13. Riley
13
RILEY
R iley was in the Emergency Room once again. She was excited for tonight when Jett was scheduled to come over and cook with her again.
Suddenly Dr. Mars burst through the doors to the ER with that look on her face that Riley knew well. That look on her face that meant that something big was going down.
“Everyone, listen up!” she called. “There is a big warehouse fire on the east of town. We need to be prepared for an influx of casualties! Expect trauma, expect smoke inhalation, expect burns, expect the unexpected!”
Riley felt her heart beating quicker. As a trauma surgeon, this was the kind of incident she lived for.
The staff began to make preparations and Riley knew that Dr. Mars was right. The one thing they could expect was to expect the unexpected.
Patients started coming in quickly, nothing life threatening so far, so Dr. Mars was quick to delegate them to lesser doctors than Riley. Riley assisted where she could, but was careful not to take over.
“Right, get this one to the OR and page Dr. Anderson for the surgery.” Riley felt in control of what she was doing, before suddenly, Riley heard a loud shout coming from the ambulance bay.
“Oh my God!” she heard being screamed. It sounded like Dr. Everett’s voice.
Riley didn’t know what was going on, but happy that she had sorted the patients she was overseeing, she headed to the ambulance bay.
She bumped into Lucinda on the way, her face screwed up, and a phone to her ear, but when she saw Riley coming toward her, her face dropped.
“What’s going on?” Riley asked. Lucinda looked at her with a calculated expression. She put the phone down and put an arm around Riley, trying to walk away with her.
“You need to be away from there,” Lucinda said.
“What do you mean?” Riley asked, resisting as Dr. Everett tried to lead her away from the ambulance bay. “Why?”
Riley looked toward the entrance of the Emergency Room.
Her world stopped as she saw who was being carried inside.
She went slack and the last thing she heard was Lucinda saying, “Damn it,” before her ears started ringing and all of the noise of the hospital faded into the background as she saw Jett being wheeled in on a trolley.
* * *
Riley’s hands were shaking as she sat on the floor of the ER. She didn’t know how long she was there, but she was suddenly reminded of the patients. No matter what was going on, she was a surgeon and she had a job to do.
Riley stood up, but almost as soon as she started walking toward the room of the patient that she left with Dr. Carroll, she saw Dr. Mars coming toward her with Dr. Everett beside her.
Riley felt that they were coming for her, so she let them, and when Dr. Mars stood in front of her, she crossed her arms, and Dr. Everett looked at Riley with a concerned expression on her face.
Lucinda started off, “Jett has a head injury and smoke inhalation. She isn’t conscious. Dr. Sullivan from Neuro is with her now, and we will update you as soon as we know more.”
Riley nodded. She felt like she wasn’t really there, that this couldn’t really be happening, that surely it couldn’t be Jett on that trolley unconscious and her fire gear covered in filth and debris.
“Okay,” Dr. Mars said. “This is absolutely not an ideal situation, but I can’t lose both trauma surgeons right now. Lucinda, will you be okay to stay on the floor?”
“Yeah,” Dr. Everett said.
“I can still work,” Riley protested and Dr. Mars and Lucinda both looked at her in disbelief.
“Love,” Dr. Everett said, “I don’t mean to offend you, but your hands are shaking so badly there’s no way in hell I’m letting you into an OR.”
Riley looked down at her hands and sure enough, they were shaking. She raised a fist to her face and wiped a couple of tears that had fallen down her cheeks.
Dr. Mars looked at her with a pitying expression. “Go,” she said. “Either go home or go to the waiting room and I’ll get you when Jett is stable.”
Riley nodded and walked to the waiting room. She didn’t know how long she sat there, but as she did so, she could barely think or focus on anything, and just spent the time staring at a piece of thread on the tiled floor.
As Riley waited, she knew that it was wrong, but she couldn’t help but feel guilty about Jett’s state. She knew that Jett felt a drive to be the hero, even when it was dangerous and would put her life in danger, and now here Jett was, fighting for her life in the hospital.
Riley wished she could have done more to reassure Jett that she didn’t need to risk her life to be worth something, but she also supposed that was part of who Jett was, why Riley fell so hard for her. She cared so much for others, even random strangers. Jett was a hero in every sense of the word.
Riley didn’t know how long it was until Jett’s mom and brother joined her in the waiting room, along with Jett’s Aunt Becky and cousin Ember. There were a few greetings, and Brody explained that Hannah had stayed home with the baby, but for the most part, their group sat in silence.
Dr Everett rounded the corner, “Just a quick update, Jett has a bleed on the brain. She is going into surgery now. Dr. Sullivan will do her very best for her, but she won’t know how bad it is until she gets in there.”
Riley was starting to lose hope the longer it went on. She didn’t know what she would do if Jett died. She didn’t want to think about it, but it was starting to become a real possibility, and she was terrified.
Riley wasn’t like Jett’s family. She hadn’t know Jett for years, but she had grown to care about her, and she didn’t want to lose her before they even had a chance to really connect fully. They were still telling everyone that they were just friends, for crying out loud! It wasn’t fair.
Riley wiped another tear from her face as she tried to remain stoic in the waiting room, but it was hard. Everyone around her was crying and filled with nervous energy, and Riley couldn’t help but be affected.
After a while longer, Riley eventually saw Dr. Mars making her way to the waiting room. Riley sat up straighter in her chair, giving Dr. Mars her undivided attention as the head of the hospital stood in front of the group.
“She’s out of surgery. She’s in a critical condition,” Dr. Mars said and Riley held her breath, “but we think she’s going to make it if nothing else goes wrong.”
Everyone else was relieved, and Jett’s mom hugged her brother, but Riley couldn’t find happiness within her. She was a doctor, after all. She knew how fragile these things could be and she knew that things could change in an instant.
But still, Riley allowed herself to have a little bit of hope as she was led to Jett’s hospital room with the rest of Jett’s family.
Jett looked so fragile laying in that hospital bed. Riley stood against the wall, allowing others to have the few chairs that were in the room. She looked at Jett with all the tubes in her arms and the oxygen in her nose, and she took a deep breath.
* * *
As the night wore on, a doctor came in and told them that they didn’t expect Jett to wake up tonight, and that they couldn’t allow all five of them to stay in the room overnight.
“I’ll go home,” Becky said.
“I’ll be back in the morning,” Ember said.
Jett’s mom didn’t say anything. It was clear that she didn’t want to leave the room. She stared at Jett with tears in her eyes and a lifeless expression on her face.
Brody reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Mom,” he said, “we should get home. You’re not going to be able to get any sleep here and we need you to be well rested when Jett wakes up.”
Jett’s mom shook her head and Brody sighed. “Please, Mom.”
Jett’s mom sobbed and wrapped her arms around herself. “That’s my baby,” she said. “It’s just like your father all over again.”
“No, Momma,” Brody said. “Jett is going to make it. She’s going to be okay. I just don’t want you to be here with no way to leave since we took my car here.”
Brody looked at Riley. “Are you planning to stay the night?”
Riley hadn’t thought about it, but now that Brody asked, there was no way that she was going to be able to go home and she nodded.
“Mom, how about you give Riley your phone number and she’ll text you if there are any updates?” Brody suggested.
Jett’s mom looked at Riley and Riley attempted and failed a smile at her.
“You take care of her, okay?” Jett’s mom said, squeezing Riley’s hand.
“Of course,” Riley said.
Jett’s mom nodded, and the two women exchanged phone numbers.
“Why don’t we all give you our numbers and you can put us into a group chat?” Ember suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” Becky said and Riley agreed, so before everyone left, she had four new numbers in her phone and had created a group chat for updates on Jett’s health.
Riley sat down in one of the now-empty chairs and sighed as she looked at Jett. She was definitely not going to be able to get any sleep tonight, or probably at all until after Jett woke up.
Riley just sat there and stared at Jett’s vital signs. She couldn’t stop crying. The chair was incredibly uncomfortable, but Riley refused to move. She was fine, after all. Jett was the one who wasn’t okay.
Riley continued to think and she felt terrible. Jett could have lost her life in that fire, and Riley didn’t even have the courage to admit her true feelings for her. Life really was too short to not tell Jett how she felt. It was messed up how one of them could be so courageous and the other not.
She made a silent vow to herself that she would tell Jett the truth if she woke up.
I’m in love with you.
Riley reached toward Jett’s hospital bed and took her hand in a gentle grasp. If things had gone worse, Riley wouldn’t have been able to hold Jett’s hand ever again. Riley couldn’t imagine it. She wanted to be with Jett for a long time, and she couldn’t believe that she had been letting her anxieties get in the way of her potential happiness.
A little later, a nurse came in to check on Jett as Jett just lay there motionless and Riley watched. If Riley had been in a better mood, she would have smiled when she noticed it was Leah, but instead she stared stone-faced at Jett, willing her to wake up.
When Leah left the room, Riley heard a groaning sound. At first she thought that it might have been from someone in another room or the hallway, as it was so faint. But as the sound, a low moan, continued, Riley felt Jett’s fingers twitch against hers.
Riley jumped and gently squeezed Jett’s fingers.
“Jett?” she said. “Jett, are you awake?”
Riley saw Jett’s eyelids flutter before Jett let out a low groan. It sounded pained, and Riley pressed the red nurse button on the bedside remote.
“Hello?” an unfamiliar voice answered. “How may I help you?”
“Hey,” Riley said. “Jett is waking up and I think she’s in pain. Is there any way you can give her pain meds?”
“I’ll tell the nurse,” the voice said.
“Thank you,” Riley said before she heard the call cut.
Riley looked at Jett and smiled, the first real smile since Jett was brought into the emergency room. “Hey,” she said in a soft voice, “the nurse will be here with some pain meds soon.”
“Where am I? Jett croaked, looking around the hospital room. “What happened?”
“You’re at the hospital,” Riley said, “and I don’t know exactly what happened, just that you sustained a head injury and smoke inhalation in a fire. You’ve been in surgery, but they fixed you up.”
Jett nodded, clearly disoriented, but then her eyes went alert and she immediately jolted up in the bed. “The woman,” she said, “that I gave my breathing apparatus to. Where are she? Is she okay?”
Riley had no clue what Jett was talking about, but she knew that she needed to calm her down quickly. The readings on her heart monitor had begun to spike and Jett was clearly distressed.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Riley said, taking Jett’s hand. “I’m sure she’s okay, and you can talk to your Aunt Becky about it tomorrow when your family comes. You know Becky knows everything!”
“Aunt Becky,” Jett repeated with a nod of her head. “Okay.”
Leah came back and put some pain meds into Jett’s IV, instructing Jett and Riley to call if they needed anything else.
Jett nodded her head. “Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” Leah said before leaving.
Riley waited for the pain meds to kick in, expecting Jett to fall back asleep as soon as they did, but she didn’t. By the time Riley had managed to text Jett’s family with the update, Jett was already forming more coherent sentences and beginning to ask questions, like how long she had been out, how many casualties there had been, and if they knew what caused the fire.
Riley could only answer Jett’s first question, fires certainly weren’t her speciality, but she tried her best to reassure her that she could get all the answers she wanted in the morning. It was hard, though. Jett was persistent and really wanted to know what had happened.
After a moment, however, the fire-related questions died down and Jett looked at Riley while holding her hand.
“Have you been in here the entire time I’ve been here?” Jett asked.
“Yeah,” Riley said. “Your mom wanted to stay, too, but Brody convinced her to go home for some sleep as long as I gave updates.”
Jett nodded. “Good,” she said. “I wouldn’t want my mom to stay the night in the hospital and sleep on that uncomfortable couch.”
Riley smiled, and then she frowned and started crying. Loud and hard. She pulled her hand away from Jett and went to cover her face. Jett was alarmed. She sat up and reached for Riley’s hand.
“Riley?” Jett asked, “Riley, what’s wrong?”
Riley continued to cry for a couple more minutes, just gasping and sobbing until she could finally form words.
“I was so worried about you, Jett,” Riley said when she could finally speak again.
“Hey,” Jett said, “it’s okay. I’m right here. I’m okay.”
“But you almost weren’t,” Riley said. “You almost weren’t okay and there’s nothing I could do about it.”
Riley uncovered her face and Jett took her hand back. “Hey,” Jett said, “it’s not your responsibility to watch out for me and make sure I’m okay. That’s my job.”
“But I want it to be mine,” Riley admitted.
Jett looked at her, confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I want to watch out for you and take care of you,” Riley said. “I can’t imagine my life without you in it, and I want to make sure that you’re going to always be around.”
Jett looked at Riley and went silent.
“I think I’m in love with you, Jett,” Riley said.
Jett’s eyes widened and she lightly squeezed Riley’s hand.
Jett leaned back against the hospital bed and looked up at Riley, but didn’t let go of her hand.
“I’ve been scared,” Jett said and she watched Riley frown.
“Of what?” Riley asked.
“Of loving you,” Jett said. “Of being vulnerable.”
There was a pause and Riley looked at Jett in apprehension. She wanted Jett, but she didn’t know what to do if Jett didn’t want her back.
“I’ve had relationships in the past,” Jett said, “even longer ones than what I’ve had with you, but I’ve never felt the way I feel with you, and that’s terrifying.”
Riley nodded. After all, she could relate. She just hoped this wouldn’t be the end between them. She didn’t think her heart could handle that.
“I know that in order to have a proper and actually lasting relationship I need to learn how to open up, how to be vulnerable with the person I care about,” Jett said. “And I’ve already been more open with you than most people in my life, and that’s scary and I’m not entirely sure how or why that happened, but I’m terrified of it.”
Jett took a breath and waited for a moment. Riley nodded for her to go on. She didn’t know if she could take it, but she was going to listen to what Jett had to say.
“But,” Jett said, “I think I’m willing to try being a little terrified and vulnerable. Because I do love you, as scary as that is, and I want to be with you for a very long time.”
Riley listened and more tears streamed down her cheeks, but these were happy tears. Jett loved her back, and she was willing to try for a relationship with her.
Riley reached across from where she was sitting next to Jett’s bed and hugged Jett.
“Is that okay with you?” Jett asked.
“Yes, of course,” Riley said, “but I should warn you that I tend to be absolutely shit at relationships- about the same as I am at cooking. I really don’t have a clue what I’m doing.”
Jett laughed. “We’ll figure it out together, then.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Riley said with a large smile, and the two hugged for a moment until Jett started to get uncomfortable.
Riley moved back, but kept her hand on Jett’s.
“I think I want to go back to sleep,” Jett said.
“That’s fine,” Riley said, “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
Jett shook her head. “Look,” she said, “I know that you love me and all, but please actually go to sleep. I know that the couch isn’t that comfy, but I want you to at least be somewhat rested before tomorrow.”
“I don’t know if I can sleep,” Riley said.
“Then at least try?” Jett pleaded. “Please?”
Riley rolled her eyes, especially when Jett tried begging with puppy dog eyes.
“Fine,” Riley said, “I’ll try.”
“Good,” Jett said, “because I’m sure my family will be exuberant, and I need you to be awake enough to control them because I doubt I’ll really be in the mood for a bunch of loud people in the morning.
Riley laughed. “Fair enough,” she said. “Then I shall try my best to wrangle them up for you.”
“Thank you,” Jett said before she laid back and closed her eyes. It didn’t take much time for her to fall asleep.
Riley decided to keep her promise and moved from the chair to the couch. She, however, didn’t fall asleep as easily, but after about half an hour her exhaustion caught up with her and she nodded off—only to be woken up a couple of hours later by a large group of people bursting into Jett’s hospital room, just as loud as Jett predicted and barely a minute past eight in the morning.
Riley sighed and sat up, looking at Jett’s mom, Brody, Becky, Hannah, Emma, Ember, and Natalie.
“Lucinda and Josephine are planning to come by later in the day whenever they have a break from work,” Becky said and Riley nodded, a little groggy.
“You said Jett woke up last night?” Jett’s mom asked.
“Yeah,” Riley said, “but she went back to sleep. I’m sure she’s still tired.”
Riley heard a loud groan come from Jett’s bed, and everyone in the room fell silent and looked to Jett.
“She is, in fact, still very tired,” Jett said.
Brody grimaced. “Sorry bro,” he said. “Maybe we should come back later?”
“I would really appreciate that,” Jett said.
Becky laughed. “It’s good to see you awake, kiddo.”
“It’s good to be awake,” Jett said. “Oh, I do have some questions for you about the fire.”
“I figured you would,” Becky said.
“Did the woman I gave my mask to survive?” Jett asked. “Is she okay?”
“Yes,” Becky said. “Some smoke inhalation issues, but she will be fine. You saved her life, Jett. There were about a dozen casualties, and the mayor and I went on the news last night to address the situation. No fatalities. I’ll text you a link to the recording of the story.”
“Thank you,” Jett said.
“Of course, kidd. We’ll leave to let you get some rest and come back later. In the afternoon.”
“I love you,” Jett said.
“We love you, too,” Becky said.
Jett’s mom gave her a light hug and whispered something in her ear. Jett reared up and gave her mom a hug back.
“I love you, Momma,” she said.
After everyone else left, Riley stayed standing by Jett’s bedside, but she wasn’t sure what she should do. Jett smiled at Riley and Riley smiled back.
“Do you want me to leave, too?” Riley asked, “I can come back later.”
Jett frowned. “Do you want to leave?”
“Not really,” Riley admitted.
“Then can you stay?” Jett asked.
“Of course,” Riley said. And she did just that, going back to sit in the chair next to Jett’s bedside.