Prologue
Olivia drove in DC traffic every morning, but it still managed to piss her off at the same intense level every day.
What happened to teleporting and flying cars? Shouldn't we have figured all that shit out by now? It's the twenty first century!
A horn blared a couple of cars behind. What did people think that did other than cause everyone's ire to rise? They needed to have DC bike cops out enforcing noise pollution…handing out tickets. Fifty bucks for every useless honk. Think about the millions of dollars that could generate. Maybe they could put the money towards researching how to freaking teleport!
The honking continued…it seemed as if more cars were joining in on the madness. She looked out her sideview mirror and finally spotted her. A woman running through traffic…banging on windows…
That's why everyone is hooting... What the hell is she doing?!
She turned around and noticed the red stain on the woman's shirt…shit…it looked like blood. It wasn't just her shirt either…her hands were covered in it…
Olivia propelled herself out of the car. Someone, somewhere was hurt.
She walked hurriedly towards the woman ignoring the rolldown windows with people yelling at her to get back her vehicle.
The desperate woman spotted her and her feet picked up speed as she came rushing towards Olivia. She noticed that he woman's feet were bare.
"Help me…please my husband is hurt. He can't breathe…."
"Where? Show me!"
She took off running back in the direction she had come while Olivia followed close behind. They approached a white Volvo, where a man was hunched over in the passenger seat.
As soon as Olivia opened the door, the man fell forward. His shirt was covered in blood.
"What happened?"
"I don't know…please help him…please…"
Suddenly a man approached from the side. Olivia looked up at him and immediately started barking out orders
"Help me get him flat on the ground"
Thankfully the stranger was quick on the take. He came over and helped and they soon had the bleeding man on the ground. Liv shook off her sweater, rolled it and placed it under his head.
"What's his name" she asked the woman
"Harry…Harry…"
"Harry…I am Dr. Pope and I am going to help you okay? I just need you to relax as much as possible. Are you having trouble breathing?"
He nodded. Oliva turned to the gathering crowd and spotted a young man who appeared to be in fairly good shape, she threw her car keys at him
"Go down the middle lane about ten cars down is a black Lexus. Open the trunk and bring me the medical bag you find in there…and run…NOW!
Another quick one. He took off running.
She unbuttoned Harry's shirt, trying to find the cause of the copious bleeding. She couldn't see a wound
"Help me roll him over…what's your name?" she asked her new assistant.
"Barry…"
"Barry help me roll him left and then right…okay?"
He nodded.
She found it when he rolled to the left. The cut…it was on his back.
"Did anyone call 9-1-1?"
"Yes" several voices said from the crowd.
"How long till they get here?"
"Another ten minutes, they said. There's another accident blocking the road about three miles back"
"Come here and repeat everything I say to you to the operator and tell the operator to tell the EMT's to walk out of the ambulance and fucking run to bring me what I am about to tell you. Understood?"
The young girl holding the phone nodded
"Tell them I have traumatic pneumothorax from a penetrating injury. I need to perform a tube thoracostomy onsite" Olivia rattled out the items she needed and the girl parroted them back to the 911 dispatcher whom she hoped was passing it along.
She turned to Harry he's breathing was getting shallower.
I can't wait for them…. she turned to the crowd that had gathered
"Does anyone have a large tube?" Silence
"Please, any sort of large tubing…and a bottle of water…or soda…anything!" she was yelling now
"I'm a plumber, I have 3/8 silicone tubing…"
"Go and get it...NOW!" the burly man took off running and was back seconds later with the tube. While he was gone retrieving the tubing she had asked for and was quickly handed a bottle of water. The medical bag had also made its way to her side by then. She reached into her bag and took out a pair of scissors and cut off Harry's shirt.
She quickly pulled his arm up over his head and gestured to Barry.
"Hold his arm up" gloves were quickly donned and she grabbed the rubbing alcohol from her bag sterilizing the tubing and a scalpel from her bag. She rubbed a healthy amount of the alcohol under his armpit. That was the safe triangle. She was going to need to make a 1 ½ inch incision.
She quickly made the incision and forced the tubing into the cut…Harry groaned in pain. It couldn't be helped…she needed to get the tubing in.
It wasn't easy but finally the tube threaded through the incision, she grabbed for the water bottle and inserted the other end of the tube into the plastic bottle creating a makeshift water trap. The tubing would let the air out into the water but the weight of the water would not allow the water to rise up high enough to enter his lung. A one-way valve. It was an emergency patch job, but it would do.
She reached down into the bag grabbing gauze and tape to keep the tube in place and handed the bottle to the Barry.
"Hold this" he grabbed it quickly from my hands with little prompting.
"Barry you rock!" he grinned proudly back at her
"He was also stabbed on the other side. Donny also stabbed him on the other side" I looked up to find the wife Kate gesturing at her husband.
"What?"
"Look down!"
Olivia looked down; her skirt was drenched in blood. She had thought the blood was pouring out of one wound. She was wrong. There was another gash on the side.
She grabbed the gauze she had left to staunch the blood pouring out of the wound. She didn't have enough left….it wasn't doing the job. She made a split-second decision and whipped off her shirt, pushing it into the wound.
Suddenly the sounds of sirens broke through. Oh, thank god!
A young EMT broke through the crowd and knelt down beside her. She finally had some help!
Twenty minutes later, she was in the back of the ambulance with the EMT crew. Her car keys had been handed off to a police officer responding to the 9-1-1 call
The young EMT looked over at her…. she was covered in blood…in a bra…no shirt
"You've had a hell of a morning…"
Yeah….no shit…
Chapter one
"Doc…. you're on the T.V." Tovah said looking at her. Olivia looked at the receptionist puzzled, then followed her line of vision to the television mounted high of the practice waiting room.
Shit! She was on television!
She stood and watched her morning being replayed in high-definition technicolor on the WCTV morning show on channel five…what in the hell…
The video was shaky, but it was still a decent view of her providing triage to Harry…the patient on the highway who had needed an emergency pneumothorax.
Someone had been filming. It was to be expected. Everyone's phone had a camera these days…
Suddenly the camera swooped down and zoomed in on her… gut?!
"Volume…put Volume!" She yelled at Tovah. She quickly obeyed
"This is footage from the early morning commute where a doctor had to perform an emergency procedure on a stabbing victim on Interstate 95. One young man, a fellow commuter managed to capture this dramatic footage of the doctor saving the man's life…."
No, it is not showing me saving a man's life…its showing me jiggling in all the wrong places while I try to save that man's life!
She had stripped off her shirt to staunch the blood pouring from Harry…The decision was coming back to haunt her like a horrible nightmare
The room suddenly filled with laughter, from the television. It was from the asshole holding the camera….
"Man, she needs to do some sit-ups, dude!" giggles abounded, the video zoomed in even closer on her tummy…
What the hell is this?!
"Can they do this?! I did not give consent for this to be shown!" She yelled at the T.V.
The video feed cut off and went back to the anchors in the studio. I had seen their pictures on huge billboards on the highway. They had a morning show… Kip Coolidge and Candy Lauren's.
They could barley contain their laughter. Kip was laughing too hard to speak so Candy Lauren's took over
"Well…that was certainly impressive. How lucky was he that there was a doctor on the road?" she said trying her best to stop laughing
They are fucking laughing at me….
"Yes, we understand that the injured man was identified as Harry Chase ...he is well and is no longer in critical condition" he spat out…biting his lip to keep from laughing. The camera cut back to Candy
"Yes…Thank god for the doctor"
"The police released a statement saying that the Mr. Chase was attacked by his son Donnie who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. His wife Kate was a witness to the attack. She decided to transport her injured husband to the hospital rather than call 9-1-1 to save their son from being arrested for assaulting his father"
"Wow…quite a story…well like you said Candy…. thank god there was a doctor on the road to provide assistance"
The video played again.
The stupid smiles reappeared on their faces…
Oh my god! She was a laughing stock….
She didn't know what the hell just happened…. but whatever it was, it wasn't good.
"Do you understand how insulting this is, Cy?" Olivia asked her boss Cyrus Beene
"I do…but this has become a nightmare for the practice. We need to spin this into some positive PR" he said looking at me sympathetically.
Don't fucking pity me!
"I saved that man's life and all people want to talk about is the fact that I am slightly overweight. Do you think this shit would be happening if I was a man? it wouldn't!"
It was especially grating cause Cyrus wasn't in the best of shape either…she looked purposefully down at his beer gut…but it didn't matter. He was a fucking man!
"All valid points Liv, but we need to get ahead of this. I am sorry…but the partners and I talked about it and this is the course of action we have decided upon"
"…so, what? if I don't do it I am out of a job?"
"Liv…"
"Fine…I will do it! but I just want to say that I was the top of my class at freaking Harvard! I was hired because I am a good doctor! Not because of the way I look!" she took a deep breath trying to calm herself. It did not work…
"I save that man's life on the bridge and all I have gotten for it is pain and grief!" she felt the tears start to rise.
I need to end this conversation. I would not be crying in front of my boss. No fucking way!
"Fine…have them send the details to Tovah" Liv stood up with my shoulders straight, head held high. It was an impressive stature considering the fact that all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry like a baby
"This will be good for you…think about it. You'll be able to get a new wardrobe!"
She got the hell out of there before she murdered him.
"So, what is it they want you to do?" Ezra asked
"They want me to do this whole media blitz where America gets to follow me as I transform into the woman I was meant to be…aka…stop being a fat ass…"
"What?!...please don't tell me they said that!"
"I am paraphrasing…"
"Well stop doing that…the lawyer in me want to sue when I hear shit like that…so they want you to...what?"
"You heard me! The video went viral, I am getting a lot of play on the national news feeds. Good morning America, The View…the whole shebang…kill me…"
"It might be a good thing…. you've been wanting to lose weight forever…"
"Yes Ezra, I do want to lose weight but on my own terms! I spent the last decade of my life becoming the best goddamn doctor I could be! I was working and studying…I didn't have time to eat healthy and workout like I used to! And so, what if I put on a couple of pounds?! I saved a man's life Ezra!" she paused mid-tirade, robbed of oxygen she stood there panting in anger
"Ezra…I am a good person…I don't deserve this!"
He came over and hugged her.
"I know honey…and if there was any way I could kick Kip Coolidge's ass down the fucking curb I would…but maybe…"Liv started to protest, but he stopped me with a raised finger
"…maybe this is a good thing…like I said you've wanted to do this for a while. Here's your opportunity"
Liv was silent. She had wanted to lose weight for a while. Going through an intense residency working at clinics on the side to feed herself and to pay the rent…taking care of herself was not on the top of her to do list!
Now that she had graduated and she was finally making good money... she had planned on starting to work out and get in shape
"So, what happens if you say no…"
"Then I am looking for a new job…with this notoriety hanging on my shoulder. I can only imagine how much fun that would be"
"Roll with the punches Liv…let them help you be the best you…it might turn out to be a good thing…"
She nodded…but she didn't believe it for a minute.
"Dr. Pope…how nice it is to meet you…you're a hero…or should we say heroine…"
She smiled at Candy Lauren's…and the asshole Kip Coolidge
"Absolutely astounding what you did there on the highway with Mr. Chase! So how long have you been a doctor?"
"Not very long…I graduated a year ago…."
"From Harvard we understand?"
She nodded politely…that right fuckers! Top of my class at Harvard!
"It was really remarkable to see you performing what was basically a surgery in rush hour traffic…just amazing!"
"Nothing to it…any doctor would have been able to perform the procedure…I just happened to be the one there…"
"So, not only are we here to extol on your wonderful medical skills, but your kicking off a special journey with us here today!" Candy said perkily
"Yes…I am"
"You want to tell us about it…"
She swallowed hard. This was the part she was dreading…
"Yes…Our Medical Practice, Beene and Reynolds, is going to be launching a new weight loss program, and I am going to be …patient zero in a sense"
"Ooh how exciting…tell us more" Kip chimed in
Fuck you bitch
"Yes, it is exciting. I am going to be going through a health and fitness program and we are welcoming the rest of America to join me in the journey and to start their own journey to become healthier and happier"
"That sounds amazing…can you let us know how it works?"
"I would love to…so anyone interested can join in by going to our website and downloading our app onto your smartphone. Once there you get health tips, clean menus, exercise tips …and you get to follow me on my own weight loss…junket…" the fake smile she had plastered on her face was starting to hurt.
"That is great! Kind of like the biggest loser?" Candy said smiling like a fucking loon
"Yes…something like that…"
"Well I think it's great, that you and your medical practice want to help America get in shape again…being healthy is the hallmark to happiness…" Kip said. She wanted to punch him square in his perfect mouth.
"Well we have a surprise for you Dr. Pope! A local gym heard about your…what did you call it…junket? Anyway, the Harbors Way gym here in DC has decided to help you out on your way to a healthier life! Please welcome the Owner and Dr. Pope's new personal trainer Fitzgerald Grant!"
Olivia squinted. What the hell was this shit?
She watched as a tall man walked onto the set. He was sex on legs. Talk about gorgeous…what the hell was this!
This was an ambush! No one told her about this…
She hadn't been able to take her eyes of him. Of course, he was a personal trainer. He looked amazing. Tall…maybe six-feet four? Lean, he looked like he had just walked off the cover of GQ Magazine.
She hated him on sight.
She watched as the Adonis shook hands with Kip and then leaned into kiss Candy on the cheek. He walked over to her and leaned in.
Shit
She didn't have a choice. She had to let him kiss her cheek. A stage hand came in carrying a chair and set it next to her.
"Look at you!" Candy said once Fitzgerald Grant had taken his seat next to Olivia.
He smiled.
"So, you are going to be helping Dr. Pope on her little…junket?"
Her eyes narrowed at Kip's condescending tone.
"Well if Dr. Pope is interested and ready…. Harbors Way is happy to help in any way we can" he smiled and she heard every-woman within a five-mile radius sigh. The voice…the voice was…the voice was sexy.
She watched Candy cross her legs, her skirt hiking up. Talk about thirsty…
"So, Fitzgerald…or should we call you Fitz?"
"Either one is fine Candy" he responded affably.
"Fine being the key word, right Dr. Pope?" Candy said batting her eyelashes at the pretty boy. She didn't respond. She just forced a smile and gave a curt nod.
"Do you think you can whip our girl here into shape?" Kip said keeping up on his condescending tone. She was biting her tongue now, trying to stop herself from just verbally fucking him up.
"I think she is probably already in pretty good…shape. She's a doctor who graduated at the top of her class from Harvard. We should all aspire to be in that good a shape"
Olivia stilled. It was a good answer…. but she still wasn't ready to let go of the dislike
The rest of the segment was thankfully short and sweet. Kip was a patronizing fuck, Candy flirted with the gym guy and she waited for Jesus to answer her prayer and for the floor to open up and swallow her whole.
"Well thank you to Fitz and Olivia for joining us here at the studio…we can't wait to see you back here in a couple of months. You'll be a whole new you!"
I am fine with me right now….
The cameraman waved indicating they were off air…she jumped off the stool and walked off the set without acknowledging anyone. She knew she was being rude, but she didn't care. She was on the hunt for Cyrus. She found him by the crafts table, stuffing his face….
"Cyrus, what the fuck?"
"What Liv?"
"I did not sign up for this!"
"Exercise was always going to be part of the plan, Liv"
"Yes, and I will haul myself to a gym and work out…I don't need that pretty boy holding my hand!"
"Ouch" said a voice from behind them. It was the pretty boy
"I guess I should be flattered…. I'm not…but I guess I should be" the Fitz guy said. She ignored him.
Cyrus turned to look him over and then turned back to her
"Pretty is good, pretty gets more girls….and guys to sign up for the program. Its good publicity for our practice and for his gym. This is a win-win situation Liv" Cyrus said in a pathetic attempt to soothe her
"Not for me! I don't want to do this!"
"Olivia we already talked about this. We need this…"
She was too volatile. Her emotions too close to the surface, she needed to leave. She turned and walked off passing by Kip Coolidge on the way out
"Great job. Dr. Pope we can't wait…" she cut him off. She didn't want to listen to anything he had to say.
"Kip I couldn't help but notice your hairline earlier on the show…just so you know there is a hair loss condition called androgenetic alopecia. It is when a hormone called Dihydrotestosterone or DHT causes hair follicles to miniaturize over time, producing thinner and finer hair. Well eventually the follicles stop producing normal hairs…leaving a little peach fuzz..." She saw the wild panic in his eyes and hid her smile
"Men with the condition typically notice a hairline that recedes or thins at the crown…maybe you can talk to your doctor about it…hopefully there is something that can be done…" she smiled perkily "Take care!"
It was mean but considering the week she had been having…she needed to take it out on someone…. Kip Asshole Coolidge was as good a candidate as anyone….
Fitzgerald Grant watched Dr. Pope walk off in a huff. He couldn't blame her. He had seen the video. She had been saving some lucky schmucks life and this was the payment she got.
He didn't want to be doing this either, but he needed to grow his business and his partner Jake was right. You couldn't get better publicity for the gym than this. Plus he lost the coin toss...he was the lucky S.O.B who got to help the prickly Ms. Pope.
She was beautiful…she wasn't exceedingly overweight…in fact he thought the extra pounds looked good on her. She was voluptuous…va-va-voom...
He liked that. Something a man could hold onto in the middle of the night. He didn't go for the skinny teenage boy look that seemed to be the fashion this days. No tits, no ass…No thank you…
Keep your mind on the job!
Yeah, he couldn't let himself go there…Dr. Pope was delicious…but he couldn't allow himself a taste. He was here to help his business and that was it…
