Fated Lives (Part 5)
by Allison
The following weeks were busy, and awkward, for Janet. She and Daniel had been emailing back and forth for over a month. He'd accepted the position with the Smithsonian, and had made plans to come out to Maryland for the first week of November to look for an apartment. After much debate with herself, and later with Daniel, she'd offered him a place to stay in her house while he was there, so that he wouldn't have to worry about finding a hotel around D.C.
While she had surprised herself with the offer, she didn't regret it, trusting her instincts above anything. And they told her that he would be nothing but a proper gentleman. So, all in all, her personal life, such as it was, was fine.
Her life at work, however, was a different story. She enjoyed what she was doing; her classes were fun to teach, and she had always liked working directly with patients. Working with her colleagues was not as much fun. She had figured out relatively quickly that the seven doctors on her staff resented her for getting the position of Chief of Staff. Apparently, everyone in the department had expected either Dr. Robert Lyman or Dr. Maria Frish, both who had worked there for over five years, to get the positions because of their seniority. No one had expected that an outsider would be chosen, even an outsider with the credentials and background that Janet had.
Earlier that day after she finished with her rounds, she had been changing in the locker to come home and she over heard two of the nurses on the other side of the lockers. They were comparing her to a rabid pit bull; no one liked her and yet everyone had to do what she said because she could make their lives miserable. She'd held it together for the rest of the night, only losing it when she went to bed. Ephiny and Tigger took turns licking her face as she lay in bed and cried. That night, all of the built up emotions just came out.
The hurt that she felt every time she went to the cafeteria and saw the people she worked with unsubtly move so that she couldn't sit with them, or when they would stop talking when she walked into a room, or treat her like she barely existed at meetings or if she saw them in the hall. It was just too much, and she felt lonelier than she ever had before. She had never felt such outright animosity directed at her before, and she didn't realize how much pain it could cause.
As her tears slowed, she made up her mind. She would find a way to deal with the tension at work somehow, starting the following Monday. She didn't know how yet, but if she didn't do something, she was probably going to lose her mind.
******
That Monday, when she reached her office, Dr. Lyman was waiting forher. Steeling herself unconsciously, she set her shoulders and walked up to him and unlocked her door. "Dr. Lyman, I see you got my e-mail. Please, come in." She opened the door and turned on the lights. "Have a seat. I know you've got a busy day, I just wanted to speak briefly with you." She hung up her coat and sat down beside her desk. She waited until he had taken a seat to begin.
"How are your patients doing?"
He thought for a second, than answered. "Fairly well. My malaria patient is on the third round of medication, looks good for a recovery. I have one tuberculosis patient, came in yesterday. She's in the isolation room until we determine how serious it is. Two new H.I.V. patients confirmed last night, both will be in later today for evaluation. Hepatitis and pneumonia, all responding to treatments. A possible case of meningitis, lab results should be back this morning. I may have Maria take over the H.I.V. patients, depends on how some of her residents are doing."
Janet nodded. "Alright. Let me know if you do. Any problems with
your two residents?"
He shook his head, "No, they are doing fairly well. Losing their nervousness and beginning to remember why they chose this rotation."
"How about the rest of they staff, how are they doing?"
Robert shrugged his shoulders. "They seem fine to me. No accidents, no mal-treatment of patients. Why?"
"Is there any tension? I know many people in this department were disappointed by my appointment as Chief of Staff, you included, I guess. I hope that I have done a good job so far, but I would like to know if there is anything that you think I should be doing, or not doing?"
He was caught by surprise by her statement. "Umm..."
"You do not need to respond immediately. I'll be asking the other doctors the same, so feel free to take all the time you need. I assure you, your six-month evaluations will not change because of your response. You may tell the others that as well." She paused for a moment, trying to remember what she was going to ask. "Oh, yeah. I have received everyone else's requests for time off over the holidays, and I noticed that you have yet to turn yours in yet."
"Oh, that. I usually work over the holidays, to let the others have
time with their families."
"Surely, you would like some time off? You have a lot of time on the books from the past few years. Given your tenure here, your leave will be paid."
He looked sharply at her. "Are you telling me you want me to take an early retirement?"
Her eyes widened slightly. "No, no," she laughed softly to herself, shaking her head. "No, I'm not, you are an invaluable part of this department. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. I was just curious, because most people would jump at the chance for the amount of paid leave you have available."
"Will you be taking any leave this year?" Suddenly, he found the need to be sociable with this woman who he hadn't really spoken to before, outside of a work context.
"I don't know, maybe a few days at the end of December. And a couple days at the end of October. That was part of the reason I asked you to come in. A friend of mine is moving to this area in January, and he'll be here the last few days of October. Would you be willing to take one or two of my patients for those few days? I'll be asking the others, as well, so as not to bog you down anymore then we already are. If you don't want to, that's fine. I don't need to take the time off."
He shook his head, "No, I don't mind taking them. Will you return the favor, if I choose to take some vacation time?" He half-grinned at her.
She smiled back at him, feeling some of the tension leave the room. "Definitely."
"Ok, well I'll see you at the briefing, then." He got up, and she stood up with him.
"Bye." As she watched him walk out the door, she smiled to herself.
One hurdle passed.
The rest of the day would follow the same pattern as any other day, with two more exceptions. She met with Dr. Frish and Sarah Bergman, her resident, and had much the same conversation with them as she had had with Dr. Lyman. The nurses continued to act as they always did, but there was a noticeable lessening of tensions among the rest of her staff.
TBC
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