Elizabeth spoke with Tommy outside Austin's room. "This is going to be a shit show. I'm gonna take Viola to the OR as soon as I can, but this is a lose/lose."
Tommy nodded. "This isn't your fault."
"This is beyond fault. She's only sixteen."
Elizabeth conferenced with the obstetrical surgeon. "The raging infection will kill her in the OR."
"The ectopic will kill her if we don't."
"Lousy choice. She's too ill to make her own decisions. We need to make sure her parents are informed," Lois conceded. "Call me when they come in."
The monitor at the nurse's station started to flash and alarm. Viola Dufour's heart was fibrillating. "CODE BLUE." Elizabeth rushed to the young girl's room with a crowd. Virginia and Miles followed on her heels.
Elizabeth grabbed the equipment and began her rescue efforts. After time exceeded the hour mark, her colleagues pulled her from the bedside at the sound of the droning alarm. Her blood-spattered yellow gown and a pair of bloody gloves hit the floor in anger. Anguish suffused her expression, and Miles tried to soothe her as her hands swatted at angry tears. Virginia, the other intensivist, remained in the room, and the clergyman walked toward the dead girl, lowering his head in prayer. An aide pulled the curtains.
Martin stood in Austin's doorway.
"Beth, you did what you could, more than anyone should in an ICU room. Her body stopped clotting. The heart fell apart in your hands. Why don't you take the rest of the day? You’re exhausted. You worked twenty hours yesterday," Miles said.
"I need to speak to her parents. Tell them their child is dead. Randy murdered her. The evaluation and procedure were rushed." The words came out loud and furious.
"Beth, take the rest of the day," he pleaded.
"I'll be fine. There are other sick people in the unit. I also need to see the cases on the floor, attend two meetings, round and keep an appointment. All providing a trauma doesn't come in. Then an ME review to go over pediatric deaths. Sleep is for tomorrow."
Reverend Brookfield eavesdropped on Miles and Elizabeth's conversation. "Dr. Reed, Sorry for your loss. I'm checking in to tell you I'm always available." He gave Elizabeth a creepy smile.
"Thank you. All is well," she insisted.
"Well, remember, my dear, you are not alone." Brookfield got up. "Proverbs 21:19: It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman."
Elizabeth bit back a response to the Reverend's words. The pastor always left her uneasy. She pulled the lid off and gulped down her cold coffee as the clerk informed her Hal and Cecile Dufour had arrived.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Pressing up from her seat, she approached Viola’s parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Dufour, may I speak with you, please?"
"Elizabeth, we want to see our daughter. Miles called us." Hal Dufour pushed his wife to pass her.
"Mr. and Mrs. Dufour, please." Sad eyes spoke before she did. "Viola died; I am so sorry."
The curtains were pulled, blocking any view of Viola's room. "MY BABY!" Hal Dufour screamed.
Cecile Dufour shook Elizabeth violently by her shoulders and screamed, "You killed our daughter!"
Visitors, including Martin, witnessed the painful public display unfold. Miles Gerba and Reverend Brookfield rushed to help defuse things and escort the Dufours to a more secluded space.
"What happened? She had appendicitis, for the Lord's sake," cried Viola's anguished father.
"Viola suffered from a severe infection caused by the rupture of her appendix during the operation. The infection caused a severe vascular collapse, but there was another complication. Were you aware Viola was six weeks pregnant?"
Cecile Dufour slapped Elizabeth hard across the face. "You bitch, after what Hal did for you, how could you say that about my sweet girl?"
Miles jumped up from his seat. "Out of here, Beth." The conference door reverberated, hitting the wall. "Dr. Caine, make sure Dr. Reed isn't hurt. And then please page security."
"Stop worrying, Miles; she's distraught." She felt no anger toward either of the Dufours. Emotions from the loss of a child were all too familiar to her.
She sat at the nurse’s station, trying to control her own emotions at the senseless loss. Reactive tears from the blow blinded Elizabeth's eyes, and a red palm print was visible on her cheek. A nursing assistant brought her an ice pack to hold against the bruise. Two men from hospital security arrived to take the report, but she refused to say anything other than Cecile Dufour struck her in grief. The only crime was what Randy did to Viola. The couple, the clergyman, and two more doctors walked to Viola's room. Shrieks echoed, piercing Elizabeth’s heart. Martin continued watching from the threshold of Austin's room.
"Please, Dr. Reed." Connor examined her as well and offered to take over her caseload.
