"Good job. Thanks. " He removed her clothing to complete his exam. "She’s tiny. I'll order something for that rash. I need labs and x-rays too," he advised the nurse.
"I'll find a crib and a volunteer, but...Doctor Hedges," she read his nametag, “we need you."
Patrick picked up his phone. "Martin, can you come down to the ER? I need some help."
"Whatever you need."
"Come down, and I'll explain. I'm in the ER.” He headed to his next victim.
"Doctor Hedges, go to room three on the adult side," the unit secretary pointed.
In room three, he found an eighty-one-year-old male suffering from minor burns, and by the way he was lying in the bed, Patrick could see he had a fractured hip. "Hello, sir. I'm Doctor Hedges. Are you Mel?" He shook the man's hand while looking at the ambulance slip. "Are you having any chest pain or trouble breathing?"
"All I have is a pain in my ass. I need to find my granddaughter and great-granddaughter. I'm telling you, if that piece of garbage didn't die in the fire, I'll kill him myself."
Patrick listened to his heart and lungs. "What happened?" He made small talk to assess if Mel was using any extra effort to talk and breathe.
"Our trailer park used to be a very nice place to live, until that meth head and some of his friends moved in—the guy on the news who threatened the doctor. They let the bum out. Some mistake. His place blew sky high, and it took a bunch of other trailers with it. I fell over my footstool getting out. My granddaughter Shelly and her baby were in the trailer beside his. No one will tell me anything." Mel grimaced.
Patrick thought of the little one he just worked on. "How old is the baby? I'll try to find out."
"Lola, she's the sweetest thing. Big blue eyes. She's only a month old."
"Mel, I need to order some blood work and some films, but I think you fractured your hip. Is there a family member I can call for you?"
"I have my phone. I tried Shelly, but the call went to voicemail. She's my granddaughter. That bastard hooked her. She couldn't stop, and Lola had troubles after she was born. I'll try my girlfriend, Myra. She's a real doll. She lives in the Peace of Heaven Gardens on the other side of Silverton."
Patrick asked, "How much pain are you in?" Mel rolled his hand back and forth. "How about I give you a little something for it? They’re going to move you a bit."
As soon as he exited the room, he was handed his next chart. The ER was in controlled chaos. Martin was standing off to the side of the nurse's station. "This was some explosion. What blew?"
"My last patient said a trailer exploded, taking a bunch more with it. I think it was Jasper Satanta's."
"The animal should be in jail."
"I don't know, but I need your help. My first patient is in guarded condition, and a bed isn't available for her yet. She needs to be monitored. Come with me; you'll understand. Martin Bailey, meet Baby Girl Doe."
"What do you need me to do?" He took in the sooty little one.
"Babysit, Uncle Martin. Could you make some calls too? We could use some volunteers. We have a lot of families involved in this mess." Patrick shook his head. "Nearest anyone can tell, her mom died. Information is sketchy."
"Can she eat?"
"A little sugar water, at least until her tests come back. Call me if she has trouble breathing again." Patrick turned in the direction of his name being called.
"Got, um, diapers?" Martin asked.
Patrick shrugged.
Martin took advantage of the baby girl's nap. "Ford, an explosion occurred at a trailer park. Might be reason to believe Satanta was involved in the fire. Also, the ER is slammed with families. They’re looking for volunteers to help stay with some of the injured kids."
"I'm on it. Where are you?"
"I'm babysitting." Martin hung up to Ford's laugh.
Martin searched the room, then filled a basin with warm water and placed it on the counter. Next, he set up a bottle of sugar water. Blonde hair spilled in ringlets to the back of the baby’s neck. She looked like Grace.
"What a bad day for you." The baby stretched and yawned. A sneeze and a cough morphed into a weak cry. "Shush, shush, shush...you’re a smoky girl, aren't you? Let's fix that, and then we’ll try to eat."
