by R L Dunn
Martin stumbled over his words, "The next morning, I found you on the floor in your bathroom. You were unconscious. You were...You’d gotten sick."
"Darlin', somebody poisoned you with nicotine, grayanotoxin, and flecainide. You fell forward, hitting your head. Dr. Hoyt found a leaking parietal aneurysm in the area of an old injury and coiled it."
"You saved me again. Who did this, Marty?" she asked, distressed.
"Hailey Ullman, Krystal Slater, and likely Pietra Hahn."
"Why?" He stiffened in her grasp as she pushed him back and lifted his shirt. "What happened?" her authoritative tone returned.
Pete Walter laughed. "You were worried? Martin has three cracked ribs, stitches to his brow, a concussion and a laceration to the calf. A week ago, he had an encounter..."
Martin's fierce expression cut Pete off. "Sunshine, there was a little explosion in the garage."
Her eyes narrowed. "Marty Bailey, you get this one fib. You earn credit for saving me. Now, wait, did you say Austin is doing well? How well? How long have I been here?"
Martin teared up. "Today is the twenty-fourth. You collapsed ten days ago. Austin is terrific. You did it. He's awake and aware. He's breathing on his own. His kidneys are starting to work. And I'm a godfather. Janey had Austin Bailey Jr. And—you are completely exonerated." He’d give her all the details when she was stronger. He adjusted his position to take her weight off his chest.
"Stay?"
Martin placed her on her clean bed. "Not going anywhere." Pete set her up with a tray—clear liquids. For the first time since arriving in Silverton, he could breathe.
Patrick Hedges joined the happy group in the late afternoon and shook Elizabeth awake. "Beth, sorry, sweetheart, but I need to check you out. Ginny called me. She said you’re healthy enough to lose some tubes."
Free of sedative medication, she awoke clear-headed. "That would be great. I want to get out of bed without a flag crew."
Patrick chuckled. He scrubbed and, with Tucker's help, donned a sterile gown and gloves. “Beth, please. You gave us a considerable scare. Let's make a slow transition. Turn your head to face Marty. Ready?"
"Yes, Doctor," Elizabeth acted like a smart aleck.
Patrick removed the dialysis tubing. "You're stuck with Tuck holding pressure for a bit, and you need to stay flat and rest for another two hours. Only then, if you remain stable, Tuck and Pete will clear you to be out of bed."
Elizabeth smiled at the PAs. "I don't know how to thank you."
Tucker grinned at Pete. "We should thank you. We needed the practice," he said in his soft Texas drawl.
"I thought you said this wasn't your first July."
To Martin's joy, Elizabeth giggled at Pete's banter. Though the context was unclear, the July reference was. Laughing, she fell back asleep.
Tighe dozed beside Lola. He refused to leave the hospital more than a few hours at a time. Mike asked him to alternate between Lissa and Lola. Tighe knew why Mike asked him to do that—too late—he was already attached to Lissa.
Dana's shout awakened him. "Tighe." Lola was in respiratory distress. Dana was doing her best to force oxygen into the blue-gray baby.
Tighe leaped to his feet and opened the door. "HELP!" Alarms wailed. Nurses and doctors rushed into the crowded space. "Please, she can't die."
Indira examined her. "Page Dr. Bey and Dr. Barnett. I need a blood gas. She was fine an hour ago."
Martin sat with Elizabeth in his lap, brushing her hair. He sighed, “What are you thinking?” Elizabeth turned her head to look at him.
Martin slanted his head and pressed his lips to hers. “I thought I was going to lose you again.”
“I’m here thanks to you and your wonderful friends.”
Martin scooted from behind her and pulled an old, small velvet box from his pocket. "I had this whole plan, to take you to our spot and repeat the last time we shared there—a new beginning.” He dropped to one knee, ignoring the throb in his leg. “Here I am in a hospital on one knee to ask the woman I love more than life itself to marry me."
Elizabeth’s eyes dampened, and she raised her hand to her mouth. “Marty.”
Her heart rate didn't jump, but if Martin wore a monitor, his would be red-lining.
"Marty Bailey, I'm yours. Today and always."
Martin rose on shaking legs as air flooded his lungs and he placed his grandmother's ring on her finger. Her eyes shimmered at the one-carat diamond surrounded by smaller stones. "I love you."
Together they shared a chaste kiss, then Elizabeth cocked her head. “Now, Martin Bailey, go wash your hands. Don’t you know how dirty a hospital floor is? And, Tuck, check his leg please; he’s not supposed to bend like that.”
The two PAs and Martin chuckled. “She’s back.” Martin raised his hands over his head, then he did as he was told.
The excitement of the proposal and the congratulations exhausted Elizabeth. Joyce sat crocheting, engaging in quiet conversation with Martin, Ruth, Tucker and Pete. Joyce’s hospital pager fired, dragging Elizabeth from her nap.
Elizabeth sat up, confused, reaching to her own hip before her head cleared. "You work here now, Joyce? What?" Elizabeth focused on her friend's disturbed face.
"What’s wrong, Joyce?" Martin turned pale.
“It's Lola. I need to go. Marty, I wish you had more time to do this. Remember, he loves you." Joyce left the room.
Stoic faces greeted Elizabeth. "Who's Lola?"
Martin took a deep breath. "Sunshine, Lola is an adorable one-month-old who was caught in a trailer park fire. Her momma died, and her great-grandfather is her only living relative. Social Services was going to put her in foster care."
She reached out to brush her fingers against his cheek. "You agreed to foster her? No… You plan to adopt her," she said it with surety.
"I did. She's mine—I want her to be ours.”
She used his shoulder for leverage and kissed him. "Tucker and Pete, I rested for three hours. I would like to meet my daughter."
He pressed his forehead against hers, stitched brow to stitched brow. "You are the most incredible woman in the world."
"Go to her. I'll be there soon." Elizabeth lifted her hand and pointed. "Go, sailor." Her smile followed Martin out the door.
"Tell me what's wrong with her." Elizabeth's tone changed to that of the serious physician as she spoke to the others in the room.
"They admitted her the overnight before you, after a fire. They found NEC. Joyce and Kat Archer operated," Ruth gave her Lola's history.
Pete rolled a wheelchair toward her room as Eric and Jamie were coming on shift. "What's going on?" Jamie asked.
"Eric, Jamie, meet the awake and demanding Dr. Elizabeth Reed." Pete shook his head.
A quick meet and greet later, Tucker and Pete secured her in the wheelchair. The Pediatric ICU staff appeared bewildered when they wheeled Elizabeth and all her tubing onto the floor. She screeched in anger when they tried to stop her. Joyce stepped from Lola's room to quell the battle.
After some logistics, Elizabeth got her first peek at Lola. Marty was leaning over the teeny blue baby. A distressed woman in black scrubs stood nearby, and Pete pulled her into the hall.
"What's her methemoglobin level?" Elizabeth demanded.
Another man stood tense and worried in the corner. "You work with Marty?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'm Tighe Cummings. I fell asleep. I'm sorry, I should have caught this."
"No, THEY should have caught this." Elizabeth's voice scalded the room.
"Don't mind Dr. Blunt here. Even in medical school, she always knew how to win friends and influence people." Joyce shook her head. "Yes, Dr. Know-It-All, you are right."
"What're her numbers?"
"They're getting better. I ordered methylene blue." Joyce placed Lola into Elizabeth’s arms, breathing support tubes and all.
Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears. The resemblance to Grace was uncanny. "Your new daddy picked a beautiful girl. He's giving us b
oth second chances, Lola." Elizabeth stimulated Lola’s breaths with gentle taps to her back. It was only when another nurse arrived with a tiny IV bag filled with blue fluid that Elizabeth's vision cleared. She followed the medical care with an exacting eye.
Pete suggested to his fatiguing patient, "Elizabeth, you need to go back to the ICU."
"Tighe, come here." Elizabeth’s head tipped back to take in his height. "Lola, this is Uncle Tighe. Mommy is tired, and when Daddy says bye-bye, Uncle Tighe is going to hold you until you are less blue and you stop these icky grunts." Elizabeth waited as he bent to take Lola from her. "Don't be afraid. The tubes are all secure. See that monitor? The third number is Lola's temperature. If that number stays between 36.6 and 37.2, she's fine in your arms."
Lola fit in his palm. "Yes, ma'am."
Pete wheeled her into the hallway. Martin crouched in front of her despite the pull of his stitches. "I want you to rest. I won't leave her until she improves. I love you so."
"Is it real?" her voice filled with fear.
"Today and always."
As Pete wheeled her to the elevator, Elizabeth noted the familiar Chase Security uniform on a man outside a door. "Stop. Pete, is that the little girl I operated on?"
"Yes, her name is Lissa. You saved her too. Tighe has been spending a lot of time with her. Joyce can tell you more."
Elizabeth nodded. At the elevator, she reached behind her to stop him. "Pete, Tuck, can you ask them to save Lola's trash? Test her old tubing for nitrates."
They shared a worried glance. "We will, darlin'."
Later that evening, Steven Keys hugged Elizabeth. "You scared me, Beth."
"Marty told me Pietra, Hailey, and Krystal poisoned me. What did I do to them?"
"My guess is jealousy. You’re a better doctor than all three combined," Steven said.
"How are you holding up? You’re carrying my load too."
"Hedges stepped in to help, and Hillinger is interviewing. Besides, you'll be working again soon enough. I'll be back to visit tomorrow." As he walked down the hall, Steven took a bracing breath.
Chapter Twenty-Four
During his incarceration, Troy continued muling drugs through the jail, but evidence of the films and ritualistic beatings remained lacking. With his cooperation, his punishments became infrequent. When he was finally allowed to meet with his attorney, it was his first opportunity to pass detailed information since his second trip to the hole.
"Mr. Mills, I wish I had better news, but your girlfriend is holding to the story that you assaulted her. That, on top of the car theft charges her mother is pressing, does not bode well for us at trial. I think we need to speak with the ADA and ask for a deal." Sutton knew as she spoke that the promised attorney/client privacy was non-existent.
"Damn it, Ms. Turner. I didn't do this. That bitch's mother gave me the car keys, and Tracy likes it rough," Troy said. As he spoke, he wrote on her pad.
Securing my cooperation through threats to my family. Alden McAllister, Tim Lampton, Vernon Gafford, Keene Jensen, Lonnie Cowan, and Boyd Thomas are part of the drug distribution. Silverton PD personnel are involved, unloaded the second van, no names yet. Re-encountered deep-voiced female. By proximity, six feet tall. No visual. Thomas, Gafford, Lampton, and Jensen are quick with a fist and flashlight.
"Mr. Mills, I will continue trying to find a witness on your behalf. I need you to start accepting you may be here for a while," Sutton said. "How are you doing otherwise? Your mother is keeping your commissary account filled."
“I'm fine.” Tell them not to pull me, Troy wrote. "If they offer a deal, I can think about it, right?" Stress lines creased his eyes.
"Yes, Mr. Mills, I will follow your instructions. Guard, Mr. Mills may return to his cell." Sutton chewed her lip as the guards took him away.
Monday, July 31st
During Elizabeth’s morning of scheduled testing, Martin took advantage of the time. Silverton PD returned the items removed from Elizabeth's home with one exception: Danny Logan released her mother's letter to Talbot. Zach and Martin parked in front of the Reed home, and Zach rang the bell.
"May I help you?" a woman's voice called out from behind the door.
"Martin Bailey and Zach Wentworth to see Governor Talbot Reed," Zach said. Martin's jaw ticked.
Talbot Reed filled the entryway. "I figured you would show up sometime. What do you want?" He turned to Celine. "Sugar, go make us some coffee. I'll be with you soon."
Martin quipped, "Does her husband know about you two?"
Zach raised a censuring brow at his friend. "Governor, may we come in to speak with you?"
"You bring a lackey, Bailey? We can talk fine right here." Reed pursed his thin lips.
"Detective Logan released some property to you from the search of Elizabeth's home in error. As part of her legal team, I want to return it to her, please," Zach said.
Talbot Reed reached into his pocket and waved the pink note at him. "You mean this?" He returned it to his pocket.
"You bastard." Martin calmed with Zach's firm hand on his shoulder.
Talbot was smug. "Interesting fiction.”
"Did you ever love her? She was good for your politics until she stood on her own two feet."
"You are naïve, Marty. Everyone plays a role, and when they fail, they can be replaced. You were in the military; you should know that. Elizabeth made her decision. If God were good, her death would end this hellish chapter of my life."
“I should kill you right here. She's your daughter. How could you?" Marty shouted before Zach pulled him away.
Zach dragged the screaming Martin to the car, then drove a safe distance from the house and pulled over. "I'm sorry.”
Martin kicked the dashboard. "He never loved her. Who could do that to their child and love them? How do I tell her? I can't make this better."
"Let's eat something, then I'll take you back to the hospital to see your girls." Zach’s reminder of Lola and Elizabeth made Martin smile. "We’ll figure this out. Threatening Reed was not your best recourse."
Martin choked down something to eat at his friend's insistence, anger still roaring in his ears. Partway through the meal, both their phones vibrated. Mike called an important briefing in thirty minutes.
Zach dropped Martin off at the front entrance. Taking a distant parking space, he called Mike. "We have a problem. Call Kieran or Ian. Martin threatened to kill Reed in front of Celine McAllister and me. He crossed the line."
Elizabeth was still in the scanner at radiology when Martin returned. Inside her room in the PICU, Lola was curled in her Aunt Amanda’s arms. Her pink color had returned. She handed Lola to Martin, and Lola rooted her head toward his chest and opened her big blue eyes. He was lost. "Hello, angel. How's Daddy's little girl?" Her tiny fingers curled around his pointer.
Amanda gestured to a shopping bag. "I just want to warn you, Mom's been crocheting. I think there are more hats, booties, socks, sweaters, and blankets for Austy, Lola, and Lissa than any ten children alive."
"Sheesh, Mandy. Keep some, and when you leave today, donate some to others here in the hospital."
Bruce opened the door for Amanda and returned to his protective post. After a check of the time, Martin kissed Lola and went to see if Elizabeth was finished.
Patrick Hedges grabbed Martin before he reached her room. "Martin, I have no ethical or technical reason to keep her here anymore, but I'm afraid if I discharge her, she won’t follow my instructions.”
"When would a generic patient with her injuries be allowed to return to home and work?" Martin tried to find bargaining chips.
"Under normal circumstances, I would've discharged her already. Then I’d keep her home for a couple of weeks and let her return her to work a bit at a time. Appearances are deceiving; she has no stamina. Plus, she's left-handed. That left shoulder never received the rehab it needed. When she returns, I’d prefer an eight-hour day, but I'll give her a maximum ten hours a day, three days a week for at least
another month."
"She'll love that." Martin's lips turned up. "How do we prove to her she needs to take it slow?"
"I don't know. Tying her down isn't a solution?" Patrick joked. "I will not mince my words: mandatory two weeks’ rest. Occupational testing and cardiac stress testing. And whatever the hospital orders. Today is Monday. If she progresses and gets through the testing, she can return in two weeks with the restrictions."
"How do we handle her when she’s here? She's not going to want a babysitter, but I need her safe. I'm not convinced they won't try again." Martin’s posture stiffened.
"Keys and I will overlap her. I will brief her senior residents—respect is another issue. I can't be her bodyguard. My presence could be construed as a loss of confidence in her abilities. Maybe she'll just want to be a momma for a while?"
Patrick and Martin walked into her room. Elizabeth stood and stepped into Martin's arms. "You look terrific." With her free from all tubes, he savored the feel of her body against his. Her nipples peaked, rubbing against his chest through the thin t-shirt and comfy pants she wore. Martin lowered his head and nibbled her lips until he lost his control and devoured her mouth. He heard the four men call out, "Get a room."
Elizabeth broke the kiss, turning a bright shade of crimson. "Tell them I can go home." Her expression fell.
"Consider the situation. Patrick says you can come home with restrictions. Think about what you would tell a similar patient."
She pouted, "I hate you." He kissed her neck. "I really hate you." He nuzzled the other side of her neck. "Fi...ne, I'll follow Doctor Hedges' orders. I want to see Austin and Lola before we go." When her lower lip puffed out, Martin leaned in and pulled it between his teeth.
Steven Keys laughed. "Why didn't we think of that?"
Pete grumbled, "We did."