Chapter 2
Raven ate an apple while Clarke filled out charts at the nurse’s station. She was staring at the new doctor over the counter. Clarke had not spoken to her since their introduction a few hours ago. She had given two breathing treatments and set a broken leg since the gunshot victim. No one had any answers about how he got to the hospital or why he was shot, but his family had not left his side since their arrival. They seemed like nice people and Clarke had been the one to inform them of his condition. His mother had cried during the whole conversation which broke Clarke’s heart. When told he would, most likely, make a full recovery, she felt a little better.
“What do we think about the new girl?” Raven asked.
“I haven’t had a conversation with her yet,” she said, shrugging. “But she seems nice, I guess.”
“I heard a rumor. Wanna hear?”
Clarke rolled her eyes as she looked toward the other woman. “Do I want to know?” she asked.
“Apparently, she’s dating Costia Winters,” Raven said. “Octavia said it's how she got the job.”
Dr. Winters was the chief of psychiatry. She was often in the emergency wing for consultations. Dr. Winters was respected around the hospital as a knowledgeable and professional doctor, but never spoke to anyone about personal business. She never asked about anyone’s family or their plans for the weekend. Clarke thought, if the rumors would true, they would make a hot couple.
“She got the job because she’s a good doctor,” Clarke said. “Don’t go around telling people that, Rae. At least give her a chance.”
“I bet she’s weird. Dr. Winters is weird. She's like... a robot.”
“She’s the best psychiatrist we have.”
Raven tossed her empty yogurt container in the trash and slipped the spoon into her scrubs pocket. She stood as an alarm went off in room four. “Honestly,” she said, walking toward the sound. “We need more gay vibes around here anyway.”
“Everyone here is gay,” Clarke argued.
“Then explain Octavia and Lincoln!” she argued before disappearing through the trauma door.
After finishing the charts and signing the release forms, she searched for Indra to sign off on the final paper. The head nurse was typically at the nurse’s station unless another nurse needed her assistance but there was nothing happening that required their immediate attention. The break room was empty. The operating rooms were empty except for one.
“Have you seen Indra?” she asked.
Murphy shook his head. “Not in like ten minutes,” he said. “I think she went upstairs to do something.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks, John.”
She placed the forms on the keyboard for Indra to deal with when she returned. She checked the board and grabbed Harrison’s chart. His mother was in the room, holding her son’s hand, when she entered after knocking.
“Dr. Griffin,” she said. “Hi. His father had to go home to check on our other son. He wants to come back in, but I wasn’t sure about visiting hours.”
“We don’t really have visiting hours in the emergency wing,” she said. “The guards will let him back any time. If they give him any grief, just say Dr. Griffin said it was fine. I doubt they will but just in case.”
“Thank you, Dr. Griffin. I'll tell him.”
She listened to Harrison’s chest and heart. His heartbeat was strong, but his lungs would take time to fully heal. She had no doubt that he would recover. The bullets missed most vital organs. She was able to repair his stomach without too much scar tissue but had to remove part of the large intestine. Overall, it was a successful surgery.
“We should be able to get him off the medicine within the next few days. If his lungs sound a little better, I might try tomorrow. But his body is healing very well. He's a strong person.”
“Yes,” his mother said. “He’s a good boy. I don’t understand why this happened. He's never been in trouble before.”
“Police officers are coming by today to watch security footage and try to figure out what happened. I wish I had the answers. I'll leave you two alone now. Call if you need anything.”
She gripped her son’s hand once more as Clarke stepped out of the room. The new doctor was staring at the board. Dr. Woods was tapping a pen against her cheek. Her hair was pulled back now. The woman was staring intensely as if struggling to think through something. Clarke checked on another patient before stepping behind the nurse’s station where the whiteboard hung on the wall.
“Everything okay?” she asked. “I know starting somewhere new can be overwhelming.”
“It’s been fine,” she said.
“What hospital did you come from?”
Dr. Woods signed her name on the board inside the OR four spot. She turned to face Clarke who was met with the brightest green eyes she had ever seen in person. It was an intoxicating gaze. She found herself unable to look away.
“An addiction recovery facility,” she said. “But I completed my residency at Chicago Med.”
No other doctor in the emergency department had experience in a rehab facility. Dr. Woods could prove quite useful for their wing if she decided to stay. People came into the emergency room every day with drug or alcohol-related problems.
“I did a year at Chicago Med before transferring here for the rest,” Clarke said. “I liked it there a lot.”
“Yes, I heard your name quite a few times while I was there.”
That surprised Clarke. She got along with the staff well enough, but everyone knew she would transfer to Griffin Memorial as soon as possible. She did not believe they thought so highly of her when they spent that year whispering behind her back until she realized Dr. Woods had not said they were speaking positively of her.
“Well, I’m glad you accepted the position here,” she said. “Everyone here is willing to help with anything you might need.”
Lexa nodded at something over Clarke’s shoulder. When she turned to see what the woman was referring to, she found Raven staring at the new doctor. Clarke could not help but chuckle at her friend’s reaction.
“Yes, even Raven,” she said, looking back at Dr. Woods. “Give her a few days. She doesn’t trust new people very easily, but she’s mostly harmless. Except in a boxing ring. Or an arcade. Or an ice-skating rink, surprisingly.”
The new doctor shrugged one shoulder and turned back to the board. “I’ve been told I'm very charming,” she said. “See you around, Dr. Griffin.”
Once alone, Clarke stared at the woman’s last name on the whiteboard. She had no idea if the conversation went well or not. Dr. Woods had not smiled or shown any other emotion. The woman did not seem nervous or overwhelmed. Disinterested, perhaps.
“Did you need me?” Indra asked, interrupting her circling thoughts.
“Yes,” she said. “Sign those forms and have them sent upstairs, please. Marcus wants them by the end of the day.”
Clarke made sure everything was complete before leaving at the end of her shift. It was two am when she stepped out of the hospital. The emergency wing parking lot was thankfully bare save for a few family members who decided to stay with their loved ones during the night, but nothing major had happened that day. She had a feeling their time for a large emergency was approaching. It had been weeks since they were on triage for a car pileup or building collapse. She never got too comfortable during their slow days.
Rather than lay down after a shower, Clarke wandered through the garden and into her paint shed. She clicked on the overhead lights. The room was dusty from lack of use but serene. A half-dozen canvases leaned against the wall in various stages of completion. Some were a few strokes on white and others were nearly finished. She lifted a blank canvas from her storage closet to sit on the easel. Once the background coat was dry, she mixed paint on the tray and pressed her brush to the canvas.
She smiled as the outline took shape.