Page 22 of Paging Dr. Breakup
“You earned every strand.” Deirdre’s confident tone of voice warmed him.
The staff disconnected the telehealth unit and rolled it out of the room. Tuli’s vitals were stable. The second unit of blood dripped through the IV.
After another ten minutes of irrigation and additional repair, Calvin stood up straight, every muscle and joint protesting the upright position.
Sure, he managed plenty of life-threatening situations on a regular basis at Harborview.
Never without a safety net.
Yukon Valley Hospital might be small, but the staff and their ability to improvise was next level.
After taking off his gown, gloves, eye shields, and mask, he said, “Everyone did an impressive job saving Tuli’s life. Way to go. Let’s do a team debrief before shift change.” He took a moment to meet everyone’s eyes. “But bottom line for me is that I couldn’t have done this without every one of you here today.” He stopped rotating when he got to Deirdre. Her steady encouragement made him feel like he could save any patient, regardless of how few resources were available.
He could get used to unwavering support like that. A dangerous thought.
Deirdre smiled at Cal and the team, faint red lines marking her cheeks and the bridge of her nose where the mask had rested. “I’d give everyone a hug, but I’m a total disaster.” She paused, her gaze raking over him. “And Dr. Garrett looks like he committed a crime!”
“My only crime is doing surgery without an actual license.” The laugh that came up from the depths of his belly released the past hour of tension like a popped balloon. “I’m counting on the fact that no one is going to report me to the state medical board.” Of course, he was covered by the fact that he was working within his scope as an ED physician, but everyone seemed to appreciate the levity of the moment.
Ducking out to the call room, he quickly rinsed off in the shower, grabbed a fresh pair of underwear and socks and a T-shirt, and threw on clean scrubs. In a matter of minutes, he had holding orders placed and a plan for transfer to Fairbanks as soon as the weather would allow.
Staff cleaned up the mess in the room and began restocking supplies, their companionable murmurs wrapping around him. Deirdre had stuck around to help Amberlyn and Clyde.
Deirdre was something else. Cool under pressure. Confident. A perfect partner.
For someone else. He scrubbed his eyelids, as if that would get the image of her wide blue eyes out of his memory.
Fifteen minutes later, Tom stuck his head out of the trauma bay. “Tuli’s awake now, Doc.”
As Cal stepped into the room, Tuli gave a groggy smile. “Hey, Doc. I made it. Either that or heaven is not as advertised.” He glanced toward the door, then down at his bloody bed linens and clothes. “Hi, Lou. Sorry my artery attacked you and made the inside of the ambulance look like an exorcism occurred. Any chance I can get cleaned up?”
Mav snorted as he rolled the gurney away toward the ambulance bay.
Louise smiled, brows furrowed. “We’ll be cleaning the rig for a week. You, too, from the looks of it. Ah, Clyde’s got you a fresh gown and sheets.” With another long look, she pushed off the open sliding doorway and followed Maverick out.
“Hey, someone give me my phone. I’m going live before I put that pastel blue gown on.” Tuli snorted. “Bet this story will go viral.”
Everyone in the room eye-rolled or groaned. No one handed him his phone.
Cal squeezed Tuli’s upper arm, turned around, and spied Deirdre gingerly picking up her clean blazer from the countertop. The front of her blouse had a dark stain on it from Tuli’s blood. Tendrils of sweaty hair had matted on her neck and cheeks. Her face was still flushed, probably from the heat of wearing the impermeable gown while working under the bright exam light.
Hardworking. Determined. Endearing.
Beautiful.
“I’m heading out, unless anybody needs anything else.” Deirdre shoved hair behind an ear.
When she paused a few feet from Cal, everything else in the room faded away. Dimly, he noted that the staff had made themselves very busy or very scarce.
“Thanks again, Deirdre.”
“I’d sayanytime, but no offense—I’m calling it a day and hoping no one needs me for the next twelve hours.” She wrinkled her nose, smiled at everyone, then turned on her heel and exited.
For an extra few seconds, Cal stared at the sliding glass door.
“There’s a problem, Doc,” Tuli said.
He immediately leaned over him, lifting the fresh gown to check the dry dressing on his leg. “What? Are you in pain? Any breathing issues?”
