“Doctor Ratner,” Sabrina’s voice was even, “I suggest you return your attention to the patient’s EKG and away from the scene unfolding outside this room.”
The raised voices wafting in were difficult to ignore—but not impossible. Unlike the majority of both the medical and security staff present in the room it appeared only Sabrina had chosen to tune out histrionics of the shrill blonde down the hallway. She knew who the woman was; Hastings had informed her she was Audrey Raines, the patient’s daughter.
‘Well,’ Sabrina noted silently, ‘Raines is a pain…in my ass!’
As if on cue, the ‘pain’ started anew.
~*~
“I’m sorry you’re displeased, Audrey,” Hastings replied.
Silently, he counted backwards from 10. This day was already shaping up to be a category 3 shit storm; he knew if he let Heller’s daughter get under his skin it would leapfrog to category 5 in a matter of seconds. Satisfied both his temper and patience were once again in check he addressed the worried but nonetheless grating party before him.
“Still, I stand by my decision to bring in Dr. DeLane. Now, I have no control over how you view her, or the—uninformed, might I add—opinion you have of her. But the fact remains, I told you I would get the best surgeon in the world to operate on your father, and I have done just that, Audrey. Right now, she is the only thing standing between your father and otherwise certain death! But, if you feel, based solely on her choice of attire no less, she’s not the woman for the job?” With a sweep of his hand he gestured towards the exam room. “By all means, be my guest…”
Hastings took Audrey’s silence as concession.
“Good. Now if you’ll come with me, I’d like to bring you up to speed on what the CTU doctors told me about your father’s condition.” Draping his arm about her shoulder he led her towards his office. “This way, you’ll be fully informed when Dr. DeLane is ready to go over her assessment with you.”
‘I should definitely get sick more often…’
That was the first thought to register for Jack Bauer as he entered the exam room of Medical at the New York branch of CTU.
Upon first glance it would be easy to be distracted by the stunning, statuesque woman at Heller’s bedside now, absently it seemed, taking his pulse as she conversed with the staff physician.
No doubt, the halter styled snow colored Adam Selman floor length gown she wore contributed considerably to the diversion of his thoughts. The designer garment elegantly draped her statuesque frame, yet still managed to fit like the proverbial glove—all the while offering a most liberal glimpse of a seemingly endless toned, lithe leg and highlighting the curves of what was no doubt an incredible body.
“I was looking for Secretary Heller’s daughter, Audrey,” Jack replied.
Sabrina turned at the sound of the voice – a somewhat gravelly yet low, throaty rumble that she likened to the sound of distant thunder – and was pleased to find the visuals were as striking as the vocals they accompanied.
“Are you family?”
“No,” Jack replied. “I’m a Federal Agent with CTU; Director of Field Operations. I used to be Special Assistant to Secretary Heller. I’m now…I’m a family friend.”
Sabrina proceeded to test Heller’s reflexes as she spoke. “Do you have a name, family friend?”
“Agent…Jack Bauer.” He stepped closer to Heller’s bed. “I take it you’re Sabrina DeLane…Doctor Sabrina DeLane?” he corrected.
“If I’m not,” she looked up and grinned, “things are gonna get really interesting when the surgery starts!”
“Yeah,” Jack laughed softly, “I guess they would.”
No stranger to beautiful women, there was something beyond the obvious physical attributes on display that piqued Jack’s curiosity—a very potent yet intangible air that went beyond the stereotypical “surgeon’s ego.” She seemed to wear the attributes of confidence and strength as easily and elegantly as she did the custom gown showcasing her shapely frame. Jack watched intrigued as first her chiseled toffee features hardened ever so slightly in response to something the doctor whispered in her ear that she obviously found issue with then as she turned her attention back to the patient, briefly register a look that could at best be described as approval. Even as the slew of monitors that recorded Heller’s vital signs began to broadcast their results in an almost alarming symphony, with her free hand she smoothly placed it atop the chest of the understandably concerned patient as she deftly ceased taking his pulse with the other and gently squeezed the hand, giving him a smile that while no doubt practiced to perfection still somehow managed to convey warmth and above all assurance.
“Agent Bauer,” Sabrina began slowly, “I need you to do me a huge favor. Two actually.”
“Sure,” Jack responded in kind. The beautiful doctor’s almost cautious tone was not lost on him.
“One, I need to get out of these shoes; my feet are killing me. And seeing as I will be on my feet for the next four or five hours for certain, I need to take what small amount of relief I can when I can. So if you wouldn’t mind?” she tossed over her shoulder then slowly but gracefully lifted her left foot.
“Yeah, sure,” Jack nodded as he knelt before her.
As his gaze fell upon the strappy, bejeweled stilettos silently he marveled never had he found a pair of shoes as sensual as he did those at that moment. With the same precision and delicate touch he used when dismantling a bomb, Jack wrapped his fingers about the tawny slender ankle extended before him. The faint ripple of flesh beneath his fingers was accompanied by what he could only describe as a jolt of electricity coursing through his digits as they gingerly curled about the joint. Seconds later his cerulean gaze darted to hers and found chocolaty orbs alit with surprise holding his stare. Each held the other’s gaze for several seconds more until Jack had successfully undone the sandal’s jewel encrusted ankle strap and slid the shoe from her foot. Sabrina returned her attention to the situation at hand and Jack did likewise, removing the second shoe in silence.
“Thank you,” Sabrina said softly.
“You’re welcome.” Rising to his feet, Jack asked, “What’s the second thing you need?” He watched intrigued as the surgeon, a smile of reassurance once again on her face, look towards Heller.
“I need Mr. Hastings in here.”
Her gaze never leaving Heller’s, she was the picture of calm and confidence. So it was quite a shock to hear her next comment.
“Now.”
“Poisoned?!” Audrey and Hastings both wore matching expressions of disbelief.
“You have got to be kidding me! Are you for real?!” Audrey asked. “My father was poisoned.” She repeated the statement slowly, as if doing so would somehow make it less ludicrous. “This is the conclusion from, and I quote you, Brian, ‘the world’s best Neurosurgeon’…whom you chose!” Accusingly she pointed her finger in his direction. “You told me you were getting him the best, Brian,” Audrey said through gritted teeth, “not someone with all the intellect of a damn…fashion model!”
“Are you finished?” Sabrina asked calmly. “I am a Neurologist. I know the pathways of the body’s nervous system like most people know their own reflections. More importantly, and luckily I might add for your father, I have a…” She paused as the faintest of smiles tickled the corner of her mouth. “Shall we say…an ‘intimate’ working knowledge the effects of expertly administered toxins.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t.” Sabrina gave Audrey her most saccharine, condescending smile. “It’s all in the file CTU no doubt has compiled on my family, the Cassadines. Trust me when I tell you we are quite familiar with this sort of thing.”
“You think this is a joke?!”
“No, I do not.” Sabrina gave a resolute shake of her head. “But I have seen first-hand the effects of what a powerful neurotoxin can do. And I am not talking about the type that is medically administered, Miss Raines. Your father is exhibiting all the symptoms. Now you have two options. One. Stand there and continue to attempt to insult me by making what you believe to be snarky but are really benign comments about my attire and my credentials and capabilities as a surgeon—and in the process waste extremely precious seconds your father does not have. Or... Two. Give your consent, shut up, and stand back as I do what no single other person in this building has the ability to.”
“And what is that?” Audrey ground out.
“Save your father’s life.”
