Phone Calls
Shoving open her front door, Evie pulled her phone out of her pocket. She scrolled through the contacts list until she found the number she wanted. As she closed the door, she called them.
“Hello, Angela Stiles speaking.”
“Mom! How are you?”
“I’m good Evie, you?”
“I’m good,” Evie responded in German. She didn’t know why but it was an automatic thing she did while speaking to her mother. “Do you happen to know if dad’s on shift?”
“I don’t think he is. I’m heading to my locum hospital right now so I can’t actually check,” Angie yelled at some car passing by. “Why?”
“I just needed to ask something.”
“Mausebär...”
“Ach, mom! I told you to stop calling me that!” Evie wanted to slam her head against the table.
“Fine, fine,” At that moment, Ainsley walked in. Evie nodded to her, smiling.
“Is that Angie?” She mouthed.
“Yes,” Evie mouthed back - except she said it. Out loud.
“Is that Ainsley who you’re talking to?” Angie asked.
“Yes mom,”
“Hi Angie!”
“Tell her I said hi, would you?”
“Ja,” Evie watched Ainsley as she went to the kitchen.
“So, why did you actually call Eves?”
“..I’m not sure if I can say yet, so keep quiet. You may only tell and talk to dad about it, ja?”
“Mhm, I’m listening.”
“There’s been an outbreak of Rosalia here. And it looks like we might have a form of Post-Rosalia too, though no-one knows how it works. The CIFM have loaned me to Resurgam so I’m not actually working there at the moment.”
“Why the heck are you working at a hospital? I thought you worked with dead bodies. Where are you, the mortuary?”
“Nein I-well, yeah, actually. I’m there for forensic work on deceased patients.”
“Ah.”
“Mhm.”
“By the way, what’s with the German? Could you like, stop speaking more than me? It’s very embarrassing.”
“Whyyyyy?”
“Because it-I don't know!”
“Then my answer is no, mom. Never.”
“You and your father are insufferable,” Angie huffed. “The only good thing I got from this marriage was Oliver. At least he’s quiet.”
“Mom. Ollie has social anxiety.”
“I know I didn’t mean it like that. Just - I - ugh, you know what I meant Evie!”
“I’m gonna try and call dad now. Okay! Liebe dich mom!” She didn’t give her mother a second to reply before she ended the call. Ainsley returned with a bowl of cereal in her hand. So much for being in their 30s, they still ate like college students. She sat down next to Evie, who was looking through her contacts for the second time.
“Calling Derek now?”
“Mhm. Need to see if he has any advice for the surgeons.” Evie pressed their call button and put it on speaker. Conversations with her dad were easier, only one of them was bilingual and so they only spoke in one language.
“Derek Stiles speaking.”
“Hey dad.”
“Evie? What’s causing you to call me at this hour?”
Evie shifted, looking at her watch. “It’s not that late for you, is it?”
Derek sighed. “No, I suppose not.”
“Hi Derek!” Ainsley said through a mouthful of cereal. Evie elbowed her, causing her to cough hard.
“You alright there Ainsley?”
“No-” she choked out. Glaring at Evie, Ainsley got up to put her bowl in the kitchen.
“So dad, have you heard of the outbreak we’ve had here?”
“No. God, please tell me it isn’t GUILT again, I am so done with it.”
Evie laughed. “Nein, it’s Rosalia. Or some form of Post-Rosalia that’s been triggered by the outbreak - at least, that’s what we think.”
“It is possible, although unlikely. If I were you, I’d tell the surgeons and doctors to treat it as Rosalia and adjust the treatment when you need. Gabe’s gone back to Resurgam right?”
“He’s come back temporarily, ja.”
“I’ll send him some notes that he can share with the surgeons. I’ll see if I can contact Naomi, Markus and Valerie too.”
“Alright. I think Harry and Charl are gonna call their mom or dad anyway.”
Evie could nearly feel her dad nodding on the other end of the phone. “I have to go now, got a surgery. We can catch up properly soon okay? Love you Eves. Bye Ainsley.”
“Bye Derek!”
“Bye dad,” Evie ended the call and looked at Ainsley, who had entered the room again. “Well, if dad doesn’t get any ideas then we’re royally screwed.”
Ainsley walked over. “It’s not your job, Evie. You’re a medical examiner, not a doctor.”
“Dr. Kimishima helped,”
“She had surgical training,”
“I literally diagnose the dead, Ains.” Evie raised her eyebrows.
“Trust me, Eves, you’re doing more than enough. Give yourself some credit okay? You’re an amazing medical examiner. That last case? Done in a week.”
“I suppose,” Evie hugged Ainsley. “Danke, liebling.”
***
“You’ve reached the personal phone of Markus Blaylock-Vaughn. If you were calling about a surgery or appointment, check all the digits of the number. If it’s one of the kids, I’m probably in surgery. Or something. Call back later.” Charlotte groaned as she ended the call. Harry looked up from his spot across her on the couch, his forehead creased.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t get through to dad,” she put the phone down. Harry reached across and dialled in another number, putting it on speaker.
“Hello, this is Caduceus USA. Leslie Newman speaking. How may I help you?”
Harry looked triumphantly at Charl, who grinned and cleared her throat.
“Hi Ms Newman, my name is Charlotte Blaylock-Vaughn. I’m Markus and Valerie’s daughter.”
“Oh, hello! Did you need something?”
“Yeah, I was wondering if you could tell me whether my parents are in surgery? I’ve been trying to get hold of them but it keeps going to voicemail.”
Charl heard tapping on the other end of the line. “Hmm...they don’t seem to be. I can page them now if you like?”
“Please,” The on hold music suddenly filled the room. Charlotte sat back, waiting patiently. Harry pulled faces at her across the phone. She chucked a pillow at him, which was promptly thrown back.
“Charlotte?” Valerie’s voice sounded worried.
“Hey mom!” Harry said, holding back a laugh as the pillow hit a Charl square in the face.
“Harry, I thoughts Leslie said Charl was on the phone?”
“I am!” Charlotte sat up. “Harry just - never mind. Listen, we need some advice. Is dad there too?”
They heard shuffling and a tap.
“Yeah I’m here,” Markus’ voice was rough.
“Dad, have you been sleeping enough? You sound really tired.”
“Yes I have Charl. Don’t worry about me. What do you need advice with?”
Harry cleared his throat. “There’s been an outbreak-slash-epidemic here. Rosalia.”
“What?”
“Yeah, we were surprised too. Charl actually got the first case at Resurgam.”
A pen dropped on the floor. No doubt Markus had been clicking it incessantly.
“Leslie, could you get Kanae, Justin and Dr. Cromwell?” Valerie asked. Neither of the children heard Leslie’s answer but they assumed it was a yes since muffled voices soon entered the room.
“Okay, Charl, Harry,” Valerie began. “Meet Kanae Tsuji, Justin Everett and Robert Cromwell. They’re on the Special Disease Counteraction Team with us.”
“A pleasure to meet you all,” Charl said.
“And you, Dr. Blaylock-Vaughn. I’ve heard a lot about your diagnostic skills, you’re quite talented-”
“Dr. Cromwell, don’t scare the poor girl,” That was another new voice. Male, so Harry assumed it was Dr. Everett. “So, why’d your parents call us?”
“There’s been an outbreak of Rosalia in Portland,” Harry explained. “We’ve been treating it and so far all I’ve had is actual Rosalia patients. However Dr. Müller in endoscopy said something weird happened during her operation. We don’t know what it was exactly, but it worried her.”
“Hm. Could you give us anymore information?”
“We think it’s like PGS but with Rosalia,” Charl said. “Patients who previously had Rosalia are returning with symptoms but when it comes to diagnosing them they just have a ton of tumours - at least in my experience. They aren’t actually malignant but they cause the bruising and bleeding.”
“Have you tested any samples?” Dr. Cromwell asked.
“Not yet. Chief Müller requested we begin collecting them as soon as we could. I believe he’ll send them to you, the labs at Resurgam are a bit behind,” Harry laughed.
“No kidding,” Charl muttered.
“But, while we wait for results and stuff, what advice would you have for treatment?”
“With unknown Stigma, and GUILT when we got there, we just guessed,” Markus answered. “I mean, they were gonna die anyway if we couldn’t find a makeshift plan at all.”
“Markus!”
“What? I’m not wrong Val.”
“Markus is right, Valerie,” Kanae added. “Dr. Blaylock-Vaughn, your best shot is to guess at treating it. Use what you know about the disease and how it reacts to your advantage.”
Harry nodded. “Okay. Thank you for your time.”
A chorus of “It’s nothing!” “No problem!” “Anytime!” came from the Caduceus team as they left the room. When it had quietened down again, Valerie spoke.
“I hope that helped, you two?”
“Yeah it did. Thanks mom!”
“Mom, you know how it’s your birthday next week...” Charl said hesitantly.
“Yeah?”
“We were gonna come up: me, Sam and Harry. But what with Rosalia I don’t think we’ll be able to make it. Or that we should come. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay! I understand.”
“Sam might be able to,” Harry chipped in. “But yeah, it’s unlikely we can.”
“Like I said, I know how crazy it can get. It’s okay. Just FaceTime me or something.”
“Of course!” Charl looked at her watch. “We should go, Harry’s on night shift today. Love you mom.”
“Love you too Charl. Stay safe.”
***
TW // START
Jesse picked up his bags from the locker room in the Ambulance Station. As he shut the door he saw Donna leaning up against the entrance, arms crossed.
“You alright Jes?”
“Yeah.” He sighed.
“You sure? You seem really anxious.”
“Wouldn’t you be if your mom’s friend and your idol turned up and worked with you all day?”
“I suppose. Dr. Torres means well though. She clearly likes you.”
“I know.”
“Jesse..it’s not because you’re afraid of going back home to Caleb is it?”
“No.”
“Jes,” Donna unfolded her arms. “I’ve known you since med school. You are not acting normal, you haven’t been for five years. You’ve changed.”
Jesse slung his bag over his shoulder. “Have a good evening, Dr. Vargas.”
He walked out, leaving Donna behind - and confused. As he exited the station, he passed Maria. She was yelling at some EMTs, who looked scared for their lives.
“Hey! Kid!” She stopped shouting at them and jogged over to Jesse. He cursed internally and turned, forcing a smile.
“Hi Dr. Torres.”
“You alright?” Maria tilted her head. “You looked really upset a second ago.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just realised I forgot to get food for me and my boyfriend for dinner.”
“Huh,” Maria looked doubtful.
“I’d best be going, if I’m gonna have time to stop at the store on the way home.”
“Yeah. Go ahead,” She stepped aside. Jesse could swear he heard her mutter ‘you’re just like Naomi’ under her breath, but when he glanced back she was yelling at the EMTs again.
Halfway home, Jesse pulled out his phone. He dialled his mom’s number and held it up to his ear.
“Hi Jesse.”
“Mom,” Relief flooded his voice as his mom said his name. It was as close to her being with her as he could currently get.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah-” Jesse cleared his throat. “You heard about the outbreak?”
“Yes, Erhard called me.”
“Got any advice for me?” Jesse attempted to make his voice light.
“Sure. From what I heard about my operation, no one had any idea what they were going into. All they knew was that it was a mutated strain of Rosalia. However, with Derek’s help we used the knowledge we had about GUILT and Rosalia to treat it. In conclusion: use what you have and know to formulate a temporary treatment plan. Particularly with emergency medicine, any treatment is better than none.”
Jesse nodded. “Makes sense. That’s what Donna suggested we do when one of my patients was ‘weird’.”
“Well, Miss Vargas is smart. You’re gonna miss out on her if you don’t make a move.”
“I don’t need to make a move. It’s not like that,” It’s so like that. I like her, she makes me feel proud and like I’m worth something. Not guilty or-
He heard Naomi sigh. “You’re still with Caleb, aren’t you?”
“That’s none of your business,” Jesse said sulkily.
“Jes, I’ve told you time and time again: he isn’t good for you. Your dad’s told you he isn’t good for you. Even Alyssa’s told you he isn’t good for you. And Aaron’s beginning to question why you’re never here.”
“Mom, he needs me!”
“No. Jesse, he’s using you. You don’t love him, you feel responsible and guilty for a load of lies. It’s been five years. Five years since I’ve physically seen you, since your dad’s seen you - since Aaron and Lyss have seen you. He’s been manipulating you for five years. You can’t stay with him.”
“He isn’t manipulating me. He wouldn’t do that, and anyway I’d notice. We had to recognise abusive households and behaviour in training, remember?”
“Jesse-”
“He’s been through so much! He’s been neglected, abused. He’s depressed, sometimes suicidal. I help him, mom. He needs me.”
“Jesse Kogen Williams. Caleb is not your responsibility,” Naomi’s voice took on the tone she used with difficult patients. “You do not need him. As he ever shown you proof of being diagnosed? If he was that bad he would’ve have ended up in the ER or a psych ward at least once.”
Jesse said nothing.
“Jes, I just want you to be safe. I don’t want to see you used by him anymore. It hurts so much to see you go through this.”
“It wouldn’t matter if I died. You could replace me with another adopted kid, it’ll be easy,” Jesse muttered.
“What was that?”
“I said I have to go,” Jesse lied. Naomi sighed and Jesse imagined her closing her eyes.
“Okay, stay safe Jes.”
“Bye mom.”
Jesse opened the door to his apartment and was immediately met with Caleb hugging him.
“Jay! God, I was so worried that you wouldn’t come home or that something had happened!”
Jesse laughed and rubbed his boyfriend’s back. “No, I’m okay. It was busy though, we had a new doctor come in today.”
Caleb drew back, his voice cutting. “You’re not...interested in them, are you?”
“No, of course not! You know I love you! Besides, she’s like sixty-something. Bit too old, don’t you think?”
Caleb snuggled close again. “Good.”
They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Jesse patted Caleb on his back.
“Hey, let’s go make dinner.”
“I get to choose okay?” Caleb ran to the kitchen. “I don’t like your weird Japanese food, and my stuff is much healthier. We both know you need the healthy stuff, hm?”
Jesse bit his lip. No crying. He wasn’t exhausted, he wasn’t upset. He was okay, and with his amazing boyfriend. Be grateful, Jesse. Caleb takes care of you, and in return you need to take care of him. He’s right, you need the healthier options more than him. Just listen to him cos he’s always right in the end.
Holding his head up and putting on a smile, Jesse walked into the kitchen. He was totally looking forward to having some form of vegetable soup again.