A White Knight in ER

by Jessica Matthews

  ‘I was on my way to talk to you,’ she told him. ‘Is Megan working today?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Could you ask her to meet us in your office? I’ll be there in a few minutes.’ Before Jonas could agree or ask another question, the dial tone buzzed in his ear.

  His gut twisted, although he knew that any HIV test results shouldn’t be given over the phone in the interests of confidentiality. Even so, Susan could have said something to give him a clue as to what would be forthcoming.

  He found Megan where he’d left her, although the tidy trauma room spoke of how hard she’d worked in his absence.

  ‘Susan is on her way to talk to us,’ he said without preamble. ‘She’ll be here shortly.’

  Her face brightened. ‘She has the results?’

  ‘She didn’t say.’

  As promised, the fifty-year-old infection control nurse arrived a few minutes later and Jonas closeted himself in his office with both women. With arms crossed and his impassive ‘doctor’ face in place, he waited for Susan’s explanation.

  ‘Megan’s baseline results are all negative, as I’d suspected,’ Susan began. ‘However, we’ve hit a snag.’

  ‘What kind of snag?’ Megan demanded.

  Susan appeared apologetic. ‘We don’t have the Western blot results on Mr Walker yet.’

  ‘Why not?’ Jonas asked. ‘It should have been done yesterday.’

  ‘I know,’ Susan admitted. ‘But the lab lost his specimen.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  MEGAN’S pale face whitened another shade. ‘They what?’

  ‘How could they lose his blood sample?’ Jonas demanded.

  ‘According to the people here, their records show the tube left this lab and arrived at the processing center. The reference lab admits they received it.’

  ‘Then where did it go?’ Jonas asked.

  ‘The staff in Nevada are trying to hunt it down. It’s somewhere on site, but they don’t know exactly where.’

  ‘I still can’t believe it,’ he said flatly. He knew these large facilities had safeguards in place, but even with them, things happened. Yet it didn’t stop him from posing a mental question that he knew wouldn’t ever be answered. Why, with the thousands of specimens that were processed, did the one sample they misplaced have to be this particular one?

  Megan pinched the bridge of her nose. ‘This is just dandy,’ she said waspishly. ‘So now what do we do?’

  ‘I’ve been trying to track Walker down,’ Susan informed them. ‘Then we’ll redraw his blood and try this again.’

  ‘I’ll admit it isn’t the ideal situation,’ Jonas said, feeling more calm, although he knew Megan was extremely eager to stop her PEP, ‘but we’ll only have to wait another few days. Right?’

  Susan grimaced as if she didn’t like what she had to say next. ‘Not exactly. You see, I haven’t been able to locate him and I’ve been trying all afternoon. I finally got in touch with his girlfriend, though.’

  ‘And?’ Megan asked.

  ‘Carl hopped on his motorcycle two days ago and disappeared.’

  Megan’s shoulders slumped and Jonas’s own frustration rocketed through the roof. ‘She doesn’t know where he went? Surely she has a clue.’

  Susan shook her head. ‘Apparently, he takes to the road when he’s upset.’

  ‘Now, that’s a mature response.’

  Jonas didn’t blame Megan for being sarcastic. He’d like to find Carl Walker and blister his ears for being so inconsiderate. Didn’t he want to know his own test results?

  ‘Some people run from their problems in the hope they’ll go away. He clearly fits into that category,’ Susan answered.

  ‘Well, bully for him. Unfortunately, some of us don’t have that luxury,’ Megan snapped.

  Jonas didn’t blame her for being angry, but it wouldn’t help matters. He drew a deep breath and tried to look at the bright side. ‘So we have a setback. A time delay. It’s not the end of the world.’

  Megan’s glare would have been comical if the situation weren’t so serious. ‘We?’ she asked.

  ‘Jonas is right. It isn’t the end of the world,’ Susan chimed in. ‘I’ll keep trying to locate him. His girlfriend has also promised to ask him to contact me right away the next time he calls.’

  ‘That could be days. Weeks.’ Megan’s voice rose.

  ‘Not necessarily,’ Susan corrected. ‘Rae is going to alert his family and friends in case he shows up on any of their doorsteps.’

  ‘The question is, will he call her?’ Megan asked.

  Jonas exchanged a hopeless glance with Susan. Vanishing into thin air, without telling his significant other, wasn’t a positive character trait.

  ‘If he doesn’t,’ he answered in his most unconcerned tone, ‘it won’t matter. We’ll continue your prophylaxis for the full month and test you in six weeks, just as we’d planned.’

  He watched Megan lower her gaze to study her fingernails and blink several times. When she lifted her head and nodded a few seconds later, her eyes held an unmistakable glimmer.

  Something twisted in his heart, and he wished that, in spite of all his knowledge and experience, he wasn’t so helpless. He wanted to fix the problem and give Megan a happy ending.

  From the way she appeared to draw into herself, he sensed she needed a hug, or at least a shoulder to lean on. He wanted to provide either, preferably both, but with a witness he couldn’t.

  ‘I understand,’ Megan said quietly, as if she’d come to terms with the latest problem in her current series. ‘I’m just not very patient. I had pinned my hopes on being able to DC my meds and forget this had ever happened.’

  ‘A normal reaction,’ Susan assured her. ‘It’s difficult, living with the unknown, but we’re doing everything possible for you to have a favorable outcome.’ She studied Megan closely. ‘Are you experiencing some side effects?’

  Megan’s smile was wan. ‘More than I’d like.’

  Jonas broke in. ‘I’ve prescribed something to help lessen the nausea.’

  ‘Good. If you have any other problems, let Dr Taylor know.’ Susan rose. ‘That’s all my information for now. I’ll keep you posted.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  Jonas stopped Megan on her way out the door. ‘Join me for dinner tonight,’ he said impulsively.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Dinner. We could try out one of those restaurants you mentioned.’

  ‘Why me?’ she asked.

  ‘Why not you?’ he countered.

  ‘What’s wrong with Bonnie?’

  ‘I don’t know. I didn’t ask her. So, would you be interested?’

  ‘For starters, I wouldn’t be very good company. The way I feel, you’d be wasting your money because the thought of food simply…’ She fell silent and shuddered. ‘Most importantly, I don’t have a sitter.’

  ‘Then how about a movie? I don’t know what’s playing, but surely we’d find something you liked.’

  ‘I appreciate the invitation,’ she said with a small smile, ‘but, no, thanks. I’m really not up to going out.’

  ‘What if I brought dinner to you?’

  ‘It’s really sweet of you to offer, but I can manage on my own. I don’t need help.’

  Her face still had its washed-out appearance and, after having her hopes dashed, she looked rather beaten, much like the dog who’d crawled into his yard. If anyone needed help, she did, but he couldn’t force her to accept what she didn’t want.

  ‘OK, but don’t forget to fill my script on your way home.’

  ‘I won’t,’ she promised.

  He should have considered the subject of Megan closed and put her out of his mind after she’d gone home, but he simply couldn’t. Sheer determination held her together and he wished that he’d insisted on stopping at the drug store for her. It wouldn’t have been any trouble to run the errand and he could have done it more easily than she could with two kids in tow.

  ‘I’ll bet she went straight h
ome instead,’ he told the dog as it gobbled down the roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy he’d brought from the hospital cafeteria. He was smarter these days and had started taking home two meals instead of one. If the woman at the checkout wondered about his hearty appetite, she kept her comments to herself.

  The retriever licked the styrofoam container clean, then drank about half of its water. Jonas refilled the bowl, then sat on the bottom step, pleased to see the animal now trusted him enough to lie near his feet.

  ‘You’d like her,’ he told the dog as he scratched behind her ears. ‘She’s friendly, smart and, now that I think about it, as stubborn as you are. You’re not going home, are you, girl?’

  The dog raised its head and licked Jonas’s fingers.

  ‘I assume that means no.’

  The retriever laid its head on its paws.

  ‘You need a good home. One with kids. You like kids, don’t you?’

  A soulful gaze met his as its tail thumped several times.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Jonas told him. ‘I’ll find the perfect place for you, but first you’re going to need a trip to the vet.’

  The animal closed its eyes, as if the conversation had overtaxed its strength.

  ‘Sleep is good,’ Jonas said as he straightened to go inside. Megan needed her rest, too, although with two little ones, she probably wouldn’t get much.

  Suddenly, he simply had to know what was happening at her house. Telephoning wasn’t an option—he needed to see for himself that she had everything under control.

  Admit it, Taylor, he told himself. You want to be her white knight, riding to the rescue.

  Someone had to be, he argued back. She had no one. No family and no fiancé to lean on. It wasn’t as if he had anything better to do this evening.

  You could always call Bonnie.

  He dismissed the notion outright. He wasn’t in the mood for the Bonnies of the world.

  Jonas polished off his own dinner before he returned to his car. He’d only drop in for a few minutes and see how she was faring. If all was well, he’d come back and find a scintillating program on television. If all wasn’t well, he’d deal with that.

  He remembered the directions and found Megan’s place without any problem. The small yellow-brick house hadn’t changed from his last visit, although this time a tricycle lay on its side in the driveway, next to a red wagon. He took time to notice what he hadn’t before—the building was a carbon copy of its neighbors with the only real difference being in the color of brick and the shrubbery lining the foundations. In Megan’s case, a bright array of tulips and daffodils grew where other people had planted small evergreens.

  He righted the trike on his way to the porch and took the steps two at a time. As he raised his hand to poke the doorbell, he heard a childish voice through the open window.

  ‘Trevor broke my wings.’

  Megan’s soothing voice answered. ‘He didn’t mean to.’

  ‘But they’re my angel wings.’

  ‘I’ll fix them.’

  ‘When?’ came the demand.

  He heard a patient sigh. ‘Soon.’

  ‘Are you going to give Trevor a time-out for breaking my stuff? He needs to learn a lesson.’

  Jonas grinned at the little girl’s tone and listened shamelessly for Megan’s reply.

  ‘He’s too little to understand. Until he’s old enough to know that he has to leave your things alone, you’ll need to keep them out of reach. Babies like bright colors, so he wants to see your wings, too.’

  ‘They are pretty, aren’t they?’

  ‘Very.’

  ‘Can I go outside and water the flowers now?’

  ‘In a minute.’

  Sensing he would be caught if he didn’t make his presence known, Jonas pressed the doorbell. A small sprite, dressed in pink pants and a flowered shirt with a Christmas garland on her head and droopy bits of fabric hanging down her back, answered the door.

  ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘Is your mother, er, Megan here?’

  Immediately, Megan appeared behind the child with a toddler on one hip, her short hair tousled. Panic immediately crossed her face. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Nothing. I wanted to check on you.’

  ‘Since when do you make house calls?’

  He smiled inwardly at her suspicion. ‘As of today, but only for special patients.’

  ‘I’m not your patient.’

  ‘I prescribed meds for you. In my books, that makes you my patient. May I come in?’

  She flipped the inside latch on the handle and stepped aside. ‘Things are a mess. I wasn’t expecting visitors.’

  ‘Don’t worry. I left my white gloves at home.’ He stepped inside, noticing how the little girl with curly reddish-gold hair—Angela, he recalled—clung to her leg. The toddler on Megan’s hip sported the same color hair, although his was baby-fine and as straight as a backboard. Both watched him with wide-eyed curiosity.

  ‘You could have called,’ she said.

  ‘Yes, but this way I can see how you’re doing for myself.’ He winked at Angela before he glanced at Megan. ‘Have you had dinner?’

  ‘I just finished serving the kids.’

  ‘We had bisgetti,’ Angela informed him.

  That explained the red stain on the front of Megan’s faded blue T-shirt. Something else, though, lingered in the air. Something chocolate if his nose was accurate.

  ‘From a can,’ Angela added. ‘It’s not as good as Mommy’s, but she’s not feeling good.’

  ‘I know. That’s why I came.’ He looked at Megan. ‘Have you eaten?’

  ‘Maybe later.’

  ‘Did you pick up your prescription?’

  She turned an endearing shade of pink. ‘No.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Trevor was fussy and I wasn’t in the mood to stand in the drug store with a crabby baby for twenty minutes.’

  ‘Don’t you have a friend who’d do a favor for you?’

  ‘Yes, but Serena is attending a neonatal nursing class for the next few weeks. I’ll get the script filled tomorrow.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he said. ‘Most places deliver, so I’ll call it in.’

  ‘You’re too late. Seven p.m. is their cut-off time.’

  ‘Fine. I’ll go after it myself. Where’s your phone?’

  She pointed to a nook near the dining-room table. ‘There.’

  ‘Do you have a store preference?’

  ‘No.’

  He flipped through the Yellow Pages to find a pharmacy that featured late hours and telephoned his order, promising to arrive before they closed at eight. ‘You’re all set,’ he said after he rejoined her in the living room.

  Angela raised her chin to look up at Megan and spoke in a loud whisper. ‘Is he a doctor like Dwight?’

  ‘Yes, he is. Dr Taylor works in the emergency room where I do. Jonas, this is Angela, although we call her Angie.’ She jiggled the toddler in her arms. ‘This bundle of energy is Trevor.’

  ‘I’m pleased to meet you and your brother,’ he told the youngster.

  Angie smiled shyly, then, as if satisfied by the information and introductions, she released Megan’s leg and returned to her Sesame Street coloring book on the coffee-table.

  ‘I presume you intend to stay for a while?’ Megan asked.

  ‘I came to help with whatever you might need.’ He glanced at the remnants of their dinner scattered across the table. ‘I’ll even wash dishes. I’m an old hand at KP duty.’

  ‘KP? Were you in the service?’

  ‘My dad was. It was just the two of us, so we both took turns in the kitchen.’

  ‘I can manage the dishes,’ she told him. ‘But since you’re here, would you like something to drink?’

  ‘You don’t have to wait on me,’ he protested.

  ‘Filling a glass with water isn’t waiting on you.’

  ‘OK. Water would be great.’

  Megan sat Trevor on the floor next to the sofa,
then addressed the little girl. ‘You can visit with Dr Taylor until I get back.’

  ‘OK.’ Angie abandoned her crayons and plunked herself onto the sofa, carefully adjusting her wings so she wouldn’t crush them.

  Jonas sank into the easy chair in the corner of the room and quickly took note of his surroundings. The house wasn’t quite as pristine as it had been on his last visit, but the few toys lying about didn’t make the place seem messy. If anything, those things, including a few children’s books in a basket next to his chair and the row of photos on a shelf in the bookcase, made the place seem homey.

  It was quite unlike his own lackluster quarters. Brightly colored throw pillows covered the nondescript sofa and a quilted wall hanging in shades of green and blue added a cheerful note.

  ‘I’m an angel,’ the little girl announced before he could initiate the conversation.

  ‘I see. I like your wings.’

  ‘Trevor broke the wire that makes their shape.’

  He bit back his smile at her mournful tone. ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’

  ‘My real mommy made ’em, but Aunt Megan’s my mommy now and she’s going to fix ’em.’

  ‘So your Aunt Megan is good at fixing things?’

  ‘Yeah, but she’s not as good as my daddy. Are you a daddy?’

  ‘No, I’m not.’

  ‘Oh.’ Before Jonas could wonder what would pop out of her mouth next, she jumped off the sofa and pirouetted in front of him. ‘Aren’t my wings pretty?’

  ‘They’re beautiful.’

  ‘Mommy Megan made me some more. I wear them all the time, especially when I ride my tricycle.’

  ‘Do they help you go fast?’

  She nodded. ‘Would you like to see how many I have?’

  ‘I’d love to.’

  Angie scurried around the sofa and disappeared, presumably into her room. Jonas smiled at her exuberance, wondering how Megan, or any parent for that matter, managed to keep up with such a lively youngster. Idly, he reached into the basket beside him and retrieved a picture book about a little train engine.

  Suddenly Trevor’s attention drifted to the book in Jonas’s lap, then to his face, then back to the book. He started to crawl forward, but abruptly shifted into a sitting position and frowned, clearly torn between his fear of Jonas and his desire to look at his book. Jonas smiled as the little boy’s face mirrored his thoughtful dilemma.