Learning-to-Feel (15 page)

Doctor Varner appeared beside me as I was gloving up. "Guess you're used to this."

Presuming he was referring to my calm and collected manner, I nodded. "Unfortunately, yes." I used to deal with this ten times a day.

The ambulances pulled in, the EMT's jumped out and started reciting their patient’s stats. I took the suspected spinal case, and when we wheeled the gurney in, I realized I’d treated this boy before. It was Toby, the kid who came off his bike two weeks ago. He wore no protective gear then, and he was wearing none now.

Fucking kids. Think they'll live forever.

I managed to stem the bleeding from the head wound. It was a pretty serious gash, concussion no doubt, but my immediate concern was his spinal injury.

The boy mumbled something, and I was quick to ask him if he could feel his toes, but he wasn’t too coherent. I checked his pupil dilation, then his torso for discoloration, possible internal bleeding, but thankfully found none. He was breathing okay, had cuts all over him, but nothing too serious.

I grabbed his second toe and pricked the nib of my pen into it, hoping for a reaction. He flinched a little, but it wasn’t the reflex I was looking for. I tried the other foot. He coughed and tried to talk. The nurse leaned over and listened to whatever it was he mumbled.

When she straightened up, she looked at me and smiled. "He wants to know if you could stop doing that please," she said, "because it
fucking
hurts."

I barked out a laugh and took a breath of relief. Walking up alongside the gurney, I leaned over the prone boy. "Make a deal with you, Toby. I'll stop jabbing your feet, if you stop riding
fucking
motorbikes."

There were a few laughs, and the immediate stress was gone. I could ascertained he had some feeling in each foot, but wouldn’t know more until I ran further tests. I started to clean and suture the head wound, when Dr. Varner called for me.

Leaving a stabilized Toby, I re-gloved and rushed over to find Scott, the second boy, was critical. He had distended neck veins, a weak pulse and ragged breathing. "Pneumothorax," I announced, and Varner nodded but was distracted by the protruding bone in the boy's thigh.

"I can't get this bleed under control," he said, rushed. "I think the bone has nicked the femoral."

Fuck.

My mind went into autopilot. Like I could compartmentalize my mind, I heard everything that went on around me perfectly, but could concentrate with 100% focus on what I was doing. I made a small incision between his ribs with a scalpel, at the same time I noticed two men running into the ER.

The two men, both tall African-American men, who I presumed to be friends or relatives of Toby and Scott, were clearly agitated. "Get them out of here," I yelled.

I slid a chest tube into the boy's chest wall, and his breathing eased almost immediately. I looked up, expecting to see security or a warden, removing the two men, but it wasn’t. It was Dani Peters.

Both men, particularly the tallest man – who had to be six foot three – appeared to listen to her. Then Chief Peters was there, and he led them out into the corridor with his daughter. My attention was back on the boy in front of me, and Varner.

"I'll need to operate," he said.

One of the nurses answered, "I'll prepare the OR."

But we didn’t have time. Scott didn't have time. "No, I'll do it here."

And for a split second, every pair of eyes were on me. "I’ve done this before," I told them. "I'll get him stable enough to get him to Boston if needed, or even Portland, but I’ve got to do it now."

And I did. The leg was a mess, the bone compounded and comminuted, and it would require plating and pinning. Later. Right now, he was bleeding out. I wasted no more time, the surgery was crude, but I found the tear and managed to stop the bleeding.

And about four hours after the paramedics arrived with the two Crusty Demon wannabe's, I pulled off my gloves and bloodied coat and got cleaned up.

I was surprised to find Dani, her dad Steve, and the two men, were still in the waiting room. They stood when they saw me, and looked at me expectantly. The tallest man, seemed to sneer. Steve made introductions. "Adam Collins, Lucas Rogers. This is Dr. Nathan Tierney."

"Nathan," Dani's small voice said, "how are they?"

"At first we thought Toby had a spinal injury," I told them, and I could see the color drain from their faces. "But he has regained some feeling in both feet."

"That’s good, right?" Chief Peters asked.

"Very. More than likely a bruised spinal cord, but we won't know more until we run some tests. More cuts and bruises than I can count. Twelve stitches to his head, bad concussion, and he'll have some decent headaches for a few days."

"And Scott?" Lucas asked.

"Scott suffered a pneumothorax and a comminuted compound fracture of the femor, which tore his femoral artery, causing extensive bleeding."

"In English, Doc," Adam replied sharply.

"Broken ribs caused air to fill his chest cavity. I managed to release the pressure by inserting a tube, and we're watching his breathing. His leg is broken badly at the thigh. The bone punctured the skin and cut the artery that runs down the leg, but I’ve been able to stop the bleeding."

"That sounds serious," Steve said.

"It certainly is. He’s stable right now, but he‘s in the ICU. He'll need surgery to fix his leg. The bone was shattered as well, and will require an orthopaedic surgeon to pin and plate it. He'll be laid up for a long while, I’m afraid."

"Those goddamn motorbikes!" Adam barked.

Dani put her hand on his cheek. She looked tiny compared to him. "Adam, you can’t protect them when they won't listen."

He looked at her softly. "What am I supposed to tell his family?"

Lucas clapped the taller man on the shoulder. "It’s not your fault, Adam."

Then Adam looked at me. "Can we see them?"

"They‘re both asleep," I told them. But with a sigh and a nod, I said, "Two minutes."

Steve stayed with me while the other three disappeared into Toby's room first. "Adam takes on all the local kids," he told me. "He runs the youth club down here. He and Dani have been friends since they were little, makin' mud pies together."

"I think he might like your daughter," I told him with a tired smile. "I could see the way he looked at her."

He laughed quietly. "Yeah, but I think Dani might have a little crush on the new doctor."

I felt my eyes widen, and I shook my head. "Not me. No, Sir."

He laughed quietly and looked down at my blood stained shirt. I shrugged. "Didn't have time for scrubs."

"You're way into overtime, Doc. Go home and get changed."

I shook my head slowly. "No, I'll shower here and keep an eye on these two boys."

His lips smiled under his the moustache just as Dani, Adam and Lucas came back. "So be it, Doc. I'll be back," he looked at his watch and groaned, "in a few hours to get details for my reports."

I grabbed some scrubs and showered. I threw my clothes in a heap by my office desk. I’d see if they were salvageable later. It was almost two in the morning when I got back into my office to check my phone. There was a message from Trent.

Guess I'll have to watch porn by myself… (:

I typed out a reply, knowing he'd read it in the morning.

Could have sent me photos at least… ):

I checked on the two boys again and instructed the nurses that I’d be asleep in the empty room, and they were to wake me if needed. I took my phone with me, and even though I was tired as Hell, sleep didn't come easy. It wasn’t that I was worried about my patients.

It was because Trent wasn’t with me.

I must have dozed for an hour or so, because I woke with a start when my phone beeped. It was a photo, received six-seventeen AM.

It was a photo of a hand holding an engorged dick, the photo obviously taken by the man holding his phone in one hand, his cock in the other.

It made me grin.

I recognized the leather strand wrapped three times around his wrist, the star tattoo on his hip, the sheets on my bed, and more importantly, I'd recognize that cock anywhere.

Chapter 16

The nearest available orthopaedic surgeon was in Portland. I made the necessary transfer arrangements and booked young Scott for transport to have his leg done. His mother was there early, followed by Adam and Lucas, and I told them he was being shipped out at eight.

Both boys had stabilized over night, and after running a few more basic tests on Toby, I was confident he’d be up on his feet in no time. When his family arrived, I explained my prognosis and how I would arrange more tests for later in the day. "X-rays have confirmed that his vertebrae have impinged on his spinal cord. He has swelling around the spinal cord around his T4/T5," I told them, and showed them on my body where that was. "That was why we first thought his injuries were more severe. There’s no way to determine how long it will take to recover. It’s a day by day process." They were solemn and quiet, understandably shaken. "He’s a lucky kid," I told them.

I saw Adam talking to both families, and Lucas smiled at me. He was a good looking guy, a bit younger than me, I'd guess. Tall, dark and handsome, the cliché made me smile. "You're here early," he said to me.

"Still here, actually. I never left."

His eyebrows rose. "Jeez, that makes for a long day."

I smiled and nodded. He told me Adam was beating himself up over this accident. The boys were supposed to be in the Youth Group yesterday, but didn't show.

"He kinda feels responsible for all the kids," Lucas said, and smiled sadly. "Lot of the kids don’t have fathers, so Adam kinda fills that role, ya know?"

This surprised me, and I looked at the tall man in a new light. Lucas said, "So, you're from Boston?"

And he looked at me, his eyes were dark and dancing. Fuck me, I think he was flirting with me.

I gave him a nervous smile, not used to male attention. "Uh, yeah."

"Do you miss it? Belfast’s kinda boring by comparison," he grinned at me. "Not much of a social scene here."

My mind flashed to my night of dancing and drinking last weekend in Boston, the hot nightclub full of dancing, half-naked men, and I could feel heat color my cheeks. "No, I don’t imagine there is."

Someone cleared their throat behind us, and I turned to find Trent. He was holding coffees and smiling tightly, and it looked wrong on his face. "Hey, Lucas," he said.

"Oh, you two knew each other?" I asked surprised, then I remembered what a small community I was in.

Lucas answered. "I work at the Animal Hospital. My sister Simone’s the vet there, and Trent brings…what's your dog's name?"

Trent and I both answered together. "Bentley."

Lucas nodded, and it was a little awkward. I couldn’t help but wonder if they
knew
knew each other. "Um, Trent?"

"Oh," he shrugged and looked at the coffees in his hands. "I knew you wouldn't have eaten dinner or breakfast."

I grinned at him. He’d thought of me. I tried not to show how much I liked it. Lucas's hand on my shoulder broke into my reverie. "Thanks again, Doc," he said and walked away.

Trent looked around. "I watched you talking to them," he said with a pointed nod to Toby's family. "You're a very good doctor."

"Um, thanks?"

He laughed quietly to himself and held out one of the coffees. I told a passing nurse I was going to my office for a break. Walking down the corridor, I took a drink of the coffee and moaned. "I could kiss you right now for bringing me this."

"So, did I interrupt something before?" he asked when we were in the privacy of my office.

"What? With me and Lucas?" I asked incredulously. He shrugged, and I said with a laugh, "I think he was flirting with me…" and Trent looked uneasy.

I liked that more than I should. "Jealous, Trent?"

"No," he answered too quickly.

I smiled. "Of course there isn’t anything going on with me and him," I sighed. "My time’s otherwise occupied with someone else."

Trent seemed to breathe easier, and he smiled. "Anyone I know?"

"I don’t know," I said, playing along. Pulling my phone from my top drawer, I said, "I have a photo of him…wanna see it?" I held the phone up, displaying the photo of his cock. He chuckled, and I told him, "Cruel. Cruel, for teasing me like that."

He grinned at me and looked me up and down. "Mmm, I have to say, you could wear your doctor’s outfit anytime."

I looked down at my scrubs. "Oh, I spilled a little something on my clothes," I told him and pointed to the bloodied shirt on the floor.

"Oh, Jesus!" he said, looking back at me with wide eyes.

"Mmmm, it wasn't pretty."

He was quiet for a moment. "You look tired."

"I am, thanks to you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you've made me get used to sleeping," I said with a laugh, followed by a yawn. "I used to be able to work double shifts no problem… now I need you with me so I can sleep."

He smirked, but he was quiet, and I realized I’d probably crossed the in-this-just-for-the-sex line, but I was too tired to care.

Trent stood up. "Better let you got back to your patients." I put his empty paper coffee cup in the bin, and he walked to the door.

I stood up and stretched. He sighed as he walked back to me, and touched my neck. "This suits you."

My hand flew to where he touched me and I felt the leather strand around my neck, clearly visible with my scrub shirt. I'd forgotten about it.

"Makes you look hot..ter," he said with a chuckle. Then he opened the door and whispered, "Don’t forget. Keep the doctors outfit on." He winked and snickered to himself as he walked out, leaving me to follow.

Chief Peters and Dani were there now, and he stopped Trent, asking, "Did you hear your housemate saved two lives yesterday?"

Trent looked at me and smiled. Then he nudged Dani with his elbow and whispered, though we all could hear him perfectly, "Yeah, they say he can work miracles with those hands."

Dani blushed and I wanted to kill him. I glared at him, and he grinned. The Chief looked between us suspiciously. Great. So ignoring my
housemate
completely, I told the Chief there was an old Chevy parked illegally out the front.