Chapter 4 — Zoe

Zoe grabbed a basin and supplies, moving with speed, there was much to be done. Once she was satisfied with Officer Dalton's vital signs, initial assessment and confirmation of having back up medication infusions in the waiting, she began peeling back the hospital bedding which was heavy with saturated blood from the OR and tossed them into an open hamper. Her blue eyes assessed the massive man before her, only covered now in a hospital gown which was rumpled and soiled. With towels and bath blankets stacked beside her, Zoe began to unsnap the shoulder of the sleeves… her gloved fingers fumbling, as if she was a first-year CNA again as if she had never given a bed bath before. Biting down on her bottom lip, she whispered to herself, "Get it together, Zoe!" As Officer Dalton's bare chest came into view, she felt the heat rising to her cheeks, flooding the pale skin there. He was an absolutely beautiful and massive specimen, and though he lay comfortably in this sedated state, his muscled physique remained impressively hard and defined… as if he was carved from stone in the very likeness of a god. His expansive chest, dappled with dark hair rose and fell in compliance with the ventilator. The right side of his thoracic cage suffered some sort of crushing injury, causing several ribs to break, which in turn punctured and downed his right lung. To help with the re-expansion of the lung, a chest tube was placed and bubbled quietly as Zoe stood and admired the handsome man in front of her, almost in a daze. Voices outside her room brought her back, one was Amber, who was arguing with two men, though Zoe did not seem to recognize. "Zoe!" Amber called out.

Zoe turned to look towards the curtain and could see the heels of Amber's clogs as if she was blocking the door.

"There are two very annoying officers here to see your patient. I told them you were busy right now and they would have to wait."

She heard them again teasing Amber, their boots nearing her clogs.

"Annoying but terribly good looking, eh?" One officer said.

Zoe raised her brows and draped a towel over Dalton's chest, his lap still covered by the bottom half of his hospital gown. Making sure he was adequately covered; Zoe scooted to the door and poked her head out the edge of the curtain and over Amber's shoulder.

"For god's sake, there are some good-looking nurses here!"

Both officers exchanged a grin before looking back at the brunette and redhead before them. The shorter of the two men ran his index finger and thumb along with his dark goatee before offering a sly but sincere smile, almost speaking directly to Amber.

"I'm Officer Adrian Blumenthal… and this here is Officer Hank Lowell." Nodding his head towards the larger man, who like Zoe, was a redhead. Hank's icy blue stare looked then to Zoe, his thumbs resting gently atop the silver buckle of his belt. "How is our boy?"

Zoe slipped out fully from behind the curtain, finding herself under the imposing stare of what she assumed were close friends of Officer Dalton's. With ease, she folded her hands, having had discarded her gloves before coming to the door and looked at them intently, exuding sudden confidence. "Officer Dalton has suffered many injuries and while I cannot give you specifics right now, what I can tell you is that he is resting comfortably. He is on a ventilator. Once I am done with giving him a bath—" Zoe felt the heat on her cheeks flare again. "I'll let both of you come in and see him." The look of relief upon their faces quickly changed to amusement.

"Where do we sign up for baths?"

Zoe and Amber looked at one another and then shook their heads. Amber hid her lips behind her hand, for fear that even the tiniest of giggles would slip out. Seriously, Zoe folded her arms across her chest. "It would be helpful if you two could call Officer Dalton's family and tell them what has happened and that he's here at SBGH."

"Well, to be honest… Sam doesn't really have any family," Officer Adrian explained.

"How about a wife?" Zoe added. Another soft blush betrayed her intent.

"No!" Hank added, eyeing Zoe's cheeks suspiciously before grinning.

"Girlfriend?" The question passed Zoe's lips before she could even catch it.

"No, lucky for you." Adrian chuckled before giving the blushing redhead a wink.

"Oh! You wicked, wicked man!" Amber giggled melodiously, gently swatting at Officer Blumenthal and then at Hank, whose attention had been directed back to the nurses' station. Hank was staring unabashedly at the statuesque Katharine who busied herself with the phone that wouldn't stop ringing. Zoe excused herself and stepped back into her room, hearing Amber wheeling chairs over for Officers Adrian and Hank. As she returned to the bedside, Zoe glanced to the foot of the bed, where Rudy laid. The dog lazily looked back at her, his head resting on his front paws, body, and tail curled into the remaining space. "Good boy."

* * *

While refilling the basin with warm water, Zoe snatched up several washcloths and a bottle of surgical soap and then wheeled everything over via bedside table. Removing the towel from Officer Dalton's chest, she admired his masculine form, only briefly this time and began working. Gently, she washed the ruined left side of his face first, inspecting the twisting mass of scars which appeared old, as they were healed. The mangled flesh shone as the soapy washcloth removed grime and dried blood. There were no facial fractures but there were the beginnings of bruising. She dipped the washcloth again and tended to the right side of his face, handsome and rugged. She noted a small laceration above his thick dark brow and cleaned it with new gauze, dabbing ointment on it after. Taking the flashlight from beside the basin, Zoe tenderly opened each one of his eyes and flashed the light into his pupils. The officer's eyes were dark grey; the color of storm clouds racing over an angry sea. The pupils briskly constricted to the light, which was the reaction Zoe was expecting, thankfully he was not found to have any head injuries. At that moment, Zoe found herself hoping that maybe tomorrow the distant and glassy stare those stormy grey eyes had now would be replaced with vision, seeing her upon his wake. She shook her head then, repeatedly and silently scolding herself with how unprofessional she was being. This was her patient and she was his nurse.

Moving to the head of the bed, another refreshed water basin in the bin, she stood looking down as him and purposefully started pushing his dark black hair back from his forehead. Noting some glass pieces, she double gloved and picked out the larger pieces by hand and then with a small black comb, cleaned out the rest. As she started to lather his hair with shampoo, she imagined how he wears it when at work… or even at home, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she pictured him sporting a low ponytail at the nape of his thick neck. Though she did not think of him to rock a man bun, she twisted his freshly clean and damp hair into a bun atop his head so it would not get in the way of lines or equipment. Idly, she wondered then what it would feel like to run her fingers through his hair under different circumstances. 'Oh, my God, just stop,' she pleaded.

Zoe then moved to continue with the bath. With fresh washcloths, she soaped up his shoulders and chest, avoiding the chest-tube dressing in which she would change to her liking afterward. It would be a lie to say Zoe didn't enjoy giving Officer Dalton this bed bath, and though this type of care was something Zoe gave all her patients, she felt guilty about letting her mind wander while Officer Dalton was in such a critical state. Feeling foolish, she took a deep breath as the washcloth ran down his stomach, over each and every individual abdominal, soaking the trail of soft black fuzz that continued reaching his pubic area, disappearing from sight under his gown. 'He's not even flexing… he is just so yummy—Zoe!'

His lower half still needed to be washed and Zoe felt another wave of heat rush to her face and her stomach filling with butterflies? Pursing her lips together, Zoe let her gaze move to his still-covered lap but as her thoughts began to drift, there was a soft knock and Katharine appeared. "I saw that your curtain was still closed, Zoe. I thought perhaps you needed some help." Relief overcame Zoe, while she remained outwardly professional, she was thankful Katharine's assistance would keep her laser-focused. Rudy alerted to the newcomer lifted his head and swiveled his triangular ears. Katharine smiled at the dog who softly thumped his tail a couple times before settling his chin on his paws.

"I figured we could finish the bath and then ask the officers outside how to get my new friend here off the bed, so we can change the sheets."

"Good idea," said Katherine.

Zoe spread a fresh towel over Officer Dalton's lap before pulling the hospital gown completely away. Katharine at the moment did not seem none the wiser, gloving up and taking a washcloth into her fingers, wringing out the excess soapy water. Shifting the towel to expose the officer's thigh, Katharine carefully began to wash his left leg. "What a shame this happened, Officer Blumenthal and Lowell both say adamantly how dedicated of an officer he is. Dependable, honest, strong. How much he loves his K-9…"

Katharine studied his face with admiration, and what may have even been a pity. Zoe was standing watching, and Katharine moved to her side to do the other leg. Similar to the injury to the right side of his chest, his femur had been broken and hip dislocated, both re-set and repaired in the OR. While his orthopedic injuries would be painful and likely require physical therapy, but it was his internal injuries that worried Zoe. Officer Dalton suffered a grade IV liver laceration which caused him to lose a lot of blood. He was present with unstable and unpredictable shock-like symptoms. While in the OR, the surgical team transfused him with units of blood, while searching for the source of the bleeding.

As Katharine re-dressed his hip dressing, she eyed Zoe curiously, wondering why she hadn't yet completed urinary catheter care, after seeing the towel still on Officer Dalton's lap. In Zoe's hesitation, Katharine found her answer and she demurely hid the tiniest, innocent smile. Unaware, Zoe put on another pair of gloves on and reached for another washcloth. Not wanting to place herself in a negative light in the presence of her supervisor, Zoe delicately moved the towel and wasn't prepared for what was underneath.

* * *

It is said that nurses see more men private parts than the ladies of the night who reside on the street of silk. Though Zoe had certainly seen her share, Officer Dalton's was truly exceptional. Zoe's gaze widened, with her dry lips parting… she couldn't be sure, but did she just gasped? Doing her best to avoid any eye contact with Katharine, Zoe moved the washcloth to Officer Dalton's impressive manhood. Though not erect, its length was partway down his muscular thighs. However, it was his girth though that started to make Zoe sweat. Her fingertips were unable to touch one another as she wrapped her slender digits around his thick, veined stick. With the most delicate touches, Zoe maneuvered the washcloth around the head and the rubber catheter. 'Your boss is literally standing a few feet away, get it together you creep,' Zoe thought.

Katharine was now placing new heart-monitor leads on Officer Dalton's chest in attempts to move things along, ending Zoe's palpable tension. With luck, they had found an extra-large hospital gown which would accommodate the Officer's hulking frame. Zoe was pleased, Officer Dalton was squeaky clean with new bandages, besides his obvious injuries and breathing tube, he looked okay. Zoe watched the officer as Katharine left to ask Officers Blumenthal and Lowell about Rudy. When she returned, the redhead was swift on her heels whipping the curtain closed behind her. "Move. You are in our way!"

Josie was sassing the two officers at the door, getting them to move as Amber followed inside.

"Ok. See that K-9's harness?" The nurses looked over to the counter where Rudy's harness sat and Zoe looked back to Katharine curiously for more direction. "Right now, it is off… meaning Rudy is off-duty. We have to put it back on him."

"That seems easy." Zoe took the nylon black and olive green heavy harness with military-grade buckles and a few Velcro patches. One read: "I am the Rudy." Rudy suddenly sat up from the bed in full attention. His deep brown stare was hyper-focused on Zoe as she approached him with the harness in hand. He was even more impressive from this angle…angular, lean and athletic. The way he sat perfectly still was almost disarming. Carefully, Zoe began slipping the harness over Rudy head and ears, smoothing straps down and around his chest. Rudy was patient as Zoe worked the harness like a rubrics cube. Finally, Rudy was "dressed" and he leaped from the bed with a graceful agility Zoe, nor the other nurses had ever seen from a dog.

"What a good boy," Amber cooed, reaching for him. The dog who just moments ago was lying upon the bed, thumping his tail to the delight of the ladies was in work-mode. Rudy ignored her advances and silently inched to the closed curtain, in the path of the doorway.

The nurses busied themselves helping Zoe roll her patient from one side of the bed to the other so that all of the soiled sheets could be replaced with fresh new ones. Before leaving, they also cleaned the room; the soiled linen went into the hamper, blood was wiped from the floor and bed rails, all unused linen was folded neatly and placed into the cabinets. All evidence of the chaotic scene it had been when Officer Dalton first arrived was now cleared. Zoe thanked her co-workers gratefully and dimmed the recessed lighting which shone over Officer Dalton's resting body. She smiled and washed her hands before stepping to Rudy in the doorway, ruffling his thick fur behind his ears.

"Officer Blumenthal, Officer Lowell…you can come in now."