The Decision (Dr. Kelly Murphy Book 3)

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  After her younger brother is almost killed in a workplace accident, Dr. Kelly Murphy puts her life on hold trying to help him. Unfortunately for them both, help might only come from those who want to get their hands on Kelly most. Torn between what to do for the brother she loves and compromises she’s not sure she can make, Kelly finds herself lost and moving in a different direction than she planned.

  She’s not alone, though. While people she thought would be there for her aren’t, others step up, and some send help for problems she was completely ignorant to… And that changes everything.

  Little by little, things falls apart, and not just with her family but her career, reputation, and even support system. How much is too much, though? When does a sane person say it’s all enough? Being a fledgling vampire and surgical intern doesn’t give her enough experience to handle such a colossal mess and follow the rules to do it.

  So maybe it’s time for Kelly to change the game.

  1

  My family ended up being very accepting of me telling them I was a vampire and my new life, asking questions here and there. Soon after Thanksgiving, we had our first snow of the year. Nicole and I keeping our old University of Illinois tradition, we went out at midnight and had a snowball fight. By then, rumors at the hospital said they had cut all the interns they were going to, and our spots were secure, which was reason enough to celebrate.

  Christmas was coming in a few weeks, and I was excited to have money to buy real presents for once. I had just started wrapping the presents that I’d bought that day when the phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Kelly, it’s Mom.”

  “Hey, Mom, what’s up?” I greeted.

  “It’s Matt,” she rasped, starting to cry. “He was hurt at work.” My brother worked part time at an auto shop selling parts and helping with the cars at times.

  “Mom, calm down. Tell me what happened,” I demanded.

  “One of the guys was showing him something on a car that was up on the rack. Whoever raised it didn’t lock it the right way, so when they touched it—it fell. Matt wasn’t able to get out of the way in time, so the car fell on him.”

  “Where is he? Are you there?” I asked, opening the door to Nicole’s room without even knocking.

  “He’s at Alexian Brothers in Elk Grove, your dad and I are on the way there.”

  “I’ll see you there. I’ll get there before you,” I told her. “It’s going to be okay, Mom.” I finished, hanging up with her. “Nicole, my brother’s been hurt, badly. I’m going to run. Get to Alexian Brothers in Elk Grove—call Brian and Julie for me please.”

  “Of course, I’ll meet you there,” she agreed as I bolted out of the apartment. I hadn’t tested my full speed ever—I did then. I knew I was going faster than a car could on the highway, and it took me less than ten minutes to get to the hospital.

  “My name is Dr. Murphy,” I informed the charge nurse as I busted through the ER doors. “I’m looking for my brother Matthew Murphy.”

  “Have a seat, Dr. Murphy, and I’ll get to you in a moment,” she muttered, barely looking up.

  “You will look up where my brother is right now,” I ordered, pushing into her mind. “Nod that you understand me.” She did and started typing something into the computer.

  “He’s in emergency bay number four. I’ll have someone escort you back there,” she offered, but I was already gone. Seconds later I reached him, and what I saw stopped me in my tracks. He was in a neck brace, unconscious. His legs looked somewhat smashed, and there were tubes coming out of him everywhere.

  “Where is the doctor for this patient?” I asked a passing nurse.

  “And you are?” she asked me.

  “I’m his sister, Dr. Murphy,” I informed her, and she pointed me over to a man a few feet away. “Doctor,” I greeted, approaching him, “I’m Dr. Murphy—the patient in bay four is my brother. What has been done and what is his prognosis, if any?”

  “Dr. Murphy, please give me a moment,” he acknowledged, starting to turn away.

  “Now, Doctor.” I grabbed his arm and turned him back around.

  “Alright,” he replied, obviously shocked, and opened my brother’s file. “He was removed from under the car by the paramedics, both his legs and hips are broken, some gashes and lacerations. My main concern is his spine. I just received the X-rays right now and was going to look them over.” I followed him over to the viewing lights, and I saw how bad it was as soon as he put the X-rays up. “I’m sorry, Dr. Murphy, I assume you’re seeing what I see?”

  “His spinal cord was severed,” I whimpered, trying not to cry. “He’ll never walk again.”

  “I’m also looking at the MRI, your brother had some head trauma, and I’m afraid he’s in a coma,” he told me.

  “Thank you, Doctor—I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

  “Morris, Dr. Morris. If you have any more questions, please let me know.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Morris. I want to have him transferred to University of Chicago Hospital. Is there paperwork or something I need to fill out?”

  “He’s by no means stable, and he needs surgery on his hips and legs, but he’s lucky that no major blood vessels or arteries were cut with the amount of breakage. We can’t get him into surgery for another few hours, so if you can there, I can have him transferred as soon as we get an ambulance here,” Dr. Morris assured me.

  “Thanks so much,” I said, walking away. I went to go sit by my brother. He looked so frail. I’d never seen him like this. I walked outside to wait for my parents and gave Dr. Meyers a call.

  “Sam?” I rasped into the phone.

  “Hey, Kelly, is everything okay? You’ve never called my cell before,” Sam worried. He was the head of neurology at the University of Chicago Hospital where I was a surgical intern.

  “No, my brother had an accident at work—a goddamn car fell on him. I’m at Alexian Brothers, and they are going to transfer him to our hospital. Is there any chance you can come in tonight? It’s an emergency,” I explained, hating how much I rambled and couldn’t get a handle on my feelings.

  “Of course, text me when the ambulance transfers him and I’ll meet you there. Have you seen the X-rays yet?”

  “Yes, it looks like the car severed his spinal cord, and the MRI shows he’s in a coma,” I rasped, starting to cry.

  “Okay, don’t give up yet, Kelly. Those are just preliminary tests, we’ll do some others and figure out what’s going on.”

  “Thanks, Sam,” I gushed as we hung up. I wasn’t this close with all the attendings at work, but Sam knew I was a vampire, and he was a werewolf. So we shared a bond of secrecy and heighten abilities that made us friendlier than the normal intern/attending relationship. He was one of the best neuro surgeons in the country, and I trusted his opinion.

  Just then my parents came running up, and I launched into hugging them.

  “Matt is holding on. I’m having him transferred to University of Chicago, and I called Dr. Meyers. He’s going to meet us there,” I told them.

  “Why would he need a neurologist?” my dad asked.

  “Matt’s in bad shape,” I warned, pausing so they had time to swallow that, though they probably knew it when they got the call saying a car had fallen on their son. “I talked with the ER doctor and took a look at his X-rays and MRI. It looks like the car might have severed his spinal cord.”

  “What does that mean? Is he paralyzed?” my mom worried, her face going pale.

  “Possibly, from what we can see. Yes, from the waist down,” I told them.

  “Does he know this yet?” my dad asked, tearing up.

  “No, he sustained some head trauma, he’s unconscious.”

  “Kelly, stop speaking like a doctor and talk to us,” my mom demanded, crying.

  “He’s in a coma,” I explained, trying to be strong. “These were just preliminary tests and results.”

  “What are his chances?” my dad asked.

  “I don’t know yet, there are still more tests—many more tests—and I’m not a neurologist. He’s in bay four. Go on in, I’ve got some calls to make. Be prepared, he looks pretty bad.” My mom was still crying, and my dad was starting to, but gave me a kiss on the head
. I hurried outside to make the next call, not wanting other ears, human ears to hear what I said.

  “Julie,” I choked out when she answered my call. “I need to talk to you, it’s an emergency.”

  “I spoke to Brian, he is on his way. How is your brother?”

  “Not good, Jules. I need to know something. If someone is paralyzed when they’re human, would they still be when they were turned?”

  “Kelly, are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?” Julie clarified, her tone very devoid of any emotion.

  “Yes, but I’m just asking right now, but you did say that the council had to meet when an elder turned someone, right?”

  “Yes, however, they do not meet on a regular basis.”

  “Jules, this is my brother. I’m trying to go up the right food chain, but King Maglium owes me a couple of favors. I’m calling them in,” I reminded her, trying to get my point across.

  “I am sorry, you are right. I will call him and get the answers to your questions.”

  “Thank you. I’m sorry I’m being a bitch,” I apologized, starting to cry.

  “No, not at all. Take care of your brother. I will handle this, and I will call you when I know more,” Julie told me.

  “Thanks, Jules.” We hung up the phone, and I felt my knees give out. I sat on the sidewalk and tried to hide my blood tears, when a familiar arm appeared around my shoulders. “Brian, what am I going to do? What if he never walks again? Hell, what if he never wakes up?”

  “We will figure it out, Kelly,” he comforted. “We should go inside, as the ambulance will be coming soon.”

  “Wow, sometimes I forget how good your hearing is, so much better than mine even. Can you call Nicole and tell her to turn around?”

  “Sure, I will fill her in,” Brian agreed, pulling out his cell. I went back by my brother and saw my mom sobbing by him and my dad trying to hold it together while hugging her. Just then the EMTs came to get my brother and transferred him to their gurney.

  We followed them out, and I caught a ride with Brian back to the University of Chicago. While everyone headed up to Matt’s room, I veered to the intern’s locker room and changed into my scrubs. I went to find Dr. Meyers who was in the attendings’ lounge.

  “He just got to his room, Dr. Meyers.” I informed him.

  “Thank you, Dr. Murphy, do you have his file yet?” he asked me.

  “No, I’ll get it and meet you in his room,” I answered, quickly leaving to do that and inconvenience him as little as possible. I went to the nurses’ station, grabbed my brother’s file and realized there was a guy down the hall staring at me. I gave him a glare, but when I looked back up from the file he was gone, and I didn’t think on him again, heading to my brother’s room. My mom was sitting next to my brother’s bed, and my dad was leaning against the wall. “Dr. Meyers will be here in a few moments.”

  “Okay, Kelly, we trust your opinion,” my dad said. “Marie should be here shortly.”

  “Good.” I checked my brother’s vitals and charted them.

  “Mr. Murphy,” Sam Meyers greeted, coming into the room and shaking my dad’s hand. “Mrs. Murphy, I’m so sorry to see you again under the circumstances.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Meyers. Kelly insisted we have him transferred here. She said if anything can be done, you would be the doctor to do it,” my dad replied, trying to assure himself more than compliment Dr. Meyers.

  “I appreciate the confidence,” he said, checking my brother out. He ordered another round of X-rays, a few very specific MRIs, and some other tests. “If you come over here to the viewing screen, I can show you what Kelly and I see.” He very patiently explained the test results to my parents and answered any questions they had. My phone vibrated just then, so I went out into the hall to answer it.

  “Hello, Kelly,” King Maglium greeted on the other line.

  “Oh hello, Benjamin,” I replied only because there were nurses around. “Give me one second.” I hurried into the stairwell for some privacy, “Sorry, Your Majesty, I was in mixed company.”

  “I understand, my child. I am so sorry to hear about your brother.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Julie called me to inform me of your questions. If your brother is paralyzed and then turned, yes, he would be able to walk again. However, he does have to be conscious. You cannot turn someone with a head injury, as the results could be permanent mental damage.”

  “What about giving him some of my blood to heal?”

  “You can give him small doses of your blood. You might want to mix it with a saline drip. But only a small vial per bag, otherwise it could make things far worse than better. Nothing more than twenty or thirty milliliters per bag and it will help, not even interfere with other medicines or anything the doctors will do for him.”

  “Thank you for telling me all of this. I am too young still to turn someone, right?”

  “That is correct, besides we forbid the turning of one’s own family.”

  “But someone else could, right?”

  “If the council approves it. But I do not see a problem with that given everything you have done,” he assured me, and I found his confidence basically the yes I needed to at least get a grip that there might be a backup plan.

  “When will they meet to decide?”

  “We are having a special meeting on Friday, so all the members can get here for it.”

  “Thank you so much for all your help, Benjamin. I won’t forget it,” I practically blubbered.

  “I will call you after we vote, Kelly. Send your best to my parents,” he replied as we hung up. I walked back into my brother’s room as Dr. Meyers was just finishing up.

  “Dr. Meyers, can I speak with you a moment in your office?”

  “Of course, Kelly,” he agreed, giving me a raised eyebrow. Once we were in his office and the door was closed, he asked, “What’s up?”

  “I talked with King Maglium,” I informed him. “He said that giving Matt small amounts of my blood in his IV will help him heal. I was hoping you would draw some of my blood so I can start mixing it in his IV.”

  “Will this turn him?” he asked.

  “No, not if I keep it in small doses. I look at that as a last resort. I won’t do it without his consent, and besides, he can’t be turned when he’s in a coma. Hopefully my blood will help his brain heal.” We sat down, and he took the kit from me to draw blood.

  “Will it interfere with any medicine I might give him?”

  “No. I wouldn’t risk anything like that with my brother.” I gave him a firm nod and tied the rubber band on my upper arm.

  “Okay, as long as you’ve covered all the bases,” he agreed, looking for a vein. He was able to find one and fill up a dozen ounce vials in no time.

  “Thanks, Sam,” I sighed when we were done and I’d cleaned it all up. “I’ll let you know when the other tests are ready.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Kelly. Go be with your family,” he worried, giving me a look.

  “I can do both, I’m not very good at staying still,” I finished as I left his office. They were just bringing my brother back from a set of tests when I got back to his room. I took a vial of blood out of the bag, filled an injector with a small dose of my blood, and inserted it into his IV bag.

  “What are you doing, Kelly?” my dad asked.

  “I talked to Mr. Maglium. A little of my blood in each IV bag will most likely help him heal,” I explained, giving my brother a kiss on the head.

  “It won’t make him like you, will it?” my mom questioned, an edge to her tone I flinched at.

  “No, someone can’t be turned while they are in a coma, and I’m not giving him much at a time.”

  “Okay, good,” she sighed heavily, a bit too overdramatically when we weren’t talking about pushing him off into outer space. Simply becoming like me. “How long until the next set of test results are ready?”

  “They still have a lot more to do, but Dr. Meyers put a rush on all of them.”

  “That’s good,” Marie muttered.

  “Oh, Marie, I’m sorry, I didn’t even see you there,” I greeted, going over to give her a hug.

  “How are you holding up?” she asked me.

  “Shocked. You?”