Page 38 of Holiday Haven

She really wished he had some left for his personal life as well.

CHAPTERTWELVE

Krista didn't see Adam again for several hours, although she couldn't seem to stop watching for him. She tried to concentrate on her small patients, who were more than enough to keep her busy.

After obtaining Olivia's urine specimen she sent it to the lab. The baby with suspected kidney failure certainly seemed fine, but the way her creatinine was creeping upward was concerning enough to keep the infant in the hospital until all the testing was complete.

Little Frankie Simmons worried her. He was the one-month-old baby who'd been admitted with a low grade fever. When she had first taken his temperature, it had been 100.8 Fahrenheit. Three hours later, his temperature was up to 102.8.

Holding the baby in her arms, she called doctor strong, Frankie’s pediatrician, to inform him of the spike in the boy’s fever. He ordered a lumbar puncture procedure to rule out aseptic meningitis. “I'll place the order. Ask the emergency department resident to do the LP and then call me back with the results.”

“I will.” She glanced down at Frankie, thinking how small he looked. His mother had run home for a few hours to check on her three-year old twins. She debated calling Ms. Simmons to let her know but then decided to wait. The procedure would likely be over before Mrs. Simmons could return to the hospital. And it was probably better this way. Lumbar punctures were not easy procedures for parents to watch.

Adam walked into the nurses’ station while she was waiting for Luis Garcia to return her page. She glanced at the clock, surprised to see him this late. It was well past seven in the evening. “You're still here?”

“Yeah.” He flashed a tired smile. “Lots of sick kids have been admitted over the past few days. It took me a while to make rounds on all of them.”

“I can imagine.” Even exhausted, he exuded an attractiveness that made her glance away and swallow hard. Why was she so in tune to his every mood? When the phone rang, she pounced on it. “This is Krista on Six South.”

“Luis Garcia. Did you page?”

“I did. Thanks for calling back. I have a 4-week-old infant by the name of Frankie Simmons who needs a lumbar puncture procedure. Dr. Strong would like you to do the procedure for him.”

“We’re swamped down here at the moment, and we're short a resident because someone called in sick. I'll do my best to get up there, but it may take me a few hours.”

“A few hours?” She grimaced in dismay. “For a lumbar puncture?”

“I'm sorry.” Luis sounded apologetic. “All I can do is to promise to be up as soon as I can.”

“I understand. Thanks.” Stifling a sigh, she replaced the receiver.

“What's wrong?” Adam asked.

She smoothed a hand down Frankie’s back. The baby was a virtual heating pad. Thinking of his fever only made her more frustrated. “This little guy needs a lumbar puncture, but the ED is swamped. Luis Garcia will come up as soon as he can, but it may take a few hours.”

“I'll do it.”

She blinked. “You will?”

“Why not? I'm here and have the time.”

She remembered the night Joy had been admitted, how Adam had performed her lumbar puncture and then, too. As an attending physician, he certainly had the privileges to do a lumbar puncture procedure. But Frankie wasn't his patient. Was there a rule about this? “I don't know, Frankie’s not your patient. I should probably wait until Luis can get here.”

“Who's the pediatrician of record?” Adam asked.

“Dr. Ronald Strong.”

“I know Ron pretty well. I'll call him. I'm sure he won't mind.”

She didn't know what to say as Adam pulled up Frankie’s chart on the computer then called his colleague to explain the situation. She couldn't understand why he was being so nice. Surely, he had better things to do on a Sunday night. Especially considering he'd spent a good portion of his day here at the hospital. She would have expected him to be home by now watching football on TV.

When he hung up the phone a few minutes later, he typed on the keyboard. “Ron is happy to have me perform the procedure. I've made a notation in Frankie’s chart to cover us in case anyone questions it.”

“Adam, why are you doing this?” She glanced around, making sure no one could overhear them. “Frankie’s lumbar puncture isn't your problem.”

“I don't like seeing you upset.” He offered a crooked smile and the intensity of his gaze made her realize he was doing this for her. And, of course, for Frankie. “Besides, it's not a big deal. Shall we get started?”

“Yes.” She wasn't going to argue because she didn't want Frankie to have to wait. She led the way down the hall to Frankie’s room and laid the baby in the crib so she could gather the supplies together. Adam helped, arranging the tray the way he liked it. As before, they worked well as a team. After getting everything they needed, she fetched Frankie and secured him to the procedure table.

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