Evelyn sipped her first cup of coffee as she entered the side entrance of Mercy Memorial the next morning. Moving into the locker area she placed her purse and jacket into her locker and closed the door. It was going to be a rough day she could tell. She had hardly gotten any sleep the night before and couldn't for the life of her figure out why. She had even made a cup of chamomile tea to calm her down, something she did only in emergencies when it was really needed.
Sighing she said good morning to Gregg and Sandy, the other nurse on duty, who was looking halfheartedly through a chart. Stifiling a yawn Evelyn sat down and picked up the phone. She dialed the extension labeled "imaging" and waited for Pete to pick up.
She was greeted by a gruff "hello" and couldn't help but smile. She had become fast friends with the tech within weeks of her hiring at Mercy. He was an intimidating man but Evelyn had seen the teddy bear underneath his tough façade right away.
"Well good morning to you too," she chuckled into the phone.
"Hey Evvvie," Pete responded, immediately sounding much friendlier. "What's up?"
"You remember that CAT scan I set up last night?"
"Hmm," Pete rumbled. She could just see him now, screwing up his features into what she called Pete's Thinking Face. "Ah, the dude with the red hair?" He finally asked.
"That's the one," Evelyn said. "Did you send the results to Dr. Peterson directly or are they still in the intraoffice bin?"
"Let me check Evvie, hold on a sec." She heard him put the phone down and rustle papers around for a minute. Finally he picked the phone back up. "I'm holding 'em in my hand as we speak. You gonna grace me with a visit this morning?"
"For you Pete? Absolutely," she laughed.
"Well then I'll be seein' that pretty smile soon," Pete chuckled.
After retrieving the scans and giving them directly to Dr. Peterson, Evelyn muscled her tired body through the day. She treated a little girl with a broken arm, a carpenter who had almost cut his finger off, two anaphylactic shock patients, and a dog bite victim. By four thirty Evelyn had forgotten all about /the handsome redhead in 219 until she noticed the two police officers standing in front of her desk.
"Can I help you?" Evelyn asked politely.
"We're here about a possible missing persons case," the officer on the left said. "I'm officer Michaels and this is Officer Jones." He looked young and seemed eager, buzzing with fresh energy. Judging by the young man's stone faced partner, it was obvious that he was in training.
"Ah," she smiled. "He's in room 219. It's just down the hallway, third door on your right," Evelyn pointed down the hall. "He's been discharged already but he was expecting you." The older officer nodded curtly and they both started off down the hallway.
She tried to go back to her paperwork but her curiosity was making it difficult to concentrate. Sandy had discharged him hours ago but, due to the low volume of patients, Dr. Peterson had allowed him to wait for the officers in the ER. She could hear the low murmur of voices from the room but couldn't make out what was being said. Taking a deep breath, Evelyn turned her focus to her paperwork, a necessary evil.
Twenty minutes later, as she was placing a file back into the cabinet, Evelyn caught a glimpse of the officers leaving. Tidying up where she had been working she said her goodbyes to Gregg and Sandy, and went to grab her things. It wasn't until she found herself at the door of room 219 that she realized how big of an effect this patient had had on her.
I don't even know him she screamed at herself. But something inside of her was stuck on him. Like a skipping record her thoughts kept returning to him and his situation and what he was going to do. Taking a deep breath she entered the room, her coat over her arm and her purse slung over one shoulder. He was sitting on the bed, still wearing his hospital gown for lack of a shirt, focusing on his hands which were clasped in front of him. She heard him sigh and the sound sent a shiver of sorrow through her. Realizing that he hadn't heard her enter, she gently cleared her throat. His head shot up at the sound and Evelyn was rewarded by a half-smile.
"Hey," she said gently. "I saw the officers in here. Any good news?"
His smile slowly faded and he shook his head. "They're puttin' me ugly mug up on some database that'll match me up to any missin' person reports. An' I got the card for immigration to see if they can dig up me records. Accordin' to the older gentleman I sound Irish." He shrugged his massive shoulders. "Beats me but it'll be worth a go."
Evelyn smiled, she hoped somewhat reassuringly. "Someone out there is bound to be missing you."
He smiled back at her, but she could see the worry in his eyes.
"Listen," she said, taking a deep breath and rushing on, "I'm sure this sounds just as crazy to you as it does to me, but I'd hate to see you living in a shelter somewhere. Do you need a place to stay?"
His brows raised in surprise. "Aye." He cleared his throat. "I mean if you're offerin'. I'll not be a bother to ya?"
Evelyn smiled, all the while kicking herself mentally. "I'm knocking around all alone in a four bedroom house. It'd be no bother whatsoever." She hoped she sounded happy and sure about the decision she had just made, because doubts were running through her head faster than she could examine them.
He stood, beaming down at her as though she had just saved his life. "Ye'll never know what this means to me," he said quietly. "I thank ya."
"C'mon," Evelyn said, motioning for him to follow her. "I'm parked in the staff parking lot through the side entrance. Are you up to the walk?"
"I'd walk to tha ends of tha earth if it meant stayin' outta some shelter," he said seriously.
She laughed, surprising even herself. "I don't know about walking to the ends of the earth, but there is one thing you could do for me."
"Name it," he said immediately.
"We are going to buy you some clothes, so you had better be prepared to try some things on."
He swooned mockingly and then flashed her a mind numbing smile. "Ya drive a hard bargain but I believe I can keep it together to try on some clothes."
"Alright," Evelyn said playing along. "Just keep it together because there is no way I could carry you out of the store." He chuckled, holding the door for her and letting it slam behind him as they left.