Page 13 of Beneath Her Hands
“What?” Rosalind couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“This was all a terrible mistake. I’m sorry. I have to go,” Jane said and rushed out of the room, leaving a very confused Rosalind staring after her.
Rosalind watched the closed door for a few minutes. She wasn’t sure if she was hoping Jane would come back through it or if she was just so completely baffled by what happened she needed to reset, but as the shock began to wear off, anger began to flash though her. If Jane was so sure this was all a mistake, why did she let it happen in the first place? Rosalind knew Jane was attracted to her, so what was the big deal? It’s not like Rosalind had asked Jane for marriage. What the hell just happened? Rosalind fell back against the bed. She was hurt, offended, angry. Maybe she had misread the whole situation. Even though she hadn’t had an orgasm, it was still one of the most mind-blowing experiences she’d ever had. She supposed Jane didn’t feel the same way, and what was all that about not jumping into bed with whoever? Did she really think that’s what Rosalind was doing? Acting on some pheromonal impulse? The audacity of that woman was astounding.
Rosalind jumped out of the bed and stormed down to her office. If Jane wanted to stay away from her, then fine, she damn sure wasn’t about to chase her all over the hospital. Jane would have to make up her damn mind.
6
Jane
Jane rushed into her office, her clothes were still twisted and not quite sitting right. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it all. What was wrong with her? What she had just experienced was so much more intense than anything she could remember, so why was she fighting so hard to push Rosalind away? The answer was simple; she barely knew Rosalind and she couldn’t afford to show that much vulnerability to someone like that. Rosalind was tough, hard. She was a war-trained doctor that had seen so much in her lifetime. What could Jane possibly bring to the table? Nothing had ever confused or ignited her quite like Rosalind. Her blood started pumping again at the thought.
No. She shut it down. She couldn’t afford to be distracted by someone like Rosalind. She had a job to do here. She had to focus. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She glanced at it; Dr. Mars was paging her. She wondered what that could be about, but first, she needed a shower. She needed to cool off, to calm down. She went to her in-suite bathroom and took off her clothes, glancing at herself in the full-length mirror. Herskin was flushed still. She traced her fingers across the lines of her stomach, her mind drifting back to Rosalind. How could someone make her feel so amazing? Even now, looking in the mirror, she felt good about herself; she wasn’t trying to find all the tiny flaws, just felt somehow confident. Rosalind couldn’t possibly understand her, though—this would never be able to go anywhere. She quickly showered, putting on fresh clothes. She touched up her make-up and headed over to the main office shoving aside any further thoughts of Rosalind.
“Doctor Roberts, we have a situation,” Doctor Mars said without preamble.
Jane almost started to tremble. “What happened?”
“There was a cave-in,” Doctor Mars said. Her eyes tightened with concern.
Relief washed through her before the words sunk in. “A cave-in? At the Caverns?” Guilt pervaded her mind—how could she feel relief at this kind of situation? She really was as selfish as she feared.
“Yes,” Doctor Mars answered quickly. “There were at least three tourists trapped inside.”
Jane’s mind raced as all other thoughts left her. She had visited the Caverns several times over the years. It was a small system of caves that ran through the side of one of the mountains here. It was a popular tourist spot in city, and there were several guide groups that toured there almost daily. “What happened?”
“We aren’t sure, but the search and rescue are underway. We are likely going to get some pretty hurt people coming in, have you seen Doctor Maxwell?”
“Um, no.” Heat flared in Jane’s cheeks, and Dr. Mars lifted an eyebrow at her. “Not since I came in anyway.”
“Okay, I’ll find her. I want you both on stand-by,” Doctor Mars said and pinned her with a knowing look. “You’ll be able to work together, right?”
“Of course, Doctor Mars,” Jane said, forcing an expression of incredulity. Her professionalism was at stake here, she would have to get through it. She quickly left the office and headed for the Emergency Department. She went straight for the trauma rooms, readying them for action. She threw herself into the work, ignoring any lingering feelings she may be having about Rosalind or anything else. Making sure everything was stocked and ready, she turned to the staff. She gave them each specific instructions for when patients arrived. Emergencies like this were rare, but she had the best possible staff, and for that she was grateful. Despite their lack of experience, they were all ready for action. She instructed Sandra to wait by the radio and inform them of the rescue operation’s progress.
Speculation ran rampant, everyone was trying to figure out what had happened. The Caverns were generally considered safe, and tourists went in there all the time. If the speculations were to be believed, then it was the fault of the mining operation on the other side of the mountain; perhaps they had been detonating and it caused the Caverns to become unstable. The mines had faced a lot of pressure from the city before they could begin their operations, and now this was going to cause a lot more problems for them, though Jane couldn’t bring herself to feel for them. The mines were dirty and destroyed everything that made the landscape around here. Regardless, there were at least three tourists and a guide that were still trapped, though they expected to have them out in the next few minutes.
Jane had the rooms as ready as possible, and when she looked up again, her eyes instantly found Rosalind’s. She felt as though Rosalind was looking right through her, and truthfully, she probably was. So far, Rosalind had been able to see throughmost of the airs she had tried to put on around her, even through the parts of her that she hadn’t seen herself. She dropped her gaze, but not before Rosalind’s expression turned to one of hurt and disappointment. At least she wasn’t pushing it.
A few minutes later, they received word that they would be getting the first two patients—one had an arm that was almost completely crushed and the other with likely multiple skull fractures. She rushed to grab a trauma gown and gloves, and suddenly Rosalind was beside her.
“I’ll take the arm,” Rosalind said.
“At least try to save it,” Jane countered, but Rosalind just shot her a venomous glare.
The two ambulances pulled in almost simultaneously, and Jane rushed to the doors. The paramedic jumped out, listing the stats and vitals of the patient, and Jane rushed her in to get a CT so that she could see what she was working with. She scrubbed while she waited for the results and for the patient to be prepped; this one was going to be very lucky if she survived. Jane guessed that she was one of the tourists. She immediately set to work trying to clean out the fractures and gauge for any bleeds. She had to set almost half the skull with plates, but it looked like the patient was going to pull through. As she moved her out to recovery, she checked the board just as Rosalind’s patient was being rolled through. It appeared that Rosalind had not been able to save the woman’s arm. Jane glanced at her, but the dark look in Rosalind’s eyes kept her from saying anything.
The next patient coming in was in much worse condition, if that could be said about someone whose skull was nearly crushed. Rosalind and Jane were going to have to work together. There was severe trauma to the head and abdomen, and the life signs were barely there at all. She was in the scrub area as Rosalind walked in and started to scrub up next to her. Silently they tore at their hands and arms; Jane finishing only a fewseconds sooner than Rosalind. They both went into the room, and without speaking, they went to their respective places. Jane found it interesting that they were able to sync up without so much as a thought. Jane taking the place near the head and Rosalind finding her place in the abdomen. They both threw themselves into the work, fighting tooth and nail to keep the patient alive. Despite their animosity—or whatever it was—they worked together like a machine, moving as one, taking each thing as it came along. Jane was able to relieve the pressure on the brain while Rosalind found the internal damage in the abdomen. Jane plated fractures in the skull while Rosalind closed bleeding arteries in the chest cavity. They both worked to stitch up several deep lacerations on the patient’s arms and legs, and neither of them knew how much time had passed.
Somewhere along the way, they had learned that the patient they were working on was the tour guide and had thrown herself in the way of several falling rocks in order to save a child. The child’s mother was the one who had just lost the arm, but the child herself was safe and mostly unhurt. That only made them that much more determined to make sure that this patient survived the surgery. Hours passed, and electricity ran through them as they worked together as one. Finally, they had done all they could, and the guide was wheeled to recovery with steady vital signs.
Exhausted, they both went into the scrub area to scrub out, though the tension was back between them. They attempted small talk, speculating about the cause of the cave-in, but it was too arduous.
“I’m sorry,” Jane finally said.
“What are you sorry for now?” Rosalind said and rolled her eyes. She turned her dark eyes on Jane and for a moment Jane thought she couldn’t breathe.
“I’m sorry for being so crazy,” Jane said quickly before she lost her nerve, or worse yet became angry or upset.
