hur
ergency bay. I looked up from the chart in my hand just as a frantic wom
dema, cyanotic, unresponsive!" she yelled, her voice
he passenger seat. I took one look at her blue-tinged lips and the angry red hives covering
d chaos. We pushed the gurney through the double doors, the harshoh tube. Let's have RSI meds on standby," I commanded, my hands already wo
on, I leaned over the patient
n I sme
omething that hit me like a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs. Li
e scent o
ng for a century, reared up and howled, a d
table landscape of black and white, exploded into color. For so many years, I had walke
of professional detachment. Panic was a luxury I
t seemed to calm the frantic energy in the room, to center me. I could feel her life force, faint an
," a nurse
n to climb. Her blood pressure followed. The dusky blue color of her skin s
gh air," I said, my voice a
place and we began to bag her, her oxygen saturation n
going
d to a private room for observation. Continuous monitoring," I ordered, my voice colder than ever to mask the raging s
her chart said-was sleeping. Her breathing was even, aided by the ventilator, but stable. I stood at the fo
n, I was there. Her gaze was h
sarcasm that was my trademark defense. "If you were trying to kill yourself, I'd suggest a more effective met
r depths. She tried to speak, but with the tube
more disastrous than your marriage, apparently. Congratulations. You're not allergic to the medica
was a fire, and even in this state, it burned bright. For the first time in decades, I felt the corner of my own mou
own open with such force tha
y, stormed in. He was radiating a weak, pathetic alpha aura, reeking of entitlem
ed with concern. It w
"You're going to try and kill yourself? Is that your plan? To r
her eyes turn into
ce rising to a hysterical pitch. "If the paparazzi get a picture of you like th
at the IV line in her arm, trying to rip
rs, large and firm, stopping her from hurting
d off the bottom of my shoe. "This is a hospital room, not yo
ou think you are? This is a private matter between me and my wife!" He sneered, his eyes flicking between me and Caroline. "Ah, I se
gging his
t like your crazy mother. She threw herself off a balcony to get attention, and you're doi
my bones. The temperature seemed to drop by twenty degrees. A
een a warm brown, were now flashing wi
Wolf. Faint, untrai
t the chill. But I felt the raw power
something that would expose her to the world, I moved. I placed my body direct
red to tear
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