The Wolf She Sever Knew

Chapter Two ~ A Delicious Problem

~~In the Operating Room~~

The hours ticked by as the multiple Dr’s. worked on Elara Grey. With Drs. performing Exploratory Laparotomy, Orthopedic Stabilization, Neurological Management, and chest management, all while making sure her blood supply, oxygen levels, and heart rate stayed within normal range. The operation had taken hours.

After they stabilized her blood levels and her heart rate returned to normal, one of the nurses noticed that not only was her heart rate improving, but so was everything else. In fact, it was happening faster than expected. This amount of damage had a very low success rate, but it appears that everything they did struck gold... how was that possible? One of the nurses looked at Dr. Patel, giving him a knowing look.

Dr. Patel looked back; he noticed too. But there was nothing really to be sutured, he thought; maybe God had a hand in it- who knows? He continued his work. As he was about ready to close her up, he noticed the tissue was healing right before his eyes. He took a double take and said, "Nurse, can you please assist with the sutures? She's ready to be wrapped up."

Nurse Daniels came over and looked at what he was seeing with a quiet understanding; she moved to hide the results from the other team. She put in a few sutures and gauze covering, then stepped away.

"She's ready for the ICU, Dr."

~~In the Hallway of Post Op~~

Dr. Patel took off his cover and looked around, then back at Nurse Daniels, who just joined him in the hallway. "That's impossible!" He sighed. "She's 30 years old and didn't have a wolf, but I could see wolf healing. What the hell is going on in there?"

Nurse Daniels looked around and glared at him. "Shhh, keep your voice down. I know, but we saw it right there; it's happening, and we are going to have to get her transferred as soon as possible before someone figures something out."

Dr. Patel took a deep breath to calm himself and said, "You're right, You're right. I'll make the call, get the team ready for Post Op instructions as usual, then we will get her out of here."

They nodded to each other and went their separate ways.

~~Post Op Room Huddle~~

After the team rolled her into the ICU, they came together at the foot of her bed as Dr. Hayes gave the post-op instructions.

"Ok team, listen up. Here is what I want you to do. I want the lethal triad monitored closely. Continue MTP, keep the blood products going, and start a norepinephrine infusion to hold her pressure up." Dr. Hayes stepped aside for Dr. Patel to finish the instructions.

"Keep the temporary abdominal vacuum dressing on continuous suction and mark and record the color and volume of fluid output every hour. Notify the surgeon if frank blood picks up. Perform neurovascular checks on the hand every hour; check capillary refill, radial pulse, warmth, and color. Notify ortho immediately if the hand becomes cold or pulseless, and keep the chest tube on continuous suction. Record output every hour."

Dr. Hayes continued again, "Continuous IV infusions of propofol and fentanyl for sedation and pain control, antibiotics on schedule, draw trauma labs regularly, and maintain the external warming blanket and use a blood warmer for all infusions. Thank you, and if there are any worsening issues, page the Dr. on call. Good night, ladies and gentlemen."

Dr. Patel received a page right after stepping out of the room. He walked into his office to return the call.

"Hello, nurse's station, how may I direct your call?" the operator asked.

"Dr. Connor Blake's office, please."

He waited for Connor to pick up the phone while the most boring elevator music played on forever. Dr. Patel couldn't stop moving his leg nervously. In all his years here, he has had 1 other wolf discovery, and that was 10 years ago, and he was a teenager… not a 30-year-old woman.

The phone finally picked up as he answered, "Dr. Blake, how can I help you?"

"Connor, it's John. We have a situation…" he went on to describe Elara's case, and when he was done, he took a big deep breath. He felt like a thousand pounds were dislodged from his chest.

"Well, isn't that interesting... Did you suppress her wolf again?"

"Yes. She's in Post Op now under sedation. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to make a fake emergency and initiate the transfer orders to our hospital for specialized care… and John, take her off the suppression medication slowly. We don't want to shock her wolf, but she needs to heal properly, do you understand?"

"Yes. Right away, sir."

After they hung up, Dr. Patel went to talk to Nurse Daniels to make the arrangements.

~~In the Waiting Room~~

Dwayne paced the room while the clock seemed to mock his every step. Finally, the nurse came out to explain that visiting hours were over, and since he was not family, he had no legal right to her condition. They were asking him to leave. He didn't understand how anyone could just let someone stay out here for hours waiting to get some kind of news, just to be told to leave before anything was told to him. He wanted to scream, but he didn't want to lose his job either, so he nodded and walked out the door.

Once he was in his car, he let that scream out. Took a deep breath and called his friend, another orderly who worked on the Post Op floor. He dialed the number, and it was answered on the 2nd ring.

"Dwayne, what's up, buddy? Thought you were out celebrating?"

"Hi Marco. I was, I was in an accident… I hit someone, and she's at the hospital in Post Op ICU, and can you check on her and see if she's doing ok?"

"s**t. Dwayne, you don't mean that young pretty thing, do you?"

"Yeah. I guess I do."

"Well, she was brought in stable for now anyway; she doesn't look good, man. She's really banged up."

"Can you keep me posted? They won't tell me anything cause I'm not family."

"Sure, bud. No problem." And the phone went dead. Well, I guess there isn't anything else I can do for now. He thought to himself as he started the car and drove home, then said a silent prayer for her life again.

~~In Post Op ICU~~

Dr. Patel called Nurse Daniels over into the side hallway.

"I got in touch with Connor; he wants a fake medical emergency to get her out of here. I want you to get some Atropine eye drops and administer them before the next head scan in an hour."

"Yes, Dr. I also sent that guy away who hit her. We don't need anyone asking questions."

"Thank you, Janet, truly." He put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Let's do this."

After the head scan was complete a while later, the tech came in with the scans, and Dr. Patel announced to the team, "Patient has an acute blown pupil and a sudden drop in Glasgow Coma Scale. Suspect impending brain herniation or expanding intracranial hematoma." He set the scan down and walked over to Elara and used a handheld Doppler ultrasound probe and deliberately positioned it incorrectly to show a "loss of signal." He also constricted a hidden band to temporarily reduce the pulse. The machines went crazy, and the team swooped into action as they attempted to get the pulse rate back up, as he yelled out, "Acute loss of radial and ulnar pulses in the affected extremity. Hand is cold and dusky. Suspect acute arterial thrombosis or vascular compromise. Prepare patient for transfer to Timberline Medical Center. Stat."

The team made the call, and the ambulance arrived shortly after, and she was on her way. Within the hour, she would arrive at Timberline Medical Center and not be anyone's problem but Connor's from that point on, and Dr. Patel could finally relax.

~~At Timberline Medical Center~~

Dr. Connor Blake hung up the phone and thought, well, she is on her way; let's see what this is all about. He wondered why her wolf didn't show up prior, what or who could have been suppressing it, and did she even know about wolves?

He stood and walked over to his window. He stood there for several minutes trying to answer his own questions, but nothing was that simple. As the Beta of the Timberline pack, his duties often took him away from this hospital more often than he would like. This was where he felt most like himself. No one was demanding answers or asking him to do things that went against his moral code of doing no harm. As a beta, that wasn't always possible.

He sighed and went to get the team ready to receive this new wolf, but then he remembered he hadn't told the Alpha yet… s**t. He mumbled under his breath as he went back to his desk to make the call. Evander Kane is the new alpha, having just taken over from his father, Alistair Kane. Connor isn't sure how the young master will take this new wolf; he could think of her as a threat, or maybe he will be more helpful. Connor hasn't gotten a full bead on him yet.

The phone picked up. "Yes, beta. What can I do for you?"

"Evan, we have a situation coming in shortly to the hospital. An interesting case of a 30-year-old woman who didn't have a wolf until after her heart stopped and was revived. She will be here shortly. I just wanted to keep you in the loop, sir."

"Hmm, 30 years old, wow, that is interesting. How did her heart stop?"

Connor relayed what he knew in as non-medical terms as he could muster. But the young man sounded a bit bored. And after a few minutes, he just said, "Carry on, Beta. Keep me informed," and he hung up the phone.

Connor stood and went out into the trauma center to continue his previous mission to get ready for his new arrival. Within minutes, the doors opened, and Connor stopped dead in his tracks and put up his nose as the smell of fresh rain and earth filled his lungs, and he suddenly knew that this Elara Grey was his long-lost mate. Even though the scent was faint, being a beta made it impossible for him to deny.

What was he to do, he thought? She was going to be a problem and a delicious problem. And he smiled as they rolled her gurney into the ICU. Unconscious yet alive, and finally he had found her. His wolf echoed in his mind, "Mine! Fix her, you fool. Fix her now!"