Page 18 of Fractured Reunion

Jamal returned with the paper consent form. Aaron explained the procedure at length using terms he hoped Grace’s mother could understand. Once she signed off on the consent, he rested a hand on the woman’s arm.

“I’ll take good care of Grace,” he assured her.

“Thank you, Dr. Monroe.” She sniffled and turned her attention back to her baby girl.

Leaving Grace and her mother with Jamal, who would get the little girl prepped for the procedure, he headed to the locker room to change into scrubs. He was wide awake now, and as he scrubbed his hands and forearms at the deep sink, his thoughts turned to Maggie and Joey. Behind him, the OR staff who had been called in on this early Saturday were scurrying around to ready the room.

He told himself they were likely doing fine. He and Maggie might be divorced, but if she thought Joey needed something urgently, she wouldn’t hesitate to call.

Time to focus on Grace’s upcoming procedure. Even though it was a relatively routine case for pediatric cardiac surgeons, he’d learned early in his career to never take a case for granted. Anything could go wrong, especially when dealing with young babies who didn’t have much in the way of a medical history.

Allergies to drugs and anesthetics were not uncommon. He’d come to appreciate the talent and skills of the anesthesiologists on staff here at Children’s Memorial, but they weren’t Maggie.

Then again, he hadn’t worked with Maggie since their split. She’d moved into working with trauma patients, much like Joey.

Forcing thoughts of Maggie out of his head, he dried his hands and donned his protective gear. For the next few hours, his primary concern would be Grace Baxter. He might have failed at his marriage, but he was still a good surgeon.

All he cared about was making sure Grace came through this open-heart procedure without difficulty.

* * *

Maggie awoke for what seemed to be the tenth time to Joey crying out in pain. As soon as the pain medication wore off, he became restless and upset.

She didn’t blame him. Hitting the call light to summon the nurse, she stretched out on the bed beside the little boy. “It’s okay. I’m here. You’re going to be okay.”

“My tummy hurts,” he whimpered.

“I know, sweetie. I know.” Spending the night with Joey gave her a new appreciation for parents with sick children. Not only was it nearly impossible to get any sleep, but the overwhelming sense of helplessness was just as difficult to overcome. There was no getting around the fact that surgery hurt. She would have given anything to be able to ease Joey’s suffering.

The little boy rested against her until the night-shift nurse brought his pain medication. He’d stopped asking about his mother, which was a blessing. Every time she tried to describe how his mother was in heaven watching over him, tears filled her eyes.

At seven in the morning, Kyle Flores came in to see them. He didn’t look surprised to find her there as he nodded in greeting. “How is my star patient this morning?”

“His vitals are stable,” Maggie said, as Joey rested against her. His eyelids drooped as the pain meds had kicked in. “He’s been crying out in pain every four hours between doses.”

Kyle pulled out his stethoscope as he approached the bed. “As you well know, this will be the worst day. The pain should lessen over the next twenty-four hours.”

She did know, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch the little boy suffer. She held Joey as Kyle listened to his heart and lungs. The boy barely moved, having grown accustomed to the hospital staff using stethoscopes to examine him.

“I’m reassured he’s not running a fever,” Kyle said when he finished. “How much blood is coming from the drain?”

“Less than ten cc’s all night,” she said.

“Good. If that continues, I can remove the drain later this afternoon.” Kyle eyed her thoughtfully. “No news yet on a guardian?”

She shook her head. “I’m hoping maybe we’ll hear something today.”

“Yeah.” He regarded her thoughtfully. “I take it you and Aaron are close. You mentioned you used to be married.”

“Uh, yes. I—we worked together at Johns Hopkins.” She saw no reason to explain about their divorce. “I learned Aaron was anxious to return to Milwaukee to be closer to his family.”

“Yeah, well, being offered the chairmanship over the entire pediatric cardiac surgery department is another good reason to relocate,” Kyle said with a wry smile. “He’s the youngest surgeon to be in that position in the history of the Milwaukee Medical Center.”

Chairman of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery? She hadn’t realized Aaron was that much of a bigwig. Children’s Memorial may not have the same prestige as Johns Hopkins, but being the chairman of an entire department was impressive. No wonder surgeons like Kyle had jumped to do his bidding. “Yes, he’s a talented guy.”

“True.” Kyle crossed over to log into the computer. He scrolled through the data, made a few notes, then turned back to face her. “Do you need anything else?”

“No thanks.” She appreciated his treating her like a colleague. “Will you be in to remove the drain or one of the residents?” It was a Saturday, so she fully expected Kyle would delegate the procedure.

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