Page 330 of Under Her Skin
I just wish I could seeher!
Chapter2
DELANEY
Sugar cookies are everywhere—the nurses’ station, the children’s rooms, and the break room. I’ve found out something about myself—I have no willpower.None!
“This one looks like Santa,” Tammy tells me as she holds up a bright-red, sparkling cookie. “You wanthim?”
“I shouldn’t,” I tell her as I look longingly at the cookie that would make number four for me in the lasthour.
She wiggles it a little. “But it’s really good. Momma made them forme.”
“Oh, a different recipe. Then I should try it,” I say as I take the cookie out of her little hand. With one bite, I know I will finish the whole thing, as it melts in my mouth. “Mmmm.”
“Told you so. Momma’s taking some to the Christmas party at her new job. She told me she wants to make a good impression for when she can start actually going to work there. She thinks Mr. Vanderbilt is the best person in this whole entire world,” Tammy says, then nibbles on a cookie that looks like a bell—an expertly-decorated bell that she didn’t even take the time toadmire.
“These cookies are gorgeous as well as delicious,” I say as I point at the cookie in her hand. “Do you see how much work went into that one you havethere?”
She stops and takes a long look at it, then pops it into her mouth. Well, at least I got her to take a moment to appreciate it, anyway. It’s better thannothing.
The sound of the speaker system cutting on has me looking up to see if it will have anything to do with me as I swallow the last bite of the cookie. “We need all available medical staff to room 573,now.”
“That’s Meagan’s room,” I whisper to myself. “I’ll be back to finish you up,Tammy.”
Hurrying out of the room, I go down the hallway and find her parents standing outside of her door. Both look frantic as I get to them. Her mother grabs me. “She stoppedbreathing!”
I look at her father, asking silently for his permission to go inside of his daughter’s room, and he nods. His face is pale and he looks worried andafraid.
I’m the first to respond and the only person in the room, other than the little girl who is lying lifelessly on the bed. I find the slightest hint of a pulse and start CPR on her small, frailbody.
I’m usually very calm in these situations, but for some reason, my heart is pounding. I knew it could come to this, I tell myself as I make chest compressions, then breath into her lungs and check to be sure my breath is fillingthem.
Another nurse makes it in, and she takes over the chest compressions while I keep up the recitation. The fifth time I put my mouth to hers, I feel air coming back out of hers. “She’sbreathing!”
The doctor on call comes into the room, tossing out orders as he does. “We need her on a ventilator. Did you get her back for us,Richards?”
“Yes, sir,” I say and step back to let his team assist him. Stepping back even further as I hear something, I keep moving until I’m at the far corner of theroom.
A light sound is tickling my ears. I can almost make out the words that are light and airy, as if moving on a breeze. But there is no wind in thisroom.
I look up to see where the air conditioning vent is and see it’s clear across the room and nowhere near where I am, so I can’t be hearing anything through that. The sound begins to move, and I walk in the direction I hear it going and find they’re about to hook Meagan up to theventilator.
Suddenly, the little girl sits upright and her eyes seem to search the faces around her, then she finds me. “Tell her I need her. She left. Tell her I need her, please!” Her body falls back and her eyesclose.
I find everyone looking at me with odd expressions, then they get back to work on her. I turn and leave the room. I know she must mean Crystal, but how the hell can I findher?
Her parents are hugging each other as I walk out of the room. “I got her breathing again. You can go back in if you’dlike.”
Turning to leave them, I find a hand on my shoulder. “Thank you, Nurse Richards,” I hear her fathersay.
I turn back and look at him and see lines around his face that weren’t there when they first came here. “You’rewelcome.”
“I’m sorry.” He moves his hand and turns away from me, and I understand he doesn’t want to talk about anything. He just wants that to beknown.
“Thank you,” I say and walkaway.
The only thing running through my mind is what that little girl said to me and what I can do. I go to the chapel on the first floor. It’s empty, so I go to the altar and kneel. “Please send Crystal back to Meagan Sanders, Lord.Amen.”
