Medically Speaking

Chapter 6

I wasn't surprised when I pulled into the hospital parking lot, but I couldn't remember getting there. Auto drive had gotten me this far. Grabbing my backpack, I climbed out of the car and made my way up to my unit, smiling kindly to the night guard and greeting nurses that I had worked with before but didn't see very often.

Up on my floor, Tammy looked up over the computer and frowned at me. "What are you doing here, Joey? You're supposed to be on a date."

Grinning at her, I said, "You know me, I can't rest until I know my babies are stable. Is Leah on tonight?" Leah is one of my best friends; we both started here at the same time. We were the youngest people on the payroll, although Leah was starting as a CNA and I already had my bachelor's degree. We formed a bond through needing to defend our capabilities and occasionally being mistaken for patients.

There's a rumor that Leah was cajoled into switching to night shift because management couldn't handle us working together. I can't speak to the accuracy of said rumor, but I can confirm that there were sighs of relief when she accepted the offer.

Tammy nodded. "She's around here somewhere but she's been pretty swamped. It's a bit of a zoo up here this evening."

That wasn't really a surprise. Our floor didn't have the most critical patients, but it's not like they stop being sick when the sun goes down or the day shift ends. "If you see her, let her know I'm here. I'm gonna head downstairs to check on Bailey and pop in on my other patients."

"Including 843?" she asks with a raised eyebrow as I start fiddling with a computer, looking for a room number for Bailey.

Grimacing apologetically, I said, "Actually, I'd appreciate you not telling them that I'm here." The last thing I needed was one of them texting Oli. I also wasn't sure I could handle them asking questions, making assumptions about my relationship. If they're anything like my brother's team, their guess will hit too close to home.

The Academy trains their members to take context clues and paint them into a bigger, more detailed picture. I'm supposed to be out dancing with an attractive woman and instead I'm standing in the middle of the children's hospital tower, still in my date attire, getting ready to check on patients that I just saw a few hours ago.

It didn't take much to put two and two together and reach the conclusion that there was trouble in paradise. For whatever reason, the thought of any of them piecing it together made me feel vulnerable.

Tammy has that all knowing, 'I'm a mom, you can't keep anything from me,' look on her face. "There's some really handsome fellas in that group." She's giving me a side eye, her message pretty clear. She knows my date was shit. She hasn't been a fan of Miranda since the beginning. Fortunately, I don't think she'll be one of the ones to rub it in my face when this ends. Oli will be, though.

"They're a patient and patient family, Tammy. You know the rules as well as I do."

"They won't be patients forever," is her only answer and I scowl at her. She holds her hands up innocently, eyes sparkling. "Besides, I don't think you'll be able to hide for long, anyway." I lift my head and want to die when I see Sean coming towards us, his gaze already on me. I can see the appreciative glint in his eyes and then him schooling it with a small look of regret. Ah, so the phone tree doesn't work when it's finding out that Joey is related to a team they work with regularly, but when they find out that Joey does girls, suddenly everyone gets to know.

Priorities.

Sean leans against the desk, curiosity coloring his eyes. "The guys said you had a date tonight. What are you doing here, Joey?"