Somebody Call For a Doctor?

A doctor in a white lab coat snatched the chart from its slot outside of the hospital room. Quickly flipping through it as he marched into the room. He made his way past the empty bed by the door towards the occupied one by the window. Bridget stood up, but the doctor shot his hand into the air to silence her before she could speak. Then, making his way between the two beds, he slammed the chart down on the empty stand used for meals or drinks.

"What were you thinking? Have you lost your damn mind?" the doctor's green eyes stared with anger at the sleeping patient. "Did I raise a fool?"

"Leo! That's enough. Sean's sleeping," Bridget fiercely whispered.

"And where were you when our son decided to jump into a frozen lake? Off drinking and gossiping with your friends, no doubt," Leonard Tarver said to his wife. A forty-two-year-old version of his son in appearances, their personalities couldn't be farther apart.

"Leonard--"

"Don't give me another one of your excuses about Sean. It's obvious at this point that he lacks any common sense," rambled on the teenager's father in a huff.

"Now, Leo, I think that's uncalled for," Harvey said from his chair in the corner by the window.

"Stay out this, Diamond."

"That's enough, Leo. You will not just walk in here and start giving us your judgmental crap," Bridget shot back, losing her patience over her husband's outburst. "Maybe if you were with us at the cabin like you were supposed to be, then none of this would've happened. But you weren't there, and you weren't answering my calls. So where--"

"Dr. Sawbones is in the house!" Sean interrupted his mother from his bed; the painkillers still evident in his voice.

Whipping back around, Leonard loomed over his son, shaking his head. "Tell me where in that brain of yours did you think jumping into the frozen lake was a smart idea?"

"I needed to save Whitney," Sean responded in confusion, staring up at his father as if he had grown an extra head.

"And going to get help from a professional never crossed your mind? There are rangers at the park that could perform a rescue, not an eighteen-year-old completely out his depth."

"Leo, there wasn't time for him--" Bridget started to defend her son, but her husband cut her off.

"This is my time, Bridget. You had your parenting time and looked where it put our son."

"She drowned. I needed to save her. No time to run for help. It had to be me," Sean struggled to say, fighting to focus in his drowsy, doped-up state.

"I don't know what to do with you," Leonard said, shaking his head while his wife began to simmer with anger behind him. "Real-life is not like those trashy novels that you waste your time reading. People don't run off, risking their lives, and save the day. No, they end up dead like your friend's father."

"Leonard! That's enough," Bridget snapped, storming over to grab his arm. "You will not talk about Vince like that. We're all upset that Sean could've died, but instead of belittling him, you should be proud. Your son is a hero."

"Hero? Nearly throwing away his life in that manner makes him a fool," her husband replied harshly before taking a deep breath to calm down. "Look, I'm trying to talk some sense into the kid. He needs to understand that taking life seriously and becoming a doctor is far more beneficial to society. I save lives nearly every week in one manner or another with my brain and the skills I learned, not diving into danger."

"Got your chance now. Give me a lobotomy, Doc," Sean chuckled from his bed. "Make me the mini-you that you always wanted."

Leo swung around to appraise his son. "What's wrong with you? Are you--is he on drugs?!" he questioned incredulously.

"Oh, my...Leo, don't be a fool's ass," Bridget responded in disbelief. "Maybe if you bothered to read his whole chart, you would've noticed that he's on painkillers."

"Oh, ah, right, right," her husband remarked, embarrassed over not noticing or thinking of that in his anger.

"And the winner for best doctor in the family is...Mom!" Sean announced loudly, looking over at Harvey, who couldn't hide his grin.

The dig didn't go unnoticed by his father, who shook his head again at his son and his antics. "When you are more coherent, Sean, we're going to have a long talk about life. You need to wise up and stop acting like a fool. Maybe it's the company you keep. Less spoiled, rich girls too ignorant to understand that ice is on top of water and will break, and more with serious, forward-thinking youngsters. Perhaps you need to spend this spring break with some of your smarter cousins. The ones that don't risk their lives in such a daredevil fashion."

"Alright, that's enough, Leo," Harvey said, standing up. "I let the comment about my daughter slide. Although Whitney is not ignorant of the dangers of ice, she grew up at Wasp Lake and knows not to walk out onto it. But, I will not sit here and let you talk down to Sean any longer."

"I said to stay out of this, Harvey. I will speak to my son; however, I wish. It's no business of yours," Dr. Tarver, the neurosurgeon one, replied with an edge in his voice.

"Leo..." Bridget warned.

"I'm making it my business. You may not view your son as a hero, but I do. And I'm willing to wager many others will too. So back off."

"A hero. That damn word is the problem here," Leonard said in annoyance. "Sean's got this foolish notion of a world filled with danger, romance, and adventure. He can't see the real world right before his eyes." Turning back to his wife, he continued. "And I blame your father for that."

"My father? How is this my dad's fault?" Bridget questioned in surprise.

"He's spent years spinning tall tales about his job. Those exaggerations instilled unreal expectations of adventure into Sean," Leonard said with a nod to the once again sleeping teen in the bed. "But does good ole Seamus talk about all the injuries he suffered? The ones MY family in this very same hospital patched up, sometimes even saving his life. I think not."

"Exaggerate? Now, who's acting the fool, Leo?" Harvey piped in again. "I, for one, know that many of Seamus Fallon's detective cases are, in fact, incredible. He doesn't need to embellish them at all. And based on my limited time with Sean, you underestimate him badly."

"Speaking of time," Bridget said before her husband could answer Harvey. "I repeatedly tried to contact you. The other doctors and nurses said you weren't in surgery. So, where have you been, honey?"

"Wha--Do I need to list everything I do in a day for you? I have extra responsibilities and duties in my role as chief resident of surgery," sputtered her husband. "I have to assign surgeries, mentor the surgical residents, and there's plenty of paperwork."

"Much of which you've passed off to Summer."

"Dr. Mayfield's training is none of your concern, Bridget."

"She's my friend, so I will be concerned about her," Bridget argued. "And considering how much of your daily grunt work Summer covers for you and that you were supposed to get Dr. Nodder from Arbor Corners to cover in case of an emergency, I'm wondering why you had to stay here. There should be plenty of options to handle any patients, and it's not like the cabin is a long drive."

"I don't meddle in your patient work, do I? Things pop up; you know that of all people," Leonard reacted stronger than necessary.

"Ah, yes, this special research case that Merton mentioned. Funny that I never heard of this research. What's so special, Leo?"

"He told...Norton shouldn't have shared that information with anyone," the chief resident of surgery stated coldly. "If you must know, a patient has surfaced that may allow me to test out that procedure I've theorized about. This could be my first potential chance to implement my ideas. If it works, it could be a breakthrough for neurosurgery."

"That's wonderful, honey. But why couldn't you have told me that's the reason you had to skip the cabin trip?" Bridget inquired, but before her husband could answer, a nurse entered the room.

"I see it's getting crowded in here," the dark-haired nurse said. She appeared to be in her late twenties with a model-like figure. A naturally-tanned beauty, she was tall with medium-sized breasts and an ass firm enough to crack an egg on. "Hello, Dr. Tarver."

"Eloa, don't tell me you're floating down here too?" Bridget asked with a hug for another of the regular nurses that worked in the maternity ward.

"Without much happening upstairs, they'd have us float anyways, so Libby and I made sure to be here for your son," Eloa explained.

"Thank you for being so thoughtful," Bridget said, giving the nurse another hug. "It means the world to me how all of you care so much about him."

"Now, I want to check on our little HERO before the room gets more crowded," Eloa said, moving to push her way past Leonard and grabbing his chart from the stand. Bridget realized from the way Eloa emphasized the word that her husband's tirade had been heard loud and clear at the nurses' station across from the room.

Going about checking and recording Sean's vitals, the jostling woke him back up. "Nurse Exotic Hottie is back! Are you here to make my fantasies come true?" he flirted with a big grin plastered across his face.

"Aren't you just adorable," Eloa remarked with a soft pat on his cheek. Then, looking over at Bridget, she added, "You must get that from your mother, Mr. Hero. And you better get your fill now, young man. Your girlfriend will be joining you shortly."

"Not my girl. I'm single and available," Sean replied with a hopeful, exaggerated smirk, drawing a laugh from his nurse and muttering from his father.

"I'll return later when you're in a better state of mind for a talk, Sean," Leonard announced, briskly walking out of the room.

"Excuse me, miss. Did you say my daughter would be here soon?" Harvey inquired.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Diamond. I meant to tell you that first, but Dr. Tarver...well, you know," the nurse apologized, holding out her hand across the bed. "I'm Eloa Agrela."

"Harvey Diamond. And thank you in advance for taking care of my little girl," he said, flashing a smile while holding eye contact.

"Oh, you'll find the nurses on this floor are very interested in the well-being of you and your daughter," Eloa revealed, still holding his hand over Sean.

"No fair! Harvey's gonna screw all my nurses," Sean moaned, catching the flirting.

"Sean, go back to sleep," Bridget ordered her son. She wasn't sure who was more embarrassing at this point: her dopey son, the hungry-eyed Harvey, or the string of nurses she could see peeking into the room for a glimpse of the handsome, wealthy bachelor.

The sound of squeaking wheels alerted them to the approach of Whitney. First came another nurse guiding the bed into the room as an orderly pushed it from behind. Bridget moved to get out of the way as the nurse moved the empty bed over to the side of the room. That left the spot open for the orderly to position Whitney and her bed into that area. Lastly, Dr. Fort entered the room.

"Thank you, Dwayne," she said to the orderly, who began to wheel the empty bed out of the room. Next, Dr. Fort had a quiet conversation with the new nurse and Eloa before both left the room.

"Dr. Fort, how is she doing?" Harvey asked, rushing around Sean's bed to shake her hand with both of his.

"She looks so quiet and polite. Weird," Sean mumbled to himself, rolling over slightly to see the sleeping Whitney, who had several layers of blankets covering her. "Can we keep her that way?"

"Whitney's making steady progress, Mr. Diamond," Dr. Cheryl Fort informed him. "I felt comfortable enough in her progress to bring her up here. Her body temperature is ticking up slowly and steadily. Her blood pressure is still high, but her breathing rate has stabilized. We're continuing to monitor all the issues I explained earlier, but no new concerns have surfaced," she said, motioning to the array of devices that connected to Whitney. "She's starting to regain consciousness for longer stretches of time. So, you should be able to talk to her soon."

"Thank you...I...just, thank you, Dr. Fort," Harvey struggled to convey the depths of his gratitude. Instead, he surprised everyone in the room by hugging the woman.

"Uh, sorry," the worried father said sheepishly, back away from her.

"Don't be, Mr. Diamond. I understand how emotional these moments can be for loved ones. I'll be in and out to check on your daughter for the next few hours. Dr. Karkov will take over at that time," she explained, turning to look at Bridget. "A word, Bridget?"

"Sure, Cheryl. I'll be right back, Harv, Sean," she said, but both men were too busy staring at Whitney.

"Is there a problem?" the blonde asked her caramel-skinned colleague once they were outside the room.

"I was going to ask you the same question. I heard Leonard made a ruckus," Cheryl revealed.

"How gossip travels...yes, he pulled his I'm-An-Important-Doctor routine," Bridget relayed with a weary sigh. "But it's how he treats Sean that frustrates and infuriates me."

"He's still harping about Sean following his footsteps and becoming a doctor?"

"Yes, and it pisses me off. Sean should be able to choose his own way in life, not try to emulate his father. And then he had the nerve to bring up my father. I...I'm sorry, Cheryl. I don't mean to unload my family problems on you."

"Don't be, Bridget. We all have them, and all of us here at the hospital know how Leonard can be," Cheryl said, swatting away Bridget's apology. "Now, are you planning to stay overnight?"

"Of course."

"Good. I'll feel a little better knowing that a doctor is with Whitney all night. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not scared of anything happening, but just as an extra precaution," Dr. Fort quickly reassured her. "I am still concerned over her chances of developing pneumonia."

"I'll keep an eye out for any signs and remind the nurses not to overlook that area," Bridget said, hugging her friend. Walking over to the nurses' station, she spent several minutes greeting and thanking the staff for all their help. She then spent extra time with her two regular nurses, Libby and Eloa.

Walking back toward the room, Bridget halted at the sight before her. Harvey had pulled up a chair close to Whitney's bed. Leaning over, he held one of his daughter's hands. All the while, tears streamed down his face as he sobbed in concern and relief over Whitney's condition.

That's the way a father should react when their child almost dies.