The Turning (30 page)

Me, impatient? Nah.

The next few days flew by, and suddenly it was Friday morning, I woke up alone since I made Brian sleep at his own place. I needed a good night’s sleep, without any interruptions, even if they were pleasurable interruptions. I hopped in the shower quickly and then went to the closet, opened my new hidden fridge. I drank a few pints of blood that Brian had started having delivered to me. The fridge was full of them.

I was careful to put the empty bags back in the fridge to discard when Brian was over. I decided on my blue scrubs and grabbed my new lab coat. Brian had those delivered as well after they were finished embroidering my name on the breast pocket. I was going to have to be careful because he was spoiling me.

Things were pretty easy when you had money, everything delivered, picked up, and handled for you.

I went out into the living room when I was ready, having already grabbed my bag with all the items I was required to bring. Also I threw in my note pad and some pens.

“Morning, Nicole. You ready?”

“Yep, you?” She was worrying her lower lip so I didn’t feel bad that my stomach was doing flip flops. It was a big day, after all.

I nodded, and we started out the door. She knew about my dislike of elevators, so we took the stairs. It was nice to have a uniform that included sneakers. We only had to go across the street, so we were still early and walked around a bit to get the lay of the land. When we had about ten minutes left, we started heading to the conference room where we were supposed to meet.

“I’m freaking, Kel. No matter what happens, neither of us quits unless we both agree it’s the right thing to do, deal?”

“Deal, but if we do, we’re shit out of luck. It’s too late to start any of the other internships we were offered. We would have to wait until next year, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to do that. We stick it out no matter what. We’re in this together,” I responded, and we gave each other a quick hug while no one was looking. We traded one last look, and I nodded to Nicole as she opened the door and we walked in.

“You are?” asked the lady with the clipboard.

We gave her our names, and she gave us a very large packet and told us to take a seat. I looked around, realizing these people were my competition, and some wouldn’t make it, but I couldn’t worry about that. I had to worry about me. Well, Nicole too, but that was it.

I had to remind myself to ask Brian about my brain since I could do so many other things faster than I could before I was made, how would my absorption of information be? After several minutes, a tall man walked in. He had to be in his fifties, I guessed. He looked about my dad’s age, maybe a little younger.

“Welcome to the University of Chicago Hospital. I congratulate all of you for making it through the interview process. There were over five hundred applicants, and the thirty-five of you made the cut. Over the next several weeks some of you will either quit or will be asked to leave. We will weed out about ten to fifteen of you.

“Your first shift is Monday, and it’s
scheduled
to be twelve hours long. Your residents will show you where you can grab sleep if the chance arises. That being said, the shift will not end until we have one less intern that day, so be prepared. It’s tradition and we have always found that someone quits in the first couple of days, so we push hard to see what you’re all made of.

“My name is Dr. Chad Budding. I’m the chief of surgery and am here to answer any questions you might have. Keep in mind, I am your boss’s boss’s boss, though anyone asked to leave will only be asked by me. So respect your residents, their reviews of you will be a large factor on who stays and who goes.

“We are going to hand out your beepers. These are never to be shut off and must be worn at all times. And I do mean at
all
times. Whether you are here, on call, or it’s your day off, you are interns. You do what your resident says.” He paused as the lady with the clipboard handed one out to each of us. “Now that you all have your beepers, look at the number on the side of it. We are going to pass around a list, write your name by the corresponding number.

“Your residents have maps of the hospital. Memorize it, because getting lost is not an option. Today is just your orientation, so we will keep it simple. You will get your resident assignment and spend some time with them. They will show you what rounds look like, go over any rules they have, and what they expect of you.

“Any questions?” he asked, without waiting to see if there were any. “Good. Mel here is my assistant, so if you need to see me, make an appointment with her. She will read the list of assignments, good luck and I will see you all tomorrow night.” And as quickly as he had come in, he left. We all sat around and looked at each other.

Wow, that was a lot to process.

“These seven people are the residents that are part of the intern program,” Mel said, pointing to the seven doctors standing up front with her. “As I call out your name please join your resident out in the hall.”

She started with the first resident and called out the five interns that went with him, then the second, then the third. The fourth one was named Erin Smothers, who Nicole was assigned to. She got up and looked at me, looking like she might shit her pants. The sixth one was named Mike Malinowski—I was assigned to him. I grabbed my stuff and met him out in the hallway.

Once the five interns assigned to him were in the hall, Mike started talking.

“Okay, so you guys are assigned to me. I’m one of the permanent residents of this program. Once we weed some of you out, there will be only five residents with four or more interns. So get used to me. If you stay, you are stuck with me, like it or not. I only have a few rules. Ask any questions you have if you are not clear, not ever question me. That won’t win you any points in my book and it will piss me off.

“Next, you guys are interns. The very bottom of the food chain, under nurses, so be nice to them because you will need them. Not only that, I listen to their feedback and appreciate their years of service, their knowledge, and their experience. As my interns, you will as well. I own you in a manner. I tell you to jump, you can ask how high, maybe why if you are trying to learn, but that is it. I reserve the right to change any rules or add any on at any time.

“Watch me, I’m your teacher and mentor. I am not your friend, your buddy, or your confidant. Keep that in mind, and we should be okay. Any questions so far?” he asked, looking at us all. When he saw us shake our heads he continued, “Good, we’ll start today by going on rounds, where you will see my style and get a better idea of what I expect.

“I’ll also show you where you can crash if need be, and what Dr. Budding said about the beepers is true. That is the quickest way to get my recommendation for you to be asked to leave.
Always
respond to your pagers. Let’s go, and keep up. If I tell you something different, you do it, otherwise, it’s assumed to follow me.”

We followed him around and I never even caught the other interns’ names. There were three guys and another girl. My bet was on one of the guys being gone first. He was a weenie looking guy, who seemed to be shaking the whole time. Mike showed us where we could catch sleep, the fastest way to the lab, and his patient rotation. I knew we were wearing badges but he never seemed to look at them.

After a few hours, we were wrapping up.

We walked back to the front desk and there was Dr. Budding talking to someone but I couldn’t see who it was since Dr. Budding blocked the view of their face.

Then I heard the sexy Irish laugh I knew all too well.
Shit!
It was Brian, and as I got closer to get a good look, sure enough it was. I really had hoped to be wrong this time. He caught my eye and could have instantly burst into flame with the hate stare I gave him.

“I am glad to see the hospital is running so well, Dr. Budding,” Brian was saying. “If there is anything you need, please let me know.”

“Of course, Mr. Grady, the hospital and staff appreciates everything you do for us and taking the time to be on the board.” Do for them? This wasn’t good. Wait, did Dr. Budding just say Brian was on the
board of directors
? I’d have to ask him later what the hell that meant. “Oh, Dr. Malinowski, come over here and meet one of our largest patrons, Mr. Grady.”

They shook hands as Mike greeted, “Mr. Grady, nice to meet you. Dr. Budding speaks very highly of you and the other board members. What brings you here today?”

“I stopped by to say hi to one of your new interns on her first day,” Brian explained. I wanted to melt into the floor. I had to fight every impulse to run and hide. “Hello, Dr. Murphy, good to see you well.”

“You too, Mr. Grady. I would have figured you were too busy to swing by today,” I said through my teeth, trying a subtle point. I was also hoping that neither doctor was aware I wanted to beat the crap out of Brian.

“I didn’t know you knew one of our interns. How do you know each other?” Dr. Budding asked.

“Dr. Murphy and I met a few weeks ago and have been seeing each other ever since. I was just checking to make sure she was being well treated and was enjoying her orientation.” Dr. Budding and Mike’s eyes went wide before they schooled their reaction. “Are you wrapping up soon Dr. Murphy? I was hoping to take you out to a celebration lunch.”

“You’re dating Dr. Murphy?” Dr. Malinowski coughed. “That’s interesting to say the least.” He eyed me over like he knew how I got the job.

“Yes, that is correct. She is very important to me, so take good care of her,” Brian declared. Why didn’t he just pee all around me to mark his territory a little more? Until that I had pretty much been frozen with shock and not really able to speak… Like watching a slow moving car accident I just couldn’t stop in time.

“Thank you, Mr. Grady. I can take care of myself, and I appreciate being treated as every other intern. You left out the little detail you were on the board of directors at the hospital I accepted for my internship. Now if you will excuse me, Dr. Malinowski was showing us around and going over what he expects of us,” I practically growled, praying he took the hint.

“As you wish, Dr. Murphy. I will call you later,” Brian agreed as he leaned in to give me a kiss.

I took a step back and whispered at a level that humans couldn’t hear, and through my teeth so they couldn’t see my lips move. “Get the fuck out of here now. We are going to have a long talk tonight, and you are not going to like it.”

“Well, I have interrupted. I do apologize, Dr. Malinowski. Very nice to have met you. Dr. Budding, I am sure we will be seeing each other soon,” Brian spoke with charm, shaking their hands.

“We’ll see you Saturday at the intern reception, will we not?” Dr. Budding inquired.

Oh fuck
. This was just getting better and better.

“I will have to check my schedule. I will have my assistant call your office later today to let you know,” Brian agreed and then left.

“Dr. Murphy, if I could see you in my office as soon as Dr. Malinowski is done with you?” Dr. Budding ordered.

“Of course, sir.” It took everything I had to stay even remotely calm. With that, Dr. Budding walked away with a nod to Dr. Malinowski who turned back to us.

“Okay, the last thing we have is locker assignments,” Mike announced as he passed out the information. “Go claim your lockers and put your stuff in there and make sure to always lock them back up. We are not responsible for any stolen items. I’ll see you all Saturday.”

The other four left and I stayed behind.

“Umm, Dr. Malinowski, may I speak with you for a minute?” I hedged. When he turned to me with a raised eyebrow, I continued. “I apologize for that. I didn’t know he was on the board or a donator to the hospital, I swear. I don’t want any special treatment, I promise. I worked really hard to get here. I was accepted to internships all over the country, and this is where I want to be. Is there any chance you can ignore what just happened and treat me like the other interns?”

“I believe you,” Mike sighed. “I thought you were going to kill him when you saw him. As you wish, Kelly. I will ignore this whole incident, as long as you talk to him and I don’t have to worry about my job.”

“Thank you, and I might still kill him, but I appreciate you overlooking this. I promise I will make it perfectly clear that nothing you do, even recommending me to be asked to leave, will affect your job,” I rambled, shaking his hand. “I’ll see you Saturday, and thank you again.”

He nodded and I started to walk to Dr. Budding’s office with my head down. This was not going to be good. I bumped into Nicole on the way and she saw the look on my face.

“What’s wrong, Kelly? Don’t you like your resident?” she asked me.

“Yeah, he’s great,” I whispered. “It’s something else.” When she looked at me quizzically, I continued. “Guess who is a huge contributor to the hospital and on the board here? Oh, also he dropped by to tell the chief and my resident that we are dating and to take good care of me!”

“Please tell me you’re kidding?” She blanched and I shook my head. “Oh Jesus, Kelly, what was he thinking? How could he not have told you this? I’m going to kill him!”

“You might have to get in line. Can we get really, really drunk tonight?” I begged.

“Yeah, let’s go home.”

“I’ll meet you there. After talking to Mike, I mean Dr. Malinowski, and getting him to forget that Brian basically peed on me to mark me as his territory, I have to go see Dr. Budding,” I admitted, trying not to cry. She gave me a hug and said she’d be home waiting for me. I continued to the chief’s office.

Once I got there, I walked up to his assistant’s desk. “Hi Ms.—I’m sorry, I never caught your last name?”

“Sutton, Melanie Sutton, but you can call me Mel. Go right in. Dr. Murphy, Dr. Budding is expecting you,” she replied gently, with a sympatric smile. That couldn’t be good. I thanked her and nodded as I went to knock on his door.

“Come in,” he called out.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” I asked as I walked in.