The Senator's Vote

"Great job today, Keith and Amanda. I know it didn't all go as planned but at least the hostile was taken out and Senator Edwards arrived at the Senate Meeting safely."

"Thanks, James," we said.

"Is Pete all right?" Keith asked.

"He had a nasty hit to the head and a concussion. He was admitted to Washington Memorial to keep an eye on him for the night.

"We'll have to give him a call." I said to Keith.

"Ya, on our way to the park."

"So, you two have earned your week off. Thank you both for your help today, I know it may have set you back a bit. But you still have plenty of time. And, I'll get out of the way and let Kim do her job so you can get out of here even faster," James said. He started to walk away but stopped. "Oh, but Amy and Fred are ready to take your statements and debrief you both before you go. Thank you again."

"You're welcome, James. See you later tonight."

"See you later." He walked out.

"Let's go to Exam Room 3, it has a portable x-ray," Kim said.

We followed her in and Keith took off his jacket and shirt then carefully laid down on the exam table as Kim handed me a x-ray vest which I put on. It was heavy and uncomfortable. Kim took the x-ray after removing the vest I sat in a chair beside the exam table. Keith sat back up and swung his legs over the side so that he was facing me. I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Let's check your hand while the x-ray develops." Kim grabbed a stool and pulled it up next to me.

I didn't argue, as I knew that she wouldn't let it be until I did. She was the kind of doctor who liked to check other's people work and make sure they did it right. I held out my hand and she unwrapped the bandages. After examining the sutures she nodded.

"Nicely done, you probably won't even have a scar." She got up and took fresh gauze and bandages out of the cupboard then rewrapped my hand.

She then got up to check the computer which was connected to the x-ray and brought the images up on a lighted screen. She studied the chest x-rays and nodded.

She turned to Keith. "Third and fourth ribs on your right side are broken. No punctures, it was clean break. You'll heal in three to four weeks. I can wrap you up so it's a little more comfortable, but you need to take it easy for the next few days. No heavy lifting and no field work for at least two weeks." She looked at me. "That goes for you as well, no field work until your hand heals."