by Sandi Lynn
“You did the right thing.” I smiled as I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Not feeling so good, are you, Ruby?”
She shook her head.
“Don’t worry. We’ll find out what’s going on and get you feeling better.” I smiled.
I raised the bed up, listened to her heart and chest, and then I checked her throat.
“Open wide, sweetheart.”
After checking her throat, I reached into the cabinet and pulled out a strep kit.
“I’m going to swab the back of your throat. All you’ll feel is a little tickle.”
“I know. I’m used to this.”
“Do you think it’s strep?” Nathan asked.
“I do. Her tonsils are also inflamed. I’ll send this down to the lab and order some blood work. Are you afraid of needles?” I asked her.
“No. But will you do it?”
“Of course, I will. I’ll be right back.” I patted her hand.
As soon as I walked out, Nathan came after me.
“Hey, Sara. How did it go last night with Jack? Mason was in a foul mood this morning.”
“Not surprised. We got into an argument last night after Jack left.”
“About what?”
“Jack. Mason asked me what I thought, and I basically told him I didn’t trust him. He got pissed and told me I shouldn’t judge people I don’t know.”
“Damn. Really?”
“I don’t know, Nathan. Jack seems like a nice guy, but something isn’t right, and I can’t put my finger on it. I guess it’s something Mason will have to figure out on his own.” I grabbed the draw kit and headed back to the room to draw Ruby’s blood. “You are an excellent patient, Miss Ruby.” I smiled. “I’ll walk this blood down to the lab personally and send a nurse in to give her some medication to get that fever down. I’ll be back as soon as the results come in.”
“Thanks, Sara,” Nathan spoke.
“You’re welcome.” I gave him a smile.
On my way back from the lab, I got an urgent page from the ER. Holding my stethoscope around my neck, I ran down the hall and straight to room three.
“What’s happening in here?” I asked when I walked in.
My belly flipped when I saw Mason standing there, holding the hand of a very pregnant woman.
“She was already in labor when I pulled her out of the fire,” Mason said.
“Please, doctor. My baby isn’t due for another month and my husband is out of town on business,” she cried.
“I need you to calm down and breathe for me.” I placed my hand on her forehead. “I won’t let anything happen to your baby. What is your name?”
“Katelynn.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Katelynn. I’m Dr. Davis.” I gave her a small smile.
I reached over and grabbed a pair of gloves just as she let out a horrifying scream and the fetal monitor beeped erratically.
“Dr. Davis, the baby’s heart rate is slowing,” Corinne spoke.
“What’s happening?!” Katelynn screamed.
“Call OB and get them down here now!” I told Corinne as I examined Katelynn and she was bleeding profusely.
I looked at Mason, and he knew it wasn’t good as he stared at me.
“OB said it’ll be at least twenty minutes,” Corinne said. “They have an emergency upstairs.”
“And we have an emergency down here!” I yelled. “She has placental abruption, and she needs an emergency c-section now. We can’t wait any longer. Katelynn, I need you to listen to me. I have to get your baby out now. If I don’t, your baby will die. Do you understand me?”
She nodded her head as the stream of tears flowed down her face.
“Please don’t leave me,” she said to Mason.
“I won’t. I’ll be right here.” He gripped her hand.
“Get her prepped and call the neonatal unit.”
A team of nurses ran in and we quickly prepped Katelynn for the c-section. I let out a deep breath as I lifted the baby out and a loud cry came from her.
“It’s a girl.” I handed the baby to Corinne.
Mason looked at me with a smile as I prepped Katelynn for closure.
“What’s going on?” Dr. Carter, the OB resident, asked as he came running in while I was sewing Katelynn up.
“You’re a little late.”
“We had an emergency upstairs. You performed an emergency c-section down here?”
“I didn’t have a choice. She had placental abruption, and the baby was losing oxygen fast. I had no time to get her upstairs.”
“Are you even qualified?” he asked in a snotty tone.
“I’m more than qualified.”
“I can take over,” he spoke as he held out his hand.
“Step away from my patient, Dr. Carter. I will finish this and then you can take her upstairs.”
“I’m reporting this, Dr. Davis. You’ll be in serious trouble.”
“Go ahead. I really don’t care.” I shot him a look. “The only thing I care about is that I saved that mother and her child.”
As soon as I finished with Katelynn and they started to wheel her out of the room, she grabbed my hand.
“Thank you, Dr. Davis. Thank you for saving my baby.”
“You’re welcome. Congratulations.” I smiled.
I removed my gown, and Mason followed me out into the hallway.
“You did amazing in there,” he said. “I didn’t know you could do surgery?”
“Long story.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “You were really good with her.”
“She needed me since her husband was out of town.” He smirked. “Just another day on the job. We good?” he asked.
“We’re good. By the way, your brother and Ruby are in room six.” I gave him a small smile as I patted his chest and walked away.
Holding that scalpel in my hand brought back the feelings I’d missed so much.
Chapter 28
Mason
“Why?” I asked as she walked away from me.
I headed down to room six and when I walked in, Ruby’s eye lit up.
“Uncle Mason!”
“Hey, bro. What are you doing here?” Nathan asked.
“Hey, Ruby. Still not feeling well?” I asked as I kissed her forehead. “Hey, bro.”
“No. But Sara is taking good care of me.”
“Speaking of Sara. We haven’t seen her in a long time,” Nathan spoke with irritation. “I would like to know what’s going on with Ruby.”
“She just performed an emergency c-section on a pregnant woman I pulled out of a fire.”
“Oh. Are the woman and child okay?”
“They’re fine.”
“I didn’t know Sara could do that.”
“I didn’t either.”
“Didn’t know what?” Sara asked as she walked in the room.
“Congratulations on saving that baby, Dr. Davis.” Nathan grinned.
“Thank you, Nathan. As for Ruby, she has a pretty bad case of strep throat. I’ll prescribe some medication for her and order her to eat all the popsicles she wants.” I gave her a wink.
“Yay!” I love popsicles.
“Thanks, Sara. I appreciate it,” Nathan spoke as he gave me a hug.
“I better get going. I’m glad you’re on the mend, Ruby.” I gave her a high-five.
“Thanks, Uncle Mason.”
“I’ll see you later, bro. And I’ll see you tomorrow night,” I spoke to Sara.
I’d just gotten back to the station when Bobbie walked up to me.
“Hey, how is that pregnant woman?” he asked.
“Good. Sara had to do an emergency c-section in the ER. Something about a placental abruption.”
“Oh wow. Is the baby okay?”
“Yeah. She seems to be doing fine,” I spoke as I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
“I forgot to tell you earlier. Some guy was here looking for you.”
“Who was it?”
“Older g
uy. I told him you were with your brother and he said he’ll come back another time.”
“That’s weird. I wonder why he didn’t stay.”
“I don’t know, man. We’re ordering chicken for lunch. Are you in?”
“Yeah. Get me the usual. I have a lot of paperwork to do and then we’re going to do a drill.”
“Gotcha, boss. I’ll let you know when the food is here.”
I took a seat at my desk and leaned back in my chair. Why would Jack leave like that? It would have been the perfect opportunity for him to meet Elijah. I didn’t give it another thought and started my paperwork.
The next night after my shift ended, I grabbed my bag and headed home. The moment I walked through the door, my phone rang, and it was Nathan calling.
“Hey, bro,” I answered as I gave a wave to Sara who was sitting on the couch.
“Hey. I just left Rudy’s, and I met your friend, Jack.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He came up to me and asked if I was your brother. He said he recognized me from the picture you have of us from Mom’s wedding. We got to talking and you’re right, he seems like a nice guy.”
“Good. I’m happy you think so.”
“Anyway, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Huh,” I said as I placed my phone on the counter.
“What?” Sara asked.
“That was Nathan. He said he was at Rudy’s and Jack was there and introduced himself to him. He said he recognized him from the picture. Nathan said he seems like a nice guy.” I arched my brow at her.
“He is a nice guy. I just think there’s something off about him.” She smiled. “But we’re good and we won’t talk about Jack anymore.”
“You’re right. No more talk about Jack. I have a question for you,” I said as I took off my shirt and starting walking toward my bedroom.
“What?”
“Do friends with benefits have makeup sex?”
“Hell yeah they do,” she said as she jumped off the couch and followed me to my room.
Chapter 29
Sara
He never disappointed. And this time, it was far better than I ever could have imagined. I wasn’t sure if my body would recover, let alone my mind that was shattered by the feelings that intensified for him. I lay in his arms, his grip on me was tight as my head rested on him. My fingers stroked the flesh of his chest while the faint smell of fire still lingered on him.
“You did an amazing job yesterday delivering that baby,” he spoke.
“Thank you.”
“I was watching the way you performed that C-section, and it looked to me like you were very skilled. Something I rarely see in an ER doctor.”
I lifted my head and sat up, gripping the sheet tightly that was against my naked body.
“I was a surgical resident for three years and then it became too much when my mom’s Alzheimer’s progressed, so I switched to Emergency Medicine. The residency wasn’t as long, and I needed to be there for her as much as I could.”
“So your goal all along was to be a surgeon?”
“Yeah. My mom was a surgeon, and I wanted to be just like her. She always told me I had what it took to be a magnificent surgeon, just like she was. When I was a kid, she’d sometimes let me watch her surgeries from the observation deck. She told me to watch carefully and learn as much as I could. I was always ahead of everyone else. I graduated high school by the time I was sixteen, graduated college in three years, and finished medical school a semester earlier than the rest of the students.”
“Wow. I had no idea. You never mentioned that.”
“It’s not something I like to brag about. My mother did enough of that for me.”
“Do you like being an ER doctor? I mean, truly like it,” he asked.
“I do, but my heart lies in being a surgeon. Life is all about sacrifices and sometimes we have to make that one sacrifice that’s the right choice at the given time.”
He brought his hand up to me and softly stroked my cheek as he stared into my eyes.
“You’re a good person, Sara Davis.”
I gave him a small smile as I placed my hand on his.
“Would you like to come with me tomorrow and meet my mother?” I nervously asked.
“Yeah. I’d like that.” The corners of his mouth curved upward.
The next morning, we got up, got dressed and walked to Easton Gardens. When we stepped inside, Karen greeted us at the front desk.
“Good morning, Sara.” She smiled.
“Good morning, Karen. Is she in her room?”
“Yes. She just got back from breakfast.”
“Thanks.”
I led Mason down the hallway, and when we approached her room, I stopped before opening the door.
“It’s okay,” Mason said as he gripped my shoulders. “I’ve been around Alzheimer patients before.”
Opening the door, we stepped inside and I saw my mother sitting on the edge of the bed staring out the window.
“Hey, Mom,” I said as I walked over and took hold of her hand.
“Who are you?” she asked as she stared at me.
“I’m Sara, your daughter.”
“Sara.” She smiled. “Look at how much you’ve grown. How are your classes going?”
I looked at Mason, and he gave me a sympathetic smile.
“They’re going good, Mom. I brought someone I’d like you to meet. This is Mason, and he’s a friend of mine.”
She looked at him, and suddenly her eyes widened, and I could see the rage inside them.
“What are you doing here?” she screamed.
“Mom. Calm down,” I said.
“I told you I never wanted to see you again, you filthy, lying, cheating bastard. How could you bring him here after what he’s done to us?” she continued to scream. “How could you do this to me? I warned you what would happen if you tried to contact us again.”
I looked at Mason in horror as Karen ran in and grabbed hold of my mother. I placed my hands on my head and walked out of the room as tears streamed down my face.
“Sara!”
I ran out the door to the courtyard, took a seat on the bench and placed my face in my hands. Mason sat down and hooked his arm around me, pulling me into him.
“I’m sorry,” I spoke.
“You have nothing to apologize for. She doesn’t know what she’s saying. It’s not your fault or hers.”
“I should have known better. I just wanted you to meet her. I had no idea she’d go off like that.”
“Can I ask who she thinks I am?”
I swallowed hard as I lifted my head and stared into his eyes.
“She thinks you’re my father.”
“Oh. What did he do to you, Sara?” he asked with seriousness.
I looked away and stared at the leaves on the tree that were blowing from the slight wind that swept across them. A part of me wanted to tell him because I wanted him to know me, all of me. But the other part of me was ashamed.
“Sara.” He swept his thumb across my lips. “It’s okay.”
“My father gave me up and left when I was ten years old, when my mother found out he had another wife and child in California.”
“What?” His brows furrowed.
“He was a computer engineer, and he traveled back and forth between the Connecticut office and the L.A. office. He was gone for a couple months at a time, sometimes longer. It was the norm in our family and how it always had been. Then one day, my mother received a call from his best friend. They had a bad falling out and that was his way of getting back at him. He told my mother everything. I remember the night she confronted him about it. I sat up against my door, hugging my knees as the tears fell down my face. There was so much screaming and name calling. The one thing about my mother was that she was strong. One of the strongest women I’d ever known, and she didn’t put up with anything. She told him she was divorcing him and that he would never see me again. And if he tried,
she would have him arrested for polygamy. He told her he would quietly walk away if she never told his other wife about us.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“He left that night without saying goodbye to me. And that is the reason I have issues trusting men. The night he walked out, he left a scar on my heart. I cried for weeks after that. My mother never shed a tear from what I saw. She buried herself deeper in her work and we were never to speak about it again.”
He hooked his arm around me again and pulled me into him.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say except you were better off without him in your life. Both of you were.”
Chapter 30
Mason
Hearing her story reminded me of mine. I now understood the reason she didn’t want to talk about him. There was an undeniable closeness between us. We shared a common bond. The bond of two people abandoned by their father. A key person who was supposed to always be there to protect their children.
“You and I have very similar circumstances, except my father left right after I was born.”
She lifted her head and stared into my eyes.
“One day my mother came home, and he was gone. He’d left a note saying he couldn’t do the father thing anymore, he wanted more out of life, and he was sorry. So I totally get how you feel and why you have trust issues.”
“I’m sorry, Mason.”
“Don’t be. I’m not. I never knew the man and I never intend to.”
“We’re both pretty fucked up.” She lightly smiled.
“We sure are.” I kissed her forehead. “Let’s get out of here and spend the day together forgetting about our loser fathers.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me. What do you want to do?”
“First, we’ll get something to eat, then maybe hit up a couple museums, and maybe take a ferry ride.”
The smile on her face grew wide.
“It’s a beautiful day out. What do you think about a picnic in Central Park?” she asked.
“Sounds like a great idea. Let’s go picnic.” I smiled as I kissed her forehead and we both got up from the bench.
We stopped by the apartment first and grabbed a blanket to take with us. Then we took a ride to a place called The Picnic Basket, where we grabbed a couple sandwiches, salads, veggies with hummus, baked sweet potato pieces and two lemonades.