“Did it stick you?” I bark, darting forward.
June removes the needle with her gloved hand while the other nurse rolls Snow’s sleeve up.
A single red pinprick stains her skin while a single drop of blood wells from the dot and trickles slowly down her arm.
Oh,no.
9
SNOW
In the chaos of the patient’s distress, one of the needles ended up in my arm.
I didn’t feel it.
I didn’t even notice it until June gently retracted it from my sleeve.
Xander’s cool touch quickly replaces the other nurse’s warm hand around my wrist as he steps forward, his face contorted with worry.
It’s the first time I’ve seen him display a real emotion on his face rather than just a flicker in the eyes.
He’s worried.
I should be worried.
But it doesn’t seem real.
The dangerous implications of being stuck by a used needle from an unknown patient burst through the back of my mind likeflipping through the onboarding pamphlet I got when I started working here.
But none of it sticks.
It’s like I’ve suddenly ejected from my body and joined the sympathetic crowd standing around the poor person who got stuck with the needle.
“Snow?” Xander’s voice is firm. “Come with me.”
His grip remains on my arm, and he guides me away from the doctor now tending to the now unconscious patient.
I glimpse June’s sympathetic look and then the rush of the hospital swallows me in a daze until Xander brings me to a quiet consultation room and closes the door.
“We, uh…” My voice returns when Xander gently eases me onto the bed. “We need to take blood. And tell someone, I need to, uh?—”
“Don’t panic,” Xander says, and I immediately resent the insinuation.
“I’m notpanicking.”
“Good.” Xander’s cool touch slides up to my elbow and he adjusts my arm to take a look at the area.
A shiver shoots through me suddenly, causing my shoulders to jolt.
His touch pauses. “Are you in pain?”
“No. It’s just… your hands are cold.”
“So I’ve been told. If it’s too uncomfortable, I can get someone else.”
“No,” I say abruptly. “It’s fine.” I don’t want him to leave. Despite still feeling like I’m observing from afar, Xander’s quick movements to take care of me actually warm my heart and become my focus despite the seriousness of the situation. My mind latches onto anything that stops me from thinking about the resulting danger of a used needle.
“I need to take some blood for tests. Then we need to get you some antibiotics to cover all the immediate dangers and some medication to cover other possibilities as a precaution until your results come back.”
