Chapter 2:the Doctor and the NA
399 Words
Night Shift Together
The next few weeks felt long for Lina.
She was working 3 night shifts every week at Bayview Medical Hospital. She was tired, but she needed the money for school.
Every night she saw Dr. Kade Morrow.
He was always in the ER. He walked fast. He talked less. The other nurses called him "The Wall" because he never showed feelings.
At first, Lina and Kade only talked about work.
"Can you get vitals on bed 3?"
"Patient in room 5 needs a new IV."
That was it. Nothing more.
But Lina noticed small things.
Kade always checked on the sickest patients first.
He remembered the names of the janitors.
When a patient was scared, he explained things in a calm voice, even if he looked serious.
One night, there was a big storm. The rain was loud on the roof.
At 1am, the lights in the hospital flickered. Then they went out.
"Generator power only," the charge nurse shouted. "No monitors on some floors!"
Lina’s heart jumped. Without machines, everything was harder.
"Reyes, with me," Kade said. His voice was steady.
They went to two patients who were very sick. One had trouble breathing. The other just had surgery.
For the next 4 hours, it was just them and flashlights.
Kade showed Lina how to count breaths by watching a chest go up and down.
"Don’t panic," he told her. "Feel the pulse with two fingers. Like this."
Lina’s hands were shaking at first, but she copied him.
A 16-year-old girl started crying because she was scared of the dark.
Lina sat beside her and held her hand. "You’re safe. I’m right here. Breathe with me."
Kade watched her for a second, then went back to work.
When the lights finally came back, both of them were sweating and tired.
The ER was messy, but the patients were okay.
Kade pulled off his gloves. He looked at Lina. Really looked at her.
"You stayed calm," he said. "That matters."
Then he gave a small nod and walked away.
Lina sat down on a chair. Her legs felt weak.
No one had ever told her "that matters" before.
That night, when she went home, she could not sleep.
She kept thinking about his voice. About how he trusted her in the dark.
Something had changed.
And Lina didn’t know if it was good or bad yet.
- Writer
