One Night with the Army Doc

by Traci Douglass

  Nothing would change?

  Everything would change if Roger Flynn joined the MedStar Network.

  Molly swallowed against the rising bile in her throat. Losing her show because it had failed on its own merits was one thing. Having it forced into cancellation by her own father would be beyond awful. Forget fumbling and flailing in front of his small group of assembled guests at their house when she’d been a kid. This time her epic fail would happen on a global scale.

  Molly hung up her coat, then took her seat again, the news still refusing to sink in. Gone. The sweet refuge of her show, the years she’d spent building it, growing it, sacrificing her time and effort and any semblance of a normal life. All gone.

  “Trust me, Mol. This isn’t the end of the world.” Neal placed a hand on her shoulder. “I bet this hoopla will blow over and things will get back to normal soon.”

  “This is not going to blow over.”

  Molly knew her father. For him, things were all or nothing. Roger Flynn wouldn’t be satisfied until he was number one on the network, no matter who he had to crush along the way—including his own daughter.

  “I need to think about things for a moment. Alone.”

  The two men exchanged a look and her heart sank even further.

  Eyes closed, Molly braced herself. “Fine. Tell me the rest of it.”

  Rob cringed. “Well...about that footage.”

  “What footage?”

  “The footage of Dr. Ryder we’ve shot over the weeks—the stuff the network was supposed to edit out. It got leaked.”

  “Leaked?” Molly frowned. “To who?”

  “The world.” Rob glanced over at Neal. “Snippets turned up on the Internet.”

  The enormity of the situation engulfed her, seizing the air in Molly’s lungs. “Jake could sue us. He never signed the releases.”

  He trusted me.

  Molly clutched the edge of her desk to keep herself from crumpling. “Who leaked it?”

  “The network blames one of the interns,” Neal said. “And their attorneys are going to use implied consent as their defense, since Dr. Ryder knew we were filming and stayed anyway.”

  “That’s flimsy, at best,” Molly said, her voice quiet.

  Jake had trusted her. That was huge, after everything that had happened with his commendation and with Kellie. Sorrow squeezed her chest tight. The future of their relationship was now solidified. Once he discovered the truth he’d never want to see her again. And rightfully so.

  But she wasn’t ready to let him go yet, not when she’d just found him.

  Neal pulled off his baseball hat and scrubbed a hand through his graying hair. “If it’s any consolation, the clips are popular. Hit the number one search spots on the big search engines and social media sites.”

  “No.” Molly covered her face with her hands. “It’s really not.”

  “We’re sorry, Mol,” Rob said, head lowered. “If there’s anything we can do...”

  “I know,” she mumbled, and her crew left the office at last.

  This was going to require some major damage control and Molly honestly had no idea where to start.

  She needed to pull her contract with the network and make serious decisions about her show. She needed to check in on Bobby and make sure he was doing all right this morning. She needed to talk to Jake and beg his forgiveness, even though none of this was really her fault. But she was sure Jake wouldn’t see it that way. It was her name, her face on the show. It had been her in his bed—her he’d trusted. Therefore, this debacle was her responsibility.

  In the end, overwhelmed and frozen with fear, Molly sat and stared at the blank wall, wondering how a day that had started off so beautifully could crash and burn so fast.

  * * *

  After eating a quick breakfast and checking his emails, Jake headed to Anchorage Mercy. The traffic light turned green and he made a right toward the hospital—then halted as a line of departing squad cars blocked the main entrance.

  A conservation truck pulled up next to him and the driver waved. “Had some bears in the lobby again, Doc. Got ’em out, though, no problem.”

  Jake nodded, appreciating the update, and waited until the rest of the traffic had cleared. At last he looped around to the back of the hospital and pulled into the spot beside Molly’s Range Rover. He felt a sudden, yearning ache around his heart and...damn. Maybe sleeping with her hadn’t been such a brilliant idea after all—not if he felt this attached to her, this fast.

  After cutting the engine, Jake climbed from his truck and braced himself against the brisk wind. Their torrid night had stirred up all kinds of emotions—happiness, confusion, joy, fear. All those feelings had mixed together now, into a scary sludge inside him that made him wary as hell. He kept reminding himself that this wasn’t the past and Molly wasn’t Kellie. This was a new situation, with new rules, a new outcome.

  The tension inside him didn’t abate.

  Maybe it was this whole thing with Bobby. He just wanted his best bud healthy again.

  Jake swiped his physician’s badge at the door, then headed inside. Technically, his shift wasn’t scheduled to start for another hour, but he was sure another stack of paperwork awaited. Besides, he figured being at work would keep him from dwelling on what had happened with Molly last night—how she’d felt wrapped tight in his arms, how she’d made those delicious tiny gasps as he’d licked and kissed every single inch of her...

  Wendy ran toward him down the hall. “Dr. Flynn’s been trying to contact you. Bobby’s heart-rate is irregular again.”

  Frowning, Jake pulled out his cell phone. The battery was dead. Normally he plugged it in each night like clockwork, but he hadn’t followed his normal routine the previous evening.

  Damn.

  Jake sprinted upstairs and rushed into Bobby’s room. Molly was checking his vitals while her crew filmed from the corner. Neither Neal nor Rob would meet his gaze. Jake thought that was weird, since he’d thought they’d become friendlier over the past few weeks, but he couldn’t worry about them now. Not when Bobby’s life was at stake.

  “What’s happening?”

  “No idea. The tachycardia came up without warning,” Molly said. The heart monitor beeped loud then went flat. She checked Bobby’s pupils. “Start CPR and get a defibrillator stat!”

  While Molly pumped air into Bobby’s lungs, using an oxygen mask and bag, Jake started chest compressions. His best friend couldn’t die. Not here. Not now. Not like this. Not after what they’d survived together back in the desert.

  “Hang in there, buddy. Stay with me.”

  “Cart’s here,” Gladys said, shoving the machine up to the bedside.

  “Get ready to shock him,” Molly said. A sharp whine sounded as the paddles charged. “Stand back.”

  She jolted Bobby’s heart with the electric current and his large body jerked. The monitor blipped. Stopped. Blip-blipped again. Grew stronger and more regular. Jake exhaled loudly as Molly set the paddles aside.

  “Okay. We have a pulse. Gladys, start him on oxygen and watch him closely.”

  Jake took a deep breath to calm his own racing pulse, then followed Molly out into the hall. “I don’t understand. Bobby was fine earlier.”

  “Could be residual effects from the yohimbe.” Molly washed her hands in a nearby sink, not meeting his gaze. “But I won’t know until his latest bloodwork comes back.”

  His earlier surge of adrenaline evaporated, leaving a trail of confusion and restlessness in its wake. Jake wanted to decompress, deconstruct, dissect all that had happened with Molly, but she was acting distant and distracted. Yep. Something was definitely up.

  His wariness grew. And as her crew trundled out of Bobby’s room, Jake pulled her aside. “Listen, Molly. I—”

  “I’m sorry, but I—I can’t do this right now.”
>
  Her voice had turned brittle, broken. Because of him? Because of what they’d shared last night?

  The ache of tension inside Jake intensified, his doubts deepening. Maybe this whole thing about penguins and monogamy and a possible future with her was just a pipe dream. Maybe he’d been wrong too trust her so quickly.

  That’s your past talking.

  “I’ll keep you posted on the patient’s condition.” Molly headed for the elevators and gestured toward her crew to follow. “C’mon, guys.”

  Jake headed back to his ER alone, feeling decidedly unsettled. After what had happened with Bobby, and with Molly pulling away the same way Kellie had just before the end, he was left feeling even more on edge.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE NEXT DAY one thing was abundantly clear.

  Molly couldn’t tell Jake about the leaked footage—at least not as she’d originally planned. Never mind that the network’s attorneys had expressly forbidden her to say anything. Truth was, she didn’t know how to explain what had happened—didn’t have the first clue how to apologize for a betrayal that would most likely destroy any bond they might have formed that night in his bed.

  Not to mention that since making love with Jake Molly had discovered all sorts of uncomfortable, unruly, unexplored emotions jostling and poking inside her like sharp needles. Part of her couldn’t suppress the flush of happiness each time she remembered their incredible lovemaking. But another part felt a deep twinge of guilt over the same.

  Perhaps if Molly had stayed here at the hospital—not gone on the whale-watching cruise, not spent the night with Jake, Bobby wouldn’t have taken a turn for the worse.

  Until recently work had always come first. Now, though, for at least that one day and night, she’d decided to put her own wants and needs first and perhaps that hadn’t been wise. Her father’s censorious voice kept ringing through Molly’s head, deriding her for allowing her emotions to gain the upper hand, ridiculing her because she’d failed to remain cool, aloof, unfeeling.

  But those few hours in Jake’s arms were the first time Molly had felt truly alive in...forever.

  And once she told him about the leaked footage it would all be over.

  Molly wasn’t sure she could survive squeezing herself back into the tiny box her family had put her in for her whole life—not when she’d finally experienced such blissful freedom with Jake.

  My Jake.

  Her heart ached and her head hurt and the whole mess left her sad and off-balance.

  She finished going over Bobby’s chart notes and lab results again while Gladys checked the patient’s IV. Rob and Neal stood in the corner, catching all the details for digital posterity. At least Bobby had bounced back again, now awake and alert despite the previous night’s episode.

  “Man.” Bobby scooted up in his bed amidst a sea of tubes and monitor wires. “Can’t believe that tea caused all my problems. I thought it was just some health supplement.”

  “Supplements are chemicals too, Mr. Templeton.” Molly jotted down a few reminders for the staff, then closed his file. “And the tea didn’t cause all your problems. It only added an additional symptom that masked the underlying disease process.”

  “Come again? I thought you said the heart thing was unrelated?”

  “It is.”

  “I’m confused.”

  Rob moved closer to get a dramatic close-up of Bobby and Molly.

  “The cardiac arrest you experienced the first time in the ER and again last evening was directly related to the yohimbe in the tea. Now that we’ve taken it out of the equation, and the chemical is leaving your body, we can concentrate on the real cause of your problems. Allergies.”

  “Allergies?” Bobby wrinkled his nose. “You mean like hay fever?”

  “There are many types of allergies, Mr. Templeton. It will take time to narrow down the specific irritant responsible for yours. But because this allergy has gone untreated for so long, it’s likely moved beyond simple watery eyes to a full-blown systemic issue. Your body’s natural defenses have been compromised, diminishing your ability to heal. Those same defenses may have also caused damage to your organs.”

  “But I was tested for allergies a long time ago, Doc.” Bobby gripped the sheets tighter. “Nothing came back positive. I don’t want to be a human pin cushion. Needles aren’t my favorite.”

  Molly raised a brow. For a man who regularly participated in mayhem on the ice, it seemed silly for him to fear a few epidermal scratches. Then again, most phobias weren’t logical.

  Take her fear of her father. In her mind, Molly knew she shouldn’t let the man bully her anymore. She was a grown adult, more than capable of defending herself. But deep in her heart Molly still felt like that same scared little girl who had longed for her father’s approval and love. Which was a wasted effort because he’d proved time and again that the only thing Roger Flynn loved was himself. His takeover of her network was only the latest in a long line of selfish acts.

  “The good news is you’ll have a few days to decide, Mr. Templeton.” Molly scowled down at the orders clipped to the front of Bobby’s chart, shoving all disturbing thoughts about her father aside. “It’s too soon to test you at this point. The results would show false positives due to your high reactivity.”

  “I’m radioactive?” Bobby looked stunned.

  “Not radioactive. Reactive. It means the antigen levels in your blood are too high to give us accurate results at this point. So we’ll stabilize you, isolate you from all possible allergens, and give your body time to recuperate before proceeding.”

  “Uh...okay. How will that work?”

  “We’ll put you in a clean room,” Molly said, glancing up at him.

  Bobby surveyed the space. “This one looks pretty spotless to me.”

  “No. A clean room is sterile. Even the air is filtered to prevent any outside contamination. It’s the only way for us to find out what’s really causing your illness.” She smiled and laid a hand on his arm to reassure him. “Visitation will be limited to a glassed-in area, where people can talk with you through special vents, unless they’re wearing full protective gear.”

  “It’ll be like a prison, then?”

  “Think of it more as a spa. With lots of time to reflect. Maybe catch up on your sleep.”

  Bobby exhaled loudly. “All right—if it’s the only way I can get better. The new season starts in a few weeks and I need to get in fighting shape by then or we’ve got no chance at the championship.”

  “Oh.” She looked over to see her crew shaking their heads in despair. “Right...”

  “Dr. Flynn?” Gladys peeked her head around the door. “Dr. Ryder’s here to see you.”

  Her heart did a little somersault. “Thank you. I’ll be right out. Do you have any other questions for me, Mr. Templeton?”

  “No. Thanks.”

  “And, cut!” Neal said.

  Rob lowered his camera and the two men followed her out of the room. Molly veered toward the nurses’ station, then stopped abruptly at the sight of Jake bent over the counter. Heat unfurled within her again before she tamped it down.

  Molly took a deep breath and handed the file to the nurse. “The orders for Mr. Templeton are inside.”

  Jake peered back at her over his shoulder. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” She resisted the urge to fidget under his stare. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m on a break and decided to check on Bobby.”

  He looked far more tempting than a man should be allowed to in faded green cotton as he read the file over Gladys’s shoulder.

  “A clean room?”

  “It’s the only way to confirm what’s causing Bobby’s allergic reactions.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Wonders never cease.” Molly headed for her office.

  “I k
now, right?” Jake chuckled, walking beside her. “Tell me when they’re ready to move Bobby and I’ll help get him situated.”

  “Are you expecting problems?”

  “No. But he’ll put up a fight when you try to take away his essentials.”

  “Essentials?”

  “TV. Sports Illustrated.”

  “Hmm...” Molly stopped at her office door, facing him. “I never really considered it before, but it will be hard, being so isolated and alone.”

  “Uh-oh.” Jake narrowed his gaze.

  “What?”

  “Be careful, Bolt. I think your empathy’s showing.”

  “I have empathy. A great deal, in fact.”

  His words hurt more than she cared to admit. She’d been working on improving her bedside manner and had thought she was getting better. Jake could’ve helped her with that. He was so good with his patients, so caring and concerned.

  Too bad he’d hate her once he found out about those leaked clips.

  Shoulders slumped, Molly tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’ve already explained to the patient that it’s only for a short while.”

  “Is everything okay?” Jake asked, his expression concerned. “Not just with Bobby.”

  “Of course.” She forced a smile, swallowing the words that needed to be said. “Why?”

  “You seem troubled.” Jake took her hand, his thumb stroking her knuckles and driving her to distraction. “We never really discussed what happened between us the other night. Want to have dinner with me later and we can talk?”

  Her heart pinched at his earnest tone. She wanted to...oh, did she want to. But she’d already agreed to another conference call with the network attorneys, and if she had dinner with Jake she’d be tempted to tell him about the network’s mistake, and then all this would be over and she’d be banished back to her cold, emotionless box.

  Jake must have mistaken her silence for refusal, because he let her go, his smile fading and a glint of hurt flashing in his eyes. “If you don’t want to go, just say so, Bolt. No big deal.”