A few weeks later Megan was doing well in L.A. She had been staying with her dad and volunteering at the hospital. She was also in a much better place mentally. Being in L.A and away from Austin had given her time to think about things. She was still lost at where she stood with Jason but she had also decided that she would be going back to Austin at some point, she just didn't know when that was yet. This was a massive step forward for her as she had seriously considered moving to live with her dad for a bit in L.A. She was currently with her dad, driving to the hospital for an evening shift.
"Have you decided when you're going back yet?" Mike asked his daughter as they sat at a red light.
"Not that I didn't love having you here that is." He added quickly after, not wanting her to feel like she wasn't wanted.
"Soon I think. My boss, Mr Turner said I can take as much time as I need and not worry about work. I'll have a job waiting for me if and when I go back to Austin." Megan explained as the car started moving again. She had popped in and spoken to Mr Turner before she had left Austin and he was very understanding about her current situation.
"That's good." Mike nodded his head.
"I mean you can stay as long as-"
"Dad!" Megan screamed out as a car cut across the intersection, slamming into them from the driver's side. It all felt like it was happening in slow motion for Megan as the car flipped over at least twice before it came sliding to a halt meters away from the intersection. Both Megan and Mike were knocked out from the impact.

Fluttering her eyes open, Megan could barely make out what was happening around them. She could hear sirens approaching. She squinted to try and steady her vision as her head was spinning. She was pinned in her seat upside down.
"Ow." She cried out as she tried to support her weight by putting her hands on the roof of the floor but stopped when she had shooting pain through her wrist.
"Dad?!" She called out, turning to look at him. Mike was still unconscious and there was a pool of blood, dripping onto the roof of the car, from his head.
"Da-ah-dad?!" Megan reached over to him and nudged him, trying to get him to wake up. Nothing. She sighed with relief when she could see he was still breathing.
"Help! Help me! Somebody help us!" She called out, hearing people all around the car. Just then a paramedic appeared at her side of the car.
"Hi, I'm Mandy, can you tell me your name?"
"Megan."
"Please, help my dad." Megan cried out.
"My partners gone to help your dad okay? The firefighters are going to get you both out, we just need to check you over first okay?" Mandy tried to calm down the teen.
"I just need to place this collar-" Mandy tried to place a spinal collar on Megan but she refused.
"No! No collar. I'm okay. I can feel everything and it's only my wrist that hurts. Please, just get us out." Megan refused, shaking her head.
"Okay, okay. Just stay calm for me. I'm going to step away and let the firefighters do their job okay? I'll be right back." Mandy told the teen before she stood up from the ground and moved away from the car. She circled round the car and waited for her partner to step back from treating Mike. After he had placed Mike on oxygen, placed an IV so they could give him fluids and placed a spinal collar around Mike's neck, her partner David finally stepped back and let the firefighters do their job to free Mike and Megan from the car.
"How's the girl?" David asked Mandy.
"No obvious severe injuries. Head laceration and a possible broken wrist. How's he?" Mandy informed him, before asking about Mike.
"Not good. His B/P is lower than I'd like and he's got severe bruising on his abdomen. Also has a severe head laceration and hasn't regained consciousness yet." David explained, fearing the worst.
"I pulled this from his pocket though." David added, showing Mandy the Angel's Memorial name badge.
"I thought I recognised him". Mandy stated.
"I'll call ahead and let them know we're coming. The girl can ride with us." She added, knowing Megan was going to refuse to leave her dads side.

At Angels Memorial, Jesse had just received the radio call from the paramedics on scene at the crash. As soon as he finished talking to them, he went straight to find Leanne.
"Leanne!" He caught up to her in the corridor. Leanne could tell by the tone of hir voice that something was off.
"I've just heard from medics in the field. They're at an RTC. Mike Leighton is involved with Megan." Jesse told her straight away. Hearing this made Leanne freeze for a second.
"Go and find Angus before he hears it from someone else. I'll get a team standing by." Leane told him before they went their separate ways. After finding Willis and Mario, Leanne went to wait in the ambulance bay with them and a few nurses. They had just had an update from the medics and they were now en-route to the hospital with an ETA of 3 minutes.
"Did they update us on their conditions?" Mario asked Leanne as he waited nervously. He had become very close to the teen and was obviously friends with Mike so this was distressing for them all.
"Just that Megan was up and walking on the scene." Leanne shook her head.
"And Mike?" Angus asked them.
"All they said is he was badly hurt." Leanne told him sadly. They waited in silence. Within two minutes they could hear the sirens and a few seconds later, they could see the ambulance coming up the ramp. Once it had reversed in, the paramedic jumped out of the driver's side.
"Mike Leighton. Was involved in a RTC. Impact was on his side of the car. B/P is low. SAT's 97 on 5 liters. Head and Abdominal trauma and bruising. GCS has been 9 throughout. He has been unconscious throughout." The paramedic handed over as she opened the doors and unloaded Mike. She then moved on to Megan.
"Other vic in the car. Obs are normal. Unknown LOC on scene. Refused all spinal precautions. Laceration to the back of the head and a possibly broken right forearm." The paramedic finished handing over as Mario helped her step down from the back of the ambulance.
"Come on, let's get you looked at." He said, trying to guide the teen inside.
"No, I want to stay with my dad." Megan insisted, shrugging his hand off of her as she quickly followed after where they had wheeled Mike away. Megan finally caught up to them as they were transferring Mike over to another bed in center stage.
"Megan, you need to be looked at." Willis said, stepping away from Mike quickly to gently push the teen away.
"No, I wanna stay. Is he going to be okay? He wasn't talking or waking up..." Megan cried as Mario and Angus came up behind the teen.
"We're looking after your dad okay? You need to get treated, he'd want to make sure that you were okay too." Willis said calmly to the teen, looking her directly in the eyes.
Just then Megan swayed a little as her knees buckled.
"Woah, okay get her to cubicles and make sure she's okay." Willis said, stepping back to treat Mike as Mario and Angus caught Megan. Mario nodded and instead of grabbing a gurney or a wheelchair, he just picked Megan up bridal style and headed towards cubicles with Angus following them. As worried as he was about his brother, he could help his niece more than he could help his brother.

Round the corner from center stage, Megan was in a cubicle being looked after by Mario and Jesse. With Megan safely in a cubicle, Angus had gone back to check on his brother and try to get an update for Megan.
"I'm fine, just let me go see my dad." Megan said, trying to get up.
"Angus went to see how he's doing. You have a concussion and you need stitches. Last time you stood up you practically collapsed, just sit back." Mario said firmly, using his arm to stop her getting up as he paused cleaning the cut on her head. Megan huffed as she sat back and let Mario finish treating the cut on her head. Right as Mario finished cleaning and stitching the wound, Jesse walked back over to Megan's cubicle, having stepped away for a minute.
"How's my dad?" Megan asked him as soon as she saw him.
"He's stable. They've taken him to CT to check for any other injuries. He's got internal bleeding but is stable after a blood transfusion. He's going to be going up to the OR from CT. Angus has gone up with him." Jesse explained, making Megan relax a little.
"Ow." Megan winced and flinched away as Mario examined her wrist.
"Sorry." Mario apologized, taking her hand back in his gently to finish examining it.
"Pain relief?" Jesse asked Mario.
"No! No meds, I'm okay." Megan insisted.
"Okay, okay. No meds." Mario agreed, getting the teen to settle down again.
"Just an ice pack and order an x-ray please Jesse to check for any breaks." Mario instructed, writing his orders down in the chart. He specifically wrote down 'NO PAIN MEDS' boldly, knowing how important it was to the teen that she didn't receive any pain medication unless she really needed them.
"Sure." Jesse nodded as he went off to do that.
"Thank you." Megan said quietly.
"Your dad is going to be okay Megan and so are you." Mario reassured the teen as he leant on the bed railing. Megan just nodded but stayed quiet.
"Stay here, I'll be back in a bit." Mario said as he stood up right. Megan nodded as he walked away.

A little while later, they had Megan's X-ray results back.
"No breaks or fractures. Just a bad sprain. Jesse, can you give her a brace please for support and comfort." Mario asked the nurse as he finished checking over her x-rays.
"No broken ribs either, which is good." He added, looking at Megan's chest x-ray.
"Are those Megan's?" Leanne asked, joining them.
"Yep. No brakes in her wrist or ribs. Just bad bruising." Mario explained as Leanne picked up the chart to look it over.
"Any updates on Mike?" Mario asked her.
"He's just gone into the OR. Bad splenic lack with bleeding around the liver as well." Leanne told him, passing along the update she had just received from Dr Campbell upstairs.
"Why hasn't she had any pain meds?" Leanne asked, looking over Megan's file.
"She refused them. And given her history, I don't blame her." Mario answered honestly. Leanne looked at him. They all knew Megan's history but out of everyone, Mario understood her the most, being an ex-addict himself.
"Look, I'm respecting my patients wishes. Her injuries are fairly minor considering the severity of the crash. Just bruising and superficial cuts. If she's refusing pain meds, I'm not going to force them on her." Mario added, feeling the urge to explain his decision further.
"Okay, that's fair. But if she asks for them, don't be afraid to give them to her." Leanne told him, signing off on the chart.
"Of course." Mario nodded, before he walked off with Megan's chart down the corridor.

To be continued...

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