Page 25 of Healing Her

Ashley had avoided eye contact the entire time. Hadn’t directly addressed Jen unless she had to. Hadcertainlynot involved Jen in the prep discussion except to give her terse commands and instructions on what her role would be.

But it had all gone smoothly. Jen did have to admit that Ashley’s rigid compartmentalizing and thorough planning had resulted in a very orderly and virtually complication-free surgery. The whole thing had taken seven hours on the dot, and then Maria had been wheeled up to recovery. Jen tried to talk to Ashley afterward, but was, to her deep hurt, brushed off. Ashley had gone off with Elaine Martin and the Chief, and Jen had scrubbed out and trudged to her office to gather herself together before heading up to sit at Maria’s bedside. Where she’d now been for several more hours as other doctors and nurses bustled in and out of the room.

Ashley hadn’t, yet. By all rights she should have, but it didn’t take long for Jen to realize the bulk of the post-surgical checks and balances were being left in her hands. Partly, she thought, out of kindness as Ashley was well aware of Jen and Maria’s closeness. And partly out of efficiency, since Ashley wasn’t stupid and knew she would never be able to pry Jen away from Maria’s side.

But it was also, she thought, probably a way for Ashley to keep her busy and at arm’s length, and that was a fresh stab of hurt in her own heart any time she thought too hard about it.

Maria’s eyes fluttered open ever so slightly, and Jen leaned forward, her grip on Maria’s hand tightening. “Maria. Hi.”

“Jen.Querida.” Her free hand drifted up weakly to touch her chest, where the fresh and tidy incision was under her nightgown. “Ouch.”

“We can take care of that.” Jen pressed the call button for a nurse, who arrived quickly. “Let’s get her some morphine, she’s awake and in pain.”

With a nod, the nurse set to her task, checking Maria’s pulse, her temperature, and getting the medicine injected into her IV. She disappeared out the door with a, “I’ll let Doctor Proctor know she’s awake,” casually tossed over her shoulder.

Maria sank into her pillows and watched Jen blearily. “It went well?”

“It went beautifully.” Jen smiled at her friend. “I held your old heart in my own two hands. I thanked it for all it had done for you.”

“As I would have. You know me so well.” Maria’s smile was faint. “And the new heart?”

“It’s good. Strong. We didn’t even need to shock it to get it going once we had it connected in your chest.” She brushed a stray wisp of hair back out of Maria’s face. “You’ll go on for years, I’m sure of it.”

“Who’s the donor? Can I know?” Her eyes were bright with curiosity. “Can I thank their family?”

“I can’t tell you anything right now. HIPAA laws.” Jen squeezed Maria’s hand again. The family of the young male cyclist who had been struck by a careless speeding driver while he trained for a triathlon had said they wanted to talk to the recipient of his heart eventually, but not today. “They have my info, though. They’ll let me know when they’re ready, and I’ll check in with you. Okay?”

“Okay.” The medication seemed to be kicking in, Maria looked drowsy. But even on morphine, she could be so sharp.Her dark eyes narrowed as she looked at Jen. “Hey.Hermosa. What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“I’m just tired, it’s been a very long day,” Jen hedged. Fruitlessly, she knew. Maria could be like a dog with a bone, damn it all.

“Bullshit,” came the immediate, expected response. “You’re not just tired, you’re sad. Who hurt you?”

“I think you know the answer to that.” No one had been more delighted than Maria when Jen had confessed that she was seeing Ashley. Or more cautious.That one’s going to be a tough nut even for you to crack, she’d said, and of course she’d been right.

“Mmm. My good doctor, my surgeon. Yes?” Maria shook her head. “Let me at her.”

“Right, when you can’t even sit up in bed, sure,” Jen mocked, sticking her tongue out. “Look, it’s fine. I’ve been on edge lately, and I take things out of nothing and make them into somethings that are much too big. Now that your surgery is over, I can relax a bit.”

“I don’t believe you at all,” Maria shot back bluntly, and Jen knew she would have gone on had the door to the recovery room not opened at just that moment.

Ashley slipped in, eyes fixed firmly on the tablet in her hand. “Hi, Ms. Rivera. I’m so glad you’re awake. The surgery went absolutely perfectly.” She glanced up, her eyes flickering to Jen and then instantly away. “How do you feel?”

“Tired. A little pain.”

Ashley met Jen’s challenging gaze with reluctance. “Have you requested additional pain medication, Doctor Colton?”

“Yes, I have, Doctor Proctor.” The title, though accurate and justified, was sour in Jen’s mouth. “Everything is in order, she’s been administered a bit more morphine and that’s doing its job.”

“Perfect. Thank you.” Ashley’s fingers flew over the tablet, then she looked up and flashed a quick smile at Maria. “Then I’ll let you rest. Please let the nursing staff know if you need anything.” Without another word, she turned on her heel and left the room, both Maria and Jen gawking after her.

Maria managed to recover first. “Oh, what the fuck was that?”

“No, Maria, no, come on.” Jen shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“No, that is mylast straw.” Maria raised a finger and shook it weakly. “Every time I’ve seen you in the same room together lately, she ignores you like she gets paid for it. I see it hurts you! Why is this happening? I thought things were going well.”

“They are! They are. Just… she keeps things separate here at the hospital, that’s all.” Flustered heat spread through Jen’s chest and up her throat. “We’re professional.”

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