First Impressions: A Modern Retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (Meryton Medical Romances Book 1)

by Ruby Cruz

  “Not even ten minutes ago. She wasn’t like that when she first arrived. I just helped Kate bring her to the bathroom less than an hour ago.”

  I left Lydia to check the vital signs and paged the attending physician, who happened to be the new cardiologist, Dr. William Darcy.

  When my page wasn’t answered after five minutes, I called his office number and was informed Dr. Darcy should be onsite at the hospital and should be answering his pages. Hospital protocol stated a rapid response team was to be called if any patient showed symptoms of a stroke. Well, this qualified, I concluded. I hesitated slightly, then dialed the operator.

  As anticipated, a second-year resident physician and the nursing supervisor arrived quickly along with a variety of support personnel. Diana, the nursing supervisor, immediately began calling for the stroke team while Dr. Patel reviewed the patient chart, ordered a stat CT scan of the head, and attempted to page Dr. Darcy again.

  At this point Kate ran up and was presently beginning to freak out. “The one time I decide to take a break...” she began to lament but I stopped her.

  “Did Dr. Darcy leave you any instructions on how to get a hold of him?”

  “No, nothing other than the usual methods.”

  “Okay, I’ll watch the rest of your patients while you take her to CT scan.”

  I arranged for transport while Kate prepared to take the patient to radiology, then called them to let them know the patient was on the way.

  From the nurses’ station, Diana said in a slightly disgusted voice, “Well, of all the…” She did not finish her comment but the look on her face spoke volumes. At my questioning glance she elaborated, “I finally got a hold of Dr. Darcy.”

  “And...?”

  “And he’s a complete ass, but you didn’t hear it from me. He told me he should be here momentarily.”

  “Did he give a reason why he hasn’t been available?”

  “Apparently I’m not high enough on the food chain to warrant an answer.” That’s when I knew Diana was really pissed because she very rarely showed her emotions like this. “Just warning you to be prepared.”

  “Got it.” I saw a white-coated figure stalking down the hallway. Though I recognized him from the face sheet, his picture did not prepare me for the man before me. Even though he hadn’t smiled in his picture, I still found his dark scowl intimidating, and he was much taller than I’d anticipated. He was young, early-thirties at most, but carried himself with the confidence of a doctor twice his age.

  “Were you the one who called the RRT?” was his brusque greeting.

  I took a breath, thought of poor Ms. Clayborn, and steeled myself for battle. “I’m one of the nurses caring for Ms. Clayborn. We called the RRT because hospital protocol dictates an RRT be called when a patient exhibits stroke symptoms. Diana, the nursing supervisor, contacted the primary stroke team. Dr. Jackson, the neurologist, said she would be here momentarily.”

  “And where is the patient now?”

  “At CT scan. Dr. Patel, the house officer is with her now.”

  “Perhaps you can contact me after the wet read on the CT results come back. In the meantime, I have other patients to see.” Dr. Darcy turned to leave, but I grabbed his arm. No way was he going to ignore me.

  “Dr. Darcy, I don’t know how things happened at the previous hospitals you worked at, but here at Meryton we take strokes seriously. As they say, ‘time is brain,’ in case you weren’t aware, and the longer she goes without treatment the more she loses neurological function. Frankly, I’d like to save as much of her brain as possible. Now, if you would prefer to recuse yourself as her attending physician, by all means, then we can allow the stroke team to take over and find a hospitalist who will make her care a priority.”

  “Nurse…” He paused to read my name badge, “…Bennett, is it? Ms. Clayborn had a myocardial infarction last week and had a stent placed in her right coronary artery. She is on multiple anti-coagulants and therefore is not a candidate for thrombolytic therapy if the stroke is a result of a blockage in her brain instead of a bleed. Bottom line is I am unable to make any decisions about her care until the results of her CT scan are available, at which point, I will devote my attention to making sure she receives the appropriate and timely treatment necessary to prevent any further damage to her brain. Until those results are made available, rather than sitting around staring at you and the rest of your cohorts, I will make good use of the few minutes I have to see one of the many other patients I have at this hospital. Page me when the wet read comes in, I will make sure to return it as soon as possible.”

  When I made no further move to detain him, he turned away from me and continued down the hall. After taking about five steps, he turned and said, “Please notify me when the stroke team arrives. Thank you.”

  I don’t think I moved until he was out of sight and when I did it was to unclench my fists and allow myself to breathe. Lydia approached me, the distaste on her face probably mirroring mine. “God, what bug crawled up his ass? It’s not like you were paging him to take care of someone with the sniffles.”

  “Whatever.” I shook my head to clear it, then gave Lydia a small smile. “Just goes to show that looks don’t always match the personality.”

  “You’ve got that right. Hey, don’t let Dr. Doomsday get you down. I think you did the right thing.” She patted me on the shoulder and left to care for her own patients.

  Feeling the sting of truth from Dr. Darcy’s words and slightly annoyed at myself for letting my frustration get the best of me, I proceeded to check on Kate’s other patients. She was in the midst of a nasty divorce and resulting custody battle with her soon-to-be ex-husband, and I suspected she’d disappeared to take a call from her lawyer which was a frequent occurrence lately. I was tempted to say something to her about making sure another nurse was actually monitoring her patients when she left the unit. God, I hated being the charge nurse some days.

  Kate called me from radiology and told me she’d been instructed to bring the patient directly to the ICU. “I take it the CT was positive for bleed,” I said.

  “Yeah. They’re calling the neurosurgeon in to evaluate her for possible evacuation of the clot. Could you send her stuff down to the ICU? Diana said they’re getting Room 11 ready.”

  “Will do.” I ventured to ask, “What about Dr. Darcy? Has he been by to see the patient yet?”

  She hesitated then answered simply, “Yes,” which was my signal he was still there, probably discussing the course of action with the resident.

  I hung up with her. Our nurse intern Lorna volunteered to take Ms. Clayborn’s belongings to her new room, which left me watching Kate’s patients and answering call bells until they arrived back to the unit. I checked with the other nurses to make sure there was no other drama occurring on the floor, then found the requisite forms needed to document the RRT.

  Later during the shift, Lydia had a fit when Dr. Forster appeared in the unit to examine a patient of mine who was having difficulty breathing. “You should have warned me he was coming! My hair is a mess right now.” She tucked an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear and smoothed it down.

  “I thought you would’ve had a clue he was coming up when I paged him to examine the patient in Bed 535.”

  She waved away my answer and peered over the desk to the patient’s room in hopes of catching another glimpse of him. “He’s even better looking than I remember. And he looks incredible in scrubs.”

  Rolling my eyes at her, I retrieved the patient’s chart and met Dr. Forster in the room. His face was serious as he removed the stethoscope from his ears and straightened up to face me. “He sounds pretty wet. You said he has a history of heart failure?”

  “That was his admitting diagnosis.” As we discussed the patient’s status, I ignored the rapturous glances Lydia kept throwing in our direction. After quite a bit of mulling and studying of the chart, Dr. Forster finally ordered a portable chest x-
ray and a diuretic for the patient.

  As he stood at the nurse’s station with the patient chart while composing a progress note, Lydia coyly approached him. “Hey, you get done with your shift at ten, right?”

  “Around then, if I’m lucky,” he answered without glancing up from the chart.

  She bravely forged ahead. “A bunch of us are headed to Riley’s Pub after work. You’re welcome to join us for drinks, you know, wind down, meet some more new faces.”

  Dr. Forster’s eyebrows knitted together briefly before he lifted his head to face Lydia. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what you said.”

  She repeated herself, adding, “It’ll be my treat.”

  Sensing danger, he glanced over at me where I was charting. “I don’t know, it’s been a long shift and I’ve got to start again early tomorrow.”

  Not to be discouraged, she insisted, “Come on. Just one drink. You’ve got to take some time to relax before you do this all again tomorrow.” Finally cluing into his hesitation, she added, “Elizabeth is coming too, aren’t you Lizzy?”

  “Jane and I hadn’t really decided...”

  “See, it’s settled then. Meet us at the bar when you get there.” She smiled triumphantly. “See you later, Dr. F.” She practically skipped away.

  “We were so hoping she’d come out of her shell,” I murmured as he continued to watch her bemusedly.

  “She doesn’t really know how to take no for an answer, does she?” His tone was contemplative rather than mean.

  “No, unfortunately, she doesn’t.”

  He merely nodded in response, again engrossed in his progress note. After a moment, he said, “Page me again if Mr. DeMarco’s condition changes.”

  “No problem.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Paging Dr. Doomsday

  I met Jane at home after work. She’d already dropped off Chloe at our mother’s house so our place was unusually quiet. “Just go without me. I’m beat.” I started towards my bedroom so I could strip off my scrubs and shower.

  She followed me into my room. “No. I only told Lydia I’d go if you went. I’d hate to disappoint her.”

  “But I’m tired,” I whined. “You didn’t just work thirteen hours.”

  “If it makes any difference, I’ll drive. That way you can take a catnap on the way there.”

  “Sheesh, you’re sounding like Lydia when she was trying to persuade Dr. Forster to join us.”

  “She invited Dr. Forster?” Her eyes widened in horror. While the nurses and medical residents were often on friendly terms while working in the hospital, they rarely socialized with each other. “What did he say?”

  “After he tried to politely refuse a couple times, he just flat out ignored her. Don’t worry, I doubt the good doctor will make an appearance after his long shift saving lives and breaking hearts. I meant the last part figuratively, of course.”

  “Do you really not want to go?” I caught the glimmer of disappointment in her tone. Ever since Chloe had been born, she hadn’t been out with the girls much and I could sense that she really did want to go.

  Finally, I conceded, “Chloe’s already at Mom’s…Fine, give me fifteen minutes to shower and get ready.”

  As soon as we arrived at Riley’s, I immediately regretted my decision to come. Being Friday night, the bar was packed and it took us a good five minutes to locate the group at a cramped booth near the back of the room. Jane and I ended up standing as there was no more room in the booth and empty chairs were at a premium. More to stay awake than anything else, I volunteered to get the next round.

  I made my way to the bar and attempted to signal the bartender’s attention. After I was able to place the order, I leaned against the bar and waited. Movement at the door caught my eye and I saw Dr. Bingley and Dr. Forster enter the bar with a tall man and a gorgeous blonde in tow. Mildly surprised and amused, I saw Dr. Forster catch my eye and make his way towards the bar. Lydia’s going to have a fit he actually showed up, I thought as I fixed a welcoming smile on my face.

  “Hey,” I greeted. “I didn’t think you’d show.”

  I thought I caught a faint blush on his face as he answered, “I figured one drink couldn’t hurt. Plus, I brought a designated driver if I collapse from exhaustion.” He gestured to Dr. Bingley next to him. “I think you’ve already met Charlie. Oh, and this is his friend, William Darcy. He just joined the cardiology group here so he’s also relatively new to the area.”

  I almost hadn’t recognized him without the white coat and scowl on his face. I schooled what I hoped was a cordial smile and offered him my hand. “Dr. Darcy.” He stiffly shook my hand, his expression unyielding, almost as if he didn’t remember meeting me during our encounter earlier in the day. After he released me, I turned to their female companion. Bingley gestured to her, “My sister, Caroline.”

  Petite, stylishly dressed in 6-inch heeled sandals and a bright red clingy sundress, shoulder length blond hair straightened to razor sharp points, pouty blood red lips, blue eyes rimmed in black. Barracuda, was the first thought entering my mind as she immediately glanced away from me as if bored. “Darcy, could you get me a drink,” she purred as she waved her perfectly manicured hands towards the bar.

  He raised an eyebrow and asked Dr. Bingley, “What’re you having?”

  “Corona, as usual.” With a slight bow of his head, Darcy eased closer to the bar to make his order. My order came up. As I attempted to balance all the drinks without spilling any, Bingley offered, “Allow me.” He grabbed two of the beers and nodded towards the booth where my friends sat. “Lead the way.”

  Charlie and I snaked through the crowd and eventually reached the booth. I held my breath as we set the drinks down on the table. Every female eye within ten yards was trained on Bingley. “Everyone knows Dr. Bingley, I assume.”

  “Please, call me Charlie,” he corrected.

  “I’m so glad Dr. Forster brought friends,” Lydia gushed. “I’m Lydia. Have a seat.” Although there was no room for him, she scooted over a millimeter.

  Bingley eyed the seat warily and flashed a smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I know Lizzy and Jane but I don’t believe I’ve met the others.”

  It was a wonder Lydia didn’t implode with excitement that Bingley was speaking to us. “That’s Mary over there with the glasses, this is Kate and this handsome gentleman is Luke. They’re also nurses on our floor.” Her eyes left his briefly and she gestured with her chin, “Who are your friends standing with Dr. Forster?” Her tone frosted over slightly as she noted Caroline approach with Darcy.

  Once the other group arrived, Bingley made introductions. Lydia visibly relaxed when it became apparent Caroline’s attention was focused solely on Darcy and she would have no competition for Dr. Forster.

  As time wore on and the drinks flowed aplenty, the reason for Bingley’s arrival became obvious. Every time Jane spoke, he leaned closer to her, became more attentive and his interest more genuine. While no one else seemed to notice the shift in Bingley’s attention, I did my best to steer conversation away from hospital talk to more general topics everyone could talk about.

  “So, Caroline, do you work in healthcare as well?” I asked, genuinely curious as to what type of profession someone like her would have that didn’t involve pole dancing.

  “God, no,” she dismissed. “I’m the head of global marketing for my family’s company.” She turned her head away from me and started scanning the rest of the bar area. Despite being mildly impressed that she was an apparently successful businesswoman and not involved in exotic entertainment, I couldn’t help but be put off by her pretentious attitude, as if she were too cool to associate with us lowly nurses. As Darcy scowled at his drink, I thought, He and the barracuda seemed made for each other.

  Caroline made no attempt at furthering conversation with me or anyone other than Darcy and he made no attempt at conversation whatsoever. At one point, I noticed that he’d finished his
beer. For lack of anything better to do, I asked him, “Can I get you another drink, Dr. Darcy? Black and tan, was it?”

  “I’ve had quite enough, thank you.” Before I had a chance to feel insulted, his phone buzzed. “Excuse me,” he said brusquely as he flipped his phone up to his ear. “Yes? Uh huh. Well, you realize I’m not on-call, Dr. Sierra is.” He stepped away from the table.

  Lydia leaned towards Charlie. “So, I hear you’re staying at the Netherfield mansion.”

  Charlie shifted uncomfortably. “Yes, I am.”

  “Wow, that’s so cool. Can I come to visit? I’ve always wondered what the inside looked like. Or, better yet, you should totally have a party! There’s, like, a ballroom there and everything, isn’t there?”

  Before Charlie could comment, Mary piped in, “I read that the ballroom seats over a hundred and fifty people. Is that true?”

  “I really haven’t looked into it. My father was the one who made the decision to rent.”

  Mary leaned in even more closely. “I’m on the planning committee for the upcoming Nurses Gala. Maybe you would consider donating the space for one night, that way we can save on rental fees, you know, more money for nursing education?”

  “Oh, my God, that’d be totally awesome!” Lydia exclaimed. “You should totally do it.”

  Charlie caught my eye. He had a glazed, trapped look about him. Jane was staring at her hands, embarrassed by our friends’ behavior. Finally, Luke said, “Ladies, give the man some room. He just arrived in Meryton. Give him some time to settle in before you start making plans with his property.”

  “Oh, boo,” Lydia said dismissively. “You’re always such a buzzkill.”

  Eventually, Mary began soliloquizing about the upcoming Joint Commission visit and monopolizing the discussion. I loved her to death but she could be so serious sometimes. I took her monologue as a cue to make my way towards the ladies’ room, Jane following my lead. I studied my sister’s face in the mirror as we adjusted our makeup. Her face was flushed but she, as designated driver, had only drunk some iced tea. “So spill,” I said. “You never told me you and Bingley had a thing.”