rate was 30%. She could die. She- she could fucking die.
Jack felt his chest tense up, like his already fucked up lungs were constricting even more. He couldn’t really breathe. What if he was too late. What-what if she died. Why the fuck hadn’t he called her? It wasn’t normal for her to not call him for twostraight days. He should have asked someone to check up on her. The blood loss, the amount of pain his girl was in- how could he have not noticed? He should’ve been the one to reach out. He- he should have been better.
He got the notification for his ticket, and he realised that he had plenty of time to panic later, but right now he needed to get on that fucking plane.
Parker took Samira to a room and examined her.
“Hey, I-I’m fine, really.”
“Samira, you passed out for two days, and- FUCK.”
What Parker found confirmed her worst fears.
“Okay Samira, you-you need surgery.”
“For?”
“Ectopic pregnancy.”
“Wai-what?”
“Yes, I-I’ll page surgery right now. It-it’s gonna be okay. You need me to call anyone before I give you anaesthesia?”
“Uh Trinity called Jack, so I’m good.”
“Jack? Abbot?”
“Yeah, I-I’ll explain later.”
Samira was sedated and sent up for laparascopic surgery, which just so happened to be before the day shift arrived. It was about 30 minutes before Robby went over to the nurse’s station with a confused expression.
“Hey Dana?”
“Yes?”
“I haven’t seen Mohan in the last few shifts-“
“Oh about that.”
Dana looked very troubled
“What happened?”
“She- come closer.”
Robby leaned in, and Dana told him.
“She- she’s in Surgery.”
“Why? Why isn’t she here?”
“She-she had an ectopic pregnancy.”
“WHAT?”, Robby yelled, earning looks from Princess and Perlah.
“Yes, she- Trinity found her passed out on her couch.”
“Fuck fuck fuck, I-I-“
“Yeah, she’ll be out in a few hours.”
Robby left before he could hear anymore, trying to expel the idea of his last words to her being that he would fire her. He tried to focus on anything else, but that went out the window the second he saw Jack rush into the ER, with an expression he had only seen once before. When his first wife had died.
“I- Robby!”
“Jack, what are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be in Miami-“
“I- how’s Samira?”
“Why do you-“
“Oh cut the crap Michael, where’s Santos?”
Jack left Robby stuttering and found Trinity and took her to a stairwell.
“Dr Abbot-“
“Okay, tell me what the fuck happened?”
“She-she missed her last two shifts so I went to check on her. She was passed out, didn’t know which day it was, and-“
“Where is she now?”
“Surgery.”
He buried his face in his hands.
“Fuck, wha- any complications?”
“None yet. Look, Ellis and Walsh are working on her. She’s gonna be alright.”