Saving Dr. Tremaine

by Jessica Matthews

  “She’s…in the…backyard.”

  Relieved by the news, Annie motioned to Patrolman Dan Francis, the young police officer who was responsible for keeping bystanders away. “Her dog, Molly, is in the backyard. Can you see that someone looks after her while we take Mrs Hughes to the hospital?”

  “Sure.”

  Winona shook her head. “I won’t go until I know my Molly is safe.”

  “Officer Francis will take good care of her,” Annie soothed. “The vet clinic will board the pets in situations like yours.”

  “No.” Winona crossed her arms and pursed her mouth in a stubborn line. “I’m not leaving until you find Molly.”

  “I’ll bring her to you,” Dan promised.

  “She…won’t come…with him.”

  Dan stopped in his tracks and gazed helplessly at Annie. “What do you mean, Molly won’t come with him?” Annie asked.

  “Doesn’t like…men. You…go.”

  Just what she needed—a patient who refused vital hospital treatment and a man-hating poodle. She glanced at Mic who shrugged helplessly. Keeping the patient calm was crucial and if hunting for her dog aided in that process, she could spare the time.

  “She’s stable,” Mic said. “We have to start an IV anyway, so I can do that while you’re otherwise occupied.” He grinned.

  “All right. I’ll look for her, but only for a few minutes,” Annie warned.

  Winona’s face relaxed into a smile. “That’s fine…dear. I’ll be…ever so…grateful.”

  Annie motioned to Dan as she headed toward her battalion chief. “Molly may not come with you, but you can help find her.”

  Dan smiled. “Maybe I should get my whip and chair out of my trunk.”

  “Funny-y,” she said, rolling her eyes before she stopped at her superior’s side and waited for him to finish his radio conversation with the crew inside the building.

  Battalion chief John Sanders was in his late forties and, according to rumor, had worked his way up through the ranks. He was one of the best, in Annie’s opinion, and although the men sometimes complained about his constant training sessions, his persistence had given Hope’s fire department a top-notch reputation.

  “Chief?” she asked. “We need to look for a poodle.”

  “The place is too unstable,” he told her. “I’m pulling our men out right now. I won’t risk anyone for a dog.”

  “She’s in the backyard.”

  He waved her forward. “Then go ahead. Just don’t get too close to the house.”

  “We won’t.”

  Annie and Dan hurried around the side of the structure to reach the fenced yard. The gate stood open as firefighters attempted to pour water on the blaze from several directions.

  “Here, Molly,” Annie called, hoping it would be a simple matter of the dog hearing her name and running out of her hiding place.

  “Maybe she’s in the bushes,” Dan suggested.

  Annie gazed at the scraggly, untrimmed bushes forming the yard’s perimeter. The idea of coaxing a dog out from under one wasn’t particularly reassuring.

  “Molly,” she called again.

  A yelp came from under the wooden porch where more firefighters were aiming their hoses through the back door.

  “Molly?” she called again.

  This time the yelp grew louder.

  Annie and Dan both crouched down for a better view. A small, beige-colored poodle cowered in the shadows.

  “Here, girl,” Annie coaxed, as she knelt on the sidewalk. “We won’t hurt you. Let’s go where it’s safe.” She muttered to Dan in an aside, “Too bad we don’t have a dog biscuit.”

  He dug in his pocket. “You mean, one like this?”

  “Since when do police officers carry animal treats in their pockets?” she asked, holding out her hand.

  He dropped it into her palm. “Since I have a lot of dogs on my beat and I’d rather my ankles didn’t become their chew toy,” he answered.

  Molly sniffed at Annie’s outstretched offering and took a tentative step forward.

  “If this works, you get my vote for officer of the year,” Annie said.

  “I’ll hold you to it,” he said. “A fellow can’t get enough good recommendations.”

  “Come on, girl,” Annie coaxed. “This looks mighty good.”

  Apparently deciding that the strange person holding a doggie treat presented a preferable alternative to shivering in the shadows, Molly scampered forward. As soon as she got close, Annie gave her the doggy treat and patted her head. While Molly chomped away at the unexpected surprise instead of Annie’s fingers, Annie lifted her into her arms, then rose off her knees.

  “Pull back! Pull back!” The firefighters on the porch began retreating. Before Annie and Dan could follow, a huge crack split the air. Annie instinctively turned away and an instant later a whoosh from the roof caving in carried enough force to blow out the windows and knock her off her feet.

  Her skin stung as she found herself falling, and a second later her forehead bounced against something unforgiving. The sun dimmed and stars sparkled in her head before everything faded to dark gray.

  Jared listened intently to the radio traffic on the hospital frequency. So far Annie’s unit had reported one victim of smoke inhalation and he wondered why they hadn’t left the scene. The elderly woman wasn’t in any danger where she was, and from Mic’s report her vital signs were stable, but it seemed rather unusual that they were dragging their proverbial feet.

  He was just about to ask why when he overheard the news of the roof caving in. At least Annie wouldn’t be in the middle of that, he thought to himself. As a paramedic, her job was to remain on the sidelines in order to handle whatever injuries occurred.

  Knowing that Annie was on the scene, he couldn’t tear himself away from listening to the chatter between the firefighters. His heart skipped a beat when he heard someone report that a crew member was down but they couldn’t get near her because of a protective poodle.

  Instinctively, he knew Annie was involved. The hows and whys eluded him, and he hated not having details.

  It wouldn’t surprise him if she’d taken it upon herself to rescue a dog. He was an animal lover, too, but, if given the choice between a person and a pet, he didn’t have any qualms about choosing one over the other.

  Immediately the captain called for another ambulance, followed by a request for a representative from the Humane Society.

  Jared froze. He’d made a conscious decision not to worry about his family after he’d moved away and now Annie had plunged him back into his old habits.

  If he was this concerned about Annie’s welfare, how had her grandfather handled knowing that his only grandchild faced dangerous situations?

  He waited impatiently for the unit to make contact and those minutes seemed to last for hours.

  “Medic One to Hope.” Mic’s voice finally came over the air and Jared snatched the mike from its cradle.

  “Go ahead,” he said.

  “We’re transporting our initial female patient. ETA is ten minutes.”

  “I understand you have a second case,” he said, wishing he could ask for the identity.

  The radio crackled for a few seconds before Mic answered. “More or less. Over and out.”

  Jared wondered about his cryptic comment but he wouldn’t obtain any answers until the ambulance rolled in. It would be an extremely long ten minutes.

  “I can’t…thank you enough.” Winona clasped Annie’s hand as the ambulance flew down the street to reach the hospital. “Saving my Molly…like you did. It’s nothing…short of a miracle.”

  Annie forced a smile. Her head pounded in time to her heartbeat and she wished that Mic would cut the siren to spare her the pain. She’d never suffered a hangover in her entire life, but it couldn’t be any worse than the way her head felt right now.

  “Can’t believe she went…with that young man.” Winona’s voice rasped behind her oxygen mask. The smoke had done a numb
er on her vocal cords. “She’s quite vicious whenever…a fellow comes to my door.”

  “It was his dog biscuit that coaxed her out from her hiding place,” Annie said. “His scent must have been on it for her to trust him.”

  “The Humane Society will keep…her for me?”

  “Yes, they will.”

  “They won’t accidentally…put her to sleep?”

  “No, they won’t. While you’re in the hospital, I’ll check on her every day, so don’t worry about a thing,” Annie promised. She would have volunteered to give Molly a temporary home but pets weren’t allowed in her apartment, and with her work schedule it wouldn’t be a good idea to leave Molly alone for hours on end.

  “Thank you, dear. I can rest so much easier…knowing she’s in good hands.”

  Winona fell silent and Annie glanced at the oximeter’s display. At ninety, Winona was clearly bouncing back from her ordeal. Because it was still difficult for her to speak—the swelling in her throat hadn’t gone down and probably wouldn’t for some time—Annie hadn’t learned what had caused the fire, but she knew the department’s investigator would piece the evidence together within the next few days.

  The butterfly bandage on her forehead itched and she suppressed the urge to rub it. Jared would undoubtably have a few choice words to say when he saw her, but at least he’d missed the sight of blood streaming down her face. Although her superiors had ordered her to see a doctor and she’d meekly agreed, she didn’t intend to seek out Jared.

  Galen would give her a cursory glance, ask a few questions, then send her back to work. Her neighbor, on the other hand, would probably insist on keeping her for observation or some other such nonsense.

  In the ER, she tensed for Jared’s reaction, and received a pleasant surprise when he didn’t spare her a second look. Instead, he focused on Winona and listened intently to Annie’s report.

  “Take her to Trauma One,” he ordered, while they carefully wheeled Winona inside.

  Annie and Mic helped Ravi and Fern transfer Winona to a hospital bed. With Jared’s attention on his patient, her confidence over completely escaping his notice grew.

  Determined to maintain a low profile, just in case, she helped Mic push the gurney to the door. Before she crossed the threshold, Jared called out her name in a congenial tone.

  She paused, wondering what other information he needed that she hadn’t supplied. “Yes?”

  “I want to see you in Room Five.”

  So much for thinking he hadn’t noticed.

  Annie glanced at Mic, mentally begging him to speak on her behalf. When he shrugged helplessly, she decided to bluff. “What for?”

  Jared raised one eyebrow. “Take a wild guess.”

  “Our crew is expecting us back right away.” John had actually told her to make sure she was fit before she returned, and because she was, her place was at the fire scene.

  His gaze traveled from the bandage on her forehead to the darkening bruises and scrapes on her arms. “Room Five,” he repeated in a tone stronger than the mild-mannered one he’d used earlier.

  “I have reports to write,” she countered.

  “And I can always call the chief.”

  He held the upper hand and he knew it as well as she did.

  “Fine,” she snapped, then turned smartly on one heel and left. In the hallway, she purposely shoved the gurney toward the ambulance bay.

  “You’re heading in the wrong direction,” Mic said. “Exam rooms are on the right and you’re going left.”

  “I’ll get there when I get there,” she said peevishly.

  “John wanted someone to check you out.”

  “You did.”

  “He was referring to a doctor,” he pointed out.

  “What is he going to do that you haven’t already done?”

  Mic shook his head as he smiled. “Probably nothing, but his diagnosis carries more weight than mine. Or yours,” he added.

  “Well, I’m not going to be sidelined for the rest of my shift because of a little bump on my head,” she retorted. “If it had happened to anyone else, John would have told them to take two aspirin and get back to work.”

  “And what about Dr Tremaine?” he asked. “I heard what he said. He’s expecting to see you in an exam room.”

  “He will. After we get our vehicle back in service and I write my report.” She grinned. “If he’s busy by then, we’ll just leave.”

  Mic threw up his hands. “Suit yourself, but I don’t think you should cross him.”

  “And I don’t understand why he’s so concerned about a small knot and a tiny cut.”

  “I’ll give you two reasons. Workman’s compensation and lawsuits.”

  “He doesn’t need to worry about either. I know myself well enough to know if I need medical attention or not.”

  “I’m sure you do, but humor him. The sooner you do, the sooner we can leave. Believe me, you aren’t going to win any battles against him.”

  As much as Annie hated to admit the truth, Mic was right. She simply didn’t have to like it and she certainly didn’t intend to give Jared an easy victory. “I guess.”

  “We’ll save time if I clean the truck while you handle the paperwork,” Mic suggested.

  “Good idea.”

  By the time she’d completed her form, Mic was nearly done. She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples while she opted to steal a few minutes to relax.

  “That cut on your head obviously affected your hearing,” Jared commented mildly as he lounged against the doorframe.

  Annie’s face warmed as she straightened. “No, it didn’t. I’ve been busy.” She tore the page off her clipboard and handed it over to be included in Winona’s permanent record.

  “Shall we?” He stepped aside.

  Annie tried once again. “I’m fine.”

  “We can either stand here and argue or we can go into the other room and get this over with.”

  “Oh, all right,” she said crossly.

  “What was this about you rescuing a dog?”

  “Winona refused to leave until we found her poodle. To make a long story short, the force of the roof collapsing knocked me off my feet.”

  Jared ushered her into Room Five and motioned to the bed. “And you hit your head.”

  She perched on the edge and started to nod, then stopped as pain shot through her skull. “On a frog.”

  “A frog?”

  “A metal yard ornament,” she explained. “Apparently it had fallen off the porch during all the activity and I happened to land on it.”

  “Did you black out?” he asked as he flashed his penlight into her eyes to check for pupil reaction.

  “Things turned gray for a few seconds, but that’s all.” She smiled. “I have a hard head.”

  “What about ringing in your ears? Blurry vision? A headache?”

  “The acetaminophen has already helped.”

  He probed her cut and she tried not to wince. “It isn’t deep, so you’ll barely have a scar.”

  “I told you it was minor.”

  “I have a notion to put you on a twenty-four-hour sick list.”

  She stared at him in horror. That was worse than she’d expected and completely out of the question. She’d worked too hard to gain the respect of her colleagues. If she was benched for something that wasn’t incapacitating, she might as well find a desk job.

  “You can’t,” she pleaded.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  JARED hadn’t expected Annie to meekly accept his suggestion. She made a habit of pushing herself to the limit and would balk at the thought of taking an easy way out. Yet, in good conscience, he couldn’t blithely grant her a clean bill of health. From the size of the deepening bruise on her forehead, she had to be feeling rocky.

  “You can’t do this,” she begged. “I won’t let you.”

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  “But why?”

  He steeled himself against the hurt in her
eyes. Executive decisions weren’t always popular. He’d learned that from trying to raise his younger siblings. “Because you’re not able to function at peak efficiency.”

  She visibly bristled. “Who says so?”

  “Admit it. Your skull feels like it’s going to explode.”

  “The two tablets I took are helping.”

  He continued as if she hadn’t interrupted. “Your hands are shaky.”

  “You’re making me angry.”

  “And your stomach feels queasy.”

  “Once the excitement is over, it will pass.”

  She had an answer for everything, he thought wryly. “What happens if there’s another fire and you have burn victims to tend? What if there’s a major car accident? Can you honestly say that your injury won’t affect your decision-making ability?”

  “It won’t,” she insisted.

  “What if you encounter another heart attack? Are you able to perform CPR if your head is pounding like a jungle drum?”

  “I have a partner. Mic is quite capable.”

  “How is he going to watch over you as well as your patients?”

  “He won’t have to.”

  “I’m doing this for your own good.”

  His words hung in the air and he realized he should have rephrased his comment when her eyes suddenly gleamed with a fire of indignation. Once again, he’d pushed her “hot” button.

  She jumped to her feet and stood nose to nose with him. “Don’t you dare presume to make that decision for me.”

  He crossed his arms, determined not to back down. He’d weathered far more elaborate histrionics from his siblings after issuing unpopular ultimatums. Annie wouldn’t win although she would clearly try.

  “Just because we’re neighbors,” she continued hotly, “and spent a few hours together, that doesn’t give you the right to—”

  “Being neighbors doesn’t,” he agreed. “This, however…” he tapped the MD title on his name tag “…does.”

  Her chin lifted defiantly. “I want a second opinion.”

  “And they say men make lousy patients,” he muttered.

  “I’m not a patient.”

  He held up his hands. “I know. If you want a second opinion, fine. I’m the only physician on duty until three, so you’ll have to wait.”