CHAPTER FIVE: LINE'S THAT SHOULDN'T BE CROSSED.

Immediately Jasmine left , Margaret Cole's eyes landed on Harrison scanning his condition, breathing and posture.

“Son”, she called.

“Mother, I'm fine”, Harrison responded.

She moved closer to the bed, stopping just close enough to touch him.

“You weren't supposed to end up here”, she said softly .

“I didn't schedule it”, he muttered.

  The door clicked then it pushed open diverting Margaret's attention. Dr. Richard Lawson stepped in carefully with Jasmine Carter following him behind. He stopped a few feet away from the bed while Jasmine stayed close to the IV stand. Then she looked at Lawson 

“You are overseeing this case?”, Margaret asked not waiting for his greetings.

“Yes I am”, Dr. Richard Lawson answered.

“Then explain the delay”,she said with an increased tone.

Lawson didn't react to the tone.

“ There is no delay. There is recovery”. 

Margaret's eyes narrowed slightly. “That is not the same thing”

“It is in medicine“. Lawson replied evenly.

Harrison spoke before it escalated further. 

“ Can we not do this here”

Margaret looked back at him,her expression softening slightly.

“We will do it wherever necessary,” she said.

Jasmine observed quietly. This didn't look like a family visit. This was pressure entering the system. Margaret's haze lifted. She looked up, her gaze sweeping Jasmine from hair to toe.  

When their eyes met across the bed, she asked, 

"And you are?"  

“Nurse Jasmine responsible for his daily care ma”. Jasmine said.

Margaret's gaze lingered on Jasmine. One could tell she didn't like her aura.

"Your care is temporary," she said. "And I expect competence." She made sure the point stuck.

Jasmine held her stare. "You will receive it," she replied.

Dr. Richard cleared his throat, stepping between them without seeming to. 

"Your son is stable. Recovery is progressing. He just needs close monitoring." His eyes flicked to Harrison, then to Jasmine, and finally settled on Mrs. Cole.

"I will be expecting updates on his care," Margaret said.

" You ‘ll get them. We will maintain protocol," Dr. Richard added.

 Dr. Richard’s phone buzzed immediately. 

“Excuse me”, he murmured and stepped out to take the call.

Margaret adjusted the strap of her bag. 

“Do not make this harder than it is Harrison", she said, staring intently at him.

Harrison couldn’t answer because he couldn't promise anything and they both knew it.

“See you soon, son."  

And with that, she turned and left .

The door closed behind her, the men outside straightened and just like that she was gone.

The room wasn’t the same as it was before she entered.  

The silence was heavier and the pressure had increased.

Jasmine remained still. She didn't move nor blinked. She was still trying to understand everything that had just happened. The room no longer felt like a hospital space. It was more of a pressure system where constant negotiations were made.

      Minutes later, Dr. Richard returned to the ward. His expression was unreadable.

Jasmine was focused on the chart, trying to finish the notes the interruption had cut short. Margaret’s words were still looping in her head. The moment she noticed him, she straightened and stood.

"Status?" he asked, eyes already on the monitors.

"Stable. No acute changes," Jasmine replied.

"Medication adherence?"

"Full compliance."

“Continue current protocol. No deviation unless instructed”

“Yes doctor”, Jasmine replied

Then his gaze shifted and held on her longer than before.

"Are you steady?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Jasmine replied.

"Do not compensate for instability with personal judgment," Dr. Richard said.

"I won’t," she answered evenly.

"Good."  

And just like that, he turned and was gone.

The door clicked shut.

Jasmine exhaled. Her eyes felt heavier. Her feet quivered. She gripped the edge of the bed for half a second before letting go. She needed air.  

She stepped out to the nurses’ station to file the chart. The moment she approached, the chatter dipped.

"Did you see Mrs. Cole?" Nurse Emily whispered, eyes wide. "Came in with security and that perfume that costs more than my rent."

"Seven minutes," The other nurse said, counting on her fingers. "Seven minutes to remind us all who pays the bills around here."

"And Poor Jasmine," another nurse added quietly, glancing toward Room 301. "She’s been in there since morning. No break, no relief. You know how it is when the family gets involved"

"Management will buckle," Emily muttered, stirring her tea. 

"They always do with the Coles. Remember what happened to Nurse Collecte last year?" The other nurse said.

Jasmine kept her head down. She signed the chart with a hand that barely shook, handed it over, and murmured, 

"Thank you."  

No one met her eyes for too long. The walk back to room 301 felt longer. The corridor lights buzzed faintly overhead. Inside, Harrison had fallen asleep. The room smelled faintly of antiseptic and the flowers Margaret had left by the window.

Jasmine sat to finish her entry in the chart. She looked down at the chart in her hands and at the bottom, under Next of Kin Notes, someone had added a line in different ink:

`Family requests a private nurse. Effective 0600 tomorrow.`

Her name wasn’t on it.