CHAPTER 37. LUCK
"Oh! Doctor Watson! Thank goodness! Lucky me!" John paused he was about to remove his white lab coat, when a very flustered Doctor Bales hurried towards him. Her more white than black pony tail swishing behind her madly, and she pushed her horned rimmed glasses up her nose.
"Doctor Bales?"
"Doctor I know it's the end of your shift but Rita called in sick, I've called Hill to replace her but he wont be in for another four hours could you please-"
John was exhausted and his shoulder was still acting up after the whole banker case several weeks ago, but one look at the hopeful green eyes of the older woman John couldn't say no.
"A couple hours, sure."
"Oh, praise the lord. Lets get you some coffee or tea? And back out you go."
"No, no tea or coffee needed Doctor." John smiled trying to keep the long day from dragging him down. "Just lead the way."
"I am so glad Sarah sent you over to us. Maybe I should start hiring more soldiers, your lot tend to be more agreeable and less likely to call in sick. With what I would guess is the brown bottle flu." John tried to hold back a laugh, wondering if Doctor Rita Phillips was really hung over, it had been her birthday yesterday.
"Please! We've been waiting in here for over an hour! My son is sick and needs to be seen! It isnt like him to cry like this, he's in pain." A young red haired woman insisted. John noticed how Agnes the triage nurse scrutinized the younger women in what looked like a waitress uniform.
John could hear the fear and exhaustion in the young mothers voice, as she held a sobbing dark haired child wrapped in a fluffy green blanket, "Please cant we be next?"
"Miss I've told you, you must wait your turn. People will be seen in the order they are brought in and severity of their emergency. Now please sit and wait your turn!"
"Fine, I hope he gets sick all over your damn waiting room floor." The younger woman growled returning to her seat in the crowded A&E.
"Ugh, another one. All week it's these new mothers with their screamin kids. It's probably another kid with molars or something coming in." John didn't reply he could see the urgency in the younger woman, and sure the lobby was filled with the usual late night incidents of drinking, dares gone wrong and drug addled homeless, so John asked for the chart.
"I'll take her." Glancing down at the name, Ian Kelly age four.
"Doctor Watson it isnt her turn-"
"I'll take her chart." John replied forcibly and the gray haired nurse just rolled her eyes. "On your head be it. They'll think they can make demands, and looking at her she's probably not even married-"
John didn't reply taking the clipboard he went over to the young mother who looked close to tears herself.
"Kelly? Ian Kelly?" John approached the young woman.
"Oh thank god."
"I'm Doctor Watson, Right this way-"
"Gloria, my name is Gloria."
"Right this way Gloria, lets get him looked over."
"John-there is a way we do things you cant just skip over protocols we have a triage nurse for a reason. You do understand what the purpose of triage is-" Doctor Bales who just caught an ear full from the admissions desk pulled Doctor Watson aside as he made to enter the examine room behind the red haired woman.
"Yes Doctor I do know what triage is, I've been on the front lines where it's life or death. Sorting the wounded from the dead, the hopeless and the if they're lucky enoughs, so choosing from a drunk who hit his head when trying to get into his car now needing stitches, a woman who swears she sees dead people, and a few idiot university students who may or may not have eaten a live goldfish on a dare, and of course the drug addicts looking for a fix by claiming some internal injury, or stomach upset, isnt really a hard choice to make." He smiled brightly turning to go back into the room. The older Doctor frowned.
John was in the room with Mrs. Kelly she tried to bounce her son but his cries became louder and more urgent.
"Go on Gloria lay him down on the table lets have a look." The younger mother did as the Doctor said, she put a hand in her sons brown curls.
"Sssh, Ian it's going to be fine." She looked at the Doctor, "Thank you. I know it's not our turn but, he's not usually like this."
"How long has he been running this fever?" A nurse started taking vitals and John checked the temperature.
"I gave him some children's medicine but it hasn't helped, he just started running the fever a few hours ago, and he's been sick all day, diarrhea and throwing up. He says his tummy hurts but I haven't been able to keep anything in him." John maintained a calm demeanor listing to the woman and his hands moved over the boys small frame.
"It horts mummy." The child sobbed.
"Hello Ian, my boy. I'm Doctor Watson. Can you tell me where your tummy hurts?" John spoke gently shining a light into the young boys eyes.
The young boy scrunched up his face. And pointed to his side, John already guessed, when he moved his hands over the navel area the boy sent a hard kick aimed directly for his own abdomen, luckily John moved before the red socked feet caught him.
"Don't touch me! I said it horts!" the boy started sobbing all over again, John turned to the nurse who stood ready for her next orders.
An hour later John went to checked back on the young patient.
"Oh, Doctor Watson that appendicitis kid is out of surgery, everything went well. Nice catch, damn mess it would have been if it had ruptured and it was nearly there." Doctor Hall gave John a hard pat on the back, ignoring the doctor's sudden gasp in pain and his stiffening body, his shoulder still sore that little love tap wasn't comfortable nor did the doctor appreciate being touched. "I think the boys father just got in, good timing I say. Have a good one Doc. I'm off to operate on a broken leg! Some love struck idiot climbing a tree after a cat, for his girlfriend. Can you believe it? Here I thought I've seen it all."
John took a deep breath, this was turning out to be a fun night, he'd been puked on twice, one of the kids tried to bite him, he'd been kicked more times than he had been able to dodge, his shins and stomach ached from the nights abuse. Oh and let's not leave out the snot that covered his white lab coat in a lovely shade of green. He inspected the clean replacement coat wondering how long it would go before meeting the same fate as the last. The bright side was the night was nearly over.
That and at least that Kelly boy was fine and John was making his way to check on the young boy after changing his own lab coat. The room wasn't hard to find, the red haired woman was sitting next to her sleeping son, a man John suspected was her husband standing with a hand resting on her shoulder.
Ian Kelly was very lucky to have two loving parents, both now watching the monitors beep steadily, Gloria held one hand on her shoulder and the other hand rested on the sleeping boy's small chest.
The red headed woman greeted John with an exhausted smile, her eyes red rimmed.
"Just checking in on our football player." John explained checking over the chart, even with the surgeon letting him know it all went well, John wanted to be sure for himself.
"Oh, Doctor Watson. I'm so glad, thank you so much. And this is my husband, Tim." She was standing now, turning to the man behind her "Timmy this is the nice Doctor." John felt uncomfortable he didn't like praise for doing his job.
"Doctor Watson?" The man was taking John's hand, shaking it firmly. Stepping directly in front of him John could see the man was wearing a policeman's uniform. "I didn't know you worked here doc. What a coincidence!" Tim was still shaking John's hand. "Babes, this is the Doctor-the one who works with that genius fellow, consults with the yard."
"Oh, officer Kelly, hardly recognized you-" John's voice came out unsteadily due to the fact his arm was about to be ripped off of his shoulder.
"Yeah, not covered in blood. I know. I'm taller standing up. "
"Honey give the man his hand back." Gloria ordered gently placing a hand on her husbands forearm.
"Oh sorry." Officer Kelly released John's hand sheepishly he held his hat in his hands now. John didn't have a chance to tell him it was fine before the man's wife was embracing him in a tight hold. John would have preferred the hand shake.
"Honey, let the man go-" her husband pulled her gently back after an uncomfortable length of time, where John just stood stiffly, unresponsive except for the deep red flush to his face.
"Sorry." Gloria wiped her tears now, sniffing. "Thank you doctor. You saved my boys."
"Well-um. If you have any questions-"
"Yeah, actually Doc, what can he eat when we get him home?"
John eased now into Doctor mode, this he could do, pushing all discomfort aside he listened to the concerns of two very young parents and tried to ease their fears.
"Doctor Watson there you are, got another one, room sixteen." Nurse Tori smiled kindly at the officer and the waitress.
"I never knew you were a hugger." Nurse Tori grinned handing over the clipboard for the next patient.
"I'm not."
"You sure?"
"Just give me the chart, don't you have vitals to take." Nurse Tori smiled brightly.
"Oh but I did Doc, look there." She pointed out her notes on the chart, " Since you love kids so much we got another one. See, if you anger old Agnes the triage nurse, she'll keep assigning you the fun ones."
"Wonderful." John frowned looking at the chart. "Looks like a broken wrist."
"Yeah, looks like it. Be careful Doc the dad seems a bit short tempered, if you ask me he's been hitting the bottle a bit tonight. Kept demanding why I need to check for temperature and blood pressure. Been standoffish about the questions I've asked."
"Oh joy." John sighed heading towards room sixteen.
"Another doctor? Cant we just get this done! I'd like to be home, I've got work in the morning and this ones got school." John checked the chart.
"Mr. Reece?"
"Yeah s'me." The man in the dirty coveralls growled.
"It's Friday. Are they sending kids to school on Saturdays now?"
"Not the point." The black haired man growled his hands on his hips. "I've got shit to do. Just hurry up. Wrap the damn thing and bill me later."
Officer Kelly was about to call into work, he should let them know he'd need the rest of the night off, his son would be discharged tomorrow but his family needed him here.
Poor Gloria looked so exhausted he decided to go for tea rather than coffee, she'd need her sleep, and the uncomfortable hospital chairs weren't going to be much help.
Unlike the rushed surgeon who acted as if any questions the couple had were unimportant and trivial, Doctor Watson had taken the time to explain the recovery process.
Kelly couldn't believe his luck, his wife was swearing that Doctor Watson was a saint. This was two the officer owed the man, and next time he heard anyone say anything about the Doctor being a loyal dog or a love starved puppy belonging to that Holmes character, Kelly would pop them straight in the damn mouth.
Kelly knew his wife and mother in law would be making the Doctor some fresh biscuits and their signature apple crumble. Gloria was already pointing out how thin the good Doctor was. Tim thought the Doctor was looking lots better than the last time he'd seen him, but he knew his Gloria would want to plump the man right up she couldn't help it. He patted his own belly thank god he had a high metabolism or he'd be a very fat man.
"Officer!" someone yelled to him, it was that nurse from earlier the one who had been talking with Doctor Watson. "Officer!" she was waving to him frantically looking pale.