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He was always the one to be blamed.
It was always his fault, because Axel wasn’t Calder.
“Where is my niece?” Axel asked the head triage nurse.
“She’s in pod four with Dr. Jacinth. Bed three.”
“Thank you.” Axel headed over to pod four, which contained six beds. Bed three had the curtains drawn and he could see Betty’s shoes under the curtain.
He hesitated, then cleared his throat. “Is it okay if I come in?”
Betty peeked through the curtain. “Dr. Sturlusson, can I help you?”
“Your patient is my niece. I’m her guardian.”
Betty’s eyes widened.
“Is that my uncle?” Eira’s sweet voice came from inside the curtained bed in almost perfect English.
“Yes, if Dr. Sturlusson is your uncle,” Betty answered Eira.
“Yes. Or it could be my grandfather.”
“No, I don’t think it’s your grandfather,” Betty teased as she stepped to the side to let him by.
Eira looked so small against the bed. Her arm was wrapped up and he could see blood on her shirt and seeping through the wrapping.
“What happened?” he asked, instantly feeling guilty that he hadn’t been there for her.
He was never going to get the hang of balancing working and being a guardian to a teenage girl.
How had his brother ever managed?
“I slipped in a puddle of water in the bathroom at school.”
Axel gently pulled away the gauze and could see the angry, ragged wound on her arm. It didn’t look as if she’d just fallen on the floor. It looked as if she’d hit something metal and sharp.
“I’ll help you. It’ll be okay.”
“Uh, I don’t think so,” Betty said, stepping in. “You’re her family. You can hold her hand, but I’m the doctor here.”
Axel wanted to argue with Betty, but she was right in this case and he didn’t want to upset Eira.
Axel stepped away and then took a seat on the opposite side of the bed.
Eira looked uncomfortable. As if she didn’t want him to be here.
“Uncle, if it’s all the same to you I would like to talk to Dr. Jacinth, privately.” A pink blush crept up her cheeks and Eira couldn’t even look him in the eye.
“Okay. I will just be outside the pod doing some charting. If you need me I can be back here right away.”
Eira nodded and he left.
Betty closed the curtain and his stomach sank.
Eira and he used to be close, back when he was fun Uncle Axel and not her parental figure.
Just another way his life had changed since the accident.
He missed the way it used to be.
* * *
Betty could tell that Axel was sad that he was asked to leave but she could tell that Eira was uncomfortable. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the girl’s parents. Axel hadn’t even mentioned that he had a niece, but then again Axel wasn’t terribly forthcoming about anything except for the fact he disapproved of her winter footwear and didn’t think that she was capable of walking anywhere safely.
“So, what did you need to speak to me about? Or was that just a ruse to get rid of your uncle?” she asked as she pulled a chair over and began to gently clean the wound.
Eira winced. “Well, a bit of both, I suppose.”
“Well, you can talk to me. There is a doctor-patient confidentiality that I can’t violate.”
Eira sighed. “I didn’t slip. I fainted.”
“Fainted?”
Eira nodded. “I started...there was...blood.” A blush crept up the girl’s neck and bloomed in her cheeks. Betty completely understood.
“How old are you, Eira?”
“Fourteen, but I will be fifteen soon. I know it’s late for... I’m the last of my friends to get it.”
“It’s not late. If you were over sixteen and hadn’t had the onset of menarche I’d be worried then. I was fourteen too when it happened for me.”
“You were?” Eira seemed relieved. “My mom died when I was little so there’s no one to talk to about these things.”
“I get it. Your uncle or your grandfather aren’t exactly people you feel comfortable talking with about it.”
“Right.” Eira blushed.
“I understand completely.”
“You do?”
Betty nodded as she continued her work on Eira’s arm, cleaning the wound. When she’d fainted, Eira had cut her arm on a metal grate, so it needed a few stitches. A resident or an ER doctor could handle this, but it was slow and they weren’t busy. Betty didn’t mind.
“My mother died when I was a baby and it was just my father and me. He was a surgeon too, but... I had a hard time talking about it with him. Thankfully my grandmother in Tennessee was still alive and she guided me through my first monthly.”
Eira frowned. “My grandmother died before I was born and my mother died shortly after my birth. I just had my dad but...” Tears welled up in Eira’s eyes and she wiped them away with her good sleeve. “He drowned.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Betty said gently. “Was it recently?”
“Two years ago. My uncle Axel was my guardian and I went to live with him after he recovered.”
“Recovered?”
“My uncle Axel was in the same accident as my father. They were both doctors in the tactical navy. They were in a helicopter on a training mission over stormy seas when there was an engine failure. The helicopter crashed. Everyone but my uncle died.”
Betty’s heart sank. It explained so much. The aloofness. The aversion to water. That must be a hard thing to overcome.
It made her issues seem silly.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Betty said. “How about I get you cleaned up so you can get out of here? Do you want me to talk to your uncle? Explain what happened?”
Eira nodded, a relieved expression on her face. “That would be great, Dr. Jacinth.”
Betty smiled. “You can call me Betty and, I don’t mean to overstep, but if you have any other questions I’m here in Reykjavik for the next three months and I would be happy to help you any way that I can. Your grandfather and my father were friends so it’s the least I could do.”
“I would like that.”
“Good. Now, sit tight and I will be right back.”
Betty collected up the soiled gauze and disposed of them. As she went to get Eira some sanitary napkins, she found Axel pacing outside the pod, not charting as he’d said he was going to do.
And she couldn’t blame him.
“How is she?” Axel asked.
“She’ll be fine. I haven’t done the sutures yet. She wanted me to talk to you about something delicate.”
Axel frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“She fainted. She was probably overwhelmed she had her first period. She’s been worried because she hadn’t had it yet and there’s no one to talk to about it. She passed out from the sight of blood and cut her arm on a metal grate in the bathroom when she passed out.”
“Oh, I see.”
Betty nodded. “She said they taught it in school, but for a young girl without a mom, it can still be a shock. I know I had a similar uncomfortable conversation with my father when it happened to me.”
Axel scrubbed a hand over his face. “I should’ve prepared her better, but...”
“I get it.”
“Did she tell you what happened?” Axel asked cautiously. “About her father?”
Betty nodded. “She did.”
Axel seemed uncertain.
“I asked her what happened to her parents. She told me.”
“Of course, I’m sorry. It was hard for me and I’ve been trying to be there for her and apparently what I’ve been doing is not good enough.”
“It’s good enough.”
He shot her a disbelieving stare. “Well, I’m glad she was able to confide in you.”
“I told her that if she had any more questions she could ask me. I hope I didn’t overstep my boundaries.”
“No, but I don’t want her burdening you either. You have a job to do,” he said quickly.
“It’s not a burden. I know the special circumstances of the situation she’s going through.”
Axel cocked an eyebrow. “How so?”
“My mother died shortly after I was born and it was just me and my father after my grandmother died when I was a bit older than Eira. It’s hard and you shouldn’t be so tough on yourself. You’re doing a good job.”
“You’ve only just met me. You have no concept about whether or not I’m doing a good job.”
It was a snarky retort, but she couldn’t blame him. They were still strangers and he’d been through a lot.
“I’m going to get her what she needs and suture her wound. You should take her home and watch for signs of infection.”
Axel nodded, but he didn’t look at her.
She turned to walk away and he reached out and touched her arm.
“I’m sorry for snapping. Thank you.”
She smiled. “You’re welcome, Dr. Sturlusson.”
She turned and left him standing there. She had a newfound appreciation for him. He still might be closed off, but at least she understood that it was because he’d been through the wringer himself and for that she could cut him a little bit of slack.
But only a little.
CHAPTER FOUR
WHAT AM I DOING?
She stared up at the gray door of a modern-looking house in a posh area of Reykjavik.
Everything about it screamed clean and orderly. The house was definitely Axel’s, as his SUV was in the driveway. Eira had left a notebook in the emergency room yesterday. It must’ve slipped from her backpack and Betty wanted to return it.
She closed her eyes, hesitating briefly and thinking about running in the opposite direction, but she mustered her courage and knocked.
She didn’t like visiting people without an invitation, but she wanted to return Eira’s homework and to check up on her.
She was worried about Eira because she knew how Eira felt. She’d been that frightened teenaged girl with no woman to talk to.
And she was worried that Eira might not tell her uncle if she was feeling crampy or even if she had a fever.
Betty had convinced herself it was best if she personally checked on Eira.
The door opened and a confused Axel answered. He was in denim, a flannel shirt and he had glasses on.
The sight of him made her heart skip a beat. Dammit, he was just as handsome in his casual attire as he was in scrubs.
“Dr. Jacinth?” he asked, taking the glasses off and tucking them in the front pocket of his shirt.
“You can call me Betty when we’re not at the hospital.”
He didn’t acknowledge that. “What’re you doing here?”
“I brought some food and some other things for Eira. I wanted to check on her.”
Axel stepped to the side, silently inviting her in. She stepped into the foyer. It was minimalistic and gray. Cool shades rather than colors, but there was also a strange warmth to the place.
“How did you get here?”
“I took a cab.”
He frowned. “If you’d called I could have come and gotten you.”
Betty handed him the bag of food she’d brought and slipped off her boots.
“I’m used to taking cabs. I’m from New York City.”
“So you keep reminding me.”
“Besides, how could I call when I didn’t know your phone number?”
“Ah, but you found out where I lived.” There was a sly smile on his face.
Damn. He had a point.
“You might’ve not answered a strange number. I wouldn’t have.” She held out the notebook. “Eira left this in the emergency room.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter now because you’re here.” He set the bag on the floor and then took her coat. “Eira is on the sofa watching television, unless she drifted off to sleep again. I’ll take this to the kitchen.”
“All except this bag.” Betty took back the bag of things she had bought specifically for Eira. Private things that her uncle didn’t need to see. It was chocolates, feminine hygiene products and other things to make Eira smile. The other bag was food, everything to make a pizza, which had always been Betty’s comfort food.
Axel nodded in understanding and then pointed. “The living room is just through that way.”
“Thanks.” Betty made her way to the sunken living room. On a large sectional couch Eira was propped up in the corner, with brightly covered quilts, a little tray with some food and her laptop. It was chaos and color in the midst of the cool gray and minimalistic decor of the room.
Eira brightened up. “Dr. Jacinth!”
“Betty.”
“Betty,” Eira said. “What’re you doing here?”
“I wanted to check on you and bring you some more things that I think that you might need.” She handed the bag to Eira and the girl peeked inside. “There’s also some not so needed things in there. Some nice stuff to brighten your day.”
“Thank you!” Eira said.
“You also forgot this.” Betty handed her the notebook. “How is your pain?”
“Not bad, but I’ve been shivering. Can’t get warm.”
Betty frowned and picked up the thermometer that was on the table. She stuck it in Eira’s ear and it beeped, showing a fever.
Axel came into the room and frowned. “She has a fever?”
“Yes.” Betty set the thermometer down. “Can I check your wound?”
Eira nodded. Betty used some hand sanitizer from her bag and pulled back the gauze. It was still red and angry, but she could see signs of infection starting.
“I’ll prescribe her some antibiotics.”
“You won’t have a prescription pad yet.” Axel crossed the room and pulled a pad out of a desk, where a laptop sat. He wrote something out. “I’ll call this in and have the pharmacy deliver it.”
“I think you should probably go to bed,” Betty said to Eira.
“Yeah. I’m tired and achy.”
Betty helped Eira up and carried the blankets and other things to her room. She helped Eira get settled in bed and then headed back downstairs. Axel was cleaning up the tray.
“How is she?” he asked.
“Tired. Wake her up to get her started on the antibiotics. I gave her a tetanus shot at the hospital so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I know. I read her chart before we left.”
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