Page 6 of Beneath Her Hands
“For shouting, for calling you names, it was… unprofessional,” Jane said.
“That’s it?” Rosalind snapped and tapped the sink with her elbow to shut off the water. She turned and grabbed a towel to dry her hands.
“Yes, that’s it,” Jane said and turned off her water. She stepped closer to grab her own towel. Rosalind should have given her space, but she was too angry. She could feel Jane’s warmth against her as she stood there. Jane turned to face her, forcing Rosalind to look up slightly to meet her eyes. She could feel Jane’s breath on her cheek. Heat surged through her, anger, fury, something else she couldn’t quite name.
“Doctors, we have more coming in.” Doctor Mars was suddenly at the door ripping Rosalind from her thoughts, blurry as they were. “The crash caused a pile up.”
“Round two?” Jane asked, and her lips curled into a smile, completely throwing Rosalind off what little balance she’d managed to hold on to. That smile was captivating, and Rosalind caught herself with her gaze lingering on Jane’s lips. She fought the urge to kiss her, though Jane didn’t make any attempt to move away.
“Round two,” she almost whispered, afraid to move or speak any further. Jane slid back, seeming to glide across the floor, and Rosalind followed her out the door.
The emergency room was buzzing with life, apparently Dr. Mars had called in several of the staff from other departmentsto help out. There were at least six other patients in the waiting room, all appearing to be accident victims, though their injuries were much less severe. Rosalind’s heart still raced from how close she had been to Jane, and she had to fight to get the thought of kissing those blood-red lips out of her mind. She must be losing it. Somewhere in there, the heat of rage had turned into something else, something more primal. Despite active attempts to control herself, she would look for Jane out of the corner of her eye, catching the occasional glimpse of her as she treated the patients. She tried to throw herself into the work, stitching and bandaging lacerations on arms, legs, even a scalp, but these were so routine that it let her mind wander, and without realizing it, she would be watching Jane as she went from room to room, seeming to glide across the floor with perfect precision. Her expression never changed, a strange mix of compassion and determination that she wore for the patients.
“Doctor Maxwell?” a voice called out behind her. “Doctor Maxwell?”
Rosalind was ripped from her thoughts. She shook her head to try and rid her mind of them before turning to Kellie standing at the door. “Yes?”
“We have another one coming in. Doctor Mars told me to come find you,” Kellie said. Her face was lined with worry. It made sense that she would be good at her job; she seemed to have compassion for everyone, patients and staff. Though it only seemed to push a deeply ingrained determination. Rosalind admired that.
“Thank you, I’m on my way,” Rosalind said and quickly finished bandaging her patient. She headed for the bay doors and found Dr. Mars and Jane waiting for her again. “What have we got?” she said, trying to avoid Jane’s eyes.
“One of our paramedics was hit while trying to assist a patient,” Doctor Mars said, her voice grim. Rosalind could see the anger simmering behind the words. “She’s in bad shape.”
“This one’s all you, sergeant,” Jane said. It was meant to sound flippant, but Rosalind could hear the pain in her voice. Rosalind nodded. They must know the patient well to be deferring to her—this was someone important to them. A wave of determination washed over her; she would not let them down.
Rosalind could hear the ambulance approaching. Doctor Mars and Jane stepped out of the way as Rosalind pulled on the trauma gown and tied it. The ambulance pulled in and the paramedic jumped out, her face pale with fear. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.
“Report!” Rosalind barked and something jump-started in the paramedic.
“Thirty-two-year-old female, struck by an auto, she was thrown several yards across the pavement. Multiple broken bones, lacerations, she’s… she’s… The bastard didn’t even slow down.”
“I don’t need commentary. What are the stats?”
That seemed to shake the paramedic out of her stupor once again. She began to rattle off the vital signs, and Rosalind’s heart dropped. It didn’t look good.
“Get her to MRI and OR, now!” she almost shouted. The paramedic looked on the verge of tears, but she set to work. They got the patient down from the ambulance and ran her through the hospital at top speed. Rosalind had never seen a team work together so quickly. They moved her through the MRI and had her prepped before Rosalind was scrubbed. A nurse was hanging the images as Rosalind walked into the room. Somehow, her head was clear, but there were multiple broken ribs, a punctured lung, and one of them was dangerously close to puncturing thepatient’s aorta. Rosalind didn’t think, she jumped in and began repairing everything she could see.
The next several hours were a blur with other doctors and nurses in and out of the OR assisting where they could and bringing Rosalind everything she needed. She made it through the chest and worked her way down repairing organs, arteries, veins. She had to remove part of the liver that had been punctured, and somehow managed to reinflate the lung, but the patient still was not stable. She found multiple bleeders, and it was a miracle that they were able to keep enough blood in the patient to keep her heart beating, but somehow they did. Rosalind barked orders, shouted at nurses, but this time, no one bothered with taking offense. They didn’t care. All they wanted was to see their friend survive this, and Rosalind was going to make damn sure she did.
Eventually, finally, there was nothing left to repair. Rosalind looked back at the MRI images again, just to make sure, but the woman’s vital signs were stable, her heart had a strong rhythm, her blood pressure was normal, oxygen good. When Rosalind looked up, there was a sea of faces behind the glass. When they started applauding, Rosalind finally noticed how exhausted she felt. Her feet hurt, her back and neck were stiff, her hands started to cramp. She struggled to stay standing as she stepped away from the table and removed her gloves and gown. As she scrubbed out, she searched the faces, but Jane’s was nowhere to be found. Her disappointment surprised her.
“How long was I in there?” Rosalind asked when she finally emerged. Most of the crowd had dispersed, following the paramedic down the hallway and into recovery.
“Almost six hours,” Dr. Mars answered.
“Are you serious?” Rosalind asked, though she could feel it in her bones now.
“Yes, and I think you’ve earned the gratitude of the entire staff. Leslie is well-known around here,” Doctor Mars said, handing Rosalind a towel.
“Leslie,” Rosalind repeated, more to herself than Dr. Mars.
“Leslie Rohannon,” Dr. Mars continued. “Her mother is a nurse here, and she’s been in this hospital more than anyone I know. She knew when she was only about twelve that she wanted to be a paramedic; she was fascinated by them. She took all the medical classes that were offered in school, everyone thought she’d be a doctor someday, but she wanted to be on the front line. There are few people in this city that aren’t grateful to her for helping, if not saving, a loved one. She did her training right out of high school and has been in an ambulance ever since. She leads several search and rescue teams, also. You might even get a medal out of this.”
“I don’t want a medal,” Rosalind said, shaking her head. “I just hope she pulls through; it’s up to her now.”
“She’s a fighter,” Doctor Mars said, her eyes glazed over with emotion. “If anyone can, it’s her.” Doctor Mars put her hand on Rosalind’s shoulder. “But you need to go home and get some sleep, you’ve had one hell of a first day here.”
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Rosalind said and attempted to smile.
