Swept Away: The First Bloodline (15 page)

             
Dear Santa,

             
I know that you deliver toys to kids on the nice list.  I have been really good this year.  I have done all of my chores without getting into trouble for not doing them.  I have had some fights with my sister but she gets on my nerves always wanting to bug me.  I don’t want any toys this year.  I want a Daddy.  Can you help me get a Daddy this year?  Damien would make a good Daddy.  I pick him.  My Mommy likes him.  She loves him with her whole heart and soul like Damien said.  That’s why they sleep together.  Sissy likes him a lot.  I like him a lot.  I think he likes me to.  I promise I will never ask again if you will please help Damien be my Daddy.

             
                                                                                                  Love,

             
                                                                                                  Zach

             
Her heart broke.  Literally she felt it tearing into pieces.  Her eyes were drenched with tears.  Of all the things that he could have asked for, this was the one thing she could not give him.              

How can you make yourself love someone and them love you?  For them to take ahold and love a
readymade family.  What am I going to do?

             
But then Damien did love her.  She was his mate.  How could she ask him to do this?  He volunteered she knew but she couldn’t force him into this.

             
She folded the letter and placed it back into the envelope slipping it beneath Chase’s pillow.             

Chase help me with him.  I don’t know what to do.  It would be so much easier if you were here with me.  Give me a sign.  Do something.  You owe me that. 

              She quickly pulled herself together getting back to the things she needed to get done.  After a long exhausting day, she finally had the twins tucked in sleeping and she was now tucking herself in.  Just like every night she cuddled with Chase’s pillow.

             
She was opening her eyes rubbing them wondering when she had went to sleep.  She reached over shutting the alarm off.  She remembered cuddling close to the pillow and then that was it.  She felt rested.  She didn’t remember having any disturbing dreams.  The abrupt attack to her nares in the form of coffee cleared her thoughts.  Damien!  She looked searching for him expecting to see him but she didn’t.

             
She enjoyed a quick cup, showered and headed out the door.

             
When she reached her car there was a paper under the wiper.  She grabbed it opening her door using the light to read it.

             
My Sweet,

             
I hope the coffee tasted good.  Have a good day at work.  Don’t underestimate yourself in any decision you make.  And don’t underestimate me.

             
                                                                                    Damien

             
The drive to work was over.  Clocking in she got report from the off going shift. 

             
“Rapid response room 310 respond!  Rapid response room 310 respond!  Rapid response room 310 respond!”  The page came over the intercom causing her to immediate start a run to the room that had been called out.

             
“What do we have?”  She questioned the nurses at bedside.

             
“14 year old male, admitted last night with exacerbation of asthma for observation only.  Stable throughout the night.  He’s satting at 82% on 15 liters non-rebreather.  Second albuterol going.  Dr. Bradley in route.”

             
“Starting protocol now, somebody time it.  Push Medrol 40 now.  Get intubation ready.  Have PICU ready on stand-bye.  As soon as we get him stable we’re moving him.”

             
She listened to his lungs noting minimal air moving.              “Where’s Mom/Dad, he’s Prolly gonna have to be tubed.  Get the auth’s signed.  ETA on Bradley.”  If Bradley wasn’t there in the next few minutes she would be calling for morgue instead of ICU.

             
“He’s in the hospital on his way up.”  The floor nurse yelled.

             
The door burst open with Dr. Bradley rushing in.  “Alright what do we got?”  Taylor quickly rattled off report to Dr. Bradley and just she expected, they sedated and intubated. 

After getting him stable
they moved to ICU.  She signed off on the transport before making her way back to the ER.  It would be the only time she had to come down from the adrenaline rush, running rapid responses always gave her.

“Taylor, you got a minute.” 
She turned back to Dr. Bradley approaching her.

“Yes Sir.” 
She waited for him to catch up.

“I just wanted to let you know, what you did up there was perfectly executed.  It’s not very often something as critical as that goes as smooth as you made it go.  The way you command a no panic atmosphere is something that is no small thing.  Having everything ready and waiting on me saved a lot of time.  I believe in giving credit where credit is due.  I believe you saved his life today not me.  Good Job.”  He pat
ted her on the back then moved on around her. 

It was no
small thing to receive a compliment from one of the doctors.  Usually the nurses knew deep inside that they always did their best, that they did a good job, and on some circumstances, when they were wrong.

Nurses usually just compliment
ed or supported whichever the situation called for.  So to receive that compliment was more of an accomplishment than anything else.  But the greatest feeling, was knowing she had a hand in saving that young boys life.  Days like this reminded her of why she did the job she did.

Typical day in the ER. 
She no sooner reached the ER and EMS was bringing in her first case of the day for the busy ER.  No time to breath.

“Roberts,
Andrews, Whatcha got for me?”  She inquired.  Jerry Roberts.  Veteran Paramedic.  Very good at his job.  Reliable.  Cool head.  Knowledgeable.  Kept up with all the latest break through’s.  Completed as many continuing education credits as he could.  If Taylor had to trust someone with the life of one of her children it would be him. 

“Eighty five year old male nursing home resident
, became unresponsive after breakfast.  BP 136/50, HR 59, Respirations 12, Temp 101.2, FSBS 72, Satting at 97% on room air.  Normal sinus rhythm.  Remarkable history for COPD, CAD, and history of MI.  No known allergies.  Last weight 157lbs yesterday.  Last bowel movement this morning.  Flu and pneumo current.  20g Jelco to LAC with NS at 70 hanging.  No problems in transport.  Arouses to painful stimuli briefly.  Has a guardian, his daughter, she’s in route.  Have a good one.”  Smiling he handed off the paperwork to Taylor.

“Thanks.  Alright Mr. White.  Let’s see what’s going on with you.”
She looked over his paper work starting once again protocol. CBC, CMP, CXR, UA, EKG, and cardiac enzymes ordered.  VS stable and holding.  Probably  UTI.  The effects of a UTI on the elderly could be detrimental.

Quickly she did a head to toe assessment.
“Mr. White, my name is Taylor.  I’m going to be your nurse today.  Can you tell me if you’re hurting anywhere?”  He didn’t respond but did wince with knuckle sternum rubs.  Stable condition for now.  All they could do was wait for results.

Sure enough,
she wasn’t surprised to see CBC’s elevated at 13,000, and UA with positive nitrate.  Mr. White admitted to 2F with a diagnosis of UTI.  Would probably stay for a few days, get some IV antibiotics and go home.

The next several hours consisted of a 4yr old with a sprained ankle that took a lot of convincing to allow
anyone to get an x ray.  Not that Taylor blamed the little guy.  His ankle was swollen and bruised and no doubt painful as he wouldn’t allow anyone to touch it and he couldn’t bear weight to it.

A 32 year old male who while at work, lost his balance on a ladder and fell about 10 feet
, hitting his head on the concrete floor now requiring more than twenty sutures.  Taylor prepared the area, set up the suture kit for the doctor after his cat scan was negative for further injury.

Several flu symptoms
, which involved a lot of coughing, mucus, high fevers, dehydration, secondary pneumonia, breathing treatments, one admit to medical.

One heart attack
or myocardial infarction as it’s termed in the medical world.  Morphine for pain, oxygen for comfort, nitro for dilation of arteries / vessels and aspirin by mouth for anticoagulant effect.  Positive EKG with elevated enzymes.  Transferred to cath lab where he would no doubt, receive an angiogram looking for any blockages and then probably spend the night for observation.

One incredibly terrible migraine with sensitivity to light, and vomiting.  IV started, fluids running, Ativan to relax, tordol for pain, Phenergan for nausea, and aspirin by mouth.  At 19 years old she didn’t need a parent with her, but with this being her first migraine she felt like she was dying, scared so
Taylor sat with her while the meds took effect.  Taylor could tell when they started working because her face wasn’t grimaced, her fingers had relaxed from the death grip that she had prior to medications on the bed railing.  A hour and half later she was thanking everyone and out the door taking a cab home because she wasn’t able to drive from the medications that she had received.

Day over!

Taylor passed Liz on her way out the door.

“So how was your day?  Hear from your date yet?  I just realized I don’t even know his name.  I am assuming he would be Damien’s brother, Jarrod.” 

“His name is Jarrod.  Yes I talked with him this morning.  Day has been great because I talked with him.  He looks
so yummy.  If he can sing, it’s over I’m getting married.  How was yours?  It busy in there?”  She snarled her nose.

“Nah, not too bad.  Had a rapid response earli
er.  14 year old with asthma.  PICU, and stable now.  Other than that steady but not overwhelming.”

“Steady I can handle.  Overwhelming is well just that.  Better get in there.  Seeya.”

A normal work week for them.  That was about the jest of it.  Usually Taylor would be asleep when Liz would get home and Liz slept when Taylor left.  Unless something major happened, that was pretty much their conversation length.

Taylor couldn’t
wait to get home and shed the scrubs, the shoes, and just relax.  On average she had about 30 minutes before the twins would get off the bus.

She sit back on the couch flipping the channels briefly finding reruns of The Voice
and settling on that.  Her phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Hello Sweet.  How was your day?”

Better now.
“I think you already know how my day was.  Thank you for asking.  Why are you calling me?” 
Why don’t you just blink over?

“Yes I do, but if I didn’t ask questions then we wouldn’t have anything to talk about now would we?  Because I thought I was supposed to call you and check on you.  You know let you know that I am thinking of you.  And I didn’t know if you wanted me blinking in and out all the time.”

“You’re absolutely right, you are supposed to call me every single day.  Make note of that.  Oh there are always my questions.  Starting with right now.  How was your day?”  Damn just his voice caused her to stir with lust and need.

“The same as all the others.  Very Good.  It just got better though.” 
She grinned as he repeated the exact words she had only thought.  When she began to feel pressure between her legs she decided it was game on.

“I wish all my days were ‘Very Good’.  How did it get better?” 
She mocked him and urged for an explanation.

“That sweet little hmm, feeling you just had is quite wonderful don’t you think.”  He chuckle
d.

“Did you do that?” 
Was it him or me?

“I might have helped along the way.  Would you be angry with me if I had?”

“No.  Only for leaving a girl hanging.  Anyways I believe we were discussing my day.  It was long.”

“Your days are what you make of them.  But I understand a day at work can go badly without your control.  You handled that today well by the way.  Dr. Bradley was right.
  I’m very proud of you.”

She laughed.
  “Damn. There are no secrets are there?  You do know it all.”

“For the most part I do.  You can have no secrets from me.  But I like that about you.  I have a feeling that even if you could hide your thoughts from me, you wouldn’t.”

“Yeah that’s me.  Open book.  And thanks for that to.  I would say you have no idea what that means but then of course you do.”

“You’re right.  I do.  When can I see you again?”

Now. 
“The kids will be home in about twenty minutes.  I haven’t got the slightest idea on what I am going to make for supper yet.  Usually we do whatever homework they have and decide what to cook.  Then we play board games, ride our bikes, or watch a movie before bath and story time.  I don’t know if I have much time in the afternoons for us.”  The silence on the phone scared her.