Free The Children's Ward by Patricia Wallace

radiology for her MRI scan, Delano’s due in hydrotherapy at eight, they’re beginning a blood culture series on White, and Vincent is being evaluated by a psychiatrist this afternoon.” She tossed the clipboard on the desk. “Good luck.”
    Aguilar shrugged. “It’ll get done.”
    “And I got a call from engineering. They’re going to install the video recorder this morning.”
    “Good.”
    “I’m not sure I understand what the purpose of taping is.”
    “To verify subjective observational data…or at least that’s what it says in the program protocol.” She looked back at the monitor. “And to keep us on our best behavior.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Dr. Fuller told me once that he believes a patient’s personality can influence the quality of care he or she receives. Doctors and nurses are only human—”
    “Some of them, anyway,” the night nurse remarked.
    “—and certain types of people can be difficult to deal with.” Aguilar hesitated. “I’m a good nurse and I’m proud of my work, but I’m willing to admit that I’ve had a few patients whom I just didn’t like.”
    “So have I, but I don’t think you have to like every patient you care for.”
    “A patient who whines all the time is less likely to be listened to than one who doesn’t. Patients who are openly hostile are sometimes avoided by hospital staff, and when they do receive treatment, it is often given almost grudgingly.”
    “But it is given.”
    “Even so, you have to remember; in a hospital setting, we are the care-givers. We fill an emotional need as well as a medical or physiological one. If we withhold the emotional support…the caring…if we rely solely on technology to diagnose and treat, we may be omitting the most crucial aspect of healing…the human touch. Babies can die from emotional deprivation…failure to thrive, or whatever you want to call it. They all—even the most difficult ones—need us to care.”
    “Is it that much of a factor with children?” The night nurse looked at the monitor. “I would think that just naturally there would be more tenderness in caring for a child.”
    “There are some children who don’t invite tenderness. And there is evidence that some abused children actually seem to trigger violence…in cases where only one child in a family is abused.”
    The night nurse sighed. “They look so innocent.”
     
     
     

Thirty
     
    “If one more person suggests it was an earthquake,” Simon Harrington said, looking on as the cleaning crew shoveled up the mess on the pathology lab floor, “I’m going to throttle ’em.”
    “Never crossed my mind,” Joshua said.
    “Nor mine.” Quinn sniffed cautiously. “Evil spirits?”
    Simon smiled appreciatively, giving Joshua a look she could not interpret. “More likely. Know any exorcists?”
    “Not locally.” She covered her nose and mouth with her hand. “It certainly smells like the devil.”
    “Did anyone see what happened?” Joshua asked.
    “A lab tech.” Simon turned away from pathology, leading them out of the laboratory and into the hall where the air was breathable. “She said everything ‘jumped’ off the shelves.”
    “Was she hysterical?”
    “No, quite the opposite. She said, very lucidly, that the specimen jars moved, one by one, to the edge of the shelf and appeared to jump—that’s the word she used, jump —off the edge.”
    “Suicidal specimen jars.”
    “So it would seem.” Simon shook his head.
    “Did you check the shelf supports? Maybe one gave way and the shelf was tilted enough to send the specimen jars over the edge?”
    “I thought of that but no such luck. I hope our insurance will cover the damage, although some of those specimens will be difficult to replace.” Simon looked back through the laboratory door at pathology where the cleaning crew was loading the red contaminated material bags into a wheeled garbage can. “Suicidal specimen jars