We stood staring at each other. She kept her face even, but the way she deeply swallowed told me that she was surprised to see me. The other woman was looking between the two of us. She tapped her wedding band against the metal of her travel mug emitting a loud clang in the small space.
"What are you doing here?" I finally found words.
"Volunteering," she said, doing her damnedest to not give me much to work with.
Not able to think what to say I just stood, looking at her. Waiting. For what, I didn't know.
"Hi, I'm Bryana." The dark-haired woman walked out from behind Piper and held her hand out to me. "You are?"
I opened my mouth to answer but Piper spoke before me, "This is Dziadzia's doctor."
Sister.
"Also known as Reed." I told her as I shook her hand.
She hummed in acknowledgement as she stepped back and turned to Piper. "Can I have your keys?" She held her hand out. "I'll pick you up after you're done."
Piper gave me one last look before turning and walking over to the small table at the front of the tent. I also moved in deeper, pulling my bag off my shoulder. I pulled out my stethoscope and wrapped it around my neck before turning my attention back to the other two people in the tent. Bryana whispered something in her ear then gave her a wink before disappearing out into the crowd.
"So, I guess we're working together today." I rubbed my neck sheepishly before shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans.
"Obviously." Piper picked up a stack of papers and hit them against the desk.
This isn't going well.
"Is it just the two of us in here?" All I could imagine was a whole day of uncomfortable exchanges.
"No. There's a nurse. Angie." Piper didn't even look at me as she spoke. "She'll actually be working with you. I'm just dealing with paper and such."
"Piper can we--" Before I could finish my sentence a woman came breezing into the tent.
"Hey! A new face!" she exclaimed brightly at me. "Angie." She placed her hand on her chest.
"Reed," I replied.
"I've kind of set everything up already. Come over here." She gestured for me to follow her.
I did, but I wasn't exactly paying attention to what she was saying. She gave me a poke and I turned to her. I cleared my throat and crossed my arms doing my best to keep up with her animated chatter.
I could feel eyes on me, and glanced over at Piper who instantly looked down at some papers in her hands. I smiled to myself. Gotcha.
Things started slow, but soon a small number of patients began to trickle in. Dehydrated runners, muscle injuries, and one spectator with hypoglycemia. Piper, Angie, and I quickly fell into step with one another. It was different from the hospital where tension between the nurses and doctors too often got in the way of care. Business and personal colliding; constant competition. It was the first time in a while I felt like I could just practice.
"Here's another one." Angie handed the runner a water bottle at the entrance of the tent. "Keep sipping it." She instructed as I washed my hands in the small sink.
Piper let out a sigh as she looked around. "Wow, it's empty in here."
I walked over drying my hands with a paper towel. "The silence is kind of nice."
"Do y'all mind if I go and grab myself something to eat?" Angie looked between the two of us.
I could see Piper's mouth drop slightly.
"Of course," I answered quickly.
Angie smiled as she grabbed her wallet. "I'll be back."
She slipped out of the tent leaving Piper and I alone. I looked over at her but she was focused on the papers she was holding.
I walked over. "Can I help with that?"
Her green eyes flicked up to me.
"Um... sure." She shrugged. "If it's not beneath you, that is."
I chuckled as I moved the file folder she was placing the papers into between us. "Medical school was an endless exercise in monotonous tasks that would now be considered beneath me."
Cringe. I sounded like a pompous asshole.
"Alphabetical order," she instructed, thankfully ignoring my comment.
We silently flipped through our papers, though I found myself trying to catch glimpses of her at any chance I could. The few times I caught her opening the folder, her long fingers and dainty hands caught my attention. I wondered what it would feel like to touch her skin. For those fingers to move along me.
I needed to change what I was thinking about. "I'm sorry about that day in the hall," I extended the olive branch again. "Then avoiding a real apology the next time I saw you."
Piper took a breath, then looked at me. "I guess I didn't really give you a fair chance." She put the papers she had in her hands down on the table. "I probably shouldn't have led you to believe I was interested in a date."
"Date?" I felt my eyes widen. "It's a little more complicated than that, you see--"
Before I could finish my thought I heard a call of help coming from behind me. I turned to see a young man no older than twenty grimacing, his arms slung around the shoulders of two others. My eyes moved down the man's body looking for where the pain was coming from. When I got to his ankle and saw the muscle and bone hanging out my brain instantly started running through what I needed to do.
"Oh my God," I heard a weak voice behind me.
I turned to Piper who looked whiter than usual. "You okay?" Worry fell over me that I would end up with two patients and no assistance.
She nodded, holding her stomach. "Go help him."
"Get an ambulance here," I instructed as I snapped on a pair of gloves and jogged out to help the men.
I scooped the man's legs up and helped carry him over to a bed. A group of people began to follow us, drawn to the trauma. Typical.
"I'm Dr. Walton," I told the injured man as we gently placed him on a bed.
He didn't respond; he just cried out in agony.
Ignoring the commotion that had formed around the outside of the tent I began to ask some basic questions to the man and learned that his name was Jeff and he was nineteen. I walked over to the locked cabinet that contained the scant amount of narcotics I knew they kept here. My biggest concern was avoiding the patient going into shock.
"Do you know anything about what happened?" I asked.
"He was showing us some tricks on his bike and then... he wasn't," one of them answered.
"Yeah. He just started screaming," the other one's eyes were wide as he recalled the incident.
"We just came to watch his dad in the race with him." The first one shrugged.
"Ambulance on the way!" I heard Piper call out as I loaded up the syringe.
Thank God.
I nodded my head at her then turned my attention back to my patient. "I'm going to give you something to help the pain." I injected the drug into the only place I could without moving him, his thigh. "It'll start working soon."
"Is there anything else you can tell me?" I looked between the two men who just stared at their friend who wasn't being quiet about his pain.
They both shook their heads. I dismissed them and began to get to the next order of business.
"It's going to be okay," I told him in a reassuring voice.
I could see the pain etched in his face and all I could do was hope that the medication would kick in fast. I looked over at Piper who seemed to have regained some colour back. Good.
"Piper, I need you," I called out to her as I began to grab all the items I required to stop the bleeding and immobilize his ankle.
She quickly made her way over to me. I watched her swallow as she stopped at the bed and caught sight of the injury again. Come on, Piper. Focus.
"Wh- what do you need?" She turned her attention to me.
Yes. Keep concentrated on me.
"Get a pair of gloves," I instructed as I assessed the injury more closely.
She did as I asked. I could tell by her reaction to the situation that she wouldn't do well with the injured ankle.
"I need you to go into the drawer over there and get the green needle, then into that cupboard behind you and grab a bag of liquid; it'll say normal saline." I did my best to keep everything in layman's terms as I changed out my gloves in preparation to touch the open wound.
She nodded her head and took off in the direction I set her in. I got to work immobilizing the ankle. I grabbed some gauze to place over the wound and began to wrap it with some sterile cloth to keep it in place. Once the bandage was placed I quickly swapped my bloodied gloves for clean ones again. I then grabbed the splint and considered where I was going to place it.
"How are you doing?" I turned my attention to my patient, all while keeping a peripheral eye on Piper.
"I f-f-feel cold," he stuttered.
Not good.
Piper returned with my requested items, but now I had more pressing matters.
"His breathing is getting really rapid," I observed out loud. "Where the fuck is that ambulance?" I muttered under my breath.
I had no choice, I needed Piper to be hands on so I could finish getting this ankle fixed up.
"Keep hold of this splint."
With Piper keeping the splint in place and away from the protruding bone, I began to put another wrap around him. Once done, I gently instructed Piper to change her gloves which had some blood on them and get a foil blanket to put over Jeff.
The IV fluid bag was still staring at me and I knew I needed to get it started. In a hospital I would've had more nurses, more help. They would've done this part for me. Here I was completely dependent on Piper who not only looked like she might pass out at any moment, had zero medical training. I looked at the opening of the tent hoping for any sign of Angie as I prepared pieces of tape.
I could feel my heart thundering as I wrapped a tourniquet around his arm. I began to look for veins in his hands. It had been a long time since I had done this. As I examined his hand, I found what I was looking for. I took a breath as I grabbed an alcohol wipe and made a circular cleaning motion.
You know the steps. I reassured myself.
Remove the needle cover. A small pop exposed the metal tube.
I poked the vein to make sure it wasn't too roley, then placed my thumb and index finger in such a way to keep the vein still.
"You're going to feel a sharp pinch," I advised him, "One, two, three...."
Thirty degrees and push in until flashback of blood. I pushed the needle into the vein and felt the tell-tale pop. I hit it. I steadily pushed the small plastic tube into the vein with my left hand pulling the needle back, but not out, with my right.
Fix the needle. I taped it down. I then pressed down on the cannula before fully removing the needle.
I tried to hide the relief I felt that I was able to get that done on the first try. I quickly hooked up the fluids and opened the line.
I could see Jeff was breathing easier which made me happy.
"Okay Jeff, hang tight," I told him.
Just then I heard the sirens I had been waiting for. Next came the sound of the opening of the ambulance doors then the clang of a stretcher coming out. Relief washed over me that I could finally get this patient proper treatment. I didn't know if he knew the long recovery he was in for, but I was certain I wasn't the only Dr. Walton he would be meeting today.
I gave my report of the treatment to the paramedics. As they exited the tent the small crowd that had come by to watch slowly began to disperse. I shook my head as I removed my gloves and disposed of them. I turned to Piper to thank her to see her once again white as a sheet as she looked at her bloodied hands.
"You okay?" I approached her slowly.
"I think I'm going to throw up."
I quickly looked around, finding a waste basket and shoving it under her just in time. I pulled her hair back and gently rubbed between her shoulders as her body shook with sickness. When she was done I put the basket down and wrapped my arm around her.
"Come on." I led her over to one of the beds where I helped her lay down.
"I'm so embarrassed," she groaned.
"Don't be," I replied gently as I put on a pair of gloves.
"I really hate blood," she commented.
I chuckled as I rolled the soiled gloves she was wearing off of her. "You handled it like a pro."
She let out a sigh as I disposed of the gloves and grabbed some hand sanitizer for myself.
"You starting to feel better?" I asked.
She slowly nodded. "But my mouth tastes really gross."
"I think I can help you with that." I walked over to my bag and pulled out a package of gum.
I took a piece out of the foil packets and handed it to her as I sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Thanks." She unwrapped it and placed it in her mouth.
"Whoa!" Angie's voice startled me. "What happened in here?"
"Compound fracture," I told her as I stood up. "We should probably clean this up." I surveyed the mess from both myself and the paramedics.
Angie peered behind me at Piper. "You okay?"
"Mhm," Piper replied. "Just a little too much excitement for me."
Angie blew air out of her bottom lip as she grabbed a pair of gloves.
"Alright, let's clean up this mess." She began to pick up garbage off the floor.
She was about to drop it into the waste basket can when she saw the contents in it. She scrunched her face. "Maybe I should start with this."
I nodded my head. "I'll help in one second."
"Me too," Piper said from behind me.
I turned to see her trying to sit up. I put my hand on her shoulder forcing her back down onto the bed. "You rest a little more. We've got this." I felt her body relax beneath my touch.
I found my eyes travelling along her when I noticed a blood stain on her shirt. I walked over to my bag pulling out my extra scrub top.
I dropped it on top of her. "When you're feeling better you might want to change."
I gave her a small smile before I left to help Angie. I peered over my shoulder one last time to see her fingering the fabric with a small smile on her face.