Chapter 6 – Braelyn
brAELYN
“Mrs. Box in room six needs a Foley started and about six milligrams of Ativan.”
I pause and glance up at Wren as I take notes. “Six?”
She shrugs. “Obviously not six. But she’s easily the most anxious patient I’ve ever encountered. Start with half a milligram, but I’ll give you some room to move on that.”
“Awesome. What else?”
“Mr. Tape in eight—”
I snort a laugh.
“What?” Wren shrugs as she sips her coffee. “I didn’t mean to rhyme. That’s the dude’s name.”
“Mrs. Box, Mr. Tape. I feel like we’re in a game of Clue written by Dr. Seuss.”
“Yes, except for instead of trying to figure out who’s killing who, we’re trying to save them in a hospital with a…” She tilts her head. “What rhymes with hospital?”
“Nothing that works for this. Sorry. What does Mr. Tape in eight need?”
“A chest X-ray, EKG, a CBC, CMP, renal and liver function tests, BNP, A1c, TSH, CRP, and throw in a troponin.”
“CHF workup?” I ask because those are pretty standard labs when we think someone has congestive heart failure.
“Yep. It doesn’t sound like afib when I listen, but I’m not ruling that out yet either.
He hasn’t seen a doctor since the early two thousands and is short of breath, but there’s definitely fluid in his lungs, despite the fact that he’s dehydrated, so let’s get an IV started of LR along with twenty of Lasix IV push and see if that’s enough to clear those lungs without dehydrating him more.
Oh, and a cardiology consult. We’re going to end up admitting him once we get him buffed up.
I just don’t know if it’ll be on a tele floor or the CCU yet. ”
“You got it.” I pop the end on my pen and stick my paper back in my chest pocket. “Any cardiac meds yet?”
She finishes off her coffee and throws it in a nearby trash bin. “Not yet. Let’s see what the Lasix does and what his labs and X-ray show.”
“On it.”
“Are you okay?” Wren asks, folding her arms and tucking a piece of her blonde hair behind her ears.
“You mean because I caught my ex-fiancé cheating and called off my wedding?”
“Well, um, yeah, I mean—”
“Good morning,” Katy greets us with a coffee in one hand and her other on her pregnant belly. She’s a Fritz cousin and a trauma surgeon here, but considering the trauma surgeons are down here constantly, we’re pretty close. “I tried calling you last night,” she says to me.
“I know. I saw. Thank you. I just didn’t feel like talking.”
She waves me away. “No worries. I totally get it. God, why do men suck so badly?”
Wren glances up and down the hall, likely making sure Jack isn’t within earshot before she turns back to us. “Seriously. It’s like we all have to have a shitty ex or something. I’m so sorry you’re going through that too.”
“If it helps, we had our shitty exes, and now we have the good guys.” Katy wags a finger between her and Wren. “You’ll have yours too.”
“Does this mean I get to marry a hot doctor?” I tease since both of them did.
“Not for nothing, but if I were you, I’d marry Roman.”
I give Katy a look. “I’m not marrying Roman. He’s my best friend.”
Her hand goes to her stomach, and she grimaces. “This freaking kid loves to kick the hell out of me. Anyway, friend or not, you still should.”
I place my hand on her belly because I could use a little baby kicking moment and sure enough, I get an adorable thump against my palm. “Oh my gosh! Little Braelyn is kicking so hard.”
Katy laughs. “Yeah, I’m not naming my son Braelyn.”
“My turn.”
I move my hand so Wren can feel the baby and when she does, she sighs. “I should get pregnant.” Her head swivels nervously around again. “Don’t tell Jack I said that. But back to you.” She nudges me with her elbow. “Please marry my cousin because then we can be cousins.”
“Because your family isn’t already big enough?” I quip. “How many cousins do you have?”
They both shrug. “About ten thousand or so,” Katy teases. “Seriously, though, are you totally done with Adam? All moved out and everything?”
“I’m moving out today after work. I needed yesterday to think more and get myself mentally set for that. Roman’s going to come and help.”
“That has to be weird for him since he’s so close with Adam,” Wren comments, sliding her hand around on Katy’s stomach like feeling another woman’s body in the middle of the ER is the most normal thing ever.
“I’m sure it will be, but he offered and said it was fine.” I hesitate, shifting my weight, and they catch it.
“What?” Katy questions.
“I’m going to Vegas and Mexico with Roman next week.”
I get twin sets of wide eyes before they exchange glances.
“Come on. Don’t give me that look. Katy, you’re BFFs with Owen, and it’s not like that between the two of you, nor has it ever been.”
“Yes, but he’s also my cousin.”
“Not by blood,” I counter.
She holds up a hand. “Fine. Point taken. And actually, I think it’s great that you’re getting away for a bit. It’ll help clear your head and—”
“Delivery for you,” my mother cuts in with a scowl twisting her lips as she walks a giant bouquet of purple orchids and white hydrangea toward me.
I sigh. And possibly growl. My wedding flowers.
“What a jerk face. He’s not fighting fair,” I mumble dryly, taking the large glass vase from her hands. I can’t throw them since we’re in the ER. I could throw them out but…
“At least they’re beautiful.” Wren leans in and smells them. “Oh, a card.” She gives me a hopeful smile.
“Go for it. I don’t want to read it.”
“I already read it.”
I throw my mother a side-eye. “Of course you did.”
She shrugs unrepentantly.
Wren plucks the card from the plastic holder and pulls it out of the envelope. “Second chances lead to forever. I’m so sorry. I love you and will never hurt you again. Please forgive me,” Wren reads. She waves the card across her face as if she’s fanning herself. “It’s handwritten too.”
“Would you take him back?” I ask her. “If you walked in on Jack fucking some chick in your bed, would you take him back?”
She snorts. “Take him back? I’d sever his balls and shove them down his throat until he choked to death and then do the same with his cock and shove it down hers. But I’m feisty like that and a bit of a psycho. Ask Katy. She’s more levelheaded.”
“Yeah, not really. Because if I caught Bennett in our bed with another woman, I’d…
” She trails off as she tilts her head. “Wow, I have no revenge game that’s better than yours.
” She points to Wren. “I’d have to think of something badass.
I’d likely shoot him up with all of my insulin and ask Vander and Stone to hide the body.
But the reality is, we can tell you what we think we’d do, but no one really knows how they’ll react until they’re in the moment.
I have a child with Bennett and another on the way, and to that, there are women who forgive.
It does happen that the guy fucks up, the woman forgives him, and they do go on to live a happy life together. ”
I think about this for a moment as I stare at the flowers and allow the words on a card to settle over me.
I’m grateful he didn’t show up here. That’s likely more self-preservation than anything else.
My mother works here, for starters, and you don’t fuck with nurses.
You just don’t. Plus, I have other people here who have my back, so it’s not a safe place for him.
Fine.
But right now, I don’t want to see him. I don’t want to look at him because all I see when I close my eyes is him inside of her in the home we made together.
That’s what shatters me. Perhaps if it had been a fuckup, a drunken one-night thing, I could have gotten over that.
But bringing her to our home, into our bed, because their hotel room wasn’t ready yet is just fucking abhorrent.
That doesn’t deserve second chances.
It doesn’t deserve forgiveness.
It’s a slap to the face and a wakeup call.
“I’ve got patients to see,” I announce instead of voicing any of that. I pluck an orchid from the vase along with a hydrangea and shove the rest of the bouquet at my mother to do whatever she wants with.
“What are you doing?” my mother asks.
“Mrs. Box is an anxious woman who might like some flowers.” I start to walk off. “Love you, ladies. I’ll see you on the flip side of Mexico.”
Just before I reach the patient’s room, I get a text.
Adam: Did you get my flowers?
Me: I did. I’m giving them to my patient at this very moment.
Adam: I sent them for you. Not your patients.
Me: But she needs them more than I do.
Adam: They’re the exact flowers from your bouquet.
Me: I’m aware. I picked them out. Bye now.
Adam: Stop! No, wait, please. I love you. Don’t give up on us because I made a mistake.
Me: You gave up on us the moment you stuck your dick into her. I’m coming by later to get my stuff. Word to the wise, don’t be there. I’m feeling vengeful and have access to scalpels, needles, and drugs that kill.
I leave it at that, and after grabbing my patient’s Ativan, I head into the room.
“Mrs. Box, hello. I’m Braelyn and I’ll be your nurse today.
Someone told me you’re a little nervous to be here and let me tell you, you’re in the best possible hands.
We’re going to take excellent care of you. And I brought you flowers.”
The woman on the bed eyes them suspiciously as if they’re the poppies from The Wizard of Oz and they’ll put her to sleep if she smells them.
“Where’d you get those?”
I set them down on the bedside table and pour her some water so she can take her meds.
“Here. Take these. Dr. Kincaid’s orders.
” I drop the pills into her hand and get the things I need for her Foley catheter so she’ll be able to pee without retention and other issues.
“These are from my very recent ex-fiancé, whom I just caught cheating on me.”
She scowls at the flowers and surprises me with an appreciative lift of her chin.
“I had one of those once. I met my husband, may he rest, two weeks after I left the first bastard. Don’t worry, honey.
Men like them are a dirty dime a dozen, and women like you are the diamond in the rough. You’ll be just fine.”
I believe her.
I will be just fine.
I only wish they had a miracle move-on pill that could excise him from my head and heart to make that process faster.