Page 3 of Beneath Her Hands
“Alright, you two,” Doctor Mars announced, and the room went still. Rosalind and Dr. Roberts still glared at each other, but neither of them spoke. “I’m taking Doctor Maxwell down to her area and giving her a tour, would you like to join us?” Doctor Mars looked pointedly at Dr. Maxwell.
“I have work to do,” she huffed and quickly left the office.
“Looks like you’re making friends all over the hospital,” Doctor Mars mused at Rosalind, who just shook her head. Doctor Roberts was gorgeous, but Rosalind already dreaded working alongside her.
Doctor Mars led Rosalind out of the office and down a small hallway into the Emergency Department. It was small and had an even smaller waiting room where only about three people sat waiting for assistance, though Rosalind could not see what had brought them in, certainly nothing too serious. She was introduced to several more nurses—she would have to work harder at learning their names—and shown into the trauma rooms adjacent to the ER. Two were set up for surgery, and two were for first aid care. The ambulance bays were directly attached to the hallway, giving the paramedics the choice of bringing them straight to the trauma rooms if necessary, and at the moment they were all empty and clean.
“I know this won’t be the most exciting place to work, especially compared to what you are used to,” Doctor. Mars said as they finally ended their tour at Rosalind’s office just down a short hallway from the ER and trauma wards. “And despite what you’ve seen,” Doctor Mars pressed her lips together, “the staff here is better than most. I have full faith in them; I wouldn’t hirethem otherwise. That is one thing I can say for this hospital, we have the luxury of choosing, and I only accept the best. That’s why you’re here.”
It felt like something of a back-handed compliment, but Rosalind’s shoulders straightened nonetheless. “I’ll do my best,” Rosalind said as she glanced around her small office.
“I know,” Doctor Mars said with conviction. “I’ll leave you to it then. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will, thank you,” Rosalind said and took a seat behind the empty desk. Doctor Mars nodded at her and left, her heels clicking softly down the hallway. Rosalind looked around at the bare walls, her mind spinning. She knew coming into this that it was going to be an adjustment, but she was beginning to question if it was going to be worth it. Maybe it would be easier just to take a sabbatical to get her parents sorted out then leave again. The people here were all sonice. She wasn’t sure she would be able to deal with it. Small talk, pleasantries, all the general niceties of living within the civilized world—she just wasn’t sure she could do it. She had hoped for a bit more understanding from the people around her. The things she’d seen—the violence, the trauma, the pointlessness of it all haunted her—no one here would ever be able to understand. They would just see her as cold, or worse, mean. Kellie would come around, she seemed like the kind of no-nonsense leader Rosalind knew how to talk to, and Dr. Mars could empathize, even if she didn’t understand. Doctor Roberts, though—Jane—beautiful, frosty as hell, a pain in the ass… yes….that woman was going to be a problem.
2
Jane
Jane waited at the office for Dr. Mars to conclude her tour of the hospital with the new trauma doctor. She couldn’t remember her first name. Rosie? Ramona? Something. It didn’t matter—with an attitude like that she wouldn’t last long here. This was a sleepy, small city, not some war-torn wasteland. Of course, Jane had heard all about the new doctor’s heroic antics globally, but she wasn’t impressed. At least she tried to convince herself of that. What she hadn’t been expecting, though, was how beautiful the new doctor was. Dark and ethereal, her eyes were deep and haunting. Her dark hair peppered with gray and cut in a severe pixie. Despite the history of working in war-torn villages all over the world, the lines of her face were from someone who smiled often, and not the fake-sincere of the polite world, someone who found joy where there seemed none could possibly exist. Full hips and strong shoulders gave the appearance of strength, resilience. Against her own will, Jane admitted to herself that what Dr. Maxwell had done with her life was heroic. Still, if she was going to make it here in this hospital,she would need to learn to live within the confines of civilization again.
Doctor Mars came walking up the hallway, and Jane immediately noticed the change in her expression. She was pensive and thoughtful, maybe even slightly aggravated. It made Jane feel good, though. Not that she annoyed Dr. Mars, but that her presence was enough to set her off kilter. Doctor Mars knew she was right; she’d been asking for at least one more nurse for months now. One of hers was currently on maternity leave, which should not be a problem, but they were so short-staffed in the emergency department that losing the one nurse had almost crippled them. They needed another nurse, that was all there was to it.
“Did Sergeant Pepper enjoy the tour?” Jane asked with a smirk.
“You will show her the respect she deserves, Doctor Roberts,” Dr. Mars answered as she opened her office door.
The chastisement stung, but Dr. Mars was right, that was uncalled for. “Do you think she’s going to make it here?” Jane asked instead.
“Given the chance, yes, Doctor Maxwell’s an amazing surgeon and will be a good addition to our staff, and I’m hoping that it will take some of the burden off you.” Dr. Mars pulled off her coat and hung it on the peg behind her before sitting down. She gestured for Jane to have a seat as well, but Jane was not planning on staying long. “You’re going to have to be patient with her, though, this is a lot different from what she’s done in the military, it’s going to take some adjusting, for all of us.”
“Her father is sick?” Jane tried to remember all the rumors and speculation flying around about the exotic new war doctor coming to join their staff.
“That’s her business, if you want to know you should ask her,” Dr. Mars said, irritation flashed across her face.
Jane blinked a few times trying to figure out what had gotten into her, she wasn’t usually the type to feed into workplace gossip. “Fine, what about my nurse?” Jane asked again, though she knew the answer. Jane just hoped that if she kept bothering her enough Dr. Mars would give in and hire another one.
“I’m meeting with Kellie this afternoon,” Dr. Mars said and waved her away. “We will see what we can do.”
“I’m not calling Shandi back early,” Jane warned, but Dr. Mars just glared at her until she finally left the office. As Jane walked down the corridor back toward the Emergency Department. She thought about stopping in to talk to Dr. Maxwell again but decided against it. She would give her some space to get acclimated, at least that’s what she tried to convince herself. It had nothing to do with the way the woman’s appearance had sparked something inside her, something primal. Of course it had nothing to do with that. She just needed her space. Besides, after their heated exchange, Dr. Maxwell probably didn’t want to see her anyway. Still, Jane could almost feel her presence at the end of the short hallway.
Jane walked through the heavy doors of the emergency department to the sight of nurses moving steadily between the handful of patients, checking vitals and adjusting IVs. Jane leaned over a chart at the front desk, scanning lab results before approaching the nurse’s station. Monitors beeped softly, filling the quiet space where only a few beds are occupied. A receptionist answered a rare phone call and shuffled through paperwork, her voice low against the hum of fluorescent lights. The staff spoke calmly, moving with unhurried precision, ready for the next patient who might walk through the door.
“Sandra, go take a nap,” Jane said as she approached the nurses’ station.
“I’m alright, Doctor Roberts,” Sandra insisted. She was young, only recently graduated. Jane shuddered at the thoughtthat she was only half Jane’s age. She had dark hair and bronze skin, beautiful in her own way, though her exhaustion showed in the darker circles underneath her eyes. Still, she seemed like barely more than a child.
“Go, Sandra, I’ll page you if I need you,” Jane said. The nurse nodded and left the station, presumably heading to one of the on-call rooms for a cat-nap and maybe some coffee. Jane thought that coffee actually sounded pretty good at the moment. She glanced at the people waiting in the ER and decided to wait. She sorted through Sandra’s papers and called the next person in line. She went ahead and took all the vitals and asked all the questions, the things the nurses were generally responsible for, but she could handle them for now. She put the next patient in a room and moved on to the next. Once she had the waiting room cleared, she made a quick stop by the coffee machine then headed on the next round, ordering prescriptions and writing out orders. The cases were simple enough, a sprained wrist needed an X-ray, a child that looked like he had a stomach virus. She ordered some fluids for the poor kid since he looked so rough, and a twisted ankle from a hiker, another X-ray. She could do these things with her eyes closed.
Jane couldn’t seem to get Dr. Maxwell off her mind, though. The woman intrigued her much more than she wanted to admit, and part of her still itched to go down the hall and talk to her. She needed to introduce herself properly, of course, but she had to finish the things that needed to be done here. Dr. Maxwell would emerge at some point, she was sure. Jane sipped her coffee and tapped away at the computer screen, waiting for X-rays and lab results.
Jane spent her time here as a general ER doctor, though she was also trained as a trauma surgeon, her title was actually lead trauma surgeon, but she was also head of the Emergency Department, and for the last few years that job had takenprecedence. She was still able to get into the operating room from time to time, but there was one other trauma surgeon on staff, and honestly there wasn’t that much of a need for more than that. With no money in the budget for an extra nurse, Jane wondered why Dr. Mars would bring on another surgeon. Dr. Mars wasn’t usually the type to let personal concerns lead her decisions, but she was pretty sure Dr. Mars and Dr. Maxwell’s father were friends, so maybe that’s all it was, a favor for a friend.
Jane usually made it a point to stay out of other’s personal lives, which was difficult to do in this small city, but she found herself speculating more and more about why Dr. Maxwell was here in the first place. It didn’t make sense, but Dr. Mars usually had a reason to make the decisions she did. Jane had learned the hard way after working with her for a couple of years that questioning Dr. Mars only led to embarrassment further down the line. Somehow, Dr. Mars was always able to see the larger picture, and the decisions she made worked out in the long run. Though, sometimes Jane questioned how much of that was simply luck. The whole situation still had the appearance of nepotism.
Everyone knew Robert Maxwell—he was something of a legend in Phoenix Ridge. He owned several businesses. If the rumors were true, he’d started off with a small outdoor equipment store and built up from there. He owned that one, which had turned into a chain with multiple stores through the state, a farm supply store, and a furniture store. At least, that Jane was aware of, but he may as well be royalty among the population of Phoenix Ridge. Of course, anyone who knew him or his wife was told about the amazing and heroic Rosalind Maxwell. That was her name, Rosalind. Hearing from the older Maxwells, Rosalind was some sort of saint, or superhero, or both. Jane pressed her lips together, was she actually jealous?Jane took that thought and rolled it around in her mind. It was possible.
Jane had grown up here in Phoenix Ridge, rarely venturing out from it. She’d gone to med school in Denver and had attended a couple of conferences out of state, but otherwise she’d never really left. She had been courted by the Navy while she was in college, and came close to accepting a contract with them, but one of her sisters had gotten sick and Jane was needed back home. Her sister had pulled through, though it was a difficult couple of years, helping out with her nieces and nephews, and by the time it was all over she had established herself as one of the more prominent doctors here at Phoenix Ridge.
