A White Knight in ER

by Jessica Matthews

  Jonas chalked another point in Dwight’s debit column with glee. How could he not have brought Megan at least once?

  ‘How do you feel about him now?’ he asked. Perhaps he was pressing on an old wound, but Dwight would be in town long after he himself had gone. Ignoring his existence would be impossible and oddly enough, Jonas wanted some reassurance that Megan wouldn’t go back to him in a moment of weakness.

  ‘No. As far as I’m concerned, he’s simply one more physician who occasionally comes to the ER when we need his specific abilities. Whatever we had is over.’

  Her vehemence soothed his masculine ego. He’d hoped that a woman who could set his body on fire with a simple touch wouldn’t carry a torch for such an unworthy guy, and his wishes had come true. Megan deserved a fellow who thought the sun rose and set in her.

  ‘The children need someone who loves them as much as I do,’ she continued. ‘If anything happens to me, I want to be sure they’ll be taken care of properly.’

  He thought back to his own childhood. His father had made similar plans for such an eventuality, although, without any family to call upon, he’d usually listed one of his buddies at his current posting. His dad had never said, but Jonas suspected that the older he became, the harder it had been to find someone willing to take on a teenager.

  ‘My dad did the same thing,’ he said. ‘Otherwise I don’t know where I would have gone after he was killed.’

  ‘What happened?’

  Jonas minimized the details. ‘He went on a training mission and his plane crashed due to a mechanical difficulty. Of course, whenever he had a mission, I moved in with a different family for the duration. I wanted to stay at home, but his superiors didn’t look too kindly on a teenager living alone, even if it was only for a few weeks. Anyway, this time he didn’t come back and I had to stay with the Gardners.’

  ‘How old were you?’

  ‘Seventeen. About the time I graduated from high school, Bill—that is, Staff Sergeant Gardner—received his transfer papers. Fortunately, my dad’s benefits made it possible for me to go to college so I struck out on my own.’

  ‘It must have been tough.’

  ‘Other than missing my dad, it wasn’t. Not really.’ At her incredulous expression, he tried to explain. ‘With all the families I lived with over the years, I’d learned not to grow too attached to them because I knew that eventually we’d go our separate ways. As for living by myself, I had the same chores, did the same laundry, although I didn’t have anyone to take a turn at the stove.’ He grinned.

  ‘So you can cook?’ she asked.

  She’d obviously noticed his bare cupboards. ‘Yeah, I can, but I usually don’t unless the mood strikes. Enough about me. Tell me something I don’t know about Megan Erickson.’

  She chuckled. ‘There isn’t much to tell. My brother, John, and I had an uneventful childhood. We grew up in Stanton and I went to nursing school in Omaha while he studied computer programming. I worked there for several years until Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.’

  ‘So you moved back.’

  ‘It seemed the right thing to do. The hospital advertised for an ER nursing position at the same time, so it was fated.’

  ‘And what do you do in your spare time?’

  She laughed. ‘Spare time? What’s that?’

  He grinned. ‘Point taken. I’ll rephrase my question. What did you do when you had spare time?’

  ‘My friend Serena and I are members of a bicycling club, although I haven’t gone on any excursions since John’s accident. On occasion, I golfed. Now I feel lucky if I have a few hours to read the paper. Is your cellphone on?’

  ‘Yes,’ he said, taking her abrupt change in conversation in his stride. ‘Jennifer has the number. If she has any problems, she’ll call.’

  Even in the dim light, he could see the faint tinge of color creep across her face. ‘I’m sounding over-protective, aren’t I?’ she asked.

  ‘A little, but it’s understandable.’

  The waiter brought their food and Jonas steered the conversation to anecdotes about the places where he’d worked. After a rich dessert of cherry chocolate cheesecake and coffee, he rose. ‘Shall we go?’

  For an instant, disappointment flashed across her face. ‘We should,’ she agreed. ‘Trevor and Angie—’

  ‘Are doing just fine,’ he said firmly as he guided her to a different door than the one they’d entered by. ‘Did you know there’s a garden outside, complete with walking paths? A few benches, too, if the stories I’ve heard are true.’

  ‘Should I assume these are strategically placed benches?’ she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

  ‘I wouldn’t be surprised,’ he answered, intending to take advantage of any private moments that might present themselves.

  He ushered her past the tuxedo-clad maître d’ and, ignoring his broad smile, guided Megan through the glass doors onto the terrace. Pots of sweet-smelling flowers scented the air and white lights that had been wound around various bushes and tree branches sparkled in the darkness.

  ‘This is beautiful,’ she said, her voice husky. ‘It seems so magical.’

  Jonas took her hand and threaded her arm through his. ‘Shall we see the rest?’

  He set a slow pace, mainly because he wanted to prolong the experience. For a man who was never at a loss for words, talking seemed out of place. They walked in companionable silence until the path turned back in the direction from which they’d come. Megan sank onto a nearby stone bench.

  ‘Feet hurt?’ he asked, realizing that her high-heeled strappy sandals weren’t the most appropriate footwear for a garden tour.

  ‘No. I just want to sit here and soak up the ambience. Thanks for bringing me. I’ll never forget this.’

  He sat beside her. ‘Neither will I.’ Without giving himself time to reconsider, he did the only thing a man could do when he had a most attractive woman in a romantic atmosphere. He flung one arm around her and kissed her.

  Megan was positive that someone had set off fireworks. Jonas’s tongue touched her lips and she opened her mouth to invite him in. She tasted coffee and chocolate and knew she’d never think of those flavors in the same way again.

  Her hand rested on his arm and she felt his muscles underneath his dinner jacket. He was warm and solid, a steady rock to lean on. It seemed a shame that this special night would eventually end, but she intended to enjoy every moment while it lasted.

  A breeze stirred and wind chimes hanging from tree branches tinkled merrily. She shivered, as much from the cool air as from her own reaction, and he slowly broke their contact.

  ‘Are you cold?’ he asked.

  ‘No.’ If anything, she was so hot she could burst into flame. ‘Do you ever wish that things could be different?’

  He stroked the side of her face. ‘What would you wish for?’

  For you to never leave. Because she couldn’t say that, she lightened her tone. ‘To eat all the dessert I wanted and not gain an ounce. To sleep longer than five hours a night. To have my house back.’

  ‘Your house will be better than new a week from now, and it won’t be long before you’ll be complaining about Trevor and Angie sleeping the day away. As for the dessert issue—’ he pointedly eyed her from head to toe ‘—you look good to me.’

  Her face warmed under his glowing appraisal. ‘Thanks, but I wasn’t fishing for a compliment.’

  ‘I know. I wanted to give you one anyway.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘It’s ten-thirty. Do you think—?’

  She jumped to her feet. ‘Ten-thirty? I promised Angie we’d be home at ten.’

  ‘Don’t worry. She’s either in bed or has been having too much fun to notice the time.’

  He was right. Both children were asleep and had been for an hour, Jennifer assured her when they arrived back at Jonas’s. Later, after they’d each retreated to their separate bedrooms, Megan thought about the things Jonas had told her. She understood how a young boy who’d been boun
ced from place to place had learned not to become attached to anyone or anything. It was so sad, because Jonas was wasting so much of himself by flitting from place to place and person to person.

  She’d like to teach him how to unlearn the hard-life lessons he’d already learned, but she wasn’t sure she was the right woman for the job.

  Tonight would be her last night in Jonas’s house, and after that he’d drop out of their lives as quickly and as quietly as he’d entered. It was for the best, but sometimes ‘the best’ was a bitter pill to swallow.

  Although Megan had reservations about Jonas’s suggestion to have dinner each night at his house until her kitchen was restored, she accepted his offer for the children’s sake. No one seemed to mind this new arrangement, but at times she wondered if allowing him to be a part of their lives in this small way would eventually come back to haunt her. On the other hand, she enjoyed his company as much as Angie and Trevor did and didn’t have the heart to end these nightly visits prematurely.

  By Thursday evening her house was fully restored to its pre-fire condition. She’d expected their dinner plans to end, but Jonas hadn’t said anything and she didn’t want to mention it either. For the moment she was happy to let things ride, but the moment of reckoning would come.

  On Friday morning he strode into the lounge where the staff had congregated for their department luncheon meeting. ‘I hope none of you are hungry,’ he said. ‘I just heard the news over the police scanner. There’s been an accident at the airport.’

  The rustling of sandwich wrappers stopped immediately and Megan’s breath froze in her chest.

  ‘A bunch of people were skydiving today,’ he went on to explain. ‘One fellow’s parachute didn’t open soon enough. He had a pretty rough landing.’

  Megan inwardly winced at the thought. ‘Ouch.’

  ‘It’s worse than ouch,’ Jonas told her. ‘According to the paramedics, he has multiple fractures, including possible left lower rib and hip fractures, and who knows what else. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.’

  He turned to Louise. ‘Alert Radiology and the lab. I want a technician from both departments here on the double, ready to take pictures and draw blood. And you’d better call in Samuels. I can almost guarantee we’ll need his surgical expertise.’

  The potential for organ damage caused by the blunt trauma and/or broken ribs puncturing the liver or spleen was great. It would be best to have a surgeon standing by.

  ‘What about orthopedics?’ Megan asked.

  ‘Yeah, you’d better get Redding here, too,’ he agreed.

  ‘How much time do we have?’ Megan asked.

  ‘Five minutes. Ten, tops.’

  ‘We’d better get ready.’

  The group scattered as each person prepared for the incoming patient. Like everyone else, Megan grabbed a yellow disposable gown from the cart near the desk where a ready supply was always available and quickly donned it over her uniform. Next came the latex gloves and a clear face shield.

  Although this particular injury hadn’t come into her ER before, she’d seen enough car-accident victims to know that she and her staff should be ready for anything.

  The ambulance arrived, delivering a man in his early thirties who appeared every bit as badly injured as Megan had imagined, and then some. He was splinted from head to toe and, as far as she could tell, there wasn’t an inch on Blake Coolidge’s body that wasn’t damaged in some way.

  ‘Rapid, shallow breathing,’ the paramedic reported. ‘Pulse rate keeps climbing and he’s been restless.’

  Jonas immediately focused on the first concern—the airway. ‘Flail chest,’ he diagnosed after a quick glance.

  Megan realized their patient had broken two or more adjacent ribs in several places. The next concern was hypoxia, or lack of oxygen to the tissues, which occurred because of an underlying pulmonary contusion. The force that had caused his ribs to fracture had probably damaged his lung and caused him to bleed inside the organ itself.

  ‘Oxygen sat. is eighty-five,’ she said, reading the number from the pulse oximeter she’d affixed to the patient’s right index finger.

  ‘Get a blood gas, stat. And let’s get a picture of his chest and cervical spine so we know what we’re dealing with.’

  Gene moved in to draw the arterial blood sample and the venous samples for the usual CBC, chemistries, coagulation studies, a blood type and cross-match. Megan stepped aside for the radiology tech and her portable unit but stayed close to watch for signs of shock.

  ‘Did anyone notify his family?’ Jonas asked.

  The paramedic replied, ‘The sheriff’s deputy was going to locate his wife.’

  Blake’s treatment proceeded like a well-choreographed production. The X-rays showed the fractured rib areas and, miraculously enough, no breaks in his spinal column, but between Jonas’s endotracheal airway and the one hundred per cent oxygen, Blake’s breathing wasn’t improving significantly.

  ‘Blood pressure is dropping,’ Megan reported. ‘Pulse is fast. Skin is cool and clammy.’

  ‘Shock,’ Jonas said. Immediately he turned his attention to Blake’s abdomen. From where Megan was standing, she could see it was rigid and the area appeared bruised. ‘He’s bleeding inside.’

  The force of hitting the ground had obviously damaged more than just his lungs and his bones. He most likely had injured other organs such as the spleen and liver.

  Megan knew that in cases of shock caused by blood loss, it was imperative for that loss to be replaced with saline and/or a blood product. However, a balance had to be found because too much fluid would undo their treatment of his chest condition.

  Jonas snapped orders, and it took longer than Megan would have liked before Blake’s condition stabilized.

  ‘Get another hemoglobin level,’ forty-five-year-old Dr Samuels ordered. ‘And send him to the OR. We’ll do a laparotomy and see what’s going on in there.’

  As expected, Blake’s H and H had dropped and two surgical staff members arrived soon after to whisk him away.

  ‘What about his broken bones?’ Megan asked Jonas when all that was left of the past several hours of excitement was a trashed trauma room.

  ‘Samuels has to take care of the internal bleeding first,’ he replied. ‘Fractures won’t matter if he hemorrhages to death.’

  ‘What do you suppose he broke?’

  Jonas grinned boyishly, still clearly high from his adrenaline rush. It was always a thrill to keep a patient alive long enough so that someone could repair the damage, and Megan felt her own measure of pride in their team’s accomplishment.

  ‘Out of hundreds of bones, take your pick,’ he answered. ‘He could have damaged the biggest share of them.’

  Megan sympathetically shook her head.

  ‘From what I could see, he’s going to be in a body cast for a long while. Since I’m guessing how he landed, he’s probably broken his pelvis if not both hips. His legs seemed in worse shape than his arms, but I’d bet they’re fractured in at least one area, too.’

  ‘Will he walk again?’

  ‘Right now, walking is the least of his worries. First he has to make it through surgery and the next forty-eight hours. The possibility of complications, like a fat embolism, is high.’

  Megan remembered that an embolism was simply a condition where material, such as a clot, air, fat or other foreign body, was carried by the blood from point A to point B where it lodged and obstructed blood flow. Pelvic, tibial or femoral fractures carried a high risk for fatty embolisms because of the marrow now exposed to his general circulation. Blake would require round-the-clock nurses to watch for this life-threatening condition.

  ‘Then we’re talking an extensive stint in our ICU,’ Jonas added, ‘not to mention months as an inpatient, followed by even longer months of rehab. He may walk again, but he may not.’ He shrugged. ‘I wouldn’t want to predict either way.’

  Suddenly, something he’d once told her popped into her head. ‘Di
dn’t you used to skydive?’

  ‘Yeah.’ His eyes took on a far-away appearance as if he was reliving those times. ‘There’s nothing like jumping out of a plane with the wind rushing past you and the ground rising to meet you.’

  She shuddered at the thought.

  ‘Dr Taylor?’ Louise appeared at the trauma-room door. ‘Mrs Coolidge is in the lobby.’

  He frowned. ‘Didn’t Samuels see her?’

  Louise shook her head. ‘She arrived after he left. Shall I send her to the OR waiting room?’

  ‘I’ll talk to her first.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘It’s nearly three o’clock,’ he said, sounding surprised. ‘Where did the day go?’

  ‘Time flies when you’re having fun,’ Megan replied, realizing that she needed to take her meds. While he disappeared to talk to Melody, Megan swallowed her pills before she started restoring the room to rights. Gene and Bonnie had both taken other, more minor cases, which left her alone to do the honors.

  She was also left alone with her thoughts.

  Those at the moment were more the stuff of nightmares. A mental image of Jonas jumping out of a plane formed. In her mind’s eye, she saw his chute not opening, and watched him land on the ground in a heap of broken bones and bleeding body parts.

  If that ever happened, she’d never be able to bear it. What was more troubling was that if such a thing occurred after he left Stanton, she’d never know about it.

  Feeling helpless, she sank onto the gurney. She hadn’t meant to grow fond of him, but she had. He’d sneaked into her heart and she was powerless to evict him.

  The truth was, she didn’t want to evict him. Even knowing he would one day walk away, she couldn’t say goodbye before it was absolutely necessary.

  Do you love him?

  No, she told herself. She enjoyed his company and certainly had feelings for him, but it wasn’t love. It couldn’t be love. Jonas was simply a friend who was helping her heal from Dwight’s rejection.

  Friends don’t kiss like he does.

  She forced that thought out of her mind. They were friends, she insisted. She could let a friend go, but not someone she loved.