Obsession With My EX-wife

Chapter 26: Much Ado About Ryan

When Catherine heard that Ryan Williams's care was being transferred to Dr. Carl, she was stupefied. "D-Did I d-do s-something wrong?" she stammered.

Dr. Shelton: "This is not a discussion. My mind is made upon this matter. You can leave."

Having no other recourse, Catherine sighed as she stood up, and she left the department head's office. This was the worst outcome she could have imagined, especially after all the progress that Ryan had made with her. It was frustrating. She had no idea how she would explain this to the boy.

Catherine went to her office to try to calm down. She wasn't in there for long, though, before Zoey popped her head in and said, "Good morning."

Catherine looked up in surprise, and she forced herself to smile and say, "Good morning to you too."

Zoey walked in and said, "I heard that Shelton assigned your patient to Dr. Carl."

Catherine: "Where did you hear that?"

Zoey: "As soon as you left Shelton's office, he talked to Dr. Carl, and then Carl bragged about it to everyone else. He has been working at the hospital longer than you, but you are much more professional. You must be upset – I mean, I can tell that you are. You put so much effort into coaxing the kid out of his shell, and now someone else is going to get the credit for your hard work!"

Catherine: "I am upset, but you are right about Dr. Carl. He has been working at the hospital longer than me, and he has seen more patients than I have. Ryan Williams is in good hands. I have no wish to say anything bad about Dr. Carl. After all, the case was given to him. He didn't take it."

Zoey: "I appreciate your perspective. I am learning a lot from you."

Catherine smiled and said nothing more. She was still trying to figure out what she would say when she saw Ryan.

***

After reading Ryan William's Case File and Progress Report, Dr. Carl made his way to the Children's Ward to introduce himself to his new patient. When he got to the door, he knocked, and Ryan – thinking that he was Catherine - invited him in. But when the boy saw that it was not his regular doctor, he glared at Carl and ordered him to get out of his room.

Dr. Carl was stunned. He knew that Ryan had been difficult, but after all the work that Catherine had done, he had expected a warmer welcome. When he didn't leave, Ryan yelled at him again, but he held his ground. "Ryan," he said, "I will be your primary physician from now on."

Ryan: "My attending doctor is Catherine!"

Dr. Carl frowned. He said, "She was your attending doctor, but the head of the department asked me to take over your case. Don't worry. I am as capable as Dr. Winston, and I fully intend to cure you!"

Ryan grabbed the vase from the nightstand and threw it against the wall. "I said, get out!" he shouted.

Dr. Carl flinched as the vase shattered, and he ran out of the room as fast as he could. This patient is too dangerous – he thought – If Dr. Winston can handle him, then he should be on her caseload! With this in mind, he headed straight for Dr. Shelton's office.

When Shelton saw Carl, he frowned and said, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your new patient?"

Dr. Carl: "The boy wants Dr. Winston. When I told him about the change, he threw a fit and smashed a vase against the wall. If you don't want her to be his attending physician, could you please handle his case personally?"

Dr. Shelton thought about it for a moment. He agreed to the proposal, and they walked back to Ryan's room together. When they reached the door, Dr. Carl said, "I'm not going in. Not after what happened last time. No way!"

Shelton nodded, pushed open the door, and walked in alone. He had previously witnessed Ryan losing his temper, so he knew what to expect. When he saw the boy, he said, "Hi, Ryan." But before he could say anything more, Ryan ordered him to leave.

"I come here to talk to you about your attending doctor," Dr. Shelton said. "Listen; Catherine has a full docket, so she cannot care for you anymore. But you're Dr. Carl's only patient. He can devote all of his time to you. Wouldn't that be better?"

Ryan: "No. I want Dr. Winston to be my doctor."

Shelton asked Ryan why he wanted Catherine so badly, but he refused to answer. The boy folded his arms across his chest and refused to speak. Shelton had no idea what was going on. When he had been there earlier, he overheard Catherine quarreling with the boy. It had seemed that he didn't want to work with her, but now he refused to work with anybody other than her. It made no sense.

Dr. Carl was waiting in the hallway when Dr. Shelton came out of Ryan's room. He looked at Carl and said, "Well, that's that: he will have to be returned to Dr. Winston's caseload."

Dr. Carl frowned as he looked inside Ryan's room. The commission on this patient would have been huge, so he had been excited to have him on his caseload.

***

There was a knock on Catherine's office door. She looked up and, thinking that it was Zoey, she said, "Come in," without hesitation. Then, when she saw that it was Dr. Shelton, she was taken aback. What now? - she thought.