Page 409 of The Doctors Will See You Now

“Dr. Raines,” Carol greeted as I rounded the corner and pushed through the doors into the recovery wing.

I smiled and lifted a hand, giving her a little wave. “Hey, Carol. How are you?”

Her neck flexed slightly, her chin moving in closer to her throat as she looked from me to the camera and back again. “Uh… Good, Dr. Raines.”

“Anything interesting and new in your life?” I asked, leaning my elbows onto the counter in between us.

Her hairline inched higher as she searched for the answer. I thought at first she was just uncomfortable with the camera.

“Well…my son just left for college. Exciting but scary at the same time.”

Her answer made me realize I hadn’t even known she had a son. Suddenly, her surprise and discomfort seemed natural. I’d never fucking asked her about herself.

No wonder she looks like I’ve been swallowed by an alien.

“That’s completely understandable. I can’t imagine what it’ll feel like when my own kid goes off to college.”

A little like a gasping fish, her mouth opened and closed several times before she decided against words and nodded instead. I guessed that was enough of the new Nick for today.

I blamed Charlotte for my good mood. That woman had latched herself on to my brain, and I couldn’t seem to go a single ten minutes before something as simple as her smile would pop into my head.

“Anything I need to know about for rounds?” I asked, bringing us back to the comfortably neutral zone we normally lived in. The one where I was demanding and she was five steps ahead of me.

A stack of files appeared from seemingly nowhere, her hand firmly attached to the other side of them. “Mr. Fields in Room 517 showed signs of short-term amnesia, but Dr. Johnson checked him an hour later, and everything seemed to be back to normal. Sarah Clark in 519 is resting mostly, but her family says she’s been acting like herself. Probably best to do a quick cognitive assessment, given her history, though.”

I nodded. Sarah Clark’s tumor removal several weeks ago had gone seemingly as planned. Dr. Forrest had performed the procedure when my emergency blunt force trauma had gone long, but I’d checked up on her post-op myself and everything had seemed normal.

Unfortunately, two weeks ago, they’d brought her back in after a small seizure, and after multiple tests and scans, we’d found a small bleed.

I’d gone back in myself to repair it, and everything had been going smoothly, but we’d kept her a little longer given her history of post-op complications just to make sure.

“All right.” I took the stack of folders from Carol’s hand and smacked them lightly on the counter in front of me. “Thanks, Carol.”

Sarah, I should mention, was only twenty-five years old and had her entire life ahead of her. I was a medical professional and a realist, but I’d be lying if I said her case didn’t hit a personal note inside of me as I pictured what it must feel like to be going through this so young—and what it must feel like for her parents to watch her go through it.

I didn’t like to see Lexi with a paper cut, and I was a doctor. I could only imagine how they felt about a fucking brain tumor.

I went straight to her door, double-checking the chart outside to make sure Carol had given me the right room number, and then knocked on the door three sharp times before turning the knob.

Sarah’s parents turned from their spots at her bedside, their hands in hers, and Sarah’s vivid, almost violet eyes moved to mine and brightened.

“Hi, Sarah,” I greeted. “Mr. and Mrs. Clark.”

Sarah’s parents nodded, but Sarah said, “Hey, Dr. Raines.”

“Hey,” I returned with a smile. “How are you feeling today?”

“Good. Really good, actually.”

“Excellent!” I clasped my hands and rubbed them together. “What do you say to a little trivia night, then, huh?”

“Trivia night?” she asked.

“Yep. I’ve got to do a little cognitive assessment on you today, and what better way than with a few trivia questions, right?”

She shrugged nervously. “I guess.”

I moved closer to the bed, on the side her father had moved away from to take up a position of sentry by the window. I touched Sarah’s arm lightly in comradery. “Trust me, you’re actually doing me a favor. I do a weekly trivia night with my girlfriend, and to say I’m bad at it would be a comical understatement. If you’re any good, maybe it’ll help me next Wednesday.”