Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

Silas

"What do we have?"

Cassie looks up from where she's checking the intake sheet. "There's a small child with a high fever they've tagged in triage." She hands me the iPad so I can flip through the information that's been taken.

Immediately my eyes go to the name. The responsible party is Britt, and sure enough, the patient's name is Karli. "How high was the last temp?" I cross my arm over my chest, scanning for it.

Cass is a pro though, and she answers before I can find it. "Bordering on 104."

"Get her back here. We need to get that down." My heart is pounding in a way it doesn't normally. Treating people you know is dangerous, but I'm one of two ER doctors on call at this hour, and the other one is tied up with a possible heart attack.

Cassie nods her head. "Taking her to room five?"

"Yeah, I'll be waiting." I move over to the hand sanitizer, slather my hands, and use my back to open the door.

She raises her eyebrows, but doesn't say anything. We both know that isn't protocol, but I can only imagine how scared Britt is. I hurry in and spend what feels like a lifetime waiting for them to arrive. Karli is quietly crying, while Britt is whispering to her. She's favoring her leg, and I have no doubt she's in pain. "Sit down." I tell her, pulling the chair closer to her. Her terrified eyes meet mine, and the relief evident is enough for me to give her a little smirk.

"You're here." It's not a question, but a statement.

"Yeah, she's gonna be fine." The words are said with a promise I don't intend to break.

"Hey, Dr. Blake. I think I'd prefer to meet you outside this fuckin' place once or twice."

I glance over, seeing Britt's dad. I don't remember his name, but I recall the face. He looks like he could fuck you up, and I tend to commit those people to memory. "Agreed." I chuckle, but then I turn my attention directly to the little girl in Britt's arms.

"Karli, this is Dr. Blake. He's a friend." She makes the introduction, so that I don't have to.

Cloudy eyes so much like her mother's look up at me. "I don't feel good." She sniffles. "My body hurts, and I'm itchy."

"Yeah, we're gonna fix that." I give her a smile. "Can I take you over here so I can figure out what's happening?" I point to the bed.

She checks with Britt by turning wide eyes toward her.

"It's okay. I trust him."

With those words, Karli lifts her arms to me. I reach out and pick her up. The fever is raging. I can feel it through my scrubs. "Okay. Karli, right?"

"Yeah, with an I ."

I laugh at her. She said it with such finality, that shows she has to tell people that a lot. "When did her symptoms start?" I glove up and motion for her to lie down on the bed.

Britt inhales deeply. "I don't know. She just came into my bedroom telling me she didn't feel good and she was itchy. I didn't even stop to take her temp. I could tell immediately that it was high. It was the hives that scared me, though."

"Understandable." I palpitate her stomach, inspecting the red rash across her skin. "That hurt?"

Karli shakes her head as I help her sit back up.

I do the same with her throat. "How about that?"

This time, she nods.

"Can you open your mouth for me?" I pull out my penlight and try to look, but her tongue is in the way. "Stick your tongue out and say ahhh."

I still can't get a good view. Reaching behind her, I grab a tongue depressor, and then try again. "Real quick, ahh." This time I get what I need.

Britt and her dad are looking at me expectantly. "What's going on?" he questions.

I roll my chair over slightly so I can look into Britt's eyes. "She's gonna be fine, first of all. You got her here in plenty of time for us to treat her. What I'm about to say will scare you because of the history, but trust me, Britt. I won't lie to you." I make sure her eyes stay locked on mine.

"Okay..." but I can see she's absolutely terrified.

"We're gonna need to run a test, but I believe she has what's commonly referred to as scarlet fever. It's normal in children. It's a form of strep with the rash. It looks bad. She feels awful, I'm sure, and it's scary."

Britt closes her eyes, and when she opens them back up, there are tears. "Could she die?"

I smile patiently. "Look at me, cutie." I use the name she put in my phone. "Karli is going to be fine. We're gonna get her tested, then we're gonna treat it. The way we're gonna do that is with IV fluids because her fever is so high, I'm going to rotate ibuprofen and Tylenol, and I'll give her some antibiotics for the strep. It will take a few days, but she's gonna feel better. The fluids will make a big difference. As far as her itching, I'll prescribe something, and I'm gonna give her some Benadryl to help with that right now. She's fine." I repeat.

"Okay." She breathes. "Okay."

Her phone rings, and when she glances at the screen, I can tell it's someone she doesn't want to talk to. She turns to her dad, holding it up.

"Go take it," he says. "I'll stay here with her."

She leaves, sighing heavily. I turn to Karli. "So, Karli, with an I , I'm gonna give you some medicine to make you feel better, but you'll have to take a test first. My friend, Cassie," I point to her, "is going to stick a little Q-Tip down your throat." I lean in as if we're sharing a secret. "I'm gonna be real with ya. It sucks, but I have a hookup that can get you a popsicle."

"A grape one?" Her eyes are bright, but this time with excitement.

"Definitely a grape one. I'll be right back." I nod to her grandpa and head out, going to look for Britt.

It takes me a few minutes to find her, but she's standing in a corner, her back to the wall, furiously whispering as she speaks to someone on the phone. "Dakota, she's your daughter. The doctor just told me she has scarlet fever. She's really sick."

I reach out and grab her hand. I don't say anything, just offer the comfort I know she needs.

"No, don't worry about it, Dakota. I'll handle it like I always do. She was crying for you earlier, and I told her you were working. She doesn't have to know that you care about literally anything more than you care about her. It was okay when it was just me, but this isn't acceptable."

I'm fuming as I listen to her, wanting to come through the phone and punch this asshole out. He's got a little girl who's sick, and he's not coming home? If it were me, I'd be on the next flight or in the closest car.

Britt pulls her bottom lip in between her teeth, biting down hard. "Bye, Dakota."

"I'm so sorry." I whisper, reaching out to take her in my arms. "He does this a lot?"

She nods, angrily wiping tears from under her eyes. "It's one of the main reasons we got divorced."

Finally she gives into the hug I'm giving her. "She'll really be okay?"

"Yes, I promise. She'll be good as new in a week. I wouldn't normally ask this, because I know we're in a pretty precarious situation. Do you want me to come stay with you all? Nothing more than me wanting to help you." I cup her jaw in my palm. "I know how scary those high fevers are. I was terrified the first time one came to me for treatment."

She lifts on tiptoe and gives me a gentle kiss. "Against my better judgment. I would love that, and by the way, my dad's name is Ranger. You might wanna introduce yourself."

"If you're done busting my balls about not knowing that your dad is a farrier, we can go back in. Karli's test is more than likely done and Cass has probably started the IV." I drop a kiss on her forehead.

"Silas..."

"Yeah?"

She flattens her lips, the way people do when they're trying to hold their shit together. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."