A Fallen Heart by Cate Ashwood Page B

soon?”
    “I’m not sure. Right now I think this is the safest place for him. There’s been a cop sitting outside the door since after they brought him in, just in case. Realistically, they could move him to the inpatient ward until he’s all healed up, but we’re not in immediate need of the bed.”
    “Yeah, I guess a little extra security, being behind a locked door, doesn’t hurt.”
    “Nope, and we’re happy to have him. He’s no trouble at all.”
    “I should get back, since I’m technically still on shift. I think I’ve abandoned Amanda and Lissa enough for one night. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on him.”
    “Have a good night,” Maddy said, waving as they exited the unit.
    “Are you going to stick around for a while, or do you have to go home?” Ford asked as they neared the Burrard Street exit.
    “Would you like me to stay?”
    “It doesn’t matter.”
    Ford’s tone made Nash think maybe it did, even if it was only a little bit.
    “I don’t have anything else going on, and my sleep schedule is fucked anyway. I’ll stick around if I’m not going to cramp your style. You can send me on coffee-and-doughnut runs later if you’d like.”
    Ford smiled. “I think the girls would definitely be okay with that.”
    “And you?”
    “I’d be okay with that too.”
    “Good. Then I’ll stay.”
    An hour later, everyone was glad Nash was still there. The ER blew up. It was as though everyone in a ten-mile radius had eaten at the same sketchy Indian food restaurant and had triggered a citywide food poisoning epidemic. Triage did as much as they could, diverting patients home with instructions to take Gravol and to get some rest, but the sickest patients were admitted.
    Nash had never seen so much vomit in his life, and that was saying something. At one point, they had to improvise when they ran out of emesis trays, using whatever they could find. MacGyvering it in the ER was not something that should ever be done, but at that point, with the supply storage in the basement closed for the evening, they had no choice.
    Without a second thought, Nash fell into the chaos, lending a hand where he could. Eventually, he moved from bed to bed, systematically and in order, putting in IVs and checking vitals. Ford drew up meds, Amanda ordered labs, ECGs, and imaging, and Lissa charted as quickly as her hand could write.
    It took until nearly six in the morning, but they muddled through, and thankfully the trauma bay remained blessedly vacant. The beds were full, but everyone was stable and taken care of for the time being. There’d be a mess to clean up on dayside, dealing with lack of stock and discharging the patients who’d spent the night there, but they’d made it through.
    “Thank God you were here,” Amanda said as the clock ticked over, signaling the end of their shift.
    “And thank God Susan wasn’t,” Lissa added.
    “Who’s Susan?” Nash asked.
    “She runs the ER. Tall woman, black hair, gray roots? She looks like she could have been your drill sergeant,” said Ford.
    “Ah yes. I think I know who you mean.”
    “She would have kicked you out the second you walked in, pizza or no pizza,” Lissa said. “I think she spends most of her nights off curled up in front of the fire with the rule book. Nothing gets by her.”
    “We don’t have to tell her you helped,” Amanda said.
    “My lips are sealed if yours are.”
    “But we definitely appreciated you pitching in. There would be a lot more left for the day shift to deal with if you hadn’t been here.”
    “It was my pleasure.” Nash looked directly at Ford when he said it, satisfied when the tips of Ford’s ears pinked up.
    “Now, speaking of the day shift, you’d better go before they catch you here looking like you spent the night doing our jobs for us.”
    Nash laughed. “Gotcha. I’ll see you ladies around.”
    Ford walked out with him, looking very much like he needed to sleep for the next six days.
    “Come on,”