Healing Over Time

Chapter Two

Alex signed in, overriding the red flashing button saying she wasn't scheduled to work today. After finding her station she started to organize her area.

"The hell are you doing?" Lance Peters walked over. "You ain't supposed to be back for another two weeks."

"Had to," Alex smiled up at him. "I couldn't stay there any longer."

"How are you?" Lance hugged her from the side. "I mean, I know you ain't okay...but are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Alex nodded. "I'm...surviving."

"Honey, I am so sorry," Lance sighed, his hand patting Alex's shoulder before he dropped it. "If we can do anything?"

"I'm okay," Alex nodded. "I just need to work...so if you have a shift I could pick up, I would appreciate it."

"I don't feel like you should be working," Lance frowned.

"Trust me, I need to," Alex typed away at the screen in front of her. "Anything interesting over the night?"

"A couple of drunks, one person fell on a pencil...that's about all from the night shift," Lance sighed, giving up on trying to get Alex to leave. "ICU still only has Mrs. Jenkins in room 108 and then that guy from the drunk driving accident whose family has still yet to be notified."

"Still?" Alex looked over at him. "That was a week ago."

"Nothing's come up," Lance shrugged. "Poor bastard will probably die here and there ain't a kin folk around to be with him."

Alex's eyes glanced down the hallway.

"Well...I'll sit with him if it's his time during my shift," Alex finished logging in and stretched her neck out some.

"It's a Monday," Lance patted her arm. "Hopefully it's lighter."

He walked on down the hall and Alex started her rounds. She spent the morning making sure patients were given their proper medications and for the ones who needed it, helped them with showers or bathroom visits. She stitched up an older man who accidentally cut himself on a countertop. While Alex was sitting in the chair finishing the stitch another nurse came by.

"Hey...we've got a kid down in peds who needs a stitch-up if you have time?" The nurse was carrying blankets.

"Yeah, I can," Alex said as she gently placed a white pad over the cut on his forehead and smiled at the man. "You're good to go, sir, just monitor for headaches and any nauseous feelings you might have for the next twenty-four hours."

Alex took her gloves off and threw away the wrappings before she made her way to the left wing where the pediatric unit was. She walked up to the receptionist and was handed a folder. Alex smiled at her and glanced down to call out the name.

Alex stopped as her eyes looked over the name. She felt a lump in her throat as her eyes looked up and out into the waiting room area. Sitting in the far corner was Kayce Dutton and his son, Tate. Though Alex had never actually been introduced to the boy before. Alex took a deep breath, trying to push away her initial response of running.

"There a problem Reynolds?" The nurse behind the counter asked.

"No," Alex forced her feet to move, opening the doors up.

There weren't too many people in the waiting room, and the noise of Alex opening the doors made most of the ones in there look up at her, including Kayce. His warm, honey eyes softened as Alex nodded her head to the side for him to follow her. Kace pulled the boy along with him and it was then that Alex noticed the large gash on his cheek.