Queen of the Stars

by Haley R Lawson

  Jackson said, “I’m not leaving you with an open laceration and a needle hanging from your face. Rose go with Tommy to the assembly. I’ll catch up.”

  I went with Tommy. He had been watching from the door and kept calling me names like butter fingers on our way upstairs. Malerie was on the royal balcony with Charlie. Alex took the microphone and said, “Hello all, I just wanted to update all of you on things I am currently working on and some more changes in the plans. Prince Charles is needed by his fiancé’s family and will be leaving the ship for at least six months. I will stay in control until then. If things change again, I will update all of you. I have uploaded the ship’s roster to a new database. There are computers in the eatery so you may find your loved ones. I am still making my way around the workforce and will continue to do so. The nighttime curfew is no longer in place however, the way the ship’s lights are wired requires the lights in the workforce all be turned out at once so they will stay on their current schedule until that can be adjusted. I am also changing the way jobs are assigned. I am going to start with the medical fields. I ask that all people with medical training who would consider working in a new hospital to please apply using the new computers in the eatery. I have appointed new advisors and we will be meeting this evening and every Sunday to plan our goals for the week and reflect upon the last week. I will introduce them at another assembly sometime tomorrow. As always, my doors are open, and I look forward to hearing from you. I hope you have a splendid week.”

  I really wanted to go hug Charlie goodbye, but Tommy basically pulled me back to work. When we got back, Jackson said, “What’d you do take the scenic route?”

  Tommy said, “Rose was daydreaming about being a royal. I had to drag her back. If you ask me, she doesn’t appreciate this opportunity.”

  “Okay, well, I want her in here with me until lunch and you can go get my patients.”

  “I’m sorry about that. I… it won’t happen again.”

  “Rose, I was just kidding. Did you know about a meeting tonight?”

  “He told me he was going to give us advance notice. I didn’t think that’s what he meant. Unless, we aren’t invited.”

  “I don’t know. My position is important… I don’t really know what yours is about, but I’m sure it is too.”

  “Nice save. Have you checked on Tucker at all?”

  “I’ve been too busy. I’ll go tonight after our meeting. What’d you do to Tommy?”

  “He’s under the impression I just stood around all day yesterday. He got all competitive or something and keeps teasing me about… He’s just a better doctor.”

  “He went to college for years to be a doctor. You are actually learning quickly. You are my partner, not Tommy. What is he teasing you about? The sutures, because he had trouble too.”

  “He told me about the evaluation paper. He keeps pointing out things I might get marked for like the broken chair. It’s okay. I understand it’s your job.”

  “That evaluation sheet wasn’t for you. It was for our boss. I’d tell you to fix something before I go writing it down. Don’t worry about the chair, that’s faulty equipment and not your fault. You are doing great.”

  I thanked him for his confidence in me as Tommy arrived with our patient. Jackson let me lead the evaluation. He had burns so I treated those with burn cream. Tommy arrived with a new patient and said, “What is taking her so long? He clearly burned himself, she put the cream on, now he leaves.”

  I said, “Sir, are you dizzy at all?”

  The man said, “Now that you mention it. I am a little dizzy.”

  Tommy said, “He just doesn’t want to go back to work.”

  I said, “Jackson, can you hold him up please?”

  Jackson stepped over just as my patient started seizing and nearly fell off the table. He said, “Okay, what did you see?”

  “His eyes were moving like he was in Rem sleep.”

  “Okay, good catch.”

  “You caught him.”

  “I meant the eyes. Tommy go call a drone. He either has a concussion or something hemorrhaged in his brain. It may have caused the injury resulting in the burns. Next time, ask if they fell or hit their head before asking if they are dizzy.”

  “That does make more sense. Sorry.”

  “It’s fine. The doctors at the hospital can handle it.”

  The emergency drone arrived and took our patient. Tucker was our next patient. He had fallen out of his wheelchair and hurt his wrist. Jackson sent me for ice. I came back to Tucker saying, “I don’t think it’s broken, but I figured I should have it looked at. Do you think they’ll let a one-legged man be a doctor?”

  Jackson said, “If you can get a prosthetic and stop breaking yourself, I’m sure they will. I’m going to send you with Rose for X-rays. If she does it wrong, correct her nicely.”

  “You can’t pawn your trainee on me.”

  “If I was pawning anyone off, it would be the other one. I just want her to learn.”

  I felt awkward going back in, but Tommy was coming back again. I knocked on the door and presented Jackson with the ice. He said, “I want you to take Tucker for an X-ray first and then we will put ice on. Tucker can help you if you can’t figure it out.”

  “Okay, sounds good. We will be back soon.”

  I pushed Tucker to the X-ray machine. I had enough X-rays done in my life to at least know how to set Tucker up, but to actually operate it was a bit tricky. I eventually figured it out. Tucker looked at them and said, “You did a great job. I also did a great job at breaking this. Darn it!”

  “You’ll probably have to go get surgery, then right? How isn’t that killing you?”

  “I’m a former military man. I don’t feel pain.”

  I stepped on his toe by mistake seconds later and he jumped. “I thought you don’t feel pain.”

  “I lied. It hurts, but I don’t like to think about it.”

  “Okay, well I will return you to Jackson. Maybe you can work as a rehab guy or something.”

  “That’s actually not that bad of an idea. You two know Prince Alexander, don’t you?”

  “I saved his life a few times. He’s a really good man. Why?”

  “I was just wondering. You talked about the raffle the other day as if he was certain to pick you.”

  “You are going to find out at the assembly tomorrow anyway, but Jackson and I are royal advisors now.”

  “Really? That’s awesome! We should probably get back.”

  I wheeled him back to Jackson, and he set up a splint and sling before sending Tucker to the hospital for a consult. I offered to take him since he couldn’t walk or wheel himself over with one hand. Tommy was there with the next patient and said, “Are you kidding me? She’s skipping out on work again?”

  Jackson said, “I never said yes yet. Tucker can wait until the end of the day. He was a medic and can supervise so we can get two rooms going. Tommy, you’ll go with Tucker and I’ll keep Rose with me.”

  “I don’t want to be babysat by a cripple. I want to learn something.”

  Jackson tried very hard to remain calm, but before he could say anything, I said, “I would love to work with Tucker.”

  Jackson said, “Tommy, I was sending you with Tucker because you have medical training and don’t need as much supervision, because I trust you. All of the jobs I have assigned to you have been for a purpose. You are right. You do need to learn things. You need to learn how to take orders, how to work in a team, how not to insult a patient or a teacher. Whatever your problem is with Rose, she is a part of the team and you need to leave it at home. Rose go with Tucker and please take the patient. Tommy go clean the bed pans. I will handle the patients for the rest of the day.”

  I went with Tucker and the patient. The man said, “I just want my hand fixed. I didn’t mean to walk into a drama show.”

  I said, “I am so sorry about that sir. How did this happen?”

  He said, “I touched the wrong pipe. It was
a rookie mistake. I was distracted thinking about the assembly and if my family’s on the ship.”

  I put burn cream on it and loosely bandaged him. “Just keep this on it and you will be fine.” I hadn’t stopped to really think about it until that moment.

  Tucker said, “We can stop by the eatery on the way back to my apartment… I mean hospital.”

  “I am at work and can’t think about it now. Bad things happen when you work distracted.”

  He agreed with me. I went and got the next patient with the old blanket and chair method. The patient had twisted his ankle pretty badly, so I started pulling him down the hall. Tucker said “Hold up. I can sit in the chair and you can use this wheelchair. It just makes so much more sense. You can handle the X-ray, right?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got it.”

  The man was not as strong as Tucker and was crying like a baby. I got his X-rays done, wrapped it for him, gave him ice and told him he’d have to go for a consult at the hospital. I got him crutches before signing him out. The wheelchair made it so much easier. I blew through the rest of the day. Neither Tucker nor I realized we never stopped for lunch. I helped him back into his wheelchair at the end of the day. There were still twenty patients being given numbers for the morning.

  Tommy eagerly started leaving with the supply bag. Jackson was signing out. I couldn’t leave them overnight. I called the patients back in order of severity. One man’s leg was so badly burned that he would not have made it through the night. Another man had a piece of metal sticking out of his arm. Tucker helped me treat him as much as he could from the chair. I was on the last patient when Jackson came in to help. He apologized for not noticing what was going on around him. We were at the clinic for an extra hour, but we saved or at least helped twenty more people.

  I asked where Tommy was, and Jackson said, “He must’ve clocked out and left. Thanks for sticking around. Did you eat lunch? I forgot.”

  “We forgot too. I just have to put this dirty blanket away. You can start pushing Tucker to wherever he is going.”

  “So, were we invited to the meeting?”

  “I have no idea. It really doesn’t feel like we were.”

  “Well, Alex and I will have words on Friday.”

  I laughed and went to put the blanket away. Tommy was laying on the supply room. I couldn’t tell what was wrong with him, but he did not look good. I ran for Jackson and he called a drone bus. Jackson worked on Tommy and told me to take Tucker to the hospital. I asked why we couldn’t just come on the drone. He told me he didn’t trust those things for more than a few people. I pushed Tucker towards the hospital. He tried to get me to stop in the eatery to look at the super computers. I only said yes because he decided to apply for a medical profession. I couldn’t take any more heartbreak today, so I just let him fill it out. He didn’t check for family.

  I said, “Why’d you push me to do something you won’t?”

  “I was an orphan. I didn’t have anyone besides my military buddies. I’ve got Jackson back and that’s enough.”

  I pushed him to the hospital. Jackson was waiting for us. He checked Tucker in. I said, “How’s Tommy?”

  “Tommy’s diabetic. He was experiencing extremely low sugar. That’s why he was so irritable. He’s going to be just fine. He’s lucky you found him.”

  “I feel so bad for… can I go see him?”

  “Sure, he’s apologized to me a thousand times so far. I’ll sit with Tuck. Do you have your royal pass?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “I’m going to see Alex.”

  “You can’t just crash his meeting.”

  “He has an open-door policy, remember? You don’t have to come, but I’m going.”

  “Okay, I’ll see after I talk to Tommy.”

  I went into Tommy’s room and he said, “I forgot to eat. Apparently, I’m diabetic. It actually makes a lot of sense, but I was too busy to notice. The low blood sugar causes irritability, but I was a jerk on purpose and way before this became an issue. I had to study for years to be confident enough to work alongside a doctor and you just do it like it’s nothing.”

  “It’s not nothing. I second guess every single move I make. Tommy you are such an incredible doctor or doctor in training, but what happened to the sweet frozen guy I met last week?”

  “He’s an idiot and pushes people away.”

  “Well here’s the thing, I pull. I used to push people away too, but I’d rather get hurt loving and trying than miss my chance to learn from them. I hold on too hard sometimes, but at least I can say I tried.”

  “That’s very wise. I’m going to be a better teammate from here on.”

  “Me too. I’ve got to go do something, but I’ll come back later.”

  “It’s okay. This bed is comfier. I think I’m just going to rest.”

  “That’s fair enough. Goodnight Tommy.”

  I went to Jackson and Tucker had been taken into surgery. I thought it was odd they took him so quickly, but they didn’t really have many patients. I said, “So I’ve decided I am going to the meeting too.”

  “Awesome, then let’s get going.”

  We headed to the royal building and up to Alex’s office. I was so nervous for some reason. I went into his office and said, “You need to invite all of your advisors to the meeting in order for teamwork to work or is mine a made-up position? Did I miss the meeting?”

  Alex said, “The invitation was on your bed. I guess you haven’t been back to it yet. I worried about that, but your boss wouldn’t reveal your location. I didn’t want to call you out during the assembly. Is Jackson with you?”

  “He’s in the hall.”

  “Good, the meeting actually starts in about ten minutes. You can head over to the conference room. I just need another minute or two.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Charlie leaving changed a lot of my plans. I also… we made a really good team. How are you holding up?”

  “Barely… I’m keeping myself distracted. I haven’t looked for my family yet either. It was all too much.”

  “I looked for your family. I wanted to see if it would work the way it should.”

  “Don’t tell me, just show me.”

  “Are you sure? Maybe we should wait until after the meeting. Is Jackson going to hit me with hard balls again?”

  “You’re right and probably yes. We still don’t have wheelchairs or gurneys. We are also running out of supplies. That’s his department though not mine. Alex what is my job… like what am I supposed to do?”

  “Gauge the people. Watch them during our assemblies, listen for offhand comments, just listen and watch. That’s all.”

  That seemed easy enough. We walked to the conference hall together. Jackson had already gone over. We were sitting by name tag. I was seated with Conner. I didn’t know he had a position on the panel, but his card said he was in charge of press relations. That meant we were either doing the same job or working very closely together. Alex’s father sat in on our conference. Alex explained that he still had meetings with the supervisors, but he also wanted liaisons from the common worker people. He took suggestions and new ideas. I thought the meeting went really well.

  Conner hugged me after the meeting was officially ended and said, “I’m sorry Charlie left without telling you.”

  “I found out last night. We said our see you later. He’s going to be an amazing dad.”

  Conner dropped his water and said, “He’s what?”

  Alex overheard us and said, “Did you just…”

  Jackson came over with him and said, “I guess I need to work on her patient confidentiality. Alex do you have her paperwork? I don’t want to lose my partner, but I know they are starting to bring in the new people tomorrow.”

  Alex said, “Yeah, come to my office. Wait, so Charlie and Malerie left because they are having a baby?”

  I said, “I figured he told you. I’m sorry guys. This wasn’t my news to deliver. I’m sure he w
as eventually going to tell you.”

  Conner said, “He’s my best friend. You think he would’ve already done so. Oh well, I’ve got an interview to prepare for.”

  “What’s it for?”

  “Morning show host. We are starting a news channel.”

  “Pretty cool as long as it doesn’t make stuff up.”

  “Of course not, I wouldn’t do that. Did you look for your family?”

  “I’m going to Alex’s office now.”

  “Do you want me to join you?”

  “You can if you want. It’s not that big a deal. I don’t know if I’m even going to track them down.”

  “If I were able to see my family again, I would give up everything. It is a big deal.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it wasn’t important. I’m just scared.”

  “Well you just need to take the chance.”

  I agreed and we went to the office. Jackson was leaving and asked if I wanted him to wait for me. I said, “Um… why don’t you go see Tucker and check on Tommy. I’ll come over when I’m done here. Thanks though.”

  “Alright, well I just filed your paperwork, so you are officially my apprentice. Alex is sending some gurneys and wheelchairs tomorrow. They had all been taken to the new hospital building, but he agrees it needs other things first. I’ll see you later.”

  “Sir yes sir.”

  He laughed. “I hope you find them.”

  “Find who?”

  “Your family. I know that’s what you are doing.”

  “Thank you. Did you find yours?”

  “I’m not as brave as you. I’ll look tomorrow night. I’ve got enough going on at the moment.”

  In all honesty, I wasn’t brave either. I almost didn’t want to find them because I didn’t want to know that they went through all of the horrible stuff I did. I also didn’t want to know they were left behind in a country with no one to care for them and no resources or leader. Conner held my hand and we went into the office.

  Alex had order forms up and had to bring the database back up. It was all in a different language. The letters were beautiful. I said, “Alex, is that your native language?”