The fact that none of them had the time to mourn the loss of a young man’s life was almost as disturbing as actually losing him. Before Sage and Mo could put on a new set of gloves, another patient was being wheeled in by paramedics who looked pale and exhausted.
“Twenty-three-year-old female, approximately eight months pregnant and in active labor. She’s fully dilated. Vital signs stable, but she does have two superficial glass wounds to her right arm. Bleeding is controlled, but the baby is crowning and ready to come into this world.”
The young woman was alternating between sobbing and screaming out in pain.
“Are you ready for this, Mo?” Sage said as she moved her onto the ER gurney.
Mo was prepared in less than a minute, with towels and tools needed to deliver a baby.
“I know you’re scared right now”—Sage glanced at the chart—“Stacy, but your baby is ready to come out and meet you.”
“It’s too soon,” Stacy wailed.
“You’re eight months along. Your baby can make a healthy entrance, but you have to work with me, okay?” Sage looked the woman in the eye, knowing she had to calm her down or she would never be able to push, which would mean an emergency C-section.
“I can’t do it. I hurt so much.”
“Listen, Stacy, you either push this baby out, or you’re going into surgery,” Sage said forcefully, which startled the woman enough to quiet her as she stared at Sage in shock. “What are you having?” Sage asked.
“A girl.” Stacy’s lip trembled.
“Then let’s bring your daughter into this world.” Stacy nodded as she leaned back.
“We need a push now,” Mo said, giving Sage a look that said it was getting more critical by the second. Sage barely had time to glance at the monitors before she felt another tightening of her own stomach.
“Push, Stacy!” Sage yelled, and much to her relief, the woman bore down and gave it all she could. After a few tense moments and some strong pushes, Sage found herself delivering the too-still infant.
Before panic could set in, Mo was there, cleaning the baby’s mouth out, and then a loud cry rent the air and could be heard above all of the chaos in the ER.
“Stacy, she’s beautiful,” Sage said in awe, amazed that in the midst of all this tragedy, a miracle had been placed in her arms. Sage looked at the messy, beautiful baby girl and gently laid her on her mother’s chest.
“Thank you,” Stacy quietly whispered as she took hold of her daughter while Mo and Sage then went to work on her other wounds.
Patient after patient came and went, and somehow the staff kept on going until finally the ER slowly calmed. When there were no new patients, Sage looked at the clock and realized she had just put in a thirty-six-hour day with a few short naps in between.
“It was a pleasure working next to you tonight, Sage.”
Turning, Sage felt tears in her eyes. “Mo, there’s no one I would rather work with,” she said, knowing she was more emotional from pure exhaustion.
“I don’t know about that. There’s a certain doctor here I think you don’t mind working with too much,” Mo said with a taunting smile.
“Shh. I don’t want people to hear you,” Sage gasped as she looked around, grateful everyone else was just as exhausted as she was and wasn’t bothering to listen.
“I just call it how I see it,” Mo said before walking away.
“Well . . . quit calling it.” Sage realized her comeback wasn’t very good as soon as the words came out.
She gave up. Because right then, nothing sounded better than a long, hot shower. Somehow she made it to the locker room and gathered up her things, and then limped to the closest shower. Closing her eyes to push away the thoughts of the night, she threw her filthy scrubs into the hamper and stepped into the small shower bay.
The hot water was heaven on her sore muscles. Eyes closed and soaking in the water massage, she felt rather than saw his presence. A slow smile formed on her face as she felt his hard body press against hers.
“You did amazing, Sage,” Spence said as his hands traveled up her stomach and cupped her breasts.
“I can’t do this right now, Spence. I’m exhausted and there was so much trauma, more trauma than I ever expected to see here,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.
Turning her around, Spence looked into her eyes, a gentle smile on his lips. “You are strong and capable and you saved lives tonight, Sage. Don’t let the ones you weren’t able to save take away the joy of the lives you gave back to terrified family members.”
“But what about all of those people who didn’t even get a chance to say good-bye?” she said, resting her head on his chest as the first tears fell.
“I don’t know why or how some live and some don’t. All I know is that we do our very best every single time. You are spectacular and there is so much ahead for you,” he promised as his fingers massaged the back of her head.
“I am so glad I’m here with you, that I chose this hospital, that I get to learn from someone so great in the field.”
“I’m glad you’re here, too. Let me help you wash up, then I’m going to take you home, put you to bed with a hot cup of tea, and then sweep you off your feet tomorrow,” he said, lifting her chin and giving her a light kiss.
“I think that’s exactly what I need,” she said, utterly drained, not even having the energy to lift her arms up around his neck.
Spence gently washed her body, then for once, helped her put clothing on before wrapping an arm around her and walking with her to his truck. She didn’t get her cup of tea, because she fell asleep against his side within two minutes of leaving the hospital.