main focus was pediatrics?”
“It is, but it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate complex surgeries. Especially when those complex surgeries involve children. Perhaps I judged maternal-fetal medicine too harshly.”
“Really now?” she asked, obviously humored.
Sam leaned over and gazed at the lad through the glass. “Poor mite.”
“Yes, it was unfortunate, but now that it’s repaired he has a shot of growing up normally. Of surviving. Twenty or thirty years ago he wouldn’t have survived his birth.”
“Is this where you’re going to start spouting off at me about how my chosen specialty is for dinosaurs?” Sam teased. “That there will be no need for pediatric surgeons or neonatologists?”
Mindy laughed. “I’m sorry, Dr. Napier. As I said, I was quite annoyed to see you as a resident.”
“I know. I know. Trust me, I felt the same.”
“You were annoyed I was an attending?”
Sam nodded. “Of course. A woman I’d had an amazing night with was now off-limits.”
Mindy snorted. “Like you had every intention of calling me again.” She walked out of the NICU and Sam trailed after her.
“You don’t know that,” Sam protested. Though she was right. At the time he hadn’t had any intention of calling her again, but spending a week with her on her service had made him think differently about her. He’d seen her in a new light. If it wasn’t a bad idea, if he had more time to commit to a relationship instead of being tied to the hospital, he would pursue a woman like Mindy Walker.
“We didn’t exchange numbers,” Mindy said.
“Ah, but I know where you live. I could’ve found out if I chose too.”
Mindy chuckled. “That sounds mighty stalkerish, Dr. Napier. Mighty stalkerish indeed.”
Sam groaned. “Oh, come on. It’s not stalkerish at all.” He leaned over the charge desk as she pulled a chart from behind the counter. “How is the new resident on your service going?”
“That’s not any of your business,” Mindy said, not looking at him.
“I’m just curious, that’s all.”
“No, you’re not. You’re competitive, you shark.” It wasn’t said in an accusatory tone, there was a twinkle to her eyes.
“I swear, it’s not competitive in nature. Just curious. I heard some… complaints.”
Mindy’s mouth dropped open. “Complaints? What do you mean, complaints? From who?”
Sam grinned. “I can’t say, unless I want to get attacked by a pod of sharks. Do sharks come in pods, I wonder?”
Mindy frowned and then playfully pushed. “Jerk!”
“What was that for?”
“What complaints?” Mindy demanded. “As your superior, I demand you tell me.”
Sam cocked an eyebrow. “As my superior, you demand I tell you? I don’t think so.” He turned to leave but she grabbed his arm.
“Come on, tell me. This is my first job in a teaching hospital and I want to make sure that I’m imparting my wisdom on the residents well.”
“You’re doing a fine job. Really, the complaints were that you were a bit demanding and a workhorse.”
Mindy smiled then, but then cleared her throat. “Is that all?”
“It pleases you to know you’re being tough.”
“It does. I want them to be afraid of me and my service.”
“You want to be like the Godzilla of the OB/GYN floor?” Sam asked.
“If you can survive my toughness then you can make it in my field.”
“Ah, but there’s a problem. The residents currently rotating on your service aren’t OB/GYN residents. You have a whole smackerel of them who are chomping at the bit to work with you. You’re working with residents who are eyeing a pediatric fellowship with Dr. Chang. So it might be lost on them.”
Mindy smiled smugly. “That may be, Dr. Napier, but I deal with kids when they’re still developing. I have to be hard on all residents who have any kind of inkling of wanting to work with children. They’re a precious commodity. If you can’t stand the heat…”
“Get out of the oven?”
Mindy laughed. “Kitchen, Dr. Napier.”
“So, I have to ask, did Dr. Snow do well in the procedure?”
“I wouldn’t know. She never did make it to surgery.”
Sam was confused. “I can’t see her missing something like that. She’d as soon as skin me than let me have a shot at any specialized procedure. Of all the sharks, she’s the nastiest.”
“You think highly of her,” Mindy teased, and then she sighed. “Actually, I didn’t let her into my OR and she’s effectively off my service.”
Now he was intrigued. “And you’re not going to elaborate any further.”
“It’s not prudent. You are her competition.”
Sam didn’t say anything further as Mindy finished her charting and set the binder back in its place. The only thing that would have kept Dr. Snow out of surgery was if she’d done something really bad to anger her attending. In their first days, Dr. Snow had been a bit pompous, but she was a talented surgeon and Sam couldn’t help but wonder what Dr. Snow had done. Well, whatever it was, it wasn’t his business to know.
Mindy was right. Dr. Snow was his competition and he didn’t want to have any unfair advantages.
“That’s foolish, Samuel! Take whatever advantages you can get. Given the chance, another surgeon will stab you in the back to take your spot.”
His mother’s cutthroat attitude had never sat well with him.
It was his father’s gentle soul which always seemed to win out. His mother’s downfall was that sometimes she acted before she thought and Sam was a bit more methodical. He didn’t gossip; he didn’t jump into the fray unless it was during a medical emergency.
“I’m going to go grab a coffee. I still have a few more hours left on my shift. I’ll see you around.” Mindy moved around to the other side of the charge desk and headed down the hall.
“Dr. Walker… Mindy, wait.”
Mindy spun around, stunned, but she didn’t chastise him for using her first name.
“Would you like to get a cup of coffee with me? I’m on call, but I thought you might like some company.”
