Under Different Circumstances

Chapter 18

Three days later, on Tuesday, I had my appointment at Med to have my stitches taken out.

I had just sent off a reply to Jay, the unit had finally made some arrests and was hopeful that they could return to Chicago soon, when Will and a nurse walked into the treatment room.

"Hailey! Good to see you again. How have you been?" Will greeted me with his biggest smile.

"Hey, Will, good to see you too. I've been great. Hated having to rest, but I did my best."

"Sounds good, let me quickly check your vitals, and then I'll have a look at the stitches," he informed me and took his stethoscope off his shoulders.

"Vitals are normal and healthy," Will concluded a minute later and moved on to take a look at my laceration. "You took excellent care of this. It healed perfectly," he commended me.

"I had a lot of help from my mum and my friend Zoe," I explained.

"They did a great job. Now let's–"

"Doctor Halstead, we need your consultation in treatment room 3. It's urgent," a young nurse called from the hallway.

"Okay, I'm coming, April," he told her and turned to me. "Nurse Doris will take out your stitches and also instruct you on how to take care of the scar and what to watch out for," he said as he inched out of the room.

Before he rounded the corner, he shot me an apologetic smile.

Nurse Doris got to work while making small talk with me. It didn't hurt to get the stitches pulled, and I already knew most of the care instructions she gave me from the time I had taken care of the scar on my arm. All in all, the appointment only took a little over 15 minutes.

On my way out, I ran into Will in the hallway.

"Hey! How did it go? Wasn't too bad, was it?" he asked.

"Nope, all good," I confirmed with a smile.

"I was about to take a break and grab some lunch at the cafeteria. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure!" I agreed, happy at the opportunity to get to know Jay's brother better.

"It's really not the best food, but I've gotten used to it," Will said as he led the way to the cafeteria.

We picked up some trays and got into line. We were discussing the food options when an elderly man, stabilising himself with a walking cane, tapped Will on the shoulder.

"Doctor Halstead?" Will turned around to face the man. "Excuse me, Doctor Halstead. I wanted to thank you again for everything you did for my wife, Annie. If you hadn't discovered that aneurysm, I don't know what, I would've, I ..." he stuttered, unable to find the right words.

I watched him struggle and my heart went out to him.

"That's alright, Mr Watkins. It's what I'm here for after all. You did well by bringing her in when you did," Will encouraged him.

The old man nodded, and his shaky hand fiddled around in his pocket. He retrieved a banknote and tried to hand it to Will.

"I can't take this, Mr Watkins," Will objected and softly pushed the man's hand down. "Why don't you buy your wife something from the gift shop instead?" he proposed and patted Mr Watkins on the shoulder.

The man's eyes lit up at the suggestion and the mention of his wife. "Alright," he agreed. "Thank you, Doctor Halstead."

I watched him shuffle off. "That was sweet," I observed.