SEVEN

Tuesday, January 20th

The OR door burst open, and Kim and Tom entered the scrub area outside OR number 20. As they did so, they untied their face masks and let them drop down over their chests. They rinsed off the talc from their hands.

"Hey, thanks for lending a hand on such short notice," Tom said.

"Glad to help," Kim said flatly.

The two men started walking up the corridor toward the recovery room.

"You seem down in the dumps," Tom said. "What happened? Did your accountant just call you about your bottom line in response to the new Medicare reimbursement rates?"

Kim didn't laugh. He didn't respond at all.

"Are you all right?" Tom asked, seriously this time.

"I suppose," Kim said without emotion. "Just a lot of aggravation." Kim then told Tom what had happened in the ER the night before.

"Whoa!" Tom commented when Kim was finished. "What a God awful experience! But don't be down on yourself for taking a poke at that Barclay Bradford character. I had a mini run-in with him myself. Administrators! You know, I read in a journal last night that in the United States there's currently one administrator for every one and a half doctors or nurses. Can you believe that?"

"Yeah, I can," Kim said. 'That's a big part of why our healthcare costs are so high."

"That was exactly the point of the article," Tom said. "But anyway, I can understand why you popped Bradford. If it had been me, I know I would have been bullshit. Three hours! Hell, I'd a punched him out as a minimum."

"Thanks, Tom," Kim said. "I appreciate your support. But the worst part of the whole episode is that after all that wait and aggravation, I never got a chance to talk with the doctor who examined Becky."

"How's she doing today?"

"I don't know yet," Kim said. "It was too early for me to call when I got up, and Tracy hasn't called me. But she's got to be doing better. Her bloodwork was fine, and she's been afebrile."

"Dr. Reggis!" a voice called.

Kim turned to see Deborah Silverman, the OR head nurse, beckoning toward him. Kim detoured to the OR desk.

"Dr. Biddle called while you were in surgery," Deborah said. "He left a message for you to stop into his office as soon as you were out."

Kim took the message slip. It was punctuated with a number of exclamation points. Apparently it was serious.

"Uh-oh!" Tom commented over Kim's shoulder.

"Sounds to me like the chief is planning on adding to your aggravation."

Kim and Tom parted ways at the recovery-mom door. Kim went into the surgical locker room. Despite the implied urgency of Forrester Biddle's message, Kim took his time. It wasn't hard to guess what Forrester wanted to see him about. The problem was that after a point, Kim wasn't sure he understood his own behavior.

Kim took a shower and mulled over in his mind the previous evening's experience. He didn't reach any epiphany beyond admitting he'd been unduly stressed. After dressing in a clean set of scrubs, Kim used the phone in the surgical lounge to call Ginger at the office to discuss the afternoon schedule. Only then did he make his way over to the chief's office in the administration wing.

Dr. Forrester Biddle was the quintessential New England conservative. He had the gaunt look of a Puritan preacher and the acerbic personality to go with it. His only redeeming quality was that he was an excellent surgeon.

"Come in and close the door," Forrester said as Kim stepped into his cramped, journal-filled office. "Take a seat."

Kim sat down. Forrester made him wait while some paperwork was being completed. Kim's eyes roamed the room. Kim noted he'd had a much better office as chief over at the Samaritan.

After adding his signature with a flourish, Forrester slapped down his pen on his desk top so that it sounded like a distant report of a firearm.

"I'll get right to the point," he said, assuming an expression more stern than usual. "Your behavior last night in the emergency room is an embarrassment to this department as well as to the entire medical staff."

"My daughter was in pain," Kim said simply. It was an explanation not an excuse. He was not inclined to sound remorseful.

"There's no excuse for violence," Forrester remarked. "Mr. Bradford is considering filing charges, and I wouldn't blame him if he did."

"If anybody gets sued it should be AmeriCare," Kim said. "I waited over three hours mostly so that AmeriCare can maximize profits."

"Assaulting an administrator is no way to make social commentary," Forrester said. "Nor, I might add, is appealing directly to the media. I wasn't going to say anything about your quote Kelly Anderson gave during the Friday night news until this inexcusable episode of battery. Saying publicly that the rationale for the merger of the University Medical Center and the Samaritan was to benefit AmeriCare's bottom line hurts the reputation of this hospital."

Kim stood up. The meeting was not going to be a discussion, and there was no way Kim would sit there and absorb reprimands like a delinquent schoolboy. "If that's all, I have patients to see.

Forrester pushed his chair back and stood up as well. "I think you should keep in mind, Dr. Reggis," he said, "this department seriously considered hiring a full-time, salaried surgeon to cover your area of valve replacement prior to the merger. Your behavior of late is making us reevaluate that issue."

Kim turned around and left without responding. He wasn't about to validate such a comment. It was hardly the threat that Forrester intended. In reality Kim was being repeatedly recruited to take over a number of prestigious departments around the country. The only reason he was still at the University Medical Center was because of shared custody of Becky and the fact that Tracy couldn't move because of her matriculation in the liberal arts college.

But Kim was again angry. Of late it seemed to be his constant state of mind. Striding out of the administrative area of the hospital, he practically ran head-on into Kelly Anderson and her cameraman, Brian.

"Ah!" Kelly squealed with apparent delight. "Dr. Reggis! Just the man I've been hoping to see."

Kim flashed a nasty glance at the TV journalist and continued down the corridor at a brisk pace. Kelly reversed directions and ran after him. Brian kept pace despite his burden of equipment.

"My God, Dr. Reggis," Kelly panted. "Are you in training for a marathon? Slow down. I need to talk with you."

"I've no intention of talking with you," Kim said.

"But I want to hear your side of last night's ER episode," Kelly said.

Kim pulled up short, forcing Brian to collide with him. Brian apologized effusively. Kim ignored him and peered at Kelly in surprise. "How in God's name did you hear about that and so quickly?"

"Surprised you, huh!" Kelly remarked with a sly, self-satisfied smile. "But I'm sure you understand that I can't reveal my sources. You see, I do so many medical-related stories that I've developed a kind of fifth column here at the med center. You'd be surprised about the gossip I get. Unfortunately it's usually as prosaic as who's screwing whom. But once in a while, I get a real tip, like your episode in the ER last night. Cardiac surgeon punches out administrator: that's news!"

"I don't have anything to say to you," Kim responded. He recommenced walking.

Kelly caught up to him. "Ah, but I think you do," she said. "Having to wait three hours in an emergency room with a sick child must have been a major aggravation that I'd love to discuss."

"Too bad," Kim said. "Among other things I was just reprimanded for giving you that bottom-line quote. I'm not talking with you."

"So the administration hates the truth," Kelly said. "That in itself is interesting."