Elsa walks in Anna's room, the nurses aren't there. She looks around and sighs.
"Good morning Miss Summers, I'll check your blood pressure and then I'll make the ECG, the electrocardiography." She takes the blood pressure meter and place it on patient's left arm. She places her stethoscope between the cuff and the elbow and she starts to blow up the cuff to restrict blood flow. She keeps her eyes on the blood pressure cuff's dial to record the maximum blood pressure, then she starts to deflate the cuff and records the minimum blood pressure.
Elsa doesn't like using the digital blood pressure meter, she's old-school, just like her parents taught her when she was little: every morning and evening they checked each other's blood pressure. It was a routine that remained in Elsa's life.
"Doc, but shouldn't a nurse do this thing?" Anna interrupts Elsa's thoughts.
"It should be. But I don't see any nurse, and I need to make these exams, I don't like to delay things." The blonde takes off the blood pressure meter, and gets the electrocardiograph.
"Wait, are you going to take the test?"
"Yes, there is any problem? I'm sure you know how it works."
"Yeah.. I'm familiar with that machine.." The redhead starts blushing, and Elsa seems confused. 'She's familiar with it, so what's the big deal?' as the doctor is approaching to take the electrodes the realisation hits her.
"If you feel uncomfortable with me doing this, I'll call a nurse." Anna blushes more, and then nods silently.
"All right." Elsa exits from the room and calls a nurse, letting her do the ECG. The doctor stays out, watching at the clock. With this girl there are always first times. In her entire carrier it's the first time that a patient asks for someone else for the ECG. Maybe she's shy. During this exam the patient is a bit naked, because the electrodes needs to be attached to the bare skin, mostly on the chest of course, the other ones are on the wrists and ankles. Elsa sighs, it's not the first time she has a shy patient, so again, what is the big deal? It's not like she would grope her, she's respectful. Not like other persons she knows. At the thought Elsa grunts, she doesn't like remember that, that's why she came here to the Arendelle General Hospital, to avoid those memories.
The nurse exits from Anna's room. Elsa enters and checks the ECG graph paper. She notices the Atrial Fibrillation Paroxysmal, she knew about the pathology, she read the medical record of the younger girl.
"Tell me, from how long do you have this AF?"
"Since I was 21. It's been almost 4 years. I had a heart failure, due to hypothermia. I was in mountain with my family and Kristoff, enjoying our winter holidays, Kristoff and I went to the lake with his little brother. They wanted to play on the ice lake, I wasn't sure, I didn't know how to skate, but I decided to go with them anyway. We played for a while, making snowmen, skating, it was snowing but suddenly the weather got worse and the ice cracked under the feet of Kristoff's brother, I acted by impulse and I was the closer to him, I managed to push him away, he didn't fell in the cold water, but I did. The ice wasn't resistant enough, Kristoff and his brother had to walked away from me, he sent his brother to call someone's help. Kristoff tried to help me, he handle me a stick, but I didn't have the strength, after a while I couldn't feel my legs, honestly I have no idea how much I stayed in the water, I lost consciousness and when I woke up I was in an hospital bed. They told me my heart stopped for a while, and they managed to bring me back during an open heart surgery just for luck." Anna's eyes are focused on the window, Elsa can clearly see the hurt in the redhead's eyes.
"I am sorry for what happened." Elsa manages to say after a while. "In the last period, how is it going? Do the pills help?"
"Yeah. Things are better." Anna clears her voice, she doesn't want to seem weak in front of the older woman. "So, how is my heart?"
"Considering your pathology, it does its job. But, that doesn't mean you don't have to do other exams. I want to do an X-Ray as soon as a room is available." She can hear the grunt from the younger girl.
"Is it necessary?"
"Yes, it is. I have to do all the exams I need. Plus, your father wants to make sure everything is okay."
"Fine. I guess I have no choice then."
"No, you haven't." Elsa's about to exit from Anna's room, when the redhead stops her.
"Dr. Winters, may I ask you something?" Elsa turns facing Anna.
"You may."
"Why did you left the Southerisland Hospital? My dad told me it's a great hospital, especially in your field." Anna says the last words with a whisper. Elsa's looking at her. 'Why does she want do know? This is not a question to ask.' Despite her desire to not answer, she does it anyway.
"I received a better offer." It isn't the all truth, but why should she tell her patient about the real reason of the transfer? It's a personal question. And she exits from the room.
Anna looks at her while Elsa's walking away. She knows that the blonde didn't tell her the truth, not because of what the nurses said, but because she knows that. She doesn't know why, but she knows that her doctor isn't telling her everything. 'Well, Anna, you are her patient, what were you expecting?'
Before to check if there is a X-Ray room available, Elsa goes to the restroom. She locks the door. She lifts her shirt and looks at her bandage. "It's time to change it." She whispers to herself while she takes off her shirt and lower a bit her pants. Slowly and carefully she removes the bandage. Her eyes are blocked at her injury on her lower abdomen. "That bastard."
Author's Note: Hello everyone! Here another chapter, I hope you'll like it. Thanks for your support. Feel free to let me know what you think about it!
Have a nice day
Christy