Chapter 19
“Yash,” she called out, her voice weak as he placed her in the passenger seat and clipped on the seat belt.
She watched as he ripped open the doors of a shelf that was on one side of the garage and looked through the boxes. He ran back to her and kneeled on the ground next to the car.
He loaded a syringe with a clear liquid and injected it into her thigh. “This will buy us some time.”
He ran around to the driver’s side and started the engine. She felt the reverberations from the engine and the weightlessness like he was making the car fly.
It was barely a few minutes before she felt the seat belt dig into her shoulder, as the car came to a stop. She felt the gust of cold wind hit her when he opened the door.
“We are here. Don’t pass out on me. Look at me,” he ordered.
“Yash…”
“I know… breathe… slow breaths.”
She clung to him as he carried her into what looked like an emergency room. A nurse approached them, and Yash almost brushed her aside when she tried to direct him for check-in.
“There is no time. She is having an allergic reaction, and before it turns into anaphylaxis, I need to give her a dose of Epinephrine,” Yash ordered.
“Please come this way.”
The nurse led them through large double doors and into a small room. Yash did not set her down until they got into the room.
“Get your duty doctor to get me a half dose of Epinephrine and tell them I gave her an anti-inflammatory.” Yash almost barked at the nurse who was leaving the room.
“Yash… what is going on?”
“Sorry, sweetheart. You’re having an allergic reaction, and it’s all my fault.”
“Why?” Her voice was weak.
“I should have asked you if you had any food allergies.” He raked his fingers through his hair.
“I don’t have… I don’t have any food allergies.”
“Is this the first time?”
She weakly nodded, and that made him jump off the bed. “Hold on, Mantra. I will be right back.”
She felt her throat closing up, and her ears felt like she was underwater, but she kept her eyes riveted on the door. She smiled at Yash when he came back with a small bottle of liquid.
“Do you think you can swallow this?”
She nodded and tried to sit up.
“Sir, you can’t just take medicine from the cabinets,” a woman called out from behind him.
He ignored the voice and helped her swallow the cherry-flavored drink.
“What is this, and why does it taste weird?” She licked her lips.
“It’s a kid’s medicine. That’s all I could find before these doctors did something.” He chuckled running his fingers through her hair.
“What do you mean he opened the cabinets, call security,” an authoritative female voice boomed in the hallway outside.
“I don’t believe this,” Yash growled before turning to look at the door.
“Yash Birla… I should have guessed.” A woman in her mid-thirties stood at the door wearing a lab coat and a stethoscope around her neck.
“You move at this pace, you will kill your patients,” Yash huffed.
“Well, you should have stayed then,” the woman grumbled and put her arms around him. “I can’t believe you cook now.”
“Can you check on my girlfriend before you lecture me about career choices… again?” he growled, but his tone didn’t seem to bother the woman.
“Well, your girlfriend, huh?” the woman teased as she checked Mantra’s vitals.
“Can you check if she needs a dose of the medication?” He sounded impatient.
“You know she doesn’t, and you’ve already treated her. There’s nothing for me to do here.”
“Can you arrange for an allergy test? I want to know for sure what she reacted to.”
“The allergy department is closed.”
“Bullshit… get me the samples from the lab, and I will do the test myself,” he ordered.
“Yash, that’s absurd. I can’t do it. I don’t have access.”
“I will give you the override code, and all I need is the shellfish samples.” Yash sounded adamant, and the look he had on his face left no room for persuasion.
“You still have the codes?”
“From what I saw, you guys haven’t changed your codes in six years.”
The woman rolled her eyes. “What is the code? I’ll get it myself. I can’t let anyone else get fired because of you. It has to be me.”
“I knew you would never let me down, Christy.”
“You haven’t changed a bit, Yash.” She laughed and turned away from him to leave the room.
“Christy, come back.” Yash laughed.
“What?”
“Mantra, Christy and I worked together at this hospital. Christy, Mantra.”
“Mantra, it’s good to meet you. You didn’t need to come into the hospital.” She smiled before leaving the room.
Yash let out a sigh of relief and sat on the stool next to the bed. Mantra looked at him with gratitude. He had in a way saved her life. The way he moved, his thought process, and how quickly he was able to diagnose what happened all pointed to him being a good doctor.
“Yash,” Mantra said weakly stretching out her hand.
“Hey, you need to stop talking and give your throat a rest.” He took her hand and moved to sit on the bed by her side.
“Thank you!”
“What are you thanking me for when I was the one who caused all of this?”
“No… what if I had this reaction when you weren’t around?”
He smiled. “A normal person would have called the emergency line and not do what I did. I need to break out of the habit of needing to diagnose everything.”
“You are good at it. You are a natural, and that’s why you do it.” She noticed a veil of anger over his face, but he did not say anything.
“Would you consider going back?”
“Never.”
She took a deep breath. “How did you know the codes?”
“I studied and worked here for years. I practically grew up here.” He smiled looking around the room.
“You look so happy talking about being here, and you were an icon in this field. I’m sure they’ll want you back.” The moment the words left her mouth she knew she had overstepped.
To her surprise, Yash did not react. “I know, I am good at this, but I am not passionate enough to want to make it better every day. I will be a good Samaritan, but I am not going back.”
She wondered if her brother would have given up at some point, too, if he was still around. If only she had sensed what her brother was going through soon enough, he might still have been part of her life.
“Mantra, what are you thinking about?”
“Are you being unfair to the people who deserve to have a good surgeon like you?”
“Hey… do we need to talk about it now?” he said softly.
She smiled shaking her head gently, but she couldn’t get over the fact that he was a good surgeon who could bring a revolution to the field just like the experts predicted.
“Take me home,” she pleaded.
“I will, as soon as we get you tested for the allergies.” He planted a kiss on her forehead, and it sent thrills through her body. She realized it was an internal reaction and not a bodily reaction.
“Why do I need an allergy test right now?”
“I want to find out what caused the reaction.”
“I don’t want the full test. I have read it hurts.” Her voice was weak.
Something inside his chest clicked at her words. He could not let anything hurt her, and he felt protective of her. He wanted to kick himself for putting her in that state of pain and discomfort. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”
“What would I do if I weren’t with you tonight?” she murmured into his chest.
“I’m the one who exposed you to the allergen.”
“I’m glad you did… I had no idea I had food allergies.”
“Stop talking. Your throat is still inflamed.”
“Yash…”
“Yeah?”
“Will you make me a grilled cheese sandwich when we get home?”
He took a deep breath and held her closer. “You can’t eat anything solid tonight… I’ll make you one tomorrow morning. I promise.”
“Thank you!”
“If it’s tomorrow, I want a grilled cheese sandwich and a cheeseburger.”
“Anything for you.” He chuckled holding her to him, his heart beating against her cheek.
“Will you take me to my favorite spot before you take me home?”
“Sure, where is that?”
“It’s up in the hills, my running spot… take me there,” she slurred, the antihistamine kicking in.
“Anything for you.” His words rolled off slowly as he cupped her cheek with his hand.