Maddy's Floor (5 page)

The energy shifted, cooled.

She opened her eyes to find the energy still wiggling in place, the purple haze malicious in appearance. Then slowly, like fog blowing in the wind, the haze thinned before sending tendrils into the darkness.

Maddy reached out and checked Jansen's pulse. Her medical training took over on the physical level as her medical intuitive training took over on the energy field. She observed the thread-like cord of light stretching far out of Jansen's body, gently pulsating in a reassuring rhythm. Maddy coaxed his system to relax a little more, then to wake up gently.

"Dr. Maddy?" His paper-thin lids opened to reveal rheumy blue eyes blinking in surprise.

"Yes, it's me, Jansen." Maddy studied his face. "How do you feel?" He appeared fine, normal but surprised.

"Christ, I don't know. I had the most horrible dream." He coughed slightly and shifted position in the bed, tugging at his covers as if chilled.

"Oh?" Maddy kept her voice calm and soothing. "What was it about?"

"Like someone was pulling my soul from my body, one inch at a time." Fear filled the old man's eyes. His thin hands grasped hers nervously. "I don't know what the hell it was, but I felt on a precipice between life and death. It was like meeting Peter at the pearly gates himself, and him not being too happy to see me."

"Shhh." Maddy stroked his hands, noting with clinical detachment that his liver spots had begun to fade. "It was just a dream. Not to worry. It's over. I'm here, and you're safe. Go back to sleep."

Relief washed over his face. "Thanks, Doc. Don't know what I'd do without you."

Shifting sideways, Jansen closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

Maddy walked to the doorway, turned around and glanced back.

No sign of the purple grim reaper. Jansen was safe.

For now.

She shuddered. What the hell was happening at The Haven?

WEDNESDAY

T
he Haven buzzed with activity. They had several hundred residents and more than that amount of staff. Without Gerard, the place would have imploded years ago. Maddy massaged her temples in an effort to draw out the tension.

She wondered if she'd missed a growing thread of discontent. One that had started or fed the horrible negativity – or, dare she say it, evil – that she'd observed over Jansen last night. She couldn't even begin to understand the source of the hellish energy that contributed to Eric's death, either.

After going home last night, she'd tried to contact several of the other medical intuitives she'd met over the years. She only managed to touch base with two. Neither had seen or heard of anything like that deep purple-black blanket of energy. A crime may have been committed in Eric's case, although what it was or how it was perpetrated was beyond her. Too bad she couldn't go to the police.

That handsome detective she'd barreled into on the stairway bloomed in her mind, making her pulse quicken. Damn if that man hadn't made her hormones sit up and sing. She'd obviously been single too long. Maddy didn't do one-nighters, but right now her body was pushing her to reconsider the concept. That the detective wasn't impervious to her, helped keep his smile alive in her mind and the 'what ifs' dancing through her body. The warm light of approval she'd seen in his eyes had been hard to ignore. She should have asked his name. Hell, she should have asked for his phone number. She could only hope his uncle would make it onto her floor so he'd become a regular visitor.

She walked out to collect the stack of papers waiting in her intray.

"Dr. Maddy. The ambulance has arrived with Dr. Lenning."

Silence descended on the nurses' station. All movement stopped. Furtive glances came her way. Everyone knew about their new patient, and the impact it could have on Maddy.

Maddy nodded as if she'd been expecting the news. Gerard was nothing if not fast.

"Right. Let Dr. Cunningham know, will you Nancy? Dr. Lenning is his patient. Dr. Lenning's to be put into the new area, in bed 349. I'm presuming the bed is in place. If not, we'll need to get one brought up immediately."

"It arrived an hour ago. Except, uhm, Dr. Cunningham isn't in yet."

"Isn't he?" Already on her way to her office, Maddy spun around to stare at Nancy, her head nurse and confidante – not to mention best friend – who had been there almost as long as Maddy. A frown creased her brow. "Where is he?"

"He phoned in to say he'd been called to surgery unexpectedly." The two women looked at the clock.

"Ten o'clock." Maddy tapped her toes, thinking rapidly. She'd do a lot to avoid meeting Dr. Lenning, but she wouldn't be able to avoid that forever.

Shrugging as if it didn't matter, Maddy said, "You know what to do. Get our new patient comfortable and check his vitals. His information should have come with him. If it's there, bring it down to me and I'll see what we're looking at. If it's online, send me the link. I'll speak with Dr. Cunningham when he gets in."

After scooping up the stack of paperwork from her box, Maddy headed to her office for a little down time before facing the one man who'd managed to teach her quite a lot about fear. She walked the short hallway, feeling the eyes focused on her back, the whispers in her wake. Let them talk. Maddy only hoped they wouldn't indulge in a gossip fest. Gossiping destroyed a peaceful balance faster than anything.

Knowing this didn't stop it, however. People were human and reacting was instinctive. It's when the gossip didn't stop that it became a problem.

She dropped the paperwork on the corner of her desk and walked to her window to stare out at the courtyard. Having to deal with Dr. Lenning was not going to ruin her day. She wouldn't let it. Gerard knew what he was doing, and if he said this was a necessary step, even given her history with the good doctor, then she'd accept that and try to make it work. She was a professional.

One difficult patient, a dying one at that, wasn't worth making a major life-altering change. Not now. She'd put so much time and effort into this floor, and she could hardly abandon it. To do that would tear her soul apart.

Grimly, she reached for the paperwork on her desk. She had work to do. Making the new patient comfortable required at least an hour, possibly two. With any luck, Dr. Cunningham would show up by then.

***

Dying was a bitch and Dr. Lenning had sworn off bitches years ago. Until now. The trouble with dying was it gave him too much time to think. He'd been more than satisfied with his life until he found out he was losing it. He'd lost the best thing in his life when he'd lost the love of his life, Mark, five years ago. Even now, his heart ached at the memories. He'd loved and been well loved in return.

Four years ago, he'd lived a normal life – at least for him.

Then he'd seen Maddy and he'd lost the one sure thing he knew about himself – his sexuality. She had changed that. Her slim, lithe, vibrant femaleness had challenged his beliefs. She'd made him doubt himself and the choices he'd made. Made him wonder if he'd been fooling himself all these years. He'd hated feeling like he was betraying Mark. He tossed his head back and forth. He wouldn't be disloyal to Mark or his memory. He couldn't. But these feelings…

He detested the feelings Maddy had stirred up, the glow he felt when he was around her. He wanted Maddy and he
hated
her for that. He'd wanted her removed from The Haven. He had even gone so far as submitting a fifty-page document to the medical board hoping to kill her medical career. Only she'd had some powerful people on her side. So he'd spent the last four years alternating between a need so crippling he shook with it, and a hatred so violent he vibrated because of it.

Maddy's never-ending legs rose in his mind. Christ, he couldn't get her out of his thoughts. Knowing that made him angrier. He closed his eyes and shuddered. These feelings were worse than he'd experienced during puberty. He'd never had a woman and now, bedridden and dying, the chances were good he never would. That left him in endless torment. Teenage fantasies tortured him with excruciating 'what ifs.'

Why now, when he had no time to explore that side of life? Why her? And why had he demanded to be on her floor where this exquisite torment would be that much worse?

Even as he asked the questions, he knew the answers. He was desperate, that's why. Not that he understood her New Age bullshit, but dying made him more open, more willing to look at other options. He hoped she did have some magical skill that would save him. He wanted to believe.

His education and experience said there were no second chances for anyone.

Plus, he couldn't resist an opportunity to get close to her.

"Stupid bastard. Why didn't you do something about this before? Why didn't you grab some pills and finish this once and forever?" But he hadn't. As long as there was one more day to live, one more chance of a life, one more hope of seeing Maddy again, he'd take it.

He grimaced. God, he was weak. The woman wouldn't give him the time of day. Not now. Not after he'd tried his damnedest to get her out of his life, his profession, his space – to where he'd never have to see her again. Then cancer had ground his life to a halt. Now he needed the special healing powers she was rumored to have. The same ones he'd used to try to run her out of the medical association.

She hated him.

He couldn't blame her.

He hated himself.

***

A heavy knock on her door interrupted Maddy from her drug interaction research. "Come in," she called out.

The door opened tentatively. Gerard poked his head around the corner. "Maddy? Sorry to bother you. I just checked to see how Dr. Lenning was faring. He's not in a great mood."

Maddy raised a brow in surprise. Things couldn't be that bad. No one had come to tell her about any problems. With a discreet check on her watch, she realized only an hour had gone by. The patient would barely be in bed and checked over. Stifling a sigh, she leaned back to give Gerard her full attention.

"Not surprising. He's dying and any attempt to make him more comfortable requires more drugs, which leaves him moving up and down on the moody scale." She sighed and added gently. "It is normal and expected – regardless of whether we like it or not."

Gerard grabbed the spare chair, swiveled it around and sat on it backwards to face her. Slightly older than her, Gerard had garnered a lot of respect in the years he'd been here. "He says he hasn't seen you yet."

Maddy willed her patience to suck it up. "No, he hasn't." She glanced at the time on her computer. "It's early yet. I doubt the floor nurse has even completed her assessment. Dr. Lenning knows the length of time it takes to complete admission. There are deadlines to meet and we will meet them."

She held up her hand to forestall Gerard's next words. "Yes, I will go and welcome him to The Haven if Dr. Cunningham doesn't arrive in the next hour. I do want to see his paperwork first, however."

"Fair enough. I'll stop by before I go downstairs and let him know you'll be along in a little bit." He stood, flipped the chair back around the right way, and stepped to the door. "I want to tell you that I appreciate your cooperation on this. We all know that he isn't the ideal patient for this floor, but his money is good and our need is great."

Maddy smiled at Gerard who was doing his usual, putting money first. He exemplified tunnel vision. "I don't have a problem with either point. However, his presence on my floor is definitely not required. The rest of The Haven is just as great a facility. The staff is equally qualified." She stretched her arms forward, clasping her hands together and rested them on her desk as she had in grade school. "To have insisted on my floor doesn't mean he gets
me
."

"No, it certainly doesn't. You're carrying a large caseload as it is. However, this morning, if you would step in for Dr. Cunningham, we'd appreciate it."

"Absolutely." She firmed her jaw. "But should he cause any unrest or deliberately attempt to sabotage my floor, my people or my project, I will ship him downstairs. And I don`t care about how much money he spent to get here. Do
you
understand?"

Maddy watched as surprise lit Gerard's eyes, followed by a tinge of anger and then finally his tensed shoulders relaxed and he nodded. "I suppose that's no different than for any other patient we take in."

His cell phone rang. Sliding it from his pocket, he looked at the number and grimaced. "That's our next new patient, John McNeil. I need to speak with him." With a quick salute to her, he left.

He hadn't been gone ten minutes when Nancy arrived, rolling her eyes. "The new patient is settled in and complaining loudly." She held out a fat binder to Maddy. "This is his. He might squawk loudly, but I doubt he's going to die tonight or tomorrow. When you're done going over it, we'll enter his information online."

The binder sat on her desk. Maddy gazed at it as if it were a viper ready to strike. The Haven was more advanced technologically than many other facilities. She'd forgotten how much easier it was to have everything online.

How much longer until Dr. Cunningham arrived? She reached for her cell phone. He answered almost immediately. "Hi Maddy, the roof must have fallen in for you to need me."