Crossroads by Wendy Saunders

I haven’t seen my husband in two days and I still can’t figure out what’s wrong with Mr Bailey.’
    ‘You run his bloods again?’
    ‘Yeah,’ she nodded, ‘but they still keep coming back normal, I just don’t get it. Meanwhile his stats keep dipping, we can’t seem to keep him stable. It doesn’t help that I have his wife who refuses to leave his side.’
    ‘Well come on, you can understand that, he’s her husband. She is bound to want to stay close, it’s a natural reaction.’
    ‘I understand that and I don’t have a problem with it, what I have a problem with is tripping over her every time I turn around and her demanding that I explain and justify every single decision I make with regards to his treatment.’
    ‘We’ve had worse Louisa’ he chuckled, ‘do I need to remind you of Mr Trevino?’
    ‘God no, I still have nightmares about him’ she chuckled, taking a sip of her coffee. ‘I just want to be left alone to get on with my job, maybe then I can figure out what the problem is.’
    ‘Unfortunately overbearing relations are part of the job description.’
    ‘I know’ she sighed, staring into her cup absently, ‘but half the time they’re worse than the patients.’
    ‘Do you want me to take a look at Mr Bailey’s chart? Might help to have a fresh pair of eyes?’
    ‘Well it certainly couldn’t hurt,’ she handed him the clipboard.
     
    Young Dr Adams hurried back down the corridor and collided with a tall dark haired man wearing a white coat. Unfortunately, there had also been a large cup of coffee added to the mix which had exploded on impact, drenching the front of her scrubs, her white coat and covering the blood test results in her hand.
    ‘Hayley, where’s the damn fire at?’
    She glanced up at Lucas Garcia her fellow intern and roommate. She lifted up the soggy piece of paper which now dripped coffee and stared at it, her eyes filling with tears.
    ‘Hey, Hayley I was only kidding, what’s wrong?’
    ‘Nothing,’ she swallowed hard, ‘I’m just tired. I studied all night and then I’ve just pulled a double and Dr Linden has been riding me all day.’
    ‘Really?’ he frowned, ‘she’s not usually that bad.’
    ‘I know,’ she blew out a breath.
    ‘You need a break,’ he told her pointedly.
    ‘I can’t,’ she shook her head miserably. ‘I need to get these test results back to Dr Linden before she kicks me off her rotation.’
    ‘She won’t do that and you know it,’ he took the mangled and almost illegible paper from her hand. ‘I’ll go get a fresh copy and drop it down to her, I’m heading down that way. You go grab a sandwich and take ten.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ she smiled gratefully.
    ‘Get out of here’ he grinned, and remember you owe me when it comes around to my turn to clean the bathroom.’
    ‘You’re still not getting out of it’ she told him, ‘but I will make you breakfast tomorrow.’
    ‘Blueberry pancakes?’
    She nodded.
    ‘Sold.’
    She laughed and headed down the corridor feeling lighter. She stopped by the cafeteria quickly and grabbed a ham on rye and a bottle of water. Taking the elevator down to the lowest floor she stepped out into the stillness of the deserted corridor. She was well beneath ground level and not far from the boiler room. To some it would have seemed creepy but to her it was a place of solace, no one else seemed to come down there and it was so peaceful. She climbed up on an empty gurney parked up against the wall and folded her legs under her. Unwrapping her sandwich, she took a bite and sighed in pleasure. She hadn’t realized she was so hungry; after all she hadn’t stopped in hours. Taking a deep gulp of water, she leaned her head back against the hard concrete wall and closed her eyes. God, what she wouldn’t give to just curl up on the gurney and go to sleep. It felt like she hadn’t stopped in forever, and she was alarmingly close to selling her soul for a solid eight straight.
    Her family had