by Amanda Jones
“Drink up. You look like death warmed over.” She joked as she stabbed the straw into her own drink.
“Awww, that’s so sweet of you.” Alex teased. “No wonder I have such a healthy level of self-confidence.”
Mara shrugged innocently. “What are friends for?”
He really was lonely, Alex thought as he drank from the type O juice box. Now that Mara had a life outside of their friendship and the hospital it was really hitting home. He’d always wanted that kind of love, but his life had felt full enough these past centuries that he’d managed to push that desire aside.
“Penny for them,” Mara said, pulling Alex out of his head.
“Sorry?” he asked.
“Your thoughts, penny for them.” She repeated.
“Oh, ah…”
Just as Alex began to speak the lounge door opened and Dr. Mark Miller, the psychiatric attending physician walked in looking frazzled.
“Hey guys,” he said, heading over to the coffee maker with his travel mug at the ready. “Nice to see you back from your leave Mara.”
“Thanks.” She replied. “Everything ok? You look like you’re having a rough shift.”
Dr. Miller let out a long sigh. “An old patient of mine just got transferred back to me from another hospital. They’d been working on some new therapies that I hoped would be helpful, but if anything she’s gotten worse than the last time I saw her.”
Alex shook his head sadly. “It must be frustrating.”
“It really is.” Dr. Miller ran a hand through his hair. “She’s a young woman with a whole life to live, but she’s been locked in this psychosis since adolescence. She seems to have far fewer moments of lucidity than ever before…I’m afraid we’ll never find a drug cocktail that will work.”
“That’s awful,” Alex said.
Dr. Miller nodded. “And the worst part is that if we ever do find a way to help her, will she ever be able to acclimate to reality after spending half her life dealing with all these visual and auditory hallucinations?” He shook his head. “It makes me really wonder if we’re helping her or hurting her.”
Not for the first time, Alex was glad he’d chosen a far more mechanical field of medicine to practice. He loved diagnosing and being able to fix a problem. Though psychiatry had made huge strides that he had witnessed firsthand, there was no way he was equipped as a person to deal with the challenges inherent to the field.
“I wish there was something we could do to help,” Alex said earnestly.
“So do I.” Dr. Miller muttered. “Anyhow, I’ve got to head back up. I’ll see you guys around.” He headed back out the door.
“Damn,” Mara said, turning back to Alex. “It really makes you appreciate pinning bones back together, and repairing ruptured organs.”
“No kidding,” Alex said shaking his head sadly. “Anyhow my dear, I’m heading home to charge my legs and have a good meal.”
“The new prosthetics are still working out for you? You still owe me that race you know,” Mara said with a cheeky smile.
Alex reached down and pulled up the hem of his scrub pants a bit revealing his titanium lower leg. “They’re a lot lighter than my last pair, so I think I’ll be able to beat you now…watch your back.” He winked at Mara and dropped his pant leg back down and headed over to his locker, tossing in his lab coat and stethoscope. He flicked his locker door shut with a click and headed toward the door. “I’m off for a couple of days, are you on shift towards the end of the week?”
Just then the pager attached to Mara’s waist went off. She glanced down quickly to read the message. “Yup, I’m in all week. 911 for me, gotta head straight to the OR.” She grabbed Alex in a quick hug and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing through the door.
“And she’s off.” Alex chuckled as he prepared to head home for some much needed R&R. Little did he know, his life was about to change forever….