Page 58 of The Doctor's Simple Life

“Louisa? What are you doing here?”

“It’s nothing too serious,” she says with a faint smile. “I think it’s just a bug going around. I feel so hot and sweaty and like I’m about to faint.”

“Yeah, I think there must be. I’ve been feeling that too. Something must be going around. Oh, and congratulations on your wedding, by the way.”

“Why, thank you.” She smiles, a faint blush bringing some color back to her pale cheeks. “I’m sorry we didn’t have space to invite you to the reception.”

“No, no, don’t be silly,” I scoff. “I hope you had an amazing day.”

She smiles widely. “Thank you, we really did.”

“Let’s get you checked out, okay?” I gesture to her, and she gets up to follow me.

And that’s when another rush of nausea slams into me. I stop and take a sharp breath.

“Sienna, are you okay?” she asks, placing a hand on my shoulder. I nod, but my vision starts to blur. I don’t say it, but her hand feels like the only thing anchoring me to the ground. What’s wrong with me?

“I’m fine,” I gasp, my head spinning. “I just feel kind of sick…”

That’s the last thing I know before I hit the ground.

I wake up on the floor, nauseous. I’ve never fainted before, and it’s not an experience I want to repeat anytime soon.

Nurses and people flock to me and help me get back on my feet. I still feel kind of dizzy, but not too much to walk. Nurse Arnold rushes over to stare at my eyes and throat, then orders someone to help me to a bed.

“I’m fine, really,” I try to insist. “I don’t want to take up extra space.”

But Nurse Arnold fixes me with her firmest stare, and I don’t argue again. An intern hooks her arm around me and leads me away to one of the smallest rooms, then makes me lie down. I nearly start arguing again, but she’s new and I don’t want to cause her trouble. She doesn’t need to get yelled at because of me.

She makes sure I’m comfortable, takes a blood sample, and gives me water. “I know you know this, Nurse Hale, but please get good and hydrated, okay?”

“Thank you,” I say softly. “I’m sorry, remind me of your name?”

“Martinez, ma’am. Olivia.”

“Thank you, Olivia. You’ve done good. Now go tend to a real patient, okay?”

She hesitates, and I shoo her off. I don’t need an intern to sit with me, not when there are real patients with real problems who need help. I guess Louisa must have been right. There must be some virus going around. This isn’t the first time this week I’ve felt dizzy and nauseous.

I doze off for a while, and when I open my eyes again, Giselle is standing over me, staring at my chart and tutting.

“I’m fine, right?” I say, shuffling to sit up. “I tried to tell them that I was fine, but they made me lie down.”

She shakes her head. “It’s a mystery, Sienna. In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never taken a day sick. You’ve only ever been late as many times as I can count on one hand.”

“So Iamfine?”

“Your chart seems perfect, hon, but fainting? Let’s wait for the bloodwork to come back. Then we’ll see you back at work. Okay?”

I sigh. “I guess.”

“We can’t have one of our best nurses out for the count, can we? You’re not going to move from this bed until I get back, are you?”

“No.” I groan. “But I do feel fine now, really.”

She gives me the same stern look everyone has been giving me for the last hour, and I flop back on the bed, defeated.

It’s kind of a lie, anyway. I don’t feel that good. My stomach is still churning, and my head isn’t all here. But I have a job to do. I’m not a slacker. Fainting at work is probably the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done.

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