Status: current, attempting at least 1 update/week
All or Nothing
Four
“Rough night?”
Mya glanced over to who had spoken, smiling when she saw who it was. Renee, a night shift nurse, had always been kind to Mya. She had been one of her first preceptors upon starting, and had always made sure Mya knew she would answer any questions she had.
“No, surprisingly,” Mya admitted. For a Saturday night, it hadn’t been too busy. “Just couldn’t get much sleep last night. It’s catching up to me.”
“It’s eleven now,” she said, with a smile. “You’re four hours away from a warm bed.”
“That is four hours too long,” Mya said, stifling a yawn. “You here with me for a while now?” When Renee nodded in confirmation, Mya smiled, relieved. Their ED often switched nurses to different assignments every four or six hours. The nurse she had spent the better part of her night with, was not her favorite. She was slow, more interested in checking her phone than starting an IV. Renee was always one of the fastest nurses, hands moving as if on their own as she ran through her tasks, IVs hung, patients medicated, and smiling at the sight of her.
She had spent over 30 years in nursing, and every time she tried to get away from the ED, she never lasted more than six months before coming back. Adrenaline junkie, Mya liked to tease her, even at 56. She didn’t believe in being awake before ten in the morning, and she certainly didn’t believe in retiring early just to relax.
“Heather is quitting,” Renee said quietly, as she stirred sugar into her coffee.
“About time,” Mya huffed, happy that the nights she would be spending with said phone obsessed nurse would be ending.
“Sure is,” Renee agreed, giving Mya a wink as she stood up. And that was it. Mya knew she wouldn’t bring it up again. Renee wasn’t a gossip. Mya was almost surprised she had even mentioned anything at all, until after the other nurse had officially quit.
Mya glanced at her watch, relieved to see she was only an hour from the end of her shift. It had gone quickly, a car accident bringing in a mother with a concussion, her husband and teenage daughter hovering over her, and some sort of fall that had resulted in another concussion. Mya was starting to wonder if that’s all they would be getting, when she heard the radio going off, calling for room 14’s nurse.
“It’s Mya, I’ve got 14,” she answered, holding the mic closer. “What ya got?”
“Hey, Mya! Caleb, we’re about six minutes out. Got a 23 year old male, stable, looks like a concussion,” Mya couldn’t stop her eye role, “and he’s pretty bloody, still trying to figure out where it’s from because it’s not all his. Got a 20 gauge in his left AC. Found him in ally back by Howl’s, regular client I think.”
Mya wrote the man’s vitals and rest of report on autopilot, already gearing up for what was to come. Caleb himself wasn’t a wolf, but his brother was. He had noticed the signs with Mya a few months after they had met, and since was quick to siphon those suspicious cases to her when he could. Regular client meant she definitely had a wolf coming in. It didn’t happen often, as quick as wolves healed, and as determined to keep to themselves as most packs were, but this must be an exception.
Renee saw her on the radio and detoured from her room, bag of saline and some tubing wrapped around her hand. Mya gave her a quick report, assuring her that yes, she had an hour left, but yes, she would handle it. As much as she could manage, she preferred to keep her coworkers away from the wolves, for their own sake as much as for their patients.
Medications didn’t work the same way on them, being burned off faster and requiring far more to do the same job. She knew one of the attending’s was a wolf, there was always at least one somewhere in the ED, and she could get their approval to up the doses.
Just as she had finished double checking the room, bringing in an IV kit to draw some labs, and tucking a pair of restraints in a drawer just in case, she heard the ringing that meant the paramedics were coming in. She met them at the door to the room, Caleb looking at her with exhaustion, face sweaty and breathing hard.
As the stretcher came closer, she could see the wolf was already in restraints, and wondered how quickly they must have moved to overpower him before he could have hurt them. The creature was screaming at them, obscenities and demands as he thrashed on the stretcher. He managed to shift himself up and she cursed as she met all too familiar hazel eyes.
Mya glanced over to who had spoken, smiling when she saw who it was. Renee, a night shift nurse, had always been kind to Mya. She had been one of her first preceptors upon starting, and had always made sure Mya knew she would answer any questions she had.
“No, surprisingly,” Mya admitted. For a Saturday night, it hadn’t been too busy. “Just couldn’t get much sleep last night. It’s catching up to me.”
“It’s eleven now,” she said, with a smile. “You’re four hours away from a warm bed.”
“That is four hours too long,” Mya said, stifling a yawn. “You here with me for a while now?” When Renee nodded in confirmation, Mya smiled, relieved. Their ED often switched nurses to different assignments every four or six hours. The nurse she had spent the better part of her night with, was not her favorite. She was slow, more interested in checking her phone than starting an IV. Renee was always one of the fastest nurses, hands moving as if on their own as she ran through her tasks, IVs hung, patients medicated, and smiling at the sight of her.
She had spent over 30 years in nursing, and every time she tried to get away from the ED, she never lasted more than six months before coming back. Adrenaline junkie, Mya liked to tease her, even at 56. She didn’t believe in being awake before ten in the morning, and she certainly didn’t believe in retiring early just to relax.
“Heather is quitting,” Renee said quietly, as she stirred sugar into her coffee.
“About time,” Mya huffed, happy that the nights she would be spending with said phone obsessed nurse would be ending.
“Sure is,” Renee agreed, giving Mya a wink as she stood up. And that was it. Mya knew she wouldn’t bring it up again. Renee wasn’t a gossip. Mya was almost surprised she had even mentioned anything at all, until after the other nurse had officially quit.
Mya glanced at her watch, relieved to see she was only an hour from the end of her shift. It had gone quickly, a car accident bringing in a mother with a concussion, her husband and teenage daughter hovering over her, and some sort of fall that had resulted in another concussion. Mya was starting to wonder if that’s all they would be getting, when she heard the radio going off, calling for room 14’s nurse.
“It’s Mya, I’ve got 14,” she answered, holding the mic closer. “What ya got?”
“Hey, Mya! Caleb, we’re about six minutes out. Got a 23 year old male, stable, looks like a concussion,” Mya couldn’t stop her eye role, “and he’s pretty bloody, still trying to figure out where it’s from because it’s not all his. Got a 20 gauge in his left AC. Found him in ally back by Howl’s, regular client I think.”
Mya wrote the man’s vitals and rest of report on autopilot, already gearing up for what was to come. Caleb himself wasn’t a wolf, but his brother was. He had noticed the signs with Mya a few months after they had met, and since was quick to siphon those suspicious cases to her when he could. Regular client meant she definitely had a wolf coming in. It didn’t happen often, as quick as wolves healed, and as determined to keep to themselves as most packs were, but this must be an exception.
Renee saw her on the radio and detoured from her room, bag of saline and some tubing wrapped around her hand. Mya gave her a quick report, assuring her that yes, she had an hour left, but yes, she would handle it. As much as she could manage, she preferred to keep her coworkers away from the wolves, for their own sake as much as for their patients.
Medications didn’t work the same way on them, being burned off faster and requiring far more to do the same job. She knew one of the attending’s was a wolf, there was always at least one somewhere in the ED, and she could get their approval to up the doses.
Just as she had finished double checking the room, bringing in an IV kit to draw some labs, and tucking a pair of restraints in a drawer just in case, she heard the ringing that meant the paramedics were coming in. She met them at the door to the room, Caleb looking at her with exhaustion, face sweaty and breathing hard.
As the stretcher came closer, she could see the wolf was already in restraints, and wondered how quickly they must have moved to overpower him before he could have hurt them. The creature was screaming at them, obscenities and demands as he thrashed on the stretcher. He managed to shift himself up and she cursed as she met all too familiar hazel eyes.
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comments and constructive criticism always welcome! Thanks for reading =]