Bite Shift

49

Both Tiffanys stood in the hallway, staring at me, when I walked out. They were, clearly, curious about what was happening in the conference room. I stood my ground and held their gaze, waiting for one of them to ask. I was too angry to be embarrassed.

It was Irish Tiffany that spoke up first. "What was the thud? It sounded like you threw something at the wall."

Before I could answer, the door behind me opened and I knew Alex was standing behind me. The four eyes watching me doubled in size. Hispanic Tiffany fluffed her hair and was, suddenly had perfect posture, complete with shoulders back and tits out. I fought the urge to turn around and face him or run away.

"Good evening, nurse Tiffany and nurse Tiffany. I assume Mrs. Jenkins in 501 has had her blood drawn and it is on its way to the lab, like I ordered."

They looked at each other and back at him. "We were just about to go and do it. We heard a thump against the wall and thought someone had fallen."

This time, I spoke up. "I backed my chair into the wall." That is all you are going to get, you vultures. They nodded and it seemed like they believed me.

"I will watch for the lab work. Nurse Kate, I will be in my office if you have any more questions about your diagnosis." I felt his hand on my right shoulder and it fell away. His footsteps behind me retreated and I knew he was leaving the floor.

Hispanic Tiffany let her shoulders droop and sighed. "I guess I better go get this CBC. God, he is so hot but such a dick." She headed for room 501 and left me with her other half.

"Who has assignments tonight," I asked.

"Monica," she answered. "She is probably in the office. She will be thrilled to see you. She was majorly grumpy while you were away. Go ask her who you have and I'll find out who is giving you report."

I turned and made my way to the office, praying that the two Tiffanys would not pass on the story of Kate and Dr. Kitchner in the conference room together. I knew how much they loved a juicy piece of gossip but, I hoped, their fear of Alex's wrath was stronger.

Before I could reach my destination, I saw the assignments written on the large white board next to the office door. I figured I could get report, introduce myself to my patients, and gather up meds before interrupting whatever Monica was doing. I knew we would end up talking, and losing track of time, so it was better if I got those things done first.

I had 501, 502, 506, 507, 508 & 510. I looked like I was taking two off of each Tiffany and two off of Jackson. Monica was the charge nurse for the night so she didn't have a patient assignment. To accommodate me, the unit must have decided that the nurses would take extra, at 7pm, and care for them until I could arrive and even the assignments out. I thought about how much they all must have been doing to make this possible for me. I was so much and I was so grateful. I felt like I was lying to them, deceiving them, with my fake "condition" but I really didn't have another choice. I vowed to do something for them to thank them.

I found each Tiffany and got report on four of my patients. Jackson was harder to find. He was notorious for hiding so we couldn't ask him for help. Unfortunately for him, I knew all the hiding spots. He was in the patient waiting room, sitting on a couch, with his computer on wheels in front of him, and charting.

"Found you," I said in a loud whisper.

He looked up. "Well, well, well. Look what the owls drug in. Dang, you look pale. Guess your tanning days are over."

"Yep. No more beach parties for me. I am officially a loser."

"Well, whatever you are, you look great. Maybe I should get sick so I can have a few days off."

I had never asked him but I put his age at just shy of 30. He was big, like weight-lifter big, and I often wondered if he used steroids. It was possible that he was genetic predisposed to gaining muscle easily and I had never seen the signs of steroids. Most guys that juiced were short-tempered, covered in acne and every vein bulged from their arms and neck. Once, in the ER, a guy had been brought in cuffed, and escorted by two officers. According to them, he was on a "roid rage" and had tried to choke his girlfriend for burning his chicken breast. The police had arrived in time to save her but his heart rate was bouncing between 130 & 150 beats per minute. They brought him to us to make sure he didn't have a heart attack before the stuff wore off.

Jackson was sweet to old ladies and opened the door for everyone. I had never even seen Jackson snap at anyone. I doubted he was a ticking timebomb.

He patted the spot next to him on the couch. "Come here so I can tell you about Mr. Kline and Mrs. Harrison."

I pulled two blank index cards and a pen from my scrub pocket; plopping down next him. The seat was warm so I was betting he had taken a little nap here in the very recent past. I turned to face him and he was staring.

"What?"

"Seriously, Kate. You look really good. You seem so different."

Shit. Of course, the guy is the one who actually pays attention. He knows.

"You are too young for me Jax so stop with the flattery."

He shook his head. "I am not lying, I swear. You look awesome."

I faked a laugh and slapped him on the shoulder. "You need to get some sleep. You're delirious. Give me report so you can have two less to worry about. Tiffany and Tiffany shouldn't be left alone for too long."

"Geez. Isn't that the truth. I am certain they share one brain..... and it ain't a good one." He looked back to the computer and pulled up the first patient.

Fifteen minutes later, I was finding a computer on wheels for myself and logging in.

For those of you who are not a nurse, the computer on wheels.. or cow as we call it, is a rolling station with a computer, keyboard, mouse and several drawers for patients' meds and the supplies we use the most in a shift. Full on fights have broken out on floors because some nurse took another nurse's cow.

Protect your cow, everyone.

I reviewed each chart and saw that I had very little to do. After the 8pm rush, most of the meds are given. There is a few here and there, but the giant pill pass wouldn't happen again until 8am. By then, I'd be safe in my darkened room. Once I gave 6am insulin to my diabetic patients, I was making my way home.

I decided to go see Monica. I quick peek into each room told me that all my patients were asleep or trying to sleep. I would leave them alone unless someone hit a call bell or a monitor flat lined. I wanted to see Monica as soon as possible. Jackson's comments had made me supremely nervous. If he noticed a change, Monica was definitely going to know something was up. Best friends don't miss when you turn into Dracula's bride. Whatever she was going to say, I wanted to hear it now so I could deal with it.

I stood before the office door and contemplated going back to the nurses' station. At 10pm, the hall lights automatically dimmed. Maybe, if I stayed in the dim hallway, she wouldn't notice.

What is the point of hiding? Either she knows you're lying or she doesn't. Just get it over with!

I knocked and she answered right away. "Yes?"

"It's me," I said to the closed door.

I heard the chair scrape backwards on the linoleum floor and her run to the door. It swung open and she was screaming, gleefully.

She stood in the light of the small lamp on the desk. The bright overhead lights were off. But I didn't need any light to see, so the single lightbulb was enough to reveal the woman before me. I could see the purple scrub top, grey pants and white shoes. I silently begged God that I wouldn't see what I knew was there when I looked at her hair. Out of the bun on the top of her head was the back half of a pencil.

She looked exactly like she had in my dream.... the night she died.