Solemn Oath by Hannah Alexander

back. She says one of the new delivery guys placed some boxes too close to the fire, and Roxie couldn’t move them.”
    â€œDid you feel anything hit you? How much smoke did you inhale?”
    â€œI don’t really think I got much smoke, but I couldn’t tell you if anything hit me. I hit a lot of things, like Roxie, the wall, and then some shelves fell on top of us. I tried to brace myself on my elbows to keep from squashing Roxie. Do you think I could’ve pulled a muscle or something?”
    â€œA pulled muscle doesn’t break the skin.” Lukas helped him lie down while he gave instructions to Lauren for routine trauma X-ray series with two-view chest. “What’s the O2 sat?”
    â€œGood. Ninety-six,” Lauren said.
    Judy stepped to the doorway. “Dr. Bower, we have a drunk three-year-old in room seven. It’s the Chapmans, who called you earlier.”
    Lukas glanced at his watch. “They made great time. Get Claudia to meet me there and I’ll be right out.” He ordered serum alcohol and poison levels for the child. “I hate to do it, but get Respiratory to draw a blood gas on him.” Invasive procedures were a part of his job he had never enjoyed,especially when it involved causing pain for little children who were too young to even understand what was happening to them. Big needles that stuck deep and hurt were always traumatic, and this one needed an artery.
    â€œGo on and see about the kid, Doc,” Buck said. “I’ll be fine as long as you can keep my young buddies from pestering me to death.”
    Lukas grinned. “It comes with being a hero.”
    â€œI don’t want to be a hero. I just want to do a good job. This mentoring is new for me.”
    â€œIt always helps to learn from the best.”
    â€œI’m not the best. The chief just didn’t want to do it himself this time.” Buck lowered his voice and glanced toward the doorway. “I don’t want to be a jerk, but they’re not going to get a good review from me.”
    â€œCome on, Buck, you were young once. In fact, you’re still young.”
    Mercy walked into the room, greeted Buck as if she were used to seeing his burnt-to-a-crisp appearance every day and held the clipboards for two more patients for Lukas to see. “Want me to do these for you while I’m here? I called Josie, and she’s done a triage and sent some of my patients home.”
    Lukas shot her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Mercy.”
    â€œIt’ll cost you a dinner.”
    â€œGreat. I’ll cook.”
    â€œHey! I’m doing you a favor here. Don’t threaten me.”
    Lukas left Lauren to run his orders on Buck and walked out into the hallway with Mercy. He reached up instinctively to touch her shoulder, then hesitated and let his hand fall back to his side. He was already getting teased by the staff about his relationship with her.
    â€œHow’s Arthur doing?” he asked.
    â€œI’m releasing him to his friends.” Mercy stopped outside the door, shook her head, frowned. “I didn’t want to do it, but he didn’t want to be so far from his wife. His CT’sfine.” She lowered her voice. “He’s something else. I don’t think I’ve met anybody quite like him.” She looked into Lukas’s eyes, then away. “Except maybe for you.” She turned and walked into another exam room.
    Lukas was glad she didn’t see him blush.
    The drunken child, three-year-old Jared Chapman, had a good serum alcohol level, which would counteract the effects of the antifreeze. The ethylene glycol and methanol levels were low enough that Jared wouldn’t need dialysis, so they could just watch him closely in the telemetry unit overnight on an alcohol drip. The parents were relieved and happy, and so was Lukas. Even with the needle for the blood gas, Jared was feeling a minimum amount of pain. The poor