Make Time For Me

Jason had been part of a vaccination seminar and had had to deal with a few people who had been vacillating about vaccinating their children, but he had managed to sway them with his words and his charm. That was another thing Jason was very good at – talking people around to his point of view.

Which was also why he was so annoyed that she was standing firm and not reporting the note.

They were on a roll. They could handle a hurricane, too, if they had to.

Olivia was full of beans as she went through her day. She made sure that the medical supply closets were stocked to take them through potential emergencies. She made sure that the nurses and orderlies would be in and would be able to work.

She felt at home. She had noticed that Dr. Heart was leaving her with more and more responsibility, and she appreciated it. She appreciated how the older woman pushed her hard at the clinic, as well. She’d caught a few problematic cases, one that might have developed into cancer, at the screenings they’d done. She knew that she was becoming accepted as one of the people there.

The island really was becoming home.

When the hurricane hit, earlier than anybody expected even with the latest warnings, she was still sure that they could handle it all just fine.

Until Liza was brought in, screaming.

Rain lashed outside, drenching Liza and Bud.

“She’s having contractions. We can’t stop them. We tried everything you told us to, Doc. We can’t stop them.”

“Right,” said Dr. Heart, taking charge and snapping out orders. This time, Liza didn’t respond to treatment. Olivia worked hard, getting her changed out of her wet clothes, taking the time to get somebody to get scrubs for Bud to change into. Their baby preparation hospital bag was soaked. The wind was so strong that she could hear it even inside the hospital.

She had to block all of it out.

“Her water broke. I think the baby is coming now.”

Bud looked like he might have hysterics.

“We need to do a C-section, do you hear me, Bud, Liza? We need to do it because it would be safest. We have neonatal on standby. It’s going to be fine. Your baby has an excellent chance of doing just great. We’ve been preparing for this. You have to trust us. Do you hear me? You have to trust us and let us do our jobs. We will do it well.”

Olivia knew exactly what Dr. Heart needed. They had the OR prepped and ready to go. They scrubbed up and went in, and Ellie was there, assisting, as well.

“The fetal heart rate is fine. Liza’s vitals look good. Let’s get this done. Is neonatal ready?”

“And waiting. It’s fine. We can do this.”

So they worked, fast and efficient. They were twenty minutes into the surgery when a nurse came to Olivia.

“Dr. Leggett, there’s an emergency. Female, 18, complaints of very bad pain in the abdomen, demands to see you.”

“Me?”

“One of the girls from your contraception class.”

“I’m in the middle of surgery here.”

“You can go, Leggett. Liza and Rose are in good hands. This is going well so far.”

Olivia hesitated, but she left, wondering what was going on.

She saw the girl waiting for her. It was already getting a bit crowded and a little less controlled out in the emergency. Nothing seemed particularly bad – there was nobody with missing limbs or serious head trauma, at least – but there were plenty of people who needed stitches.

Olivia spotted her patient sitting in a corner, on a rickety chair, as if trying to separate herself from everybody else. She sat there, almost doubled over in pain.

Olivia wracked her brains for the name. Nikki! That was it!

“Nikki?”

“I… Dr. Leggett. Dr. Leggett, it hurts. It hurts so much. I think I’m going to die.”

“Hey, come on, you’re definitely not going to die tonight. I won’t allow it, for one thing. Come on, let’s get you into an exam room, and…”

“I’m pregnant.”

“What?”

“I didn’t get my period last week. I bought a pregnancy test. I don’t know what it means. Look.”

The girl reached into a pocket of her voluminous hoodie and brought out a pregnancy test.

“This is a very faint positive. It could be a false positive.”

“It hurts. It hurts so much, Dr. Leggett. Please, make it stop hurting. Make it…”

Olivia quickly checked her eyes, and noticed that she was far too pale. She was too cold, too.

“I need to get you in for a scan, all right, Nikki? It’s going to be fine.”

It was hard to find enough people to help. So she grabbed a wheelchair herself, got Nikki into it, and took her for her scan. The technician was there, thankfully.

“Dora, we have suspected internal bleeding and possible ectopic pregnancy here. We need a scan quickly.”

Dora was smart and efficient. She quickly had Nikki prepped and the wand ready.

“Dr. Leggett. I’m afraid.”

“I know, sweetheart. It’s going to be fine, though. You know how an ultrasound works, right? Well, we will have to do the trans-va*inal scan for you because you said you’re only a couple of weeks late, right?”

She nodded, tears streaming down her face.

“Well, then we won’t be able to see anything much on the regular scan. We need a TVS. This will be a little uncomfortable, but I will be right here, all right?”

She nodded, and reached for Olivia’s hand with such trust that Olivia knew she had to do this herself. She couldn’t leave this girl alone. She looked so young, much younger than her years.

“Deep breaths, okay?”

She nodded, and winced a little, but she was fine as she waited.

“All right, there’s definitely something there. I need to do an internal exam, honey. All right? I just need a confirmation.”

Olivia pulled her gloves on and tried to be as reassuring as possible as she did the exam.

Sh*t.

That was a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. The embryo had implanted in the left fallopian tube instead of in the uterus, and it had ripped the fallopian tube open. There was definite internal bleeding. She needed surgery, immediately.

“Dora.”

“I’m getting it ready now. We’ll move her to pre-op and prep her for surgery there.”

“Thanks, Dora. Dr. Heart?”

“Still in with Liza. She’ll take time. It’s you, Dr. Leggett.”

Sh*t.

She nodded.

“Dr. Leggett? Dr. Leggett, what’s happening? I’m afraid. I’m afraid, I want Mike. He dumped me. He said he would dump me if I didn’t have s*x with him, and he didn’t want to use a condom. He said it didn’t feel good for him if he used one. And I told him you said the pill won’t start working for seven days, and he said it would be fine.”

“I know, honey. Listen, what about your parents?”

“No! No, you can’t tell them! They will kill me!”

Olivia backed up.

“What?”

“They make me wear a purity ring. They’ll kill me. Please, Dr. Leggett. Please.”