News to Share

The nurses who were on third shift at the ER had the distinct pleasure of working with Dr. Carroll. They agreed he was the nicest doctor - he wasn’t stuck up like the others, and he was always polite to the staff, and he had a cute little country drawl that he said he got from his mama, who’d been a wild cowgirl back in her day. But for his lab coat and staff badge, most of the nurses wouldn’t have pegged him for a doctor. They did peg him for the sweetest thing alive the first time they saw him comfort a little girl who’d been injured while playing with her father’s nail gun. Men with children were irresistible, and everyone seemed to know it - but Dr. Carroll. Gina and some of the prettier nurses had tried flirting with him, because he didn’t wear a wedding ring, but he was always politely oblivious to their advances.

“He must be gay,” Gina said.

Lila shook her head. “No. He’s mentioned a theoretical girl of his dreams once or twice, but you have to admit - working the third shift doesn’t really make for a great dating life.”

Gina nodded. “Yeah. He’s such a nice guy. Any girl would be lucky to have him.” She hummed thoughtfully and was about to pick another topic of conversation when Sandy, the staff nurse called her name.

“You have a patient in exam room five. Bandage her up and call Dr. Hammond for a consult - patient may have a broken hand.”

Gina nodded and accepted the folder and headed down the hall. Broken hand usually meant some stupid teenaged boy who’d gotten into a dust-up. Gina flipped open the folder at the same time as she yanked open the curtain to exam room five, and she drew up short.

The patient was female, and small, maybe twenty-five at the oldest, and she had a bruise above her eye, a bloody nose, and a split lip. She was cradling her right arm close to her body, and her wrist was hanging at an awkward angle.

Gina blinked, then peered down at the folder. “Miss - Carroll –”

“You don’t have to call the cops. It’s not a DV,” the woman said. “Just bandage me up and give me some ice, all right?”

“Your hand might be broken,” Gina said. “We’ll have to get some x-rays to be sure. Let me page Dr. Hammond.” She stepped back and twitched the curtain shut, reached for the page phone on the wall, and Dr. Carroll came careening around the corner.

“Oh,” Gina said. “I was going to page Dr. Hammond, but if you can consult –”

Dr. Carroll flung the curtain aside. “Ashley! What happened to you?”

“Belt testing, remember? I made high brown,” she said. “Get out of here, Chris. You’re not allowed to treat me. Conflict of interest, remember?”

Gina blinked, confused at the scene. Then she glanced down at the folder, and registered - Ashley Carroll, Dr. Carroll. Doctors weren’t allowed to treat their own family members.

“You made high brown?” Dr. Carroll reached out, brushed a lock of hair back from Ashley’s face. The gesture was familiar, gentle.

Ashley nodded. “Yeah. It was worth every bruise.”

“Congratulations, honey. I wish they didn’t hit so hard.” Dr. Carroll sighed. “How do you feel?”

“Like three black belts tried to knock the seven bells out of me,” Ashley said.

“Right. Look, I can get off shift early –”

“No need, not on my account. I’ll get this x-rayed and then go home and you can take me out for breakfast when you’re done, all right?”

“All right.” Dr. Carroll stood up. “Dr. Hammond’s a good guy. You’ll be fine.”

Ashley smiled. “I know I will. Now go make sure that nurse doesn’t call in a DV or something stupid.”

“Right.” Dr. Carroll twitched the curtain aside, and Gina jumped guiltily, hoping she didn’t look like she’d just been eavesdropping on the biggest news to hit the ER gossip circuit since a nurse was arrested for fraud a year ago.

“Make sure my wife gets excellent care, all right? I have to attend a patient,” Dr. Carroll said, and he strode away.

Gina said, “Yes, Doctor,” automatically, and reached for the page phone. As soon as she was done paging Dr. Hammond, she beckoned for Lila. She had news to share.


(731 words)

Project # - 76 Free Write

I know it may be a bit of a cheat, but this week is free write! I know we are all busy with the holiday season so have a bit of fun and put down anything that you may like to.

Cheers and Merry Christmas to all writers out there!