Chapter 6: Too Many Questions & Too Few Answers
A few hours after the young girl's transfusion, Dana was sitting alone on the couch in her office. She was racking her brain, desperate to find the cause of the young girl's serious injuries. She'd just checked on her five minutes ago in ICU, and she seemed to be resting comfortably after her head CT. Dana was glad of this, but the fact that her parents had vanished troubled her greatly.
Where were they? Why had they left their critically injured daughter at a time when she needed them most? What had really happened to cause her injuries? These questions were racing through Dana's mind when she heard a knock on her office door. "Come in." she called. Lana stepped into her office, crossed it, and sat down beside her on the couch. "How's that patient you were treating earlier, Dr. Stowe?" she asked quietly.
"She seems a little better now that we increased her blood volume." Dana replied. "She's up in ICU, and she's finally getting some rest. I'm still waiting on the results of her head CT." Lana nodded. "Actually, Dr. Stowe, that's why I came in." she said as she handed Dana the results. "Somebody from the lab dropped them off at my desk a couple minutes ago." Dana smiled. "Thanks, Lana." she said. "No problem." Lana said, returning her smile as she stood to go. "Lana, wait." Dana said softly.
Lana turned slowly. "What's up, Dr. Stowe?" she asked as she sat down again. "I'm nervous." Dana replied. "Could you stay while I read these results?" Lana nodded again. "Sure." she answered. "Anything you need, Dr. Stowe." Dana smiled again as she opened the envelope that Lana had given her and began reading the results.
"That's strange." she said, thinking aloud. Lana cocked her head curiously. "What is?" she asked. "Everything's normal." Dana replied. "That's a good thing, though, right?" Lana questioned. Dana nodded. "Yeah, but I don't see how that's possible, since she was unconscious the whole time Lu and I were transfusing her." she replied. "Looks like you got a puzzler on your hands, Dr. Stowe." Lana said, causing Dana to laugh a little. "You've got that right, Lana." she agreed. "I just wish I could find the solution."