Page 5 of Doctor Frost

“Thanks for coming down. It must be nice to be recognized around here,” she said, smiling as she sat down beside me.

“What do you mean?” I questioned.

“Well, I shouldn’t tell you, but Dalton requested you.”

“What?” I frowned.

She was about to say something when another ambulance pulled up to the bay doors just as Dalton appeared with some files, which he put on the desk. He looked at me as the EMTs brought a man in on a stretcher.

“Stabbing…” the one EMT mumbled to Dalton as they took him over toward an empty room.

“Amelia, looks like it’s you and me. Let’s go,” he muttered.

Those are the nicest words the man has ever said to me, I thought to myself as I looked over at Connie, wondering what she’d meant, when I heard Dalton clear his throat.

“Coming.”

I got up from my chair as two other nurses came rushing over to help us. It was touch-and-go for a while. The patient had lost a lot of blood, but we finally got him stabilized. Once our job was done, I stepped out of the room, closing the curtain and pullingmy gloves off, dumping them into the trash while the other two nurses worked on finishing up the stitches.

I took my blood-covered gown off and dumped it into the laundry and then made my way over to the sink and began washing my hands when I heard someone clear their throat behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Sawyer standing there.

“Sorry, I’ll be just a moment,” I said, rinsing the soap from my hands.

“Amelia, you can head down on your break now. Janice just got in,” Sawyer said, coming up beside me and shoving his hands under the warm water.

“Thanks.” I smiled. “What a day. I’m beat, and I still have another, what, four hours?” I giggled.

“All part of the job. Keeps us young.” He chuckled. “Brielle said you came into The Cooling Rack yesterday. She said it was nice to see you.”

“Yeah, I had coffee with Charlotte. I was hoping she’d have Emma, but no luck. She doing well?”

“Yeah, she’s getting so big. We’ll have to have you over for dinner soon.”

“I’d love that! Well, I guess I’ll see you in an hour.” I smiled and made my way down the hall toward the exit doors.

“Thanks for coming down last second. We appreciate it.”

“No problem.” I waved. “Glad I could help. It feels great to save lives.”

I was just about to push the doors open to exit the emergency area when I heard my name called. Figuring it was Sawyer again, I stopped and turned, only to see Dalton following me.

“Wait up a moment,” he said again.

Unsure what to expect, I just stood there waiting until he caught up with me. He’d missed our meeting, so he couldn’t be pissed with me. He never thanked me for helping, which wouldhave been nice after that last patient, but he said nothing. He just looked at me.

“Aren’t you going to say anything? Thank me for an outstanding job?” I questioned, probably pushing my luck.

His eyes locked with mine. He just glared. Then he pushed the door open and took off in front of me.

“Yeah, you’re welcome!” I shouted after him.

I stood there wishing that the things I’d said to him the other night would have resonated with him, but they apparently hadn’t. Charlotte was right, he had become worse. At least, before he’d tell me I had to do a better job.

I was just about to push the doors open when Connie came out of the supply room with a handful of stuff.

“Connie, what did you mean earlier, that it must be nice to be recognized?” I questioned.

Connie stopped and smiled. “Well, by Dalton, of course.”

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