Lincoln Hospital (Trauma #1)

by Cassia Brightmore

  When she stepped out of the bathroom, she collided hard with a body and immediately apologized as she put a hand out to steady herself. Strong arms came around her and she looked up into the face of a very handsome man with warm brown eyes and a soft smile.

  “The fault is mine, gorgeous. Although I can’t be angry with myself for bumping into someone as beautiful as you.” His voice was smooth and his lines even smoother and Athena found herself considering if this man could be the one that got possession of her panties that night. Ugh, Sabine is starting to rub off on me.

  Before she could reply, her pager went off her in small black clutch. In the distance, she thought she heard another one and realized it must be Sabine’s. Taking it out, she saw it was an emergency page to the ER. Great, I’m drunk and there’s a trauma coming in.

  “I’m sorry,” she told the stranger. “I’d love to stay and chat more but I have to go. Raincheck?” She didn’t wait for an answer, just slipped out of his arms and tottered her way back to Sabine who was already flagging down the bartender to pay their tab.

  “We—”

  “I know we have to go, trauma coming in,” Sabine interrupted her before she could explain. They quickly settled the bill and then hurried outside to try and hail a cab. The line of people waiting for one was enormous and neither of them would get very far on their high heels after the amount of drinks they’d had if they tried to walk back to hospital.

  “Excuse me,” Athena called to the bouncer. “We’re doctors over at Lincoln Hospital and we need to get there right away. Is there any chance you could help us out with a cab? It’s an emergency.”

  The large dark-skinned bouncer looked them over from head to toe and laughed in their face. “Sure, you’re doctors’. And I’m Ryan Seacrest.” He turned his back on them and continued checking ID’s.

  “No, you don’t understand—”

  “I’ll take you.” Athena froze at the sound of that voice. The voice she would know anywhere. Spinning, sure enough, there was Cian standing a few feet away, hands in the pockets of his black dress pants, white shirt unbuttoned a bit at the collar. He looked casual and sexy and her traitorous mouth watered at the sight of him.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, her tone coming out harsher than intended. The shock of seeing him again outside the hospital had butterflies dancing in her stomach and her skin tingling with anticipation. She wanted to order him to explain himself right that second, she wanted to leap into his arms and kiss him senseless like that day in the on-call room, she wanted to turn and run in the opposite direction as fast as her stilettos would carry her. The damn man was slowly driving her insane.

  “Well seeing as it’s a bar, I was here having a drink,” he answered dryly. She flushed and looked down at her feet. Of course, he wasn’t following her. She was the dumbest person alive for even considering such a thing.

  “Oh. Right, of course,” she mumbled, looking to Sabine for help. It wasn’t necessary though as Cian just continued on.

  “Look, if you’re coming, we need to go now. The pile-up on the highway was bad, multiple casualties and injuries from what I can gather. You two lushes will have to get an IV until you’re sober, but you can observe until then.” The girls nodded and followed Cian down the street to where his Jag was parked.

  “Wait! You really are doctors?” the bouncer called after them.

  “Don’t quit your day job there, Ryan! They sure are lucky to have you,” Sabine yelled back, flipping him the bird.

  They laughed and even Cian cracked a rare smile at her joke. The ride to the hospital was short and when they got there, Cian disappeared ordering them to report to Webster for instructions.

  “Jesus, look at you two,” Webster sighed when they wandered over to where she was handing out assignments to Oscar, Bianca, Dick and Clarence. “Of course its two of mine that are the messes.”

  They hung their head sheepishly and muttered out, “I’m sorry’s.”

  “Well, never mind. I don’t have time to deal with you two right now. Clarence, go with them and get them on IV’s. Then get your ass back here, we’re going to need all hands on deck now that we’re two interns short. You two, I don’t want to see you again until that alcohol is out of your system. Understood?”

  “Understood.” They answered in unison and followed Clarence. After changing into their scrubs, he sat them both down in a free bay and got started on their IV’s.

  “Where the hell did you two go? And where the hell was my invite?” he asked, looking put out.

  “Sorry, Clarence. This was girl’s night out. We just needed to blow off a little steam.” Athena told him, feeling guilty for leaving him out.

  “Well next time, I’m coming with you. You’re not the only one that could use a break from this place once in a while.” He looked Athena right in the eye when making his admission. She shared a look with Sabine who mouthed “I told you so,” earning her a glare to shut up from Athena.

  “Sure. We’ll pick a night after work and go grab a couple drinks all of us together,” Athena told him with a smile. She was starting to get a pounding headache, an after affect that she always suffered from when drinking, and was about to ask Clarence to get her some aspirin when she spotted Seth Holloway headed their way.

  “Seth?” she looked at him, surprised to see him back at the ER so soon. He’d been making a habit of dropping in occasionally to check on her which she thought was so kind of him, but he’d only been there a few days earlier so to see him back again was a surprise.

  “Hey, Athena. What happened? Are you alright?” he rushed forward the last few steps after seeing the IV in her arm and placed a hand on her head.

  “Oh, I’m fine. Just had a few too many at the bar and trying to get sober so that we can be of some help in the ER,” she was embarrassed to admit the reason she was bagged, but didn’t want him to worry it was something serious.

  “Well, that’s a relief. You had me worried for a second there, gorgeous.” Athena blushed and wanted the floor to open up and swallow her when Clarence and Sabine just stared at the both of them, wide-eyed.

  “I need to get some statements from a few of the victims that were brought here. This crash on the highway is one hell of a fucking mess,” he explained, dropping his hand from her hair and stepping back. “I’d love to talk more with you though. I’ll find you before I leave, okay?”

  “Okay, sure. That sounds great,” she told him and gave him a warm smile. Seth left and Clarence followed, banging his utensils in his basin and pushing the curtain aside roughly out of his way.

  “You. Little. Whore. Three! Three men all obsessed with you! Jesus fuck, Athena. It’s like a goddamn three ring circus around here. I can’t get enough,” Sabine burst out as soon as they were alone.

  “What? Shut up. No one is obsessed! Seth is just concerned about me after the attack is all and Clarence is our friend—you know that. And Cian, well Cian is in an entirely different league. I have no idea what his deal is.”

  “Sure. Keep telling yourself that. God, this just keeps getting better and better.” Sabine was all but bouncing with excitement.

  Finished with getting their IV’s, they wheeled themselves to an unoccupied corner of the department and watched as the ER came to life as patients were rushed in and out and doctors worked to repair damage and save lives. Looking around, Athena spotted Clarence eyeing her with a look of sadness as he worked to clean debris from a woman’s arm; Seth shooting her a cocky smile as he raised an eyebrow and then winked at her; and Cian consulting on a major trauma just brought in but watching her with a burning intensity that just about set her skin on fire.

  It was going to be a long night.

  “GOD, WASN’T THAT amazing?” Bianca exclaimed as she and Athena exited the OR. They had scrubbed in together on a neurosurgery that had blown both their minds. The surgeon, Dr. Gamble was attempting to remove a tumor in the patients’ brain without affecting any of their motor skills. The s
ize of the tumor is what made it a complicated procedure, but Gamble was known to be one of the best in the field and she’d knocked it out of the park. Now they just had to wait and see if the patient still had the use of all of her speech and motor skills when she awoke.

  “It was. What a rush, I’ve never seen an exposed brain before,” she admitted. Over the past few days, Bianca had been making more of an effort to connect with her, Sabine and the other interns. She’d been opening up about herself and sharing her dreams of what she wanted for her career as a surgeon. She was the first in her family to graduate high school, let alone becoming a doctor. Shyly, she’d shared how proud she was of herself for not only finishing school, but being accepted into the surgical intern program at Lincoln Hospital. No one in her family had ever done anything remotely close to that before and she hoped to set an example of what they could do if they just applied themselves and put in the hard work.

  “She let me dissect some of the tumor even! Can you believe that?” Bianca still wasn’t over that shock. Usually Athena got chosen for all the awesome opportunities in surgery but this time, it was her and she was on cloud nine about it.

  “You earned it, you studied and knew that procedure inside out. It was amazing to see you shine in there, Bianca.” Athena told her sincerely. While she would have loved the experience for herself, she recognized that she was given a lot of breaks and special privileges from the residents and attendings’. It felt good to see it happening for someone else.

  They joined the other interns in the locker room, still talking excitedly about the surgery. Dick was changing into his street clothes, Sabine was engrossed in sending a text message, Oscar was his usual quiet self and Clarence grinned at them as they came through the door.

  “Oh, look, if it isn’t the Wonder Twins,” Dick snarled at them, in a particularly nasty mood. The rumor of the day was that he’d received a tongue lashing from the trauma attending for his poor bedside manner and being unprepared. He wasn’t progressing in the program as quickly as the other interns and his lack of skill was showing with each passing day. There’d been a few weeks there where he’d actually showed promise of being a decent guy, but lately he’d reverted to the same asshole they’d met on the first day.

  “Wonder Twins?” Athena repeated, not sure what he was getting at.

  “You two think you’re hot shit, coming in here bragging about your big surgery, flaunting it in all of our faces.” He spread his arms wide to encompass the room. “Especially you, Athena.” He pointed at her and took a few steps closer. “You’re nothing but a fucking whore who spreads her legs for anyone to get ahead in this game.” He was directly in front of her now, seething.

  Athena was shocked into silence and just stared at him, unable to form words.

  “And don’t give me that fucking wide-eyed innocent look. You may have them fooled,” he motioned to the other interns again. “But you’ll never fool me. I see you for what you really are. A no-good piece of fucking trash that doesn’t belong here. Unless of course, you’re willing to give me a piece too just like you were that junkie in the lab? How far’d you let it get with him, huh? I bet—”

  He didn’t finish his sentence as to everyone’s shock, Oscar pulled him away from her and punched him square in the nose. Blood spurted everywhere, spraying Athena’s face and shirt and Dick cried out in pain, clutching his broken nose and doubling over.

  “Don’t speak to a lady like that,” was all Oscar said before opening the door to the locker room and walking out.

  In the meantime, Sabine had come to her feet and stood in front of Dick where he was still moaning and crying out, “My nose!”

  “You’re lucky that Oscar beat me to it, you limp dick, shit for brains douche. If it were me, you wouldn’t be walking right now, let alone crying your eyes out about your damn broken nose. Let me spell it out for you, Dick, you’re jealous. Jealous of all of us because deep down inside you know you don’t belong here. You’ll never be half the doctor Athena or any one of us is and you’re sure as fuck never gonna get in her panties. So why don’t you do us all a favor and go play in traffic for a while?” Sabine was furious and didn’t hold back her temper over his treatment of her best friend.

  Dick glared at all of them and then turned and fled out the door. Athena didn’t realize she’d been crying until Sabine came to her side and handed her a tissue. The things he’d said...yes, she understood he’d said them only to hurt her and attempt to drag her down into the misery he was feeling, but there was some truth to his accusations as well. Everyone did gossip about her and why she got the opportunities she did. It was something that she despised and having it thrown in her face in front of her peers was a huge burden to shoulder.

  Clarence started towards her but she raised a hand to hold him back. “I need a minute, guys. I’ll see you all tomorrow. Sabine, thank you.” She walked into the bathroom and shut the door, locking it and leaning her head against the wood frame. Shame filled her and she had a hard time forcing it back down. There was no time for self-pity. She’d put herself in a mess with Cian and it was up to her to get out of it. She just had to figure out how.

  Bianca left work later than the rest of the interns after spending time in the research lab pouring over articles and textbook chapters on heart transplants. She knew the whole team was counting on a heart being found for little Sebastian in the coming weeks and when that happened, she wanted to be the best prepared intern to scrub in on the surgery. After her shifts were finished, she liked to leave the hospital through the basement and walk along the side of the building to the bus station. There was a set of train tracks that ran parallel to the hospital and she enjoyed watching the cars chug by while waiting for her bus home.

  This part of the hospital was usually deserted and she liked to think that she’d discovered a well-kept secret. A place she could come on her breaks to be alone and think; a nice escape from the madness of intern life. Lately, she’d realized that by segregating herself from the group, she was starting to become invisible. And invisible meant never picked for surgeries which didn’t fit with her goals. She’d been making more of an effort to fit in and actually found herself enjoying spending time with the others, with the exception of Dick, of course. That guy was a complete jerk and she hoped he sunk his own ship sooner rather than later.

  Rounding the last corner before the exit, she heard low voices and stopped. Curious, she crept forward, being careful to remain quiet as she strained her ears.

  “I know, Reynolds. This new schedule actually is working in our favor. After we killed that last guy, Alan Hilliard, I’m more convinced than ever that we should try to convince the Chief to leave us all on this rotation. It’s much easier to dispose of these fucks at the beginning of shift than it is in the middle or the end.” Bianca covered her mouth when she heard the name of a patient that had died on the table a few weeks prior. Was that Dr. O’Reilly? What did he mean they’d killed him?

  “Yeah, I’ve got the next one lined up. A real fucking winner. This woman is a child pornographer. Yeah, another one. We’ll get her taken care of at the end of the month. Then after that, I want to talk to you about tracking down those two serial killers. I think we can do it. I’d love to get them on my table and hear them scream until they’re fucking dead.”

  Bianca stumbled back, shocked and in her haste, backed into a shelf of supplies, sending a few metal buckets crashing to the ground. Horrified at the explosive noise she’d made, she turned and ran, desperate to get away before she was caught eavesdropping. She heard Cian chasing after her and pumped her legs harder, frantic to get away. Seeing an exit, she burst through the door and dashed across the parking lot and into the field, headed for the train tracks. She was fast, always had been and knew if she could make it there, she could lose him on the other side.

  Fuck, he was a killer! Thoughts raced through her mind as she ran and she remembered a news report about a vigilante somehow protecting the city from criminals th
at had escaped punishment for their crimes. Was he the vigilante? What would he do if he caught her now that she knew his secret? Chancing a look back, she saw that he was only a few feet behind her and gaining ground.

  “Bianca! Stop, wait! Come back here!” he yelled after her. She refused to listen and kept running, intent on getting as far away from him as possible until she had time to figure out the truth about what was going on. Reaching the chain-link fence, she thankfully found a hole small enough for her to wiggle through and climbed under, confident that he wouldn’t be able to fit. She kept going and raced towards the tracks, looking behind her to see him climbing up the fence, trying to avoid being cut on the old barbed wire.

  Panicked, she turned back but lost her footing and fell hard onto the tracks, bashing her head off the ground. She momentarily saw stars and her vision swam in front of her. There was a loud buzzing in her ears and she was dimly aware of someone yelling her name but she couldn’t make sense of the words. Looking up, she saw Cian racing towards her from several yards away, waving his arms like a madman.

  Confused, she looked up and saw the train barreling down on her at top speed. She screamed and tried to get up, but found her pant leg had got caught in the tracks, trapping her. Wiggling, her movement sluggish due to the pain in her head, she tried to get free but it was no use. Cian was screaming her name, the train was inches away and all she could do was close her eyes.

  “Nooooooo!” Cian bellowed just as he reached the tracks and the train hit her. He was seconds too late and she was obliterated by the force of the train; a sickening sound echoing around him. Sinking to his knees, his head dropped to his chest and he pulled at his hair with both hands. What the fuck had she been doing in the basement? He wasn’t going to hurt her, only explain and hope that she could understand that the work they were doing was vital; important. Now, it was too late and a young life had been cut short unnecessarily. Guilt washed over him and his head spun with a gut-wrenching sense of shame. He may not have pushed her onto those tracks but he was responsible nonetheless.