Page 56 of The Ampersand Effect

Savage. Did you have a good break?”

“Hey, Caitlyn. I did. It’s always good to have my sister in town.

How was your weekend?”

“Boring, but good. Mostly binged the newest season ofAlpine Gallowswith my boyfriend,” Caitlyn replied.

“Oh yeah? Things still going well with… Ben?” Grier fumbled for the name, recalling it just in time.

“Good memory, Dr. Savage. Yes, things are going really well. Thanks for asking!” Caitlyn blushed. “Is there something I can help you with this morning?”

“I just wanted some updates on my patients from when I was out. Anything I should know?” Grier leaned her forearms on the high counter around the nurse’s station, balancing lightly on her toes to reach.

“Certainly. Let’s see who you’ve got on your schedule today…” Caitlyn clicked through a few tabs. “But you’ll be happy to know that Abby was discharged yesterday!”

“Oh, that’s great news!” Genuine warmth flooded her—she was always happiest when one of her patients was well enough to go home.

“Yes, and Jonah isn’t on your schedule today, but he’s also turning a corner. His hip is looking really good. Dr. Rhodes was down here late yesterday doing another evaluation and hinted to Molly that they might be looking at discharge if things continue how they are.”

Grier felt a wave of relief flood through her. She’d spoken with Dr. Rhodes last week, comparing their independent findings on Jonah’s case and discussing his prognosis. Grier had found Dr. Rhodes to be a cautious but intelligent provider—an excellent bridge between her and Dr. Vanders, with whom she so frequently found herself at odds.

Dr. Rhodes had agreed that Jonah’s leg would eventually need to be removed—eventually. But she wasn’t convinced he’d progressed to that point yet, and had promised to take that conversation to Dr. Vanders herself.

“More great news, Caitlyn! You’re my favorite person so far today!” She winked at the nurse—a running joke between her and most of the department. Grier handed out “favorite of the day” awards freely and frequently to anyone who happened to win her over.

“Gee, thanks, Dr. Savage.” Caitlyn winked back, a genuine smile filling her face. “Your patient load today is about as full as you like it, but no one’s in any acute stage of pain.You’ve got a couple new kiddos—Jeremiah, who has spina bifida and a scoliosis deformity, and Ellie, who has costochondritis secondary to pneumonia. The rest are your usual crowd.”

Grier dropped her heals to the floor and pushed off the counter. “Thanks, Caitlyn” she said as she began to walk away. Then, glancing over her shoulder, she added, “I appreciate you.”

She decided to skip her stop in the break room and head directly for her office. Once there, she sat at her desk and pulled up Abby’s chart, then Jonah’s, reviewing their latest notes and Abby’s discharge summary. She dialed the number to the nurse’s station on the surgical floor, and Jenn answered quickly.

“Hey, Jenn, it’s Dr. Savage. Is Dr. Rhodes in yet this morning?” “Good morning, Dr. Savage. Yes, we were just talking about

you, actually.” Grier heard a muffled background conversation before Jenn continued, “She said she’d take you in her office. I’ll put you through now.”

“Thanks, Jenn!”

A few seconds later, Dr. Rhodes picked up the phone. “Grier, good morning! Speak of the devil, a bit, eh?”

Grier felt a warmth of sincerity emanate from the young surgeon’s voice. “Hi, Haleigh! Yeah, I think I felt my nose itching… should I ask why I was the topic of conversation?”

“Oh, nothing pertinent. Just office drivel—and the look on Dr. Vanders’s face when youstolehis award at the gala last week. It’s a permanent meme in the minds of some of the staff.” She laughed softly through the phone.

“Ha! Well, let me assure you, that reaction was not the goal of my triumph that night—but it definitely didn’t hurt. I sorta wish I could’ve seen it myself.”

“I’m not sure which reaction was better: Vanders’s dour rejection or the pride that so visibly swelled in your brother’s chest when your name was announced.” She paused briefly.“Both were indisputably emotional, just opposite ends of the spectrum.”

Something in Dr. Rhodes’s tone lingered just long enough to prick at the edges of Grier’s mind. She didn’t know why, but there was a depth to Haleigh’s words she didn’t have time to analyze at the moment. Without a clear response to the digression, she offered a hum of acknowledgement before asking, “I trust you’re well?”

Grier swore she heard the briefest hesitation before Haleigh responded, a calm timber to her voice. “If you only knew, my friend.”

There it was again—a superficial, vague response with an audible undercurrent of implication. What was she getting at? Grier sensed there was more, but Haleigh was deliberately obfuscating. She let it go; they weren’t close enough for Grier to push her for information that wasn’t forthright. She’d have to wait until Haleigh decided to decrypt her own veiled commentary.

Shifting past the formalities of small talk, Grier returned to the reason for her call. “I hear rumblings that Jonah is doing well. I wanted to hear it from you before I get my hopes up.”

“I’m very happy to confirm such rumors.” Grier could hear the smile return to Dr. Rhodes’s voice, her warmth flowing through the phone. “Left hip warmth has been absent for at least three days. He can bear weight. PT has signed off on his exercises, labs show stable white cells, and the films I ordered Monday afternoon show stable lysis patterns on both the ilium and the femoral head.”

Grier listened intently, her excitement growing with each update. She gushed out the breath she’d been holding, “That sounds nothing short of miraculous!”