"I left messages on all Randy's numbers. The clerk is still trying. I don't think she understands. The residents are scared."
"They should be. Was the pregnancy test negative?"
"Cancelled. I ordered the sonogram because I had trouble managing her. The Dufours are on their way, but she's tanking. She has to go back to the OR."
"This is gross negligence. I'll visit Austin first. Keep trying to reach him. By then the Dufours will be here. Can you reserve an OR?”
Martin kept an eye on Austin from the recliner in the dim room. Elizabeth never turned his way; her eyes stayed fixed on her patient. After checking in with the perfusionist monitoring the ECMO, she said, "Hi, Austin, glad to see you."
"He can't answer you." Martin's words dripped with sarcasm.
She jumped. "Marty."
"I thought you realized I was here." His tone remained clipped.
"No, I didn't." Air whooshed from her lungs. "You stayed?"
"Yes, Captain Obvious."
A shaky hand ran over her scrub cap. "I don't want to make this any harder on you or your family. Do you want me to put Austin on my colleague's service?"
"Kind of you to think of sparing us this time." He fired the direct hit to burn a hole in her gut. "No, I talked to the nurses, to Doctors Caine and Gerba, and also did some research. Keep treating him."
"No problem." Elizabeth explained everything she did to Austin and Martin as her skilled hands moved over Austin's battered body.
Tommy Kline, the unit’s head, stepped into the room. "Do you need anything?"
"Thanks, Tommy. He's oozing. Run another set of counts and page hematology. C'mon, Austin, hang in a little more. Also, I'll put in for a repeat x-ray series to scan for any additional shrapnel. Some of the fragments were very small. Infectious disease should be in soon. I'm covering him with antibiotics, but I want another opinion."
"He's on every service except OB," Tommy joked.
"If he requires an OB, I'm screwed.” She chuckled and looked at Austin with glazed-over eyes.
"Beth?" A one-thousand-mile stare caught Tommy's attention. "Beth?"
"I'm sorry, thinking."
"Mr. Bailey, don't be alarmed; Dr. Reed does that," Tommy assured Martin.
"Yeah, she does." The words came out before he could stop himself. The Elizabeth he remembered was a thinker. In class, she stared off into space so often that a teacher once thought she was stoned.
Tommy glanced at them like he was trying to figure out what was going on between them. "So, Doc, what's the plan?"
Elizabeth outlined her expectations for the next forty-eight hours as well as her concerns. "Mr. Walter is coming in today. He will tell you I'm out of the box by keeping him cold and on anticoagulants, but he was down awhile. I want to give his brain a chance for maximum recovery."
"Called ECMO a gutsy move. Chief surgeon at George Washington University, Hunt Montgomery, agrees too." Martin stood and moved to her side. A light floral and vanilla scent tickled his nostrils. His body betrayed him by responding, desiring her in his arms.
"Marty, I saved Austin's vest. Any idea how close the shooter was?"
"No."
She cocked her head. "We only recovered shards. My guess, either military or law enforcement ordnance. Plus, the location of the shots..." She lifted her arms and turned, pointing to where she found entry wounds. "Your family looks well. You do too."
"Thank you. Sorry about your mom."
"No need to be. I'll be around for another hour if you have any questions."
Martin swiped his face with his hands, returning to sit beside Austin. Her words about the wounds worried him—and Elizabeth—he wanted to hate her, needed to hate her. His will was fading. He would always need her.
