Need Someone | [Complete]

Chapter 9: Doing Too Much

Early the next morning, I went in to check on Ziggy before the attendings' meeting. His bathroom door was open and I could hear him inside. "Ziggy? Are you okay?" I walked in and found him with his head in the toilet.

He nodded and flushed, rolling to sit on the bathroom floor. "This chemo shit doesn't play around." He ran his hand through his hair and smiled. When he brought his fingers back in front of his view, they were covered in strands of his hair. He looked dismayed.

"Don't worry," I told him. "Hair grows back."

"I should go ahead and shave it now. It's all going to fall out soon anyway, right?"

"Probably. You can hang onto it for as long as you want, but I think you'd look pretty hot bald."

His lips twisted into a grin. "Don't toy with my vanity. I'll shave my head right now."

I sat next to him on the floor to give him some company. He rested his head on my shoulder. I drape my arm around his neck and stroked my hand over his damp forehead and hair. He breathed deeply as I did. His head grew heavier the more he relaxed.

I decided it was fruitless to keep second-guessing our comfort level with one another. Mostly, I think, because I enjoyed his company as much as he seemed to enjoy mine. What was the point of stopping something that harmed no one?

"So . . ." I started to say. "I guess this isn't a great time to ask if you're hungry."

He laughed until he was in tears.

I went with Theresa to the status meeting, but zone out through most of it. We had two new patients, one of which was causing everyone grief. Mrs. Robson, who would forever be Mrs. Robinson in my mind instead, contracted a rash following a facelift. They were unsure whether it was MRSA or something less dramatic. Either way, she was quarantined and it was making her very unhappy. Poor Theresa had to cover her after she fired both Tiffany and Denise and thrown objects at two of the medical assistants.

She sounded like a peach.

"We are short-staffed as it is," Dr. Smith explained. "Theresa, are you able to cover her without causing an issue?"

"It would be best if we could borrow Nurse Brennan part-time."

"I still need her priority for Mr. Ziegler," Dr. Mathews spoke up for me. "His treatment is going to start getting more aggressive this week, and I believe he may require near-constant attention."

"That amount of time on a single patient seems extreme," Dr. Smith challenged him.

"If it is working for the patient, that is all I care about. Until Nurse Brennan expresses any complaint or fatigue, I would rather keep things the way they are." He looked at me. "Do you agree?"

"Yes," I squeaked. I see Dr. Smith rolled his eyes. "But I think I can balance both patients today, if that would be helpful."

"It would," Smith grumbled.