Right As Rain (Complete)

Chapter 32

Maelee

A stream of light concentrated directly on my face wakes me from my sleep. Before I open my eyes, I focus on the sounds around me: ambulances in the distance, shoes squeaking across a freshly buffed linoleum, beeping of various machines, and a distinct grumbling from hospital nurses who are back at work after leaving not too long ago.

Join the club. At least you went home.

Not wanting to lose my very comfortable position, I fumble my arms overhead and around my body, searching for my phone. I can't find it anywhere and my pager is gone too. Damn... I'm really not ready to get up. I open my eyes slowly and allow them to adjust to the brightness. I squint around the room and spot my missing pager and phone, out of arms reach, sitting proudly on top of my desk

I'm still reluctant to get up. Hudson did such a great job putting me to sleep; I would hate to ruin his efforts by getting out of it. Hudson. How dare he say such sweet things and then walk out the door! How dare he care so much! How dare he make me care back!

The only thing pulling me off this perfectly nestled couch is knowing I have a patient waiting for me to fix him. And maybe a gorgeously handsome musician sitting in the same room.

I finally rouse from the couch, go to my desk, and pick up the phone. It's almost eight. I slept nearly seven hours. I haven't done that in months. There are multiple messages from Jessica. Messages asking where I am, messages telling me to rest, messages telling me she has gone home to shower, and messages telling me she's back. I'm confident Hudson informed her he basically forced me to sleep and I'm certain she wasn't opposed. She tells me to do the same thing almost daily.

There are also messages from Hudson. One insisting if I was reading it before the sun was up, I was to return to my couch. The second wished me a happy morning.

I shower in the locker room and make my way back to my office. The sign on the door covering my name plate explains why I was able to sleep so peacefully.

Do Not Disturb

At All

For Any Reason

I pull the taped sign from the window and chuckle at Hudson's attempt to gain me rest. I would love to see him. But for now, it's back to work. I return to the floor with my recorder and notes, determined to solve Noah's case before I stand up again.

All signs point to insulinoma. All but one, the CT required to diagnose it. His scans were cleared of tumors, I double and triple checked them myself.

I had an attending in residency who said "if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a goose." Of course, he wasn't talking about domestic farm animals. He was referring to the body and the multiple anomalies that come in to play.

No two patients have the exact same illnesses.

Ever.

Diseases, don't always produce the same symptoms for every patient.

Cardiomyopathy isn't a known symptom of insulinoma, but who's to say low blood sugar won't affect the heart? It affects everything else. In turn, everything else affects the heart. Noah's CT scan didn't show a tumor... but that doesn't mean it isn't there.

I jump from my pile and go directly to Dr. Holt's office, bringing as many pieces of paper with me as I can carry. He's startled when I walk in without knocking and drop all the evidence on his desk. The papers held inside the large medical book land with a loud thump.