A Time of Seasons

by Kay Edwards

Chapter Twenty-Three

  It was the last day of Dalton's stretch. He walked into a patient's room and smiled at the young mother and child. "I hear you have a very bad sore throat." He said gently to the little boy.

  The little boy nodded his head and sniffled. No tears came out, though, and Dalton knew that was not a good thing. He gently picked up the child and put him on the table. He looked into his mouth and cringed. Glancing at the mom, he said. "We are going to do a rapid strep on him, but I'm almost certain it will come back positive. His throat is extremely inflamed. Can you tell me how long he has had a sore throat?"

  The mother spoke softly. "He started complaining about it two days ago. I thought he was trying to get out of school. He hasn't been able to drink or eat anything for almost a day."

  Dalton was not surprised to hear that. It was evident the little guy was dangerously dehydrated. He sat down on the bed beside the boy. "I'm going to talk to you now buddy. Is that ok?"

  The boy looked up and nodded. "I know you don't feel good and are afraid, but I'm not going to lie to you. I am going to tell you exactly what we need to do to get you better. Do you understand me?"

  The boy nodded again and whimpered. "We are going to need to start what we call an IV. It will give your body something to drink since you can't. In order to do that we will need to put a needle in you. It will hurt a bit but if you fight it will hurt more."

  He watched the little guys face crumple. He looked at him again and spoke gently. "I know you are brave. You can do this. When they put the IV in, I will hold your hand and count to one hundred. It will be over before I'm even done counting. Can you be still for us?"

  He watched a look of determination enter the boy's eyes and knew he wouldn't fight them. He looked up at Miriam and nodded his head. In less than a minute Miriam had the IV in and running. The little guy looked very pleased with himself. Dalton smiled down at him. "You did great. We will get you feeling better in no time at all."

  Kim watched Dalton walk toward the desk she smiled at him when he sat down. "You are great with the kids."

  Dalton grinned. "Thanks. I don't like lying to them. I find that if you give it to the little ankle biters straight, they are willing to avoid more pain."

  Kim laughed. "Is that a medical term for child that I missed?"

  Dalton chuckled. "It is. If you were an elite doctor such me, you would know it too."

  Kim busted out laughing. "Elite my foot…"

  Miriam came down the hall. "We have a stabbing victim arriving via ambulance. They said she seems to be in shock. Can't get anything out of her. The wound does not appear to be life-threatening. This is your call, Dr. Nelson."

  Dalton looked at her and answered. "I'll take her. Kim if the little guy needs anything let me know. Alright, Miriam let's get the trauma room ready."

  The two walked down the hall. After setting up, they watched as the paramedic rolled the young woman in. Dalton spoke gently. "Alright let's take a look and see what we have." He pulled away the gauze the EMT had on her wound.

  Kelly didn't even flinch as the doctor took care of her wound. She knew this game well. When the needle hit her skin to numb it, her eyes showed no emotion. She knew they had called the police. She listened for the ETA. As soon as the doctor finished stitching up her wound and everyone had left the room she got up put her shirt on and made her escape.

  Dalton and Miriam walked back into the trauma room. They looked at each other and took off running. They hit the outside of the hospital and looked both ways. "Where did she go?" Miriam looked at him with wide eyes.

  Dalton shook his head. "I don't know. She had to have been alert the entire time. There is no way she was in shock."

  They watched as a police cruiser came up to the entrance. Dalton walked over and explained what happened. They pulled video coverage and did their best to figure out who the young woman was and why she ran. Dalton put in his USB and copied the video. Maybe there was a clue he would find on his time off.

  Miriam walked over to the desk he was sitting at. "Why do you think she ran?"

  Dalton shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. I'm hoping to look at the video on my time off. I just don't get it. We were trying to help her."

  Miriam nodded her head. "Have fun on your time off. Don’t look at that video too long. There is nothing we can do now. I'll see you when you get back."

  Dalton thanked her and left the hospital. He got in his car and started the three-hour drive when his phone rang. He was surprised to hear Wyatt on the other end. "Hey, Dalton are you on your way?"

  "I am." He heard the frustration in the other man's voice.

  "Before I moved home I had a person I was searching for. One of my contacts in HPD just told me she was at your hospital. I was hoping to get a look at the security video." Wyatt said softly.

  Dalton had to verify. "Are you talking about our stab victim?"

  Wyatt's breath came out in a hiss. "She was stabbed?"

  Dalton paused. He knew he had to be careful with how much information he gave Wyatt. He decided to ask him questions. "What does the person you are looking for look like?"

  Wyatt described Kelly. He paused before he added. "I know for you she is a Jane Doe, but her name is Kelly."

  Dalton paused. "Wyatt, she knew how to act to keep our guard down. I thought she was in shock. She didn't even flinch when I stitched her up. I have the security video on my USB drive."

  Wyatt spoke on his end. "I'll wait up for you."

  The two men hung up each of them looking for answers. This woman was obviously on the run from what was the crux of the matter.