Page 66 of Paging Dr. Breakup
They hurried to Calvin. “No idea. Found him down. I don’t know how long he’s been out. Guessing he’s hypothermic.” Last text was 5:25. She checked her phone. It was now a few minutes before seven.
Ninety minutes he could have been laying here.
Mav removed the blanket and jackets to do a quick primary assessment, then he and Louise applied EKG leads and obtained vitals. Sats were low, but then again Calvin’s fingers were freezing, so there wasn’t enough tissue perfusion to get a good signal. Deirdre chafed his cold hands between hers, willing him to warm up.
To wake up.
After putting on a cervical collar and applying oxygen, Mav and Louise got him onto the backboard and loaded onto the gurney. Calvin groaned slightly.
“Well, that adds a point on the GCS,” Mav quipped with a grim press of his mouth.
Glasgow Coma Scale. Damn it. Deirdre’s past and present collided, and her knees nearly buckled if not for Lieutenant Kate Lucas’s grip on her upper arm.
“Let’s go,” Louise said, pulling the gurney across the uneven ground, Mav pushing.
“Are you going to the hospital, too?” Mav asked.
Deirdre shrugged. “Technically, I’m not family, but his parents aren’t here. What do you think?”
“We’re all family here. Besides, a friendly face wouldn’t be the worst thing for him to see when he wakes up. You can update Bruce and Aggie, as well.”
“Fair enough.” She didn’t want to pull too much rank, but she did want to be there for him. They were dating. Kind of. Fake dating. Sort of real. Who cared? She would be with him. With that decision, she would risk their relationship being real. Damn it.
Before following the ambulance to the hospital, Deirdre called Aggie and explained the situation. Aggie and Bruce would stay in Fairbanks overnight. If they left now, they’d be driving back four hours in the dark. For safety, Deirdre encouraged them to stay there tonight and return early tomorrow. Deirdre promised to remain with Calvin and provide updates.
“We know you care about him, and he cares about you,’ Aggie said.
She hated the pretense. The wasted time. Hated how her heart ached at Calvin’s too-still form. The last peg fell into place in her heart. She did care for him. She could admit it and not feel guilt or pain.
The freedom that realization brought gave her a little light within this dark situation. “You’re right.”
Before leaving, Deirdre gave her account to the state trooper. Well, what little she knew about the situation. Nothing seemed amiss with the house other than Calvin lying injured and unconscious next to the building. It didn’t appear anything had been broken into by man or animal. Vehicle and footprints weren’t easily visible due to the slushy, wet gravel. What had happened?
With a tight, professional nod, Lieutenant Kate stowed her pad and pencil in a pocket. “I’ll find out if anything else seems out of place in town. Then I’ll check back with him in the hospital. Hopefully he’ll be awake and can give a statement.”
A quick hug, and Kate followed her from the Garrett homestead down to town.
Gripping the wheel with shaking hands, Deirdre somehow managed to safely steer her car down the road toward the highway. Turning up the heat in her car, she shivered without her jacket while the air slowly increased in temperature. The heat didn’t take away the bone-deep chills racing through her.
Once at the hospital, Mav and Louise, the nurses, and Dr. Tipton all efficiently tended to Calvin in the trauma bay. Deirdre fought against the gut need to be at the bedside helping. Instead, she planted her butt in a work area chair and tried not to overhear what was being said.
A few minutes later, Mav came over to give her a quick hug before saying, “Sorry I can’t stick around, sis. We’ve got another call.” He and Louise rushed out of the ED.
Murmurs and beeps filtered back to her from Calvin’s room.
A few minutes later as he was wheeled out for a CT scan, he turned his head and squinted at her. “Deirdre.” He slurred the word, eyes half open.
She shot up from her seat and stood next to him. “Hey, you’re awake. I’m right here.” Taking care with the IVs in place, she grasped his hand. “Your folks know what’s going on.”
“Dinner?”
She glanced at Amberlyn and Clyde, who both immediately studied some patterns on the floor.
“Typical, huh?” she said. “I keep saying how our crazy schedules don’t line up well these days.”
“Deirdre.” A faint smile shifted his expression. “Stay.” His voice was a few decibels above a whisper.
Tears burned behind her eyelids, but somehow Deirdre held herself together. “Oh, sure,” she said too lightly. “I’ll be right here when you get back from CT.”
