“Emily, you’re here,” Derian said, struck by
a wave of relief that left her light-headed. She hadn’t realized how much she’d
wanted to see her until Emily’s steady, compassionate voice enfolded her. She
ought to be wary of such an atypical reaction, but she didn’t have the energy
to fight what she needed just then. Emily was here, and just seeing her helped
ease some of the fear clawing at her insides. “I was going to call you.”
Emily reached for her hand and stopped, as if
an invisible wall stood between them. “How is she?”
“She was awake a bit. She sounded like
herself, just really weak.”
Emily sighed. “Oh, that’s great news.”
Aud stepped beside them, running a hand down
Derian’s arm. “Is surgery still scheduled?”
Derian glanced at Aud, all her senses still
attuned to Emily, as if a giant magnet aimed at the center of her chest drew
her in that direction. “Yes, momentarily. They were preparing to take her to
the OR just now.”
Behind them, the ICU doors opened with a
hydraulic rush. Two men and three women pushed a stretcher half the size of a
hospital bed laden with monitors, bags of IV fluid, an oxygen tank, charts and
papers, and mounds of other equipment. Henrietta was lost in the midst of that
chaos, and the fear simmering in Derian’s middle flashed into an outpouring of
choking dread. She hurried to catch up to the rocketing stretcher, searching beneath
the sheets and apparatus for Henrietta’s hand.
“HW,” she murmured urgently, “it’s Derian.
I’ll see you in a while, okay?”
Henrietta didn’t answer, but her fingers
tightened on Derian’s.
“You’ll be fine.” Derian’s back brushed the
wall as the team halted in front of the elevator. The doors opened and Derian
searched desperately for a way to stop the madness.
“I’m afraid you can’t come any farther. I’ll
keep you updated,” the ICU fellow said.
“I love you,” Derian said as Henrietta’s hand
slipped from hers and the team maneuvered the bed into the elevator. Derian
stood in the doorway. “Where—”
The doors slid shut and she was left staring
at nothing, more helpless than she had ever been in her life. She clenched her
hands, a breath away from beating on the shiny metal surface. “Dammit.”
Emily was suddenly at her side, grasping her
arm. “Come on. They’ll look for you in the waiting area.”
Derian glanced at her, momentarily torn. She
hated waiting, hated being helpless. She sucked in a breath. “Right. Right.
You’re right. Thanks.”
Emily smiled. “No thanks required.”
Aud had halted a way down the hall and
fumbled in her shoulder bag. She pulled out her phone, looked at it, and
frowned. “Oh, for God’s sake.”