Page 1 of Aching for His Discretion

Chapter one

Teegan

“Teegan, when are you going to come to visit us, sweetie?”my mom whined into the phone, and I groaned internally as my pager went off for the second time while I fixed my messy, curly hair in its clip.

It was nothing major, but my attending physician was waiting for me, and here I was, trying to get my mom off of my back, as snappy as that may sound. But I didn’t even get to have my morning coffee since I was running late!

“Mama, you know I’m busy. I promise to make time at the end of this month or next month, okay? I have to run,” I said quickly, and I could practically see her pouting in my mind.

“Okay, my love. Just know your father and I are so proud of you! Call me when you can.”

I responded with a quick “I love you,” ended the call, and bolted out of the bathroom as I pulled on my white coat.

I was the baby of three children, and my two older brothers were always busy and working, so my parents found joy in calling me to chat… knowing I couldn’t say no or ignore their calls even when I was swamped.

I am currently in my third year of medical school, and this month, I’m facing my clinical in Emergency Medicine. I admit that the hospital is beautiful, and the nurses and staff are very helpful, but the doctor I am working with seems to get up on the wrong side of the bed every morning.

Some of the other doctors are very nice, and I envy my med-school classmates who are working with them. But for now, I have to just suck it up and deal with—

“Teegan!”

—Dr. Wyatt.

I gulped softly as I quickly approached his office and pushed a piece of hair behind my ear.

“I’m s-sorry, Dr. Wyatt,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice steady, and he shook his head.

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it. Do you have any idea how many patients are waiting outside in the waiting room and how short of staff we are?!” he screamed angrily at me, and I bit my lip, almost flinching.

He was a very intimidating man: tall, with broad shoulders and a scowl that could send someone flying. I was happy to be given more tasks as a med student, but it felt overwhelming at times since I didn’t have all the answers or know most of the procedures without asking for his help. In times like this, I miss my rotation in family medicine, where the biggest worry my physician and I had was choosing what to eat for lunch...

“I-I know, I was just—”

“Save it. Give me the report of the patient records and details you took earlier,” he said, crossing his arms. I nodded quickly as I grabbed my notepad from my back pocket. “NOW!” he shouted, and my hands practically trembled as I turned the pages and promptly read what I had encountered in the patient rooms.

“In exam room #1, the patient presents with a deep laceration to the left leg. X-rays were clear, with no fractures or shifting in the bones, and they will be stitched and sent home with a mild dose of Motrin per your request. In exam room #2, the patient presents with lower back pain. CT scans and X-rays were clear, and they will be admitted to the hospital for further evaluation. And lastly, in room #4, the patient presents with drowsiness and vomiting. We’re testing her blood and urine and ordering a few more scans,” I rushed, doing my best to keep my words cohesive and firm, and he didn’t respond.Which is kind of a good thing.

“I have a patient in room three who is waiting to be seen, but I have a bit of charting left to do… Go do a full work-up and exam, then come to me with your findings,” he ordered, walking over to his desk.

I bit my lip.You’re setting yourself up to cry in a few seconds, Teegan.

“Why haven’t you moved? Do you really need me to repeat it for you?” Dr. Wyatt asked, and I shook my head quickly.

“N-no, it’s just that Margaret t-told me not to go into patients’ rooms that are classified… She said it’s best I let you examine them.”

He looked over at me in anger, his eyes practically fuming with rage.

“Well, it’s a good thing Margaret isn’t in fucking charge, and I’m the head of this department. Now go,” he seethed, and I nodded quickly as tears threatened to come out of my eyes.

Happy thoughts, Teegan, happy thoughts.

I walked over to the computer to see if there was anything about the patient that I could see, and there wasn’t much… all that was noted was the reason for the visit, which was for a migraine and a name…Levi Amante.

Oh, how I wish it could’ve been Levi Ackerman. At least then I would get to fangirl over him as I helped him…even if he was from an anime.

Logging out of the computer, I quickly sanitized my hands and knocked on the exam room door. I heard a muffled “Come in,” and I opened the door, speaking as I closed the door behind me.

“Hello, Mr. Amante. My name is Teegan, and I’m the med student on your team today. I’m just going to give you a quick exam, and Dr. Wyatt will be in shortly to assess your condition,” I said softly, grabbing my gloves from the wall.

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