A Tough Choice

Chapter Twenty Seven

I watched helplessly as she was quickly taken through to resus. I was torn between helping and keeping out of the way.

"What the hell happened?!" Caleb exclaimed as he ran into resus.

I tuned out as Dixie gave Caleb the handover information. I couldn't seem to tear my gaze away from Emma.

"What happened Ethan?" Caleb asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked around and saw that Dixie had left.

"You know what happened!" I snapped.

I watched him as he performed an initial assessment.

"You don't need to waste time with that, I already know what injuries she has." I said impatiently.

Caleb ignored me and checked her abdomen.

"She has a wound on her abdomen." he stated.

"I know that, but it's superficial, it'll just need a few stitches." I hissed.

"Maybe you should take a moment." he suggested.

"I'm fine." I told him as I picked up my stethoscope and quickly listened to her chest.

"I can hear crackling." I stated.

"She may have a pneumothorax." he pointed out.

"Probably caused by a cracked rib." I agreed as I gently palpated her ribs.

"She'll need chest x-rays and a body CT, to check there is no internal bleeding." he told me.

"We need to remove her jewellery." he added.

I watched as he gently removed her earrings and picked up her hand. I saw him start to remove her engagement ring.

"Wait!" I cried.

He looked at me.

"I'll do it." I added.

I felt Caleb's eyes on me as I gently took her hand. I hated the thought of removing her ring. It felt so final, like she would no longer be mine. I knew that once again I was being insecure, but I couldn't help it.

I sighed and reluctantly removed the ring and held it tightly in my hand. I bit my lip to keep me from crying as I stared at her bare hand.

"We need to take her to x-ray and CT." Caleb pestered me.

I quickly slipped her ring into my pocket and helped Caleb move her bed.