A Healer's War

Chapter 13 - Reoccuring Themes

Chapter 13: Reoccurring Themes

Sunday. April 15th.

The next day at work, Rory didn't see Khloe. Initially, he felt relieved. The pressure of being clever and cute felt draining, but by the time he got his patient assignment, a surprising pang of disappointment nested in him, and he was so noxious that for the rest of the night, he kept hoping she'd walk by.

"Rory, you've got Jenny again. Mom - Danielle - will be with her today. Let us know if you need any help."

He beamed. Jenny was a frequent flier, a name loving dubbed for repeat patients in the PICU. Rory had cared for her several times before and had bonded with the family. Danielle was fun and easy to talk to, and he sighed, relaxing. No exhausting small talk needed today.

With a smooth shift on the horizon, Rory hurried to the unit to get report from the outgoing day-shift nurse–and kept an eye out for Khloe.

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19:50.

"Lion King at ten?" Rory asked, fluffing a lumpy pillow.

Sweat ran down his back. He could feel his scrubs sticking to him now. Small, stuffy rooms and multiple layers made it mandatory for a nurse to invest in strong antiperspirants, especially when the patient was under isolation precautions. Clever marketers advertised the paper-like yellow isolation gowns as lightweight, which they were, and breathable, which they weren't.

"Same time every day, isn't that right, bubs?" Danielle sat beside the bed, tucking her long platinum-blonde hair behind her ear. "We love those sing-a-longs."

The former bodybuilder had made a name for herself on the unit with her sugar cookies, but she became a celebrity when Katherine discovered her international weight-lifting records. Rory loved her stories, and they'd spent long hours talking about everything from doping tests, seventy-hour weeks of work and lifting, and then setting it all aside for her special needs daughter. That, and Danielle was just kind. You always felt a little better after talking to her.

"Ooh, I just can't wait..." she sang to Jenny.

In the bed, the eleven-year-old flailed her hands, cooing happily as she played with her painted blocks. Drool ran down her chin onto the cloth straps holding her tracheotomy tube in place. Danielle reached over and wiped the drool away and smoothed Jenny's sweaty hair off her face. Jenny wriggled in protest, grinding her teeth and feebly attempting to bat her mother's hands away.

"Are you going to behave for Rory and me tonight?"

Jenny puffed out her cheeks and glared at her mother, who laughed. "We want to be nice to Rory. He does a great job helping us, doesn't he?"

Jenny clicked her teeth together and returned to playing with her blocks.

"That's very sweet of you," Rory said.

"It's true," Danielle said. "I'm always so grateful when we get you."

Rory felt his cheeks warm, but he wasn't sure if that was from the isolation gown or the compliment. He rounded the bed and slid a pillow beneath Jenny's legs to relieve her lower back. Danielle shifted the monitoring cables and tugged at the corners of her covers, tucking them into the sides of the guard rails. Rory smiled at her idle fussing.

"So, ten works with your assignment?" Danielle asked, curling her legs up beneath her in the chair. "Jenny loves it when you sing."

"Should, but I'll need to warm up this time," Rory said, with a wink at Jenny.