by R J Nolan
It was lunchtime and the cafeteria was rapidly filling up. Jess set her tray down on a table on the outskirts of the main seating area, but well within view and hearing of nearby tables.
Wonder why she didn't pick one of the more secluded corners so we could talk without worrying about being overheard. Kim set her tray down and then glanced at one of the tables tucked in the corner. She realized why Jess had not chosen to sit there. The tables were small, meant for two people. The hospital workers currently occupying the space were holding hands and seemed oblivious to anything but each other. Despite the hospital setting, it looked very romantic. That's all we need to set the gossip flying.
As she situated herself at the table, Kim realized their presence had already attracted some attention. Feeling eyes on her, Kim looked around.
Cindy, the ER nurse who had been gossiping about Jess a few weeks ago, was sitting off to her left with several other women. When Kim met her gaze, Cindy smirked at her. Ah, crap. I bet she can't wait to get back to the ER and blab that she saw us together.
"Just ignore her," Jess said.
Kim jumped, startled out of her thoughts. Her head snapped back around to face Jess. "I'm sorry. Maybe we should just go back —"
"No." Jess gently cut her off. "There's nothing to be sorry for. People are going to gossip no matter what we do. There is nothing wrong with two colleagues having lunch together." While Jess's words were calm and logical, her hands clenched on the sides of her tray belied her words.
She's trying so hard. Barely resisting the urge to reach out and touch Jess's arm, Kim resigned herself to offering a warm smile instead. "You're right, it's best to ignore it. So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, knowing Jess would be more at ease discussing work.
Jess took a deep breath. She let go of her tray and clasped her hands together in her lap. "I wanted to ask you to consider coming to work in the ER full-time. You're a great asset to the department. You work well with the staff and residents. We could really use someone of your caliber working in the ER on a daily basis. I wanted to see how you felt about it before I approached Philip."
Kim knew her mouth was hanging open. Jess had managed to floor her twice today, once with the invitation to lunch and now this. So much for your worry about asking her what she thought of you working full-time in the ER.
Mistaking Kim's silence, Jess shifted uncomfortably. "Um... I want you to know that you are under absolutely no obligation to agree. If you're not interested, it won't change anything as far as I'm concerned either in the ER," Jess hesitated, visibly struggling for words, then continued, "or anywhere else for that matter."
Huh? Anywhere else. Realization hit Kim like a ton of bricks. Jess is worried I'll think she's pressuring me to agree because we're friends. Kim could only wonder once again about Jess's past. Who made you so unsure of yourself? Your ex? Pushing away the irrelevant thought, Kim turned her attention to the matter at hand.
"I understand if you'd rather not," Jess said. Her voice had taken on the more reserved tone she frequently used in the ER.
Kim silently cursed herself. Her lack of immediate response had made Jess assume the worst. Kim smiled. "Actually, working in the ER is what I wanted to talk to you about."
Jess's brow furrowed. "It was?" she finally managed.
Nodding, Kim said, "I spoke to Philip on Monday. I planned on talking to you about it to make sure you were okay with it before he announced the change at our next staff meeting."
"You really want to come work in the ER full-time?" Jess asked.
"You look so surprised." Turn about is fair play. You surprised the hell out of me today. "That's what you want... Right?"
"Yes. Of course," Jess said. She ran her fingers through her hair. "I just thought it would be a harder sell."
"Well, it did take me a while to sell it to Philip." Kim smiled warmly. "Personally I very much enjoy working in the ER. As I told Philip, I actually considered a position at a psychiatric ER before accepting the job here."
"So when can you start?" Jess asked.
"I've got another week on my current rotation. Our monthly staff meeting is the Monday after the end of my rotation. Philip will announce at that meeting that I'll be officially taking over covering the ER exclusively." Kim grinned. "So I guess that means you're stuck with me from here on out."
A brilliant smile flashed across Jess's face. "Works for me."
A sense of satisfaction filled Kim. Although she understood intellectually that she had not been to blame for what happened at Memorial, emotionally her confidence had taken a blow. That Jess had approached her with the request to work in the ER gave her a much appreciated boost to her confidence.
CHAPTER 16
KIM WALKED INTO the conference room bright and early Monday morning. The quarterly psych staff meeting was held half an hour before morning shift change to allow as many staff as possible to attend.
Philip waved her over to the lectern.
"What's up?"
"Are you sure about this?" Philip asked. "It's not too late to change your mind."
Kim smiled. "I'm sure." The last two weeks working alongside Jess in the ER had only strengthened Kim's belief that she had made the right decision.
"All right then, once I cover the other items on the agenda, you can make the announcement. I'm sure it will be met with enthusiasm."
"I'm sure it will." Kim started to walk away.
"Kim."
She turned back toward Philip.
"If you should ever change your mind, just let me know. This doesn't have to be permanent."
"Thanks, Philip." She nodded to several people before taking a seat next to Chris Roberts. Philip called the meeting to order. Kim sat back and listened while she waited for her turn.
"Now for the last item on our agenda, Kim has an announcement to make," Philip said. "Kim."
Kim approached the lectern. Philip stepped aside, allowing her to take his place. "As you all know, I am the liaison with the ER. I've had numerous complaints about psych coverage from the ER."
"That's because they're totally unreasonable," Chris called out.
Kim glared at him before continuing, "As Philip has previously discussed when staff are assigned to the ER, they aren't remaining in the department as they should. In addition, they are slow responding to pages."
"There's no office to use when assigned down there," Harland interrupted. "And even if there were, I still wouldn't want to be down there. McKenna treats us like residents." He tipped his nose up with a haughty air. "I personally prefer to work on the psych floor. I'm a psychiatrist, not an ER doctor."
Kim held up her hand before anyone else could complain. "I understand that not everyone is comfortable working in the ER. With Philip's approval, I've come up with a solution that I think will be acceptable to everyone. I will be taking over coverage of the ER on a permanent basis."
Cheering broke out in the room.
Philip clapped his hands. "Settle down."
When the room quieted, Kim continued, "The only time any of you will be required to cover the ER is when you are the staff on-call after-hours. Also someone will need to cover my days off. But starting today, there will be no more two-week rotations in the ER."
The room erupted with clapping and whistles.
"All right. That's enough," Philip said. He opened a folder. "Grab a copy of the updated assignment schedule on your way out."
"Who has the duty pager?" Kim asked the departing group.
"I do." Harland pulled the pager off his belt.
Kim glanced at the pager as he handed it over. Damn it! "Harland, this is turned off."
He looked down his nose at Kim. "Well… Of course. We were in a meeting."
Grinding her teeth together to keep from letting her temper loose, Kim spun on her heel and headed for the ER at a fast clip. I just hope like hell things were quiet in the ER.
"Don't page them again," Jess said. "Call the psych department. Te
ll them to get someone down here now. I don't care who."
Kim skidded to a quick halt. The nurses' station counter separated her from Jess. "I'm here," she said, still slightly out of breath from her rapid descent down the stairs. She had forsaken the elevator in her rush to reach the ER.
Jess turned to face her.
Kim flinched at the expression on Jess's face. She expected her to be angry. The look of deep disappointment on Jess's face was far worse. It struck her hard. Damn you, Harland! "Sorry. There was a meeting —"
Jess cut her off before she could continue. Her voice was as cold as an arctic winter. "Psych meetings are not my concern, Dr. Donovan. I expect you to answer your pages, meeting or not." Jess's gaze bore into Kim's. "We needed you down here."
While she knew it was unrealistic to think that she and Jess would never come into conflict on the job, in this case, it was not her fault. As much as she wanted to explain, now was not the time. "What have you got?"
Jess blew out a breath and scrubbed her hands over her face. "Patient is a twenty-five-year-old male: diagnosed schizophrenic — off his meds. He was combative and paranoid. We sedated him, but he's still very agitated. Dr. Johnson is with him in Exam Two."
"I'll take care of him right away," Kim said. As she headed toward the exam room, Bates came scurrying up.
"I'll help with him, Kim. Don't let that bitch get you down." He offered a sympathetic smile. "When we're done we can go get a cup of coffee."
Great. Just what I need. Kim scowled. And I never told you that you could use my first name. She didn't have time to deal with Peter's behavior right now. "Is he your patient?"
"Well, no. He's Terrell's, but —"
"I've got this." Kim pulled open the exam room door. "I'm sure there are other patients waiting to be seen, Dr. Bates." She stepped inside and pushed the door shut in his face.
Kim sighed as she sank down onto the couch in the staff lounge. This was her first real break since stepping foot in the ER today. The pace had been relentless. She took the opportunity to grab a cup of coffee and relax for a few minutes. Kim had hoped for a chance to explain to Jess about what happened earlier but had not seen her except in passing all morning.
The door to the lounge swung open. Jess stepped inside.
A little unsure of her reception, Kim offered a professional greeting. "Dr. McKenna," she said with a slight nod.
Jess winced. She nodded in return and then moved over to the coffee pot. After getting a cup of coffee, she returned to stand next to the couch. "You mind?" Jess asked, gesturing to the opposite end of the couch.
Okay. So maybe it's not as bad as I thought. "Have a seat."
Jess settled onto the couch and laid her head back against the cushion. A heavy sigh escaped her lips.
"Tough day, huh?" Kim asked.
"I've definitely had better," Jess said. She sat up and took a sip of her coffee.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't get the duty pager until after our meeting was over." Kim's hand clenched around her cup. "I had no idea Harland had turned it off for the meeting," she said, her voice tight with renewed anger.
"I owe you an apology as well." Jess shifted around until she was facing Kim. "I'm sorry. It was really crazy this morning, but I still should've given you a chance to explain. You've always been here when we needed you."
The gray cloud that had hung over Kim all morning finally dissipated. "On the bright side, it's official. I'm permanently assigned to cover the ER." Kim smiled. "I'll make sure everyone knows from now on to use my personal pager number so they can reach me at all times."
"Thanks." Jess reached over and lightly touched Kim's forearm. "And welcome to the ER."
Quiet reigned as they enjoyed their coffee. The momentary peace was broken by the sound of Kim's stomach growling.
Jess grinned. "Missed breakfast again, huh?"
A second louder rumble was her answer.
Although Kim wanted to, she hesitated to ask Jess to lunch. They had eaten lunch together last week in Jess's office, but that was a private setting. Other than the day Jess asked her to work in the ER, they had not been to the cafeteria together again. Kim decided to take a chance. After all, I work here every day. It shouldn't seem that noteworthy for people to see us together. "Could I interest you in going to lunch?" Kim didn't miss the sudden tension radiating from Jess. Oh well, it was worth a try. She tried not to let her disappointment show. "Well, I guess I'll just go grab myself something from —"
Jess bolted from the couch startling Kim. "No. Let's go to the cafeteria. My treat... as a welcome to the ER."
Peering up at Jess, Kim looked for any sign of hesitation. Jess held her gaze and smiled. Kim sucked in a breath at the warmth emanating from Jess's vivid blue eyes. She rose from the couch. "Great. I'm starved."
"What's new," Jess said with a laugh.
Kim playfully elbowed Jess in the ribs. Yeah, the day is definitely looking up.
CHAPTER 17
JESS APPLIED THE finishing touches to a dressing on the patient's arm. She leaned over and watched Terrell suture the man's other arm. The patient had suffered an unfortunate run-in with a power saw. "Nice suturing job, Dr. Johnson."
Terrell looked up with a smile. "Thanks, Dr. McKenna."
"Okay, Mr. Merrill, Dr. Johnson will take care of anything else you need."
"Thanks, Dr. McKenna."
Jess pulled off her soiled gown and tossed it into the marked trash bin. "I'll be in my office if you need me." She moved over to the door and pushed it open. "Don't forget to have the nurse give him the wound care handout and make sure he gets a tetanus shot before he leaves."
"Sure thing, Dr. McKenna," Terrell said.
Stepping outside the door, Jess allowed her fatigue to surface. She stretched her tight back. A quick glance at her watch made Jess groan. God, only three o'clock. Seems later. Jess's stomach growled, reminding her of her interrupted lunch with Kim. They had no more than sat down with their trays when she got paged back to the ER.
This week had been a turning point for Jess. She had gone to lunch with Kim several times. It had been hard. Jess had cut herself off from everyone at work for so long it was difficult to change. The gossip had been flying, but Jess had done her best to ignore it. We're just friends. Jess's rumbling stomach brought her back to the here and now.
Jess turned toward her office and then stopped. She remembered seeing some bagels in the lounge earlier. Changing course, she headed for the staff lounge. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. The sight before her stopped her dead in her tracks. Kim was sitting at the table with a pile of charts in front of her. Rodman was standing directly behind her, leaning over her shoulder. His eyes appeared locked on her cleavage.
Kim looked up. An expression of relief washed across her face.
A rush of anger so strong it took her breath away roared through Jess.
She didn't think. She just reacted.
Three long strides brought her across the room.
Rodman's eyes went wide at Jess's headlong rush.
He took an involuntary step back.
Kim used his momentary distraction. She pushed her chair back sharply and caught him in the groin.
"Watch it!" He growled, stumbling back several steps.
"Sorry," Kim said, sounding anything but. She stood and quickly stepped into the space between Jess and Rodman.
Jess gazed into Kim's worried blue eyes. She had been within seconds of shoving Rodman away from Kim. Christ! Are you out of your mind? She blew out a breath and forced herself to calm down. Donning her ER persona like a protective suit of armor, Jess once again turned her attention to Rodman. "What brings you to the ER, Dr. Rodman?"
Rodman glared at them before turning his attention to Jess. "As usual the quarterly patient numbers from the ER are late. They were due on Monday — today is Friday." He jutted his chest out and sneered. "Maybe it's time for a new ER chief... one who can actually do the job."
"The rep
ort was delivered to your office last Monday," Jess said in a calm measured voice.
"Good. Make sure it's on time next quarter."
Grinding her teeth, Jess resisted the urge to retort. She knew Rodman was just trying to get her goat. "Was there anything else?"
Rodman looked them both up and down.
Jess instinctively stepped closer to Kim. Their arms brushed.
"Figures," Rodman said, an ugly sneer twisting his face.
"Excuse me?" Jess said.
Rodman waved the question away. He turned away and headed for the door. "Great. Just what we need, another queer doctor. Like there aren't enough of them around here already," he muttered just loud enough for them to hear.
The door swung shut behind Rodman.
"How the hell does that man keep his job?" Kim asked.
Jess glanced over at Kim and realized just how close to her she was standing. She stepped away and propped her hip against the table. "Not that I'm defending him with this whole homophobic," Jess waved her hands vaguely in the air, "letch thing he has going on." She shook her head. "But he wasn't always like this."
"What happened to him?" Kim asked.
The door to the lounge swung open.
Bates stepped inside. His face lit up and he smiled widely when he spotted Kim. The smile vanished at the sight of Jess.
Jess struggled not to smile when Kim looked over and rolled her eyes. She quickly gathered up the charts on the table and offered half of them to Kim.
Kim took the charts without question.
Bates moved over to the coffee pot but continued to watch them.
"Dr. Donovan." Jess motioned toward the door. "After you."
They quickly made their escape.
Kim plopped the charts down on Jess's desk. She was grateful for the chance to avoid having to deal with Bates. The man just did not seem to understand that she was not interested in him. "Is the day over yet?"
"Soon." Jess motioned her toward the couch. "Relax while you can."
Kim dropped down onto the couch with an exaggerated sigh. "Thanks for the escape route."
