Page 42 of Protecting Silver
Patch looked at his phone,and frowned at the unfamiliar number displayed on the screen. Because he was heading to the ER for an incoming trauma, he let it go to voicemail to deal with later, when he could catch his breath on a break. It had been almost three months since his first date with Silver, and he hadn’t had a day off since that first weekend they’d spent together. Patch had been filling in for other doctors who wanted some time off, and by the end of this week, he’d have the next two weeks free. He planned to spend as much time as he could with Silver. If she couldn’t get the time off, then Patch would flit between both their apartments to clean, and catch up on other things, but his number-one goal was to be in Silver’s bed every night. He not only missed her, but he also missed the sleep he was able to obtain while with her. Heaving a sigh, Patch arrived at the Emergency Department just as the ambulance drivers were wheeling in the patient who had a head-on with another car. That was how his next few days went, so busy with no time to answer his phone, let alone take a break long enough for something good to eat. He missed the dinners he’d made with Silver all those weeks ago.
Hours later, Patch had just signed his name on the charts for the day, and looked up as he saw Dr. Kevin Aderly approach him.
“You busy?” Dr. Aderly asked.
“Nope, just finished my charts, and I’m off for the next two weeks.”
“Vacation? How did you manage that?”
Patch grinned. “Worked for other doctors, so they owe me.”
“Ah, so do you have a minute?”
“I do, what do you need?”
“Can you come to my office?” Aderly asked, then looked over his shoulder, and leaned in, only to whisper, “I got the results of your blood work done.”
“Oh,” Patch said as he jumped to his feet. He scrubbed his face, then held out a hand and they both saw the slight tremor. “Why am I so nervous?”
“No clue.” Aderly smiled at him. Together, the two men left the ER department and wound their way through numerous halls, to reach the lab. Once inside Aderly’s office, Kevin sat behind his desk, while Patch sat in a seat across from him.
“Okay, I only opened this to see what it was,” Kevin began, and he picked up a large manilla envelope and handed it to Patch. “As soon as I saw your name on it, I put it away and came to get you.”
“Thanks,” Patch said as he took the papers, and began to read. Five minutes into the reading, he looked up with a frown, before he handed the entire sheaf of papers back. “No clue what these are saying. I may be a doctor, but I don’t know those codes.”
Kevin took the papers back, and began to read. “First off, you have AB- blood.”
“I knew that, it was typed while I was in the military.”
“Okay, it also says that you do not suffer from male pattern baldness.” Kevin looked up at Patch’s ponytail, and grinned. “At a quick glance, you don’t carry any markers for any major diseases.” Kevin looked at him, and continued, “Alzheimer’s, dementia, certain cancers.”
“You can detect that?”
“Yes, we checked all your genetic markers. That’s what this report is, it has nothing to do with who your relative might be, but it does give us the information on your health. You also don’t have the genetic marker for passing off autism, or Down’s syndrome to your offspring.” Kevin continued to read off what he’d learned. Toward the end, he frowned as he looked at Patch.
“What?”
“Your cholesterol is a little high, so you might want to think about cutting back on your carbs. Blood sugar is good, so are your liver enzymes. Other than the high LDL levels, you’re as healthy as a horse.”
“Thanks Kevin,” Patch said as he took the papers back, and put them in their envelope. “I’ll be the first to admit that I forgot all about this. Maybe I should check my e-mail and see if I heard anything from that ancestry website.” Patch stood to leave, then Kevin held out his hand to shake.
“Remember, if you need any help reading what they gave you, let me know.”
“I will, thanks.” Patch nodded, then quickly left the office. He stopped back into the locker room and gathered his things, making sure to take all his clothes with him, so he could wash them over the next two weeks. As he left the hospital, he was climbing into his truck when his phone went off again. This time, though he didn’t recognize the number, he shrugged as he answered it.
“Atwal.”
“Patch?” came the hesitant reply on the other end of the line.
“Yes, who’s this?”
“Tex, you asked me to look into some matters for you.”
“Oh, yes, how are you?” Patch had climbed into his truck, and sat there in relative silence to his conversation. “Did you try calling me a few weeks ago?”
“I did, but I didn’t leave a voicemail, I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. I’ve been so busy for the last few weeks, I didn’t know which end was up. Now I’m off for the next two weeks.”
