Where’s My Baby?

Mornings at the 1-5 had grown tense and quiet. Danny buried his face in his paperwork, but he couldn’t keep himself from glancing to his left at Diane. He sat back and inhaled gratefully when Andy entered the squad room and hung his jacket on the peg. A warm smile and a nod later, Danny felt like part of the squad again.

“Diane,” Andy nodded in her direction.

“Morning, Andy,” she smiled up at him.

“Gotta minute?” he asked, nodding his head at the coffee room. She nodded back and rose to follow him into the back. Danny blew out with disgust and then leaned over his desk, scowling again at the pages before him.

Andy closed the door behind Diane, then turned and asked, “What did Dr. Pachla say?”

“I couldn’t reach her. I left three messages on her machine to warn her that she was in danger. I thought I’d drop by her office this morning. Her receptionist said she’d be in by ten.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“Yeah. That would be great,” Diane nodded, and then poured a cup of coffee. “Like I need more caffeine today.”

“Good morning, Angie,” Dr. Pachla smiled warmly as she stopped by the reception desk to pick up her patient’s chart.

“Hi, Dr. Pachla. Hey, Dr. Muzquíz wants to see you.”

“Okay. I’ll just finish with this patient, and I’ll go right down there.”

“Right now.”

“Oh. Uh, okay. I hope he won’t be long. I have someone waiting in Exam 4.” Dr. Pachla shrugged, then walked down the hall to Dr. Muzquíz’s office. He wasn’t in, so she walked by the exam rooms and peeked through the peepholes. Dr. Muzquíz was busy in Exam 3 with a patient who was on a table, so Dr. Pachla decided not to interrupt their session. She went into Exam 4 and greeted her patient. Seconds later, the door burst open and Dr. Muzquíz stormed into the room.

“I thought Angie told you to come directly to me,” he boomed.