Page 12 of Christmas at Watson Memorial

“Shouldn't I be the one to judge if it's too dangerous? Or the helicopter pilot? We're the ones who'll be flying.”

“I'm just following orders, Alexia,” she apologizes.

“Safira, please. We have a heart waiting in Vermont. It's the only chance to save one of my patients. This little girl will die,” I plead, grasping for words.

“I wish I could tell you something different. I'm just following protocol. I'm so sorry, Alexia,” she repeats, lowering her voice before ending the call.

I grab my headset and rip it off, throwing it to the floor.

“I can't fucking believe this.”

“Why the hell did you ask for authorization?” Selene protests.

“I had to.”

“What are we going to do now? As far as I'm concerned, they can shove their protocols up their ass. We could take off right now and…”

“Power down. I need to try to convince them,” I say with an apologetic gesture.

Selene

“Is it true there's a heart for Holly?” the girl's mother asks when we return to the hospital. Her voice quivers with desperate hope.

“There is. In Vermont,” I nod.

“Would it save her life?”

“I'm not a doctor, Vivian, but it looks like it's her only chance,” I explain, spreading my hands in apology.

“Will you go get it?”

“The hospital won't authorize the flight,” I admit, my heart shattering as I hear my own words. “It's because of the storm, visibility is poor and the winds…”

“Selene,” she sighs, taking my hands in hers while tears fill her eyes. “That girl is all I have. Without her, I don't want to go on living. Please,” she begs, and I decide right then that if I have to kidnap Dr. Winters to get her to Vermont, I'm more than ready to do it.

I stride to her office and burst through the door to find her studying a weather map on her computer screen.

“The northern approach would be suicide,” she mutters, not looking up. “But if we turn east…”

“Does this mean you're coming?”

“I've requested another authorization, meanwhile, I'm considering all possibilities. The storm's wind patterns indicate that…”

“We don't have time for wind patterns and all that crap,” I protest, my voice rising way louder than appropriate for a hospital.

Just as I'm about to yell at her again, the door swings open and we both turn to see Dr. Arya Kumari walk in.

“Why the fuck are you two idiots still here?” she asks, confusion written across her face as she pins us with her huge dark eyes.

“They denied our flight clearance. Because of protocol and...”

“Screw the protocol, Alexia. If you don't get your ass on that helicopter, I'll take your place, but go get that heart now,” she shouts, jabbing her finger into Dr. Winters' chest.

“But if they catch us…”

“Jesus Christ, Alexia, I'll say you asked for emergency leave and dropped your phone in a puddle, that's why you're unavailable. As for the helicopter, nobody's gonna climb up to the helipad in all this snow to check if that damn thing is still out there. Shoo, shoo! Both of you better get moving for that heart,” she commands, pointing at the door.

Suddenly, the lights flicker and die. Emergency generators hum to life, bathing everything in an eerie red glow. Instinctively, I position myself inches from Alexia, as if somehow trying to protect her from attack. Close enough to catch the subtle scent of her perfume.