Consult (1/14)
“Dr. Oliver? Fax for you.”
Reid nodded his thanks at the desk nurse as he walked past her on his way to his office. He took the documents from her, flipping them over so he could read the cover page. The sender was Alex Roberts, Memorial Hospital, Oakdale, Illinois. Reid mentally shrugged. It meant nothing to him.
Sitting down at his desk, Reid noticed the flashing light on his phone. He picked up the receiver and pressed the button to access his voicemail.
“Dr. Oliver, my name is Dr. Bob Hughes. I’m calling from Illinois - Memorial Hospital in Oakdale.” Reid’s eyes slid over to the faxed records. They were certainly covering all their communication bases. “I was hoping you’d consider taking a look at one of our patients. Fell down a flight of stairs, and now she’s in a coma. I think she’d benefit from your expertise.”
“I highly doubt it,” Reid muttered to himself over the sound of Hughes leaving his number. He pulled the faxed file closer to the edge of the desk. He was still new enough to read all the requests and referrals, but he was established enough to be selective in which ones he actually took on. And a simple coma from a fall was not enough to entice him to freaking Illinois.
Reid skimmed the file, boredom already settling in. And then something caught his eye. Pregnant. Questionable if the fetus had developed enough for C-section yet, which made the different treatment options somewhat limited. This could make things marginally interesting. And his own case load in Dallas was in something of a lull right now - only a dozen or so active patients, none with urgent concerns. Reid tapped his fingers against the surface of the desk, and then he reached out for his phone.
The other end only rang twice before Dr. Hughes picked it up. As in his earlier message, his voice sounded like an older man’s. He was probably one of those kindly family doctor types that would fit better on a warm-hearted television show than in the real world of medicine.
“Bob Hughes,” he said.
“Dr. Hughes, this is Dr. Reid Oliver. You called me earlier today.”
“Yes, Dr. Oliver. Thank you so much for - ”
“Listen, Dr. Hughes. This case is not worth my time, but luckily for you, I have a few free days. I’ll be in town tomorrow, and I’ll examine the patient then. I’m afraid if I spend any more time than that in Illinois, I’ll get hives.”
There was a noticeable pause. “Well, luckily for you, Doctor, we have a great team of allergists.”
Reid choked back a snort and considered giving Dr. Hughes a modicum of respect. Considered. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Until tomorrow, Dr. Hughes.”
**
Luke walked slowly down the hall, eventually reaching the window to his mother’s room. He stared inside, fighting the urge to run inside and shake her, to scream in her face until she woke up. His dad sat next to her, holding her hand. Luke could see he was talking quietly, probably telling her about the girls and reminding her how much he missed her. Luke doubted his own name came up at all. The last time Luke went in there, Lily’s blood pressure had spiked. Holden “kindly” suggested that he didn’t visit her anymore.
Luke had dialed Damian’s phone three times that day. Every time he let it ring for half a second longer.
Pretty soon, he might wait until Damian answered.
The sound of footsteps caught Luke’s attention, and he turned to face Dr. Hughes and Dr. Roberts as they walked closer.
“Good news, Luke,” Dr. Hughes said, stopping next to him.
“About Mom?”
“Well, sort of,” Dr. Roberts chimed in. “Dr. Oliver has agreed to come to town. His flight is coming in soon. He’ll be able to tell us if an operation is feasible.”
Luke nodded, feeling relieved. It might not fix anything, but it was starting to feel like they were finally doing something. He turned back to the window, taking a deep breath as he looked at his mother again.
“What time is he getting here?” Luke asked quietly.
In his peripheral vision, he could see Dr. Hughes look at his watch. “His flight is landing in twenty minutes. I’ll be leaving for the airport soon.”
Luke turned to him. “Can I come?”
Dr. Hughes sighed. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea. We’ll be speaking about your mother’s condition. Rather candidly, I’d imagine.”
“You don’t have to hide anything from me,” Luke said. “I’m not a child; I know it’s bad. You don’t call in doctors from Texas for a little bump on the head. I’m so sick of being shut out.”
Dr. Hughes put his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “OK. OK, fine.”
**
Reid adjusted the strap of his carry-on bag and lifted his laptop bag over his seat on the plane. He hated standing in an unmoving line, but he hated sitting, waiting impatiently, even more. Finally, people started disembarking, and Reid wondered again why on earth so many people were willingly flying to Oakdale, Illinois. He can’t imagine the town had too many attractions.
Walking through the hall, he ran a hand across his face, trying to wake himself up. The rest of the previous day had been long - quickly dealing with some reports, making sure his patients were stable and set up with other doctors at the hospital while he was gone, making travel arrangements and packing, reading the file again in closer detail and reviewing several articles and books on trauma-induced comas and gestational timelines.
He went through the door and immediately looked around for Dr. Hughes. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting (besides kindly older gentleman with a sarcastic streak), but he figured he’d be able to guess which of the people in the tiny airport were waiting for him. There were only a few non-passengers in the lobby, many of whom were already hugging or kissing other new arrivals. In the corner stood a gray-haired man straining his neck as he looked around the crowd. Reid caught his eye and lifted his head in greeting; the older man nodded once and began to walk closer.
And that’s when Reid noticed the man (well, boy, really) with him. A young blond kid with a serious expression on his face looked up when he saw Dr. Hughes move. He met Reid’s eyes and blinked. And then he - completely unsubtly - checked Reid out.
Jailbait, Reid thought to himself in warning. But he still smirked inwardly. He needed to find some sort of entertainment while he was here, after all. Eye candy wasn’t the worst way to go.
The three of them finally made it through the small crowd to each other.
“Dr. Oliver?”
Reid recognized the voice immediately and reached out to shake the other doctor’s hand.
“Hello Dr. Hughes,” he replied, then looked pointedly at the boy, who was still staring at him like he was starving and Reid was lunch. Perhaps Reid would do his good deed for the year and teach this young man how to be discreet. Perhaps.
Dr. Hughes turned slightly, but thankfully didn’t catch the expression on his companion’s face. “This is Luke Snyder,” he said. “He is Lily Snyder’s son.”
Reid shook Luke’s hand, forcing himself to ignore the slight spark he felt. Or imagined. Then he immediately turned back to Bob Hughes.
“I’ve got everything. Let’s go.”
“You didn’t check a bag?” Dr. Hughes asked.
“I already told you,” Reid said, following the other man out of the airport lobby. Luke trailed behind, and Reid figured he was watching him walk. Not that he could blame the boy, of course. “I’m not staying for more than a day or so.”
“What?” came the sudden interruption. Reid turned, continuing to walk, and looked at Luke passively.
“You’re - but what about my mother? What if she needs an operation?”
“I’ll assess her condition and provide my opinion. That’s all I’ve agreed to. I have to believe that even the doctors here in Oakdale can manage as simple a procedure as this situation undoubtedly requires. Although considering they’ve called me in for something so straightforward, perhaps that’s giving them too much credit.”
Luke looked open-mouthed at Bob. Bob simply shrugged and pushed the door open, holding it for Luke and Reid as they walked out of the airport.
**
Luke once again sat quietly in the hall, hoping to hear some good news. The three doctors and his dad had been in his mom’s room for almost an hour. They had done some more tests on his mom - a CT scan and some other things that Luke didn’t understand but pretended to.
Through the window, he could see Dr. Oliver staring at the films they had taken. The light from the box shone on his face, casting shadows underneath his eyes and below his cheekbones. He lifted a hand, pointing something out to Dr. Roberts. Luke’s gaze traveled along Dr. Oliver’s arm, admiring the shape of his bicep half-covered by the sleeve of the borrowed scrubs. Dr. Oliver turned to face Dr. Hughes, and Luke swallowed. The angle accentuated his Adam’s apple and his long neck, and Luke wondered what it would be like to taste it, to run his tongue along the skin and -
Luke shook his head quickly, feeling disgusted with himself. His mother was in a coma and he was growing hard staring at the one doctor who might be able to fix her.
Maybe there really was something wrong with him.
Just then the door opened, and the four men walked out of the room. Luke pulled himself to his feet quickly (and pulled his shirt down as far as it would go). He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked expectantly at everyone.
His dad glanced at him quickly, then walked over.
“Dr. Oliver thinks surgery is the best option.”
That was all Holden said, before turning back to the doctors. Dr. Oliver stepped a few feet away, pulling out his cell phone and flipping through text messages while the others talked.
“Holden, let’s go to my office and draw up the consent forms,” Dr. Hughes said.
Holden nodded, quickly squeezing Luke’s arm before following the other two men down the hall. Once they were out of earshot, Luke turned back to Dr. Oliver.
“You’re going to stay? You’re going to help her?”
The man paused, looking up in slight surprise. He gave Luke a rather condescending look before returning to his phone.
“I’ve discussed the procedure with Dr. Roberts and will be available for phone consultation,” he said distractedly.
“Phone…I don’t understand. You said yourself they wouldn’t have called you in if they could do it themselves. Why did you even come here if you weren’t going to do anything?” Luke asked, his voice rising with panic.
“Look, kid - ”
“My name is Luke,” Luke bit out.
“Mr. Snyder,” Dr. Oliver said, sighing loudly. “The procedure shouldn’t even really be attempted for a couple weeks to give the baby more time. Then there will be another few weeks of intensive post-operative care and a long recovery after that. My waiting list is a year long, and I have patients in Texas already. I can’t make that kind of time commitment here. The piece of paper in Dr. Roberts’ office claims he graduated from medical school. Let him do his job.”
Luke stepped closer, grabbing Dr. Oliver’s arm. Their faces were inches away, and Dr. Oliver stared at him in shocked annoyance.
“You have to stay. I’ll - I’ll pay you whatever you want.”
Reid snorted. He reached a hand up and pried Luke’s fingers off his bicep. “Your allowance and paper route money combined wouldn’t make a dent in my salary.”
“You’d be surprised. I have access to a lot of money. One phone call, that’s all it would take.”
“This conversation is over,” Reid said. Then he felt compelled to add, as if he cared what Luke thought about him, “Besides, I’m not in medicine for the money.”
The boy immediately changed tactics, flashing him a wide-eyed puppy dog look. Reid couldn’t tell if the expression was carefully calculated, or if the kid really was that cloyingly naïve. “Then why? To help people? Save lives? Why not my mother’s? Why isn’t she worth your time?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I have a dozen patients at home, all in much more serious condition than hers. Add her to my waiting list, if you must.”
“The year-long one, right? Please, there must be something I can do. Anything you want.”
Reid sighed heavily, trying to pretend his mind didn’t go in a thousand different directions with that little offer. He forced his body into submission and glared at the boy in front of him.
“Why is this so important to you?”
Luke pulled back slightly, furrowing his brow in shock and confusion. “She’s my mother,” he said, the tone of his voice indicating Reid was an idiot.
Reid shook his head, brushing that aside with a wave. “There’s something more going on here. I can tell.”
“What, you’re psychic now?” he asked defensively.
Reid didn’t reply; he merely stared at Luke until he deflated.
“I was there,” Luke said softly. “When she - fell. I couldn’t stop her. I didn’t stop her. It’s my fault.”
**
Reid tapped his foot absent-mindedly as he waited for his plane to board. He looked around the room at the lucky people who, like him, were getting the hell out of this town. He turned back to the paper in front of him, laughing inwardly at the stories that were considered news by the Oakdale press.
But he couldn’t focus. Because every few seconds, Luke Snyder’s face popped into his memory. The grief and the guilt that washed over him as he begged Reid to help. This was ridiculous. Reid ran into hard-luck cases every single day - people at their wits' end weeping in front of him. It didn’t affect him, or rather, Reid wouldn’t let it affect him. He had to choose the cases that were worth his knowledge and skill. The ones nobody else could do. When you were him, when you were the best, you couldn’t waste your time. There were lives to save, and Reid was going to save as many as he could, and that meant he had to…prioritize.
So why was this teenage kid getting to him? It wasn’t just his looks or his obvious interest. Reid had no problem finding companionship whenever he wanted, and it wasn’t like he was going to take advantage of the kid anyway. So what was it? Why couldn’t he let this go?
There was Luke’s face again. Tears floating in the corners of his eyes as he took the blame for his mother’s accident. His voice barely audible, breath hitching in his throat, staring at Reid as if he were his last hope.
“Damn it,” Reid muttered, pulling out his phone.
He dialed the number quickly, before he could stop himself. Bob answered on the second ring.
“It’s Oliver,” Reid said without preamble. “I’ll do the surgery. I need to deal with a few things in Dallas, but I’ll be back by the end of the week.”
There was a long pause. “All right,” Bob finally said. “Thank you.”
“I hate hotels, so find me someplace to live for a few weeks.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Fine. Just keep my patient stable.”
Reid hung up, not waiting to hear Bob’s response. He shook his head angrily at himself.
Continued