sure keep an eye on her while she’s here and make sure no changes are noted.”
“Thanks, Doc. And her mother, she’s okay?” Tucker asks.
“I’m not the doctor on her case, but I’ll see what we can find out. Are you family?” he asks.
“Only because we have a daughter together,” Tucker tells him.
“Then, we’ll have to get permission from the patient or her family before we can relay any information to you; I’m sorry,” he tells Tucker.
“I understand.” Tucker sinks down into the chair next to Paisley’s bed, his hand holding on to hers as he rests his forehead against the side of the mattress.
“I’ll go check-in and find out if we can update you,” I tell Tucker before I duck out. I walk over and peek into the bay that Lilly is in and see the doctors and nurses still attending to her. She looks pretty beat up, but she isn’t intubated, so I take that as a good sign.
“Excuse me, are you Lindsay?” a man standing to the side and out of the way asks. I recognize him from Paisley’s party as her stepdad.
“I am,” I confirm. I don’t really expect him to remember me, especially in a situation like this.
“Where’s Paisley? Is she okay?” he asks.
“She’s in the next bay over; Tucker is in with her. Would you like to see her?” I ask, keeping my voice calm to try and help keep him calm.
“Yes, I know that Lilly would like an update on her.”
“Follow me; Paisley was also asking about her mom, so you can update her. I was actually coming to ask if it was okay if I updated her since Tucker was with her. We can’t release information to him about Lilly without her or your approval.”
“That’s fine,” Mike says, running his hand through his hair. It’s all messed up, like he’s done that multiple times today already.
“Paisley.” Mike says her name as he steps inside her room. Her eyes fly open as she takes him in.
“Where’s Mommy?” she asks him.
“She’s still with the doctors, but she’s going to be okay. She just has a few minor cuts and bruises and a broken leg.”
“I’s have a broken arm. Can we have matching casts?” Paisley asks Tucker and Mike.
“I’ll see what requests I can put in for matching casts,” I pipe in, signing into the computer to check on the status of her ortho consult.
“Lilly’s going to be okay, then?” Tucker asks Mike, stretching his hand across the bed to shake Mike’s hand.
“Yes, they’re cleaning out some glass right now from her head, and I think waiting to hear from ortho on her leg, but otherwise she’s going to be fine, albeit sore for a week or so. She’s been asking about Paisley, so let me go update her, and then I’ll check back.”
“We’ll be here,” Tucker tells him as he ducks out.
“Ortho should be here any minute now. They’ve noted in the computer that her x-rays have been reviewed, and the next step is to come down and relay their recommendations to the patient and you,” I tell Tucker as I sign out of the computer.
“Thank you,” he says, looking at his daughter and then back to me. “This situation is my worst fear, something happening to her and me not being there to be with her. Thank you for taking care of her when I couldn’t.”
“She was a trooper, and I’d have done everything I did for her for any of my patients.”
“Yeah, but knowing that she wasn’t alone in a room full of strangers, scared and in pain, makes me feel a little better. Getting that call at the station made my heart fall into my stomach. The drive over here felt like it took years, not minutes.”
“Is the entire truck here?” I ask, realizing that Tucker hasn’t left Paisley’s side since he got here.
“I’m sure they are. Dad called in to dispatch and took us out of service, for now. We won’t usually leave someone behind in a situation like this. We’re family. Where I go, they go, and vice versa.”
“Would you like me to update them on Paisley?”
“Can you?”
“I can, with your permission, of course.”
“That’d be great. I’ll send a text to my parents updating them. I’m sure they’re out in the waiting room by now.”
“I’ll go see who I can find. I’ll be right back,” I tell him. I hesitate slightly before leaving the room, and walk around the bed to where he’s sitting. I drop a kiss to his