- Wednesday 10am-
"So your okay with this?" Lindy asked Dr. Martens, hesitantly.
"Sure, Lindy I think it would be good for you to get out of here for a while." Dr. Martens smiled, and laughed, "I think it would be really good for Dr. Clark to get some more ER experience anyway."
"He's going to hate my guts," Lindy groaned.
"He'll get over it."
Lindy left Dr. Martens' office and found her way to wait for the Elevator. Teresa came around the corner, holding a lunch tray loaded with salad and mashed potatoes.
"Hey! What's this I hear about you heading up to Washington for a few weeks?" Teresa demanded.
"Well, there's a hospital up there that needs someone to stand in while one of their docs goes on vacation for a few weeks, and well… I need a break."
"Huh. So how'd you find out about this?" Teresa asked cracking her gum.
"Well, its in the same network as our hospital and there were some places, Alden told me about up there, that I wanted to check out. They had the posting on the network, so I called to ask if they still needed some help. They were really excited when I offered to come up for a few weeks, and they are paying me a big bonus. Who could pass that up? Martens was cool with it, she seems excited for me to go too." Lindy shrugged apologetically, as they stepped into the elevator.
"That's right, Alden is from up there isn't he?" Then Teresa winced, "if your gone then that means… we get Clark! How could you do this to us Lindy? You'd better have a good time if your going to subject us to that kind of torture. Where is this vacation spot at exactly?"
"Its on the Olympic peninsula it's a little town called Forks, I hear its really pretty. And you'll just have to train Dr. Clark. Teach him how we do things in the ER." Lindy grinned mischievously. Nurses could be a doctors best friend or your worst enemy depending on how you treated them, and what they thought of you.
"Be careful-Girl, and don't forget who your real crew is alright!" Teresa shouted as Lindy walked through the lobby to the exit.
-Thursday 3pm-
"Hey Alden?" Lindy spoke into the speaker of he cell phone, keeping her hands on steering wheel.
"Lindy! Good to hear from ya. What's goin' on?"
"Well, I'm actually in my car headed to the Olympic peninsula, to work for a few days"
"No kidding? Hey, how about that?"
"So, I was wondering…you know how you told me about your brother and some of his beliefs—" Alden suddenly cut her off.
"Oh, about that… You didn't take me too seriously did you? I mean sometimes when I drink, I just say stuff- its pretty much just talk, don't put much stock in the stuff I told you."
"I know Alden. I am just curious about how things are the reservation. So do you think your brother would be okay with it if I stopped to ask him some questions while I'm up there?" Lindy was nervous that she might not be allowed on the reservation or something.
"I'm sure he'd love to talk to ya. Especially if you'll listen to his stories. I'll call him and let him know a friend of mine will be in the area. Hey let me give you his number and address."
"Well, I'm actually driving right now…. Can you maybe text it to my cell phone or something?"
"Sure that'll work, hey drive careful, and keep us all posted on how things are going 'Kay?"
-Friday 8am-
-Forks Community Hospital-
"Dr. Daws! Its so great to meet you. Thank you for coming up here to help us out." The tall man who introduced himself as Dr. Gerandy, showed Lindy around the small Hospital. "This is Mike our lab tech, this is Gail from Radiology, Dr. Commet he specializes in pediatrics."
"I'm Carlisle Cullen," a gorgeous blonde doctor nodded at her, although he did not offer his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, if I can do anything to help just ask." His deep brown eyes seemed to convey the sincerity of his words. To her embarrassment Lindy did not seem to be able to respond to his kind words, and simply smiled appreciatively.
Following her quick orientation to the hospital and it's procedures Lindy took up her customary position in the E.R. One fractured femur and two ear infections later she encountered a patient that drew some concern.
"I just tripped on the sidewalk, it's not really all that bad. Dad we didn't really need to come here." The words came from a slight, dark haired girl, who was accompanied by her father who was wearing a police chief uniform.
"Bell, lets just make sure." He father replied patiently.
"Isabella Swan?" Lindy knocked on the doorway before entering the exam room. "The nurse tells me you hurt your ankle."
" I just rolled it on the sidewalk," the eighteen-year-old had pale skin that made her brown eyes appear much deeper.
"Do you mind if I look?" Lindy rolled a sort stool closer and removed the ice pack Isabella was holding on her ankle. A baseball sized lump protruded from the outside of her ankle. It was a purple with dark blue veins running through the side. Lindy felt her mouth pull to one side as she thought about how much this bruise was going to hurt.
"Excuse me chief swan? I need you to verify your insurance information," a rotund nurse poked her head into the room.
"Hmm…Oh… Er…a… sure" the chief seemed to be pulled from some other train of thought as he followed the nurse out of the room.
Lindy spent the next fifteen minutes assessing the range of motion and damage done to the girls ankle. "Well, Isabella—" Lindy began.
"Bella." The girl corrected with a meek smile.
"Alright then, Bella, I would really like to get an x-ray to check for any broken bones, just to be safe."
Suddenly, the curtain across the doorway was pulled roughly aside. "Bell! Are you alright? Where are you hurt?" A strikingly handsome figure slid to Bella's side in a blur.
He's as pale as Dr. Cullen, Lindy noted. There was something different about his face, but Lindy could not quite put her finger on it.
"Edward! How did you know I was here?" Bell asked relief coloring her voice.
"Alice told me, found her after first period when you didn't come to school. Do you know how worried I was?"
"How did Alice know?" Chief Swan queried, he had quickly returned to investigate the commotion in the exam room.
"Um Bella called her," Edward's said in a voice that was half-way between a questions and a statement.
"Yes, while you were at the desk," Bella supplied, her eyes looking at Lindy pleadingly.
"We were on our way to the hospital, anyway to talk to Carlisle," Edward finished in a rush. He turned speculative eyes on Lindy, perhaps wondering if she would go along with the lie. Lindy pulled her eyes away quickly, his eyes were too beautiful, and she could not bear to see the happiness between the couple. It was a happiness she felt sure she would never find again.
Chief swan scratched his chin, course hair making a scratching sound, then turned his full attention to Lindy. "What's the Verdict Doctor?"
"As I was telling Bella, I'd just like to get an x-ray to check for any fractures. I'll just check to see if radiology is free." Lindy excused herself and returned to the front desk.
"Could I have Isabella Swans records, please? I need to compare her x-rays." Lindy was handed a stack of folders six inches thick. "Uh… thanks." Lindy, flipped through the chart, taken aback by the list of recent injuries that appeared in the reports.
Lindy turned back to the ER and nearly ran straight into Dr. Cullen. The chart slipped from her hand and her breath came in a gasp. It seemed that he had come from out of nowhere.
"I'm sorry. I did not mean to startle you." Dr. Cullen retrieved the chart and held it towards her politely. "I understand that Isabella Swan recently reported to the Emergency room?"
"Yes, I was just reviewing her record." Lindy responded, willing her startled heart rate to decrease. "It's rather…long," She added as an afterthought.
"Hmm—yes," his voice sounded amused. She is a friend of my family and I just wanted to check to make sure she is okay."
"Oh, I see, um, your son is he…" Why couldn't she finish her thoughts.
"Edward? Yes, Edward is my son he is very close to Bella- we all are." Dr. Cullen seemed to take pity on her recent lack of a brain.
"So there's nothing going on then?" Lindy asked in a whisper.
Dr. Cullen cocked his head to one side concern flashing in his golden eyes. " I am sorry? What do you mean?"
Lindy felt like an idiot, sure that she was not making sense. "Well, all these injuries… is everything okay for her? At home I mean?"
Realization dawned, and Dr Cullen grinned knowingly. "There is absolutely no abuse, if that is what you are getting at."
"Oh. Okay. It's just that well all of this…" She gestured helplessly at the chart.
"I understand. But I assure you Charlie Swan is a good man."