by Tina Beckett
Duncan yanked open the back door. In the last few seconds the baby had lost consciousness after the seizure. With quick thinking, she released the car-seat clasp and Duncan pulled the child free.
“We have to cool him quickly.” She pulled off his shoes and socks and stripped him down to his diaper.
“Let’s go.” Duncan raced into the ER with the woman at his side. “Pediatric code! Call a pediatric code,” he yelled as they sprinted through the doors, the baby clutched against his chest.
This man was obviously known here and thank heaven for that, Rebel thought as she raced into a treatment room with him, her hand supporting the baby’s head.
Once she had her hands on him, she refused to let go, as if her touch could infuse life into him. Staff arrived quickly and took over the scene. Once on the stretcher, the baby was flaccid, his breathing erratic.
“Get an IV in him.” Duncan gave orders and the staff were already responding. Performing in code situations was something these people did routinely and were obviously accustomed to working together.
Out of her element and uncertain what to do, Rebel wet a towel at the sink and draped it over the boy’s head.
Duncan looked at her with dark brown eyes filled with dangerous anger, and she nearly stepped away. Had she overstepped her boundaries? He didn’t know she was a nurse or that she had any medical knowledge whatsoever.
“Good idea. Cool his brain off.” He gave a grim nod and continued to give orders, orchestrating the scene. After the boy was hooked to the respirator, Duncan took a stethoscope and listened to the little chest as it rose and fell in synchronization with the respirator. “This will rest him a bit.”
Rebel tried not to give in to the awful sense of dread crawling into her limbs and stomach. These heroic efforts may have been too little, too late. The baby had had a grand mal seizure, the worst kind. His immature brain had gotten too hot too fast and might not recover from the insult. Even if he survived, he could have lifelong brain damage.
Rebel pressed her lips together as emotion overwhelmed her. Images of her family flashed into her mind. “We didn’t get to him in time.” He was going to die. Just the way her father and three brothers had.
“We don’t know that yet,” Duncan said, and clasped Rebel’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture that failed to bring any comfort. She knew that no matter how good medical care was, people still died. Her father had been the first, then her brothers. Nothing had been able to stop the disease that had taken them all.
“Time will tell,” she said, defeated by the rescue efforts she knew were probably futile. If there were miracles in the world, they hadn’t been given to her family. Each of her brothers had died a slow, agonizing death, leaving behind holes that could never be filled.
Duncan looked at her as if trying to read something into her words. “Yes. Time will tell.” He moved to the side and drew Rebel with him. “Is this your child?”
“What? No.” Rebel’s eyes widened, surprise on her face. “I just happened to come along at the right time.” She looked away. “I guess it was the right time.”
“I see. Just doing business in the hospital?” He normally didn’t stick his nose into the business of others, but this was an unusual and very traumatic situation. One he wanted to figure out now.
“Actually, I’m here to finish up some pre-employment paperwork. I’m a travel nurse. Start tomorrow.”
They moved into the hallway as the staff finished stabilizing the boy to transfer him to the pediatric ICU. There was always hope. There had to be for him to carry on with this work as a healer, a physician, as a human being. If there was no hope, what was the point in even trying? Even when his fiancée, Valerie, had been near death, he’d had hope she’d survive. Unfortunately, he’d been wrong that time.
“Where will you be working?” Curiosity made him ask.
“Here. In the ER.” The sideways smile she gave said it all.
Duncan nearly chuckled at the irony of the situation, but held back. This was no laughing matter, and he could see in her expression that she thought the same thing. “Quite a trial by fire you hadn’t expected.”
“It’s the life of an ER nurse.”
“Yes, for ER doctors, too. I’m Duncan McFee, one of the physicians here in the ER.” He paused a moment and watched her soulful green eyes follow the child as he was wheeled toward the elevators. “How are your hands?” He gestured for her to hold them out.
“My hands? What do you mean?” She frowned and looked down at them.
“Your palms, I mean.” He placed his strong hands over hers and turned them over. His touch was firm and warm and a little tingle she hadn’t expected rushed through her. “You pushed the glass in with your hands, and I’d like to make sure you don’t have any cuts. Glass can go deep before you even know it.”
“I did? I don’t remember doing that.”
“You did.” He stroked his fingers over the heels of her hands and her palms, using his sensitive fingertips, looking for any irregularities. “Guess we’ll be working together if you stay.” He released her. “Looks good. What’s your name?”
“I’m Rebel Taylor and what do you mean, if I stay?” Rebel raised her brows and leveled her intense eyes on him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t worry about the paperwork. You can finish up in the morning. Go home and de-stress after this. You need it.”
After a deep sigh, Rebel’s shoulders drooped. She knew the benefits of letting go or destressing or whatever you wanted to call it, after such an event. Time to take a breather on duty was often a luxury, rather than the necessity it should be.
“Maybe you’re right.” Conceding felt like weakness, but her mind overrode the emotions. She wasn’t officially an employee yet, so she had no real place here.
“I’ll walk you out. I have to recover my briefcase anyway.”
“I hope it’s still there. My backpack is there, too.” She shook her head, having forgotten about it in the rescue crisis. What a pain that would be to replace all of the items in her wallet if it had been stolen.
“I’m sure it is. This hospital complex doesn’t have a lot of crime and there were plenty of people around.”
As they approached the exit, Duncan turned to her. “So where’d you get such an unusual name? You don’t look like a rebel to me.”
She smiled, some of the tension lifting, even though she recognized his distraction technique. She’d used it many times on her patients, and she appreciated his efforts for her now. “It was something my father gave me when I was a kid. Apparently, as a toddler, I was quite the rebel and the nickname stuck.” She gave him a slant-eyed glance. “My given name is Rebecca, but if you ever call me that, I’ll slap you silly.”
Duncan laughed and some of the tension seemed to let go of him as well.
“Agree.” He offered an arm for her to move ahead of him. “I think Rebel suits you better anyway. Rebecca is too tame for all that wild hair.” Curiously, that hair made him itch to touch it, feel its texture and softness. Check that. Not gonna happen.
They left via the double doors that whooshed open on quiet hydraulics. They approached the parking lot, now alive with police and security.
“Wow.” Rebel looked at the area now packed with fire trucks, rescue vehicles, an ambulance and a police aid directing traffic away from the area. “Guess we’ll have to file a report, won’t we? And someone’s got to find out who that baby belongs to.” The person probably worked in the building and had forgotten to leave their child with the sitter.
From behind them, Rebel heard a gasp. A young woman dashed past them toward the car and the police officer putting up yellow tape.
“What happened to my car?”
The officer faced her. “Is this your vehicle, ma’am?” He set down the crime-scene tape and stepped closer to her, the sun glinting off his reflective sunglasses. He removed them and wiped his forehead.
“Yes
, what happened?” She gestured to the mess it had become.
“Can I see some ID?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She dug into her purse as Duncan and Rebel moved closer. “Someone breaks into my car, and I’m the one who has to show ID?” She shook her head in obvious disgust. “I was only at work for half an hour and someone broke into my damned car.”
“We broke into your car,” Duncan said, his voice soft, and Rebel shivered with anticipation as to what his next words would be.
That confession got the officer’s attention, and he looked between Duncan and Rebel, keen eyes putting together the scenario.
“You broke into my car?” The woman looked him up and down, then at Rebel, completely baffled. “Why?”
“Because your son was in there.” Even though his voice was as soft as silk, the words were hard to hear.
Rebel took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, certain she’d have knots in her shoulders later. Duncan held her gaze and gave her a nod and she moved a little closer to him. The close proximity brought her some comfort and feeling some of his strength made her realize she was going to get through this difficult situation. With the power this man exuded, she thought she might just be able to get through anything.
CHAPTER TWO
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, my son? Eric’s at daycare.” She swallowed, her blue eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. She looked between Rebel and Dr. McFee trying to figure out if they were telling the truth or if this was some sort of sick joke.
“No, ma’am. Your son was discovered in the backseat of this vehicle.” The officer took her ID from her limp fingers.
“N-no, he wasn’t. He’s at daycare.” She looked at Rebel and Duncan, and then at the car as she put the pieces together and completed the horrifying puzzle.
The back door hung open.
The car seat was empty.
The diaper bag lay upside down on the floor.
She focused on Rebel. “Isn’t he?”
“Did you forget to stop on your way here?” Duncan asked as gently as possible.
“Did I forget…? Of course I didn’t forget.” Anger flared in her face, then was quickly replaced by fear. She began to hyperventilate and her grip on Rebel’s arms loosened.
“Then you left him in the car on purpose?” the officer asked.
“No! I would never…” Her eyelids fluttered.
“She’s going out.” Rebel held on to the woman’s arms as the purse and wallet thudded to the pavement.
“Go get us a gurney,” Duncan instructed the security guard, who ran into the building, and took some of the woman’s body weight from Rebel.
“As soon as she wakes up she’s under arrest,” the officer said, and shoved his shades back on.
“As soon as she wakes up she needs to see her child, so back off.” Dark anger flashed in Duncan’s eyes, and Rebel held her breath.
“She put her kid in mortal danger. He may die.”
“I understand. She’s not going anywhere, so you can arrest her later.”
For the second time in less than an hour Rebel and Duncan entered the ER with an unexpected patient.
“Can you start an IV?” Duncan asked. “The others are working on a new trauma.”
“Yes,” Rebel said, ready to be helpful and hide the fear surfacing in her veins. Facing her fears was what had led her to ER nursing, but some days the fear nearly did her in.
Duncan pointed to the counter behind her. “Supplies are there. Get some saline going.”
In seconds Rebel had everything prepared and inserted an IV into the back of the woman’s hand.
Duncan rummaged in a cabinet beside her. “Aha.” He moved closer to the patient. “Make sure that’s taped down well.”
“Why?”
He held up the small mesh-covered capsule. “Old-fashioned smelling salts.”
“Haven’t seen those used in years.” Thinking outside the box was what kept ER nursing interesting. “Let ’er rip.”
The instant Duncan popped the capsule with his fingers, the noxious scent invaded the room. He waved it beneath the woman’s nose, and she jerked away.
“Wake up for me,” Duncan said, and patted her cheeks.
“Her name is Amanda Walker.” The police officer arrived from outside with her belongings.
“Amanda? Amanda. Wake up now.” Duncan spoke to her.
Rebel leaned close to Amanda’s ear. “Eric needs you.”
Amanda’s eyelids fluttered, and she jerked away from Duncan’s hands. “Yuck, what is that?” She struggled to wake from unconsciousness and coughed.
“Amanda, I’m Dr. McFee, and you’re in the ER. Do you remember what happened?” Amanda kept her eyes closed and frowned.
“Eric? What about Eric?” She opened eyes that appeared to have no memory of the recent events in the parking lot. Not unusual. The brain provided wonderful coping mechanisms to assist in dealing with emotionally painful situations. None of them were going to help her now.
“You were on the way to work and what happened?”
“What do you mean? I parked and came into work like I always do.” She focused more on Duncan and glared. “Why are you asking about Eric? Did the daycare call?”
“No, ma’am…” Duncan interrupted the officer with a glare. He clenched his jaw, not wanting to verbally castigate the officer when he had a patient on his hands. “No. Daycare didn’t call.”
“I was… No. Is Eric okay? What’s happened?” She tried to sit up. “What’s going on?”
Rebel stepped forward and glanced with hesitation at Duncan. He didn’t know her, had never worked with her before, so he had no reason to trust her or her abilities as a nurse. Then again, he had no reason not to trust her. He nodded.
Rebel placed her hand over Amanda’s with a gentle touch. Compassionate energy pooled around Rebel in such waves that Duncan felt them. This woman was made of tough stuff. So far turning out to be a damned good ER nurse. Gorgeous and smart. Hard combination to find.
“I’m Rebel, one of the nurses. I…discovered Eric…in the back of your car.”
“No, you didn’t.” Amanda shook her head in denial and jerked her hand away from Rebel. “He’s at daycare.” Amanda placed a trembling hand over her mouth and tears spilled from her eyes as trickles of the truth emerged from her subconscious. “You’re scaring me now.” Amanda looked around the room, at the glaring overhead lights, at the medical equipment, at the IV in her arm. Then she took a deep breath.
The wail that followed emerged straight from her soul.
The hair on Duncan’s neck twitched in reaction to the agonizing cry no amount of comfort could touch. He looked at his newest coworker.
Tears overflowed Rebel’s eyes as she stood with hands clenched in front of her. Even the cop turned away.
“N-o-o-o. No. No. No.” She hopped off the gurney, her eyes wild. “You people are crazy! His dad always drops him off.” Her breathing came hard and fast.
“Amanda. Think back to this morning. Was there a change in your routine? Did you deviate…?” Rebel asked questions designed to trigger her memory.
“No!” She pointed a finger at Rebel. “Wait till I call my husband. He’s a lawyer, and he’ll… My husband…is…sick…today.” Amanda collapsed to her knees. Sobs croaked out of her in an unrelenting torrent of realization.
Rebel knelt beside her. “What happened? Can you tell me?”
“His office has daycare.” She huffed in a few breaths. “He always takes Eric. Always.”
“And he’s home sick today?”
Amanda nodded, then slumped over onto the floor. “I killed my son! Oh, God, I killed my son.”
“Eric is alive, Amanda. He’s not dead.”
Amanda sat up and grabbed Rebel by the shoulders. “You found him in time?” She hauled Rebel into an exuberant hug. “Oh, my God.” Now, sobs of relief overflowed. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
Rebel placed her arms around Amanda and looked at Dunca
n. Those beautiful green eyes of hers pleaded for his help and something inside him emerged. Whether it was the trained physician in him, the male protector of women and children, or he was just reacting to the pain in Rebel’s face, he didn’t know. He just knew he had to respond.
“Amanda, sit up. I’ll tell you about Eric, then we’ll take you to see him.” He assisted her to her feet, protecting Rebel from being overwhelmed. He offered a hand down to Rebel and brought her by his side. His instinct was to place his arm around her waist, to shield her from the pain they both knew was yet to come, knowing the story before it was even told. Instead, he took Rebel’s hand and led her to a chair. She was pale and her hand was clammy. Though she didn’t look it on the outside, he knew she was having great difficulty with this situation. Officially she wasn’t even an employee, and she’d gone above and beyond what was expected of her. She could just as easily have walked away, but she hadn’t. What heart she must have.
Duncan placed his hands on the shoulders of the sobbing woman. This was going to bite. “Amanda, pull yourself together. You need to be strong for Eric. Now take a breath and stop crying.”
In a few minutes she’d managed to subdue her emotions. Tears still dribbled from her eyes, but she could look at him. That was a start.
* * *
As the noon hour approached, Rebel felt about a hundred years older than her actual thirty. Days like this were why people left healthcare. Some days being a nurse just wasn’t worth it.
She’d been sitting outside the PICU where Eric had been taken. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want to leave just yet. Dr. McHunky had taken the mother inside to see Eric.
Rebel had plopped herself into a chair outside the unit and hadn’t been able to get up. Sitting outside an intensive care unit brought back so many overwhelming memories it shut her down. For years she’d been an unwilling participant in her family’s inherited illness, Huntington’s disease. Watching her brothers struggle to survive had forced her to grow up too quickly, to be too old too soon, to leave childhood behind too early. Events like today sucked her back in time to when she had been a frightened little girl watching her family be taken from her one by one.