Read Online Roberts, Sarah - Action Hero Junkie [Movieland] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) by Sarah Roberts - Free Book Online Page B

her own. “I’m Mia Haven. I’m here to help out.”
    The duty nurse didn’t question her. She just handed Mia a white lab coat and stethoscope. “I’ll call for the on-duty physician.”
    Mia didn’t have long to wait. The on-duty physician emerged from one of the brightly lit corridors like a whirlwind. He was tall, balding, and wore murky-green scrubs. He shot a swift, assessing glance over her. Shaking her hand, he almost crushed her fingers. “I’m Dr. Mason. And you are?”
    Mia told him her name. “I’m here to help out while I’m on base.”
    “Good! Come with me. We’ll get you started. It’s a busy morning.” The doctor was walking so fast that his white coat whipped back. Mia had to trot after him to keep up. “So where did you do your residency? Have you been around gunshot wounds?”
    Still trotting, Mia corrected him. “I’m a nurse.” She told him that she’d trained for two years at a major inner city hospital, where gunshot wounds and drug-deals-gone-bad victims had been a daily occurrence.
    He nodded. “Good. We need experience.” A nurse rushed up to him with a chart and a pen. He didn’t stop walking. He glanced at the chart, signed it, and gave it back to the nurse. The nurse sped away. “I’ll show you the ER.”
    When they entered the ER, he introduced Mia to the nursing staff. “This is Dr. Haven. She will be working with us temporarily. Show her a good time, folks.” He nodded and raced off.
    Mia waved her hand in the air. “Uh, I’m a nurse. Not a doctor.”
    No one paid any attention. It was like they couldn’t hear her words.
    A nurse beckoned Mia to go with her. They set out at a fast clip. Mia wondered if anyone moved at anything but speed of light. “This way, Doctor!”
    They entered the emergency room, but Mia hardly noticed. She was too busy sputtering over being called ‘doctor’ again.
    “Oh, this is just great!” Mia knew she was freaking out again. She could tell because her palms were sweating. Dismay made her mind whirl. She’d been promoted. She didn’t have the training. She hoped that she didn’t kill anyone. Coming to the field hospital was a bad idea, a very, very bad idea.
    The nurse nodded at what Mia had said, but she obviously hadn’t caught her sarcasm. The nurse glanced around proudly at the shiny, well-lit emergency room. It was bustling with activity. “Yes, we’ve got a pretty good facility for a field hospital. We can deal with almost anything. But as you can see, we’re swamped right now. We’ve just had a wave of wounded come in.”
    Mia knew what that meant. “Triage.”
    Mia guessed that the nurse thought she meant for her to take her there, because the woman nodded. “Yes, Doctor.” She cut to the right, and Mia followed her. Mia didn’t bother trying to correct her about the doctor title. She just hoped that there were real doctors around. Her heart was thudding madly in her chest from dread. Stress could cause cardiac arrest.
    They entered a chaotic area full of wounded military personnel. More were being brought in. There was a lot of blood and shouting and rushing around. Mia’s nerves settled down. She was in familiar territory. Triage was something she knew and was good at. You just did what had to be done to stabilize the patient. Then the patients were sent on to emergency for more individual care.
    Mia plunged into the work. It was exhilarating. Her brain snapped, crackled, and popped. Her hands and her mouth were right in sync. Staff scurried and snapped to with her crisp orders. Mia’s heart pounded with the adrenaline rush. It was hours before she looked up. That was when she heard her name. Well, not her name, but close enough.
    “Dr. Haven! Dr. Haven!”
    Mia focused on the nurse’s face. The woman was looking at her, wide-eyed. Mia brushed the back of her hand across her perspiring forehead. “What?”
    “You’re done, ma’am!” There was a peculiar note in the nurse’s voice. She sounded awed,