Connor Rhodes nearly walked into a wall the second he heard the two women bickering.
It was not unheard of for the ED to have its share of relatives that could not agree, or get along. Connor himself had broken up more than his fair share of fights over the years.
Yet, there was something about that voice that pulled him out of his early morning slump.
After a hectic night in Chicago's busiest emergency department he had been on his way to get a snack. He needed just a little something to get him through the sudden lull until things picked back up. A few hours were left in his shift and there was never any telling when things would become chaotic. Therefore one ate when they had the chance. Dinner had been hours ago and maybe some fruit and coffee would do the trick.
That was of course before he heard her voice.
It was a voice that haunted his dreams. It was a voice that haunted his nightmares.
He heard the voice when things were at their worst.
It was a voice that reminded him of the biggest regrets of actions not taken, paths he let slip by and at first he wasn't sure he heard correctly. Taking a step back Doctor Rhodes noticed both Maggie and April watching the room where the bickering voices emanated closely, but not overtly. If there was anyone on earth who could pick out people eavesdropping so discreetly it would be him.
Naturally he walked over to them picking up on the distinct smell of cigarette smoke. A perfect conversation starter if there ever was one.
"Is someone smoking in there?"
Two sets of eyes glanced up at him in what could only be surprise. Not so much at his question, but the mere fact he had to ask it. It was the younger of the two nurses, April, who asked, "Do you know who is in there?"
Maggie answered before he had a chance to even respond. "Olya Isakov and Neva Vasilieva."
Anyone who lived in the city of Chicago for the past ten years or so would recognize those names. After all, the Vasilieva crime family was Chicago's most prominent Russian crime syndicate. Ivan 'The Beast' Vasilieva was the head of the family with Neva being his only daughter and Olya his lifelong mistress. The names were familiar to Connor in reputation alone, so he found himself slightly confused. It couldn't be the same woman. Granted he didn't know her actual name. But the woman who haunted his memory and dreams wouldn't have been a mob princess. Surely Ivan would never have allowed his only daughter to crisscross the globe working as a medical contractor.
However, once the bickering started again he found himself doubting his own recall.
"I don't understand why you could not have treated her Neva. You're a doctor. This is just absurd…being left alone in this room. I haven't received treatment this neglectful since my childhood."
"I'm not a doctor. How many times do I have to tell you that? I also do not possess the gift of x-ray vision. Nor am I an orthopedist which Natalia is going to need. If you're going to complain you might as well have the driver come pick you up. I told you this would take a few hours."
It was her, of that Connor was certain.
"Where's the chart?"
Both women gave him a look.
Connor held out a hand.
"Doctor Manning has already been paged. She'll be down from Pediatrics soon." Maggie informed him with an eyebrow raised high. Yet when his hand remained outstretched she relented and handed over a tablet.
A few swipes of his finger later and the reason for the visit became obvious.
To confirm his suspicion, or prove he needed something to eat more than he realized, Connor pushed off the nurses station and headed towards the cracked doorway. Curtains had been pulled to give the women privacy were yanked open on his way in.
Sure enough a downright boney woman in her sixties with a silver bob, in a floor length fur coat, dripping with diamonds and wearing what appeared to be a silk nightgown sat on the stretcher smoking a cigarette. Beside her sat a little blonde haired girl clutching her arm in a pair of pajamas as well. Her heavy winter coat was in the arms of the woman known as Neva Vasilieva.
"Ma'am you cannot smoke in here," were the first words out of his mouth. Surprisingly enough they were the first time he had to say them in his hospital career.
Two other surprises greeted him.
One was indeed Neva. She was the woman he knew as Miss Black. It was without a doubt the same woman from Iraq, Dubai, Riyadh and the UAE. Not a doubt remained in his mind. He would recognize that hourglass figure, that unusual wavy caramel hued hair and those surprisingly dark blue eyes. What was the bigger surprise was the way she looked at him, as if he were a perfect stranger. It threw him off balance as only she could.
Neva said something to the diamond clad woman in Russian that had the woman Maggie referred to as Olya shouting right back. After which she then put out her cigarette in the stretcher angrily. Following which Neva looked right at Rhodes with a perfectly calm voice that betrayed her, "We had an accident. Natalia fell from her bunkbed and I suspect the Radius and Ulna have been fractured."
One look at the little girl was all that was needed to confirm that suspicion. Still an x-ray would be required.
Maybe he was wrong?
It'd been known to happen on the rare occasion.
So he went to the child who looked up at him curiously with those same blue eyes. "Good morning Natalia. My name is Doctor Rhodes and I am going to be taking care of you for now. Can you tell me what happened?"
Though her eyes were red from crying the little girl didn't sound very upset at all considering the fact the bones in her wrist were visibly broken beneath her skin. Connor only knew a few people who were capable of calming even the most hysterical patients. That person stood mere feet away from him with her arms crossed over his chest, her face a blank mask and her head cocked at what could only be described as a clinical angle. Her eyes were all for the little girl who was obviously family.
"I fell off the bed. I'm never going to another sleepover again," Natalia told him. A look of unease crossed her face when he grabbed a pair of gloves.
More Russian was spoken from Neva again. Though it seemed to be directed at Natalia as she seemed to relax ever so slightly. Her grip on her broken wrist loosened enough to let Connor look it over.
After flicking her cigarette in the general direction of the trashcan Olya turned her attention on Connor, just as April came in the room. "How long will it take to get this casted up? I don't intend to stay here long enough for her to catch MRSA."
"Olya!"
A smile tugged at the corner of Connors lips, as the woman known as Miss Black to him dropped her face in her hands completely mortified. While it was no laughing matter. It did for some reason amuse him. An assuring smile was fixated on the blonde haired child, "No need to worry Natalia. The only thing you'll be leaving with is a hot pink plaster cast. How does that sound?"
Natalia perked up at mention of a pink cast.
A protest was on Olya's lips that died as another figure came into the room. Connor caught movement from the corner of his eye. It was April who confirmed the presence with a greeting, "Doctor Manning…"
Olya waved her hands fast enough to make her diamonds clatter together, "Oh no, no, no!" Thus causing an almost instantaneous reaction around the room as recognition dawned on April. Neva appeared just as confused as Connor. Fur rippled in a white wave, "That one needs to go. We'll take this male doctor. I don't want the Mandated Reporter anywhere near my Natalia! Not after last time! I'll take this child to another hospital." A flurry of Russian followed that obviously was directed to Neva.
Connor glanced at April who's knowing dark eyes widened in alarm.
Smiling warmly at the child she quietly whispered to Connor, "Doctor Manning reported Natalia's last visit here to family services. It turned out she was being bullied at school."
A slight raised eyebrow was his only reaction at that tidbit of news.
Nothing was said in response not because he didn't have a solution to diffuse the situation. But because that perfectly calm voice despite the enraged silver haired woman mere feet away. In Arabic she spoke in a manner that let him know she was still working on maintaining inner peace and harmony. "If there is an orthopedist you can refer us to…like, right now? I'd be eternally grateful."
Connor glanced over his shoulder, far too pleased with himself considering the situation at hand. Especially with the additional threat of a lawsuit by Olya. "You're in luck. Not only do I play poker with him. He's just upstairs."