Michael paced the floor of the hospital wing. Nervously, he looked at his cell phone, willing it to ring. Marcie should have called by now. He glanced at his watch; 11:52 it read. Marcie's radio show ended at eleven, so she must be at home. He hated to call her again and leave yet another message. Maybe she was asleep. He tried to focus his attention on his work, but something just didn't feel right.
He sighed and flipped open his cell phone. He could feel his stomach tighten as he dialed Marcie's number. Please let her be home.
The phone rang and rang. He heard a click and for a second he thought she might answer. When he heard her voice, he started to speak. Crestfallen, he realized it was her voice mail.
"This is Marcie. I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave your name and phone number at the beep."
"Marcie, its Michael." He said frantically into the phone. "Honey, where are you? I'm really worried. Please call me. I'm at the hospital. If I don't answer, have them page me, okay?"
He snapped the phone shut as his heart began to race. At least he was at work, where his mind would be on his patients. God, sometimes he hated being a doctor. These long hours were driving him crazy. It wasn't fair to Marcie either. They had just found each other and now their careers were keeping them apart.
Just then he heard his name over the intercom.
"Dr. McBain to ER, stat! Dr. McBain to ER, stat!"
Crazily, he felt relief over finally having something to do. He knew it was wrong; lives were in danger here. Still, it would take his mind off of Marcie. He was pulling an all-nighter, so he'd make sure and call her as soon as he got off.
Throwing the cell phone into his coat pocket, he ran to the ER. Several doctors and paramedics were gathered around a stretcher. The paramedics lifted a limp body from the stretcher onto a table and began working frantically. Michael walked over to the doctor in charge.
"Dr. McBain here sir." Michael said, extending his hand.
"Thanks for getting here so quickly." The doctor said, shaking Michael's hand.
"What happened?" Michael asked.
"Not sure." The doctor replied. "They found her at Llanview University. She's in pretty bad shape."
"What are the vital signs?" Michael asked as the doctor handed him a chart.
"Not good. The woman may be in a coma. She's breathing but other than that there's been no response."
"Okay, let's see what we can do." Michael followed the doctor to where the paramedics were still working on the woman. He stood, watching the doctor in action.
"Nothing." The doctor said, turning to Michael.
"Here. Let me look at her." Michael said.
He moved closer to the woman. As soon as he saw her face, he gasped.
No… It can't be….