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Look Out!/Theatrical Muse Challenge
"Let's go people...we've got wounded who aren't going to be there if you take much longer." The Greek's impatience had been growing with his lack of sleep and the fact that this was his third trip into the surgical tent to pull personnel out for this emergency run was not helping. "For Christ's sake." He dropped the flap and went outside once more where Dr. Joanna Falconiri was inventorying the supplies for the second time.
"Relax Nicolas, we'll get there." She glanced over at him as he paced to the edge of the tent only to stop and stare off toward the smoke that was rising along the border.
"How long does it take to get your ass out of bed and pull your pants on?" With the checked scarf wrapped around his throat and his dark looks, the surgeon could easily have been mistaken for one of the many Palestinians they had been treating over the past few weeks.
"They only arrived yesterday, give them time to adjust to things. It wasn't that long ago that we were the new doctors, try to remember how you felt." The woman smiled before tossing an empty water bottle his way. "Make yourself useful and I'll see if I have better luck getting them moving."
Twenty minutes later found the medical team kneeling on the ground just inside the border, where they had set up a makeshift triage area for the victims of a suicide bombing and the retaliatory aftermath.
"Keep your heads down! You're going to be just as good a target as anyone else." Nic yelled across the chaos to a couple of the newer doctors as he and Joanna worked on one of the more critical patients. As if there wasn't enough going on, out of the darkness came the cries of a young child, a sound which immediately caused both to jerk their heads erect as they tried to isolate it.
"That way" Joanna was the first to pinpoint it, but the Greek beat her to his feet.
"I'll go, just in case..." He stopped short of saying it might be a trap though both were aware of the possibility.
"Nic." Joanna's voice softened as she said his name. "Be careful, please."
"Yeah, you're not getting my cot that easy." He flashed her a smile he hoped might offer some sense of reassurance before making his way cautiously in the direction the cries had come from.
He made his way along the border at a crouched run, cover was almost non-existent, this was suicidal. He paused as the thought surfaced and glanced back to where Joanna and the others were working, only to once more hear the cries of the child. He had no choice, sweeping his hand through his hair he isolated the location of the cry again before moving toward it.
She couldn't have been more than two, and it was the pink of her dress that caught his eye in the darkness.
"You're safe, baby" He spoke the words to her softly in Arabic before kneeling to do a quick assessment of her condition. Blood soaked the right side of her dress and it took only moments for him to feel the metal fragments that pierced the tiny thigh. As her cries began again in earnest he scooped her into his arms. Before he could move he felt rather then heard the sound of a bullet as it whistled past his head. Turning suddenly he dropped to the ground, shielding the child with his body as an explosion rocked the area, triggered when the bullet detonated it.
It took him several long moments before he could force himself to sit up and it was several more before his hearing returned to normal, but as far as he could tell he wasn't injured. The little girl. He carefully assessed her again, reassuring her with the minimal Arabic he knew before attempting to rise and pick her up again. He had to get her back to the clinic, back to Joanna, back where she could get the treatment she needed.
Muse: Nicolas Kokoris
Fandom:Presidio Med/Misc TV
Words: 684
Cross Posted to Theatrical Muse
"Relax Nicolas, we'll get there." She glanced over at him as he paced to the edge of the tent only to stop and stare off toward the smoke that was rising along the border.
"How long does it take to get your ass out of bed and pull your pants on?" With the checked scarf wrapped around his throat and his dark looks, the surgeon could easily have been mistaken for one of the many Palestinians they had been treating over the past few weeks.
"They only arrived yesterday, give them time to adjust to things. It wasn't that long ago that we were the new doctors, try to remember how you felt." The woman smiled before tossing an empty water bottle his way. "Make yourself useful and I'll see if I have better luck getting them moving."
Twenty minutes later found the medical team kneeling on the ground just inside the border, where they had set up a makeshift triage area for the victims of a suicide bombing and the retaliatory aftermath.
"Keep your heads down! You're going to be just as good a target as anyone else." Nic yelled across the chaos to a couple of the newer doctors as he and Joanna worked on one of the more critical patients. As if there wasn't enough going on, out of the darkness came the cries of a young child, a sound which immediately caused both to jerk their heads erect as they tried to isolate it.
"That way" Joanna was the first to pinpoint it, but the Greek beat her to his feet.
"I'll go, just in case..." He stopped short of saying it might be a trap though both were aware of the possibility.
"Nic." Joanna's voice softened as she said his name. "Be careful, please."
"Yeah, you're not getting my cot that easy." He flashed her a smile he hoped might offer some sense of reassurance before making his way cautiously in the direction the cries had come from.
He made his way along the border at a crouched run, cover was almost non-existent, this was suicidal. He paused as the thought surfaced and glanced back to where Joanna and the others were working, only to once more hear the cries of the child. He had no choice, sweeping his hand through his hair he isolated the location of the cry again before moving toward it.
She couldn't have been more than two, and it was the pink of her dress that caught his eye in the darkness.
"You're safe, baby" He spoke the words to her softly in Arabic before kneeling to do a quick assessment of her condition. Blood soaked the right side of her dress and it took only moments for him to feel the metal fragments that pierced the tiny thigh. As her cries began again in earnest he scooped her into his arms. Before he could move he felt rather then heard the sound of a bullet as it whistled past his head. Turning suddenly he dropped to the ground, shielding the child with his body as an explosion rocked the area, triggered when the bullet detonated it.
It took him several long moments before he could force himself to sit up and it was several more before his hearing returned to normal, but as far as he could tell he wasn't injured. The little girl. He carefully assessed her again, reassuring her with the minimal Arabic he knew before attempting to rise and pick her up again. He had to get her back to the clinic, back to Joanna, back where she could get the treatment she needed.
Muse: Nicolas Kokoris
Fandom:Presidio Med/Misc TV
Words: 684
Cross Posted to Theatrical Muse
For a single heart-stopping moment, she looked at the place where Nic had been only moments before and saw only smoldering and scorched ground. She felt panic rise from her stomach into her throat and a feeling of absolute horror gripped her.
Joanna pulled herself up out from under the Land Rover and stumbled toward the center of the compound. Joanna prayed that the planes would not take another run, firing on the vehicle which he had taken shelter under. From the center of the Compound she could hear the voice, Danya, a Palestinian woman that helped in the camp shrieking unintelligibly the sound of the planes roaring overhead drowning her out her cries. There was another burst of strafing fire that stirred up another cloud, of dust near her head.
When she opened her eyes again at last she saw Nic carrying a small child, a girl who was obviously hurt and bleeding toward them. She let out a sigh of relief and shouted out to him.
"Nic! Hurry!"
"Take her...go." He urged Joanna to leave with a nod of his head even as he remained on the ground. "Go!"
Nic was sure he could easily have slept right where he was but two of the rushed to his side and each grabbed an arm before hauling him to his feet. A moment later and they were following Joanna inside the tent.
The nurses were preparing the child for surgery even as Joanna herself was scrubbing up. Nic looked the worse for wear and she was beginning to feel nervous as he looked rather pale.
"Dr. Kokoris, you're bleeding." One of the nurses was at his side as the got inside. "Get him on one of the gurney's." She made the order before glancing Joana's way.
"Dr. Falconiri, Dr. Kokoris is bleeding." She pointed to his back as they sat him on the gurney closest to them and the darkening stain on his scrub top.
"Damn it, Doctor," Joanna chastised Nic gently, " Why didn't you say anything. And don't tell me you didn't notice. " her eyes shot up at another doctor, "Michael, take the little girl, I am going to see to Dr. Kokoris."
"It's nothing...take care of the little girl."
"Ouch...easy." He winced and sucked air through his teeth with a hiss as the fabric was pulled out of the wounds.
"You're pretty funny, and here I thought your bedside manner was one of your strong points." He squirmed slightly as she probed, then tightened his hold on the edge of the table in an attempt to stop himself. "You want me to lay down?"
"That sounds like a very interesting proposition, doctor, but come to think of it yes, you probably should lay down on your stomach so I can do this a bit better."
After climbing off the table Nic's first thought was that he might as well get rid of his scrub top, as he lifted his arms to do just that though it sent a shot of pain through him he hadn't expected.
"Son of a bitch." He dropped his arms immediately and tried to reach behind to feel for the fragment that had shifted with his actions.
Joanna noticed his sharp reaction and instantly her brow knitted with concern. Just then the nurse came in with the lidocaine on a small tray. Joanna took the scissors again and cut off the remainder of Nic's scrub top.
"I promise, we will go shopping for a new one," she smiled at him, There was a sharp piece of metal about three inches long that was in another spot that they had not seen before. The immediate impact had made certain that it did not bleed much, but with Nic's movement it had dislodged and blood began to flow profusely. Joanna looked up at the nurse who quickly got gauze pads to help staunch the blood flow. The shrapnel was so close to his spine, Joanna was certain she didn't want to risk letting it go unchecked.
"Well the good news is, you are still among us, Doctor Kokoris"
"That's good to know..." Once his shirt had been gut away he had climbed back onto the table, then folding his arms so he could rest his head on them as they worked on him.
"Any word yet on the little girl?"
"You're kidding, right? It didn't feel like I got hit that bad? He raised up on one arm and twisted so that he could hopefully see what she was talking about over his shoulder, when he failed in the effort he returned to his previous position with a groan.
"Guess I'll have to take your word for it. On it even."
"Yes, well for once you're just going to have to trust someone else other than yourself, Nic. " Joanna smiled and took the syringe of Lidocaine that the nurse had prepared. She injected some in each of the wounds,
"No need to tell you this is going to sting a bit and then it should go numb."
"Ow...no kidding." His muscles tensed, knotting up under her hands despite his efforts to try and relax. Only as the medication began to take affect did they finally loosen up.
"Anyone else injured?"
Joanna tested the area for reaction and found Nic did not react. When she was satisfied she began removing the bits of shrapnel, starting with the larger one,
"Well," she said softly, "we have a few. You can worry about that after we have you taken care of. " She didn't want to elaborate, didn't want him to be upset that two orderlies had been killed along with at least eight of the locals, five of them under the age of twelve.
"A few...our people?" he wasn't quite ready to let it drop and in fact he was using his questions to distract his thoughts from what they were doing.
"We lost a couple of orderlies. Oe of the triage nurses ended up with a broken arm and a concussion, other than that, mostly local casualties. Id say not too many, but then you know me. I always think one is too many."
He nodded, they all knew that being in combat areas meant putting your life in danger on a daily basis, it was a risk you accepted as part of the job.
"Were they locals?"
"Yes," she said simply, "You've got enough metal in here to build yourself a jeep, my friend, "she tried to change the subject, "and lucky for me you're holding still at last because I am almost finished. She took the last bit of shrapnel.
"Now, if I get you stitched up, you have to promise to just turn your arse around and get to bed."
"We can't really afford to have me laid up, we're already short-staffed. I should be able to go back to work once you finish, if the pain gets too bad I'll take something for it."
"No. Doctor's orders. You are going to get at least six hours of rest if I have to tie you down to a bed to do it. Or do you want a replay as to why Greece lost to Rome all those centuries ago. " She gave him a wry grin.
"Joanna...you can't tell me that you don't need all the surgeons we have right now. I know what these attacks are like when there's just one, but multiples, you have to be backed up."
"You're not going to back down are you?" He pushed up on his arms only to groan and drop back down again as the sedative seemed to be wearing off in some areas.
"No, Im not going to back down," Joanna noticed him wincing with each thing that she did. Certainly the Lidocaine was wearing off. She injected just a little more into each of the wounds so that she could finish stitching Nic up. "I must say, Doctor Kokoris, you are a much better patient than I expected. I was afraid I was going to have to get a couple more nurses in here and hold you down."
"Yeah, I bet they're standing in line for that job." If he intended a double meaning to his words he didn't show it. As she began to re-inject the lidocaine however he once more began to visibly relax and without thinking about it he closed his eyes as she worked, comfortable enough with her skill that he could give in to the demand for sleep his body was calling for.
Joanna had gotten off her shift early enough to where she had staked out a spot near where Nic had been sleeping. She didn't want appear to hover, but the fact is, her colleague was a concern to her, especially here and now in this place. Doctors were a premium, and in some places they were even considered currency to be used as bargaining chips. Noting her patient stirring, she pulled herself up and went to Nic's side to take his pulse. The nurse had done it maybe fifteen minutes before, but there was no point in not being careful.
"You look and sound like how the rest of us feel, Doctor."
Shaking off the lingering haze of the drugs he locked his eyes on Joanna as she spoke.
"I don't think that's a good thing...I feel like shit."
"Well, Doctor Kokoris, we are in a war zone. Your vitals seem to be stabilizing. So do you want the rest of the day? Everything seems to be well enough in hand."
"You're awful formal..." He started to sit up only to let out a deeper groan and rethink it.
"So, that either means it's worse then you're letting on or something else is going on, want to talk about it?"
"Im sorry, Nic. I think its just starting to get to me, is all." she gave him a wan smile,
"Roberto has been sent to some diplomatic end of what is going on. I know how he hates it. He and I had a chance to talk while you were asleep in recovery."
He bit his lip, ignoring his own discomfort so he could sit as she began to talk.
"What did he have to say, or was it you that did the talking?"
Noting his expression, "He said they were going somewhere, it was classified. You know the military, especially if the US is involved, everything, including the latrine is "classified". He expects that he will be back in a couple of days."
"And you're worried about his safety, because of what happened here." He studied her reaction, his own features doing little to hide his level of pain.
"It's a risk we all take, it comes with the job, you know that, we all do." He shifted his position to accommodate his own discomfort.
"I hate to change the subject, but, how is the little girl I found? She get to keep her leg?"
"Yes, thanks to you. She is going to be fine, but of course she will have a few challenges. Thankfully there was minimal nerve damage.
"You expect to treat them for everyday illnesses, and the effects that being in the camps bring." He rubbed at his beard as he continued.
"But, how can you prepare yourself for children going through things like this?"
"They all should be worrying about rugby games and things most kids worry about - not whether or not they or their families will live out the week."
"I'll never be able to come to terms with that," He shifted uncomfortably on the bed as he spoke. "The idea of using children as soldiers I mean, but then it's not nearly as sick as the insanity behind gang raping every female they find no matter how young or taking machetes to entire families just because of their tribe." He leveled his dark eyes on Joanna as he grew silent. "Do you ever wonder what makes a person take that step across that line?"
"Look around us, Nic." Joanna jerked her head to one side, "Poverty breeds it. Superstition and greed fuels it. We just get to come by and clean up the mess and try to mend the bodies that come as a part of that. I have to believe that I am doing something worthwhile. I have to believe I am here for a reason. If what we do turns just one person away from perpetuating the problem, we will have succeeded."
"I know it's different here then in other places that we've worked, because their faith dictates so much of what they believe in. I guess that's what makes it harder here, because their entire history is based off battles like these and I don't see it changing no matter what we do. So that little girl today, like the ones before her and the ones that will come after are just statistics, and outside you and me, I doubt anyone will even remember her a week from now."
"You will, " Joanna smiled at him, " We both will, but you especially since that wound is likely going to produce a scar. It isn't likely you will forget, Nic."
"Not one I have to look at least, but, you're right, it will remind me of her everyday." Whether due to nerves or the pain meds wearing off he found it impossible to stay put any longer and he finally pushed up on his arms with a grunt and then struggled to sit.
"What is it?" Joanna looked at her curiously. The young nurse known only to Joanna as Kimberly finally managed to choke out a voice.
Joanna felt a niggling tide of fear wash over her. She did not reply to Nic, she could only nod and went to the cabinet to hand him a fresh set of scrubs. Her hands felt numb and everything seemed to be going in slow motion.
Nic had managed to get fully sat up wile she was gone and as he took the shirt from her he tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I'll be with you, whatever it is, but unless you want me to go like this I'm going to need your help because I don't think I can lift my arms over my head." He kept his tone light in hopes it might distract her somewhat.
"Dr. Valinari, Dr. Sorensen and General Overby would like to see you in the General's office."
Nic didn't like what he saw on the young nurse's face, nor what he heard in her voice, and it made him that much more determined to be at Joanna's side for whatever was coming.
"Help me up and grab me a scrub, I'll go with you."
Joanna felt a niggling tide of fear wash over her. She did not reply to Nic, she could only nod and went to the cabinet to hand him a fresh set of scrub. Her hands felt numb and everything seemed to be going in slow motion.
Nic had managed to get fully sat up wile she was gone and as he took the shirt from her he tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I'll be with you, whatever it is, but unless you want me to go like this I'm going to need your help because I don't think I can lift my arms over my head." He kept his tone light in hopes it might distract her somewhat.
Joanna only looked up at him and smiled. It was a weak smile. "Thanks, Nic,
she said softly. She knew what it was. No one was called into the office with the General present unless something was wrong.
'Is this how it feels?' she wondered to herself. She didn't want to faint, didn't want it to be bad news, but she knew.....she knew.
"It could be nothing, maybe the jeep just broke down." He offered the alternatives even knowing how slim the chances were for them to be true
The General's assistant was waiting for her and he gave Nic a curt nod. "Right this way, Dr. Valinari," the young officer said. He didn't keep Nic back, as if it were a given that she would need all the support possible at this moment.
Dr. Sorensen and General Overby were standing together talking in hushed tones. When she and Nic entered, she could tell from the look on their faces, the news was not good.
"Joanna, I'm here." He whispered the words to her quietly, making sure she knew that she wasn't alone.
"You'd best sit down, Dr. Valinari," General Overby did not waste any time. In the meantime Dr. Sorensen was behind the general pouring a glass of brandy. He seemed to be deliberate in his slowness.
'Why didn't they just get it over with and tell me?' Joanna thought as she took the chair that was offered. Nic stood close by, not more than a hairsbredth away from her. "Thank you," she murmured quietly, "it's Roberto isn't it?" her Italian accent was more pronounced now, even to her own ears.
General Overby nodded, "Yes, I'm afraid so, Joanna. I am terribly sorry," by now Dr. Sorensen had half-filled the glass with brandy and had been warming it in his hands. "There was a strike about ten miles out, your husband was trying to get five of our troops out in the med-evac. Damned courageous move on his part, but unfortunately none of them made it. Again, Joanna I am terribly sorry."
Joanna took the brandy that was offered and slumped. She knew. It wasn't as if the general telling her that Roberto was dead was any sort of surprise. She knew it from the look on the nurse's face when she came into the tent to tell her that the general wanted to see her. Where were her emotions? She wanted to cry, wanted to scream about the unfairness of it all, but nothing would come.
"I can arrange to have your replacement here in a couple of days, Dr. Valinari, so you can go home with your husband, make the necessary arrangements."
Joanna shook her head. "I'm not going," she said softly, "We're already down two doctors, You can't afford to be down three."
"Her name is Joanna Falconiri, her husband was Roberto Falconiri, the least you can do is get it right when you're talking about him." He moved up bahind Joanna as she sat and placed his hands on her shoulders, offering the only support he could at the moment.
Joanna could only nod and then took a sip of her brandy, "Where is he now?" she asked numbly.
"They're bringing your husband's remains back now, Dr. Falconiri. I suspect they will be here before nightfall."
At that moment all the anger culminated in her and she flung the brandy and its glass across the room leaving it to shatter against a filing cabinet, "Damn you!" she shouted, "Damn you! Damn you all! DOCTOR Roberto Falconiri! No matter if there is nothing left of him but ash, he is DOCTOR Roberto Falconiri! So referring to him as "remains" does nothing to maintain his memory! Remember what he gave here!" she collapsed into the chair sobbing.
"Come on, we can't do anything here." He coaxed her to her feet.
"Civilians are losing their lives too...but you could care less about their lives could you?" The memory of those who had been with the little girl earlier in the day and his own close call were still fresh in the surgeon's mind, and tact was suffering because of it.
"That's all that you ever think about isn't it, moving borders? It's too hard to think about solving the problems that are causing the violence in the first place."
"You need to get some rest, I'll give you something to help you sleep, and I'll stay with you." Only when he made sure she had taken a seat on the cot did he release his hold of her. Retreiving a small stool from across the room, he took a seat next to the bed and despite the twinge of pain that followed the act he leaned closer to her.
"Is there anything else I can get you?"
"Just need to sleep a little bit. I promise I will be able to help soon....I..." Joanna's eyes got heavier and heavier. The last thing she remembered was the blanket being pulled up over her.
Unwilling to leave her side he moved the stool closer so he could lay his arm on the cot near her head. When she fell asleep he continued the action until he too felt himself being pulled toward sleep. Laying his head on his arm he watched her until he could no longer keep his eyes open and when he finally fell asleep, it was with his hand still on her head.
With effort she pulled herself out of bed, careful not to wake Nic who still was sleeping soundly. Just as she got out of her cot, she noticed that the bandages on his back had not only soaked through, but were starting to seep onto his shirt as well. She shook her head, they were a pair, he was injured externally, and she was wounded internally. It would be a few days at least before the relief team came. In the meantime, they both had to make the best of things.
"You're awake...did you sleep all right?" It wasn't the best question he could ask he but he knew nothing he could say would change the way she truly felt.
Pushing himself up off the cot he moved over to where she stood, ignoring his own discomfort out of concern for her.
"Can I get you anything?" He slid his arm around her as he reached her and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek.
She looked at Nic and moved toward him foucusing on his injuries, "We need to check those bandages, Dr. You're still hurt and you are soaked right through."
"I can't say I blame them, I'm sure they're worried about liability and how it will look to the other volunteers." He leaned his head close to hers as he spoke, keeping his voice soft.
"They'll probably do the same with me, they don't want people thinking about what can happen, and as long as either of us are here that's all people will do, once we're gone people will start to forget, or at least start being able to move past it."
"I'm so sorry for you, I wish there was more I could do for you." He brushed his hands through her hair.
"I could go back with you so you don't have to travel alone, if you want me to that is?"
"I appreciate that, Nic," she said wiping her eyes and nose on a handkerchief that he had miraculously managed to make appear, " my mother-in-law would view it with such suspicion, but if you can fly back with me at least to Rome, I can manage from there."
"But, I'll do whatever you want, you know that, and if you want me to held with arrangements or notifications, I can do that too."
"Ok, Dr. Kokoris," she said, snuffling and grabbing a nearby washcloth, "it's time to get those bandages changed, and I won't here any more arguments or suffer any more delays about it!"
"It hasn't been that long." His whole concept of the time that had passed was off and it might well have only been 3 or 4 hours instead of the 12 or 13 that had actually gone by since he'd been on the table.
They made their way from her tent back to the hospital tent, the haze of the late afternoon reflecting off the desert sands. She wasn't ready to face life without Roberto, or even life outside of being in a war zone, but she had to come to grips with it. Having Nic with her when she went back to Italy would help her ease back into civillian life; or so she hoped.
"So, we'll tell them I'll fly back with you, you don't need to be traveling alone." He forced his mind back on her situation and off of his own as they walked across the camp.
"Are you all right?" Nic laid a hand on Joanna's back as the casket finally disappeared from sight. Whatever he was feeling he was determined to hide, at least until they were checked into their hotel.
"Are you ready to clear customs and meet your family?" He rose from his seat as he asked the question and waited for her in the aisle of the plane.
Joanna nodded. "I'm alright. I just wasn't expecting things to be like this." She took a dark scarf and placed it over her head, wrapping it around her neck and shoulders as was traditional. She was a widow now, wearing black as she should have done. Nic was nothing but supportive and when she reached his side she gave his hand a small squeeze. "In case I have forgotten to say so, " she said softly, "thank you. I don't think I could have faced them alone."
"That's what friends are for...and you would have been there for me if I needed you to be." Nic returned the hand squeeze, making sure not to appear too friendly as they came down the stairs of the plane in case her family might be in the observation area. "Are you expecting many here to meet you?"
"No," Joanna shook her head, " I suspect my mother and Father and my brother will be here. The journey to the family cemetery at Robertos' family home is about an hour from here. Mama told me that they were not going to arrive until the morning." She descended the gangway of the airplane and silently was grateful for the fact she had worn flat shoes. Her legs were shaky and she felt her stomach tighten at the thought of what would come next. Still, she was determined to meet it head on. Nic would raise suspicions in the minds of some here, she knew, but he had been Roberto's friend and colleague, too. Surely none could fault him for paying his respects to a fallen comrade by escorting his body and his widow back home.
Nic followed Joanna down the stairs, keeping a hand on her as he did, it was only as they began to make the walk across the tarmac that he gave any indication of his own injuries, a small blood-stain revealing itself on the fabric of his shirt where the worst of his wounds had soaked through it's bandages during the flight.
"Do you have your passport and the burial documents for customs?" He dropped his hand from her as they reached the door, then held back, letting her enter before him.
Joanna nodded and reached into her bag. The passports and certificates were in place. She had made sure that all of the things were there for easy access. When they reached the terminal, the airport officials greeted them in Italian. Joanna replied back easily, knowing that she would well serve to be translator for the trip in case Nic did not speak Italian himself.
Nic handed off his passport, fully expecting to run into problems for not having obtained a Visa before booking his ticket. He turned his attention to Joanna and left the problems to her for explanation.
"Yes, thank you," she said, "we both just stepped off the battlefield and Dr.Kokoris also was injured. He wanted to see my husband and I home."
"Since you are both doctors, I trust you know what to do,." the official looked at Nic, "Please see to yourself, Dr. We would not like to see you come to Sicily only to stay in hospital."
"Thank you." Nic took his passport back and tried to get a look behind his back without any luck. "It's nothing to worry about, really." He wasn't about to have Joanna's problems compounded by his right now.
The two of them made their way through the airport terminal, neither of them really thinking about much of anything other than getting through the day. The terminal was mostly quiet and at the receiving area, Joanna caught sight of her mother and father and brother, Michael. Her father looked worn and haggard, her mother was also wearing a black scarf of mourning. The older woman, dignified but still beautiful was dotting her eyes with a handkerchief, thrilled to lay eyes upon her daughter once again, even if it was for a less than happy reason.
Nic stayed close to Joanna up to the moment that they reached the doors clearing customs, in that fleeting moment he leaned close enough to lay his hand once more on her arm and place a kiss on her cheek. "You'll be fine, I'm right here if you need me." He then released his hold on her and allowed her to clear the doors a full step in front of him.
"Joanna! Joanna! " her mother cried opening her arms to her daughter to embrace her,
"Oh my darling, "I am so sorry about Roberto, " her tears began afresh,
"It is good that you come home," Joanna's father and brother hung back and waited their turn to embrace her, leaving Nic to stand behind her in observance. With tears she embraced her father, and then her brother Michael. Each one expressing their condolences in their turn. Before long, Joanna remembered that Nic must be feeling very neglected as patiently he hung back.
"Mama, Pappa, Michael, " she pulled away from her mother's recapturing embrace, "I am sorry, this is Roberto's and my colleague, Dr. Nicolas Kokoris. He came to see Roberto and I home." Joanna's father was the first to extend his hand, and gave the man a firm shake and a clap on the shoulder. Michael was much more reserved and hung back, carefully observing this stranger and his sister.
"Mr. d'Alessio, I'm sorry that we had to meet under these circumstances." Nic tried not to wince as the man's hand inadvertently struck one of the shrapnel injuries. "Roberto will be greatly missed." His dark eyes moved to Joanna as he spoke then shifted to her mother after he had returned her father's handshake.
"Thank you for coming, Doctor. It is a great comfort to know that Joanna did not have to travel alone," Joanna's mother said in English.
"Mrs. d'Alessio, again, you have my condolences, Joanna is very important to us, as was Roberto, I wouldn't think of her facing this alone." Nic's words barely touched the surface of his feelings at the moment, and he found himself looking to Joanna as he finished, hoping she understood what he left unspoken.
"Joanna, it's all right, do what you need to do." Nic tried to wave off her concerns, making Roberto the priority rather then his injuries.
Joanna nodded. "It;s all in hand, Nic, "she said softly, "Tomorrow is the funeral. We get up early in the morning to go to Roberto's family home. Your wounds must be seen to and we need to get you something to wear..."
"Joanna." Nic started to argue with her only to stop himself as he realized that she needed the distraction of taking care of him to avoid thinking about Roberto. "All right, you win." He shot a quick glance to her parents, not exactly sure what to expect from them as far as reactions to the exchange.
Joanna slipped her hand inside the loop of her father's arm keeping Nic on the other side of her. Her brother Michael and her mother hung back. No one seemed to notice the icy stare that Joanna's brother had for Nic.