Page 17 of Holiday Haven

“No problem.” Obviously her boss had figured out how attached she'd become to baby Joy. She found Emily and accompanied her colleague in bedside shift report on each of the three patients.

“Baby Joseph has been diagnosed with mumps, he's just shy of two years old. His mother had several older kids at home, and the father is working long hours to make ends meet, so she's not around as much.”

They took a moment to examine the baby together, then moved on.

“Brittany is a seven-month-old being evaluated for failure to thrive. Her mother is working but stops by around four o’clock in the afternoon.”

They moved to the third room. “Joy is doing very well—her fever is gone, and her cough is getting better. She has auditory testing scheduled for later today.”

“Thanks Emily.” One of the reasons Krista liked this unit was because there was always a wide variety of illnesses to learn about. In normally the babies weren't so sick although Denny had been the exception. She wondered how he was doing, but didn’t want to dwell on the possibility he was already gone.

She'd barely reviewed all her patients charts and the recent orders when Adam strolled in. Her chest tightened when she saw him. He looked incredibly handsome in a shirt, tie, dress trousers and a white lab coat. She prayed her reaction wasn't obvious. “Hi, Adam.”

“Krista, how are you?”

“Great. Are you here to see Joy?” She knew he wasn't the attending physician on either of her other two patients.

“Yes, I ordered preliminary auditory testing for her today.” He smiled and fell into step beside her as they walked into Joy's room. “I’m anxious to see the results.”

“They haven't called for her yet,” she said in an apologetic tone. “Do you want me to call down to see if I can get her moved up on the schedule?”

“No need, it's not a big deal. I'm sure you're busy.” Adam glanced at Joy. She had left the baby propped upright in the infant's seat, still in the croup tent after she'd taken her bottle.

She felt bad that he'd come all this way to see test results that weren't even done yet. But she also didn’t have time to linger. “I need to check on my other patients. Joseph is doing alright, but Brittany didn't eat well this morning.”

“Brittany Meyer?” Adam turned to face her. When she nodded, he went on. “I need to examine her, too. My partner is out of town for the day at his wife's grandfather's funeral. I'm covering his patients.”

She should have remembered that George Cumberland was Adam's partner. After months of not having any of Adam's patients, it was a little crazy that she seemed to be interacting with him on almost every shift she worked now.

“Would you like to examine Joy first, or go and see Brittany?”

“Joy seems to be doing fine, if you're worried about Brittany, we'd better see her first.”

She appreciated how he seemed to trust her professional nursing judgment. “Brittany is in room 620, just down the hall.”

“How much nutrition Brittany take this morning?” Adam asked as they made the short trip down the hall.

“Only three ounces, not nearly enough for a seven-month-old. She doesn’t like to eat solids at all. Emily tried a little fruit and cereal this morning, but she wasn't interested.”

“Hmm.” Adam frowned. “When was she admitted?”

“Last evening. I don't think Dr. Cumberland has ordered much in the way of tests for her.” Krista approached the crib, dropping the side so Adam could get access to Brittany. The phone on her hip rang, and she turned from him to answer it.

“This is the auditory lab. We're ready for Joy Smith,” the woman said.

“Be right there.” Krista disconnected and glanced at Adam. I have to take Joy downstairs. Is there anything you need for Brittany before I go?”

“No, I'm fine. Go ahead, I'm sure I'll catch up with you later.”

She nodded and went to fetch Joy. She stayed with the baby through the testing, and by the time she returned Joy to her room, it was close to lunchtime. She checked on Brittany and squashed her disappointment when she discovered Adam had left. He'd entered a series of orders, though, so she quickly went through them on the computer and made a mental list of tasks that needed to be completed. She was late for her lunch break because she took the time to make sure Brittany’s IV fluids were started before heading down to the cafeteria.

“Shirley?” She called out to the social worker who stood ahead of her in the line. “Do you mind if I ask a few questions over lunch?”

“Of course.” Shirley waited for her to catch up and they found a small table for the two of them. “What's wrong? Is this about Joy?”

“Yes,” Krista confessed. She toyed with her grilled chicken sandwich. “Remember a few months back when I applied to be a foster parent for kids?

“I remember.” Shirley dug into her cheeseburger with gusto.

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