Chapter 6 Winston #2
“Hopefully, you’re right. Excuse me. I’m going to clear out this waiting room for you, okay?” I climb on top of the gray countertop, kicking the clipboard to the side, and a few people who were crowding the space take a few steps back.
Another dark-haired woman captures my attention, causing my heart to falter again thinking she is Dove. I’m starting to think she’s everywhere. I need to get a fucking grip.
“Excuse me.” I raise my voice over the loud coughs and conversations of the crowd, projecting to speak clearly through my face mask.
“Excuse me! Hi. Yes, thank you. Can I please have your attention!” I wait a few moments for everyone to look at me.
The room becomes much quieter, other than a few babies crying.
“Thank you so much. I’ll be quick. I’m Dr. Warrick.
I’m chief of surgery here at Warrick General.
I know many of you are here because you don’t feel well.
It is flu season. How many of you have had your flu shot? ”
A third of the room raises their hand.
“Great. Please go home and get some rest. Get plenty of fluids. Take a fever reducer as instructed on the bottle. If your symptoms worsen within the next few days, please go to urgent care.”
A few people groan and grumble about being forced to leave, but I can’t stand it when people use the emergency room as a clinic. This is how we get behind, and part of the reason why healthcare workers have to work beyond their normal scheduled shift.
About twenty people leave the room, leaving me with people who probably just have a cold or the flu and don’t have the flu shot. Unfortunately, there isn’t really anything we can do for that. The virus has to run its course. Rest and fluids is all we can recommend.
“For everyone else who did not receive the flu shot and you think you have the flu, please go to the left side of the room.” I gesture with my arm to the empty space. “We will get a nurse to test you and if you test positive, you will have the same instructions as those who left.”
There aren’t too many left in the waiting room now. Most everyone wants to be tested for the flu.
“Thank you,” I announce, trying to smile with my eyes over the top of my mask.
“I know it isn’t ideal, but we want everyone to be seen as quickly as possible.
All urgent patients will be seen now. Thank you all for your attention and swift action.
Ask the nurses for a get-well baggie on your way out the door if you test positive for the flu!
” I jump off the countertop, landing on my own two feet.
“Wait, you’re the doctor from those videos!”
I do my best to take a deep breath. I don’t want to come across rude or angry at a patient.
It isn’t their fault that I’ve brought this upon myself.
I don’t know why I didn’t think about the consequences of what would happen if I posted those videos.
At the time, I was just a man looking for the woman who has stolen my heart.
I wasn’t the heir to the Warrick Group or the face of Warrick General Hospital.
I wasn’t a public figure. I was just a man. A regular person.
And my shortsightedness is something I’m going to have to pay for now.
I lift a hand and wave in an awkward motion. “Hi, yes. That’s me. Please, let’s not talk about that as it is very embarrassing.” I chuckle softly, wanting nothing more than to focus on the medicine.
“I don’t think it’s embarrassing at all.” A woman who has a red nose from the sniffles speaks up. “I think it’s amazing you put yourself out there like that. Not many men would.”
“That’s not true,” a man dares to say. “Plenty of men would.”
“You’re going to tell me, a woman who has had to deal with men her entire life, that men put themselves out there like this doctor did? Please,” she scoffs and it’s followed by a sneeze.
I hand her a box of tissues, hoping it’s enough to interrupt the disagreement they’re about to have.
“Okay, let’s not get too far off topic here.
” I glance down, noticing a rash on the woman’s neck.
Pushing her hair to the side, I examine the red flaky patch of skin.
“How long have you had this rash, ma’am? ”
She looks up at me with big watery brown eyes, her brows furrowing as she thinks. “I don’t know. A day, maybe two?”
“Nurse Rachel? Please escort this patient to an exam room.” I do my best not to sound alarmed. I don’t need anyone panicking.
“Is a rash bad?”
I pat her back in reassurance. “It could be a number of things. I’m just being cautious, okay? No need to worry.” I keep my voice full of a fake cheer that I’ve mastered to cover my worry.
With long, fast strides, I’m at the front desk. “She needs to be seen immediately,” I whisper, keeping my voice low so no one else can hear me.
“You worked wonders on the waiting room. Half the people do have the flu and they’re being sent home. Smart man.” Nurse Rachel taps her temple. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”
“Experience is all,” I state, needing her to pay attention.
“Rachel, this waiting room might be infected with a deadly virus. I need you to test the patient with the rash, okay? And keep it under wraps. Contact the infectious disease doctors. Do you understand me? This does not need to get out or it will cause chaos. I’m chief of surgery so I’m open to being wrong, and I hope I am. ”
“Right away, Dr. Warrick. Want me to keep you updated?” She holds the phone to her ear by pressing her shoulder against it so her hands are free.
“Yes, keep me updated. Because that means every person in this room could be exposed.” I check my watch, noticing I only have a half hour before I have to report to Olivia.
Even though I’m her boss, let’s be honest here, Olivia is really the boss. I listen to her in order to have a successful day.
“What about everyone who just left?” Nurse Rachel asks, panic beginning to etch into the sides of her eyes.
“I don’t think we have to worry about that.
She wasn’t anywhere near those people. All we can do is start with her and hope the rash and her other symptoms are two separate issues.
Again, do not cause a frenzy. We have too many people in the pit right now.
We have traumas coming in left and right.
One of my residents just took a man to surgery to get his arm sewn back on.
Today is one of those days. We have to keep it together.
I’ll help here as much as I can. Page me if you need me. I have to go.”
“Thank you, Dr. Warrick.”
I give a curt nod, tossing my gloves in the trash and stealing a pump of hand sanitizer in my palm before rushing through the doors to the pit again.
Dr. Leighton has her face in the tablet where all medical charts are kept. Out of curiosity, I glance at the bed where her patient was to find it empty.
“Dr. Leighton, can I trouble you for a minute?” I steal the spot next to her, matching her walking pace.
She doesn’t bother looking in my direction. She’s still inputting information on her patient chart. “Fine, but you have to keep up with me. I have a C-section scheduled and I’m on my way up.”
“For the patient you just saw?” I probe, wanting to tread as gently as possible.
I open the doors in front of us, allowing her to walk through first. She takes a sharp right, not bothering to watch where she’s going.
She’s always had a habit of that. Dr. Leighton, like most of us who’ve been here for years, knows this hospital like the back of her hand.
She doesn’t get out of the way for anyone, but others do for her.
“No, no. The patient I saw seemed to be having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions over the last few days and this time she thought she was in labor. Which would be terrible because she told me she has to travel. So she needed my approval to do that. She got lucky. If she was thirty-six weeks, I would have had to say no, but she’s thirty-five weeks.
She’s pushing it, but she explained to me that she had to go on this trip.
It was essential for her to be able to care for the child.
She’s only gone for the weekend. I told her to come see me the moment she comes home. ”
“I’m surprised you approved her.”
“I am too.” She exhales, jamming the button on the elevator.
“But she’s a single mom. She’s doing the best she can.
Going on this trip allows her to be better prepared for the birth.
If that helps her, then it helps the baby, and mentally prepares her to be ready to be a mother, so it’s hard for me not to support it.
If she waited to see me until next week, I would have said no. ”
“And she’s young? Healthy?” I tiptoe the line with my curiosity.
We step inside the elevator and press the button to go the obstetrics floor. When the doors shut, she turns to me, giving me her full attention. She tucks her tablet under her arm and purses her lips. Wrinkles form above the mouth, showcasing her smoker lines.
I find it so odd that some doctors smoke. They know the dangers. But I also understand; this job is stressful, and being healthy sometimes isn’t part of the game when you’re pulling long hours like we have to.
“What is with the questions about my patient, Dr. Warrick? Do you not think I know how to do my job?”
This is exactly what I wanted to avoid.
“No, not at all, Dr. Leighton—”
“I know you’re a big name around here. You’re chief of surgery and a damn good one.
I respect you working your way up instead of having your daddy give you the position.
Your name is on this hospital, so if you have issues with me it means my job could be on the line.
I promise you, Dr. Warrick, you do not want my wrath if that is your plan. ”
I slap the emergency stop button on the elevator and slam against the wall from the sudden stop. Righting myself, I tug on the lapels of my white coat, doing my best to stay calm and collected.
“Dr. Leighton, I’m not trying to test your abilities to do your job. I think you’re the best OB-GYN in the country. Your track record proves that. I won’t tolerate being threatened. I was only trying to have a conversation with you.”
“Why? You aren’t the conversating type.”
“Because I thought—” I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“I thought maybe your patient was someone I’ve been looking for.
I was wrong to question you like that. I’m glad your patient is happy and healthy.
I have no doubts that you treated her in her best interest. I apologize for making it seem like I was questioning you. ”
“Apology accepted.” She presses the emergency button causing the elevator to move again.
“Thank you.” I fold my hands behind my back. “And I hear Dr. Jenks is retiring which means you could be the department head.”
For the first time in years, Dr. Leighton blushes. “Oh, I don’t think I’ll be considered.”
“That’s nonsense. I’ll put in a good word.” The doors open up onto her floor and she steps out, snaking her hand between the doors.
“You’d do that? Seriously, Dr. Warrick?”
“You deserve it. You have more accomplishments and experiences than your male colleagues. You’re recognized as one of the best OB-GYNs in the country. You should be the department head. I’ll put in a good word before I leave for the conference this weekend.”
“Thank you, Dr. Warrick. I appreciate that. Thank you so much.” She removes her hand and stops the doors again. “And I saw your viral video—”
“Please. Let’s not.” I chuckle, wanting to get away from the nightmare of everyone I know seeing my desperate video.
“I have faith. You’ll find her. Don’t stop trying. I respect what you’re doing. More men should.” Dr. Leighton allows the doors to finally close, leaving me alone in the metal tin with my thoughts.
Getting away to the War-Med Con will be exactly what I need. It will refresh my soul and help me rediscover what I need, not only out of my career, but my life.
The elevator lowers, stopping at the floor below.
“Doctor.”
I groan internally when I see Dr. Greene.
“Doctor.”