After Happily Ever Afte- Astrid Ohletz Page 0,20

her hand to her mouth to cover it as she coughed.

Even from the doorway, Liz could see and hear that she suffered from more than a cold. “Courtney, check her for pneumonia and assess her for sepsis. Get her on antibiotics and find a bed. Call from here, if you need anything; don’t leave until a nurse gets here.” Liz pointed to the phone on the wall.

Calling Tony, Liz headed in the direction the patient had indicated. “I’ve got a lead, but please let some of the nurses return to work. Courtney needs some help in room ten.”

“You mean a babysitter.” Tony grunted. “Where are you?”

“Between room ten, where the cat was just spotted by a patient, and the back entrance.”

“Almost there.”

Liz walked slowly, checking under every piece of equipment. She had never consciously noticed all the medical paraphernalia clogging the hallway. Not only was it a paradise for a hiding cat but a fire hazard as well.

Tony came around the corner, carrying the cat carrier. The uncharacteristic worry lines made him look much older than his twenty-nine years. “Emily will kill us all.”

“I don’t think so. She has a much better sense of humor than you all give her credit for.” Diana followed closely behind Tony. Her hazel eyes twinkled with amusement. “Have you found her?”

Liz wasn’t so sure about Emily, but Diana had the advantage of knowing her partner best. “Not yet. She can’t be far. Maybe she’s hiding somewhere.”

Placing the carrier on an old gurney with only three wheels, Tony nodded curtly. “This is a dead end as long as no one opens the back door.”

“We really should clean up our emergency escape route once this is over.” Liz pointed to the gurney.

“Once what is over?” Dr. Emily Barnes, senior attending and the last person Liz wanted to face right now, stood in the open doorway of the back entrance.

As if they’d trained for that emergency, everyone sprang into action. Everyone but Liz.

Tony flung himself between the cat carrier and Emily as if he was a secret service agent shielding his charge from view.

Diana hurried to Emily, hugged her in an impressive move that spun Emily around, and kissed her soundly. Behind Emily’s back, she made shooing motions with her hand.

Clutching the carrier to his chest, Tony fled the scene.

Only Liz was rooted to the spot. The drama unfolded around her like an action scene in a movie, and she was as helpless as if she was sitting in the movie audience.

Tiger used this exact moment to jump down from her hiding place—a bunch of IV stands covered by a sheet—onto Liz’s shoulder and down to the floor. She ran toward Diana and Emily.

Liz’s stomach clenched. The collision seemed inevitable.

At the last millisecond, Tiger veered to the side. Brushing Emily’s leg, she hastened out of the door.

The door swung closed, shutting Tiger out of the emergency department. Now she wasn’t Liz’s responsibility anymore. She should be relieved. She should go and tell Tony.

Instead, the only thing she could think of was that Tiger would be alone out there in the cold and dark December night. Plus, the small park wasn’t enclosed, and she could end up on the road.

Ignoring the still kissing couple, Liz hastened to the back door.

Icy dampness enveloped Jess as if it would rain any minute and pricked her cheeks with tiny needles. She shouldn’t linger outside, but she needed a minute to compose herself before she drove home. And what better place to find some positive thoughts than the bench in the garden behind the hospital where she had given birth to her daughter. That summer day seemed like a lifetime ago, but it had been only six months. Six months of fear and anger and finally joy and happiness.

Today had brought back all the worst emotions. She’d had to give a young mother the same diagnosis that had rocked her world: peripartum cardiomyopathy. As a cardiologist, Jess knew the odds were likely that she’d encounter more women like herself, who suffered from acute heart failure after their pregnancy. But she hadn’t been prepared for the emotional impact.

Her patient’s eyes had held the same panic Jess remembered all too well. Her hand had gripped Jess’s arm as she begged her to tell her it wasn’t true. And what about my daughter?

Jess rubbed her arm. The indentations of her patient’s nails were probably still visible. She didn’t check; it didn’t matter. She was fine, and she would do everything in her power to ensure