Page 24 of The Road Home
CHAPTER TEN
Jared tossed the protective gown he'd been wearing into the hazardous waste bin and tore off his gloves. His back ached and the headache he'd been fighting all day was threatening to knock him out for the count. With a glance at the clock, he realized he still had three more hours left on shift. He didn't care how busy it was right now, he needed to get a cup of coffee if he was going to make it through the evening.
Leaving the chaos of the emergency room behind, he snuck down the hall to the doctor's lounge, heading straight for the fresh pot of coffee that someone had been nice enough to make. He poured himself a cup, then turned to lean against the counter as he blew over the steaming liquid.
"Long one?" Cameron glanced up from the table where he had a stack of papers strewn around in front of him.
"Yeah, DUI. Mother decided it would be okay to take her two kids for a joyride with her while she was wasted. Mother's being stitched up before they arrest her, and the coroner is on the way to pick up the kids." He ran his fingers through his hair, wondering what kind of justice there was in the world when the mother lived yet her innocent children died.
"Fuck, why does it always go that way?" Cameron set his pen down. "You need to talk about it?"
"Nah, you know how it is. We just deal and move on to the next." He met Cameron's gaze from across the room, glad when his friend just nodded and let the subject drop. Needing his mind off the children, he changed the subject. "How's your mom doing?"
"As good as can be expected. Weaker than I like, but it's to be expected after a major heart attack. I've hired a nursing service to check on her three times a day and help out with things, but I worry it's not going to be enough. I'm almost to the point of insisting she move here, but even if I do that, I'm here half the day. I can't take care of her any better than she is being cared for there. I just hate not being close."
Jared sat down at the table, his hands wrapped around the warm coffee cup. "Anything I can do to help?"
"No, just listen to me bitch." Cameron gave him a half smile before releasing a long sigh. "I can't force her to leave there. It would kill her. She's hardly stepped outside of Kansas her whole life. One family trip is all I can remember. It's her home. I just hate feeling helpless."
There were a million things he could say to try and comfort Cameron, but as doctors, they both knew they were all lies. The fact was Cameron's mom was dying and they both knew it. Nothing he could say would make that knowledge any less painful. "I'm here for you if you need anything. You know I've got your back. I can cover shifts if you need to go."
"Thanks, I know and appreciate that, but right now, there isn't much I can do. I'll just keep focusing on others and try and forget my own issues." Cameron nodded to the paperwork in front of him. "And try and catch up on all this."
"Yeah, I don't even want to think about how much paperwork I still have to do tonight. I'll be lucky to get home by sunrise." He was only halfway through the work week and was more than ready for a day off.
"I'll be here with you."
"Dr. Gains?" A nurse stuck her head in the door.
Jared glanced up, worried he'd taken more time on his break than he thought. "I'm sorry to bother you, but we have an incoming. Young male found unconscious in the park. Signs of trauma and possible sexual assault."
Jared stood, his pulse racing. Visions of Orson filled his mind. "What's the ETA?"
"They're five minutes out," the nurse told him before hurrying away.
"I'm coming." He glanced at Cameron as he downed the last of his coffee before tossing his cup into the trash. "Let me know if I can do anything."
"Thanks, do you need a second set of hands on this one?" Cameron offered.
"I'll have them grab you if I do." He didn't look back as he rushed down the hall.
As he prepared to accept the incoming patient, he told himself that it was nuts to think it was Orson. He was smart enough to stay out of the park at night. He would be safe wherever it was he was staying. Still, there was a chance it was him, and that caused his gut to knot.
He needed to get control of his emotions. As a doctor, there was no place for emotion when dealing with an emergency. No matter who came through that door, he would treat them as he would any patient, give them the best care he knew how.
He stood beside the ambulance entrance, watching for the flashing lights to appear, the nurses and other support staff beside him. It had to be bad or the nurses wouldn't have called for him to be ready.
As the lights appeared outside the entrance, he forced himself to stay back. He needed to let the paramedics get the patient out of the ambulance before crowding them. He watched closely, trying to get a view of the patient as they wheeled him out of the back.
"What do we have?" Jared asked as the paramedics came through the sliding glass doorway.
"Young male, mid to late twenties, unconscious…."
The words hardly registered as he got his first good look at the man on the stretcher. Relief flowed through him. It wasn't Orson. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus on the rest of the words the paramedic was telling him as they rushed down the hall to one of the trauma rooms.
"Possible broken jaw, signs of sexual assault. Vitals have remained stable, but the patient has shown no response." The paramedic helped to lift the man off his stretcher onto the hospital bed.
Jared got to work, focusing on the worst of the injuries first. The man's face was a mess, and he needed to stop the bleeding to see what the injuries really were. One step at a time, one injury at a time, he did what he did best. He disconnected from all emotions and did his job.
