“Get me a corpsman. A Chief. Someone who has actually worn the uniform.
I’m not letting a civilian touch me.”
Sarah stood her ground. She didn’t flinch. She didn’t retreat.
She simply clasped her hands in front of her. “Colonel Sterling, refusing care is your right, but I am the only one available to help you right now. You are sweating, your pupils are dilated, and you are favoring your left side to the point of causing secondary strain on your lumbar spine.
You are in agony. Let me help you.”
“I said no,” Sterling barked, his voice echoing off the linoleum floors. “I’ll wait for Halloway.
And while I wait, get me someone with a rank on their collar, not a union card in their pocket.”
He turned his back on her and limped aggressively toward a row of chairs, sitting down with a grimace that laid bare his suffering. Sarah watched him for a long moment. A younger nurse might have run off to cry in the break room.
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