Chance of a Lifetime

[Kristy_DUke]

Kristy's heart comes to a painfully abrupt stop at the news the young woman doctor had just delivered before returning into the room where Shay lay. Slowly she numbly finds herself sitting back onto the old couch as tears begin to flood from her eyes and down her smooth cheeks. From behind, she feels Luke rub her back out of comfort as well as in his concern. "Things will work out," Luke says at his loss of words though as Kristy looks at him, Luke's knowledgeable blue eyes shines of his own worries, fears, and his own doubts.

"Mommy," Jamie says walking up to Kristy, "Why are you sad? Why are you crying?"

Kristy forces herself to look at Jamie who stares at her in a child's wonder before she bends down to pick up her blond haired cabbage patch doll and hugs onto it tightly. "Shay's real sick," is all that Kristy can say to her daughter.

"Is he gonna die?" Jamie wonders out loud, hugging tightly onto her doll that she calls 'Casey'.

"I don't know," Kristy responds glaring down the hall at Daisy's closed door.

A moment of silence enters the room before Bo slowly stands stiffly up from sitting besides Kristy and Jesse for Jesse to slide next to Kristy. "Hey Jay...let's go build a high tower," Bo smiles down at the child, calling her by his nickname for her, "we can see who's tower can be bigger."

"OK," Jamie says taking Bo by the hand and together they walk over to the corner where Jamie's blocks lay scattered around.

Kristy jumps as Jesse places a caring arm around her shoulders to bring her into a tight hug for support. "The good Lord above won't let such a loving, great child like Shay die without His reasons," Jesse finally says, his hoarse voice is filled with his own tears, "we all just need to have faith, faith in the good Lord, and for the doctors in there with him now."

"Yeah," Kristy answers numbly, her thoughts remain in the room with her son, "if he...if I were to lo...loose him," she pauses to fight for her strength in attempt to hide her tears, "I don't know what I'd do. Him and Jamie is all I got, without them...I am nothing."

"He'll be fine...we just need to pray and keep faith," Jesse says, forcing his conviction of what he is saying in his voice, "everything stands for a purpose, Kristy...this is just one of His tests upon us."

Kristy goes silent as she watches Jamie playing on the floor with Bo for a long moment, lost in her own thoughts and her own prayers.

[pendragon1980]

"Chance?" Appby's voice broke into the silence "The ambulance is on its way. If we're gonna do this, we gotta this now."

Chance nodded, looking at the family before for. They trusted her to save him and be damned if she wouldnt. "Lets do this." She said, following Appby into the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind her.

Once inside, Chance and Applby quickly set to work. Appby positioned himself to one side of Shay to hold him still while Chance went to the other side of the bed, setting her instruments down. She swabbed Shay's neck with alcohol, and brought her surgical knife to his throat. She handed Applby the piece of tubing. "When I cut, as soon as you see air bubbles in the blood, widen the incision just far enough to slip the tube through."

Appbly nodded, his eyes grim. "Just stay steady, girl."

Chance leaned Shay's head back, placed the knifetip to the boy's skin and took a steadying breath. Her hands were quick and calm as they made the incision, and held the boy as Appbly slid the tubing in. The whole procedure took less than 5 minutes, but it seemed like hours to the two doctors who held the young boy's life in their hands. Chance cleaned the incision and placed bandages around to secure the tube, only then did she release the breath she had been holding. She held her hand about two inches above the trac tube, and sighed in relief when she felt the movement of air as Shay inhaled and exhaled.

"It's working, He's breathing."

"Thank god. Will it hold until the ambulance gets here?"

"It should." Chance jerked her head towards the door. "Better let them in to see the boy, and let them know everything's gonna be ok."

"Chance?"

"Yeah?"

"You saved this boy's life." When Chance raised her eyebrows questioningly "Not that I had any doubts, but I wanted to be the first to say it." Applby smiled at his young collegue and went outside to give the news to the Dukes.

While she listened to Appby's voice as he explained what they had done and reassured Kristy and her family that while Shay's condition was still serious, the child was out of immediate danger, Chance looked down at the small boy. In the few minutes since she and Applby created a new airway, some of his color was returning and he didn't feel so cold. The life before her seemed so fragile, had she not been here when she had...

Chance felt her throat constrict. She frowned, this was an unusual reaction for her about a patient. She had seen worse injuries, with worse chances of survival, several times a day at the ER. Why was this young boy shaking her usual calm so badly?

[Kristy_DUke]

Tears stream down Kristy's pale cheeks as she stares down upon her son who lies silently in the soft cushioned bed. His thin blond hair remains dampened to his small head as his color seems to slowly be brought back into him. Gratitude fills Kristy toward the two doctors for taking the measures they had to save her son's life, but as she glares at the tube stuck in her son's throat she can't stop but to cry in her fear, her sadness of the condition he is in. Her heart tightens within her as a lump forms in her own throat at the gruesome sight of her son, something she could never expect to have seen in her own son. Before she had returned home to Hazzard to find more about her half brother that she had only vaguely heard about she worked in a hospital with her mom, in the pediatrics floor. She had seen some saddening cases working on the floor with such cute children, but she could never imagine her own son being forced into one of thier conditions. Nor could she imagine herself being forced to play the position of the grieving parent she had so often seen in the waiting room crying, and yet here she stands looking down at her son who had about lost his life.

"No. . .no," Kristy hears herself mumble under her breath and Jesse places another comforting hand on her shoulder.

"He should be fine now...you should be grateful for them for what they did," Jesse adds, "The worst part looks to be over with."

Kristy numbly nods as she continues to watch her son lying silently still with the help of the tube to help him breath. Slowly she forces herself to look up at the two doctors and says, "Thank-you...so much, for trying so hard to save my son," she pauses to fight off more tears and the ambulance's sirens pierces loudly somewhere close to the farm house, "I don't know what I'd do if I were to loose him...thank-you so much!. . .I don't have much money nor do I longer have a job, but I will find someway to pay you back for this...as wella s the hospital now."

"They're here," Bo interrupts running into the room from keeping a look out for the ambulance with Jamie only to be confirmed by three tall paramedics rushing into the room with a stretcher. Jamie follows close by where she runs to her mom who picks her up.

[pendragon1980]

"Your son should be fine now, Kristy. Once he gets to the hospital, they'll take him straight up to surgrey and they'll probably want to keep him overnight for observation. As for payment, don't worry about it. we'll work something out."Chance watched the tender scene of the Dukes crowding around the small child. Within moments, the paramedics were assisting

little Shay into a stretcher. Chance felt something tighten in her chest and her eye burn. Looking around, she saw that everyone was distracted and noone would notice if she had a moment to collect herself.

Chance managed to slip out without anyone seeing. One pair of eyes, however, did follow the young doctor as she quietly left the room. Luke's.

(Thanks to Jax, for helping me with this scene by playing the part of Luke)

Chance left the farmhouse, stepping onto the front porch and sitting on the steps. Only then did she let her usual professionalism fall. Her shoulders sagged a bit and she brought a hand up to her eyes. *That had been close, too damned close.* If she had not been there when she had, the boy probably would be died in his sleep. She needed think, calm down and catch her breath. She looked up at the stars, idly thinking that they never looked so bright, so close, in the city.

The screen door opened and closed gently, the dark haired Duke stepping quietly on the porch; seeing the back of the blond woman. He could see the way the doctor leaned over; hearing her exhale her pent up breath. "You handled yourself well Chance." He whispered, his hands coming to her shoulders, cupping them gently. He felt her shoulders steel under his fingers as she straightened her spine, causally wiping her eyes.

Chance stood quickly, keeping her back to Luke until she could a hold of her emotions, embarassed to have been caught without her "gameface". As a doctor, Chance never allowed her emotions show to her patients. "You'd think after spending three years in the ER, I'd be used to going through on the spot emergency surgey. I don't know why I'm suddenly became so unraveled."

Luke turned her around to face him, his hands still massaging her shoulders. "No matter how many times you've dealt with situations like this you're going to react. You wouldn't be a human being if you didn't." He reached up and brushed a stray hair from her cheek. "It's what makes you a good doctor Chance, you feel things as strongly as your patients do and you suffer with them." He swallowed hard as he stared deeply into her blue eyes; feeling his own pulse begin to quicken.

"You sound like Applby." Chance grinned tiredly. "Thats the same sales pitch he gave me when I agreed to replace him. I guess thats also why I couldnt make in the ER. I was getting so tired of seeing people suffering and being treated as a case number. I think that..." Chance nodded towards the house. "was the first time in a long time that I actually saw the faces of the family of the patient. The pain, the worry and then the relief. Its not something I'm used to."

"You will, you'll come to get to know all of us." Luke stepped back and ran his fingers through his hair; his jaw clenching as he looked away from her. He was suddenly torn; his interest in this woman growing by the second. "One of the advantages of a small town." His gaze shifted back to her; his cool blue eyes intense as they focused on Chance's face. "We all get to know each other." Luke took a step forward again, bringing himself mere inches from her. He closed his eyes and leaned towards her; breathing in the scent of honey and almonds as he nuzzled the side of her face. He knew he was risking a lot, including her slapping him or simply moving away; rejecting him.

"I want to get to know you, Chance." He whispered.

Chance sighed and close her eyes, thinking it would be nice to have someone strong to lean against for once. Doctors were often seen as pilars of strength in deperate situations. Unmoveable. Unemotional. Inhuman. But right now, Chance felt anything but. Seeing the reactions of the Dukes as she cared for Shay shook her to her core. For that reason, Chance knew she shouldnt trust her emotions at the moment. She knew she stood step back, put that wall from emotions back up before something happeaned that both she and Luke ended up regretting. She swallowed and said shakily, "Well, Barring diaster, I'm in Hazzard to stay, so we'll be seeing alot of each other..." *I Didn't just say that, did I?* "around town, that is."

Luke tucked two fingers under her chin and lifted it to once more stare into her face. "I certainly hope so." A grin came to his face as he closed his eyes and brushed his mouth against hers in a kiss; his arms coming around her waist as he pulled her closer to him.

Chance brought her hands up Luke's shoulders, meaning to push him back. But somehow, her arms managed to wind themselves around his neck instead. And although she hadnt meant to, she turned her head and deepened the kiss herself, even she was still asking herself what the hell she was doing, kissing a man she had met only hours before. The kiss ended and they stood for a moment, barely a breath apart, if as neither understood what just happeaned. Then, As sudden as the kiss started, Chance pulled away. She felt herself blushing in the darkness of the night. "I..I'm sorry. I don't..that is.." Chance left the apology hanging in mid air, not knowing how to explain her unusual lack of control.

"You don't have to apologize." Luke's voice had the tiniest quiver to it as he cleared his throat; his hands running through his hair again. He felt his face burn in a flush as he turned around; trying to gain his composure.

Chance placed a gentle hand on Luke's shoulder. "It's ok, Its as much my fault as yours. Its been a strange day for all of us." Chance smiled softly "We had better get back inside, before they start wondering what happeaned to us." Chance went to open the door, but paused, as if not willing to end their privacy. "But I do hope I see more of you...around town, that is." Chance's smile widened.

As she stepped inside, Applby came up to her. "Chance, the ambulance just left. Kristy and Jamie went with them. Shay's going to the OR as soon as he gets there. But his breathing is already stablizing, I think we got this thing licked."

===

Luke watched her go inside; the screen door closing. He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed; a grin coming to his lips.

"Welcome to Hazzard, Doc."

=====THE END=====

[DaneyDuke]

(bumping for folks reading pleasure - excellent story!)