Kat and Honey were in their beds, asleep. Paige looked at the clock at her bedside. One o'clock in the morning. She stumbled into her bedroom and started to get undressed, but the effort was too much for her. She fell into bed with her clothes on, and in an instant was sound asleep.
She was awakened by the shrill ringing of a telephone that seemed to be coming from some far-off planet. Paige fought to stay asleep, but the ringing was like needles penetrating her brain. She sat up groggily and reached for the phone. "H'lo?"
"Dr. Taylor?"
"Yes." Her voice was a hoarse mumble.
"Dr. Barker wants you in OR Four to assist him, stat."
Paige cleared her throat. "There must be some mistake," she mumbled. "I just got off duty."
"OR Four. He's waiting." The line went dead.
Paige sat on the edge of the bed, numb, her mind clouded by sleep. She looked at the clock on the bedside table. Four-fifteen. Why was Dr. Barker asking for her in the middle of the night? There was only one answer. Something had happened to one of her patients.
Paige staggered into the bathroom and threw cold water on her face. She looked in the mirror and thought,
My Godl I look like my mother. No. My mother never looked this bad.
Ten minutes later, Paige was making her way back to the hospital. She was still half asleep when she took the elevator to the fourth floor to OR Four. She went into the dressing room and changed, then scrubbed up and stepped into the operating room.
There were three nurses and a resident assisting Dr. Barker.
He looked up as Paige entered and yelled, "For Christ's sake, you're wearing a hospital gown! Didn't anyone ever inform you that you're supposed to wear scrubs in an operating room?"
Paige stood there, stunned, jolted wide awake, her eyes blazing. "You listen to me," she said, furiously. "I'm supposed to be off duty. I came in as a favor to you. I don't—"
"Don't argue with me," Dr. Barker said curtly. "Get over here and hold this retractor."
Paige walked over to the operating table and looked down. It was not her patient on the table. It was a stranger. Barker had no reason to call me. He's trying to force me to quit the hospital. Well, I'll be damned if I willl She gave him a baleful look, picked up the retractor, and went to work.
The operation was an emergency coronary artery bypass graft. The skin incision had already been made down the center of the chest to the breastbone, which had been split with an electric saw. The heart and major blood vessels were exposed.
Paige inserted the metal retractor between the cut sides of the breastbone, forcing the edges apart. She watched as Dr. Barker skillfully opened the pericardial sac, exposing the heart.
He indicated the coronary arteries. "Here's the problem," Barkersaid. "We're going to do some grafting."
He had already removed a long strip of vein from one leg. He sewed a piece of it into the main artery coming out of the heart. The other end he attached to one of the coronary arteries, beyond the obstructed area, sending the blood through the vein graft, bypassing the obstruction.
Paige was watching a master at work. If only he weren't such a bastardl
The operation took three hours. By the time it was over, Paige was only half conscious. When the incision had been closed, Dr. Barker turned to the staff and said, "I want to thank all of you." He was not looking at Paige.
Paige stumbled out of the room without a word and went upstairs to the office of Dr. Benjamin Wallace.
Wallace was just arriving. "You look exhausted," he said. "You should get some rest."
Paige took a deep breath to control her anger. "I want to be transferred to another surgical team."
Wallace studied her a moment. "You're assigned to Dr. Barker, right?"
"Right."
"What's the problem?"
"Ask him. He hates me. He'll be glad to get rid of me. I'll go with anyone else. Anyone."
"I'll talk to him," Wallace said.
"Thank you."
Paige turned and walked out of the office. They'd better take me away from him. If I see him again, I'll kill him.
Paige went home and slept for twelve hours. She woke up with a feeling that something wonderful had happened, and then she remembered. I don't have to see the Beast anymore! She drove to the hospital, whistling.
As Paige was walking down the corridor, an orderly came up to her. "Dr. Taylor ..."
"Yes?"
"Dr. Wallace would like to see you in his office."
"Thank you," Paige said. She wondered who the new senior surgeon would be. Anybody will be an improvement, Paige thought. She walked into Benjamin Wallace's office.
"Well, you look much better today, Paige."
"Thanks. I feel much better." And she did. She felt great, filled with an enormous sense of relief.
"I talked to Dr. Barker."
Paige smiled. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."
"He won't let you go."
Paige's smile faded. What?
"He said you're assigned to his team and you'll stay there."
She could not believe what she was hearing. "But why?" She knew why. The sadistic bastard needed a whipping girl, someone to humiliate. "I'm not going to stand for it."
Dr. Wallace said ruefully, "I'm afraid you have no choice. Unless you want to leave the hospital. Would you like to think about it?"
Paige did not have to think about it. "No." She was not going to let Barker force her to quit. That was his plan. "No," she repeated slowly. "I'll stay."
"Good. Then that's settled."