instead covered her shoulders in lustrous waves. He remembered that thick hair of hers always falling into her eyes and face as they’d studied things together, and he’d gotten into the habit of tucking its softness behind her ears so she’d been able to see whatever he and Nick had been showing her.
Her hands waving around as she spoke—another thing that was such a part of who she was—Katy was talking intently to the young man next to her, a frown creasing her brows, which made Alec smile. If he had to guess, she was regaling the other new intern with details about some condition or patient she was wondering about, because that brain of hers never rested.
“Good morning, everyone. I’m Dr. Alec Armstrong, as most of you know.” He forced his attention from Katy to look at the young man she was speaking with. “You must be Michael Coffman, one of our new interns. We’re glad you’re here. Please tell us about yourself.”
“I’m going into general surgery, planning to specialize in urology.”
“Excellent. Our other intern here is Katy Pappas.” He smiled at her, but she just gave a small nod in return. “Tell us about your intended specialty.”
“I’m going into family practice medicine. I really enjoyed working with all kinds of people during med school.” She looked at the group around her and her expression warmed. “Older folks and little ones and everybody in between. Figuring out what their medical problems are, when sometimes it can be a bit of a mystery, fascinates me. Knowing I’m helping individuals and families alike. I’m going to love doing that kind of work.”
She spoke fast, her blue eyes now sparkling with the enthusiasm he remembered from their childhood whenever she had been tackling a puzzle or been deep into a science project, and his own smile grew.
“I’m glad you’ve discovered your calling. Figuring that out is sometimes the hardest part of medical school.” He found himself wanting to keep looking at her, wanting to hear her speak and see her smile, but he made himself turn to the rest of the group.
“So let’s continue our introductions. This is our fifth-year surgical resident, Elizabeth Stark, who performed some of the surgeries on the patients we’ll see this morning. You met our second-year surgical resident, Todd Eiterman, this morning on work rounds.”
Alec finished the spiel he always gave new interns, hoping they actually listened. “Beyond the nuts and bolts of diagnosis and surgery I want to teach you how to talk to people, to ask questions and listen carefully to the answers, which is the only way to truly learn their histories. Conclude what you think the working diagnosis might be then order tests based on those conclusions.”
“Excuse me, Dr. Armstrong, but last month Dr. Hillenbrand said the opposite, so I’m confused,” Todd, the second-year resident, said with a frown. “I thought we were to order tests then, based on those tests, come up with a working diagnosis.”
“Technology is an amazing thing, Todd. But it can’t replace hands-on doctoring, which is the single most important thing I want you to learn on my rotation.” Alec studied the expressions on the faces before him. Smug understanding from Elizabeth, who’d heard it more times from him than she wanted to, he was sure, and also liked to play suck-up to the doctor evaluating her. Skepticism from Todd. Bewilderment and confusion from Michael. And avid concentration and focus from Katy’s big blue eyes, which made him wish he could pin a gold star on her before rounds had even begun.
The thought sent his gaze to the lapels of her coat and the V of smooth, golden skin showing above her silky blouse, and he quickly shifted his attention to Todd. She was his student, damn it. And perhaps someday again his friend. But thinking of her as a very attractive woman? An absolute no-no.
“We’ll be seeing patients who had surgery the past couple of days,” he continued, keeping his eyes off Katy. “But first we’ll see Mrs. Patterson, on whom tests were run yesterday. I know you’ve made your work rounds, so a lot of what I’m going to say will be a repeat of what you already know.”
Alec led the way toward Helen Patterson’s room with the group of students following behind. Katy was closest to him, and her light, fresh scent seemed to waft to him, around him, pleasing his nostrils so much he picked up the pace to put another foot or so between them.
What kind of doctor was distracted by someone’s sex appeal while in the middle of work? Not the kind of doctor he demanded he be, that was for sure. Not the kind of doctor he’d been at one time, long ago when he’d been younger and stupid.
“Dr. Pappas, will you tell me about this patient from your work rounds this morning?”
“This is Mrs. Helen Patterson, and she has been in a rehabilitation nursing facility for one week, post-op after surgery for a broken hip,” Katy said. “She was admitted here yesterday for abdominal pain and referred to the surgery service. She had low blood pressure and her lactate was elevated.”
Katy licked her lips nervously, and Alec yanked his gaze away from them. He tried to simply listen and not notice the serious blue of her eyes as she spoke. “We ordered a CT scan of her belly, and there was no evidence of perforation in the bowel or appendicitis. We observed her overnight, gave her IV fluids and pain meds and she has spontaneously improved. We’ve determined that she has a mild case of ischemic colitis. She had a normal breakfast, and her physical exam is normal, so she can be released today.”
Her expression was both pleased and slightly anxious, and Alec hoped he wouldn’t have to remind her about the low potassium he’d read about in Mrs. Patterson’s chart, and that the repeat potassium was still slightly low. “And?”
“And her potassium was low this morning, but I gave orders that brought it up.”
“Except that those orders were all wrong, Dr. Pappas,” Elizabeth said. She had on her usual superior smirk that Alec had tried, with limited success, to get her to tone down when talking to less-experienced students. “You gave her forty mils to drink, which is way too much to give orally. How did you expect someone to drink that amount? I can only imagine how nasty it tasted to poor Mrs. Patterson. No surprise that she vomited it up and had to be given some intravenously to replace it.”
Katy’s smile froze, and all color seeped from her face, then surged back to fill her light olive skin with a deep rose flush. “What …? I … Oh. Oh, no! I didn’t order forty mil. I ordered four ml!”
“Really?” Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. “Nurses sometimes mishear an order, but it’s still your responsibility—”
To Alec’s shock, Katy turned and tore into the patient’s room, and he quickly followed. What in the world was she doing?
She slid to the side of the patient’s bed and reached for the woman’s hand. Katy’s expression was the absolute picture of remorse. “Helen, I didn’t know it was my fault you got sick to your stomach this morning. I feel terrible! I guess the nurse misheard me and gave you way too much to drink. That’s why you vomited. I’m so, so sorry.”
Alec was torn between being impressed that she instantly took responsibility for what technically wasn’t her mistake, and concern that the patient might get angry and let loose on her. He stood next to Katy, placed his hand on her back to let her know he was there to support her. “It’s unfortunate that orders get confused sometimes, Mrs. Patterson. You’re feeling okay now, though, aren’t you?”
“Yes, it was just an upset stomach. Don’t be angry with dear, lovely Dr. Pappas, now. She’s such a good doctor. Everyone makes mistakes once in a while.”
