Page 8 of Christmas at Watson Memorial

“Have you lost your mind? Let me see the details about this heart!”

While she reviews the data Marcus sent me on my phone, something shifts in her expression. She glances toward Holly's room, gripping her pen tightly again.

“The preliminary tests are excellent. Blood type, size, antibodies. Everything matches,” she sighs, frowning in concentration.

“Then let's go! Before it snows more.”

“You know this is insane?”

“Completely.”

“We could die if the storm is as bad as you say. We could even lose our licenses for not following established protocols.”

“I know, and I'm not sure that's the right order of priorities to worry about, but whatever. The point is, Holly has a chance. That heart is waiting for us in Vermont, and we need to leave now,” I insist, compulsively checking my watch.

“Why do you want me to go, exactly? Can't a doctor from the Burlington hospital accompany you back?”

“I want you to supervise everything in Vermont. I need someone who understands the complexities of a transplant heart, someone who can evaluate its condition in real-time if I need to divert the route. Someone who can keep that heart in optimal condition if things get complicated and the trip takes longer. I need you, Alexia,” I sigh.

Chapter 5

Selene

As I wait for her decision, minutes drift by like snowflakes — lazy at first, then piling up into mounds of wasted time that lead nowhere. My phone buzzes against my hip every few minutes with another weather alert, but Dr. Winters keeps reviewing Holly's file, her eyes glued to the screen.

“Not to rush you, but Marcus just sent an update, and we need to move. Like, right now.”

She doesn't even lift her gaze from her computer screen.

“These BNP levels,” she mutters to herself. “Why did they spike so fast?”

“Alexia!”

The use of her first name makes her head snap up, her eyes finally meeting mine.

“Did you hear anything I just said? We're running out of time. The FAA is about to ground all flights,” I press.

“Don't rush me. This kind of situation needs to be reviewed a million times. If we overlook even the smallest detail-”

“Can't you review those details in the damn helicopter?” I snap, my voice rising higher than necessary, but her caution is driving me insane.

“No.”

“Look,” I turn my phone screen toward her, showing the weather radar where a mass of blue and white swirls toward us like it's about to devour the entire East Coast.

“That's…”

“Yeah, the mother of all snowstorms you've ever seen, and it's heading straight for us. Either we leave within the hour, or we can kiss that heart goodbye,” I growl, letting out a frustrated huff.

“If I make one mistake, no matter how small, not only will it not help Holly, but we'll be preventing another child in her condition from being saved. I need to check on her,” she announces, jumping up and striding out of the office.

I linger in the doorway. Holly looks exhausted. Her skin has lost even its recent pallor, fading to an ashen gray. From where I stand, I can see how much she struggles to breathe despite the oxygen cannula.

Dr. Winters's desperate expression says it all without words.

“Selene,” Holly mumbles from her bed. “Did the giant pigeons attack you today?”

“Not yet, Captain Holly, but the day isn't over,” I answer, fighting to keep my voice steady as I take in her condition.