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“Could you direct me toward Dr. Monroe’s office?”
The young doctor laughed again. “Sure, but she won’t be in there. She’s over in the bay with the patients, always teaching us something.”
“Hopefully, you’re paying attention because she’s a brilliant doctor.”
“Yes, sir.”
He spotted Margo before she noticed him, and sure enough, she was talking with an elderly patient while several residents watched and nodded. He hung back and waited for her to be done. It gave him the perfect chance to study her, like seeing a beautiful intricate painting from a new angle, always something new to entice him to stare. His muse was too astute, and she noticed him before long.
“Dr. Maguire, two visits to the ER in two days? Are you thinking about a change in your medical discipline?” she asked.
“If you’ll be my teacher, I could be convinced,” he said honestly.
The handful of residents’ heads bounced back and forth between them.
“Get Mrs. Baker a snack while you wait for her family to pick her up,” Margo said to the residents. “I’ll be right back.”
Walking past him, she made it clear he should follow, but he didn’t need any encouragement. She was like the flame, and he was the moth.
“What can I help you with, Dr. Maguire?” She took a deep breath before squaring her shoulders. As if she was getting ready for a fight.
“I thought if your shift was almost over, we could get dinner together.”
“No.”
“No, your shift isn’t almost over, or no, you don’t want to get dinner?”
“Both.”
“Then I guess show me the burn triage area so I can make myself useful until your shift is over?”
“Fine, but it won’t take you very long to assess it, and I’m not going to dinner with you when my shift is over.”
Before he could respond, the same trauma buzzer that sounded the day before went off again. This time it was louder, and Margo’s demeanor completely changed. A brief sign of panic was quickly replaced by determination. All the residents appeared out of nowhere like soldiers.
“All right, doctors. This is not a drill. Get suited up, wash your hands, and get ready. We have multiple traumas, and triage will be run by me or Dr. Hart. You will do exactly what you’re told by us and the head nurse. Am I clear?” Her voice rang loud through the bay of half-filled beds.
The doctors all hustled to do as they were told, and a half-dozen nurses, along with Dr. Hart appeared.
“Apartment blaze, ten people on their way here, and they are sending the others to Memorial in the city,” Dr. Hart said.
“Nurse Steph, will you please man the communications and give us updates? We need to condense the current patients to one corner of the bay and shield them as much as we can from the incoming chaos.”
“Yes, Doctor,” the tall woman said with unflinching respect for Margo’s leadership.
“You scrubbing in, Drake? From what I hear, you’re a decent surgeon,” Dalton said, with his hands on his hips and a friendly smile.
“I’d like to,” Drake said, moving toward the sink.
“You can’t just practice ER medicine in between lectures for funsies,” Margo said.
“No, but I’m currently covered by Mercy insurance for the surgery I participated in today, and I do a fair amount of pro bono trauma work at a clinic in LA. I think you’ll find I’m not completely useless.”
Dalton looked at Margo with a nod.
“Fine, but the same rules apply. You take triage orders from Dalton, me, and head nurses. No job is too small.”
“Yes, boss.”
