Chapter 7
Alexia
“Here, looks like you need this more than I do,” Selene whispers, pressing a cup of strong coffee into my hands. The warmth seeps through my cold fingers, and the rich aroma fills my nostrils.
“I should have seen this coming, damn it,” I growl, slamming my fist against the table, achieving nothing but a sharp sting of pain.
“Stop that,” she snaps. “You can't predict everything.”
“Isn't that exactly what I'm supposed to do?” I protest. “It's my job.”
“You're also human, and last time I checked, that wasn't a crime, you know?”
Suddenly, her gaze shifts to the photograph next to my computer, and my blood runs cold.
“Is that you as a kid?” she asks, jutting her chin toward the frame.
“With my best friend from school. You're not the only one who's lost someone you loved right before Christmas,” I murmur.
“What happened to her?”
“Acute myeloid leukemia. The treatment worked at first, but it's aggressive. She died on December 25th. The doctors kept telling her family they were doing everything possible, but even now, I remember seeing the hopelessness in their eyes.”
“That must have been fucking rough,” Selene sighs.
“You know how it feels, I won't remind you how in those moments you wish you could die too. My mother was a prestigious doctor. Want to know what she told me after my friend's funeral?”
“No idea,” she breathes.
“She told me to take it as a lesson about the importance of maintaining emotional distance from patients. I was twelve, for fuck's sake, and my mother turned my best friend's death into a lesson about being a better doctor in the future,” I complain, turning away so she can't see the tears welling up in my eyes.
“Wow!”
“It hurt, but I guess deep down, my mother was right. Getting attached to one of your patients only makes it so much harder when…”
“When what?” Selene cuts in. “When you have to fight even harder for her? Because that's exactly what Holly needs you to do right now.”
“I guess so,” I admit with a sigh.
“Are we heading to Burlington for that heart?”
“We are,” I repeat, nodding slowly.
***
The helicopter's engines roar to life when I get the call I've been waiting for from hospital administration.
“Morning, Safira. Do you have the authorization?”
“I can barely hear you. Are you in the helicopter?” she asks, confusion evident in her voice.
“Yes.”
“Well, you better get down.”
“What? Have you lost your mind?”
“Not possible, Dr. Winters. I must implement emergency protocol and suspend all flights until further notice due to the storm. It's too dangerous,” she responds flatly.
“Shouldn't I be the one to judge if it's too dangerous? Or the helicopter pilot? We're the ones who'll be flying.”
“I'm just following orders, Alexia,” she apologizes.
“Safira, please. We have a heart waiting in Vermont. It's the only chance to save one of my patients. This little girl will die,” I plead, grasping for words.
“I wish I could tell you something different. I'm just following protocol. I'm so sorry, Alexia,” she repeats, lowering her voice before ending the call.
I grab my headset and rip it off, throwing it to the floor.
“I can't fucking believe this.”
“Why the hell did you ask for authorization?” Selene protests.
“I had to.”
“What are we going to do now? As far as I'm concerned, they can shove their protocols up their ass. We could take off right now and…”
“Power down. I need to try to convince them,” I say with an apologetic gesture.
Selene
“Is it true there's a heart for Holly?” the girl's mother asks when we return to the hospital. Her voice quivers with desperate hope.
“There is. In Vermont,” I nod.
“Would it save her life?”
“I'm not a doctor, Vivian, but it looks like it's her only chance,” I explain, spreading my hands in apology.
“Will you go get it?”
“The hospital won't authorize the flight,” I admit, my heart shattering as I hear my own words. “It's because of the storm, visibility is poor and the winds…”
“Selene,” she sighs, taking my hands in hers while tears fill her eyes. “That girl is all I have. Without her, I don't want to go on living. Please,” she begs, and I decide right then that if I have to kidnap Dr. Winters to get her to Vermont, I'm more than ready to do it.
I stride to her office and burst through the door to find her studying a weather map on her computer screen.
“The northern approach would be suicide,” she mutters, not looking up. “But if we turn east…”
“Does this mean you're coming?”
“I've requested another authorization, meanwhile, I'm considering all possibilities. The storm's wind patterns indicate that…”
“We don't have time for wind patterns and all that crap,” I protest, my voice rising way louder than appropriate for a hospital.
Just as I'm about to yell at her again, the door swings open and we both turn to see Dr. Arya Kumari walk in.
“Why the fuck are you two idiots still here?” she asks, confusion written across her face as she pins us with her huge dark eyes.
“They denied our flight clearance. Because of protocol and...”
“Screw the protocol, Alexia. If you don't get your ass on that helicopter, I'll take your place, but go get that heart now,” she shouts, jabbing her finger into Dr. Winters' chest.
“But if they catch us…”
“Jesus Christ, Alexia, I'll say you asked for emergency leave and dropped your phone in a puddle, that's why you're unavailable. As for the helicopter, nobody's gonna climb up to the helipad in all this snow to check if that damn thing is still out there. Shoo, shoo! Both of you better get moving for that heart,” she commands, pointing at the door.
Suddenly, the lights flicker and die. Emergency generators hum to life, bathing everything in an eerie red glow. Instinctively, I position myself inches from Alexia, as if somehow trying to protect her from attack. Close enough to catch the subtle scent of her perfume.
“Holy shit!” Arya laughs. “It's the freaking universe sending you a sign to get the hell out of here, dumbasses!”
“Let's go!” I insist. “Everyone's too busy with the blackout now. Nobody will notice.”
“Arya, I swear if we die…”
“Yeah, yeah, that's the spirit, Dr. Winters,” Arya teases, clapping. “Now move your butt before someone from the administration figures out what's going on. And please, Selene, try not to crash the helicopter, I don't want that ugly dude with the big belly who used to deliver organs last year coming back. You're much prettier to look at,” she adds with a wink.