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Drew shook his head. The pain was obviously making him delirious.
    “Mr. Henderson, I’m Dr. Hinchey.”
    Drew looked up at the doctor and smiled. Was that a glimmer of wings and a halo with that white coat? “Great to meet you, Doc. I’m in a hellova lot of pain. Do you think I could have another shot of something?”
    The doctor closed the cubicle curtains, then removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. She was obviously exhausted. “Yes, sorry about the wait. As you can see, things are out of control today. And we needed to see your X-rays before giving you anything else.”
    “Is my leg broken?” Stupid question really. He’d felt it snap.
    “You have an open tibial shaft fracture.”
    “Which means what in English?”
    “You’ve made a mess of your leg. Obviously the bone is broken, but there’s also the risk of infection. When was your last tetanus shot?”
    “I don’t know … a couple of years back when I went to Cambodia.” Drew looked faint. “So what’s the deal?”
    “Unfortunately, our options are limited. This area is in a state of emergency. Normally we’d airlift you, but we’re going to have to deal with the injury here, with the resources we have.
    “It’ll be ok … won’t it?” Drew realized he was rather fond of his leg.
    The doctor took Drew’s blood pressure. “Yes, but we’ll have to put the leg in skeletal traction.”
    “Sounds painful.”
    “You’ll be under general anesthetic.”
    “Can I be flown back to New York first?”
    Dr. Hinchey shook her head. “The airport is closed. You’re not going anywhere today … or for a while actually.”
    “How long? A day or two?”
    There was a beat before the doctor spoke. “At least six weeks.”
    The room started to spin. “What? I can’t. I have a life. I have to get back to New York. To work.”
    “We’ll consider transferring you back home once the bones knit, but there will still be months of rehabilitation.”
    Drew was flailing about like a fish out of water. “Months? But … but … I … there’s things I need to do … I have a dog …”
    Dr. Hinchey placed a hand on Drew’s shoulder. The poor guy had been waiting for hours without complaining, only to be told that his life was going to be on hold for a long time. Not that she balked at the thought of having him around for a while. Drew Henderson was the most exciting thing to happen to Plankaville since J.Lo’s jet was rerouted on the way to Miami. “It’s a very serious injury, but think yourself lucky. You could’ve been killed.”
    Drew nodded. She was right. Death would have sucked, but this option wasn’t much better.
    Dr. Hinchey handed Drew a clipboard and pen. “You need to sign this.”
    “What’s that?”
    “It’s a release form for surgery.”
    “I’m having surgery now?”
    “You got something better to do?”
    Drew began to panic. He felt like a five-year-old who wanted his mother. “Are there any other options?
    Dr. Hinchey slid her glasses back on. Good lord he was handsome. “We’re a small hospital and are operating with minimal resources today. We either get this leg in traction, or you can stay on this stretcher … or we can amputate.”
    Drew wasn’t sure if she was joking.
    An orderly entered the cubical and released the brakes on the gurney. “Where to, Doc?”
    “Mr. Henderson needs to go to pre-op.”
    The orderly grinned at Drew. “I’m Winston. Ready to roll?”
    Drew felt a surge of fear. “I’ve got to contact my boss.”
    “Winston will wheel you past a phone on the way there. Do you have any allergies?”
    “I’m allergic to pain,” Drew joked.
    “In my experience, most men are,” chuckled Dr. Hinchey. Drew Henderson was a bright, and incredibly hot-looking spot in a grueling day. “I’ll see you up there.”
    Winston started wheeling Drew towards the door. What had he done? How the hell could he put his life on hold for so long?
    Drew stared at the ceiling as Winston whizzed him out of the ER