Table of Contents
Life Over Limb
After a patient tragically dies while under his care, mobile trauma nurse Tanner withdraws into himself. No longer working out in the field, he’s stuck on the midnight shift at St. Anthony’s Hospital and with each passing day, he sinks deeper into depression.
Ricky loves his job as a radiology tech. While he enjoys working with patients, the highlight of his day used to be when Tanner would bring a patient into the hospital. Although the nurse’s flirting was sometimes over the top, Ricky found himself growing attracted to the man. So when he learns that Tanner has taken a full-time job at the hospital, Ricky is excited…until he realizes that Tanner is a shell of the man he used to be. Ricky vows that no matter what he has to do, he will bring Tanner out of his depression. Will Ricky be able to make Tanner want to embrace life again? Or will Ricky lose the nurse to his own inner demons?
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Life Over Limb
Copyright © 2011 Stephani Hecht
ISBN: 978-1-55487-990-8
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books
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Life Over Limb
EMS Heat 11
By
Stephani Hecht
Chapter One
Ricky picked up the plate of sad looking lettuce before he shook his head and put it back on the buffet line. Next, he debated over the soggy spaghetti, then the runny mashed potatoes before rejecting both for a hamburger that appeared to have been made two decades ago.
It was moments like this when Ricky wished he’d taken his mother’s advice and gone into banking instead of becoming a radiology technician. At least then he might be having his lunch hour at a café or something instead of the cafeteria at St. Anthony’s hospital. Then again, since he worked third shift and it was four in the morning, he had to take what he could get.
Breathing deep, he took in the scents of industrial cleaner and greasy food. What a yummy combination, cue sarcasm. Were it not for the fact that he was diabetic and needed to eat regular meals, Ricky would have been tempted to ditch the place and skip his meal altogether.
“Well, that’s something I never want to see again,” a voice drawled from beside of him.
Ricky jumped in surprise. The place was pretty deserted so he hadn’t expected anybody to be talking to him. When he noted it was his friend, Ben, Ricky smiled. Ben was holding up a plate full of what might have once been lasagna. At the moment, it looked more like the Blob’s younger, uglier, red-encrusted cousin.
Ricky turned and let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you’re here. I was just trying to decide what would be less likely to cause me to hurl. Maybe you can be my food taster for me.”
Ben and Ricky had been friends since they’d been five years old. They now were roommates and worked at the same hospital, although Ben was employed as an RN in the ER as opposed to the radiology department.
Though they were both gay, they’d never been romantically involved. Sure, Ben was good looking enough. Since his mother was from Korea, Ben inherited her exotic features while taking on his father’s easy going nature, which made for a great combination. Plus, Ben always made sure to dress and groom himself impeccably no matter how late it might be. So normally, Ben would be the kind of guy Ricky went for.
It was just that Ricky and Ben were so close they felt like brothers and it didn’t seem right to either of them to be into each other that way. They had an unspoken rule to never to cross that line and Ricky knew it would forever be that way. Which suited him just fine.
Ben eyed the burger on Ricky’s tray and shook his head. “I love you, but there is no way in hell that thing is touching my mouth.”
Ricky pretended to inspect the food carefully. “I don’t know…I’ve seen you tongue much grosser things.”
“Says the guy who hasn’t been laid in six months.”
“Ouch,” Ricky muttered.
Like he could help it that he was going through a spell dryer than the Sahara Desert. It’s not like he hadn’t wanted any company. It’s just that he only wanted one person in particular and said person had so far remained elusive.
Shaking his head, Ricky shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind. He was already depressed enough as it was and there was no reason to add to it by thinking of Tanner. He had to wonder why for months Tanner had flirted with Ricky, only to drop out of sight a couple of months ago. Ricky had even dug up the courage to ask the mobile flight nurse’s partner what happened. All he got for an answer was that Tanner was taking a leave of absence and they didn’t know when he’d be returning.
Ben grabbed a tray and began to load junk food on it. Ricky eyed up a big, piece of chocolate cake. God, what he would give to be able to eat it—but that kind of food was permanently off his menu. The last time he’d cheated and eaten something like that, his blood sugar had shot through the ceiling and he ended up as a patient at the very hospital he worked for.
Ben reached over, snagged up an apple and orange and dumped them on Ricky’s tray. Next, he chose a few hardboiled eggs and added those, too. It was on the tip of Ricky’s tongue to say that he could pick out his own food, but he held it back. Ben always seemed to think it was his job to make sure his friend ate right.
“You’ll never guess what I found out today,” Ben announced as they picked up their trays and carried them over to the register.
They both nodded hello to the cashier, an elderly man who had yet to utter one word to them other than to tell them how much money they owed.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s your news?” Ricky asked as he dug out his wallet and paid.
“Starting tomorrow, I’m going to be training a new nurse they hired for the ER.”
Ricky cocked a brow. “They trust you to be in charge of somebody? Wow.”
“Shut up,” Ricky shot back good-naturedly as they picked up their trays.
They chose a table in the center of the empty cafeteria and sat down before continuing their conversation.
“You’re never going to believe who the new hire is either,” Ben said.
“Who?”
“Tanner.”
Ricky felt all the blood drain from his face as he strove to keep from gaping in shock. Since he didn’t want to give Ben the satisfaction of knowing how unnerving that bombshell was, Ricky picked up his orange and began to peel it, giving the fruit the upmost attention.
“Oh, as in Tanner from the helicopter?” he asked, keeping his voice neutral.
“No. Tanner from that dippy soap opera you watch,” Ben snarked.
“Oh, good. Then then he can finally tell me if he is the father of Victoria’s baby. I’ve been dying to know the answer to that mystery for three months now.”
Ben pointed with his candy
bar. “See? That’s why you should watch something else. Take Toddlers and Tiaras for example, you always know who’s won Grand Supreme by the end of the episode.”
“If it weren’t for the fact that I wanted to strangle all the mothers on that show, I’d take you up on that offer.”
“By the way, don’t think I don’t realize what you’re doing.”
Ricky briefly glanced up from his orange to shoot his best who-me look. “And what’s that?”
“You’re trying to divert the topic away from Tanner, and by that, I mean your Tanner and not the actor.”
A jumble of butterflies started doing the two-step in Ricky’s stomach. “He’s not my anything. We just talked a few times.”
“Funny, I usually call what you guys did flirting.”
“Nah, he was just being nice. There is no way in hell a guy that good-looking could be interested in me.”
“Why not?”
Really? Was Ben blind or something? Didn’t he see how different Ricky was from Tanner? While Tanner was tall and muscular, Ricky barely topped five-eight and had the build of one of the Olsen twins. Then there was the fact that Tanner always kept his short, dark hair perfectly combed, whereas Ricky’s brown locks usually looked like they lost a fight with a cat. Damn, even Tanner’s eyes were a dream come true. They were such a warm brown that they made Ricky want to drool over them for hours. And what did Ricky have? Green eyes that he often covered with a pair of glasses since he was nearsighted.
A bit of the juice from the orange seeped into a paper cut on Ricky’s finger. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch, but he continued with his task. It was a lot less painful than dealing with the emotions that always came along with Tanner.
“So, do you know why he’s been MIA for so long?” Ricky asked.
“Nobody is talking. All I do know is that he’s coming here, and now it’s my responsibility to make sure he knows all the ins and outs of the ER.”
Ricky blinked a few times. “They’re actually trusting you with that?”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
“Ah, let’s see…there was that incident in the drug room.”
“Hey, it was just one little prank involving a speculum and cervical scraper.”
“Okay, then how about the time you scared the ladies from the lab department?”
“I just sent one baby doll through the pneumatic shoot.”
Ricky rolled his eyes. “The doll was missing its head and had the words Red Rum written on its chest.”
“It’s not my fault that they’re not Stephen King fans. Anybody else would have appreciated the cleverness of that prank.”
“How about that time you directed that Flint medic to the morgue instead of the EMS room?”
“Hey, Matt is just the kind of guy who could appreciate that kind of joke. Plus, I owed him for taking all my money the last time we played poker.”
Okay, maybe Ben had a point on that last one. Matt was a great guy, but he was the king of practical jokes, so it was kind of funny to see the medic get some of his own medicine for once.
Ricky bit into an orange section, shuddering at the bitter taste. How in the hell was it that the hospital didn’t have fresh fruit? One would think that would be the ideal place to get healthy food since they were all about…well, health. He made a silent vow never again to forget to pack his own lunch.
He pushed the tray away, not willing to test anything else. Of course, Ben had to comment on that. “Did you take your insulin?”
“Of course, I did.”
“Then you need to eat.”
With a glare, Ricky picked up the apple and took a bite. While it was mushy, at least it wasn’t bitter. In fact, it had no taste at all, but if it got Ben off his back, then Ricky could live through it.
Ben grabbed one of the eggs from Ricky’s tray and began to peel away the shell. “When’s the last time you checked your blood sugar?”
“I’m not one of your patients,” Ricky protested. When Ben gave him an arched brow look, Ricky sighed, “I tested it right before I came down here.”
“What was it?”
“It was just fine.”
“Do you want me to drag your scrawny ass back to the ER and check it for myself?”
Ricky could see Ben doing just that. While he was usually pretty laid back, when it came to taking care of others, Ben could be as stubborn as a bulldog.
“It was fifty,” Ricky admitted.
Just as he expected, Ben let out a muttered curse. “Damn it, you have to take better care of yourself.”
“I know. I just got caught up in some family stuff today and missed dinner. I tried to stabilize everything by snacking on some crackers, but I guess it didn’t help.”
Ben held out the shelled egg and Ricky took it. Taking a bite, he was pleasantly surprised to find that it didn’t taste too bad. He chewed as he waited for Ben to calm down.
“What was so important that you forgot to eat?” Ben demanded.
“Mom is out of town this week so I’ve been doing carpool duty for my brothers and sisters.”
“God, that can’t be easy since there are seven of you.”
Since Ben was an only child, it always seemed to overwhelm him whenever he had to deal with Ricky’s family. That didn’t stop Ben from coming over for meals whenever Ricky’s mom invited him. They often liked to joke that Ben was the eighth sibling.
“Yeah, it’s been a bitch. Between Carla’s dance lesson and Alex’s band practice, I barely have time to get home and shower before coming in.”
Ben leaned forward on his elbows and pinned Ricky with a stern glare. “Fine, I’ll let it slide this one time, but if you let your sugar drop again, I’m calling your mother.”
Ricky paused mid-bite. “Did you just threaten to tell my mommy on me?”
“Damn right I did and I’m not ashamed. If you won’t listen to me, I know you sure as hell will pay attention to her.”
“That’s blackmail, you know?”
A slow grin spread over Ben’s face. “Damn straight it is and I don’t care.”
Ricky tried hard to work up some real anger, but failed. He knew that Ben only nagged because he cared. Plus, he did have a point. Ricky needed to pay better attention to his medical condition. He wouldn’t do his family any good if he slipped into a diabetic coma.
“Okay, I’ll be a good boy, but that means you have to take Malinda to her violin lesson tomorrow.”
Ben pulled a face. “God, are you trying to torture me? My mom forced me to take violin lessons for years, even though I hated the damn thing. If I go with Malinda, it’s likely to give me flashbacks.”
Ricky bit the inside of his cheek to hold back his laugher. He really did love Ben’s melodramatic side. “If you’d rather not, then you could take Lenny to his baseball game.”
That suggestion made Ben shudder. “No way! I’m never going back there again. The last time we went to one of his games, that one mom kept hitting on us. She had to have been at least twenty years older than us and she had more cleavage than the entire Jersey Shore cast combined.”
“She wasn’t that bad.”
“Are you kidding me? Did you forget how she kept speaking to me in a loud, slow voice? Dude, just because I’m Asian doesn’t mean I wasn’t born in this country. I didn’t know whether to be amazed or angry at her ignorance.”
“Fine, I’ll take Lenny to the game. You’ll just have to risk the flashbacks and take Malinda.”
“Sounds like a plan and then we’ll all go out for dinner,” Ben added pointedly. “You need to look your best for Tanner tomorrow night.”
A heat came over Ricky’s face as he thought about the nurse and the mystery surrounding his disappearance. While Ricky couldn’t help but be excited over the prospect of seeing Tanner again, a small bit of worry nagged him. Where had Tanner been and why was he changing jobs? Somehow, Ricky had the feeling that the answers to those questions wouldn’t be good.
Chapter Two
&n
bsp; “Damn, it,” Tanner cursed as he dropped the folder containing all his paperwork.
Given how his day was going, of course the thing had to fly open and scatter his documents all over the ER bay. He bit back another curse as he stooped down to pick them up. As it was, he was already running late, but he didn’t dare leave without them. They included his tax and licensing information.
“Here, let me help you with that,” a familiar voice called.
Tanner froze, heart hammering with anticipation as Ricky rushed over and knelt down next to him. The younger man wore a heavy coat over his usual, maroon scrubs and he looked just as damn cute as Tanner remembered.
Several locks of Ricky’s hair stood on end, almost as if they were begging Tanner to reach out and smooth them down. Even Ricky’s glasses made him all the more appealing, the frames adding the whole sexy-but-smart appeal to the guy.
Ricky scooped up the remaining papers, then grinned as he held them out to Tanner. “I think this is all of them.”
Tanner found himself unable to look away from that endearing smile. He swallowed hard before taking the documents from Ricky. “Thanks, I would have been lost without these.”
“I figured as much. Plus, you don’t want your personal information flying around for all of Pontiac to see.”
They both straightened and faced each other. Tanner knew he should get the hell away before he said or did something stupid, but he couldn’t seem to think of a way to make a graceful exit.
“It’s nice seeing you around here again,” Ricky said.
Tanner’s mouth grew dry as he struggled to come up with a good answer for that one. How exactly did one explain that he had to take some time away because he nearly had a nervous breakdown?
“Yeah, I had some personal things to attend to,” he replied, deliberately being vague.
Thankfully, that seemed to appease Ricky as he nodded. “Well, at any rate, I’m glad that you’re working here now.” Ricky flushed and then added, “What I mean is, it’s great to see a nice guy like you employed again. Because the job market is so bad and…well, you know…nobody should be without a source of income.”
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