One Night in New York

by Amy Ruttan

  Dr. Samuel Napier was well respected, admired and most if not all of the surgeons who worked with him commented on his bedside manner with pediatric patients and his skill in the operating room. Though he dealt more with older children than babies.

  She’d earmarked him as one to watch, but hadn’t intended to choose him as her first resident. Her process was to weed out the weaker members of the herd. Mindy had had another resident in mind, but when she’d walked into that meeting and learned that her hot, brooding one-night stand was none other than Dr. Samuel Napier she had been absolutely furious.

  No wonder he got good reports.

  He probably slept with all his attendings. Not a hard thing to do when most of the surgeons in Pediatrics at this hospital were female. He’d used her. She knew she shouldn’t have let her guard down, because she couldn’t trust anyone.

  And now he’d frog-marched her into this exam room to give her a talking-to? And she was his superior? No, this wasn’t happening. Mindy refused to be pushed around again.

  “I’m not changing my opinion of you just because you say that I should. Why should I trust you? You didn’t even tell me you worked at the hospital, that you were a surgical resident.”

  Sam’s eyes narrowed, those delectable lips which she could still feel imprinted against her body, were pursed together.

  “You didn’t tell me you were a surgeon either.”

  “I did too.”

  A diabolical grin spread across Sam’s face. “No, you didn’t.”

  Mindy opened her mouth to argue further and realized through those hazy, jangled memories of their meeting in the bar that all she’d told him had been her first name and that she’d moved to New York to start a new job, but not what that job was.

  “You know that I’m right.” His grin turned smug and he leaned against the door.

  “You could’ve still looked up my CV online once you learned about the new head of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and our meeting was just an opportune moment.”

  The grin disappeared. “I did not sleep with you for personal gain. I’m extremely good at my job, so if you need to test me, so be it. I will take whatever challenge you have for me, and gladly. Though it’s a waste of time.”

  Mindy snorted. “You think that maternal-fetal medicine and working on my service is a waste of time?”

  “I do. My plan is to work with Dr. Chang and become a pediatric surgeon. Infants go to the NICU or the neonatologist. You’re just a glorified obstetrician.”

  Mindy shook her head. “You’re a bit arrogant, aren’t you?”

  “You have to be in this line of work. You have to be tough for the patients, for the parents and you have to be that tough to swim in this shark tank.”

  “You think surgery is a shark tank?”

  “I do. Don’t you?”

  Mindy couldn’t argue with him on that. It was. She’d learned the hard way that you couldn’t trust other surgeons, especially not when you had ten or more residents competing for OR time, competing for attendings’ attention and competing for only a couple of spots in a small fellowship pool.

  When she’d entered surgery she hadn’t been a shark. Dean and Owen had been sharks, but she hadn’t. All she’d had had been raw talent. It used to infuriate Dean when she was chosen over him when they’d been residents. That should’ve been a clue.

  Well, now she was one and she wasn’t going to let an arrogant resident think that she wasn’t. She needed to be tough. When she’d taken this job and uprooted her life to start fresh in New York City, she’d known she was going to have to be a shark from the get-go.

  “Well, I guess I’ll be wasting your time, but know this, some of those pediatric patients’ problems start in utero. You think my specialty is a waste of time? Let me tell you something. The more my specialty advances, the more genetics advances and the more likely your job as a pediatric surgeon will become obsolete. Operating and taking care of those issues while the baby is still in utero will save them countless surgeries later in life. Dr. Chang is an excellent pediatric surgeon, but she doesn’t have the skill to operate in utero. If people like me have our way, all pediatric problems will be taken care of while still in the protective walls of the womb and there will be less children on the pediatric floor.” She moved closer to him. “Soon pediatric surgeons will be like the dinosaurs. Extinct.”

  Sam didn’t say anything. In fact, for a moment he looked at bit shocked.

  “So you think my specialty, my service is a waste of time? Well, I won’t hold you to your rotation on my service, but I can tell you, Dr. Napier, that I won’t be basing my vote on a resident who isn’t willing to graciously learn all the specialties that are involved with taking care of children.”

  Mindy tried to move past him, still shaking.

  “Wait.” Sam grabbed her arm to stop her.

  He was so close. Only a couple of hours ago he’d been in her bed. When she’d woken up and he’d been gone, it had stung, but she had been almost euphoric and definitely relaxed when she’d got into work. Until she’d seen him standing with the residents.

  It had been like a slap to the face.

  Just reaffirming to her that she couldn’t trust men. They were all users.

  “I’m sorry, Dr. Walker.”

  Mindy was stunned. “Thank you, Dr. Napier.”

  “I’ll gladly work on your service and I’ll prove to you my merit as a surgeon, but please know that I didn’t sleep with you because you were my attending. Had I known, I would’ve kept as far away from you as possible. Nothing will taint my career at this hospital, or my chance to become a fellow in Dr. Chang’s program. Nothing.”

  As Mindy looked up at Sam she wanted to believe him, but couldn’t. “Okay. I’ll give you a fair chance, Dr. Napier, but one toe out of line…”

  “The implication is clear.” He let go of her arm and stepped away from the door. “I look forward to learning from you, Dr. Walker.”

  Mindy nodded. She was pleased that she’d gotten through to him, but she could see the barriers, ones that had come down just a teeny bit last night, were building again. Walls that were meant to keep people out, from knowing the true Sam.

  She didn’t know the true version of him. Maybe if circumstances had been different, if something more could’ve stemmed from their night of passion, she might know the real Sam who remained locked behind those protective walls.

  There could’ve been something more there.

  Whatever he was protecting, it ran deep and Mindy would never know.

  It was for the best.

  She was his boss; he was a resident. That’s all it could ever be, but she couldn’t help but feel an inkling of regret.

  “I’ll see you at rounds in thirty minutes.” Mindy didn’t look at him, but he didn’t stop her from leaving this time, which was good, because she had to distance herself from him emotionally.

  Dr. Samuel Napier was off-limits, even if she didn’t want him to be.

  CHAPTER THREE

  SAM STOOD BACK because the ER was absolutely packed full of casualties from a multi-car pile-up. Usually, he’d be right into the fray, helping, but Mindy didn’t want him to so much as touch a patient.

  There were more than enough trauma residents and general surgeon residents to lend a helping hand.

  Mindy wanted him watching as she assessed an injured pregnant mother. One who was only twenty-six weeks. Mindy and neonatologist Dr. Hall were assessing the mother in a trauma pod and Sam was watching them.

  Which kind of annoyed him. Greatly. He wanted to be in the throng, helping the wounded. This was going against the grain for him.

  As he scanned the medical staff out on the floor he could see at least two residents he knew doing what they did best. Practicing medicine.

  Rebecca looked up from where he was working and shot him a look of What gives? And all Sam could do was shrug. He had his orders. He was to observe. Very similar to his mother’s methods.

  Don’t think
about her now.

  “Get out of the way!” Dr. Chang’s voice was shrill above the din and he watched as she ran beside a gurney, a little body wrapped up and bagged, as they pushed through the crowds toward the surgical floor.

  Sam’s gut instinct was to run after Dr. Chang and that child. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to go.

  “Dr. Napier?”

  Sam cursed under his breath as he turned around.

  “Distracted?” Mindy asked, slinging her stethoscope around her neck.

  “No.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Well, Ms. Bayberry is your responsibility. Get her up to Ultrasound and monitor her contractions. She’s pregnant with twins and was involved in the collision. We’re looking for signs of pre-term labor. Also contact her current practitioner. I’d like her updated files about her pregnancy.”

  “Isn’t that best left to an intern?” he asked, annoyed that he wasn’t with Dr. Chang.

  Mindy crossed her arms. “I asked you to do it, Dr. Napier. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No. Of course not.” Sam moved passed Mindy toward Ms. Bayberry’s bed. Dr. Hall ignored him as she conferred with Mindy about the treatment should poor Ms. Bayberry go into labor.

  “Will my babies be okay?” Ms. Bayberry asked nervously, her eyes wide with fear. This was the part of the job he hated the most, when he couldn’t answer the patient’s questions.

  “Will this treatment help my son?”

  “Will this cure him?”

  It tugged at his heartstrings. It ate him up inside and he didn’t know where the parents found strength. He’d talked to his father about that once, after watching children struggle with life-threatening conditions. It scared him, bringing a child into the world, and for one moment, when he had first been starting his residency and focusing on pediatrics, he’d thought about leaving and following in his mother’s footsteps.

  “I don’t know how you do it. How do you find the strength when your child is sick?”

  “You just do. What else can you do? You give them everything. That’s what being a parent is,” his father had said. “I would do anything for you and your brothers. I don’t care what happens to me. Only my children matter.”

  And as Ms. Bayberry looked up at him, fear in her eyes, it affected him. Only he couldn’t let her see it. For her, he had to be strong so that she could be strong for her babies, but he couldn’t promise her anything.

  That was something he learned from his mother.

  Never promise a patient something you couldn’t deliver with one hundred percent certainty. Even though Ms. Bayberry was in the best hands with Mindy, of that he was sure, he didn’t know the future so he could only offer her what he could to ease her mind.

  “You’re in the best hands, Ms. Bayberry. Let’s get you upstairs for some scans.” And he smiled at her and she relaxed. Though she was still terrified, he could see a bit of that fear dissipating and the goal was to keep her calm.

  He was taking some vitals and making sure the machines monitoring her contractions were ready to transport when he glanced up.

  Mindy was watching him. She wasn’t listening to Dr. Hall her gaze was focused on him. He wasn’t sure if it was with admiration or surprise, but whatever it was it made his heart beat just a bit faster and he looked away as he worked with the nurse to get Ms. Bayberry to transport.

  Mindy made it clear that he was to stick by his patient’s side and make sure that she didn’t go into pre-term labor. He had to stay focused. He was already in Mindy’s bad books, even though he’d made it clear to her that it had been a mistake.

  And it had been. A huge mistake.

  If only Mindy hadn’t been his new boss.

  If only what?

  Could he honestly tell himself that he wouldn’t have pursued her? No, he wouldn’t have, because right now he didn’t have time for that sort of thing. The only thing about their one night together was he wouldn’t have thought it a mistake. Never a mistake.

  He wheeled Ms. Bayberry out of the emergency department, with only one glance back to see residents in his class darting through Trauma after their attending, getting their hands dirty, wishing he was working with Dr. Chang on the child she’d been wheeling up to surgery.

  A touch from Ms. Bayberry brought him back to the present. The gauze on her forehead was soaked and as they waited on for the elevator to come, he reached down and gingerly touched her forehead.

  “Has anyone seen to that?”

  “It’s just a scratch,” she said, but wincing as she did so.

  “Let me take a look.” As he peeled back the bandages, he could see a large gash. One that would leave a nasty scar but wasn’t life-threatening. “That’s not pleasant.”

  “I’m sure it’s not,” Ms. Bayberry said, her voice rising. “I was more concerned about getting my babies checked out than having them attend to my cut.”

  “Of course, but I think we’ll have someone with real talent stitch that up for you, okay?”

  She smiled. “You?”

  “No, not me. I’m a pediatric surgeon, I deal with delicate stitches, but we’re very fortunate to have a former plastic surgeon to the stars on staff.”

  Ms. Bayberry chuckled and the doors to the elevator opened. Sam stopped an intern who was getting off the elevator.

  “Page Dr. Alexander in Plastics to come to the fourth floor OB/GYN ultrasound room. Stat.”

  The intern looked confused, but nodded.

  “You don’t have to page a special plastic surgeon to stitch me up, Doctor. I’m sure you can do a fine job.”

  Sam smiled down at her. “I could do an okay job but, come on, we have to have you looking spiffy when those babies come out and you have your first photographs with them. Wash away any reminder of today.”

  Ms. Bayberry grinned and leaned back against the pillows as the elevator headed up to the fourth floor. He’d take care of her scars. He just wished all scars were all that easy to wash away.

  “Dr. Napier, what is going on in there?” Mindy stood in the doorway of the ultrasound room, watching as a tanned, blond-haired Adonis from the plastic surgical ward was bent over her patient, working on her forehead.

  “I’m trying to concentrate here,” Dr. Alexander said over his shoulder in an annoyed tone.

  Sam rolled his eyes and Mindy could tell there was tension between the two of them. Who wasn’t Sam fighting with at this hospital? Sheesh. She had been hearing some tales about the so-called lone wolf of the residency program.

  After her lengthy discussion with Dr. Hall, Mindy got called to assess on another small case, one that wasn’t urgent, but as Sam hadn’t paged her that Ms. Bayberry had gone into pre-term labor or that there were unusual findings with her ultrasound, Mindy foolishly trusted Sam was okay.

  She did not expect to walk in on one of the top plastic surgeons, working on her patient and in the ultrasound room.

  “What is going here, Dr. Napier?” Mindy asked again in hushed undertones as Sam shut the door. “You were supposed to report back to me with the results of Ms. Bayberry’s ultrasound.”

  “You told me not to leave her side. You told me to monitor her for pre-term labor.”

  Mindy crossed her arms. “Why the heck is Dr. Alexander in there, stitching up her forehead? I thought her wound was shut with skin glue?”

  Sam winced. “I know, but it was going to leave a nasty scar.”

  “So you thought that putting her through more stress of unnecessary stitching would be better for her? What if she goes into pre-term labor?”

  “She won’t. The babies are fine and she hasn’t been having any contractions or bleeding. I checked her myself.”

  Mindy cocked an eyebrow. “You checked her yourself?”

  “I have done that kind of procedure before.”

  “Do you really think her having the stitches is a top priority?”

  “I do. The babies are stable, for now, but there was an irregularity I need you to look at. I
had you paged ten minutes ago, but figured you were with another patient.”

  Mindy pulled out her pager. “I wasn’t paged…” And then trailed off when she saw that she had indeed been paged over ten minutes ago by Sam, but the darned thing was on silent mode.

  Dammit.

  When she had her private practice, she was only dealing with her patients. She wasn’t on a rotation at a hospital. She wasn’t called in to deal with traumatic events to pregnant mothers. When she was needed in the hospital it was because she scheduled her time there. She was not used to working in a busy hospital, not used to dealing with trauma patients or residents who were in her service.

  She was not off to a good start.

  “My apologies, Dr. Napier.” The blood rushed to her cheeks.

  “There’s no need to apologize, Dr. Walker. Now that you’re here I’d like to show you the results of Ms. Bayberry’s ultrasound.”

  “Of course.” Mindy followed him into the consult room, where they sat down in front of the computer.

  Sam brought up the ultrasounds of the twins. “As you can see, there is no fluid or blood pooling anywhere. The placenta is attached and no obvious tears.”

  “She’s lucky. When she was rammed by the car behind her and pushed into the car in front of her the steering-wheel pushed into her abdomen.”

  “Well, that’s it exactly. I know it’s not your field of surgery.” Sam did some more clicks. “But there’s lots of blood in her spleen. I think she’s damaged her spleen and it could rupture.”

  Mindy leaned forward. “I think you’re right, Dr. Napier.”

  Dammit.

  Taking a ruptured spleen out of a woman who was not so far into her pregnancy was going to be tricky. Not impossible, but tricky. It could send her patient into pre-term labor and that’s not something she wanted.

  They needed to keep those babies in utero for as long as possible.

  “We’re going to need a consult from someone who is used to repairing and or removing spleens in high-pressure situations. Page Dr. Ootaka for a consult.”