Page 93 of Under Fire

“What?”

“I said—sit down.”

The sound of Dr. Zucker scribbling on a notepad in the background was the only noise in the room.

It took him a second, but Warren relented, sitting his ass down on the chair, sucking in a shallow, stressful breath—and giving Alisa space to work. Watching the scene unfold before him, it was clear that med student Alisa wasn’t as soft as the woman he’d become used to, but in that moment, he didn’t want soft.

Warren shifted, getting more comfortable, watching Alisa work. Slowly, putting the pieces together, he learned something about her. This was her—as professional and focused as he was at his job. She was like a Navy SEAL in medicine. He got that.

His senses started returning to him, and he acknowledged that it was all, in fact, really happening. Alisa was really triaging him, triaging Katy, taking control of the scene—leadingthe scene. Other health-care workers stood back in the doorway, nurses and doctors alike, watching her manage the critical situation. In one fell swoop, she’d not only taken charge of the child but calmed the increasingly aggressive adult—him.

Taking another deep breath, he saw Katy enjoying Alisa’s attention. Alisa handled Katy in such a way that was both clear and comforting, punctuated by her sheer confidence…sheer competency. Whatever stress had boiled up in Warren was going back down. He reached to his cheek again, trying to figure out what he felt on his skin. It was like the cold barrel of a sniper scope.

“She hit her head?” Alisa asked him. “That’s what you told the nurses?”

“Yeah, she fell down the stairs.”

“Did you see it? Did you see where she hit her head?”

“No—she was at her mom’s,” he explained.

“Okay,” Alisa replied, lowering Katy down onto the bed, resting her head on the pillow. “There you go. Just relax.”

“Am I going to be okay?” Katy asked in a tiny voice, still a little anxious.

“Let’s see,” Alisa said as she lifted up both of Katy’s arms.

Alisa continued, “Can you hold my hand—really tight? Yes, just like that.”

Katy obeyed, squeezing each of Alisa’s hands.

“Can you turn your head from side to side? Yes, perfect.” Alisa analyzed quickly, seeming to check for discrepancy in muscle response.

“Looking for paralysis?” Warren chimed in.

“Shut the eff up,” Alisa shot at him.

Warren’s mouth dropped open. Dr. Zucker’s eyebrows rose to the high heavens. But all anyone could hear was Katy giggling at Alisa’s profanity and mumbling something about the swear jar.

A grin crossed Alisa’s lips. “You think that’s funny?”

“Mommy always swears,” Katy whispered, as if she were telling a big, bad secret.

“I like your mom,” Alisa said. “I want you to tell me what you see.”

She held up different objects, making Katy giggle when she held them right in front of Warren’s face. He played along, batting away the stethoscope dangling in front of his nose, like he was truly annoyed. He wasn’t. He was damn glad Alisa was warming up.

“Now, I want you to tell me what you hear.”

Alisa proceeded to make a few silly animal noises, which resulted in roaring laughter from Katy. In fact, it got Warren laughing as well, and he nearly forgot about the status check messages from the master chief.

“Yes, it looks totally fine. Don’t worry,” Alisa finally said, patting the child.

Dr. Zucker nodded in agreement, snapping his notebook closed and leaving the room.

Then Alisa spun to Warren, assuring him. “She’s going to be okay, as long as she doesn’t hang around you for too long.”

The words ricocheted in Warren’s mind.She’s going to be okay. Hearing Alisa say it, it sank in. And he realized that it had never been as bad as he’d thought. Retracing his steps through his mind, Warren self-assessed that he had just completely lost it. The fear of a child dying in his arms… He recognized his trigger point.

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