Strictly Professional: Stud Services

by Sandy Sullivan

  The bell on the microwave pinged as she came back into the living room. “This is pretty sad, Savannah. You’re spending the evening with your television, a frozen dinner, and your cat.” Said feline meowed from the corner and Savannah frowned. “No wonder your parents are all over you to find a man, get married, and have babies.”

  Her phone rang as she removed her food and set it on the bar.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Vannah.”

  “Hey, Sabrina. What’s up?”

  “I called to see if you were driving or flying. I forgot to ask you earlier.”

  “Flying. I don’t have time to drive in. I have to be back at work early next week.”

  “Yeah, me too. What time are you coming in?”

  “Mmm...hang on and let me check.” She grabbed her purse and flipped open the side pocket before she pulled out the flight itinerary she’d stuffed in it earlier. “Three tomorrow afternoon. I’m hoping I don’t get called tonight for the emergency room.”

  “You’re on call tonight?”

  “Yep.”

  “Damn! Do you have any time to yourself?”

  “Nope. Not until I’m done with my residency next year and I finally start getting paid to do this.”

  Sabrina's bubbly laugh met her ear. “Yeah. I know what you mean. I fly in shortly before you do, so I’ll just wait for you and we can catch a cab together.”

  “United front and all that?”

  “You bet! I’m sure you have the same idea I do as to what this little gathering of the children entails.”

  “Unfortunately, yes. Husbands and grandchildren.”

  “I wish they would give up already. This is getting crazy.”

  “I know, but listen, I need to go. I have to eat a bite and try to get some shut eye. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay. See you at the airport.”

  “Bye, Sabrina.”

  “Bye.”

  Savannah shut the phone and pulled open the refrigerator to retrieve the butter before she plopped some on top of the potatoes and stirred. “Such a gourmet meal. What will I do?” She picked up the paper container and headed for the couch. Grabbing the remote to the television, she flipped on the news and sat back against the cushion.

  Scenes from a robbery that happened earlier in the day on West End Avenue flashed across the screen and she cringed. “I don’t need to see this. I get enough gore at work.”

  She continued to change the channel until she found reruns of Grey’s Anatomy and zeroed in on Patrick Dempsey. “Now why can’t I find a guy that looks like him?”

  Her phone rang and she reached over to grab the receiver without taking her eyes off the television screen.

  “Hello?”

  “Savannah. What time are you coming in tomorrow, sweetheart?”

  “Hi, Mom. My plane gets there about three. Sabrina and I are going to share a cab out to the house so we should be there around four.”

  “Good. We’re having a small dinner party tomorrow night and I wanted to make sure you’d be arriving in time.”

  Great.

  “Don’t go to any trouble on our account. You know it’s no big deal for us to come home for the weekend.”

  “Yes, well, we are anyway. You girls haven’t been home in quite a while. It’s nothing big. Just a few friends.”

  Friends with sons, brothers or cousins who we might be interested in.

  “Great. I’m sure we’ll have a blast.” Savannah’s cell phone rang on the other side of the room. “Mom, I need to go. My cell is ringing and it’s probably the hospital.”

  “Are you working tonight?”

  “I’m on call.” She stood and moved toward where she'd dropped her duffle. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.” Dropping the phone on the cradle, she flipped open her cell and said, “Hello?”

  “Doctor Gibson?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is Marie at the emergency room. We need you to come in. We’ve got a five car accident coming in with multiple injuries.”

  Savannah sighed. So much for a nice dinner at home. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

  “Great. See you in a few.”

  She hung up the phone, stuffed the roll in her mouth, grabbed her duffle and keys before she opened the door and let it shut behind her. Rain fell from the sky in buckets and Savannah flipped on the windshield winders of her car on high. “Damn! Next I expect cats and dogs!”

  The hospital parking garage came into view and she turned on her signal to make the left. She grabbed her badge to swipe her way through the gate and pulled into an empty parking spot when she realized the big black dually sat in front of her again. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed her bag and popped open her car door.

  The screech of ambulances pulling into the emergency room bays brought her attention back to the task at hand. She knew they wouldn’t have called her unless they really needed the extra pair of hands. With a deep breath and a sigh of resignation, she swiped her badge and headed for the locker room to store her bag.

  It’s a good thing I never changed out of my scrubs.

  She picked up her stethoscope and headed for the nurses’ station to find out what needed to be done first.

  “Hey, Marie. Where do you need me?”

  The pretty Asian nurse swung around to look at Savannah and said, “Thank goodness you’re here. They probably need some help in trauma four.”

  “What’s the scoop?”

  “Child in a MVA. Mom was driver and she’s in exam three.”

  “Was?”

  “Yeah. She didn’t make it.”

  “Shit,” Savannah whispered. “I got four, then.”

  She moved toward the curtained-off area, not knowing what she would find on the other side. When she pulled the drape aside, she found a little girl approximately ten years old still strapped to the back board. “Hey, sweetie. I’m Savannah. What’s your name?”

  “Molly.”

  “Well, Molly. Let’s see what we can do to help you feel better, okay?”

  Molly whimpered then asked, “Are you a doctor?”

  “Yes, I am and I’m going to take care of you. Do you hurt anywhere, Molly?”

  “My leg hurts and my stomach.”

  “Okay. Let’s see what we have here.” Savannah cut the clothing from Molly’s left leg. “We are going to need some pictures of your leg sweetie. I need to make sure whether it’s broken or not.”

  “Where’s my mom?”

  Savannah’s heart sank in her chest. She didn’t want to be the one to break the news to this little girl that her mother was dead. “Was your dad in the car with you, pumpkin?’

  “No. He’s at work.”

  “Do you know his phone number? I need to call him.”

  “It’s in Mom’s phone.”

  “Let me go see if I can find it, okay? I’ll be right back, but in the mean time, I’ll have one of the nurses come in and sit with you for a minute.”

  “Will you come back?”

  Savannah stroked the hair back from Molly’s forehead and whispered, “You bet. I won’t leave you alone.”

  “Okay.”

  She fought the tears burning behind her eyelids and stepped out of the trauma bay. “Marie? Can you sit with this little girl while I see if I can find a phone number for her dad?”

  “Sure.” Marie’s gaze searched her face. “Did you tell her?”

  “No. I’m hoping to get in touch with her father.”

  Savannah moved toward the room where Molly’s mother lay and pushed open the door. A pretty thirty-something woman lay on the gurney covered with a white sheet to her chin. Savannah could see where Molly probably got her coloring and it saddened her to think the little girl would never be held against her mother again.

  God, I hate this part.

  Inhaling a deep breath, she tipped her head back on her shoulders for a moment before she moved to the woman’s side and moved the sheet so she could look for her cell phone.


  A knock sounded on the door and she answered with a crisp, “Come in.”

  “Hey, doc.”

  Her gaze shot up to the state trooper then back to the patient. “Hey, John. You working this one?”

  “Yeah. Sad, huh?”

  “Definitely. Did you get some identification—a purse, maybe? I need to see if there is a cell phone in her things. The little girl in four is this one’s daughter and her father is at work.”

  “Yeah, I have her purse at the nurses’ station. I think there’s a cell in there.”

  “Good.”

  “You okay Savannah?”

  “I wish everyone would quit asking me that,” she grumbled.

  Her gaze swept over his broad shoulders stretching his tan, button-down uniform until it disappeared into the waistband of his trousers and the maxed-out utility belt around his waist. John Carter wasn’t bad looking, but he had the ego to go with those handcuffs he sported and she was pretty sure he knew exactly what to do with them.

  “Lighten up. Maybe we’re just worried.”

  “Sorry, John. I’m under a lot of pressure right now with work and all. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

  “It’s okay. Are you working all night?”

  “Probably. I’m on call, so you never know.” She cocked an eyebrow, wondering why he'd asked. “Why?”

  His shoulder lifted in a shrug as his gaze fixed on his shoes. “I thought maybe you might like to get a cup of coffee later.”

  “Sorry, John. After work I’m getting some shut eye before I have to catch a plane to Texas tomorrow.”

  “Texas? That where you’re from?”

  “Yep. East of Houston. Small hole-in-the-wall town called Destiny in the Yellow Rose Valley.”

  “Cowgirl?”

  She almost cracked up laughing. If anyone could be considered the farthest thing from a cowgirl, it would be Savannah Gibson. “Not now I’m not. I rode when I was a kid, but I stay as far away from cows, horses, and cowboys as I can get.”

  “Why is that?’

  “Grew up with them. Cows are stupid, horses are ornery, and cowboys are arrogant, selfish, commitment phobic, mean, rotten....” His eyebrows rose as the words rolled off her tongue.

  “Been burned?”

  Air rushed out from between her lips in a sigh. “Is it that obvious?”

  John chuckled. “Yeah, just a little.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to go off. It’s a bit of a sore spot.”

  “No! Really?” He pulled open the door and they moved together toward the nurses’ station to find the woman’s purse. “Let me check her belongings for her cell.”

  “Thanks.” She took a step in toward room four to check on her charge. “Can you call her father and get him down here? We really need permission to treat and he needs to be here for his daughter and to know about his wife passing away.”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks.”

  Savannah slipped back inside the exam room where Molly lay. The nurse she’d left with the little girl had removed her cervical collar and Molly now sat on the side of the gurney. “Who said the collar and back board could come off?”

  “Doctor Cooper.”

  “Doctor Cooper? I don’t know anyone by that name.”

  “New attending. Just started tonight, in fact. What a way to be thrown into a mess, huh? Cute. Dark hair. Blue eyes. He’s got all the nurses in a twitter.”

  Savannah frowned before she said, “Did he come in and see her after I already said I had this room?”

  “He asked who had treated her and I told him. He didn’t seem to know you either, but he said her CAT scan was negative.”

  “Savannah? Where’s my mom?”

  Savannah’s heart clenched in her chest when she shot a glance at the nurse then moved to sit beside Molly. “We are trying to get in touch with your daddy, sweetie.”

  The door of the exam room opened and John stuck his head in. With a swift nod, he told her to come out into the hall.

  “I’ll be right back, okay?”

  Molly nodded and Savannah moved toward the door. A quick glance at her small charge and she walked out.

  “What’s up, John?”

  “I got in touch with her father. He’s on the way.”

  “Did you tell him about his wife?”

  “No. I only told him there had been a bad accident and they were both here.”

  She looked over John’s shoulder and saw the back of what she assumed to be the new doctor Marie mentioned, while he bent over and studied an x-ray. Her eyebrow rose when her gaze dropped to his ass.

  Nice.

  “Savannah?”

  Her gaze swung back to the officer in front of her. “Huh? Sorry, John. What did you say?”

  “I said I need to get back out there. I guess I’ll see you around.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. Be careful. I don’t want to see you in here on one of those stretchers.”

  “Like you care.”

  “I do! I don’t want to see anyone I know on a gurney.”

  “I’ll see what I can do about keeping myself off one, then. See you later?”

  She shrugged. “I’ll be right here.”

  He shook his head with a smile and headed for the double doors leading outside.

  Tipping her head back on her shoulders, she stared at the tiled ceiling for a moment before she sighed, spun on her heels, and headed back for exam four and Molly.

  “Code blue exam four. Code blue exam four.”

  “Fuck! Molly!” Savannah ran to the door and slammed it back against the wall. “What the hell happened?”

  “I don’t know. She just crashed,” Marie said grabbing the ambu bag and starting to breathe for the little girl while Savannah did compressions. Another nurse rolled in the pediatric crash cart.

  “Come on, Molly. Don’t do this, baby.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Savannah lifted her head and her heart stopped when her gaze clashed with the blue eyes of the man attached to the solid wall of muscle she’d slammed into earlier.

  Chapter Two

  “She crashed. What the hell does it look like?” Savannah snapped while she continued to pump on the little girl’s chest. She grimaced when she felt her ribs crack.

  “Get me an ET tube. What’s her rhythm?”

  Savannah backed off on the compressions so they could check her heartbeat on the monitor. She released a huge rush of air when a steady blip blip sound echoed through the room.

  “She’s in sinus.” He grabbed an endotracheal tube to intubate. Once the tube was in place, he secured it and sighed. “Get her on the vent.” Everyone filed out of the room except blue eyes and her. Savannah stayed next to the little girl’s bed, brushing the curls away from her face.

  “Who in the hell is in charge of her case?”

  Savannah’s head whipped around and she spat, “I am.”

  Her gaze locked with his and his eyebrow rose in question. “You?”

  “Yes, me.”

  A frown pulled down the corners of his mouth. “Give me a rundown, then.”

  “And just who the hell are you?”

  “Doctor Cooper. Brandon Cooper.” He held out his hand, but she frowned and cocked an eyebrow, so he pulled it back. “And you are?”

  “Doctor Gibson.”

  “Well, Doctor Gibson—care to tell me what happened, since I’m the attending?”

  Savannah ground her teeth together while she fought the urge to give him a dressing down.

  He’s the one who took her off the backboard.

  “I’m not exactly sure. She was sitting on the side of the bed when I went out to talk to the officer who called her father. Her mother is the DOA in the next room.”

  “Her exam was negative?”

  “Yes, other than some abdominal tenderness.”

  “I’m assuming she came in on a backboard and cervical collar.”

  “Yes.”

  “Who cleared her?”
/>
  Savannah’s eyes widened and she stared. “You did.”

  “Me? I never saw her.”

  “Marie said you cleared her. She said you told her the CT was negative and she could remove her from the backboard and cervical collar.” She planted her hands on her hips. “Are you saying you cleared this child without even examining her?”

  Marie popped her head into the room. “Her dad is here. Do you want to meet with him, Doctor Gibson?”

  “Yes.” She shot a glance at the man on the other side of the bed. “And you’re coming with me to explain why his daughter was fine one minute and the next she’s on a vent.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I didn’t clear her from the board, you did. I had planned to scan her belly, but you told the nurse to take her off of it. She had some tenderness to her spleen and right now she probably needs a surgery consult for internal bleeding.”

  “I...uh...I’ll put him in the conference room.” Marie ducked back out and shut the door behind her.

  “Let’s get one thing straight here. You are the resident and I’m the attending.” His eyes narrowed. “I cleared a CT scan for the patient in room one, not room four. The patient in room one’s name is Anders, not Sanders.”

  “Well you know what? Right now I don’t give a shit who you are or if you screwed up and cleared the wrong patient. There is a little girl lying there with a tube down her throat and several cracked ribs because her heart stopped for a reason. Her father is sitting in the conference room waiting to know what the hell is going on and I have to tell him something.” She brushed away a tear that escaped and cut a path down her cheek. “His wife is dead in the next room and his daughter may not make it.”

  Brandon grabbed the upper part of her arm and pulled her toward the door.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “We aren’t discussing this in front of the patient or where anyone else might hear this conversation.” He continued to pull her down the hall until they reached the physicians’ lounge. She looked over her shoulder and flushed with embarrassment when at least ten sets of eyes focused on her. Brandon punched the code in the door while she struggled to pull her arm from his grasp, but he wasn’t letting go.

  He pushed her inside, scanned the room quickly for anyone else’s presence, and then slammed the door shut behind them. “Now, I think you need to give this case over to someone else. You are obviously too close and cannot treat the patient objectively.”