Page 20 of Stay with Me
“Whoa, whoa. You’re not moving anywhere,” Brody said as he put his hands on Drew’s shoulders stopping his movement. “Talia, let Cap know that Dre— the patient is awake.” Talia nodded and rushed out. Brody cleared his throat and addressed Drew, “Lieutenant Nolan, your doctor will be in shortly to talk to you about the next steps for you. We’ve been monitoring your—”
“Brody?” Drew asked as he met Brody’s gaze. “Why are you calling me lieutenant? Granted we weren’t the closest of friends in college but… wait, why are you standing beside me? Where am I?”
“You’re in the emergency room of Brooke Medical Center. It’s where I’m stationed. As for addressing you as lieutenant? Ummm, it’s your rank? I was there when you were pinned.” Brody wasn’t sure why Drew seemed upset that he was calling him that.
“Shit, I’m in the ER? Just another something to prove the fuck-up I am to everyone,” Drew muttered.
Fuck-up? What the hell was Drew talking about? Was he having a stress reaction? They hadn’t given him any meds yet. He was as far from a fuck-up as someone could get. Before Brody could say anything, Cap pushed into the bay.
“Lieutenant Nolan, it’s good to see you awake. I’m Doctor Capanella. You were brought to my ER by one of your sergeants after you stopped a knife attack on one of the MWDs. You sustained—”
“Is Kali okay? I know I fell on her. I remember feeling a burning sensation when I hit the ground.” Drew sounded like his memory of the incident was coming back.
“Kali? You were the only patient from the scene. Should we be looking for another?” Cap met Brody’s eyes and looked about ready to give a command. Which was so completely outside of Cap’s normal, it was comical. Yeah, he commanded a trauma but Drew was stable now.
“Kali is the MWD. She signaled at the car they were inspecting. I saw a guy pull something and jumped between her and the guy. Her handler was concentrating on whatever she identified and didn’t see him move,” Drew told them. “Now, can I leave?”
Cap laughed, releasing some tension. “Oh, you’re not going anywhere anytime soon, Lieutenant. We’re just waiting for Doctor Gable to finish up the surgery he’s performing before he comes to take you to the suite. You’ll be a guest at our fine facility for at least overnight, if I’m correct.” Cap paused and looked over at the monitors hooked to Drew. “You’ve stabilized and your blood pressure isn’t in the tank now, so Gabe should be ableto take you as soon as he’s clear. Do you have someone you’d like us to notify?”
Brody watched as a look of defeat crossed Drew’s face as he blew out a breath. “Guess this isn’t a small scratch if I’m going to surgery?”
“Best guess is that the artery in your triceps was nicked, along with some serious muscle and tendon damage in both your arm and deltoid,” Cap told him.
Drew started nodding as Cap was speaking. “Only I could be observing traffic stops and end up in surgery. Shit,” Drew swore, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he looked over at Brody. “Can you call Uncle Mike? Tell him what’s going on? He can contact my parents. You’ve still got his number?”
He was nodding before Drew even got his question out. “Yeah, I’ve got the sergeant major’s number saved. I—” Brody wasn’t sure how to tell Drew he hadn’t had the balls to use it.
“I get it. They’re a bit intimidating,” Drew said softly.
“Get some rest, Lieutenant. I’ll have Brody contact your next of kin and we’ll have you sign some papers when the surgeon arrives. For now, close your eyes and rest. You did good today.”
“I’m not sure I agree with that assessment, sir,” Drew replied.
Cap shook his head as he stepped back from the gurney. “I don’t know what it is with the two of you. Did your cadre beat you? First Brody and now you. That cadre must have expected perfection for the two of you to feel inferior,” Cap threw over his shoulder as he closed the curtain.
“Rest, I’ll contact Sergeant Major Mullvaney,” Brody told Drew.
“He’s going to kick one of our asses. Either me for getting injured or yours for not calling him Mike. It’s fifty-fifty odds who’s it going to be,” Drew told him as he drifted off.
“I’ll take the beating on this one,” Brody said as he held Drew’s hand now that he was asleep again.
§ § § §
Brody stepped out of the trauma bay and headed over to the nurses’ station. He looked around but didn’t see his backpack where he’d thrown it. Son-of-a-bitch. If someone took his bag…
“Brody? You okay?” Talia asked as she approached pushing the EKG machine. “Seems like I’ve got that question on repeat but you don’t look that hot.”
He took mental inventory before answering the question. His stomach was in knots; not surprising since he hadn’t eaten in several hours and now, not only was his college crush in his ER, he was going to have to call the man that he’d been avoiding. Brody didn’t really know why he hadn’t called the sergeant major. The Mullvaneys had been nothing but friendly and supportive of him in their brief interaction.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Have you seen my backpack?” Brody focused on the immediate, then he’d deal with his nerves? Hunger? Anxiety? All of the above?
“Shelly moved it,” Talia said, motioning to the back table. “She didn’t want anyone grabbing and running.”
Brody turned, looking in the direction Talia pointed. Yup, there was his bag and travel mug. His mug was looking a bit rough. If he didn’t know where it was from, there would be no way that he’d know it was from a Circle K. Maybe now that he was a bit settled in San Antonio, he could be a little less frugal. He had a good income and no one was taking his condo awayfrom him. Okay, yeah, at the end of his lease but no random ‘time to go’ announcements.
“Brody? Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need me to get Shelly or Cap?” Brody felt Talia’s hand on his arm and looked down at it for a minute. When was the last time someone was worried about him? Oh, not going down that path right now. He had a call to make. Brody reached with his opposite hand and patted Talia’s.
“I’m fine. A little hungry and definitely tired but nothing critical. Need to make an important call that might suck.” Brody walked over and pulled his phone out of the side pocket and picked up his coffee and took a swig. Ewww, cold coffee. He frowned down at his mug, wondering if he had the energy to get a new cup. Before he could decide one way or the other, Talia grabbed his mug.
