“I’m so happy for you, Em! He’s a good guy, and you two are going to have an amazing time together,” Sophia said, as they chatted while performing their respective duties.

  “DR. ROMAN, the HIT patient hasn’t improved yet,” Sophia announced. She scuttled along beside Hollis, who walked confidently down the corridor. “Her 02 sat is dropping as well,” Sophia continued. “In fact, every time she is given Argatroban, her condition worsens.”

  “Also, Dr. Roman, I really admire your work. And it’s an honor to be shadowing you.” This was the first time Sophia had been alone with Hollis. Sophia had never been one to hide her feelings.

  “We should all focus more on the medicine, Dr. Wells. Too much emotion clouds our judgment—not to mention putting people on pedestals. Stay away from that. We become the best by working the hardest. Aspire to work hard, not to be like someone else,” replied Hollis, as she examined the patient.

  She knows my name! Sophia thought, smiling to herself.

  “I will work the hardest. I promise. I won’t let you down.”

  But Dr. Roman’s mind was on the patient again. “What could it be? Even the labs support HIT.” Hollis was thinking fast. Suddenly, realization dawned. “Call the head nurse!”

  she said.

  Sophia rushed to the nurse’s station to summon the head nurse.

  “Yes, Doctor.” The head nurse stood in front of Hollis.

  “Are you sure you didn’t mess up the drugs on this patient?” Dr. Roman inquired.

  “No, Doctor. I administered them myself, 100 mg/ml as ordered,” the head nurse replied, a bit nervously.

  “Did someone wash and replace the tubing before changing the meds?” Hollis asked, as if the issue was already made up in her mind.

  “I don’t think so,” the head nurse said slowly. Her eyes widened and she quaked under Hollis's stern gaze.

  “I apologize, Doc–” but Hollis cut o the head nurse.

  “You of all people should know: even a little Heparin is dangerous for this patient! Every time you infuse her with some Argatroban, the drip delivers unwashed Heparin with it and her condition worsens.” Hollis’s voice had become a roar, becoming even more frightening when she reduced it to a low growl. “Wash and replace the drip and the tubing, and she’ll be good to go. And be more careful next time. We were feeding her both the poison and its antidote. This will be the last time I let such a mistake slip past.”

  Hollis left with a victorious spark in her eyes. Sophia followed behind, her expression showing both fear and respect. Dr. Roman had sounded intimidating, but she was really smart. I am going to learn so much from this shadow post, Sophia thought.

  3

  “No, Mom, the websites don’t all sell fake stu .

  Everyone buys online now. It isn’t like the old days. Times have changed, and so has technology,” Ava told her mother in a reassuring voice.

  Ava Rodriguez had the curvy hourglass body of an underwear model--all ass and boobs, with a tiny waist.

  Every day she was grateful to her Latino roots for her smooth olive skin and incredible body. Her mother had put on weight as she’d gotten older, but Ava had been careful not to. She loved her body and how it looked, both in and out of clothes. She was a regular in the gym when she wasn’t at work. Anything so that she could still get away with eating the junk food she loved. At thirty-five years old, Ava’s body still looked as it had ten years before, and she loved that.

  “Eso es lo que dijiste la última vez, Ava,” her mother replied with a sigh. You said the same thing last time. But Ava didn’t have time to reassure her mom about buying online today. “Okay, Mama , I’ve got to get to work. It’s getting late.

  I’ll see you later! Just pick up the parcel, okay? Love you!”

  Ava picked up her keys without waiting for her mother’s reply, and all but ran out the door. She was an incredibly hardworking woman who had joined the paramedic/EMT

  services after her dad had passed away on duty. Ava had devoted her life to helping people. She loved her job.

  “OH, God! Come on! I just got here. Geez, people. Give me a break!” Lisa exclaimed, as she revved up the engine of the ambulance and hurried to the Cherry Hill location.

  “Yeah, the ‘E’ in ‘EMT’ means ‘go easy. Take your time,’”

  Ava quipped, as she checked the necessary items once again.

  She and Lisa had a weird friendship: they had di erent views about almost everything, but they spent so much time on shift together that they knew each other really well.

  “Why do I even work here?” Lisa ranted. “I could have done some easy job. I mean—I’m talented as fuck. But no, I had to get stuck here, and with the likes of your ass.”

  Ava rolled her eyes in response to the drama. This was just how her friend was. “Sweetheart, someone has to do the tough jobs so that normal people can be happy going along in their little lives,” Ava said, as they turned a corner and neared the site.

  “Even though we do all this work, we don’t get as much credit as the doctors,” Lisa complained. “I mean, they sit in their o ces all day long while we deal with the tough stu .

  They get paid way more than we do and they get more privileges.”

  Lisa was fed up. Ava could see her side of it, but there was no use complaining about something that wouldn’t change anytime soon.

  “Well, you just need to take care of whatever is in your control and the rest can figure itself out,” Ava replied, her wise practicality seeping through.

  They had arrived at the restaurant to find their middle-aged patient on the floor, in severe respiratory distress, his

  face pallid. It was clear that he was getting no oxygen.

  “He’s choking and I can’t get it out,” a middle-aged woman in distress cried out, running toward Ava. “We tried everything the emergency operators said to do, but we can’t dislodge it. He is going blue!”

  Ava grabbed her EMT bag, pulled out what she needed, and calmly went about prepping for the emergency tracheostomy that would save the man’s life.

  She ran the fingers of her left hand down over his throat as she hummed a Spanish folk tune. She found the small indentation where she would cut and picked up her scalpel.

  Ava confidently made the cut—a half-inch horizontally and a half-inch deep. She felt the membrane to the airway and cut through that too. Ava inserted a tube into his windpipe and felt for the air. Perfect, she thought, as she taped the tube in place. Color began to return to the man’s face. Ava smiled to herself as she continued to hum. No problem.

  “You saved his life,” the woman said, sobbing. She threw herself on Ava as she stood up.

  Ava smiled, putting one arm around the distressed woman while wryly pushing her dark wavy hair behind her ears. “Just doing my job, Ma’am.”

  “VIVIENNE, BABY, I BROUGHT YOU SOUP!” Hollis called to her daughter as she opened her front door. Hollis shut the door behind her and put her keys on the table. Taking o her shoes, she placed them on the shoe rack and carried the hot soup container to the table in a plastic takeout bag.

  Not a speck of dust could be seen in the house, nor was anything out of place. Instead, it was decorated with stunning ornaments that added to its beauty. Opposite the main door was the entrance to the hallway, where a glorious

  staircase descended from above. Hollis passed the staircase her way into the large living room, then sat on a cream-colored sofa and let her eyes rest on her daughter. She set her package on the floor beside her.

  “But Mom, I don’t like soup. I wanted tacos,” Vivienne replied, without looking up from the sketch she was drawing.

  “Sometimes it’s good to change things a little, darling.”

  Hollis spoke sweetly as she lifted an arm and stroked Vivienne's dark hair–-a physical trait Vivienne had inherited from her biological mother, Karen.

  “I don’t like change. Why do you keep making decisions for me?” Vivienne retorted. “I don’t want soup. I told you that I don’t like it, Mom. You always insist on stu I don’t want. You never try to understand me!” Vivienne yelled, throwing down her pencils and running upstairs to her room.

  A loud bang resounded through the house and Hollis knew that Vivienne had not only slammed the door, but also locked herself in. Like always. They disagreed about something and Vivienne reacted the same way. Sighing, Hollis took the soup to the kitchen and put it in the fridge.

  Hollis never could figure out a way to get through to Vivienne. At fifty years old, living in a world of adults and science, life and death, Hollis knew she was pretty far removed from the life of most teenagers. She worried about her relationship with Vivienne, but couldn’t seem to fix it.

  Anything Hollis tried backfired almost immediately. To make matters worse, Vivienne liked spending time on her own. It was as if the world around Vivienne didn’t match the one in her head.

  Hollis had married Karen Philips thirteen years ago. She had been an army colleague. They’d had Vivienne together—

  they’d asked a good male army friend to be the donor, and Karen had carried the pregnancy.

  Hollis and Karen had been very happy at first, but as time passed, Karen chose to take job postings abroad. She lost interest in their relationship, and in their daughter. That’s when Hollis decided to retire from the army and reached an agreement with Karen to end their marriage.

  That way, Karen could continue to travel with the army and Hollis could devote herself to Vivienne—giving her a stable home and the best life she could.

  Vivienne was eight years old when Karen and Hollis divorced. During the five years since, Hollis had done everything she could for Vivienne, but she was fighting a losing battle. And although both Karen and Hollis had managed to stay on good terms since their breakup, neither of them could get close to their daughter.

  Hollis went upstairs and stood in front of Vivienne’s room, placing her forehead on the door.

  “I love you very much, Vivi. I’m your mom and I love you so very, very much. Please let me in. Please tell me what I can do,” she whispered softly.

  There was no answer.

  Hollis took a deep breath, backed away from the door, and went to her room. She was exhausted from the day, both mentally and physically.

  4

  Sophia lay in Katherine’s arms in their bed, with just the noise of the TV in the background. Katherine was wearing a tank top and shorts, while Sophia had on a loose crop top and panties. Katherine had not imagined this kind of happiness again after losing her wife, but here it was.

  Katherine kissed the top of Sophia’s dark glossy hair and wondered how she had gotten so lucky.

  “So, how was your first day with Hollis? You liked it? Did she smile?” Katherine asked teasingly. Obviously, she knew the answer. The woman always had a poker face.

  “Well, it was eventful. And no, she didn’t smile. I swear to you,” Sophia said, “people are so weird! I mean—give the woman a break! She is incredible; no one can deny that.

  What does it matter if she never smiles and always looks just a little bit angry?”

  Katherine’s eyes widened at Sophie’s sudden burst of emotion and devotion to the woman she had just met that day. She started to laugh. “Whoa there, tiger. Easy. You have a total doctor crush on a big butch army captain, Dr.

  Roman,” Katherine said, a smile playing about her lips.

  Sophia laughed, shaking her head. “I know. I can’t help it.

  It’s just—I feel there’s a lot more to her than what everyone

  has assumed, you know.” Sophia continued, absentmindedly choosing a movie and pressing play.

  “I see. Maybe you’re right,” Katherine said, with a reassuring smile. “What else happened with her today?” she asked.

  “I told her she was my idol, and then she told me to focus on work and to stop idolizing people. So yeah . . . a good warm exchange, full of emotions. But I mean it when I say that there’s more to her than just her exterior. You know that I see people, Katherine. Like, really see them.”

  “Well, they say you should never meet your heroes,”

  Katherine commented. “But yeah, jokes aside, emotion may never have been Hollis’s strong suit. She’s a brilliant doctor, nevertheless. I have a lot of professional respect for her.”

  “And now . . .” Katherine said, snaking her right hand over Sophia’s body, under her top. Sophia’s nipple hardened immediately. “ . . .I was thinking you could show me who your real favorite doctor is.”

  Sophia rolled on top of Katherine, straddling her and pulling her top over her head. Katherine looked up at Sophia’s exquisite breasts and her dark hair falling loosely over them. At Sophia’s incredible blue eyes looking down at her. She is so fucking beautiful, Katherine thought.

  “You know that you are my favorite, Dr. Ross,” said Sophia. “You know you always have been. Always will be. You are what my real doctor fantasies are all about.”

  “Right then, Intern. Get that pretty little face between my legs and show me just how much you love me,” Katherine ordered.

  Sophia slid down Katherine’s body, pulling her shorts down over her hips and o . She pushed Katherine’s legs apart and settled herself between them. Her tongue trailed over Katherine’s soft mound.

  Katherine closed her eyes and groaned. God, she wanted Sophia so badly. This obsession with her just didn’t quit.

  Sophia’s mouth teased her, kissing all around her inner thighs, and her soft thatch of hair. Katherine felt Sophia’s fingers on her labia, pulling her wide apart so her tongue could go to work.

  Sophia’s tongue was electric as it ran slowly up from her ass, over her wet opening, onto her clit. Katherine’s whole body shuddered. She couldn’t wait any longer for the release she so badly needed. She grabbed a handful of Sophia’s hair and thrust herself against her face. She ground hard into Sophia’s beautiful mouth, as though her own pleasure mattered more than Sophia’s ability to breathe. Katherine felt her orgasm building, then crashing over her in waves of beautiful pleasure. She loosened her hold on Sophia’s head as the sensations faded away.

  Sophia emerged with Katherine’s wetness all over her face. She smiled. “See how much I love you, Dr. Ross?” She crawled back up Katherine’s body and lay on top of her, kissing her deeply.

  Katherine tasted her own sex strongly on Sophia’s tongue, and couldn’t get enough of it. Nor of Sophia.

  She rolled Sophia over onto her back and lowered herself on top of her. “Now let me show you just how lucky you are to have my gifted surgeon’s hands all over your beautiful body—and inside.”

  “I’m so lucky, Dr. Ross. I love you so much, Dr. Ross,”

  Sophia said, smiling greedily. It was going to be a good night.

  5

  “D r. Liam, report to radiology,” the PA system announced, as Ava and Lisa monitored a patient.

  “The ESR is down, so that’s good news. Keep the same meds and chart his fever,” Lisa told the nurse, who nodded.

  “So, you didn’t answer when I called you last night. You aren’t secretly seeing anyone are you?” Lisa asked Ava.

  “No, I just fell asleep. And apparently, twenty-five of your calls weren’t enough to wake me up!” Ava quipped, “And, no, I am not seeing anyone. Don’t be crazy!” she continued, massaging her temples.

  Today was not a good day. Ava had woken up late and then was late for work. Then fate decided to play with her a little more, and her car tire had somehow acquired a slow puncture. Ava was thankful that there hadn’t been any emergencies, or she would have been done for. Popping two painkillers with a cup of co ee upon her arrival at the hospital had done the trick for half the day, before her headache had come back again. Ava hated that she was prone to migraines like this.

  “What happened?” Lisa asked. “Did Forest Vale run out of young, dumb girls wanting meaningless relationships?

  That’s definitely a crisis,” Lisa teased, laughing.

  Ava rolled her eyes and winced. Even that eye-roll hurt.“Ha ha! Very funny. I just don’t have time these days, you know. Work takes most of it, then the gym, and then you hog the rest with your excessive phone calls,” Ava said dryly.

  “Besides, I don’t think people pretending to be in these so-called meaningful relationships have it made, anyway. At least I have fun, without any pressure. There is a lot to be said for young, dumb girls wanting meaningless relationships.” She stuck her tongue out at Lisa.

  Lisa just smiled and kept quiet as her friend went on. “I mean, look at Nora,” Ava said, pointing to a fellow paramedic. “Whenever she talks to you, it’s always about how weird her boyfriend is, and how she misses being single.”

  “Okay, that’s true. I’m with you on that one. She does say that a lot,” Lisa conceded, then changed the subject. “Hey, what happened to that cute girl you went on a date with last week?” she asked, turning to Ava.

  “Oh, she was friends with my ex. Like—best friends. It just seemed like it would be too messy. Forest Vale becomes a small place when you have lived here all your life. The lesbian pond is running dry!”

  “So, the poor girl didn’t even last the week, huh?” Lisa chirped, with a laugh.

  “Will you get out my love life and help me review these charts?” Ava asked, sternly.

  “Okay, Your Highness,” Lisa responded, with a roll of her eyes.

  After they reviewed the charts, Ava grumbled once again as she massaged her temples.

  “Your migraine hitting you again?” Lisa asked her, worriedly.

  “Yeah. It’s pretty bad today. You think you can finish up here alone? I can’t even stand anymore,” Ava told her.

  “Are you kidding me? Go home. Now. Or I’m hauling your ass in car and taking you home myself,” said Lisa, as she ushered Ava out of the ward and through the parking lot.

  Somehow, Ava made the short drive home. Upon arrival, she stripped out of her uniform and fell onto her bed, letting sleep overtake her.

  “BUT WHO BROUGHT this patient here? And where is the initial monitoring?” Hollis asked, as she went through the patient file. Everything was out of order.