AMANDA'S SECRET PASSION PART II
STORY BY Iona Yeager
Inspired by the CBS SERIES DIAGNOSIS MURDER
Warning to fans: Rated PG 13 for language, mild sex, and
violent situations
Disclaimer: The author recognizes that Diagnosis Murder and the
Characters are the property CBS. This story was intended for fan
fun and enjoyment on the DM Challenge page only and is not
available for sale or distribution for profit unless through
written permission of CBS and the producers of Diagnosis Murder.
-1-
Amanda rose from the floor, delighted and amazed by the grace and
lightness of her movements. She regarded the chaos in the parking
garage with mild bemusement. Peter held her cousin as they
watched the paramedics work on the woman on the floor. Judging
from the amount of blood, Amanda doubted if the poor woman would
survive the trip to Community General. Officers Harris and
Collins questioned Peter and the security guard about their guns.
What happened here? Amanda asked Barbara Harris. Barbara ignored
her. Amanda shrugged, and walked over to comfort Peter and
Druscilla.
Dru, you going to make yourself sick. Amanda said, stroking her
cousin's hair. Her cousin kept crying. Amanda wondered who the
woman on the floor was?
Steve would know.
She turned and walked up to the beach house. Steve played touch
football with the boys on the beach. He tackled CJ lifting the
child high above his head. Both children laughed with delight. CJ
looked up and saw his mother and waved.
-2-
"Hi Mommy!"
Steve frowned, glancing in the direction of CJ's smile. The beach
was empty, hazy with late evening humidity. For a moment the haze
took shape something like Amanda's, then all Steve saw was sea,
sand, and sky.
"She's gone." CJ said sadly. Dion pointed to the beach
house.
"Your dad looks sick, Uncle Steve."
Mark Sloan leaned heavily on the post of his deck, holding the
phone to his chest.
Steve ran toward the house, the boys close behind.
"Dad?"
Mark looked at his son, his eyes blank, then nodded at the boys.
"I'm fine," he said, his voice gruff. He gestured to
Amanda's sons.
"Boys, I need to be you to be real brave for me and Uncle
Steve. Your Mom's had an accident and she's very sick."
"Did she wreck the car?"
"Can we see her?"
"Your mother had a fall and got some very bad cuts."
Mark said carefully. He didn't look at Steve but he could sense
his son's scrutiny. "Uncle Jesse is trying to fix her, but
it's going to take a long time. Your Grandma and Grandpa are
flying in to see you. But until then, we're all going to stay at
the hospital. So I want you to get your things, including your
sleeping bags and put them in Uncle Steve's car."
The boys paused, uncertain, then scampered into the house.
Mark collapsed into a chair, his head in his hands.
"Dad? How bad is she?"
"It was the Dancing Stalker. Who the hell comes with these
cute and trendy names for perverted monsters who prey on innocent
young women. He stabbed her over 20 times, Steve. Nurse Wilson
said Amanda had approximately 7 deep punctures in her chest and
abdomen, and numerous cuts on her hands, arms and legs. Jesse
hopes he can stabilized her with a radical blood transfusion
treatment, but he has to go in and stop the bleeding
immediately."
Steve raised his hands in frustration.
"Dad, I know this Dancing Stalker case has you upset, but
what does this have to do with Amanda's accident? "
Mark's eyes narrowed as he regarded his son. Steve flinched as if
struck. He hated that look, his father's physcian look.
"Steve, you do understand what I am saying?" Mark said
gently. "Amanda was attacked by the killer your department
is tracking. She's critical, maybe dying."
"That doesn't make any sense, Dad. The Stalker's attacking
professional dancers. Besides, I told Amanda to be really
careful. You scared the boys. Get Jesse on the phone and make him
tell you the truth. What is wrong with Amanda?"
Mark reached out to hold his son.
-3-
Nothing is wrong with me, Steve. I'm right here." Amanda
touched his cheek. Like an angry, proud child he wiped at her
hand as if were a tear. Indeed he was crying.
"Steve, don't." Amanda attempted to hold him, but his
father held him instead."
"They can't hear you." Amanda turned to see Kathryn
Sloan smiling at her. She wore the blue dress from Steve's tenth
birthday party and the necklace. Amanda felt at her throat. She
wore the necklace too. Kathryn held out her hand. Amanda reached
out and--
AMANDA!
Amanda was in the hospital. She could feel the heat of the
ceiling lights. She heard Jesse's speaking in his doctor's voice,
terse and quiet, giving orders. Her chest and head burned with
pain. Her body burned. She tried inhaling but her throat and
chest caught fire with each breath.
"We got a pulse, Doctor Travis."
"Okay. Get her to pre-op. We can't wait for better
numbers."
Amanda moved her lips to speak.
"Doctor Travis, I think Doctor Bentley is trying to
speak."
"Amanda, hang in there."
"Don't tell Steve"
Kathryn Sloan looked down at her son's fiancee's body, seeing as
only she could, the extent of the damage, the bleeders that Jesse
would never reach in time, the punctured lung. Then she saw
something else, the shadow of something beginning which made her
heart leap with joy that surpassed the heavenly peace she always
felt.
"Well, what do you know?"
-4-
Doctor Jesse Travis put down the phone and turned to the desk
nurse.
"Get OR 4 prepped and tell Doctor Mayes and Doctor Lamb I
need them to assist. Get Amanda's Bentley's parents on the
phone."
"Amanda, I mean Doctor Bentley lists Doctor Sloan as her
next of kin."
"You want to call her parents and tell them that?"
Jesse snapped.
"Doctor Travis," Nurse Wilson met Jesse's glare.
"We're all upset about Amanda"
"We don't have time to be upset, Harriet. Make sure the
blood bank gets four units of packed cells, type ab positive up
here yesterday and Harriet--call Mark Sloan. The boys and Steve
are with them. They are family- you understand?"
Harriet Wilson nodded with grudging admiration. Jesse walked,
half ran to an empty ER stall and laid his head on the cool wall.
"You can do this, Jesse." Six weeks before, the third
of the Dancing Stalker's victims came into Amanda's pathology
lab. Amanda got halfway through the autopsy when the corpse had a
delayed tremor. Dismayed, Amanda backed away from the sighing
corpse, bursting into tears.
"Two minutes, maybe three and we could have saved her,
Jesse."
"Look at the extent and number of wounds, Amanda. Two
minutes or ten would not have mattered."
He heard the flurry of doors opening and shutting, signally the
arrival of the paramedics. He steeled himself, shutting all
traces of Jesse, and became Doctor Travis. Doctor Travis looked
at the body on the gurney and thought, nothing, save the grace of
God would save this woman.
Then Amanda flatlined.
-5-
"Heroic effort Jesse", John Mayes said taking off his
gloves. "You bought Amanda some time to heal. If she can
hold out and her stats improve, we can go back in and get the
rest of the bleeders."
"Yeah," Jessica Lamb agreed. "But she's going to
go through more blood than Bela Lugosi till then."
For the first time Jesse looked at Amanda's face. Her lovely
golden brown skin was gray, her lips blue and slack around the
ventilator tube. He bit his lips and turned away.
"Which of us is going to talk to the family?"
"Ha. You mean talk to Mark and Steve Sloan? Guess? We'll
meet you in recovery after you're done.
"Thanks."
Jesse dropped his surgical gown into the bin, washed his hands
and slammed through the door. Hospital legal advisor, Gerald
French waited for him.
"Did I hear Doctor Mayes say you made a heroic effort?"
"He exaggerated." Jesse stopped, looking at the papers
in French's hand.
"Amanda had a living will," French explained.
"And? I've seen it. It allows me to make every effort to
save her life."
"But no extraordinary efforts, Doctor. The hospital could be
liable if your efforts violate the terms of this will."
"You know what, Gerry, you can take that piece of paper and
shove it- " Jesse smiled bitterly. "You can show it to
Mark Sloan. He's listed as Amanda's next of kin."
Jesse turned the corner, took a swearing breath and stalked into
the waiting room. Amanda's look alike cousin was there, holding
on to the too handsome Peter Cheung. He guessed that the super
model pretty older woman and the tall, dark skinned bearded man
holding her hands were Amanda's parents. Mark and Steve sat
across from the family. Jesse frowned at the image. Mark and
Steve on one side of the room, the Bentleys on the others, the
boys in the middle. CJ ran to him.
"Uncle Jesse, did you make Mommy better?" Jesse lifted
CJ up into a hug. The child smelled wonderful, like surf and
sand, and other boy stuff. Jesse allowed himself a moment of
emotion, then became the Doctor once again.
"Amanda survived the surgery. She's had four units of packed
cells, and she'll be getting two more, along with an array of
antibiotics." He put CJ down carefully. "I bet you boys
are starving. How would you like it if Nurse Wilson takes you
down to Sergeant Mozzarella's Pizza? My treat."
The boys weren't dumb. Jesse wanted to talk to the grown-ups
alone. Something bad was happening.
"When can I see mom?" Dion demanded.
"In the morning. I promise."
The boys went obediently with Nurse Wilson.
"Can everyone sit down? Together?" Jesse motioned the
family to some chairs.
They reluctantly took seats close to each other. Jesse leaned
forward, drawing on Druscilla's face for focus.
"I couldn't get all the bleeders. Amanda's stats were too
low to keep her under anesthesia. For now, we are going to treat
her with packed cells and clotting agents until she is stable
enough to endure exploratory surgery. I will not lie to you.
Rarely does anyone with Amanda's injuries survive with
conventional medicine-so I'm going to use some radical methods
that have proven effective in field medicine for the miltary. I'm
asking your prayers, patience, and if you're a compatible blood
type, I asking for a couple pints of blood. Right now."
Mrs. Sloan and Druscilla stood up.
"Amanda and I are the same blood type."
They followed the blood bank technician out.
"The rest of you can give a pint of blood later if you
choose. We always need healthy donors. One last thing. Amanda's
recovery will take weeks, if not months. There was a lot of
tissue damage. She will probably require corrective surgery and
rehab hours. There will be no ninety minute miracles."
"You already performed the miracle, Jesse." Mark said.
"You save my-our Amanda."
Mr. Bentley's lips tightened as he looked at Mark, but he
stretched out his hand to Jesse.
"Thank you, Doctor."
Jesse nodded. He made out of the door to the hall before he
collapsed against the wall shaking with reaction.
Nurse Mosley's voice rang out on the intercom.
"Code blue, Code blue. Doctor Travis to recovery. Doctor
Jesse Travis to recovery."
Jesse ran.
In the waiting room, Mark too started toward the door.
"Keep out of this Sloan." Mr. Bentley ordered.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me. I do not want you or your son near my
daughter. How many times are you and this sorry excuse for a cop
going to endanger her before you kill her? Let Travis do his job,
but you stay away from my Amanda."
Mr. Bentley's fury seemed to pierce through Steve's fog.
"Now hold on. My father had nothing to do with that madman
attacking my - Amanda. If anything, I should have been there to
protect her."
Peter Cheung shook his head.
"For that matter, Dru and I should have insisted she wait
for us. But would it had mattered? If this psycho was stalking
her, he would waited for another chance."
"This is your fault Sloan. Why is a monster like that still
on the streets?"
CJ ran into room , followed by Dion.
"It's my fault, Grandpa. Don't be mad at Uncle Steve. He
couldn't be with Mommy because he was taking care of me."
"CJ. I thought you were going for pizza, son." Bentley
picked up the boy.
"I found these two young men wandering near recovery. Seems
they ditched their escort in the men's room."
One of the most beautiful women Steve had ever seen stood in the
doorway. She looked vaguely familiar. She smiled at each of the
men.
"I'm Kathryn." She gave no last name but no one seemed
to notice. "Forensic psychologist. I've been assigned to
help you with this case Detective Sloan."
"The department sent you?"
"My orders come from a higher authority." She smiled.
"Are you ready to go work,
Da- Detective Sloan?"
End of Part Two
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To Part Three
