Will & Patrick Fight Their Feelings (#4) by Leta Blake, Alice Griffiths Page B

surgery.”
    Don winks. “Surely you realize some of the time we waste flogging dead horses with Dr. McCloud is just an excuse to get you riled up.”
    “I don’t know. Patrick is very passionate about this project.”
    Don nods with a sage expression. “Indeed he is. He’s also very passionate about you.”
    Will flushes but doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. He knows Don can see it on his face. Literally, given that he’s still sporting a small scab from the beard burn.
    “But I have to agree,” Don says. “A quick, easy meeting like this one is a good break.” He shuts his folders and prepares to stand up. “Now, I’m going to meet Jean for lunch. Won’t she be surprised when I’m on time for a change?”
    The office door bangs open, cutting Don off. Patrick stalks in, pulling at his surgical cap and cursing under his breath. Will’s heart thumps as he looks from Patrick to Don and back again, a rush of adrenaline making his head spin.
    “Dr. McCloud, is there a problem?”
    Patrick slumps into the chair next to Will. “That’s a big fat yes, Donny. Very observant of you.”
    Will’s stomach tightens. Patrick is supposed to still be operating on Shane Hammond. He reaches out for Patrick’s hand, but his attempt to comfort is dismissed with a fast shake of Patrick’s head.
    Don says, “Will, you’ll need to excuse us, please. This is a matter of doctor/patient confidentiality.”
    “Oh! Of course. Right.” He nods and steps outside the door. Don’s assistant isn’t at his desk.
    Will knows it’s wrong, and none of his business, but he can tell that whatever’s happened isn’t good. If Shane’s dead, everyone will know soon enough. He puts his ear to the door and listens hard.
    “It wasn’t there in the scans.” Patrick’s voice is low, urgent, and frustrated.
    “Start at the beginning,” Don says.
    It doesn’t take long for Will to understand that while it’s bad—very bad—it’s not the worst outcome, because Shane’s alive and Patrick thinks he’ll stay that way. But apparently whatever went down in the OR isn’t good either, not by far.
    Most of their conversation is medical mumbo-jumbo to Will, but what he gleans is this: an undetected mass of veins surrounded the injury site in some complex way that the scans hadn’t shown before Patrick cracked into Shane’s skull. And once Patrick was inside, there was nothing he could do. Shane needs intensive intravenous treatments to reduce the size and complexity of the vessels. To make matters worse, while Patrick was trying to close up, there was a massive bleed, causing further damage to Shane’s already traumatized brain.
    All in all, Patrick had accomplished nothing of his original goal and potentially left Shane more damaged than he was before.
    “Have you informed the wife?” Don asks.
    “Of course. She didn’t take it well.”
    Don harrumphs softly. “There’s nothing worse than the thought of your loved one being injured or dying. It strikes fear in the heart of everyone.” He sighs. “Well, I’ll go talk to his wife again, help her better understand what’s happened, and where we go from here.”
    “Yeah, you do that,” Patrick says. “I’m going to watch the video from the surgery, work up a strategy—”
    “No, you’re going to go home, have a shower, and a nap.”
    “Excuse me? I’m not a toddler. You can’t tell me when I need a time-out.”
    “Oh, but I can. I’m your chief of staff, and I’m ordering you to go home and rest. You can come back later. The patient isn’t going anywhere and there’s nothing you can do right now.”
    Will hears Patrick huff and puff, but Don holds fast.
    “Fine,” Patrick grunts, and that’s Will’s cue to go lean against the wall and try to look innocent as Don and Patrick leave the office together.
    Patrick doesn’t stop to say anything to Will, charging off toward the physician’s locker room. Don grips Will’s shoulder. “Be patient with him.