off her mind, and that was definitely not good. Walking into the hospital was going to be a feat, because the minute she saw Spence, she’d want to rip off his scrubs and do dirty things to him. Sex muddied things up, made a person think of nothing else. What if she was confusing sex and love? Well, she’d probably find out soon.
A hot cup of coffee and more sleep was all Sage could think about. Her trip three days ago had been wonderful, but she certainly hadn’t slept much, and now being on her feet for endless hours was making her think that maybe she should have forgone the trip and stayed in bed.
“Sage, I don’t know why you look tired, you’ve only been on call for twenty-six hours,” Mo said while her fingers tapped against her hips. Sage could only tell it was a joke by the small upturn of Mo’s mouth.
She loved Mo teaching her the stuff she hadn’t learned about during medical school. Each shift she worked with the woman, she grew to love her even more.
“I’ve had more coffee than sleep lately, so please don’t remind me.”
“Well, you should have been a nurse then, because after twelve hours at this place I go home and sleep without another thought in my head except for which episode of True Blood I need to watch next.” Mo was in midsentence when Sage saw her favorite nurse’s eyes narrow.
Before Sage could even blink, Mo was already en route to discuss why a second-year medical resident was attempting to put an IV in a patient in the wrong direction.
As Mo reamed the med student, Sage couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Then the thought dissipated as she downed her tenth cup of coffee for the night. They all had to learn, and part of that process was getting schooled by the nursing staff who knew what to do better than many of the doctors.
Since the heat was temporarily off her, Sage took a moment to sit down, resting her throbbing feet momentarily. The doctors’ lounge was probably the cleanest room in the hospital since it was the least used. Closing her eyes for a blissful moment, the world felt right.
Not even five minutes passed when she heard chatter coming over the ER radio. Sitting up, she leaned in to listen and could hear bits and pieces of “. . . bus versus train, mass-casualty incident, en route code three.”
Instantly she found herself on alert. Every cup of coffee she drank that night came back in full force and the sand in her eyes disappeared. Although her time in the emergency department had proven to be educational, nothing could prepare her for the unknown tragedies that had been unfolding before her since she’d begun her residency.
“This doesn’t sound good.” Turning, Sage spotted another resident throwing on a trauma gown as he rushed from one of the on-call rooms.
“No, it doesn’t.” Fear slithered through her, though she hoped it wasn’t showing.
She scanned the ER, making a mental note of available rooms and resources as she locked eyes with Mo and they exchanged a look that spoke volumes. The previously quiet emergency room became a bustling hive of activity as everyone took their places like actors in a play.
As sirens sounded, and the first of the injured from the bus versus train came rolling through the emergency room doors, Sage began to doubt herself for the first time in a while. Nerves unsettled her stomach and she found herself clenching her hands into fists as she stuffed them into her pockets.
“Get him to bay three!”
“He’s gone. I’ll tell the family when they arrive.”
“Put pressure on that wound now!”
Noise. Commands. Movement. It was synchronized chaos. Sage felt like she was watching from the outside and she began to panic, feeling as if she couldn’t breathe.
And then she felt the warmth of strong hands on her back. “You’ve got this, Sage. Take a breath and close your eyes for two seconds and then dive in there,” Spence whispered in her ear.
“I . . . I’m . . . I don’t know what to do.” The weakness in her voice frustrated her. Spence turned her toward him and looked into her eyes.
“Look, I’ve been watching you since the first day you walked into this place, and I have no doubt that you will make a fine doctor. Don’t think for one minute that not every single person in the medical field has felt at