Practicing Partners (Maiden’s Bay #2)

Chapter Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

BETWEEN MRS. DONCHIK’S condition and Bran’s unexpected passing out at the house, Aubrie’s nerves were frayed. The car ride to Seattle University Hospital felt like an eternity. As much as she took in and appreciated the scenery on the way to Grace Donchik’s home, she cursed it for never ending, the first hour of driving a monotonous loop that stretched for miles. As they approached the city, excitement and anxiety crept in. Mrs. Donchik had kept alert during the car ride so far and did not put up a fight about where they were going. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t once they arrived.

Bran’s behavior on the phone was indecipherable. He seemed both helpful and hesitant, which could’ve been because of what he had shared with Aubrie. Experiencing a traumatic event, like the death of his mother at a young age, stayed with a person. Even the patients she had managed to care for through their cancer experience had to deal with the mental health aspect of it for sometimes years afterward.

“Just pull around the ER entrance there.” Aubrie pointed to a U-shaped drive in front of the ER’s glass sliding doors.

Tim stopped the car and turned around. “All right, Gran. Doctor Turnbridge is going to take you in.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll park and be right in.”

“Oh, no, you won’t. I’m not going in there without you.”

Aubrie met Tim’s stare.

“It’s okay, Tim. Valet will park.” Aubrie got out of the car and waved to the valet driver standing by a podium. The man jumped to attention and jogged to the driver’s door. Tim was already at the rear door, helping Mrs. Donchik out of the car.

“Nice and easy,” Aubrie said. She didn’t know how readily the elderly woman could have another spell. It may have been induced when she got up quickly from gardening for all Aubrie knew. She and Tim helped Mrs. Donchik into the building, and Tim worked out the check-in with as much information as he could provide.

Aubrie eyed the front door for signs of Bran. Maybe it was all too much for him. That he couldn’t bring himself inside, be reminded of his mother’s death. It tugged at her heart, that he had lived through something like that. But when Bran came running from around the corner into the hospital, her tensed body eased with relief.

And something else that took her by surprise—she smiled at the sight of him. It was absurd what her body did without her permission.

“Doctor Jackson! Long time.” The triage nurse stood, a muscular black man half a foot taller than Bran. The two exchanged a friendly fist bump.

“How are you doing, Stan?”

“The question is, how are you doing?” The undertone with which he said it implied that something was wrong or had been wrong with Bran. But maybe Aubrie was imagining it.

“Ah, don’t worry about me. Right now, we need to worry about Missus Donchik, here.”

The patient, already with a hospital armband, was wheeled back through a hallway past a locked door, with Tim accompanying her.

“I’ll go,” Bran said.

“You sure?” It made sense to Aubrie, since this was his former place of work. But she had to be certain he was in the right mind to help.

Bran clutched her elbows in a gentle grip. “I promise. I know the cardiology team. Let me do what I can.”

Aubrie nodded. “I’ll call Doc Bernie, let him know what happened.”

“Good idea. He’ll be curious when we don’t show up after lunch.” Bran’s hands slipped away. He tapped the square button on the wall, giving Stan a nod, and went through the doorway into the hall after Mrs. Donchik.

Aubrie stepped aside, close to the front windows of the waiting room. Around a dozen people waited, not a whole lot considering how big the city was and what she was used to seeing going to work. She didn’t always pass the emergency room, but sometimes she took the longer way around the outside of the hospital and would peek in the windows, gauging just how busy they were. Nighttime was the witching hour, at least in Dallas. More car accidents, fights, occupational accidents, alcohol poisoning. If it happened during the day, it happened exponentially worse at night.

She faced the corner of the room and dialed Doc Bernie’s office. Edith answered.

“Hey, Edith, it’s Aubrie. Is Doc Bernie available?”

“He’s in with a patient right now. Is it an emergency?”

“Sort of.” Aubrie weighed telling Edith or waiting to tell Doc. Who knew when he’d be done. “You know how we visited Grace Donchik this morning?”

“Of course.”

“Well, when we got there, she was on the ground, having an episode. We’ve taken her to Seattle University Hospital. She consented for me to share her file, and Bran is speaking with the cardiology unit as we speak.”

An older man held up by two younger men walked through the glass doors, a staff member assisting them with a wheelchair. The way he clutched his chest suggested a heart attack patient. No knowing how many patients cardiology was dealing with right now.

“Oh my word,” Edith said. “Yes, I will let him know right away. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know, though, despite the not-so-pleasant circumstances, that you got her to see a specialist.”

Of course Edith knew the ins and outs of Grace Donchik. Not only was she present when Aubrie and Doc were talking this morning at the office. But it was Maiden’s Bay. Apparently, the remote outskirts were not remote enough to escape gossip’s reach.

“Have him give me or Bran a call when he’s available.”

“I most certainly will. You two be careful coming back, and take your time. At least appointment-wise, this afternoon looks slow.”

“Thanks, Edith.” Aubrie hung up and slipped the phone in her back pants pocket. She stared at the door leading to the other parts of the hospital, as if Bran would come running through there with good news at any moment. If they were to stay with Mrs. Donchik, this most likely would be an all-afternoon event.

She approached the triage desk a minute after the last patient in line was processed, wanting to see if she had the okay to join Bran and Tim. She stopped when she heard the private conversation happening farther back from the desk.

“I can’t believe he’s here, though.” A female nurse spoke with Stan. Aubrie pretended to ignore their conversation, not staring at either one of them.

“He was with a patient under cardiac duress,” Stan said. “What was he supposed to do?”

“I don’t know. Go to Seattle General?”

“We both know cardiology here is much better.”

“Still,” a second woman said. “To have done that, with a patient nonetheless, and come back here while on probation? Is he even allowed to be on the property?”

“Probation?” Aubrie blurted out, grabbing the attention of the three gossipers.

“Sorry, is there something we can help you with?” Stan asked.

“Yes, I’d like to know what is going on with Doctor Jackson.”

“We can’t discuss that,” one of the women said.

“Seems like you were okay discussing it a second ago.” Aubrie dialed back the snarkiness. “I think I should know. I definitely think his grandfather should know, considering Bran is currently working for him. If he’s on probation, we’d need to know why. For the safety of our patients, at the very least.”

Stan eyed the two women, no doubt annoyed they had put him in this position with their chitchat.

“He slept with a patient,” the second woman blurted out.

“Nancy!” The first woman stared in shock.

“She does have a right to know. Don’t you think any subsequent employers should be made aware of his behavior?”

“That’s not up to us to decide,” Stan said.

The woman ignored him. “Not only did he sleep with a patient. He had an ongoing relationship with her.”

“Of course, it wasn’t secret for long. Once Doctor Hycliff found out, Doctor Jackson was immediately put on probation.”

“And the investigation is still ongoing.” Stan folded his arms. “We don’t know the whole story, although you two would love to condemn the man any chance you can get. Don’t think I don’t know about your past endeavors with him, Sofie.”

Sofie scoffed and rolled her eyes. “It’s completely inappropriate. That man is inappropriate and shouldn’t be allowed to be around patients. Especially female ones.”

“First off, that’s a doctor you’re speaking about,” Stan said. “And he is the best damn trauma surgeon I’ve seen in my years here.”

“That doesn’t excuse his indiscretions,” Sofie said.

“All around the hospital,” the other woman said.

Aubrie’s stomach turned. Her first impression of Bran was that he was the type of guy to have his fun and end it when it wasn’t fun anymore. But she thought she was getting to know him beyond first impressions. That he was actually a deeper, more thoughtful person. These two nurses had her doubting her judgment all over again.

Whether they told the truth about why the probation happened, and whether those things actually happened, didn’t matter as much as the fact that Bran hadn’t told her—or likely Doc Bernie—that he was on probation in the first place. Probation was no joke. Worst case scenario, his license could be revoked, and any hopes of practicing in his grandfather’s footsteps would be demolished.

Another thought, more concerning, lingered in her head. If he were on probation, that meant he was still employed by Seattle University Hospital. Had he not told them about taking over Doc Bernie’s practice? He had said he didn’t know about her presence in Maiden’s Bay and what Doc Bernie did, pitting them against each other. So, why would he keep his affiliation with the hospital? Maybe probation had to be sorted out first. She was fishing for any logical explanation she could catch.

The thoughts overwhelmed her, swirling in her head to a nearly dizzying effect.

The desk phone rang, and Stan picked it up. “You can go head on back now.”

“Me?” Aubrie was pulled back into the moment.

Stan nodded. “Down the hallway. Elevators on the left. Fourth floor is cardiology.”

Aubrie was a stew of emotions. She wanted to confront Bran, to find out the truth. She also feared it. As much as she felt leery about Bran upon first meeting him, she didn’t feel that way anymore. At least, not until now. She wanted to believe there was more to him, the pieces that she had seen the past few days. Those reflected the true Bran. Not the superficial, fake-facade Bran.

She entered through the door and followed Stan’s instructions to the elevator. She pushed the up button and checked her watch. Damn. There was a slim to no chance they’d make it back by closing to Doc Bernie’s.

Her stomach sank as the elevator doors opened. She had nearly forgotten about her date with Garrett tonight. It was the last thing she felt like doing, yet canceling didn’t sit right. Garrett seemed the type who would understand if something had come up. Heck, he was a fisherman, and from what she’d learned, they didn’t have a precise schedule they stuck to outside of when to head out.

It was more important to see how things went over here first. Mrs. Donchik took priority. Not Bran’s behavior or probation. Not the date with Garrett. The patient.

She shared the elevator with two men in lab coats who stood in silence—too quiet for Aubrie’s comfort. Dallas General had been a busy place, but friendly. Most staff greeted each other and engaged in small chitchat. These two made the space feel like a church, or a library, but less enjoyable.

The doors opened at the fourth floor, and Aubrie approached the main desk ahead.

“Can I help you?” a woman asked politely.

“I’m here for Grace Donchik. She’s a patient of mine, along with Doctor Jackson. Doctor Bran Jackson.” She didn’t know why she had repeated his name like that, as if the staff here wouldn’t know him, or if there was another Dr. Jackson in the hospital. Perhaps she shouldn’t have said his name at all, given the information she learned downstairs.

“She’s being assessed right now. Doctor Jackson should be with her around the corner, Room four-thirteen on the right.”

“Thank you.” Aubrie pulled herself together, rearranging the order of the list in her head of what she wanted to ask Bran. But Mrs. Donchik came first. After that, there were too many questions for Bran.

She approached Room 413. The door was open, a woman standing near it. Mrs. Donchik lay in the bed, hooked up to a monitor, while Tim sat in a chair beside her, holding her hand.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.” Aubrie smiled at the woman. “I’m Doctor Turnbridge. I helped bring Missus Donchik in and brought her file.”

“Oh, yes. I’m Doctor Madan.” The woman held out a hand, and Aubrie shook it. “Can we talk out here?”

Aubrie agreed, and Dr. Madan stepped into the hallway.

“We are going to run some tests on Missus Donchik. So far, her EKG indicates an irregular heartbeat. With her history, I have my suspicions it’s a heart valve defect, but I want to do a thorough workup to make sure.” Dr. Madan peeked through the door’s window, Mrs. Donchik visible through the sliver. “I will say it’s good you brought her here when you did. I can’t believe she hasn’t been seen by us or any other team until now.”

“From what I know, she wasn’t exactly keen on coming here. Even after her incident in front of her grandson today.”

“Well, we will take good care of her. I don’t see reason to stay unless you want to. We have all of the information you’ve given us, and her grandson is with her.”

“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll pass on the info to her PCP.” Aubrie looked around the hallway. “Have you by any chance seen Doctor Jackson?”

“I haven’t seen him since we brought her into the room.”

Yelling emanated from farther down the hallway.

“Stop it, you two!” a woman yelled. Footsteps sounded, pounding harder and closer. A woman rounded the bend.

“A fight!”

“What?” Aubrie and Dr. Madan followed the woman around the corner, and they both stopped, in shock at what they were witnessing. Two men were on the ground, yelling, grabbing, clutching, hitting.

Three men in brown scrubs wrestled the fighting men apart.

Dr. Madan looked at Aubrie. “Well, we seem to have found Doctor Jackson.”

Aubrie stared down the two men. One in his thirties with dark hair, a bloodied sharp nose, in green scrubs. The other twenty-eight years old, blue eyes and dusky brown hair, with a bloody lip and red splotch near his eye.

“Hey, Aubrie.” Bran huffed for breath on the floor, licking his lip. “How’s Missus Donchik?”