When the young doctor pushed back the curtain and strode into the room where Cameron had spent the last hours fighting for Brodie’s life, her knees almost buckled in relief. She’d run out of gods to pray to and devils to bargain with. But just maybe she’d bought her friend enough time to save his life, if not his limbs.
The man stopped on the other side of Brodie and met her gaze. “Dr. C?”
“Cameron,” she replied. “Cameron Crawford, though we don’t really use full names here.”
He extended a hand. “Then I’m Matt. Let’s see how we can help your patient.”
“Friend,” she corrected automatically. He had to understand that Brodie wasn’t just a patient, he was her friend. Her family.
He offered a warm smile. “Friend,” he amended, surveying Brodie’s broken body.
Cameron had done what she could, but she knew it wasn’t enough. Her primary focus had been to stop the bleeding and keep him breathing. So far, she’d been able to slow his blood loss by looping his own bleeding artery back into his body. And for now, he was breathing on his own. Though he was still unconscious.
“You’ve done all this yourself?” the doctor’s eyes widened as he took in her rudimentary work.
She shrugged. “There was no one else.”
With a curt nod, he murmured, “Impressive,” then shoved his hands into a pair of surgical gloves. “Your friend is lucky to have you. Let’s see what we can save, shall we?”
Cameron nodded, relieved to let someone else take charge for the time being.
Emerging from Brodie’s room hours later, Cameron expected the sun to have already risen on a new morning. She felt as if she’d been inside that room with Brodie for days. Instead, a large moon still hung in the night sky.
At the moment, the young doctor and his director were taking care of her friend, and two more helped her daughter. Eventually, she’d need to tend to the other patients, but for now, she took a necessary moment to catch her breath. Afterward, she’d see to the dozens of cuts and breaks that had gone unattended while she tried to keep her family alive. Luckily, no one else’s injuries were as bad as Brodie’s and Ara’s. Keeping the two of them stable had been almost more than she could manage. Thank God she had the other doctors now.
Pushing away from the wall, she trudged toward the smaller exam room where she’d last seen her daughter. On the other side of the curtain, she could hear the doctors murmuring as they worked. That low hum used to be the background to her life. Now she had the ocean, a sound that today offered no comfort. Pushing aside the curtain, she caught the attention of the doctor on the opposite side of her daughter’s small body. When he looked up, swinging his dark hair out of his eyes, Cameron’s entire world tilted. Her heart sped, and her stomach churned. Her breaths came quickly, trying to keep time with the pounding in her chest. Above his mask, the doctor’s dark gaze narrowed. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head and tried to change the reality staring back at her.
Then everything went black.