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“I know we discussed the possibility of this before,” I continued. “And I want you to know that transplant rejection is both very common and very treatable. Has she been taking all her medication as prescribed?”
“Yes, she has—I’ve made sure of it.”
I didn’t doubt the worried mother in front of me.
“Alright. Well, as soon as we know more, we’ll be able to begin treating her. For now, I’ll send someone from admissions over to you two to get her settled in.”
Kayla just nodded, the tightness of her lips still apparent.
I walked away, mind already warring between the next order of business and Stephanie Christophers.
Chapter Six
Stevie
Scrubs were comfortable.
I’ve known that since I was six and dressed up as a nurse in my mother’s scrubs. Wearing the pale blue of the other residents, though, I felt a sense of familiarity in my own right. I’d worn them through all the practicals in med school and had become very comfortable working in them, so much so that I would almost automatically shift gears when I put them on.
I was in the locker room with the other interns, and they were all talking.
“I really just want to get my neuro rotation out of the way,” a small mousy girl was saying. “Brains just make me nervous.”
“Oh, Kate, you’ll be fine; it’s not like they’re going to let you operate on the brain! All you have to do is watch what they’re doing and follow directions.”
The boy who spoke looked young but confident. I wondered if he was just naturally scrawny, or if he was actually younger than me.
“Hey, Tommy, we all know that you just want to be on neuro because of Dr. Wong!” another man called from over by his locker.
Tommy flushed bright red. They weren’t wrong that Angela was rather beautiful, but I thought it was bold of them to be discussing it on the first day.
“No. If I want to work with a pretty face, I’m heading straight for cardiothoracics,” the girl that had spoken to Kate earlier responded.
I thought her name was Haley, and Kate butted into the conversation.
“Yeah, he is pretty gorgeous—Dr. Price, right?”
“Ugh,” Tommy said. “Are you all going to just fawn over Dr. Price? I heard he was awful to work with! Really puts his interns and residents through their paces, and not in a good way.”
“Nah, I’m sure he can’t be that bad. He is probably just stern because cardio is such a serious area! He’s gotta be on the top of his game every day.”
“Are you sure you don’t have a crush on him? Sounds like you might.” Haley snickered.
Kate looked like she was going to say something else, but then the door opened, and a woman walked in. She was tall and willowy. Honestly, she looked like the embodiment of sunshine, but the voice that came out was anything but. She was the Chief Resident, Amanda Foss. I was prepared for my first day and ready for whatever the hospital could throw at me—except for the words that came from her mouth.
“Stephanie Christophers, you’ll be starting your rotation in cardiothoracics. Head up to the nurse’s station, and Dr. Price will meet you there.”
I groaned internally but nodded and smiled at her. She also named two others, one of which was Tommy, and we strayed from the group of nervous graduates to head off to the next floor. I could do this. Stevie in scrubs was Work Stevie, and Work Stevie didn’t care about the fact that she was now working under the man she’d spent a night under.
The hospital was another familiar aspect, and I focused on tracing the same path I’d wandered hundreds of times. The weekends my father had taken me, somewhat unwillingly, I would more often than not end up there, exploring every floor and ward. A lot of the long-time staff knew me and waved or smiled as I passed while others looked confused.
Of course, I hadn’t been back since I was twelve and my mother decided I could dictate whether I went to my father’s or not every other weekend. Some things had changed, like the color of the carpeting and the modernity of the equipment we passed. Regardless of my father’s own disinterest in me, the hospital itself felt a little like home, and I wondered why I’d felt hesitation in my assignment to this place.
I heard the two others muttering next to me as we walked, the two guys had wide eyes as they took in every inch of their new learning environment. I hadn’t bothered introducing myself to them. At orientation and in the locker room that morning, I had heard the whispers, seen the sidewards glances that identified me.
They all thought I was a stuck up bitch, that I had graduated early, not because of my own merit, but because of my father’s influence. Initially, I had wanted to tell them that my father didn’t care about how well I did unless it reflected poorly on him, but I had let them be. I’d often found that when people couldn’t overtake you, whether because of effort or talent, they resented you. Jonah had been right about that. Letting people resent me was a lot easier than trying to change their minds.
“Ahh, the new doctors,” came a familiar voice.
