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Claire had just enough time to shoot off several text messages to Graham’s phone before her new patient arrived.
Are you at work?
If you’re fine and don’t answer in the next five seconds I’m kicking your ass when I get home
I don’t actually hate you, if you’re punishing me for that
When he didn’t respond to her machine gun messages, she gave up and called him.
Nothing.
“Dammit,” she muttered, his lack of response like kindling to the burning anxiety beneath her sternum. Most days she was able to remain neutral and keep memories of the tragedy she’d witnessed as a kid from affecting her day-to-day life, probably because the trauma patients she cared for at work were typically strangers. But when something might have happened to someone she knew, it was as if her brain immediately recalled every heightened instinct and emotion from that day.
In that moment, a stretcher came through the ambulance entrance carrying a man in a familiar navy uniform. The body filled it out differently and she knew right away it wasn’t Graham. He was awake and talking, and already had his protective gear off.
This guy didn’t seem badly off and a touch of her worry melted away.
Ruthie intercepted the paramedics and directed them to the assigned pod, and Claire once again tucked her phone away before grabbing a supply cabinet and rolling it toward the curtain. One of the paramedics came out and gave her a quick rundown—too much water had brought down the ceiling and the patient had taken a blow to the head. He’d been knocked unconscious and dragged out of the building, then came to shortly thereafter.
They’d stabilized his spine and kept him awake during the drive, but would leave the rest up to the doctors.
“Thanks,” Claire said, taking the handover document. “I’ll take it from here.”
The paramedics left and Claire pulled back the curtain and pushed her cart inside. The man’s neck was immobilized by a brace placed by the paramedics, so she sidled up next to the bed and leaned over so he could see her. “Hi, I’m Claire, your nurse. The doctor will be in soon but I’ll start an IV and ask you some questions first. I know they took your vitals in the ambulance, but I’ll take them again if that’s okay. What’s your name?”
He gave her a smile. “Javier. Can I take this thing off now? My neck is fine.”
Claire fought a smile. That’s exactly what Graham would have said, eager to be cleared and get the hell out of the hospital. Just as quickly as the thought came, concern for her friend and roommate flooded her once again. Had anyone else been hurt?
“Not until the doctor says so, and odds are she’s gonna want a scan first. Are you in pain?”
“It’s not bad.”
“On a scale of one to ten, with one being no pain and ten being the worst you could ever imagine, where would you rate it?”
“Four. Maybe four and a half.”
She made a note and prepared the IV kit. “Are you nauseous?”
“I was on the drive in, but I tend to get carsick and the ambulance ride wasn’t exactly smooth. It’s already better.”
She asked him a few more routine questions, and when she was confident nothing was so urgent she needed to run and grab the doctor right that second, she slipped in another question as she started the bag of fluids and strapped a blood pressure cuff to his arm. “Where was the fire?”
“Sixth and Pine. You know that multilevel apartment complex they’re building?”
She knew exactly what he was talking about. “Yeah. How bad is it?”
“Damage is significant. Shit was falling everywhere. At least two other guys were in there when I got hit. They weren’t from my station, I know that much, but I hope they’re okay.”
Her stomach dropped and she gripped her hands into fists. She hadn’t heard of any other patients being brought in by ambulance. What if Graham had been hurt and they took him to another hospital?
Focus on your patient. “Do, um...? Is there anyone I can call for you?” she asked, attempting to mask the tremble in her voice.
“My phone’s still on the truck,” he said. “But the chief said he’d send someone up here as soon as he could. The paramedic called my wife and she’s on her way.”
Javier’s gaze shifted over her shoulder and Dr. Singh appeared, offering a smile to the patient before turning to Claire for information. Claire outlined what she knew and what she’d done, then left the doctor and Javier alone.
She checked the clock as she sat at the computer to chart Javier’s vitals. Half an hour remained.
