Meet me in the Middle

Chapter 44

"Dr. Wilson. Please come to the ER for an incoming trauma." Jo looks up from her position at the end of the table where she is busy adding the last stitch to the vaginal tear of the poor mama who endured the natural birth of an almost ten-pound bambino. She and her husband only arrived after she was too far dilated for an epidural and the mama had a set of lungs on her that was still ringing in my ears. I only observed this birth as Jo needed all the solo hours to get caught up for her attending exam in a few months.

I check my phone when it buzzes within a few seconds of the announcement on the intercom, to see that I was getting paged to the hole. I quickly check the mother's and bambino's vitals and ask Jo if she has it sorted. "Meet me in the OR after you're done." I've been desperate to get my hands a little dirty myself to keep my mind preoccupied from everything that's been happening. Amelia has been dragging me to bars with her so we can be each other's wing women, but I haven't felt ready to start dating again. I mean, the divorce papers were still safely tucked away under my espresso machine in my office.

It's been over a week since I got the call about Maya and the tough call she had, and I've been in agony trying to decide if I should check in on her or trust the people in her life to take care of her. I didn't know where we stood after our tearful goodbye. Were we nothing now, pretending that what we had never even happened? Was there a chance that we could be friends again at some point? Would I be able to watch her move on with someone else if we were, or would the jealousy get the best of both of us?

I press the red button next to the ER doors and enter the chaos in the pit. I pull out a gown, booties and a pair of gloves before jogging to the ambulance bay to wait for the incoming trauma. Owen joins me and we help tie each other's gowns before we slip on our gloves just as the red rig pulls up. A handsome man jumps out of the driver's seat and makes his way towards the back to open the doors for us, as we approach. "Cindy Puckett, eighteen-year-old female with a GSW to her upper abdomen and two to her right shoulder and neck. Fourteen weeks pregnant. BP hundred over sixty." My breath catches when Maya jumps out of the rig covered in blood. She rattles off the patient's injuries as she helps wheel her to a trauma bay.

Jo runs up to us and tells the interns all the tests that needs to be run, while she tries to find the fetal heartbeat. Owen asks them what happened while he cuts away her clothes to get to the source of the bleeding. "Some lunatic lady shot me! Said I stole her parking spot and when I ignored her, she pulled out a gun and shot me! Is my baby okay? Please tell me she's okay?" The patient was writhing in pain on the gurney and screaming at Jo to tell her the fate of her baby. We all hold our breaths for a few seconds until we can hear the faint thump from the sonar. "Baby's got a heartbeat." The patient starts sobbing and Owen pushes morphine to help with her pain while they assess her injuries.

I look over at Maya and note that she looks exhausted. Her eyes were more grey than blue, and she had strands of hair falling out of her ponytail. Her uniform had blood spatters all over and it looks like some of it smeared over her left arm and right cheek. We're standing so close to each other in the small doorway of the trauma room that I can feel the heat emanating from her. She finally looks my way and catches me staring. I'm waiting for the blush to take over my face at being caught but lose my breath instead when she tilts up her lips and gives me a soft smile. "Good morning, Dr. Deluca."

My insides tingle upon hearing her voice so pure and innocent. The gravel in it can't hide how tired she is, but it's not thick with tears, or small from fear, or deep with anger like it has been for the last few months. She just sounds like my Maya, and it washes over me like a hot shower after a cold and excruciating day. "Ciao, Maya. How are you?" Her lopsided smile stretches even further, and she hides her face from me for a second. I can see the faint pink blush working it's way up her neck and take comfort that I'm not the only one affected by the proximity between us with no barriers from either side. "Yup. Been busy. Good. And...uhm...you?"