Page 17 of Stay with Me
“Take a seat, Nolan,” Captain Ash said as he motioned to the chair in front of his desk. Drew handed the folder he was carrying over to the captain and sat.
Captain Ash didn’t even open the folder, just tossed it on top of a pile. He came around the side of the desk and hitched his hip onto the corner. “My buddy is one of the cadre at Lost in Woods. Gave me a call the other day, singing your praises. Honor graduate, gold GAFBMP, sailed through combatives, highest scores on the range, amazing OPORDS. Oh yeah, my life got easier. My only problem is where to slot you.”
“I’m sorry, sir. Not to correct your friend or show any disrespect, but are you sure he was talking about me?” Drew kept his tone even. He knew he’d done well at Fort Leonard Wood but to make his commander’s life easier?
The captain frowned and looked Drew in the eye before nodding. “Unless there’s another Nolan coming here? Yeah, I think he got it right but you keep believing he was talking about someone else if it makes you feel any better. I’ve seen your record and I’m standing by his assessment until something proves me wrong — which I highly doubt will happen. Anyway, Lieutenant Sanders is with us another month and then I can shake things up with assignments. For the next few weeks, I’ve got some follow-up on investigations and evaluations. If you don’t mind some paperwork for the immediate future, once Sanders leaves, you can have your choice of platoons.”
Drew couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He’d have his choice? He was the most junior lieutenant. “That’s more than I expected, Captain Ash. I figured I’d be shadowing someone for six to eight months.”
“First, please call me Steve. We’re all going to be working closely and while rank is important, it’s also important to be comfortable with each other. I don’t hold to that philosophy of shadowing for months. It’s a waste of resources. I look at everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. Use those strengths and develop a plan to work on the weaknesses. Have to admit, from what Tim said, I’m going to struggle to find the weaknesses from you. Now, you’re okay doing follow up for a few investigations for us?” Captain Ash looked so hopeful that Drew automatically nodded, even if he didn’t believe the bullshit about him having no weaknesses. “Great. Let me introduce you to the others in the office today and then Top can get you set up with a desk, phone,get you on the duty roster. Any idea where you’d like to settle once Sanders PCSes?”
“Honestly, sir,” Drew paused and corrected himself when he noticed the captain raise his eyebrow at him. “Steve. I’ve always wanted to work with military dogs. I know I can’t be a handler with this bar on my chest but working with the teams would be great.” He didn’t have a lot of hope that he’d get his first choice but if he didn’t put it out there…
He watched as Steve shrugged before pushing off the desk. “I don’t see why we couldn’t make that happen. Have a pet that you miss?” he asked as he led the way out of the office.
“No. I’m a military brat and even though my parents settled us in North Carolina years ago, we didn’t get any animals. My uncles have had rescues and Uncle Mackey has adopted several retired MWDs. I got to watch some K-9 rescue teams with another uncle at his job and it stuck with me.”
“Remind me after Sanders leaves and we meet with everyone about rotations. Now, here’s where you can find…” Captain Ash said as he started to point out everything and everyone they passed. Oh yeah, there was no way he was retaining even a percentage of what the captain was showing him.
§ § § §
Brody checked his scrubs. Navy blue, top to bottom. He had a set of ACUs in his car if he needed them. Had his credentials on a reel hanging from his top. Trauma shears in his thigh pocket, several pens, stethoscope in his backpack. Taking a deep breath, Brody badged into the unit. He was met with the controlled chaos that soothed his nerves.
A quick search and he was standing next to the computer terminal with Major Capanella seated in front of it. He was pretty sure that he needed to check in with the major before thenurse manager got her hands on him. Either way, he was early for his first permanent shift assigned to the ER.
“Major Capanella, eh, Doctor Capanella, Lieutenant Walker reporting,” he said. He didn’t snap to attention but he wasn’t slouching either. The doctor looked up and waved Brody into the seat next to him.
“Please, call me Cap. The nurses here run the show. I’m here to look pretty and do what they tell me to,” he finished with a wink. Okay, this might be a great fit for Brody. “Besides, if I do something to cause you to transfer to ICU or Med Surg, I might be facing a revolt.”
“Brody, sir. And revolt?” Brody wasn’t sure why the nurses would be sticking up for him. He’d just got there. Christ, his foster parents hadn’t even stuck around.
“Oh, yeah. They’re so happy you chose the ER they’ve been practically bouncing. They had nothing but good things to say about your skills. Not that they’re expecting you to jump in and take over. But Reggie doesn’t think it’s going to take you more than two months before she’d be comfortable with you as charge. I observed you during the trauma that came in when you were rotating through. Calm presence and knew more than I would expect a new nurse to know,” Cap told him before he stood up. “Let’s get you over to Reggie. We’ll meet later this week about the non-medical portions of your stay with us here at Brooke. I’m probably a bit too laid back regarding the military side of things but it’s more important to save the patients rather than having someone salute me.”
Brody might have more of a military background from his time in ROTC than other nurses but dang. He could roll with this. He’d only done ROTC to pay for his nursing degree. Oh, he had respect for the military and he’d done well, but his focus was saving lives. Would he serve a full twenty? That wasup for debate and judging for another time. It looked like his commander agreed with Brody’s views. Now if he fit in with the nurses? This assignment was going to be a breeze.
Chapter Ten
Brody wasn’t going to utter the Q word but, so far, the Christmas Eve shift wasn’t too terrible. Most seemed to have kept their revelry to a mild limit. They’d had their share of holiday celebrations gone awry already this month. The soldier who had fallen off the roof of the barracks while he was trying to light up the sky wasn’t the greatest and ranked up there in the top five for the season. Yes, falling from a three-story building was going to put him in a cast for months, but it could’ve been worse. Probably the amount of alcohol in his system helped him out, making him more relaxed than if he’d been sober. The call that they’d had to make to his first sergeant had been entertaining.
“Lieutenant Walker, why are you here today?” Jared asked as he walked up to the desk. Shift change.
“I took the overnight since I wanted those with kids to be home with them. What do I have at my apartment but Netflix and take out?” Brody wasn’t looking for sympathy. He was a single person with no family. He’d tried to make friends but hadn’t developed close friendships yet. Sergeant Major Mullvaney had told him to come to their home for the holidays but Brody wasn’t sure the offer wasn’t made out of sympathy. Maybe one day he would feel comfortable with a family.
“Well, let’s hope that it’s qu—”
Brody almost came out of his chair to cut Jared off. “Don’t you even think about finishing that word. Are you insane? It’s almost as bad as ordering Chinese food. I haven’t been in the ER long but those are two of the first things I learned.” He watched as Jared snapped to attention at Brody’s words. Wow, his officer training kicked in there.
“My apologies, sir. I wasn’t thinking,” Jared mumbled. Shit, now Brody felt like an ass.
“Relax, Jared. You’re not in trouble. Don’t want either of us to get in trouble with the rest of the staff for jinxing us. I’m sorry I snapped.” He really didn’t want to get on the wrong side of any of the staff and the techs were the backbone of the ER. They did so much that offset nursing duties. There was no way Brody could do his job without their assistance.
Jared blushed and looked side to side. “None of the other nurses heard me, did they?” It took all of Brody’s training to not laugh at the young soldier. He forgot sometimes that they were soldiers, too.
“You’re good. The others are in the breakroom grabbing snacks while I watch the desk. Everyone brought in treats to share. When you go to drop your stuff in your locker, fix yourself a plate,” Brody instructed the soldier. As Jared stepped away from Brody, he gave the soldier a quick look over and frowned at what he saw. Something looked off. Jared was in the standard black scrubs for a tech, had his badge clipped on his chest but he looked… disheveled? Untidy? Brody wasn’t sure how to describe the soldier’s appearance but it wasn’t his normal.
“I’ll make sure to get myself something. Do you want one, sir?” Jared mumbled again. There! That was it, in addition to the condition of his scrubs, the soldier’s jaw was discolored and if Brody was correct, his lip was swollen.
“Jared, are you okay? Do you need to be seen?” Brody wasn’t going to pressure the tech but he also wasn’t going to let someone beat on the man.
