Doctor Frost (Doctors of Eastport General)

Dalton

NOVEMBER

Rain hit my office window, the steady tap annoying me, pulling my focus away from the report I was working on. It had been a long day and combined with the steady giggling from the girls out at the front desk, I was growing more annoyed by the minute. What did they think this was, a playground?

I let out a sigh, flipped to the next screen, and went to write more of my report when I got to one section of my notes and couldn’t read them. I frowned as I stared at the messy handwriting. I’d asked my nurses to add this part when I was on my way out of an appointment. They should have better penmanship than this. My writing was one thing, but this was inexcusable.

When another round of laughter erupted through my wall, I got up from behind the desk and took off out my door and around to the front desk.

Charlotte took half a glance in my direction, stopped laughing, and focused on whatever it was she was supposed to be working on, but when I set my sights on Amelia, she sat there looking up at me with a huge grin on her face.

It was always the same with her, and it had been that way since she’d started working for me. She was always certain that people could be cured. It was exhausting when I knew that wasn’t the case. I looked at Charlotte and then over to that grin again.

“Last I checked, it’s only two. There are three more hours before you’re finished today, which means you should do the work that needs to be done and not be goofing off. This office should be silent,” I said, slamming the patient file I had questions about down on the counter in front of Amelia.

Charlotte jumped, but Amelia sat there giving me that look. She cleared her throat, rested her chin on her hand, and met my eyes.

“We are just creating a healthy work environment,” she bit back. “Everyone knows laughter is good for the soul. Something you should do a little more of.”

My jaw clenched as I placed my hand on the desktop and opened the file I’d brought out. Then I met her eyes. “Are you saying this isn’t a healthy work environment?”

She’d been a thorn in my side ever since she’d started working for me. She was always cheerful, always bubbly, something that any doctor in this hospital would probably love to have. She was also attractive and beautiful as hell, but she was also always talking back and put a lot of effort into making my life hell. It was exhausting and, as of late, had been irritating me more than ever.

“Is there something you needed? If not, I’d like to go back to laughing and having fun while we finish out our day.” She rested her chin on her hand, giving me that adorable grin I absolutely hated.

I shoved the file at her as I stared down into those big cinnamon eyes. “Page three…halfway down there is some sort of scribble. Can you tell me what you wrote there?” I questioned, remembering that it was her working with me that day.

She smiled at me, slowly taking the file while looking me directly in the eyes. “Sure thing, Doctor Frost!”

She opened the file, flipped to the third page, and ran her finger down the page, stopping at the scribble mark. She studied it for a moment as I watched her, then frowned and swallowed hard before looking back at me. Did she not know what it said, either?

“Well?” I grunted.

“This mark here?” she asked.

“Yes, Amelia, that mark right there.”

“Geez, I’d love to help you out, but I don’t have a clue what it is. Besides, that is your handwriting,” she said, pressing her lips together as she closed the file and placed it back on the counter in front of me.

I looked at her, at those beautiful cinnamon eyes, growing more irritated by the second as she looked up at me while the phone rang. Charlotte quickly grabbed it, whispering as I locked eyes with Amelia.

“And you know, you really ought to say please when you ask someone to help you with something. Just adds, oh…I don’t know, a touch of something to the question.” She shrugged.

I felt as if my head were going to explode. She’d been on me about that recently whenever I’d given her direct orders on anything. She reminded me every single time, just like now, that I should say please and thank you.

“Amelia…” I barked, only to be stopped by Charlotte quietly clearing her throat.

“Doctor Frost?” she said, her voice squeaking.

I turned my attention toward her, waiting for her to speak.

“What?” I barked when she didn’t immediately start talking.

“One of your patients would like to see you…” she said, her voice cracking. “She’s up on floor fifteen, room 223.”

I glanced at my watch and then let out a sigh. I’d already done my rounds for today. I’d had all the patient interaction I’d wanted. I was about to tell her to put it off until tomorrow when I saw Amelia looking at me.

“Fine. Pull the file, Amelia. Let’s go.”

Only she didn’t move. She just sat there, giving me that same smug smile she’d given me for the past few minutes.

“NOW!” I barked, causing her to jump for the first time. Poor Charlotte almost dropped the phone and had to take a drink before she answered the line and let them know we were on our way.

I didn’t wait for another word. I took off out of my office and made my way toward the elevator, quickly pressing the call button, hoping I could get up there before she arrived, but just as the doors opened, Amelia appeared at my side. We both loaded into the elevator and stood in silence as we waited to get to the fifteenth floor.

We made our way to the unit the patient was in, and I quickly exchanged information with the doctors and nurses on duty before I decided if I actually needed to see the patient or just change her treatment plan. At least they’d called me to get my opinion before doing anything. Once I’d gotten the information I needed, I made my decision and looked over at Amelia, who waited patiently by my side, pen at the ready to make any notes.

“Go tell Mrs. Jackson I’m switching her off the medication that is making her sick to a new one,” I muttered, while writing down the name of the new medication in the chart for the nurses.

When I handed the clipboard back to the nurse and turned toward Amelia, she was staring at me.

“What is it?” I questioned.

“Does that mean you aren’t going to come in and talk to her?” she questioned. "She specifically asked to see you. She probably has questions.”

I averted my eyes. I swore if she started, I was going to explode. I let out the breath I was holding and then looked back at her and nodded over to the right. I took a few steps and waited until she made her way over to me.

“Amelia, there is no need for me to go in and speak with her. You can take care of this.”

“Doctor Frost, that woman has been your patient since she got sick. You really should—”

“Amelia, worry about yourself and what I just told you to do. Now, go and speak with her.”

“Seriously? She’s dying, .” Amelia frowned, looking up at me.

As I studied her, I noticed her eyes getting watery. “I know, it’s you that normally doesn’t acknowledge that.”

Amelia looked at me. I was certain I saw a hint of a tear in her eyes, but she swallowed hard and straightened her back. “…”

“Amelia, don’t make the patient wait any longer. I have to go. I have work to do and test results to go over. I need to prepare for the day tomorrow, and so do you. It’s best you take care of this patient now, rather than later.” Without waiting for her to respond, I turned and went to take a step when I heard Amelia clear her throat.

“I can’t believe you! Are you serious? You really won’t speak with her?”

I looked over my shoulder at her, at the disappointment and anger on her face. “Yes, Amelia, believe it,” I said, taking another couple of steps away from her.

“What about please? What if I ask you to please speak with her?” she begged.

I didn’t have time for games. Ignoring her, I made my way to the elevator where I hit the call button and waited. While I waited, I glanced over my shoulder to see if she’d done what I’d asked. Instead, I saw her wipe at her eyes and then glare at me.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside, turning to see her still standing there, the look in her eyes now one of disappointment. I didn’t care, though; I hit the button for my fifth-floor office and watched as the doors closed.

It was a little after seven when I shut the light off in my office and pulled the door closed. The office was dark aside from the small overhead lights at the check-in counter, which normally stayed on until the last person left, which was normally me.

I reached to turn them off when I heard something hit the floor. I glanced around the corner to see Amelia bent down on one knee, picking up a stack of files, stacking them once again into a neat pile.

“What are you still doing here?”

She jumped and dropped the stacked files off her knee as she looked over her shoulder at me.

“Oh my god, you scared me. I thought you left hours ago,” she muttered, picking up the files and stacking them again.

“You didn’t answer me,” I barked.

She didn’t say anything as I waited, and then she let out a sigh.

“You didn’t answer me either. If you need to know, I’m here because Mrs. Jackson had questions and concerns, so I stayed with her for over an hour and a half, doing my best to answer them. I then had to finish up my work for today and prep for tomorrow, which was what I was doing until you made me drop the patient files.”

Why had she been with the patient that long when all she needed to do was give her a simple answer?

“What questions did she have?”

Amelia huffed and looked over toward me as she stood up. “If you wanted to know, you should have gone to see her,” she barked.

“Well, if you needed help, you should have called me.”

Ignoring me, she grabbed the rest of the files and put them in a messy pile as she muttered something under her breath.

“What was that?” I questioned, my voice taking on a stern tone.

She let out a sigh and shook her head.

“What did you say, Amelia?”

She stood up and turned toward me. “I said, lots of good that would do. You couldn’t even take five minutes to come in and see her, as if I was going to call you.”

“Amelia, you’ve worked with me for what, a year? You should know I don’t hold the hands of my patients. Now, if they have a concern, of course, it’s my job to answer them, but…”

“That’s just it. It is your job, not mine. You should have been there to listen to her. Instead, you couldn’t or wouldn’t. I’m not sure which it was because you claimed you had work to do. So, why on earth would I call you and bother you? I took the time, answering questions I’m not even sure I gave the correct answers to, even though I had work to do as well, which is why I am still here.”

“Amelia, that’s enough. I don’t like your tone.”

“You know, last I checked, you are a doctor, and you are supposed to have some sort of bedside manner. Instead, all I’ve seen is a cold-hearted man who treats patients as objects instead of showing compassion to the emotional, scared people they become when they are ill. It’s disgusting.”

If ever I’d felt irritated, it was now, right at this moment. She’d overstepped. I had a fucking heart, and I showed compassion, and I had a fucking great bedside manner. All she needed to do was look at the awards I’d gotten in the last year. I was about to speak, but she held out her hand, stopping me.

“, I don’t want to hear it. All you do is stomp around, yell out orders as if we are some sort of waitstaff instead of colleagues. We can’t laugh, we can’t have fun. You know the other day Mrs. Linton even commented how different this office had become, and she’d only been in here to pick up her prescription. I don’t know who the hell ever pissed you off that bad, to make you into this sort of person. Life in this office is a living hell sometimes, but I can’t imagine what home must be like for you. Honestly, I feel sorry for your significant other, if this is what she has to deal with day in and day out.”

Amelia, red-faced and out of breath slammed the stack of files down on the desk. She bent over, grabbed her purse from the drawer, and then went for her coat, but the phone rang. Not thinking, she grabbed the receiver and in an almost unrecognizable voice from the last few moments sang, “Hello…”

She didn’t look at me. Instead, she shoved the phone out in front of her.

“We don’t answer calls after the office is closed. Now, take a message and I’ll call them back in the morning,” I barked.

“It’s your daughter. Do you want to take it, or would you like me to tell her what a grump you are?” she questioned, looking me directly in the eye.

I was seething with anger as I ripped the phone from her hand. “Hello.”

“Dad…sorry to call you at work. Mrs. Jenkins wanted to know what to prepare for supper tonight. You left nothing on the sheet.”

I looked up to see Amelia staring at me with hateful eyes. I’d definitely have to deal with her, but right now, I needed to get home to the kids. Her words, which were way out of line, had struck a chord, one I didn’t even remember having. Had I really become that bad?

Okay, perhaps I’d grown a little cold here at work, but she had no right to attack my personal life the way she had. That was far over the bounds of a professional relationship.

“Tell Mrs. Jenkins I’ll be bringing home dinner. I should be there in…oh, thirty minutes,” I said, glancing at my watch and then back at Amelia. “See you soon,” I said, and then held the receiver out in front of me for Amelia to take.

She hesitantly grabbed the receiver from my hand, hanging it up. I was going to say something to her, reprimand her for answering the phone, but decided against it. Instead, I turned and made my way to my office and stopped at the door. I didn’t need to look back, I knew she was staring at me. I could feel her eyes boring into the back of my head.

“Oh, Amelia. Take tomorrow off. I’ll see you back here on Wednesday. Then I will figure out what the punishment shall be for talking back to your boss.”

I didn’t give her time to respond; I pushed the door open and walked out of the office, doing my best to calm down before heading home to my kids.