“So where did you disappear to, Romeo?” Ashleigh inquired sarcastically.
“Ash, I think I’m in love.” He looked at his partner and fluttered his eyelashes. She smacked him on his arm again, making him jump. “Geez, that’s the second time tonight. ” He laughed, rubbing his arm in mock distress.
“You know what they say on a full moon,” she eyed him, laughing as well. “Always expect the unexpected.”
“Well I’ll tell you one thing, Ash, I never expected to meet someone like Lacey tonight. Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous and extremely smart, but she is so sensitive and has a heart of gold. I just can’t get her out of my mind.” His eyes were dreamy and far away from thinking of his newfound crush.
“Well, I hate to tell you this Romeo, but you’ve got more important things to think about right now.” They had come to a stop and she pointed out of the front window to the sidewalk where a young man laid on the ground with a crowd of people around him.
“Ok, everybody move back, let us in.” Dean cleared the way as Ashleigh and he approached. His partner got to work, assessing the patient, while Dean took in the situation.
“What happened here? Can anyone tell me what’s going on with your friend?”
A skinny teenager approached, nervously glancing from side to side. It was evident that he wanted to help but was also scared of providing the information that he had.
“It’s ok man,” Dean placed a hand on the youth’s shoulder. “Nothing is going to happen to you. We just want to help your friend. Why don’t you tell me everything you can, so that we can help him?”
The kid cleared his throat. “Well, we were all just hanging out, partying, you know? Then Steve here started acting all goofy. His words were slurred together and he could barely stand, then he just fell to the ground and started shaking around, real bad. That's when we called 911. His shaking stopped a few minutes ago and he’s been lying like that ever since. We thought he was just drunk or something but he must have taken some pills too.”
“What kind of pills do you guys have?” Dean was trying to get as much information as he could.
“I don’t really know what they are. Someone just brought a pocketful of them. Steve said he wasn’t going to do any, but I guess he must have changed his mind.”
Dean nodded his thanks to the kid. He had gotten all of the information he could and it looked like this overdose was pretty serious. Steve was completely unresponsive and they needed to get him to the hospital STAT.
CHAPTER 5
As Dean came to a halt outside of the emergency doors, Lacey was there to greet him. She smiled shyly as he mouthed the words “you got this” to her. His patient had been unconscious for quite a while now and things weren't looking good, but he had faith that Lacey could handle it. They wheeled the overdose victim into the first open emergency room bays and Lacey quickly got to work, checking vitals, and asking questions.
“What’s going on with this patient?” She looked at Dean, hoping that he could provide the answers that she needed.
“We have an apparent overdose here, young male, in his late teens. He was out partying with a bunch of friends when all of a sudden he started acting strange, slurring his words, and then collapsed to the ground and began seizing. None of the kids there could tell me what he may have taken, just that someone had a handful of random pills. It could have been anything. He was unconscious when we arrived on the scene and hasn’t come to since.”
Lacey nodded, taking in all of the information and was trying to process it, figuring out what she should do next.
All of a sudden, the patient’s pulse began to rise and the machines that he was hooked up to sounded out their loud warnings.
Lacey sprang to life, calling out orders to the nurses who had arrived to assist her. “Let's get this patient intubated and secure his airway. I also want blood work taken and sent to toxicology immediately. Tell them we have an urgent situation here and I need the lab results back right away.” She took a moment to think as the nurses got to work.
“Let’s get him hooked up to an IV right away and I want to administer liquid activated charcoal through a GI-Tube. Let's get moving on this, we don’t have a lot of time people.”
She was finally feeling confident and had taken complete control of the situation. Dean watched proudly from just outside the room. It appeared that his little pep talk had worked and Lacey had gotten the courage that she needed to come out of her shell and reach her full potential. She was shouting out orders and doing everything by the book, all it took was just a little bit of support from someone who had been through the same situation. Unfortunately, though, despite Lacey’s efforts, the patient didn’t seem to be doing any better. In fact, his blood pressure was dropping even further. Dean could see the worry spread across her face. She was doing everything according to protocol but nothing seemed to be working.
Lacey jumped as the curtain was pushed back and Dr. Derrick walked in.
“How's everything going in here?” The doctor's voice was concerned as he looked around the room, taking everything in. "I heard we have an overdose?" Dr. Derrick had come from a busy, inner-city hospital in New York and had seen his fair share of overdoses.
“Why is the patient’s pulse so high?” he asked. “What kind of drugs did he take?” Dr. Derrick looked concerned and moved in, pushing Lacey aside.
She stuttered as she responded. “I, uh, I don’t know what he took and his pulse has been high since he came in. I’ve secured his airways and sent blood work down to the lab to try and find out what he’s on.”
Derrick waved her away and began inspecting the patient. “How do you know that this is a drug overdose?” His voice was firm and intimidating.
“His friends told the paramedic that there were drugs involved." Lacey quickly replied, glancing at Dean who was still listening in from the hallway.
"I don't think this is an overdose at all. The symptoms just don't look right. His pulse should be dropping if he's taken any type CNS depressant." The doctor was deep in thought abd Lacy you could almost see the wheels turning.
"Has anyone tested this patient's blood glucose levels? I think he's gone into hypoglycemic shock." This revelation kicked the doctor into high gear. He quickly pricked the unconscious youth's finger and pressed a reader to the drop of blood. Sure enough, his sugar levels were dangerously low.
"This patient has diabetes. I need an IV bag of 500 milliliters of glucose solution. Let's get it hooked up now." He was working quickly, while Lacey watched helplessly from the sidelines. It didn't take long for the patient's condition to start improving. His color got better, his pulse started to regulate and his vital signs returned to normal. Dr. Derrick turned to Lacey, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"So what went on in there?" He questioned Lacey who had shrunk back into the corner. "That was a pretty basic test that you forgot to perform. All of the symptoms pointed to hypoglycemia and you failed to acknowledge them? We could have lost that patient, Lacey.”
With the entire situation under control, Dr. Derrick left to tend to yet another emergency on this never-ending night. Lacey was left feeling defeated and broken. She looked at Dean accusingly as a tear fell from her cheek. It was his diagnosis of an overdose that she had relied on, and it had been wrong. She ran off down the hall, wiping the tears as they fell.
CHAPTER 6
Racing after her, Dean wasn’t going to let her be alone right now. He couldn’t imagine how she must be feeling and he felt terrible himself for basing his diagnosis of the information given from a couple of teenage kids. He followed Lacey back into one of the overnight on-call rooms and found her sitting on the cot, with her head in her hands.
“Lacey, I’m so sorry.” Dean put a hand on her knee in an attempt to stop the shaking. Tears were streaming down her face and her chest was heaving. She let out a loud sob.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. All of the symptoms pointed to an overdose. You told me his f
riends said he had taken something.” Her voice was almost a whisper.
Dean rubbed a hand up and down her back. He had to admit he liked the way she felt.
“I know sweetheart. It’s completely my fault. Everything looked like the typical OD to us. We didn’t even ask if the victim had any other underlying conditions. We should have. If we did, then maybe we would have found out about his diabetes and you could have started appropriate treatment sooner. It was a slip up on my part and I’m going to make sure that the doctors here know that I misled you and I’m very sorry.”
She turned and looked at Dean. Her face was red and streaked with tears. To Dean, she looked more beautiful than ever.
“Thank you for being here,” she whispered.
He gently tilted her chin up towards him and softly brushed her lips with his. “You’re welcome.” He whispered back and started to pull away but Lacey’s hands were on the collar of his uniform and she pulled him back for more, kissing him harder this time. “I need this,” she told him. “I need you and me, right here and now.” She spoke with more confidence than she’d had all night.
Their tongues entwined and played and their hands worked in a frenzy to remove the layers of clothing they were wearing, separating skin from touching the skin.
Dean moaned in appreciation, grabbing Lacey by the hips and ran his hands upwards, from her ass, to her waist, and up towards her breasts, taking her blouse with them. Pulling it up over her head, he took it off and tossed it aside, looking at her as she sat beside him wearing nothing but her bra. She gave him a coy half-smile as she reached around and unhooked the clasp, letting the silky material fall from her shoulders, uncovering all. Her breasts were round and firm and Dean looked at her, taking in all of her sexy curves. She was so beautiful and so vulnerable. He wanted to take her hard and fast, but he knew that she needed a slow, gentle hand right now. He ran his lips down her neck to her breast, tasting every inch of her chest, making her nipples hard as he did so. Lacey responded by digging her nails into Dean's shoulders and sighing. She lay back on the bed, pulling his firm body down on top of hers and moaning softly as she did so.
“Take it off.” She tugged at his uniform.
He smiled, and unbuttoned his shirt. She pulled it off him and dropped it to the floor, adding to the pile that was already accumulating there.
“Now your pants.” She fumbled with his belt and button, but he brushed her hand away and expertly undid them all himself, tossing them to the floor into a crumpled heap.
Naked now, Lacey looked him up and down. His body was hard, chiseled, and very sexy. She ran her hands up his stomach, feeling every ab muscle, then made her way up to his neck, grasping it firmly.
“I want you now.” She looked him in the eye as she spoke.
He nodded, his heartbeat quickening in anticipation. As his lips slowly kissed her neck, his hands were at work removing her pants. He pulled them off and Lacey promptly grabbed his hips, pulling him to her. She was wet and ready to receive him and he slowly and carefully slid himself into her. They both moaned in pleasure as they moved together, two bodies now joined as one in a moment of pure passion. His breathing was heavy as he thrust into her. She was tight around him, the perfect fit and it was taking all of his efforts not to explode inside of her right away. He wanted to make it last though. He wanted her to experience all of the pleasure that he was.
Then someone knocked on the door.
“Dean, are you in there?” It was his partner and she had urgently been looking everywhere for him.
Dean swore under his breath. “Shit. Yeah, I’m here, what's going on?” He sat up and was fumbling to find his clothing quickly.
“Sorry to uh, interrupt, but we have a call that we have to take. There is a major house fire down at the corner of Green and Main streets. We need to get down there ASAP. They have every ambulance in the region on their way there right now. It sounds pretty bad. Lots of injuries. Hurry up, I’ll meet you outside.”
They could hear her steps departing down the hall, as they both quickly got dressed.
“Lacey I’m so sorry. I have to go, but I’ll be back I promise.” He kissed her softly before running out the door.
CHAPTER 7
Lacey sat alone for a moment in the small room after Dean had left. The night had been such a whirlwind and she had such mixed emotions about everything that had gone on. She was mad at herself for the mistakes she had made and upset at being reprimanded by her superiors and yet, a part of her felt gleeful and full of new life, having found a kindred spirit in Dean. Someone who understood what she was going through, how she felt, and it helped her that he was ravishingly gorgeous and a great kisser. Her panties were getting sticky just thinking about him, she couldn't wait to finish what they started.
It had been a long time since she had been with a man. Med school had taken up all of her time for quite a few years. She had made her studies a priority, which hadn’t left any room for any type of romantic escapades. Plus, she had never been with a man as sexy as Dean or one so skilled in bed. He was everything that she could ever have wanted, everything she had ever dreamed of. She could have sat there all night daydreaming about him. Unfortunately, though, the full moon had brought out almost the entire population of Johnstonville to the Emergency Room and the doctors there were spread thin. She needed to pull herself together and get back out there to help.
Dr. Danielle put her to work, helping to deliver the premature breech baby that had arrived a little while earlier. It was hard work bringing a baby into the world, especially the one that was early and in distress, and Lacey quickly learned this. She acted as the obstetrician on duty’s assistant, passing her the instruments that she asked for, checking the patient’s vital signs, recording the baby’s heart rate, and holding the mother’s hand as she screamed in pain. Lacey’s nerves were still on edge, even more so, knowing that she had two lives to take care of, but she kept Dr. Danielle’s advice in mind and kept her breathing slow and steady. Thoughts of Dean also helped to get her through and she often found her mind wandering to him.
The fire was blazing hot. Dean and Ashleigh could feel the heat as soon as they stepped out of the ambulance. Sirens were roaring, lights were flashing, and there was a frenzy of all different types of uniforms running back and forth. The scene didn’t look good. Other ambulances had already taken some of the injured victims back to Johnstonville General and the firefighters were still pulling more victims out of the burning building. Dean and Ashleigh looked at each other with trepidation before moving in to load up the next patient and bring them in.
Just as they had finished securing their patients and closing the back doors, they were startled by a loud crash. The flames blazed up and the sky was filled with smoke and sparks. Half of the house had just collapsed, with firefighters still working inside. Screams rang out and everyone began shouting. A nearby police officer yelled to Dean, “Get your patient to the hospital and get back here fast. Don’t wait for dispatch to call you, just get here right away,” and he took off running.
Dean and Ashleigh jumped into the ambulance and flew back to the ER as quickly as they could. There were many lives depending on them.
When they arrived, the Emergency Room was the busiest than they had ever seen it. It took the paramedics a few minutes to grab the attention of one of the nurses in order to let them know that there were patients brought in. All of the Emergency beds were occupied and there was barely even standing room left in the ER waiting room. Ashleigh looked at Dean and grimaced.
“How in the world are they going to be able to handle all of the fire victims? They are already full as it is and there’s a lot more to come.”
“Don’t worry, they will find a way,” Dean said, but his voice wasn’t as confident as his words were.
They checked in their patients and left quickly, informing whoever would listen that they would be back with more wounded and to make as much room as possible.
CHAPTER 8
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Luckily, Lacey had been kept busy for the past few hours and hadn’t had time to think about everything that had gone wrong earlier in the evening. She worked away, diligently tending to patients but stayed away from the more serious cases, letting the experienced doctors on duty handle those patients. She had successfully assisted in the delivery of the premature baby, who ended up being a tiny baby girl named Layla. Mom and baby were doing great and Lacey finally had a positive experience to boost her confidence, which was a good thing, considering things in the ER were starting to get even more hectic.
The fire victims were coming in left, right, and center and there wasn’t much room to hold them or many doctors and nurses available to tend to them. They were being triaged as they came in and only the most serious of cases were being immediately tended to. Everyone else would just have to wait. Lacey was running back and forth frantically, grabbing equipment, moving patients, and bandaging up the burn victims until they were ready to be sent to surgery. Sweat was running down her brow but she kept breathing. “Stay focused,” she told herself when she started to feel overwhelmed. “If Dean has faith in you, then you have faith in yourself.” There was a lot to do and a lot to think about, but she was pushing through and praying that this crazy night would be over soon.
She ran past the nurses’ station, on the way to her next patient, and as she did she heard the dispatch radio crackle to life. A muffled voice came through, but the connection was poor and filled with static and she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Her patient was a burn victim from the fire who was in need of urgent care, but for some reason, she felt the need to respond to the caller on the radio. All of the nurses were busy and there was no one else around to respond to them. Stepping behind the desk, she picked up the receiver and clicked the button, speaking into it.
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