Page 12 of Code Love
Jade actually felt bad for the woman. She had been lied to and manipulated by this man, and she suddenly had a little less empathy for this man and his broken femur.
“Can I get you anything?” Jade asked softly.
“No,” the woman said her voice just as soft. “Can I go home?”
“I wouldn’t advise going out in this weather, and all the public transit has been shut down, probably until morning,” Jade answered. She knew she couldn’t force the woman to stay, and that she probably didn’t want to anyway.
“Okay,” Elaine said and brushed the bangs out of her eyes. Her face took on the sour look she had been wearing before the revelation, and Jade suddenly felt sorry for anyone in Elaine’s path for the next little while.
The whole situation made her think about relationships. Maybe she was being hasty in trying to pursue Lillian. Relationships are hard, no matter what, and her last one was a doozy. Bile rose in her throat as she remembered her ex. Lillian was gorgeous, but nothing was worth that kind of heartache. Maybe it would be best just to leave it alone, let Lillian remain an exciting fantasy. The heat that flowed through her at the thought made her unsure if that was going to be possible.
5
Lillian
The corridor leading to the operating rooms were noisy but mostly empty. The rooms had been filled almost constantly since the storm began, but thankfully it was mostly small repairs. Lillian was heading into her third surgery for the night, and this one was going to be a bit tricky, but it was something she had done many times before.
The patient had been part of the major accident on the interstate, and one of her vertebrae had been chipped, causing a lot of swelling and pressure on her spinal cord, but it should be a simple fix; Lillian just needed to make sure her mind was clear.
Shoving all thoughts of Jade and her ridiculous unprofessionalism aside, she stepped into the scrub station and looked at the timer. She began scrubbing her hands and arms, trying to force out the thoughts of Jade. A warm current of electricity flowed through her when she thought about how close she had come to kissing her in the break room. She could almost feel Jade’s lips against hers.
Damn it. Lillian set her hands against the sink and leaned forward, she needed to get this out of her head. This spinal reconstruction surgery in front of her wasn’t difficult, but it was extremely delicate, and she couldn’t afford to be distracted. She checked the timer again; she needed to start over. She focused on her hands, on the running water. She acknowledged the scent of the antimicrobial soap, the sterilization equipment in the room. She looked up at the patient on the table, waiting for her, the anesthesiologist sitting by her head, prepared to put her under. She started counting the seconds along with the timer.
Very soon, she was focused. No other thoughts were in her mind other than the surgery at hand. She stepped into the OR, the sounds and smells invigorating. The machines monitoring the patient’s vital signs blinked and pulsed calmly. Her blood pressure was elevated, but that was to be expected. She nodded at the anesthesiologist, who then covered the patient’s face with a mask. Within minutes, the patient was asleep.
Lillian worked with care and precision. This was her home, her happy place. She cut into the skin, though the muscle, knowing exactly what she was doing, her movements flawless. She made it to the bone, resetting the cartilage and pinning the vertebrae in place. Even the patient’s blood pressure started to stabilize. She checked the reflexes on her feet, the signals were carrying though exactly as they were supposed to. Lillian smiled slightly. This patient would not have been able to walk again without this surgery, but Lillian was able to make sure that she would. She would still need some physical therapy, and it would take some work, but soon this patient would be back on her feet and living as she had before.
Once all her checks were done, she went back to the incision site and closed. Another successful job done. Lillian’s chest swelled with pride. She left the final checks to her staff and left the operating room to scrub out. When she pushed throughthe door she saw Jade standing over the sink, her dark eyes watching her.
“Nice work,” Jade said, though there was a slight smirk on her face.
“I know,” Lillian said and began to wash her hands.
“I’m sorry,” Jade said, giving Lillian some space.
Lillian narrowed her eyes as she finished scrubbing her hands. This was very different from the way she imposed herself into Lillian’s space in the breakroom. Maybe she had noticed that she had gotten too close. A bolt of heat flowed through her at the thought.
“I shouldn’t have pushed you earlier,” Jade continued.
“It was the right call,” Lillian said as she dried her hands.
“Look, I’m trying to apologize for making you uncomfortable,” Jade said with exasperation.
“You mean, for how completely unprofessional you’ve been acting?” Lillian snapped. She wasn’t sure why she was being so defensive. The smart,professional, thing to do here would be to accept the apology and move on, but for some reason she couldn’t.
“I wouldn’t call itcompletely unprofessional,” Jade said, her voice growing icy. “If you had shocked her again it would probably have killed her.”
Lillian opened her mouth to retort, but she knew Jade was right. “Fine, I’ll admit the ER and trauma are your area, but surgery is mine.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Jade asked, her cheeks warming.
“How I treat my patients, and how I talk to their families is my business, not yours,” Lillian said with a lift of her chin.
“Are you talking about Stephanie?”
“Of course,” Lillian said, turning her back on Jade.
“She was not just your patient. I pulled a bar out of her chest while you relieved the pressure—in case you forgot.”
