Thank you for all the reviews on the previous chapter… I like reading what you have to say … it makes me smile to know you are all enjoying this story so far and I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Leaving her patient behind, asking a nurse passing to arrange discharge papers Caitlin sighed to herself knowing this shift is going to be a long one; with each day that passes bring Christmas that one step closer the ER becomes busier and busier each day. From major incidents like car accidents due to the conditions on the road to the people who have had one to many drinks or as Caitlin likes to think of them time wasters but she also knows that each patient that comes through the door whether it be a major incident or that one person who has had one to many drinks she has to treat them all the same when at times she would love – just love to scream at them. Drag them into a room and scream and shout at them to stop wasting her time because they can't handle their drink – wasting her time where she could be helping someone who really needs help and no someone who is just looking for someone to sleep for the night; but as she took an oath of care she knows she can't do that – so she does it in her head instead. Everything she wishes she could say to that one person she rants to herself in her head and finds a little comfort in doing so because in a way it calms her and allows her to release the anger she has inside.
Putting her last patient out of her mind she moved on to her next – but in the back of her mind her pervious time waster is still sitting pretty for the time being so if this one ends up being another time waster then she might just blow her own brains out. When she decided to become a doctor she could have gone to a small town where not much happens but she chose a larger city knowing she will always have something to do – being so busy at times that she doesn't get a moment to herself what she didn't plan on was time wasters.
Pushing the door open to the next room where her patient sat waiting for her; her feet died dead in her tracks as she spots Barry sat on the edge of the bed, Evie in the chair beside him – of all the people to see here Barry was the last person she expected. After the evening they spent in each other's company only two nights ago they hadn't been in contact with one another. That night took a turn Caitlin wasn't expecting – how deep the conversation went having only kind of known each other for less than twenty-four hours but in a way she found it had taken a weight of her shoulders, almost as if she was no longer carrying the weight of the world around with her and for some reason Barry happened to be the one person Caitlin found it easy to be so open with – she wasn't this open with her therapist and everything she said to her was confidential, She doesn't really know Barry to put so much trust in him but at the same time she knew he was a safe person – a person she could trust.
"Cait!" Evie's voice broke Caitlin out of her almost trance as she plastered a smile onto her face and looked at the pair in front of her. Noticing how the sight of Evie had made her stress disappear from her tense body and her smile wasn't as forced as it was to begin with – surprisingly to her the duo brought a smile to her face and she was happy to see them; even if the sight of blood running down Barry's head wasn't such a nice sight.
"What happened here?" she asked looking at Barry while grabbing his notes from the end of the bed to see if he had been given any pain relief as well as to check his stats recorded by another member of staff when he first arrived at the hospital.
"Daddy fell over and hit his head – now it's bleeding; I did tell you he's clumsy" Evie responded shooting Caitlin another toothy grin which Caitlin couldn't help but smile back at – this little girl in infectious Caitlin said to herself surprised that it didn't care. Normally around this time of year Caitlin is in the worst mood ever but with Evie around she finds herself feeling happier instead of that aching pain she feels in the pit of her stomach knowing the anniversary of her parent's death is just around the corner.
"I'm not clumsy, I just didn't see the ice" Barry groaned looking towards his daughter. "And if someone hadn't of run off then I wouldn't have been running which made me slip on the ice and bang my head" Evie laughed as a reply at the memory of her father running after her down the driveway, slipping on the patch of ice at the end then his body hit the floor while his head bounced off the small knee high wall surrounding the front yard of the house.
"Well when you feel did you knock yourself out?" Caitlin asked placing Barry's chart onto the bed beside him and sliding on a pair of latex gloves – taking up position in front of him to check him over.
"No I didn't, well I don't think I did" Barry responded his face twisting a little as he tried to remember if he did knock himself out for a moment or not. Caitlin hummed to show she was listening to him while pulling the gauze away from Barry's forehead to look at the wound underneath. Satisfied it a superficial wound that looks a lot worse than it actually is, she replaced the gauze pressing lightly on the tape holding it in place.
Pulling her penlight from her top pocked "Look straight ahead for me" she told Barry and began to check his eyes to see how his pupils react to the light; satisfied once again that both eyes react normally to the light she returned the penlight to her pocket. "Follow my finger" she requested moving her finger up then down – side to side her eyes trained on his green ones the whole time. "Well you have no signs of concussion, it's just a superficial wound which will heal – you'll need some stitches but other than that you'll be fine – are you in pain anywhere else?" Caitlin asked snapping the gloves off her hands, disposing of them in the trash.
"Just a couple of bruises which will also heal" Barry laughed shooting Evie a look which only made her laugh once again.
"Ok then, I'll go grab what I need and I'll be right back" Caitlin told the pair before exiting the room to grab the equipment she needs to stich Barry's head up. Normal it would a nurse who would ask to stitch him up but for Evie she decided to do it herself due to the fact some patients find having stitches painful and she didn't want Evie getting upset in case Barry is one of them patients who feels the pain more than others. She liked to think she was doing this for Evie but deep down she knew it was also for Barry but for now she will continue to tell herself it is for Evie.
Barry heard the door re-open to see Caitlin walk through with a try in her hand, closing the door firmly behind her. He was surprised to see Caitlin when she walked through the door the first time if it wasn't for Evie then he would have said he was seeing things but hearing Evie say her name made it official and she was stood in front of him. Barry knew she worked her as she told him the first time they met that she worked here but from what she told him the other night after dinner her speciality is emergency medicine for paediatrics – if Evie was the one sat in his position then maybe he wouldn't have been so surprised to see her but he isn't a child.
"I thought you did paediatrics?" Barry asked wondering how she ended up treating him.
"I do but luckily it is a slow day in the paediatric department so I'm crossing over to big people medicine" Caitlin told him but knew in the back of her mind if an emergency is to come in then she would have to leave him to tend to that child as she is the lead paediatrician in the emergency department. Every day she was in this building she prayed that no emergency patients came through the door which never comes true. One day over a year ago she was lucky that she only got two child emergency's brought in by ambulance – at times she can have as many as ten in a day if not more. Deciding to do paediatrics as her specialism at the time she thought would be a good idea – she can be the nice doctor who helps sick children get better again – the only thing she hadn't thought about is the fact that while healing the sick she can also have children die on her at the same time because not everyone can be saved – for some it's just too late to make everything ok again.
Caitlin placed the tray she was carrying down onto the table beside the bed, pulling it closer to her so she didn't have to stretch to reach it; walking over to the wall to the rack that held all the gloves and taking two of the small size and putting them on. "Now I'm going to need you to sit as still as you can while I inject the local anaesthetic – you'll feel a small scratch and some discomfort until it starts acting" Caitlin explain pulling the gauze from Barry's head and dumping it into the tray to be disposed of later. Picking up the needle she injected the area around the wound using all her will power to stop from smiling every time Barry winced in pain because is she a professional and professional doctor's don't smile or laugh when a patient winces in pain.
Placing the used needle back onto the try she grabbed some cotton wool balls and the small dish of hot water and began to clean the wound making it easier for her to see what she is doing but also giving the anaesthetic time to work its magic. "You're already looking better" Caitlin smiled to herself placing the dirty wool ball back into the dish of water having removed ninety-seven percent of the dry blood from around the wound giving her a clearer picture of what she is dealing with. "Can you feel this?" she asked lightly poking the skin around the wound to see everything is working as it should be or if she needs to give him more
"I don't feel anything" Barry told her wondering if she had even touched him for all he knew she was messing with him and she hadn't touched him and this is going to hurt like a bitch.
"Ok then let's get started" Caitlin grabbed what she needed for the try and focused all her attention on what she was doing but flicked her eyes towards Evie every now and again to see the young girl watching every move she was making; watching what Caitlin was doing to her daddy whereas most children would look away not wanting to look but Caitlin knows Evie isn't like other children she is a lot smarter for her age compared to others and she can fully understand why Barry is proud of her.
Checking her handy work one final time to make sure it's as neat as she could possibly do it, Caitlin nodded to herself in approval of her work and took a step back telling Barry that she is all done. "And you are done" Caitlin smiled pulling a lollipop from her pocket and handing it to Evie who happily accepted it with a thank you before pulling the wrapper off and sticking it in her mouth without asking Barry if it was ok for her to eat it. "And because you've been such a brave boy you can have one too" she pulled another lollipop out of her pocket, this one being lemon flavour comparted to Evie's cherry flavoured.
"Thank you" Barry laughed accepting it off her, if he ever needed proof that she is a paediatric doctor then that would be it, all the lollipops in her pockets show she is used to working with children and rewarding them with lollipops he just never thought he would be reward like this and he doesn't know how to react to it – laugh it off or be insulted that Caitlin thought he would be a wimp when it came to getting stitches because those are the two options he is getting from her reaction.
Grabbing the tray off the table to take with her to dispose of it correctly she told Barry to hold tight while she gets someone to sort out his discharge while prescribing him some strong pain medication should he need it within the next twenty-four hours once the anaesthetic wears off and giving him all the after care information he needed. Barry and Evie both watched her leave the room before Evie climbed up onto the bed beside Barry with his help to get a closer look at his head, the lollipop stick hanging from her mouth as her eyes scanned the now closed wound.
Once again this is part 1 or 2 … the second part will be released as soon as I can.
What did you think to this chapter?
I know nothing special happened but it's a nice bridge into the next chapter when all things Christmassy comes to life.
After all it is the most wonderful time of the year lol.
8+ reviews for the next chapter
Thank you for reading.