Officer Drane sobered. “Should be here any minute.”
“Good, because Doris is hurt.” He hurried back down the alley to check on her. He found Travis leaning over her, gently shaking her.
“Grandma, wake up. Please wake up.”
Todd eased the young man to the side and knelt beside Doris. Her chest was moving slightly in a stuttered up and down motion, so he shifted to checking for breathing.
Where was the ambulance?
He wasn’t qualified to try to keep her alive.
Finally he heard sirens in the distance drawing closer. “Stay with your Grandma, and I’ll lead the paramedics back here.”
Travis nodded, and Todd pushed to his feet. Then he hurried to the mouth of the alley to direct the ambulance closer. It was going to be another long night. As he watched paramedics bring a stretcher and equipment toward Doris, he prayed it wouldn’t end in more tragedy.
CHAPTER 20
The sound of a bed clicking in place woke Bridget. Where was she? She rubbed her eyes and then looked up to see a male CNA adjusting the blankets around Eliza’s chin.
Bridget sat up quickly. “What are you doing?”
“Just making sure our patient is comfortable.” He patted the girl’s hand gently. “Don’t let the bandages scare you. The recovery nurse wanted me to let you know she’s doing well. And the night watch ICU nurse will be in shortly. She’s with another patient right now but should be in here in just a few minutes.”
Bridget forced herself to relax. “Thank you.”
“No problem, ma’am. She’ll be fine. We take good care of our patients.”
She followed him to the door and noted Jon had fallen asleep. Poor guy had to be tired, but she needed him to do his job and stay alert. She needed to know that someone was watching out for their safety. She checked her phone, but no one had texted with updates. As far as she knew, Todd didn’t have a way to reach her, but surely someone would have let her know if anything had changed.
She nudged Jon on the shoulder, and the man jerked awake.
“What?” He bolted to his feet, then swayed. When he spotted her, his cheeks flushed with color. “I fell asleep?”
“You did.”
He ran a hand over his face. “My youngest has been sick, but that’s no excuse.” The man grimaced. “Let me run to the restroom, and I’ll stand the rest of the night. That’ll keep me up.”
“It’ll keep you upright anyway.”
He tilted his head to the side, then nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
She watched him walk down the hall towards the bathroom, then reentered Eliza’s room. The girl looked so still as she lay against the pillow, her head partially shaved and a large bandage covering part of her head. Her breathing was steady, but Bridget noted the oxygen tubing. She sank onto the recliner as she felt light-headed.
Please let me have made the right choice for her.
Dr. Lyons hadn’t left her with much room to navigate, but now that she saw the aftermath of the surgery, she felt sick to realize what she had allowed them to do to the girl.
“Alive after a surgery is better than the alternative.”
Bridget looked up at the quiet voice. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”
The night nurse calmly wrote her name, Rainey, on the whiteboard. “I promise it’s not as bad as it looks. I’ve looked at her chart, and Eliza did well. You did the right thing.”
“I’ll have to take your word for it.” Bridget blew out a steady stream of air. “I’m not usually such a ninny, but I really hate hospitals, and I haven’t gotten to leave all day.”
“Has your head started pounding again?” The woman pulled a couple of tablets from her pocket. “The chart mentioned that I should check on your status, too, because you weren’t likely to complain or mention your own trauma from earlier today.”
“It’s minor compared to what she experienced.”
