All Chapters of The Specialist He Never Expected : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The Girl Who StayedThe monitor's tempo changed.One second, the emergency department was its usual chaos of ringing phones, hurrying footsteps, and overlapping voices. Then the sharp alarm of Bed Twelve cut through everything.I lifted my eyes.“Pressure?”“Eighty-two over fifty.”“Pulse?”“One forty-six.”The nurse beside me looked at the monitor again. “Still going up.”I was already in motion.“Run another IV line. Get bloods. I want electrolytes, cardiac enzymes, and a full blood count.”The patient was a man in his sixties, pale and sweating beneath the harsh fluorescent lights. His fingers trembled against the sheet.“Doctor,” he said.“I’m here.”His gaze met mine.“Is this a heart attack?”I tugged my gloves on more firmly.“We’ll find out exactly what’s happening. Stay with me.”I kept my voice controlled, even as panic began to set in. In a busy emergency department like this, five frightened people could become one frightened person in seconds.“ECG.”The nurse handed it t

I know her before she looks up.This is the first problem.The second is that she knows me too.I wait in the doorway of the cardiology consultation room as Dr. Harris finishes speaking to the nurse beside her. Amelia Carter is sitting at the desk, reading a file.The same woman who'd been in the lift.The woman who stared me down and wouldn't push a button.She looks up.We don't talk for half a second.Then her face changes.Recognition.“You.”I almost laugh.It had to be her, of all the cardiologists in the city.“I see we’re both disappointed,” I say.She closes the file.“I was afraid you would remember me.”“I remember people shutting lift doors in my face.”“You were late.”“I was going for a clear lift.”“You were walking toward a lift that was closing.”Dr. Harris glances between us.“Do you two know each other?”“No,” says Amelia.“Yes,” I say at the same time.Her mouth goes thin.Dr. Harris clears his throat.“Maybe I ought to let you two get acquainted.”He leaves before

By eight the next morning, Damian Blackwood's file is sitting on my desk.I look at it for a moment and then open it.Not because I am loath to see him.I know what comes with patients like Damian. Right.The name.The money.Those who call before the appointment.The expectation that a hospital will yield to them.I open the file.His seven-day rhythm monitor has been arranged. The cardiac imaging has been booked for the future. He is waiting for peer review of his preliminary results.All is where it should be.Close.I can hear my phone ringing.“Dr. Carter?”“I’m listening.”“This is Melissa from admin.”I look at the clock.“Yes?”“We have to speak about Mr. Blackwood’s appointment.”We do. Of course we do.“About it?”“This morning his office phoned the hospital. They want his testing privately, without the usual waiting process.”I recline.“That is not essential.”“They are prepared to bear the additional costs.”“It is not about the cost.”A pause.“I see.”“No, I don't think

The cardiology conference room is occupied when I arrive.Dr. Harris sits at the head of the table, looking at a report on the screen. Two members of the cardiology team are sitting next to him, their copies of Damian Blackwood’s results covered in scrawled notes. I grab the last chair and place my notebook in front of me."Have we all gone through the findings?" Dr. Harris asks.Everyone nods in agreement.I've read the report twice since I got it this morning. I'd hoped the extra monitoring would help us get a better handle on Damian's situation. It has given us useful information, but useful information is not always a complete answer.We all know about his hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He needs ongoing specialist assessment due to his reported palpitations, medical history, and preliminary imaging findings. But we still need to review the outstanding results and investigations before we make any major decisions about treatment.Dr. Harris turns his head to me. “Amelia, you want to

The first thing I notice about Dr. Carter that morning is that she doesn’t change in front of other people.On my next visit, a nurse comes in with my file. Amelia asks her for the updated report, thanks her, and continues talking to me in just the same tone as when we were alone.No repose.No show.No sudden change in warmth. An audience.Same cool, measured voice all the same.I spend more time watching her than I do watching the file.“Something wrong?” she asks.“Nope.”“You've been staring at me for the last ten seconds.”“I was thinking.”“That can be risky.”I almost grin.The nurse does.Amelia doesn’t.She takes the report from the nurse, thanks her once more, and turns back to me.“Here is your follow-up information. The plan we discussed is still the plan.”“Meaning what?”“Which means we do the testing. We just don’t have enough information at this time to make a major therapeutic decision.”I sit back.“So we’re still waiting.”“We're still in the evaluation phase.”“Pen