Chapter 1
Kayla Dennis stood ready to enter a county hospital in Illinois. She had been somewhat nervous about this, hoping nobody would recognize her as her father had been well known in the medical community. Walking into the hospital, she approached the receptionist, "Where could I find a Dr. Luka Kovac?"
Hearing his name he spoke up, "And what is your name?" Luka asked her reaching out to shake her hand.
"Kayla Dennis, third year medical student" she said while returning the gesture.
"Well let's give you a tour of the ER, and then I'll set you up with a resident to help with their patients" After an hour of introductions and tours she was assigned to assist Dr. Dave Malucci. Their first patient was a hockey player with broken ribs; she cringed knowing how hard this was for any player to deal with.
Upon entering the exam room, she was shocked to recognize the man sitting on the exam table. However, he didn't seem to recognize her. "How are you feeling today, Rick?"
"Not great, but I need to get back"
This got Kayla to speak, "Your coach doesn't really expect you to play with broken ribs, does he?" Rick in return lifted his head and Kayla couldn't help but be amused with seeing Rick in pain.
"Kayla, Step out please"
Outside the Exam Room
"Do you know this man?"
"Yeah, we're old rivals"
"Then keep your mouth closed and observe only" They reentered the exam room; performing a brief exam after which they discharged Rick, which relieved Kayla very much.
Later in the shift
"Kayla, you handled that first patient very well." Dave stated over lunch.
"I have a lot of practice"
"May I ask what you mean?"
"Private School, I can only hope he keeps his mouth shut" Before Dave could ask what she meant they were paged back to the ER. Once they arrived in the ER, Luka told Dave he needed to speak with her privately.
Private Room
Luka was silent for the first few minutes of their meeting as if trying to figure out what to say. He decided to just say it. "Kayla, someone has inquired at the med school if you were attending, is there anything you want to tell me?"
"She's always trying to find me."
"Why?"
"My mother tried to kill me when I was 13."
"Why would she want to find you then?"
"The woman that was trying to find me was my father's boss; he knew mom was beating me and did nothing, as a health care provider he was required to make a report so they revoked his license."
"May I ask how bad you were injured?"
"I had a concussion, two torn ligaments in my left shoulder, seven broken ribs and a punctured lung. When I was found they said I wasn't breathing. Everyone was worried that I wouldn't survive the surgery because I was so close to dying in the ER. After the surgery I slipped into a coma for 6 days."
"That still doesn't explain why she's trying to find you"
"Because I was unwilling to let my father's friends work on my shoulder. Also mother is dying of liver failure."
"If the school gets anymore calls, we'll see about a restraining order."
"Can I go back to work?"
"Yes, catch up with Dave."
