10Aiden“You’re going to be fine.”
Karen looks up at me, still slightly drugged from surgery. She’s a fifty-year-old mother of three, works part-time at a law firm, and enjoys long walks on the beach.
Or something like that. Frankly, I don’t know her very well, and I don’t want to. Her personal life doesn’t really matter all that much when it comes to her medical situation.
I’ve been treating Karen on and off for the past year. She’s been a particularly difficult case. At first, we thought it was cancer, but when we ruled out any tumors, it has to be something viral.
Three hospitalizations later, I’m pretty sure it’s autoimmune, but I don’t know which disease exactly yet. She apparently was found collapsed on the floor of her home by her husband, and they brought her straight here.
She’s awake now and mostly with it. Vitals show she’s stable but how long that’ll last, nobody knows.
It’s definitely a puzzle. This new symptom isn’t consistent with her last bout of symptoms, which only complicates things ever further.
Not that I’m complaining. I like complicated.
“I feel okay, Doctor,” she says, smiling at me.
“What were you doing when it happened?” I ask her.
“Vacuuming,” she says. “Just cleaning up the kitchen. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
I frown a little. “Were you using any cleaning agents?”
She hesitates. “Yes, just the usual kitchen cleaner.”
“Do you know what kind?”
“Not… off the top of my head.” She frowns. “I should though, shouldn’t I?”
“It’s okay. You might have some memory issues for a little bit. Tell your husband to check it and let me know what kind it is.”
“Okay, I will.”
I nod and put her chart away. Paged back in for this, ruined a date with Ruby…
Well, it’s not so bad. Karen’s a nice woman. I want to see her better. And I want to solve her fucking puzzle.
Still, I’d rather be with Ruby. It was such a good night and I was feeling so close to her, so tempted by her. I thought I might bring her back to my apartment and show her what the next level would feel like.
But that didn’t happen. That’s the fucking curse of being a doctor. You get called in for any sort of shit at a moment’s notice. You can’t help it, not when you’re on call, and it seems like I’m always on call.
I leave Karen’s room and wander back out into the hall. I glance over at the nurse’s station and nod at Jackie. Seems she’s always working too.
She comes over to me with a little smile. “How’s it going?” she asks.
“Fine,” I grunt. “Busy.”
“Karen’s back,” she points out.
“I noticed.”
“Shame. I thought you figured it out last time.”
I glare at her. “I thought I did, too.”
“You’ll get it this time.”
“I know.”
She walks with me as I head to the elevator. I figure since I’m here, I’ll check on all my patients.
“How are things with the girl?”
I hesitate. “Girl?”
“The old woman’s daughter. I think her name’s Ruby, right?”
I give her a look. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do.” She gives me a grin. “The whole hospital’s talking about it.”
I stop walking and face her. “Tell me what they’re saying.”
She shrugs. “Just that you’ve been spending a lot of time with a patient’s family member. It’s not exactly against the rules, you know.”
“I know,” I grumble at her. “But I don’t want my business all over the hospital.”
“Can’t really help that, you know.”
I sigh. She’s right. This place is a cesspool for gossip. Any little thing gets sucked up and drowned in mud. I think it’s a product of working in a high-stress environment.
Everyone grabs onto the thing that’ll distract them the most.
I don’t want distraction, though. I’ve always avoided politics and games. I do my job and I do it very well, and that’s why I’ve been allowed to do what I please.
Other doctors call me in for consults on tough cases all the time. I’m the person they turn to when they can’t figure it out.
Everyone knows that, and I think it’s what’s been keeping me safe. Now though, who knows what’ll happen.
I’m officially in the gossip world, and not just because I’m an asshole.
“It’s not something you need to worry about,” I say to her.
She cocks her head. “Why would I worry? You’re allowed to have a relationship.”
I hesitate. “I figured you were going to admonish me.”
“Not at all. I mean, she is half your age, literally half your age, but still. I’m just happy to see you having a life outside of this place.”
I grunt a little and look away. “Fine, well, try and keep the gossips from talking about it, okay?”
“No promises there.” She gives me a wicked grin. “I’m one of those gossips.”
I sigh and wave. “Got work to do.”
“Oh, by the way, Liza was looking for you.”
I hesitate. “What did she want?”