Justice was already reaching for his father to get him anyway. The sight of Justice in Ross’s arms about undid her, making her legs feel weak, but she forced one foot in front of the other.
“Brielle? Dr. Lane?” Cindy’s eyes were huge as they took in Brielle’s bloodstained clothes and Justice wrapped around Ross. “What happened?”
“He fell. His hand and knee are cut. Not too badly but he’s going to need stitches. Can you get me set up in Bay...” he glanced around the ER to see which bay was empty “...Two?”
“Don’t you think he should see the doctor on duty?” Cindy asked, eyeing them all curiously.
Ross ignored her. “After you get Bay Two set up, bring a clean scrub top for Brielle to change into.”
“Right,” Cindy answered, her gaze telling Brielle there was no way she was going to be put off this time.
Yeah, yeah, she got the message. All week she’d put off Cindy’s questions about Ross being Justice’s father, but there would be no more delay in giving an explanation.
Ross motioned for Brielle to sit on the hospital bed then he handed Justice to her.
“Son, I’m going to wash my hands, glove up, then clean your leg and hand. I need you to be very brave like I know you are, okay?”
“Like—” He named his favorite superhero.
“Exactly like him.”
Determined to make his father proud, Justice sat very still in Brielle’s lap, taking in everything Ross did.
Cindy tossed a clean scrub top onto the hospital bed beside them then gloved up also. “I have everything I thought you might need set out on the tray.”
“Thanks,” Ross said, sliding his hands into his gloves. “If you need to go and take care of your patients, I think Brielle and I have this.”
Cindy gave them a reluctant look. “You’re sure?”
He nodded. “We’ll be fine, but if we need you, I’ll call. I know you have other patients as this was the only open bay.”
She nodded, her gaze going back and forth between them. “I do, but...okay, call if you need me.”
“Is he allergic to anything?” Ross asked Brielle.
“Penicillin is his only allergy.”
“You’re not allergic to anything,” Ross remembered. “He gets that from me. I’m allergic to penicillin.”
Ross sounded a bit incredulous, in awe that his son had one of his traits. Ha, Justice had a lot more of his father than just an antibiotic allergy.
He removed the bandage from Justice’s hand. The bleeding had stopped and the torn skin had lifted away from the palm.
“Ouch,” Justice whimpered, then seemed to recall that he was being brave and sucked his lower lip into his mouth.
Ross rinsed the wound out with saline solution, making sure there was no foreign debris. Next he swirled iodine solution from the center of the wound outwards so as not to drag any bacteria into the wound. He picked up the anesthetic-filled syringe to numb the area prior to suturing the skin back together.
“I don’t want a shot.” Justice forgot about being brave and began scooting back against Brielle as tightly as his little body would go. “Mommy, don’t let him give me a shot.”
“I’m just going to squirt a few drops into the tear to begin with. It’ll sting a little, but won’t be too bad,” Ross promised.
Justice still didn’t want any part of the needle and Brielle had to forcibly hold his palm out while he squirmed, saying “Ouch” over and over.
Ross squirted a generous amount of anesthetic into the open wound, waited a few seconds then injected the area to the sounds of his son screaming.
Brielle cringed at her son’s pain, wishing yet again she could take his pain for him.
“No. Stop! I don’t like you. No. Ouch. Ouch. Daddy, stop!”