BRIDGETTE

His brown eyes, hooded by his stubborn eyebrows, were fixed on me. Amy must have sensed trouble coming my way so she slowly turned around and left, leaving me alone with the handsome doctor. I knew Cara was afraid of the man, but I was challenged. I saw a lot of layers in him and I so desperately wanted to rip them off one by one, starting with his shirt, of course.

But that would have to wait. For now, I had to get away because Cara was screaming in my ear to do so.

“I’m fit for work,” I told him, my chin raised as an impulse. With the gaze he was fixing me, I wouldn’t just bow down and obey. Hell no! I would fight to the death.

“You will be taking care of patients. I don’t want a nurse who needs more medical attention than them.” He crossed his arms across his chest.

I raised an eyebrow. “I know my body, Dr. Newman. I can manage, I promise.”

“Just walk away!” Cara was screaming in my ear.

The doctor frowned. “Just make sure I don’t see you doing any mistakes.”

“You won’t.”

“That’s enough. Walk away now.” Cara’s voice was nervous.

Of course I didn’t listen. I would stand my ground. If someone wanted to leave, it would be the hot doctor.

We stared at each other for ten more awkward silent moment before he finally blinked, nodded his head once and squarely walked away. I released my breath and walked inside the locker room.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” I answered Cara, walking straight to her locker. I opened it and inspected the door. She had a picture of her and her dad and a few with the same friend. Cara didn’t have a lot of friends back in high school and I thought that it still stood the same even after ten years. We were not different in that regard though a lot of people considered me their friend while I didn’t.

“When he comes in your way again, ignore him. Just nod, accept whatever mistake he points out and forget about it. If he ever senses, even just a little, that you seem different, my job is over. My license will be goodbye.”

“Just relax, Cara. I can handle him. Don’t keep on talking like you are not going to live another day because it might just ruin my eardrum--your eardrum.”

“Says the one who won’t shut up yesterday.”

“Someone’s coming. Shut up.”

It was the tall lady, Amy. She went straight to me, her eyes wide. “You really pissed him off, do you know that?”

“Who?”

“Dr. Newman! He’s not just leaving the unit, he’s right out there in the station, going over everything we did today. Do you know what that means?”

Well, honestly, I didn’t. How the hell could I know what the guy was up to or what the nurses were doing that didn’t have to be known? “Don’t worry. He’ll get over it,” I said, pretending I very well knew what she meant.

“Don’t talk too much around Amy. She has appointed herself as the news anchor of the unit.” It was Cara.

I studied Amy carefully and instantly knew what Cara meant. But then, I didn’t care. As long as I stayed alive by the end of the shift without patients dying on me, I was fine.

“You don’t look okay,” Amy noted as I started to get dressed.

“I’m cool,” I answered.

“You don’t sound like yourself as well.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I was getting irritated. I didn’t like people questioning my actions.

“You don’t talk like that. It must be the accident. Did you have a head injury?”

“No, I didn’t,” I answered, trying to be calm.

“Just get dressed and walk away,” Cara hastily said.

Since I didn’t like situations where I was the listener instead of a talker, except when I was on the job, I did as Cara ordered and walked out of the room without saying another word to Amy despite her persistent chatters about the latest and hottest news in the unit.

Remembering every corner of the unit from the layout Cara provided earlier, I went straight to the section where medications were available. Before that, I looked at the chart to know my assignments. I was given the task as a bedside nurse which meant--from what I learned through research and Cara’s orientation--I would be taking care of patients with my own hands. That meant applying different procedures I didn’t even know how to do.

I went to the shower room as instructed by Cara and said, “I am the bedside nurse along with Amy.”

“That’s not good. You don’t know the procedures.”

“What do I do?”

“Don’t worry. Be thankful it is the night shift. There will not be a lot of things to do. The assistants will take care of the yucky stuff while you only have to give medications, take vital signs if assistants are too busy, assess the patients, chart everything and then you’re done.”

“What’s my next step?”

“Prepare medications while waiting for your shift to begin.”

I nodded. “Then?”

“Receive endorsement. This will be the tricky part because you don’t know the acronyms and most of the terms that will be used.”

“I can do it,” I said strongly.

“How?”

“Duh, you can hear them. All you have to do is dictate everything I have to write down or something while you make your own notes.”

“That’s a good idea. But you have to write fast. Endorsements are fast. You only get some time to breathe when the nurses discuss special cases or events that happened during the previous shift.”

“Fine,” I muttered before squaring my shoulders.

When I exited the door and turned left to go back to the medication corner, I smashed into a boulder of a body and when I looked up, there he was, staring down at me with those blazing brown eyes…again. One corner of my lips couldn’t help but lift just a tiny inch.

If there was anything, or anyone, who could keep me alive on this wreck of a nursing life I found myself entangled with, it would be this man. He was like a wild tiger. The unit was similar to a mysterious jungle I had never been at. But I loved adventure and I would love to tame this wild creature until it bowed down to my commands.

And as an experienced adventurer, I knew that it would not be easy. I had to painstakingly be patient if I had to.

“Sorry,” I murmured, lifting my chin and sharply turned away from him. If Cara would insist that I play nurse while in each other’s body, I would gladly do so as long as Dr. Newman would be there to challenge me.

“Cara, come with me,” I heard his voice behind me.

“Oh, no…” I heard Cara’s voice in my ear. “Just go and hear what he has to say.”

I turned around and checked my watch. “Doctor, I have to go to work now. Can we do this later?”

“What the hell are you doing?!” Cara’s voice was frantic.

The doctor appeared dumbfounded. “Are you saying you don’t want to talk?” His voice was full of contained anger. The man was used to being followed and bowed down to. The hell I was doing that!

“I’m saying I have more important work to do. Does our talk include dying patients?”

Confusion flashed across his face for a brief moment before it turned to stone. “No, but it includes your ass getting fired.”

I pretended to think with my eyes on the ceiling before I directed them back to his blazing ones. “I don’t think you can do that. You still have to report to my boss and as far as I know, doctors are not our bosses. But if you really think that the topic of our conversation will include dying patients or anything relevant to my work or yours, then we can talk.”

His face was turning red now.

“You’re dead, Bridgette. I’m dead.” It was Cara’s defeated voice.

I wanted to tell her to shut the hell up and let me handle this.

“But if you are only going to talk to me about my behavior towards you, we can reschedule. If I had offended you earlier or in the past, you can keep tab. I will be willing to pay later. For now, my job is more important. And,” I said, holding up one finger as he opened his mouth, “if you are concerned that I cannot do my work because of my accident, go to my supervisor. She allowed me to work and you can address your concerns to her.” When I was done talking, I left him standing there with his mouth slightly open.

“We’re dead. My career is over…” It was Cara.

“Shut up. I got it covered,” I muttered under my breath. “Now, tell me how to do your work and forget about that doctor.”

CARA

If Bridgette was standing before me, I would strangle her until she was out of breath--even if it meant squeezing my own neck with her two hands. I would now be the apple of Dr. Newman’s eyes. He would watch me closely from now on and if Bridgette made as much as a tiny mistake, my career would be over.

When she told me to shut up, I had to because I didn’t want to scream at her. I tried my calming techniques and when they worked, somehow, I talked her through the motion of the work. She had to do everything right. I must admit though, it was easier task. I was far from the unit and I was able to think clearly of what she had to do next and how she had to do it. I was only worried that the earphone would be discovered and questions would start to ruin our trick.

The most challenging part was the endorsement. I didn’t know if Bridgette was writing the right things, but I did. As long as she stayed on the line, any questions she had would be answered by me.

During the rounds, she had to speak out loud and tell me the current intravenous lines of the patients. I reminded her to check on the fluids every now and then. The medications were quite a challenge for her as well. She didn’t know how to prepare them and most of all she had no idea how to administer. I had to ask her questions as to the name of the drugs and I also had to check if she had them right. I checked if the drugs were of any relevance to the case of the patients. If I were at work, I only had to check twice. But now that I was far, far away, I had to triple check to make sure Bridgette was going to give the right drugs.

“It’s an IV drug. It’s easier than most. Make sure there are no air bubbles in the syringe.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she said impatiently.

“It is for Mr. Cruz, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“He has his IV line at his right hand. Do you have your heparin?”

“Yeah.”

“That is to prevent blood clotting. Give it after you do the IV push.”

“Fine.”

“Don’t confuse your drugs, please.”

“I’m not. I placed them in the order you taught me.”

“Good.”

By the time her tasks were done, including the charting, I was exhausted. I had to work with my imagination and without my sense of sight which was very much important when it came to assessment. I only had to rely on what I heard and what Bridgette kept on murmuring.

“Take a break. I have to have some as well. Just call my name if you need me,” I said after she said she had to go to the cafeteria. I was too tired as well.

BRIDGETTE

I knew I shouldn’t be drinking coffee, but the dark liquid was needed. Cara’s body was craving for it and since the body was not mine, I took the luxury of enjoying it. There were other nurses in the cafeteria but mostly, they were just watchers who stayed the night. Everybody seemed to have their own business. Medical residents buried their heads in large books and others chatted about their cases.

I sat at the corner, looking out into the night through the large window to my left. And then I felt someone taking the seat across from me.

Well, well, well…he just couldn’t get his mind off me, right?

“Can we have that talk now?” His voice was stronger than ever and I had to feel just a little fear which passed away just as easily as my courage woke up.

“What do you want to talk about?” I said, my brow rising instinctively.

“Your attitude,” he said in a tone that told me I better hear him without saying another word.

***Sorry for the late update. I was stressed this couple of days. It's summer time and it's seriously hot from where I am. I have to frequently unwind and rest!

***Anyway, let us welcome another character in the story and that is Dr. Newman! ComVo all you want, guys! :)