Much Ado About Nothing
Chapter Four
"Pulse 130 over 100!" Hank
yelled. Val charged the shock paddles.
"And clear!" she said. No
pulse.
"140 over 100!" said Hank.
"Clear!" Val screamed. The
heartbeat of the patient, a thirty-three-year-old man, was silent. Clogged
arteries, Val surmised. That's probably what started it. Should have
watched his cholesterol. The thought seemed bitter, but was honest in Val's
case.
"160 over 110!" Hank ordered
as a final result. No pulse no, no likely pulse later.
"And clear!" Third time's
a charm, Val remembered. Hope that's true.
The patient's heart began to
beat, slowly but surely. Tyler checked the pulse.
"Almost steady," he
reported. "We'll have to take him to the hospital for operation and oxygen
treatment. I think his brain cells may have been damaged if he was out of air
for that long."
Hank agreed. "Hope not and
inform the neurologists."
Val motioned for Jamie to
get a stretcher so they could get him into the ambulance. Tyler checked the
pulse again: "Steady."
"Good job," Val told Hank.
"One, two, three, and up!" They balanced the man on the stretcher, his breath
coming harshly, but still coming. Jamie and Hank got him into the ambulance.
"Nice work," Tyler
commented, directing it towards Val, before heading around to the driver's
side. Val smiled and the doors of the ambulance slammed shut.
*
"Hank,
you've got inventory," Brooke said, glancing at her clipboard as she entered
the room. Groans were met, mostly from Hank's ears, and then from Jamie's as
she added, "Jamie, you have trash duty and then help Hank."
The
two said EMTs rose and, with good-natured moans, left the room. Brooke turned
and left too, muttering about filing and chore certificates that she wished she
hadn't cashed in. And Tyler and Val were left alone.
Silence
invaded the station as Val worked on her algebra homework on the lower bunk and
Tyler read Catcher in the Rye for English.
"Tyler?"
Val's voice drew Tyler from the pages. "What in the world does this mean?"
It
was logical to ask Tyler, who was in Algebra III compared to Val's Algebra II,
but it was awkward for some reason for both of them when he moved to sit next
to her on the bed and look over her shoulder.
"Aren't
you supposed to be the overachiever?" Tyler inquired teasingly.
"You
are, too," Val responded. "Now, the problem."
"Square
the result and notate it. The x goes before the y when you add the third…"
Tyler ran a finger across the paper. "Now, solve with the Quadratic Formula and
multiply by 3.4 because you divided earlier." Val bit her pencil and wrote in a
number.
"Good,"
Tyler complimented her. "Now, how fast is the ball going up if the downward
push is 5.9 meters per second?"
"But
how would the downward push be 5.9 meters per second unless the ball is going
60.37 meters per second?" Val asked him.
"Exactly!"
Tyler exclaimed. Val did a double take.
"That
was the answer?" She was trying to figure out how she had gotten the answer if
she didn't understand it. But that wasn't the point, she figured, writing it
down.
"How
many more problems do you have?" Tyler asked. Val closed her book with
satisfaction and looked up at him.
"None,"
she answered. "Do you want to practice the play?"
"Of
course. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged." Tyler switched quickly
from normal talk to Shakespeare.
"Then
have my lips the sin that they have took," breathed Val. Somehow their lips
were moving towards each other, and somehow they had stopped acting long ago.
They had been supposed to kiss in the line before Tyler started—she supposed
they were compensating now.
Electricity
shot through her veins as their lips connected. Her hands let go of the Algebra
II book and threatened to curl around his neck, but resisted the urge, gripping
her book as if it was the last tie to the mortal realm and otherwise she might
float away… which she probably would.
"Excuse
me," a voice that sounded suspiciously like Alex's said. Val and Tyler jumped
away from each other. Oh, man, were they in for it now, Tyler groaned, seeing
Alex looking at them.
"I'll
let you get away with it this once," Alex said, "because you're practicing for
the play. Next time you practice that scene, though, make sure I'm out of the
room."
"Isn't
that special treatment?" Val squeaked out.
"Yes,"
agreed Alex. He smiled. "But it's also best for the squad."
Tyler
and Val looked back and forth from each other to Alex. Alex winked.
"Now,
I'm going to go out of the room for a while, and I may not be back soon, so if
you want to practice, go right ahead but don't let it get in the way of your
work."
He
left the room and closed the door behind him. Two pairs of blue eyes stared at
the door, amazed.
"I
think he's actually turned human," Tyler said in awe.
"Have
you ever seen him wink before?" inquired Val. "I mean, that was just weird.
May—"
"Shh."
Tyler put a finger to her lips. "You heard him. Let's practice."
It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word, you can light up the dark
Try as I may, I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing…
Tyler
let his lips follow his hand as he wrapped his arms around her.
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave
me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me whenever I
fall
You say it best… when you say nothing at all
"Aren't
they cute?" Brooke whispered to Hank and Jamie, back from the inventory.
"I
think we should dump water on them," Jamie replied. Brooke stifled a laugh and
elbowed him.
"But
it's so sweet!" she protested. The others, being guys, shuddered.
"I,
for one, think it's sick," answered Jamie.
"I
bet Tyler doesn't think so," Hank said. That made them all laugh, and Tyler and
Val jumped apart.
"How
long have you been there?" Tyler asked, looking at the trio in the door.
"Long
enough," Jamie said with a smile. Val and Tyler leaped up menacingly and ran
after them.
"Not
good," mentioned Jamie to Hank. To Val and Tyler, it was more like, "I didn't
mean it!"
All day long I can hear people talking out loud
But when you hold me near, you can drown out the crowd
Try as they may, they could never define
What's been said between your heart and mine…
"I
think they're gone," Val said with satisfaction, watching the fleeing staff
members.
"You
think Alex is gone, too?" inquired Tyler gently, propping her chin on his
finger.
"Hope
so," whispered Val, wrapping her arms around his neck. Tyler pulled her in for
a kiss, slowly and surely, leaving her melted in his arms like honey.
The smile on your face lets me know that you love me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave
me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me whenever I
fall
You say it best… when you say nothing at all
Alex
looked in the window with a grin.
"I'll
let them enjoy while they can," he said to himself, deciding. "They're bound to
get a call sooner or later."
Almost
like he had told the future in a crystal ball, the siren went off and Tyler and
Val jumped apart. Hank marched in, Jamie following him.
"Twenty-nine-year-old
female, back injury from falling off the roof," Hank reported. Val and Tyler
followed him out.
"Spinal
injury?" Val asked, business-like as ever.
"Not
that we know of."
"Let's
go," were the last words Alex heard from Tyler's lips as they ran into the
garage.
"Yes,"
Alex said to the empty hallway. "Oh, yes, this could certainly work out."
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave
me
The touch of your hand says you'll be there whenever I
fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
The smile on your face
The truth in your eyes
The touch of your hand
Lets me know that you need me…
DISCLAIMER: Song belongs to Ronan Keating, "When You
Say Nothing At All" Characters belong to Disney Channel and Alliance, plot
belongs to me. Ciao!