Agreeing to cover the night shift had to be the worst mistake Andy had ever made in her life so far. Sophie begged her last night after she clocked out at her usual six.pm after a twelve-hour shift, saying something about how she had an important date she didn't want to miss.
She's been having a lot of important dates lately, but this was the first time she had asked her to cover her shift. Surprising since they barely talked as she always took over the ER night shift. Unfortunately, the ER was not as exciting in the middle of the night as compared to the day shift-according to her, but I guess some people don't like to get their hands dirty.
Andy was personally happy doing her rounds on the day shift and occasionally helping in the ER, if her patients were taken care off for the day. How exciting it was to see the small child who ate a packet full of crayons today. There were some good stories that came out of the day shift.
She let out a sigh, leaning back in the creaky wooden chair. She deserved to be home, wearing her pyjamas and falling asleep on her couch watching shows, she thought. It was literally a Friday night and here she was, sitting in the most uncomfortable chair, filling in stupid paperwork, in a dead hospital at 2 am.
Nurse Maria- her night shift partner for today- already ran off to god knows where, muttering something about looking for a midnight snack, two hours ago. Maybe she's hooking up with Dr William since a rumour that they were hooking up started circling around. However, Andy never understood what the girls saw in the men that worked here. Half of them were married and had mistresses, whilst the other half only cared about their work and the random hook-up they could occasionally have.
Feeling the ache in her back, she discarded the pencil and stood up, stretching slowly to rid the sleepiness in my muscles. Her body needed some exercise, and so she decided to take a light stroll. It's not like someone was going to burst in anyway.
Grabbing her pager, Andy clipped the black device to her pants and started towards the entrance. Yet, she stopped at the light buzz she felt coming from her side pocket, her eyebrows furrowing at the vibration.
Was that her phone?
She plucked it from the depths on her pants pocket, the bright smartphone screen illuminating her face in the dim hospital corridor.
Andy frowned at the number, wondering why she was receiving a call from an unknown number at 2am. Weird. She immediately cut the call and continued, not wanting to get scammed, even though the number seemed local.
Who the hell even calls at 2am?
The slight chill from the A/C rushed over her body as passed the children's ward, and she realised she walked a little to far from the ER counter. It would be a hassle if someone found out that she had left her post, and she'd rather be safe than sorry.
She had just reached the ER ward when the phone in her hand rang again, cutting her off from pulling the chair out to take a seat. Andy huffed, staring at the same phone number that glowed almost hastily. She didn't want to answer it.
But what if it was her family? Maybe something happened to her Father? Or maybe not.
A million scenarios ran through her mind, as she pondered over the thought of whether to answer the unknown caller or just let it be. The phone continuously rang for the next 5 minutes, as she stared at it in confusion.
If I die, I die, she thought and picked up the call.
The surface felt cool against the heat of her ear. There was a slight rustle before she heard a low voice speak into the receiver, "Ah, fucking finally Andy. How long does it take for you to pick up the fucking phone?"
Andy blinked, pulling the phone away from her ear to look at the screen and placing it back, "Uh who the hell is this?" she answered confusingly.
"Goddammit Andromeda, it's me," the voice spoke, rather agitated than before.
Wait a second. Only one person calls her by her full name around here.
"Daxton?!" Andy asked, turning around to walk in the opposite direction of the ER ward, so that no one could hear her conservation. Phones clearly weren't allowed to be used during shifts, even though they could keep them on their person.
"Err yeah. Listen, I need a huge, huge favour right now sis. You think you can help me out?" he said hastily. Andy heard a car door slamming in the background, and she wondered if he just reached home.
She sighed, running a hand over the bangs in her eyes, "Dax…if you're asking for free drugs, you know I can't give that to you." Her lips twitched into a small smile at the joke she poked, and she tried hard not to laugh.
Andy knew her half brother Daxton Ramirez did not live a particularly pure life. She was aware that he was part of a motorcycle club, and although considered to be outlaws, he was a good man. A good brother and the greatest she ever had. Even when their parents had split after only 2 years of marriage, Daxton still stuck around and took care of Andy whenever she needed him. He was 2 years older than her, so the older brother front came to him naturally, and she guessed it just stuck, even when their parents both went on to marry different people.
Still, she never judged him for his lifestyle. They were good men, doing good things with bad methods unfortunately. So, she steered clear from it, for the sake of her family and her career, but she still considered Daxton to be the one person she truly trusted in this fucked up world.
Andy heard him chuckle over the phone and he let out a heavy sigh, "Not this time small child. It's…something bigger actually,"
"What did you do this time Daxton?" she groaned over the phone, her fingers massaging her temples for the oncoming headache she knew arrived with him. She loved him, but he was a pain.
"How about you come to the back door and take a look yourself?" his voice strained over the receiver as he lightly chuckled.
Andy froze as she looked at the back door she was standing in front of. Please, please, please, don't be here, she prayed.
Her other hand pushed the metal bar down and the door swung open to her stepbrother standing under the 2am moonlight, with another man's arm over his shoulder. She noticed Daxton supporting the man's weight with his left side, as blood dripped from his body and onto the cement floor.
She automatically cut the call and looked up into Daxton's cold blue eyes, "Are you kidding me," she whisper-yelled, before glancing back inside to hospital to see if anyone came by.
"You cannot bring some random beat up bloody biker to the hospital and expect me to patch him up! I could lose my job for this Dax. Are you fucking mad?" she gritted her teeth moving closer to him.
"Listen, you know I wouldn't intentionally put you in a position to lose your job. But please, this is serious, I can't lose him Andromeda and you're the only person I trust." Daxton said, looking desperate.
Andy clenched her fists at the sound of her full name and sighed, "Don't you guys have a bloody biker doctor or something? That surgeon dude,"
"He left for some training camp, Andy. Now come on, are you going to help me or let my Pres die in my arms?" Daxton stared at her pleadingly.
Andy noticed the fear in his eyes, and she wondered when the last time she saw him look like that. His President must mean a lot to him. Fuck.
She closed her eyes, gulping down the fear that arose in her gut. She could get fired for this, but here he was, her family asking her a favour. So, she nodded slightly and moved aside so Daxton could drag himself and the President inside.
Andy slowly shut the door and turned towards Daxton. She made the 'follow me' gesture with her hand and walked them over to one of the rooms at the far end of the ER ward, where no one would even walk by and told him to place him on the mattress.
"Close the curtain Dax," she said, as she slapped on some gloves.
The unconscious man on the bed had already lost a lot of blood and from the bullet sized hole in his chest sleeve, she guessed he had been shot. "How many times has he been shot?" she inquired as she began to cut the clothes he was wearing, gently pulling them off him until he was shirtless.
"Uh, I think around two times," Daxton replied as he scratched the back of his head, staring at Konrad's beat up body.
Andy raised an eyebrow, "You think, or you know? Which is it?"
Daxton groaned, running a large hand over his bloodshot eyes, "There were a lot of bullets flying Andy. It's hard to remember, fuck."
Andy sighed and looked back at her patient. His breathing was shallow and the wound on his shoulder seemed to be the only one currently visible. There was blood loss, but not enough for his face to look this pale.
"First of all, he needs a blood transfusion. What's his blood type?" she said. Andy grabbed the disinfectant and began the cleaning process. She lifted his shoulder and sighed in relief. It was a through and through, which was good for her and him.
"I think he's a B," Daxton replied.
"Alright. Since we're doing this off the books, I need you to take off your jacket," Andy said to Daxton as she wrapped up the wound on the man's shoulder as fast as as she could, "If I recall correctly, you are an O neg."
"Yeah I am. So you're giving him my blood?" asked Daxton as he pulled his leather jacket off and rolled up the sleeves of his blue long sleeve shirt.
Andy nodded, pulling the needles and tube from the cart, "It's the only way. He's losing a lot of blood and I need to close up the other one on his leg,"
Daxton frowned as he looked at Konrad's leg, his eyes widening as he finally noticed the blood staining the sheets under him. He didn't think he got shot in the back of his leg. How the hell did Andy even spot that out?
He shook his head and slowly sat down on a nearby chair.
Andy got to work, as she connected the needles between the two men, waiting until the blood flowed into her patient's arm from Daxton's. She then immediately walked over to the other side and started cutting his pant leg. She had just lifted the knee, when a slight groan emanated from the guy and she stopped.
It's good that he's regaining some consciousness.
She glanced at the injury and cursed. It wasn't a gunshot wound, it was a knife wound. The blade had sliced his leg pretty cleanly and rather deep. No wonder he was bleeding so much. She needed to stitch him up.
Andy ordered Daxton to hold the man's body at a vertical angle whilst she cleaned the wound and stitched up the slash. She watched as his leg twitched occasionally, no doubt from the pain, yet she was still surprised she didn't have to waste any morphine on this man. If she had, there would have been a record of it and she would have got into trouble.
A minutes went by after she finished wrapping the man's leg, when she noticed the slight movement of his fingers. She glanced up watching as his eyes fluttered open in confusion.
Daxton stood up and moved closer to bed, leaning over his President. "Yo Pres, you alright man?"
His President let out a slight groan and his hand came to rest on his forehead, "Why the fuck do I feel like I got run over by a truck?" he rasped.
Andy's ears piqued at the deep rasp of his voice for a second before she forced her mind from the thought. She busied herself with cleaning up the tools and turned the other way so that they could talk.
It was only then did she notice how handsome her patient was.