Page 10 of Fractured Reunion

He understood her concern. “I’ll go to the hospital leadership with this, but what exactly did the police say? Are they still looking for his family?”

“Yes, and the social worker has also contacted Child Protective Services.” She frowned. “I know they’ll want to put him into emergency foster placement, but I’m not sure how that works if he needs surgery.”

He wasn’t an expert on this sort of thing either but remembered his brother Adam’s wife Krista had gone through the process of becoming a foster parent prior to their engagement. “I’ll make a few calls. Give me some time to work through my connections.”

“Of course. I—uh, you have my number, right?” She flushed, then said, “I hope my phone is still in my bag.”

“It is; I checked.” He rested his hand on her arm. “We’ll get through this, Maggie. There’s always a way.”

“Thanks for your help.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I forgot to ask, how did your presentation go?”

“Fine.” He waved a hand. “Not important now. Stay here with Joey, I’ll let you know what I find out.”

“Okay.” She managed a wan smile. “I had planned on staying with Joey no matter what Child Protective Services says.”

He wasn’t surprised. Maggie could be doggedly stubborn when she believed she was in the right.

As evidenced by their divorce.

Aaron turned away and reached for his phone. He decided it would be easiest to head for his office to make the calls. For one thing, it was quieter than standing in the middle of the emergency department.

And for another, he felt certain he’d have to use everything he had to his advantage. Including his role as Chairman of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery.

* * *

Maggie was surprised Aaron had returned right after his presentation. Not only that, but he’d found her bag and brought that along too. He was being so sweet and considerate she was having trouble remembering their arguments.

Maybe because for the first time in years, they were on the same side of an issue. One little boy had pulled them together in a joint effort to get him the care he needed.

Ironic that an orphaned boy had brought them together when her inability to conceive had torn them apart. God worked in mysterious ways, but in this case, she would rather have had Joey’s mother sitting there, alive and well.

Joey stirred on the cot, so she quickly went over to place a hand on his arm. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re fine.”

Thankfully, the child settled back down. After crying himself to sleep, the little boy had woken several times complaining of pain in his belly. The nurse had finally obtained an order for pain medicine, and that had helped.

Maggie had asked for a copy of the CT scan report, and the images confirmed a three-by-four-centimeter hematoma. She wasn’t an expert in pediatric trauma surgery but suspected that if Joey’s mother was there and able to give consent, the child would already be in the OR to have it removed.

But she wasn’t. And Maggie couldn’t give consent in the absence of a parent. So here they sat, waiting for—what? The court to decide who could make decisions for the child?

As an anesthesiologist, she wasn’t usually involved in this sort of thing. Surgeons must face this dilemma on a regular basis, but she only became involved once they had someone to give consent.

She didn’t much like being on this end of the bedside.

A coughing child from two rooms over caught her attention. She left Joey’s room to look inside, expecting to see someone with the child, but there was no one sitting at the little girl’s bedside.

The little girl coughed again with a suspiciously croupy sound. Frowning, Maggie went into the room and pushed the call button.

Less than thirty seconds later, a nurse rushed into the room. Not Rachel, Joey’s nurse, but a male nurse. “Sorry about that. I was tied up in another emergency.”

“I’m not the child’s guardian, but she sounds like she has croup. You may want to get her in a croup tent.”

“Are you a doctor on staff?” the male nurse asked. His name was Greg, and he seemed nice enough.

“No, but I am a physician.” She shot one more glance at the coughing girl as she edged toward the door.

“I’ll call the resident about that croup tent,” Greg promised.

She nodded and hurried back to Joey’s room. She knew better than most that healthcare facilities were short-staffed these days, more so since the pandemic. Yet that didn’t make her feel any better when it came to Joey getting the care he needed.

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