Chapter 7 First Day On The Job

Serena parked outside the medical facility and ran inside. There was a nurse at the reception desk, directing some of the other nurses who were tending to the pack members that were still in the waiting area. They were injured to various degrees of seriousness. “Serena?” the nurse at the front desk asked. Serena nodded. “Where do you need me?” she asked as a nurse rushed behind her, hands full of cotton packing and bandages. “Adriana is in surgery and needs you scrubbed and assisting,” the front desk nurse told her. Serena nodded as the nurse pointed her in the direction of the OR. Serena pushed through the first set of double doors. She went to the sink, turning on the water and scrubbing her arms and hands, up to her elbows. Without touching anything; she stepped back from the sink. A nurse turned the water off while another one, wearing sterile gloves, brought a sterilized surgical gown to Serena. She slipped her arms through it, and the nurse tied the gown around her back and then tied a sterile surgical cap around her head to hide her hair. Serena had the nurse assist her with putting on her sterile surgical gloves, and then she pushed through the second set of doors into the sterile OR. The process was second nature to her now. She put her surgical mask on and then didn’t touch anything until she came to Adriana’s side. “Who’s this?” Serena asked. “Beta Carson,” Adriana said. Her gloves were already bloodied, the man on the table covered with a sterile sheet, the area around his wound the only patch of skin exposed. “He has a pretty deep gash, but none of his major organs were punctured.” “What do you need from me?” Serena asked. “Get the sutras,” Adriana instructed. Serena went to a nearby shelf, getting the proper equipment to begin stitching Carson up. “Suction please, we need to stop this bleeding!” Adriana’s order was followed by a nurse stepping in with a tube to suck the blood away. Another nurse had cotton pads in a pair of tongs, dabbing at the place where blood was pooling. Serena stepped up, opening the sutra packing. There was a small bleed coming from one of Carson’s arteries. The nurses were keeping the area clean so she could see where the tear was. “Let’s stitch up this bleed and then close the wound,” Adriana said. Serena nodded, grabbing the needle with a pair of surgical tongs and getting started on stitching up the tear. It was a small tear, but in an artery, that was dangerous. Mass amounts of blood could be pumped out in only minutes! Every now and then, the nurses would attend to the area, keeping it clean until Serena had the entire tear closed and no more blood was pulsing out. Adriana nodded in appreciation as Serena tied off the sutra and cut the remaining thread. “Very good,” Adriana said. “Get me the next size up for the cut.” Serena nodded, heading back to the cabinet for a larger gauge of suture. In the OR, she was focused on her work. Her hands were steady, nothing mattered but getting the patient what they needed. It took a while longer for Adriana to sutra Carson’s cut and apply bandages. When the operation was done, Adriana and Serena left the OR, the nurses cleaning Carson up and preparing to move him to recovery. Logan was waiting for the doctors when they exited the OR. “How is he?” he asked immediately. Serena forgot the need to be on guard around him when she heard the concern in his voice. The Alpha was truly worried about his Beta. “He will be fine,” Adriana assured. “He’s still got some recovering to do, but he will be fine. I’m going to go clean myself up.” Logan nodded as Adriana left Serena alone with the alpha. She pulled her surgical mask and gloves off, going to the sink to wash her hands again. “He had a pretty deep cut in his abdomen,” she explained. “An artery was nicked, but we were able to repair the tear and stitch him up.” “No other internal damage?” Logan asked. Serena turned the sink off and looked over at the alpha. Her eyes softened as she saw him nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “He was lucky,” she said. “No major organs were damaged.” Logan let out a deep sigh of relief. Serena’s creased her brow when she saw blood soaking through Logan’s shirt. The doctor in her taking over, Serena reached out and lifted the alpha’s shirt. She didn’t have time to feel embarrassed or to hesitate. The alpha was injured and part of her job was to put his medical care above her own feelings. “You’re injured,” she said. Logan gently pushed her hand away. “I’m fine,” he insisted. “There are others far worse off than me. You should attend to them.” “They are being looked after,” Serena said. “As a doctor, I have to put your care first. You are alpha.” Logan sighed, rolling his eyes. “Fine,” he said. “Come with me,” Serena ordered, leading him into the nearest exam room. She patted the examination table, indicating she wanted him to sit. He hopped up. “Take your shirt off!” Serena turned to the medical cabinet in the room, searching for sutras, gloves, and bandages. If Logan hadn’t been bothered by it, the wound wasn’t bad enough to need surgery. She wouldn’t need a sterile environment to care for it, but she still wanted to make sure he wouldn’t get an infection. Turning around, Serena paused for a moment, her steps halting as she was returning to the table. She swallowed, seeing Logan shirtless. He was far more attractive with his shirt off, and she couldn’t help roaming her eyes over his impressive musculature. Clearing her throat, Serena shook her head to snap herself out of her momentary lapse in professionalism. She set the medical supplies aside and slipped her gloves on. Going to Logan’s side, Serena ran her hands over the purpling area around his cut. She kept her eyes on her hands, even though she could feel his eyes burning into her. “It doesn’t look like there is any internal bleeding,” she said. “I would like to sutra it and bandage you up to prevent infection or making the wound worse.” “I don’t need that,” Logan insisted. “Just give me a bandage and let me get back to work.” Serena shook her head, finally raising her eyes to his. She gave him her most defiant, resolved look. “You have to heal properly,” she said. “You’re no good to the pack if you don’t,” Logan growled, glaring at her. Serena raised an eyebrow. “You’re making a big deal out of a small cut,” he insisted. Serena scoffed and glared at him. She poked her fingers into the red, swollen, purplish area around the wound. Logan hissed and leaned forward in pain. “Feel how tender that is?” Serena asked. “Your wound is already mildly infected. I need to clean it, sutra it, and bandage it or a worse infection could set it.” Logan growled again. “Fine, fine,” he said. “Lay back,” Serena instructed. “Put your right arm behind your head.” Logan did as he was told. Serena turned away to get her medical supplies, glancing at the way his muscles rippled from the corner of her eye. If only he weren’t so hot! First, Serena flushed the wound out with a saline solution that had broad–spectrum antibiotics in it. Then she used cotton to dab at the skin and take away dried blood and remnants of the saline. Logan flinched. “I’m sorry,” Serena said. “I can give you a local anesthetic for when I stitch you up.” Logan shook his head. “No need, I can take the pain,” he said. Serena scoffed and rolled her eyes. She got the sutras and was leaning over Logan’s impressive chest when the door to the examination room opened. A disgruntled–looking female ran in, glaring at Serena. “What is going on!?” the female snapped. Logan lifted his head from the table. “Holly, I got a minor wound, the doctor is just patching me up,” he said. Serena didn’t miss the flash of jealousy in the other female, Holly’s, expression. “Oh, this is the new doctor,” Holly said, raising an eyebrow and looking Serena up and down. “Can I sew up the alpha, or do you want to risk his life by delaying me further?” she asked. Holly sneered and rolled her eyes. She looked back to Logan. “I will see you at our house when you’re done here,” she said. It wasn’t a question. Logan gave a nod and then relaxed his head. Holly scoffed and left. Serena shook her head, getting back to work on the alpha’s wound. She did another antibacterial flush of the wound once the sutras were in place, drying the skin before applying the bandage. Logan let himself down off the exam table while Serena started to clean up her things. “I’ll see you tomorrow for that tour,” Logan said to her. Serena turned to object, but the alpha had already left the exam room. She couldn’t back out now!