by Molly Evans
“Stop it. You’re not fine. If you’re meditating in the middle of a shift, that must mean you’re upset about something. Possibly nearly getting assaulted not long ago?” He let the question hang in the air between them.
She gave him a glare then kept scanning. “Maybe we need to order extra-large enemas for special cases.” The glare she leveled on him left no doubt as to who she would use them on.
“Emily.” Chase intended to make her face him, make her turn around, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Then squealed like a girl and nearly dropped to his knees in pain. “Augh!”
“Don’t touch me, Chase.” Again, her speed defied logic. He had been unprepared for her ability to take his wrist in her hand, apply pressure and leverage to the point of pain, yet she hadn’t batted an eyelid. In fact, she looked calmer than she had since he’d entered the room. The control in her eyes impressed him and maybe scared him a little.
“Okay, okay, okay. Let go. Let go. Ow. Ow. I have to do surgery with that hand.” She released him and the relief was great.
“Unless you want to have both hands in casts, don’t ever try to touch me again.” The calm, serious look on her face was something he never wanted to see aimed at him again, as if she were contemplating squishing an insect.
He shook his hand, grateful she hadn’t really wanted to hurt him or it could have gotten ugly. Baffled, he looked at her as if seeing her for the first time, and maybe he was. Giving her a little space, he took a step back. “Where’d you learn all that stuff?” That was the change in her body he hadn’t been able to identify before. She was muscular and toned in a way that wasn’t from a weekly aerobics class. Yowza, she was strong.
Now she faced him fully, the brunt of her anger unleashed on him. “‘Stuff’? Seriously?” Though half a foot shorter than he, the power of her was unbelievable and gloriously arousing. “That ‘stuff’ saved my life more than once. That ‘stuff’, as you call it—” she tossed her head “—has kept me sane for the last three years, and that ‘stuff’ allows me sleep at night.”
She nearly trembled with rage, and he could see it unfold within her. Her blue eyes sparkled, her face was flushed and pink, her chest rose and fell quickly. She was beautiful, and he did not want to see it, to feel anything for her, to be the recipient of her rage. But he couldn’t help himself. He stood there in awe for a few seconds before he could speak.
“Are you okay?” His voice was a hoarse whisper that he barely recognized as his own. “Seriously?”
Then Emily blinked a few times, shook herself and let out a long, slow breath. “I’m fine. The meditation helped and now I’m ready to go out there and see if my lab results are back yet.”
She tried to move past him, but he placed his hand on her arm. She stopped, looked at his hand then up at his face, calm and cool. Hastily, Chase extricated his hand.
“If you wish to continue to do surgery without having it yourself, I suggest you don’t lay a hand on me again. Ever.”
“Sorry.” Point made.
“I’ll let you know about the labs as soon as they’re back.”
“O...kay.” Reaching out, he opened the door and watched Emily walk away.
CHAPTER FOUR
TREMBLING SUBSIDING, EMILY returned to the nurses’ station and logged onto the computer, pulled up the lab results, reviewed them and clicked the print key. She would have to return to Chase, Dr. Montgomery, as she needed to remember to notify him of these results. The woman had obvious issues with her husband, but she had deeper problems, too, and it showed clearly in her lab results.
“Dammit, I don’t want to talk to him anymore today,” she grumbled aloud.
“And who would that be?” Liz asked, and plopped down in a chair beside her.
“Oh!” She whirled. “I thought I was by myself.”
“In this place? Never.” She patted Emily on the arm. “Now, tell me how you are and who you don’t want to talk to. I came to check on you after the incident, but you disappeared for a while.”
“Yeah. I was taking a few deep breaths in the supply room.” No harm in admitting that, regardless of what Chase thought. “A little decompression.”
“I see. Good.” Liz nodded. “And the rest?”
With a sigh and a downward turn of her mouth Emily leaned back in the chair. “I’ve got labs to review with Dr. Montgomery, but I don’t want to talk to him right now.”
“Why not?” Liz held out her hand, and Emily gave the lab reports to her. She took a few seconds to scan the numbers, automatically interpreting. “Everything looks good.”
“Next page. Hematology.”
“Oh, I see. Anemia and indications of infection. You’re wondering if she has an underlying pathology you’ll have to discuss with him.”
“Yes.” Thankfully, Liz understood. Maybe she would talk to Chase.
“I don’t understand, though. Did he say or do something to you that upset you? He seemed impressed with how you handled the drunk husband.”
“Really?” Now, that surprised her. He’d never been impressed about anything she’d ever done. Or at least he’d never admitted it.
“Yes. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was concerned for you. But then he turned around and was the same old Chase.”
“Same old Chase? What do you mean?” Despite her resolve, she was curious. After all, three years had passed since they’d seen one another and although her brother was good friends with him, he’d respected her boundaries and not mentioned Chase. Maybe she could surreptitiously get some information on Chase and it would satisfy the curiosity that had been plaguing her for the last year. Was he the same as she’d remembered?
“He’s a regular guy—fun, friendly—but when it’s time to be serious, he is.”
Emily gaped. “Chase? Fun? Since when? He was never fun.” She clamped her mouth shut and a knowing light entered Liz’s eyes. “He was serious most of the time. Work came before everything else.”
“I thought there was something serious between you two. You didn’t just date a few times, did you?”
Keeping secrets was apparently not her forté, and she shouldn’t look forward to a career in the international espionage field. Damn. Maybe Liz could keep a secret.
“It was a long time ago.” But was it really?
“Not that it’s any business of mine, but it doesn’t seem like business is over between you two. If the air needs to be cleared for you to work together, then I’d suggest having a chat with him.” She sighed. “I’d suggest it to anyone who was having a difficult working relationship. If needed, there’s always mediation.”
“Mediation? No. We were done three years ago. And it was a bitter breakup.”
“I’m sorry, Emily. It’s none of my business, like I said, but if you ever need to talk, I can listen and it won’t go anywhere.” She had the calm eyes and demeanor of a true leader.
“Thanks, but I just need to pull myself together and be an adult about it.” She’d put her big-girl panties on a long time ago. They just needed a little straightening now and then.
“Okay. The offer stands.” She handed the papers back to Emily. “And I think Chase should see those right away.” She nodded over Emily’s shoulder.
“I should see what?” Face serious, he moved closer. The cologne he wore hadn’t changed and it caught her by surprise. She’d loved that on him. Then.
“Labs here indicate some infection and something going on with her hematology.” She shrugged, looked away and placed the printout on the counter in front of him so there was no accidental touching of skin to skin.
Without touching the papers, he leaned over and read them, nodding and focusing on the numbers in front of him, then turned his attention to her. “So what do you think we should do?”
“Me? You’re the doctor. You
should examine her and then decide, but it appears she’s losing blood somewhere.” She stiffened at being put on the spot. “Although she didn’t complain of any abdominal pain, and we were more concerned about her head trauma, it’s possible she took a few hits to the abdomen and either her spleen or liver is leaking.”
Just then the alarms in Mrs. Billings’s room began to chime in earnest. Emily looked at the monitor beside her at the station displaying the vital signs in bold green numbers.
“What?”
“BP taking a nosedive and pulse shot up.” She looked with concern at Chase and met his gaze full on. “She’s in trouble.”
They all raced into the room just in time to see the patient’s eyes roll back in her head, and she lost consciousness. “Dammit,” Chase cursed, and he rarely did that in front of a patient, no matter what the circumstance. “Call a code.”
Emily hit the specially designed button on the wall behind the patient’s head while Liz ran for the crash cart, the large tool chest on wheels housing lifesaving equipment.
People began arriving in droves to assist with the code. Thankfully, in a code situation no one was ever alone. Chase was in charge and ran the operation, but Emily was next in command and delegated tasks to other staff members if she wasn’t able to perform them herself.
“Let’s give her some fluids, wide open,” Chase instructed, “then epinephrine IV push.” He kept his gaze on the monitor, watching everything the heart did.
Emily didn’t have to call for it as Liz had it prepared in a few seconds and handed it to her. Pulling the cap off, she connected the needleless system and pushed the medicine in as quickly as possible. The patient’s heart rate suddenly paused, then dropped dramatically.
Chase whipped off the stethoscope from around his neck and listened to the patient’s abdomen, and then used his hands to palpate it.
“How’s her belly?”
“Rigid. Think you’re right, Nurse Hoover. She’s got a cracked liver and is bleeding into her abdomen. Call OR and tell them we’re on the way up now. No time to wait. I’ll have to operate, but call the surgical team for backup.”
“Now I wish I’d hit him,” she muttered beneath her breath, and jerked the receiver off the wall.
“What?”
“Nothing. Got it.” She dialed and informed the OR of the situation of an emergency patient coming their way.
Staff scrambled to get her to the OR. Emily trotted along next to the stretcher as the crew moved down the hall to the OR, which was on the same floor but through a maze of hallways and double doors.
“There’s something wrong in your abdomen, Jenny, so Dr. Montgomery is going to operate on you.” She stroked the woman’s hair. Sweat had popped out on her face and neck. Emily knew it was from shock and the compensating mechanisms her body was engaging in. The heart raced to make up for in rate what it lacked in output, due to low blood volume.
And then Mrs. Billings was gone. Emily handed her over to the pre-op nurses. Watching through the slight opening in the doors, she watched Chase approach the stainless-steel sinks, pull on a hair cover, mask, and begin to scrub. He wore the green, sterile scrubs required in the OR and was ready to roll.
Back in the day she’d used to love watching him scrub, knowing he was entering a world all his own in surgery, knowing he was going to drag a patient back from the edge of death.
Back then he’d been her superhero. Saving everyone and everything.
Only he’d failed her when she’d needed him the most. Nothing in life had ever disappointed her more. Time had helped her realize he was just a man and no cape could turn him into what she’d needed. But right now that man was going to bust his butt trying to save this woman. If nothing else, she had to respect him for that.
The remainder of the day passed with much less fuss than the first part of it. A few coughs, colds and possible flu filtered in, but her mind was never far from thoughts of Chase and the work he was doing on their patient.
At the end of shift Emily gave in to mental and physical exhaustion, allowing it to wash over her as she exited the building out into the staff parking lot. Fortunately, it wasn’t a long walk.
This was the kind of situation that could lead to an assault on a woman who was not prepared the way Emily was now. Women left their jobs after long hours, eager to get home, their senses and muscles weakened by their work, not paying attention to the immediate surroundings. And alone. That was a sure setup for an attack.
Now Emily was different and more prepared than she’d ever been. Though exhausted, her senses, her self-protective instincts she’d honed over the years surged within her, brewing just under the surface, reaching out into the night, as if sentient. Sounds came to her from the twilight. The abrasive whirring of a cicada attracted her attention to the tops of the trees. Crickets trilled from the grass along the edge of the parking lot. A flock of pigeons overhead swooped past in search of a roosting place for the night. A lone seagull hung on an updraft long enough to decide whether she was edible or not.
All familiar, comforting sounds.
Then footsteps crunched on the gravel behind her. Staff left the building at intervals, heading to their vehicles. These steps were deliberate and rapidly approaching her.
Without thinking, she dropped her bag and took a defensive posture, arms at the ready, prepared to defend herself. When she recognized the person approaching her she relaxed her stance, but her insides remained tense and jiggling for another reason.
Chase approached, still in the green scrubs, mask dangling from his neck and a grim look on his face. He must have news of their patient or he wouldn’t be there.
“What are you doing out here?”
“I wanted to catch you before you left.”
“How is she?” She didn’t even have to ask. She knew why he was there.
“She’s going to make it, but it was touchy for a while. Had to give her six units of blood. Livers are messy, as you know.” And then he grinned. He was exhilarated by the success of the surgery and it showed.
That smile had always been infectious, and she returned it. For the first time since she’d arrived she thought they could have a good working relationship.
“Yes, they are, and you love it, don’t you?” It was good to see, this glimpse of him at ease and in his element.
“Have to say I do.” He placed his hands on his hips and looked overhead. “Looks like a nice night.”
Emily nodded. “It is. I was thinking about going to the river to sit for a while.” The James River gave peace to her soul. There were places she could go where she would be safe. No one would find her or accidentally run across her while on a walk, and she could let go.
“Really? You would still go down to the river even though it was our place?” Though he shouldn’t have been surprised, some part of him was. The river used to be their spot, where they’d gone together to unwind, to splash in the shallows and toss off the stresses of the day. She still went there, and he hadn’t been in three years. For some reason that surprised him. She’d been able to move ahead in areas he hadn’t.
“Yeah. I still go. Not to our spot exactly, but nearby.” She shrugged and looked away, watched her foot as she kicked a few pebbles off the sidewalk. “The water comforts me.”
“I remember.” The changing light reflected on her hair. What he’d known as a silky blond, down past her shoulders, was now a spiky mix of brown and red with platinum tips.
Unexpectedly, a lump settled in his gut at what she’d been through and how he’d been unable to help her, how he’d failed her. How she’d rejected him, and how he’d let her. She was an amazingly resilient woman and it was something that was very attractive in her. “You look good.”
Startled blue eyes met his. In them he saw the woman that he’d once loved, but now the innocence had vanis
hed, replaced by a strength and determination he’d never imagined she was capable of.
“You don’t have to say stuff like that just because we’re working together.”
“I mean it. You look very good.” That was probably something he shouldn’t have admitted out loud, but she was a beautiful woman, short hair or long. “Different, but very good.”
“Thank you.” She took a step backward, away from him, almost shy again. “But I think I should go. Thanks for letting me know about the patient. I’m glad it was you working on her.” She nodded, then turned.
“What are you driving these days? I can walk you to your car.” He stepped up beside her, uncertain why he wasn’t willing to let her walk away from him just yet. But he wanted to linger with her a few more minutes. Now that he’d gotten over the shock of her presence, he was more intrigued about why she was there.
“Small SUV, good for traveling but bad on fuel.” She made that movement again, like she was tucking her hair behind an ear, but the hair wasn’t there. That was what she used to do when she’d been nervous. “But I’m good. You don’t have to walk me anywhere.”
“I’d like to.”
That made her stop and a smile lifted one corner of her mouth. “I take hapkido two nights a week, I can run a half-marathon and I have a big-ass can of pepper spray in my hand.”
“Are you trying to tell me you can take care of yourself?” That thought lifted the corner of his mouth and eased some of the tightness in his chest.
“I am. I appreciate the offer, though.” With the illumination from the streetlight he could see amusement sparkling in her eyes.
“Hapkido, eh? I don’t even know what that is.” That made him smile all the way. The thought of her in a martial-arts class, breaking boards with her forehead, just didn’t jibe with what he knew of her. “No wonder you weren’t afraid of that drunk.”