Dr. Grump’s Surprise Baby (Bossy Bachelors #2)

6. Emily

CHAPTER 6

EMILY

“ E veryone gather around, please,” Dr. Berger said. “We have a hard job today.”

Everyone drew close, waiting to hear what he had to say.

Dr. Berger cleared his throat. “One of our patients has taken a turn for the worse,” he said. “We were exploring our last treatment option for him, and now that treatment has failed. Today we’re going to have to speak to his family, to let them know that there’s nothing more we can do.”

The group was quiet. Emily felt as if a lead weight had settled into the pit of her stomach, and she noticed that even Chad wasn’t his usual talkative self. Even he seemed to have been affected by the seriousness of the moment.

“Which patient?” someone asked.

“Some of you might have interacted with him over the past few weeks,” Dr. Berger said. “His name is Daniel Wilson.”

Emily thought her heart might have cracked. Daniel .

“I know this might be difficult for you,” Dr. Berger said. “But I’m afraid I can’t let anyone off the hook today. Everyone is going to have to come along for this conversation.

Emily knew that she shouldn’t speak up. She should allow Dr. Berger to call the shots without saying anything. She wasn’t doing herself any favors. But she couldn’t help saying something.

“Are you sure, Dr. Berger?” she asked.

Everyone turned to look at her.

She felt her face grow hot. Challenging Dr. Berger simply wasn’t done. And yet… he was wrong. She knew he was wrong. How could she hold back from saying something about it? Wasn’t it her responsibility?

“Do you have an opinion you’d like to share?” Dr. Berger asked her, his voice cold.

Emily’s courage nearly failed her. She almost changed her mind and told him no, that she didn’t have anything in particular to say.

But she couldn’t hold this back. Her conscience wouldn’t permit her to do it.

“It’s just that I wonder whether this is what’s right for Daniel’s family,” she said. “Having a bunch of interns crowded around for what is going to be one of the most painful moments of their lives. Surely we should prioritize giving them a little privacy as they cope with it.”

“If you don’t want to come along, maybe you should stay behind,” Chad said.

Dr. Berger shot Chad a glare, but when he turned his attention back to Emily, his expression was no kinder. “This isn’t just about Daniel,” he said. “This is about every patient you’ll deal with in your career. You need to learn how to handle these moments so you’ll be ready to face them in the future, when I’m not here to do it alongside you.”

“I understand that,” Emily said. “It just feels sort of cold for us to get that experience at the expense of a family going through something like this.”

“We have to learn somehow,” Sara murmured. “I know it’s hard, Emily, but this is what has to happen. You get that, right?”

Dr. Berger shook his head. “I don’t have time for this,” he said. “If you don’t want to come, stay behind.”

Emily fell into step alongside the others. She didn’t want to be a part of this, but if a whole group of interns was going to talk to Daniel’s family, it wouldn’t make any difference if she was the one who chose to sit it out. And maybe she could do something to make this easier for them.

She could tell the moment they walked into the family waiting room that the Wilsons already knew what they were going to hear. It was obvious that Daniel’s mother had been crying. His older brother had an arm around her and an expression of solemnity on his face. Daniel’s father was pacing back and forth, not looking at anybody, and even his little sister, who couldn’t have been more than six years old, seemed aware that something deeply serious was taking place.

The interns took up places around the room, leaning against the wall to watch what would happen next. Emily felt deeply disturbed by the fact that they were there at all, but she’d voiced her dissent and had been put in her place. There was nothing more she could do about it.

Dr. Berger took a seat opposite Daniel’s mother, who immediately began to cry again.

“As you know,” he said, “we’ve been exploring a variety of treatment options for Daniel, and as of now, we’ve come to the end of what medical science can do.”

“There has to be something else,” Mr. Wilson said. His tone was all anger, no shock, which told Emily clearly that the family had known this was coming.

“I’m sorry.” Dr. Berger didn’t sound sorry, she couldn’t help noticing. There was no real empathy in his voice; he sounded as if he was saying something he had memorized by rote. “Unfortunately, there really isn’t. My best advice now is that you take him home and make him comfortable.”

“And wait for him to die?” Mrs. Wilson said, her voice trembling. “That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

“He’s doing well right now,” Dr. Berger said. “He could have a decent amount of time left.”

“A decent amount of time? He’s a child! He should have eighty years left! We brought him here because you’re supposed to be the best doctor in the state.”

“I’m an emergency room doctor,” Dr. Berger said. “I’m not a specialist in Daniel’s condition. But I’ve worked with Dr. Nash for a long time, and I know that he has done everything possible for your son.”

“Where is Dr. Nash? Why isn’t he the one telling us this?”

Emily got a sinking feeling. Was it possible that the reason Dr. Nash wasn’t here was so that Dr. Berger could bring the interns to this? Was it possible he had asked to take on this task as a part of their training?

If that was true, it was appalling.

“If you have any questions, you can address them to myself or any other member of the hospital staff,” Dr. Berger said. “If we are unable to advise you, we’ll get your questions to Dr. Nash to be answered. I’m sorry to have to give you this news today.”

He rose to his feet.

Emily watched as he left the room. She was staggered. Was that really all he was going to give to this grieving family? Didn’t he have anything else to say to them?

As if it had happened yesterday, she found herself thrown back into the past — when her family had sat in a hospital waiting room to receive similar news.

She remembered the way her father had sobbed. She had never seen her father cry before that day, and it had shocked and devastated her.

She remembered her mother, in pain too deep for tears, sitting in a chair and shaking, her eyes unfocused.

She remembered the hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach as the doctor’s words had registered and the knowledge that her life would never again be the same.

And she remembered other things too.

She remembered Gina, her favorite nurse at the hospital, sitting with them for hours, having food brought up from the cafeteria and encouraging everyone to eat. No one had wanted to, but Gina had coaxed them through it until eventually everyone had taken at least a few bites of the hospital spaghetti and meatballs.

She remembered the doctor who had delivered the news — the same news Dr. Berger had delivered today. That there was nothing more they could do for Ruth, Emily’s younger sister. That they should take her home and make her comfortable.

But it hadn’t been like what Dr. Berger had done at all. There had been no indication that Ruth’s doctor had anywhere else he wanted to be. He had addressed Emily’s parents by their first names. He had talked about how much he loved Ruth, what a sweet person she was. He had acknowledged what a tragedy it was to lose her. He hadn’t cried with them, exactly, but it had felt like he was grieving with them. It had felt like he really understood their loss.

Dr. Berger, meanwhile, had delivered the news that Daniel was going to die as if he was commenting on the weather, and now he was walking away.

And Emily knew she couldn’t do the same.

So as the rest of the interns left, Emily hung back. She eased into the seat that Dr. Berger had vacated. After a moment, the family noticed that she was still there and turned their attention to her to see what she would say.

“I wanted to tell you that I’m so very sorry for what your family is going through now,” she said quietly.

“Who are you?” Mrs. Wilson said.

“We met briefly a few weeks ago when I was shadowing Dr. Nash. My name is Dr. Swinton — you can call me Emily, if you’d like. I’m an intern here, so I haven’t had much chance to work with Daniel personally, but I have met him a few times. He’s a wonderful boy.”

Tears spilled down Mrs. Wilson’s cheeks. She said nothing.

“You know, these things don’t make sense,” Emily murmured. “And it’s awful to see them happen to such young kids. My family experienced a loss when I was young. It’s the reason I got into medicine. So I know how you feel right now, and I know that there’s nothing anyone can say to you that will make it any easier or any less painful. Still, if there is anything I or the rest of the hospital can do right now to help, please let us know. Everyone wants to support you. Are there any questions I can answer for you right now?”

“Do you think…” Mr. Wilson cleared his throat. “How much of all this should we tell Daniel? Is there any point in it? I don’t want him to be worried or upset. Maybe it’s best to keep him in the dark.”

“That’s a decision you’ll have to make as a family,” Emily said. “You know Daniel better than anyone. You know what’s best for him. That’s not something I believe a doctor can provide an answer for.”

“But what would you do?” Mr. Wilson pressed.

Emily sighed. “I would tell the truth,” she said. “I think people have a right to know what to expect when it comes to their own bodies and their own lives. I think if it was me, I would want to know how much time I had left.”

“How much time does he have left?” Daniel’s brother asked shakily.

Emily looked at him. He couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old — too young to face this, in her opinion.

“That’s a question for Dr. Nash,” she said. “Would you like me to ask him and get back to you?”

“Please,” the boy said.

“I can do that,” Emily said.

“What should we do?” Mrs. Wilson asked. “How can we help Daniel?”

“Do what you can to make the next stage of his life happy and full of joy,” Emily said softly. “The hospital can help you when it comes to minimizing pain, but your best move will be to create memories with Daniel. You will be glad that you did, I promise you.”

“Will he be well enough for that?”

“There will be good days and bad ones, most likely, and you should take them as they come,” Emily said. “Some days it won’t feel like he’s sick at all. Don’t let those days lull you into a false belief that he’s getting better, but don’t be afraid to enjoy them either.”

“How are we supposed to enjoy anything, knowing what’s coming?” Mrs. Wilson whispered.

Emily nodded. “I understand what you mean,” she said. “It feels like there’s a cloud hanging over you.”

“Yes.”

“It’s all right to feel that. It’s normal to feel that. What you’re facing… it’s horrible and painful, and there’s no point in pretending otherwise. You don’t want to shove it all down, ignore it, and then let it hit you all at once later. You want to let yourself begin to prepare. Let your grief in, but don’t let it dominate you,” Emily said. “Don’t let it rob you of the happiness you still have left to share with Daniel.”

She wrote her phone number down on a piece of paper and gave it to Daniel’s mother. “Any time you want to talk, you can feel free to reach out. For anything.”

“Thank you,” Mrs. Wilson whispered.

Emily placed a hand on Mrs. Wilson’s shoulder and then left the room, unsure if she had helped, but knowing all the same that she had done the right thing by trying.