Chapter 58: Bloodwork
âSerena, I got the lab results back for the annual physicals,â Adriana said, dropping a pile of folder in
front of Serena at the Nurseâs station. âThanks?â Serena asked, looking up at her boss and raising an
eyebrow. Adriana chuckled. âCan you go through them and make sure everything is normal?â she
asked. âSure,â Serena said. âYou can use my office is you want some privacy,â Adriana offered. Serena
left the nurseâs station, a large stack of files in her arms. Going over the bloodwork numbers was
necessary work, but it was monotonous all the same. âIâll bring the next batch in when the lab finishes
them,â Adriana called after her. Serena waved a hand over her shoulder in acknowledgement.
Annual blood panels would test for any potential diseases or health concerns that pack members had
to be aware of. It also covered pregnancy in females. Serena took a seat at Adrianaâs new desk. She
had gotten an entirely remodeled office with the rest of the hospital renovations. She got right to work
going over the blood panels. Pen in hand, Serena made small marks next to any of the results that had
come back with levels that warranted further investigation. Most were small, just little deficiencies here
and there, or low or high blood pressure, cholesterol, and sodium levels.
If there was anything more concerning, Serena would circle it and put a sticky note on the page with
her notes on the test. Of course, she had to go back and compare each result with the medical history
of each pack member to make sure the results aligned with any pre-existing conditions they might
have.
After a while, Serena had her legs up on Adrianaâs desk. She was leaning back in her chair, chewing
on her pen cap as she went over another file of medical history and new lab results.
Her eyes were starting to blur a little, all the results bleeding together.
âHowâs it going?â Adriana asked, coming in with another stack of files. âI think Iâd read this one already.â
Serena mumbled, tossing the page on the desk. She rubbed her eyes and stretched. âI know, it is a lot
to go through,â Adriana said. âIâm here to help for a few hours, though.â
âThanks,â Serena said with a smile. She stretched her arms over her head. âIâm not giving you your
chair back.â
Adriana laughed and pulled another chair up to the opposite side of the desk.
âYou seem like you are due for a break,â Adriana said, handing Serena a small bag of chips. âYes,
please!â Serena said, popping the bag open and indulging in the snack. âAre the kids settling back into
the house alright?â Adriana asked, getting comfortable with a file. âThey are,â Serena said. âThey keep
pestering me about seeing Logan again.â âOh, they miss him?â Adriana asked, looking up from the
paper in her hands. âThey think he is fun, more fun than my other friends,â Serena said with a sigh.
âWhat other friends?â Adriana asked, raising an eyebrow. Serena sighed. She hadnât talked about it
much with anyone, because she didnât want word to get back to Logan before she really knew what
was going on. She wanted to
talk to someone though, someone closer to her age than her mother. âBeta Carson and I have spent a
little time together, socially,â Serena explained. âLike, youâre dating him?â Adriana asked. âNo, no!â
Serena insisted, shaking her head. âNothing like that. I mean, I think that is what he wants, but things
are..complicated.â âComplicated how?â Adriana pressed. Serena sighed, finishing off her chips. âWith
the kids and everything,â she said vaguely. âCarson doesnât like them?â she asked. âNo, he likes them a
lot,â she said. âThey think he is a little boring. Besides, I didnât come here to date. Sure, Iâd like to settle
down, eventually, but my focus right now is my career and my kids.â Adriana laughed, shuffling some
files around. âWell, at least you are making connections within the pack,â Adriana said. âBeta Carson is
a good man.â âYes, he is,â Serena agreed, picking up another folder to get working on. She scanned
over the bloodwork, and something didnât look quite right. Tilting her head to the side, Serena hummed.
âSomething wrong?â Adriana asked. âMaybe, I donât know,â she said. âThere was another file I was
looking at.â âWhose?â Adriana asked.
âHollyâsâ she said. Adriana raised an eyebrow and shifted some of the folders around.
âHere it is,â she said, handing Serena Hollyâs file.
Serena took out the most recent blood panel results from Hollyâs annual physical and compared it with
the other one she had in her hand. âThis female,â Serena said, handing over the blood panel she was
reviewing. âDoes it look identical to Hollyâs?â She passed Adriana both sheets. Adriana hummed as she
looked them over. âThey do look very similar. You better have them both in again to make sure the
samples were run correctly,â she said.
Serena picked up the phone and called both Holly and the other female. The first female was easy and
compliant. She was concerned that something could be wrong and scheduled her workup that
afternoon. âWhat do you want?â Holly asked when Serena called her, letting her know who it was.
âThere are some concerns about your recent bloodwork,â Serena said. âI think you should come in so
we can take another sample and run the tests again.â âConcerns, what kind of concerns?â Holly asked
snidely. âLike the results are identical to another female,â Serena said. âThe samples might have gotten
mislabeled. Can you come in so we can run the tests again?â âNo!â Holly snapped. âWhy would I do
that? You messed up at your job, and now | have to rearrange my whole schedule just so you can fix
the mistake?â Serena blinked several times, surprised by Hollyâs hostile reaction. Most expecting
mothers were more concerned about their health and the health of their babies if anything came up as
a possible problem. âThis is a matter of health, your health and the health of your baby.â Serena
pointed out. âIt would be best to confirm that everything is okay.â âLook, I know my body,â Holly insisted.
âI am fine, my baby is fine. I donât need to be poked and prodded. More blood draws would just be
stressful and cause the baby distress.â âA blood draw is perfectly safe for a fetus and expecting
mother,â Serena assured. âIâm not doing it!â Holly snapped before hanging up. âThat sounded like it
went wellâ Adriana said with a chuckle. Serena shook her head. âYea, it was greatâ she muttered. âI
donât know why she was getting so defensive. It seems like she isnât that concerned about getting the
right results, or learning whether or not her baby is healthy.â
âShe is high maintenance,â Adriana agreed.
âShould I tell Logan?â Serena asked. Adriana scoffed.
âThat is drama I donât want to get involved in,â she admitted. âBut it is a little suspicious.â
âYea, it is,â Serena agreed. When she had been pregnant, she knew she couldnât be too careful. If a
doctor had told her she needed her blood drawn again, she wouldnât have hesitated, just like the other
female that was coming in that afternoon! âYou look like youâre thinking hard,â Adriana said. Serena
sighed. âI got the sense that she was hiding something,â Serena admitted. âLike she was mad at me for
discovering her lie. I donât know what she could be hiding though! Without the follow up bloodwork
there is nothing I could know.â âYou think she is trying to keep a secret from getting out?â Adriana
asked. Serena shrugged. She wouldnât put it past Holly to try something nefarious, but she didnât know
what a female like Holly would need to lie about. She had pack status, she had a strong bloodline, and
she was with the Alpha. Serena shook her head, breaking up her thoughts. âI donât knowâ she admitted.
âI should tell Logan. If Holly is endangering their baby for any reason, he ahs the right to know.â âThat is
a dangerous line to cross,â Adriana warned. âIâm telling him as a doctor, not as a friend or gossip,â
Serena pointed out. âJust, be carefulâ Adriana warned. âHolly isnât the forgiving type. I wouldnât want to
get tangled in her mess, especially if she is lying and desperate to cover that up.â Serena shrugged.
âIâm worried about her baby, and that is something that Logan has an interest in too,â Serena said.
âThere is no reason she should be hiding anything from him, no reason that she should be denying
herself or her child healthcare right now. The Alpha has the right to know and intervene if need be.â|
âLagree, but Iâm not making the call,â Adriana said with a smirk. Serena rolled her eyes and picked up
the phone again to call Logan.
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