Chapter 25

25

Things didn’t get much better as the rest of her shift dragged on. Dr. Hodges was gone, but his best friend Dr. Michaels wasn’t.

That man glared at her every time he saw her.

Dr. Michaels was apparently blaming Genny for Aubrey not wanting anything to do with him, either. Go figure. She would never understand the way some men’s minds worked, at all.

Aubrey finally assigned Dr. Michaels to work intake—opposite of the ED from Genny.

She and Aubrey were ready when the next patient came in. Motor vehicle accident. Her heart lurched when she saw the tiny body. She always hated it when it was kids. This little guy was no bigger than her nephew Calvin.

Then Chad was called in. It was his patient, one of his regulars. She could see the pain in Chad’s eyes when he held the little boy’s hand, as Genny prepped him for the next steps, before he ended up in surgery.

But he was going to be okay. They’d set the bone in his leg, keep him still for a few days until the bruising around his spine reduced, and he’d be back to full speed in six weeks or so. It was good news today. His dad had had him properly buckled in his car seat, in the rear middle.

Aubrey signed off on his chart, then they walked together to check on the little guy’s dad. Chad was supposed to be off the clock now, but with the father—a single father—getting ready to go under anesthesia himself, Chad had offered to stay with the child until his only other relative could get there.

Genny stepped into the exam room—and came face to face with Greer’s best friend, Hala. “Hal, what…?”

“Genny, where’s Ryan? My nephew? I need to check on him.” Hala had a wild look in her big brown eyes.

Then it clicked. Genny hadn’t heard the kid’s last name when she’d been with him.

Genny wrapped her hands around the other woman’s elbows and just stood there. Hala wasn’t any bigger than Genny was herself, and looked all of twelve sometimes. Poor kid. Her brother and his son were practically all the family Hala had. Hala was shaking so hard. Genny put things together quickly.

The Hanans.

Gene was good friends with the little guy’s father, too. Of course. That’s why the little guy had looked so familiar. He was Ryan—Calvin’s best buddy forever from preschool and soccer. Ryan talked about him all the time.

Hala had lost her parents and younger sister in a nasty car accident when she had been eighteen. Genny would never forget. Her own mother had been there to help Hala and her older brother through. “Hala…take a breath. Right now. Look at me. Just at me. Ryan is about to go upstairs to get his broken leg set. Chad, do you remember him? He was at my house the other night. Redheaded guy, remember? He’s Ryan’s pediatrician, and he’s going to stay right there with him. How is your brother?”

“He’s…I don’t know. The doctor in there won’t tell me. He just yelled at me to get out.”

That wasn’t something they did here. Genny was going to find out who it was and sic Aubrey on him, if she needed to. “Well, let’s ask your brother himself before he goes under.”

Genny led her into the nearest triage room.

Dr. Michaels was treating the man. Great. Her night just kept getting better. No wonder Hala was so upset. Well, she wasn’t leaving Hala alone now.

Genny looked at the patient in the bed. She recognized him, of course. He was around Gene and Guthrie and Chad’s age and worked with Giavonna. He’d gone to school with them. She’d known of Hudson Hanan her entire life. He and Gene were still good friends. Hudson and Giavonna were mortal enemies though. “Hudson? We’re here to talk about Ryan.”

The man blinked at her—he had the same eyes as his sister. He tried to sit up. “How is he? I need to get to my son.”

Dr. Michaels protested. “You need to stay still, Mr. Hanan.”

Dr. Michaels needed to work on his bedside manner as well as his way with women, apparently.

“I’m good. I just need to get to my son,” Hudson said as Aubrey came in with familiar forms in her hand.

“Dr. Fields went up with him,” Aubrey said, using that super-sweet voice that charmed every male patient they had ever had. Hudson calmed, a little. “I am his treating physician. We do need someone to sign paperwork. Is that something you are feeling up to?”

“Yes. I just have a damned headache. Is my son going to be okay?”

“You have a fractured radius that needs to be set soon,” Dr. Michaels said, firmly. Genny was just ignoring it was that creeper, after what he’d done to Aubrey.

Hudson looked at Genny, and his eyes narrowed. “You’re a Hiller girl, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I am the middle one. Genesis.”

“I remember you. You definitely aren’t Giavonna. Always been too sweet to be her.” He pulled in a deep breath. Closed his eyes. Calmed. But she suspected this man was as brick-wall as her brothers when it came to stubbornness. Giavonna had a lot to say about him at times. Not much of it good, either. “Tell me how he is. And can Hala stay with him?”

“If she hurries,” Aubrey said, quietly. She looked at Hala. “She can catch the elevators with him now. Tell Dr. Fields that I said you can go up with him, Hal.”

Hala took off. She always had been fast.

Genny wrapped her fingers around Hudson’s until he looked at her. Aubrey kept talking. “Ryan has a fractured leg. The leg does need surgically reduced—put back into place, but it’s a common procedure. He’ll be out of a cast in about six weeks or so.”

Aubrey kept talking, and they got the necessary signatures. Genny slipped out; she was going to head upstairs and check on Hala herself. See if her friend needed Genny to call anyone for her.

She found Hala in the surgical waiting room, pacing. Genny’s heart melted for the younger woman. This was her sister’s bestie, after all. She could see the fear and memories in Hala’s eyes. Hala had been in the car with her family when they had been sideswiped by a drunk driver going over one hundred miles an hour. Hala had been hurt, too, but she had survived. Genny wouldn’t ever forget how dark those days had been. “Hala, do you want me to call someone for you? Greer?”

“I’ve called her already. She can come sit with Hudson, help me keep him in line. I need to stay with Ryan. He’s going to be so scared. He’s so little.” And there were so many memories in Hala’s eyes. “He’s so little, Gen. And he’s going to be so afraid. I mean, I know Aub is his doctor and she’s the best, too. And…but he’s so little.”

And Hala was remembering. Genny’s heart broke at the pain.

“He’s going to be okay. He has an excellent surgeon, I promise. He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.” Genny guided her into a chair and just talked to her. As another gurney went down the hall—with Hudson on it. His arm fracture was more complicated than his son’s condition. Hala almost panicked, seeing her brother like that. “They’ll be okay, Hala. I’m not going anywhere until they are both out. I promise.”

She was still sitting there when her sisters arrived. Greer immediately hugged Hala, while Giavonna demanded to know how they were. She and Hudson Hanan battled every single weekday in the Barratt County court system. Hudson was Giavonna’s boss at the county attorney’s office. And their issues with each other were legendary. It made it awkward. But Giavonna dealt. And she and Hala were very close friends, too.

“They are in surgery now. To have some broken bones set,” Hala told them, in a shaky voice. “I am starting to calm down. I’m sorry. I’m being a wimp, aren’t I?”

Giavonna hugged her next. Hala just clung to the older woman. “Not at all. I’d be screeching at the top of my lungs if it was one of my doofus brothers, Hal. Don’t get me started on what I’d do if it were Greer or Genny. And if it was Calvin or one of George’s girls…I would be completely insane. Beyond. They’d be pulling me down from the ceiling. I was an utter mess when Chantal and Gene were missing. I’d utterly lose it. Don’t be so hard on yourself. We’re here now; we’ll stay with you, okay?”

They did. Genny and her sisters basically surrounded Hala. Aubrey joined them after her shift, too. To Genny’s surprise, Chantal showed up about forty-five minutes later, with Genny’s own mother and Aubrey’s little sister in tow.

Aubrey was surprised, but Ayla put it distinctly. “We’re here for Hala. We don’t want her to be afraid. She’s not alone tonight. Or…at least, she doesn’t have to be. We don’t have to be biological to be family.”

There wasn’t really anything else to say. Ayla had pretty much nailed it on the head. Genny stayed there with her sisters and her mom, and her friends, until word came. Hudson and Ryan were going to be okay.

Genny’s mother just held Hala tightly while she cried.