13. Ashley
13
ASHLEY
" Y ou're all set, Mrs. Winchester. As long as that pain continues to decrease and we don't see any signs of infection, we'll get you released first thing tomorrow morning." I checked the older woman's chart one last time on my tablet and looked up at her smiling face. After a triple bypass, her body struggled for a few days to maintain a consistent blood pressure, but things were looking up.
"Thank you, Dr. Sutton." Her hand reached for mine, and I took it and held it for a second. Though all my training told me not to get emotionally invested in patients, sometimes, it was hard. Especially when I knew my part in her story was integral for her survival.
"You'll have twenty more strong years now." I patted her hand and noticed the way Jack looked at me. He was shadowing each of his students for one full day, and he'd already followed Farah and Michael around. Today was my day. He seemed pleased with my bedside manner.
"Because of you," she replied, and it was time for us to move on. I had two more patients to see and a surgery later this afternoon.
"I'll check on you before I leave for the day." I backed away, and she waved goodbye. Jack fell in step behind me toward the door, then walked at my side in the hall as we moved to the next patient room.
"You handled that quite well, Dr. Sutton. I'm impressed." He was calmer today, more relaxed ever since the board chairman slipped him the information that he'd most likely be off the hook now. But I insisted on sticking around and seeing the whole thing through. The police would look at evidence, but I had a gut feeling that whoever was doing this was smart and would get away with it.
"Thank you, Dr. Stewart," I told him, keeping my professional demeanor, but I wasn't interested in his praise. We both knew it was an act. "Now, I've done a bit more prying and found out that Dr. Blake definitely interacted with your dead patient." I kept my voice at a near whisper so passing nurses couldn't hear me.
"Ashley," he hissed softly, "I told you to stop. If the police find out you're?—"
"She's smart, Jack. She'll slip right past them and they won't even know it was her. I have to do this." My firm reminder silenced him, so I continued. "The cases are linked, and I think I know how… I just have to find proof."
My suspicions about Dr. Blake kept me up last night wondering. If she had access to the pharmacy and both patients, there was that direct link. The hospital had strict control over drugs and tracked and monitored everything, so it was only a matter of time before someone connected the dots. I just had to get the information to the right person without letting on that I was actively snooping around. Jack was right. The police were involved, and if they knew I was sleuthing, they wouldn't be happy.
"Just here," I told him, nodding at my next patient's room. The storm in his eyes told me he wasn't happy about my continued snooping. He was really insistent that I stop. He wanted me to accept his referral to a different health system and move on, this time with my full licensure and board certifications. No one would ever know about this stint here at Cambridge with him, and I'd go my separate way.
Except I didn't want to go my separate way. I'd been on a yo-yo wondering what he even wanted from me. We'd barely spoken in a week. Granted, he had been very busy meeting with the board and his lawyer, and our work schedules conflicted. So outside of his lectures and follow-ups with patients, he was distracted and busy. And I was confused. He demanded that I give myself to only him but made comments about not having time for a relationship. I found myself in a catch twenty-two and hated it.
"Smile, Jack. You're hotter when you do." My cheeky comment meant to cheer him up was made in passing as we walked into my next patient's room, a thirty-year-old woman who had an esophageal complication after a full mastectomy. She was weak and in a lot of pain and overall not doing well.
When we walked into the room, I didn't see the nurse at first, only Mrs. Maier. Her husband usually sat at her side, but they also had three small children, which was where I assumed he was this afternoon. I had prescribed a heavy broad-spectrum antibiotic for her after the surgery, but according to her chart, her platelet count was so low there was no way she was fighting the infection on her own.
"What are you doing?" I heard Jack ask, and that was when I noticed the nurse putting something into the patient's IV. She looked up with a hint of surprise on her face and then blinked as if she had nothing to say. But she managed to stammer out some incomprehensible words before making sense.
"I was just, uh… She needed her next course of antibiotics, so I stopped by to administer them." It was Naomi, the strange nurse who told me about the second patient and then acted weird before vanishing. She held the syringe in her hand, staring at us.
"Right, well let's see how she's doing.” I glanced at Jack. The nurse's hand was shaking. "She's supposed to be on Cephalothin, but is that Vancomycin?" The blue stripe on the pre-filled syringe was a dead giveaway, something that made my gut feel uneasy.
"Uh, yes, well she's not responding to the Cephalothin, so I thought?—"
"You thought?" Jack's tone got instantly aggressive and his volume ticked up. The nurse backed away and capped the syringe. "Nurses are not licensed or qualified to change a patient’s medication. Don't you realize what's already happening at this hospital? Two patients have died from poisoning, and you're going outside of standard procedure?"
Naomi hung her head and took a few more steps away from the patient. "I'm sorry, Dr. Stewart. I know it's not normal, but no one was doing anything and I was just trying to help this patient so she didn't die too." She looked up with tears in her eyes and a quivering lip. "I watched that last patient code and I just…” When she blinked, the tears rolled down her cheeks and I felt bad for her. Jack was being a bit harsh.
"Get out, and don't come back," he snapped, and I wanted to protest but I watched her pocket the syringe and walk out. I said nothing as he looked over the patient's lines and then moved toward the door. She was heavily sedated and resting. There was nothing more we could do.
The situation had everyone on edge. The hospital was coming under scrutiny now from the investigators and even from other patients. Jack's handling of the nurse's improper procedure could have been done better, but I didn't blame him. And I didn't blame her, either. She had witnessed the second patient's death, which would make me want to save any patient I felt was being neglected too.
I followed Jack into the hallway as he sulked out and saw that the next room was dark. We had to get his frustration under control before he snapped at someone else. I grabbed his elbow and pulled him into the dark room with the intention of discussing what just happened, but he got the wrong idea immediately.
The minute the door clicked shut, he spun me around and kissed me hard. His lips were fierce and hungry, devouring me. I was shocked. I dropped my tablet and whimpered into his mouth. It had been more than a week since we were intimate, and I missed his touch and feeling close to him, but we really needed to talk.
"Jack," I breathed between kisses, but he backed me toward bed and pulled the curtain shut behind us. "Jack, I…” My protests were ignored, but I didn't mind. We could talk when we were finished. He clearly needed this from me, and I wanted nothing more than to help him feel better.
"You have no clue how much I need you." His voice was strained as he yanked open his pants and then mine. His hands greedily groped my curves, pulling me against his body. I felt how hard he was as he ground his pelvis against my thigh, and I tangled my fingers in his hair.
“Jack, I…” I couldn’t even form a complete sentence as his lips trailed down my neck.
“Shh, baby,” he growled. “No more words. Just feel.” His lips and hands were everywhere, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. I could feel Jack's presence more than see him. His warm breath ghosted over my neck and shoulders as he trailed kisses down to my collarbone, his gruff voice vibrating against my skin.
As he picked me up and laid me on the bed, I couldn’t help but arch my hips toward his bulge, silently begging for him. The coolness of the sheets beneath us contrasted sharply with the heat of his touch as he tugged at my blouse, desperate to get it off me. The fabric slid off easily, leaving behind goosebumps on my skin in its wake. He threw it to the side carelessly, not caring where it landed. Then his lips found mine once more, hungry and demanding as his hands roamed to my bra hook. I moaned and arched my hips toward him. I had missed this.
My bra was next, and the cool air hit my bare chest in a rush. Jack's lips trailed down my collarbone again, leaving a path of burning desire that singed my skin. As his teeth grazed the soft flesh there, I whimpered in pleasure. His mouth closed over my left nipple, sucking gently at first before biting down just enough to make me whimper. His other hand dipped into my slacks and found my slick core, stroking me until I was wet and aching for him. He slipped two fingers inside me and curled them in the way he knew drove me crazy. My back arched off the mattress and I dug my nails into his shoulders, gasping his name.
The tension from earlier melted away as he continued to worship every inch of my body, never once letting go of that possessive edge that made my toes curl. He tugged my pants down to my knees and then off, and his tongue found my apex moist and coated in my juices.
“God, you taste good.” While he licked me, he spread my knees, opening my core to his ministrations. His kisses were feverish, his breath hot on my clit as he moved lower, sucking and nipping at the sensitive skin. My hips bucked up into his touch without permission.
“Oh, God, Jack, we’re gonna get caught.” The curtain blocked the view of the bed from the window in the door, but anyone could walk in at any time.
“Not if you’re quiet,” he growled and took my clit between his lips and sucked. I writhed and clawed at his scalp as my body arched off the bed in spontaneous response. The sensation was powerful and had me biting my lip to stifle a groan.
He knew my body so well, knew what made me lose control. He ran his tongue along my slit, teasing me mercilessly. "Jack," I moaned.
"Just let go," he said, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through me. His words only served to heighten my arousal. I wanted him, needed him inside me, but he teased, licking my entrance and making me shudder, until two fingers slid into me and I clenched around them marvelously.
“Oh, God, yes,” I panted, rocking my hips against his face as he returned to my clit to suck.
“That’s it baby,” he growled. “Give it to me.” His words and his touch sent me over the edge, my body shuddering as I came undone in his mouth, my juices flowing onto his face and fingers. Heat rushed through every inch of me as the orgasm crashed over me like a tidal wave. Spasms and jolts rattled every muscle and joint. I whimpered and whined and gasped for air, but he continued thrusting his fingers into me until I had calmed down.
Jack pulled away, and I lay there panting, my chest heaving. His dark eyes smoldered with desire as he unbuckled his pants. I watched him through hooded lids, aching for him to fill me up, to push away the rest of the world and make everything right again. With his pants still on, he crawled over me, fly open, dick protruding from the zippered area. “God, I need this,” he growled, and I spread my legs to accept him as he sheathed himself inside me.
We both moaned as he slid in deeply, his hardness filling me completely. "Oh, baby… I've missed this," he groaned and began to move. In and out he went, thrusting deep and hard. His hips slapped against mine with each powerful stroke, and I arched up to meet him, our bodies a symphony of gasps and moans as we rocked together.
His hand found my clit as he continued to thrust into me, rubbing gently as we made love. I dug my nails into his back as another orgasm built, larger this time than the last. He was right. there was nothing better than this right now. His weight on top of me ground us together, and the possessive way he took what was his made me whimper with needy desperation.
“Jack, condom,” I grunted, but I didn’t want him to stop. I didn’t want it to end. And he didn’t even slow down. His eyes locked on mine as I stared up at him and my coil snapped again. The pleading, desperate way my body unraveled around him took my breath away. All I could do was gasp and pant and claw his sides until I was left twitching and arching my chest into his.
When he pulled out suddenly and gripped his shaft, I felt the heat of his explosion on my belly and chest. Stringy wads of cum shot from him and puddled on me, and I sighed and let my head loll to the side in relaxation.
Jack collapsed next to me, panting heavily. His chest heaved, and mine did too, in syncopated rhythm as we both tried to catch our breath. The intensity of the orgasm matched the depth of the afterglow. I felt giddy and tired. I was dizzy and heavy, relaxing into the firm mattress beneath me as Jack got up and collected himself. I felt him wipe his mess off my skin and I opened my eyes.
"What was that for?" I asked him in an intoxicated slur.
"That's why you pulled me in here, right?" Jack leaned down and kissed me, and I couldn't correct him. It wasn't at all why I'd pulled him in here, but I let him believe it was because it helped him. That was all I wanted to do.
"What's happening between us, Jack?" The yo-yo had to stop. I couldn't get out of my head that he very loudly and adamantly announced how he had no time for a relationship or a family, and the pregnancy symptoms I'd been experiencing were unnerving me.
He sighed and straightened his tie, using another tissue to wipe his face. "I'm going to regret saying this, but I'm catching feelings for you, Ashley." As he said the words, his phone went off and he pulled it out.
"What does that mean?" I stood and picked up my pants, but he scowled at his phone.
"I have to go. I'm sorry." He pecked me on the cheek, and I stiffened. "Talk later?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure…"
I stood there with my pants in hand as he ducked past the curtain, and I heard the door open and close. He was catching feelings for me but he had no time for a relationship? The "no time" part was obvious. All I wanted was one real conversation, and work called him away again. Even if he had a desire for a relationship, was this the type of relationship I wanted from him? To be banged and left to clean up by myself?
I sat on the edge of the bed and felt sick again. It was time to do a pregnancy test and decide my next steps. With everything going on, I was neglecting myself, and I had to stop doing that. I deserved better.