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A few hours later, Jillian gazed at the electronic census board, mentally ticking off the patients listed there. Yep, she'd seen all of those assigned to her block of rooms. It was time to wait for lab results, radiology results or for the next patient to be wheeled in. She was up for the first new admission.
Turning away from the census board, she noticed Lacy sitting alone in a corner of the nurses station, seemingly staring out at nothing.
Concerned, she crossed over. “Lacy? Are you okay?”
Lacy's gaze focused on her. “I guess.” Her lack luster tone wasn't believable.
“Hey, I know it's been really stressful around here.” She pulled up a chair so she could sit next to her colleague. “Things will get back to normal soon, you'll see.”
For a moment Lacy's eyes filled with tears, then she quickly ducked her head and swiped at her eyes. “Sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me lately.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” She searched Lacy’s gaze.
“No.” Lacy’s smile was brittle. “Things won't get better until they catch whoever is stealing narcotics.”
“I know.” She could totally relate to how Lacy was feeling. “I hate knowing my name is on the long list of suspects, too.”
“You?” Lacy scoffed and shook her head. “You have a stellar reputation around here. There isn't a single person who thinks you're guilty.”
She wasn't so sure. And besides, it was clear when Chris had come to talk to her that he expected her to help resolve the issue. Talk about the burden of proof. “Maybe, but it still doesn't look good to have this going on while I'm the interim medical director.”
“Tell me about it,” Lacy said dryly. “Being the charge nurse isn't much easier.”
Jillian didn't doubt it. This was what leadership was all about, taking responsibility for things you couldn't control.
Deep down, she knew Alec didn't believe she was guilty, yet he wasn't willing to discuss any of the details of the case with her. Yes, she understood his rationale, but still it rankled.
Her pager app went off, signaling their mini break was over.
“Come on,” she told Lacy, rising to her feet. “We have a new patient on the way in.”
There wasn't much time to dwell on Alec, although she did hope he'd stop by sometime to see her. Or, at the very least, call. The heavy burden of worry his daughter carried shouldn't be shouldered alone. Somehow, she had to convince Alec to talk to his daughter. It would be far better for Shannon to explain her feelings to him.
So much for her silent conviction to stay away from him. It was proving to be more and more difficult to keep her thoughts from going back to Alec and Shannon.
Did she really need to stay away? Maybe her experience with relationships was nonexistent, but these feelings she harbored for Alec were worth exploring. And why couldn't she have both a family and a career?
Because she might have multiple sclerosis, that's why.
Her hope deflated like a punctured balloon. But then she tried to look on the bright side. If Dr. Juran didn't find anything wrong with her, there was no reason she couldn't find a way to balance family life with her career. Lots of people did it all the time. It's not like she would be the first.
A few minutes later her patient arrived, a seventeen-year-old young man with a possible head injury resulting in a seizure.
When the paramedics burst through the doors, she was shocked to discover Alec had accompanied the patient. Was this kid part of his percocet case? The patient was certainly large enough to be a football player.
Alec must have noticed the questions in her gaze. “His name is Frank Albert and he began having seizures when we questioned him.”
She nodded, indicating she understood. “Lacy, make sure he has good IV access. Marianne, draw a drug screen to make sure he doesn't have narcotics in his system,” she added.
Alec's expression was grim. “He had two percocets on him. You may want to get a CT scan of his head, too. He mentioned something about having a concussion after his last football practice.”
She'd guessed right. Frank was a football player. If Alec found percocets on him, he must be involved in this mess, too. Helpless anger simmered in her stomach as she looked at the boy's young face. He might be a healthy, muscular kid, but he wasn't invincible, no matter what he might think. Had he taken the percocets to control the pain of his headache? At this point, until his drug screen came back, she was forced to assume so.
“I will.” She stared at her patient, knowing he would be post ictal from the seizures, making his neural assessment useless. “Who intubated him?”
“The paramedics on the scene,” Alec said. “He'd stopped seizing before they arrived. I held his head, keeping his airway open until they could get the tube placed.”
Alec's past experience as a medic had saved this boy's life. His keen medical intuition was still on target. Ridiculously proud of him, she nodded. “Alright, let's get this kid to the CT scanner, STAT.”
