After a messy and painful divorce from her ex-husband, Madeline decided to shift her focus entirely to her career. Her passion for medicine and her patients became her primary motivation-until she crossed paths with a blue-eyed detective who disrupt...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Good morning," Madeline said, her eyes scanning files on the computer screen.
"Morning," Will replied, smiling as he leaned against the desk. "I saw you went to that concert you were talking about. How was it?"
"It was amazing! I screamed my heart out, lost my voice, but it was totally worth it," Madeline said, her face lighting up as she thought back to the concert.
"Did Jay go?" he asked curiously.
"No, he was working a case. It's been keeping him busy the last couple of weeks, but tonight we're finally having a date," she said with a small smile, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Well, glad you had a good time," Will said warmly, standing up straight.
"Thanks," Madeline replied as he walked away.
Just as she turned back to her work, Dr. Lanik approached her.
"Dr. Sanchez," he said briskly.
"Yeah?" Madeline responded, looking up from the screen.
"Treatment 4," he said, handing her an iPad. "Sixteen-year-old female, 38 weeks pregnant. She was rear-ended while driving. I've already cleared her C-spine, and her labs are in progress. I thought you might want to check her cervix before calling OB."
"Got it," Madeline replied, taking the iPad and heading toward the treatment room.
Inside, a young girl lay on the bed, nervously fiddling with her hospital gown.
"Lily? Hi, I'm Dr. Sanchez," Madeline said warmly, stopping at the foot of the bed. "I understand you're 38 weeks along. Are you family?" she asked, glancing at the two adults standing by Lily's side.
"I'm her father, Joseph Cooper," the man said. He gestured toward the woman next to him. "And this is Edie Thompson."
"I'm not family exactly," Edie added with a small smile.
"Uh, she's adopting my baby," Lily chimed in, her voice quiet but steady.
"Got it. All right, Lily, let's take a look," Madeline said, setting the iPad down. She grabbed some gel and spread it on Lily's belly. "Thanks," she said as Monique, the nurse, handed her the ultrasound wand.
Madeline carefully moved the wand over Lily's abdomen and turned to the screen. "Okay, the baby looks healthy, and the placenta is intact, which is a good sign." She smiled reassuringly. "All right, Lily, I'm going to ask your dad and Edie to step outside while I check your cervix."
Joseph leaned down to kiss Lily on the forehead. "We'll be right outside, honey," he said gently before stepping out with Edie.
"All right, Lily," Madeline said, snapping on a pair of gloves. "Let me know if you feel any discomfort or pain, okay? If you could just put your knees up and let them fall open—thank you. You ready?"
