just_1_word | 20.4. Doctor
20.4. Doctor
[Follows THIS]
Alex’s first nightshift in Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital’s Pediatric Unit was quiet. Normally he preferred to be busy, but he appreciated the quiet that night. It was only his second shift in the facility and this gave him a chance to familiarise himself with his surroundings and get a feel for what he would be dealing with trying to run an investigation here. He could even go so far as to say he really liked it here. The patient base was low at the moment and the staff he had the pleasure of encountering had been friendly and helpful. He had even lost count of the amount of nurses he had flirted with and vice versa.
If there was ever a night he would peg as being uneventful, it was that one. It seemed when he was going to be wrong, he was going to be really wrong.
“Dr Carter.”
He was just coming off his rounds, walking up the main corridor of the kids’ ward peeling off his latex gloves when the nurse caught his attention, hurrying her way towards him with a file outstretched in her hand. “Nurse Barnes?” he asked in question and tossed the gloves into the nearest contaminated waste bin.
She nodded reflexively. “Just had a call from the ER. We’ve got an infant just being admitted and readying for immediate transfer. I hope you’ve had your coffee. This one’s going to keep you on your toes. Both parents are doctors and staff members here, and popular ones at that. You’ll have a long line of people wanting to tear your balls off if you make a wrong move with this little one.” She smiled slightly. “Welcome to PPTH.”
Alex frowned, some wariness spiking over his skin like faint goosebumps. “How old is the baby?” he asked, reaching for the file. “Why the admission?”
“Nine weeks with suspected Type One Diabetes Mellitus. The mother is Type One herself and went into a diabetic coma just hours after his birth. She had a lot of unstable periods with it during gestation. The parents feared there was a chance the baby might be born with it, but they hoped they dodged the bullet. Babe’s been ill on and off since birth and this time with classic symptoms,” Nurse Barnes explained and released the file into Alex’s hand.
Alex flipped the file open and went straight to the triage sheet with the ER doctor’s notes. He knew they wouldn’t be extensive. In cases like this, the child would be transferred to Pediatrics without much ER intervention. He didn’t even think to look at the baby’s name, let alone the parents’ names. “He’s on his way up?” he asked and looked up from the file at her. “Please tell me the parents aren't pediatricians and are going to be hovering around analysing my every move?”
Nurse Barnes shook her head. “Not even close, but you’re going to have the hovering. It’s inevitable. Let’s just say I think they would both die for that little boy. I know the father would,” she added soberly.
This set off warning bells in Alex’s head and he finally had mind to look at the patient’s name, just knowing what he was going to find there. CAMPBELL, Riley Patrick - DOB 12/25/2008. Goddamnit! The last he heard Lachlan Campbell’s wife had been pregnant. There had been no case brief updates to say she had given birth. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t here to investigate the family, but he was here to find out why they had become victims. He continued up the triage sheet finding the parents’ names listed as Drs Lachlan and Tara Campbell. He hadn’t expected in any way to come face-to-face with his investigatory subject this early. In fact, he had hoped he would have a good few weeks finding his feet in Princeton before he crossed paths with Lachlan.
Still, the last thing he was going to focus on right now was the case. He was going to be the infant’s pediatrician first and foremost, which may well complicate things down the line. There would be compromised independence from the Campbells. They would know him and have dealt with him. He could even have continued contact with them if the baby was diagnosed with diabetes. His job here just suddenly got extremely tricky and he was suddenly nervous about meeting Lachlan. He had spent months examining that shooting case, examining the Campbell medical records, hospital surveillance tapes from that night, witness interview records, physical evidence, et cetera et cetera. Lachlan had been nothing more than victim’s name to him and now he was going to be standing before him.
The joys of Secret Service investigations… there was nothing easy about them.
Alex rubbed his head as he covered his inner frustration by pretending to read the case notes again. He nodded and looked up at the nurse. “Thank you, Nurse,” he told her, already reaching for some fresh latex gloves. “Have the team waiting in the Special Care Nursery and alert NICU just in case the lad takes a bad turn. He’s stable for the moment but who knows how he will react to more poking and prodding for a diagnosis.”
The nurse nodded and walked succinctly back up the corridor towards the nurses’ station. Alex rubbed his fingers over his mouth in thought, eyes sweeping over the baby’s name again. The whole shooting tragedy - inside and out - was fresh in his mind. The last thing this couple needed or deserved was their unexpected and only child they would have together falling ill. Despite his hopes, there was now no way his undercover job here was going to be easy.
- drcampbell and doctortara referenced with permission from their forever awesome muns
Word Count | 947
[Follows THIS]
Alex’s first nightshift in Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital’s Pediatric Unit was quiet. Normally he preferred to be busy, but he appreciated the quiet that night. It was only his second shift in the facility and this gave him a chance to familiarise himself with his surroundings and get a feel for what he would be dealing with trying to run an investigation here. He could even go so far as to say he really liked it here. The patient base was low at the moment and the staff he had the pleasure of encountering had been friendly and helpful. He had even lost count of the amount of nurses he had flirted with and vice versa.
If there was ever a night he would peg as being uneventful, it was that one. It seemed when he was going to be wrong, he was going to be really wrong.
“Dr Carter.”
He was just coming off his rounds, walking up the main corridor of the kids’ ward peeling off his latex gloves when the nurse caught his attention, hurrying her way towards him with a file outstretched in her hand. “Nurse Barnes?” he asked in question and tossed the gloves into the nearest contaminated waste bin.
She nodded reflexively. “Just had a call from the ER. We’ve got an infant just being admitted and readying for immediate transfer. I hope you’ve had your coffee. This one’s going to keep you on your toes. Both parents are doctors and staff members here, and popular ones at that. You’ll have a long line of people wanting to tear your balls off if you make a wrong move with this little one.” She smiled slightly. “Welcome to PPTH.”
Alex frowned, some wariness spiking over his skin like faint goosebumps. “How old is the baby?” he asked, reaching for the file. “Why the admission?”
“Nine weeks with suspected Type One Diabetes Mellitus. The mother is Type One herself and went into a diabetic coma just hours after his birth. She had a lot of unstable periods with it during gestation. The parents feared there was a chance the baby might be born with it, but they hoped they dodged the bullet. Babe’s been ill on and off since birth and this time with classic symptoms,” Nurse Barnes explained and released the file into Alex’s hand.
Alex flipped the file open and went straight to the triage sheet with the ER doctor’s notes. He knew they wouldn’t be extensive. In cases like this, the child would be transferred to Pediatrics without much ER intervention. He didn’t even think to look at the baby’s name, let alone the parents’ names. “He’s on his way up?” he asked and looked up from the file at her. “Please tell me the parents aren't pediatricians and are going to be hovering around analysing my every move?”
Nurse Barnes shook her head. “Not even close, but you’re going to have the hovering. It’s inevitable. Let’s just say I think they would both die for that little boy. I know the father would,” she added soberly.
This set off warning bells in Alex’s head and he finally had mind to look at the patient’s name, just knowing what he was going to find there. CAMPBELL, Riley Patrick - DOB 12/25/2008. Goddamnit! The last he heard Lachlan Campbell’s wife had been pregnant. There had been no case brief updates to say she had given birth. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t here to investigate the family, but he was here to find out why they had become victims. He continued up the triage sheet finding the parents’ names listed as Drs Lachlan and Tara Campbell. He hadn’t expected in any way to come face-to-face with his investigatory subject this early. In fact, he had hoped he would have a good few weeks finding his feet in Princeton before he crossed paths with Lachlan.
Still, the last thing he was going to focus on right now was the case. He was going to be the infant’s pediatrician first and foremost, which may well complicate things down the line. There would be compromised independence from the Campbells. They would know him and have dealt with him. He could even have continued contact with them if the baby was diagnosed with diabetes. His job here just suddenly got extremely tricky and he was suddenly nervous about meeting Lachlan. He had spent months examining that shooting case, examining the Campbell medical records, hospital surveillance tapes from that night, witness interview records, physical evidence, et cetera et cetera. Lachlan had been nothing more than victim’s name to him and now he was going to be standing before him.
The joys of Secret Service investigations… there was nothing easy about them.
Alex rubbed his head as he covered his inner frustration by pretending to read the case notes again. He nodded and looked up at the nurse. “Thank you, Nurse,” he told her, already reaching for some fresh latex gloves. “Have the team waiting in the Special Care Nursery and alert NICU just in case the lad takes a bad turn. He’s stable for the moment but who knows how he will react to more poking and prodding for a diagnosis.”
The nurse nodded and walked succinctly back up the corridor towards the nurses’ station. Alex rubbed his fingers over his mouth in thought, eyes sweeping over the baby’s name again. The whole shooting tragedy - inside and out - was fresh in his mind. The last thing this couple needed or deserved was their unexpected and only child they would have together falling ill. Despite his hopes, there was now no way his undercover job here was going to be easy.
- drcampbell and doctortara referenced with permission from their forever awesome muns
Word Count | 947