Episode 21:

 

Burning Love

 

“Choose your attitude,” Nick had once been advised by a wise college professor of his; it was one of four sayings that accompanied the professor’s philosophy on how to live life and make a difference.  Choosing your attitude meant that you got decide how to feel about or react to the situations that came your way.  But to Nick, on this particular day, there was no choice in the matter.

 

Today was going to suck – that was a fact – and the most positive attitude in the world was not going to change it.

 

It was Valentine’s Day, a day which normally sucked anyway, because it was mushy and gushy, expensive and full of expectations if you had a girlfriend, and lonely and pathetic if you didn’t.

 

For years, Nick had been in the latter category, one of the poor pathetic souls in his class at school who couldn’t get a girlfriend because he was scrawny and the girls thought he was weird, that loner who drummed in the marching band, sang in the show choir, and played video games in his free time.  He’d never had many friends; at his school, the cool kids were the jocks, not the music geeks, and while Nick had been on the basketball team, technically, he had spent more time warming the bench than actually playing.

 

Then puberty had finally hit in full force, and Nick had quickly entered the former, the club of guys with girlfriends, girlfriends who liked him more for his looks than anything else and expected roses, chocolates, and a fancy dinner on Valentine’s Day.  As Nick, too, had dated the vast majority of his string of high school and college girlfriends more for their looks than anything else, he had quickly come to loathe the “holiday” even more than he had when he was pathetic and single.  He hated blowing his hard-earned money on girls he didn’t really care about anyway.

 

But this year, it was different.  He poorer than ever, but now that he was with Isabel, he found that he really did care.  He wanted to give her a nice gift and take her out for a romantic dinner.  She was the only thing in his life that had been keeping him sane lately, as his surgical rotation had been intense.  She was what he looked forward to, even more than sleep, on the rare days they both had off.

 

Though he was working today, he had managed to avoid being scheduled for the night shift and had looked forward to being able to spend the evening of Valentine’s Day with Isabel.

 

The only problem was, she had been stuck with the night shift.  And all of her attempts to trade shifts had failed.  No one wanted to work the night of Valentine’s Day, and she was the lowest rung on the ladder in the cardiology department.  And so, while other couples were out trading heart-shaped Valentine’s cards and sampling chocolates from heart-shaped boxes, Isabel would be examining real hearts at the hospital.

 

It was valiant, sure… but it sucked.  It sucked big time.

 

So as Nick changed into his scrubs and sterile gown and went to scrub in for his first surgery of the morning, it was hard to follow his professor’s advice.  He was working while Isabel was off, and as soon as he got off, she would be starting her shift.  There wouldn’t even be time to meet for dinner.

 

And his mentor wasn’t even on call today.  Dr. Richardson had the day off, and he didn’t even have a girlfriend anymore.  It wasn’t fair.  Now Nick would be stuck working under the critical eye of Dr. Brunson all day, which made his predicament even worse.

 

Yes, choosing a positive attitude was going to be near impossible.

 

+++

 

Kevin Richardson looked around his apartment with a critical eye. To his disappointment, not a thing was out of place... every book was arranged (in alphabetical order) on the shelves, his DVD collection was categorized by genre (with sub-sections in alphabetical order, of course), his current magazines were stacked neatly on his otherwise immaculate coffee table (not alphabetized, but in date-of-publication order), and not a mote of dust could be seen on a single surface (even his mother would be in awe).

 

The rug had been vacuumed several times (although it was brand-new), the furniture had been arranged and re-arranged a dozen ways until everything was just right. There wasn't a streak on the expansive windows that overlooked the scenic view of the river and surrounding woods; indeed, there wasn't a thing out of place.

 

Which left him with an entire day off and not a single thing left to do.

 

Oh, he'd tried to get in a shift at the hospital; had practically begged, but Brunson had declared that he was taking the day off, no arguments. She said that he had put in far too much time in the last two months and that she wouldn't allow him to burn out, not while she was in charge of things. When the Chief of Staff said such, in that tone, one didn't bother to protest.

 

Glancing at the clock, Kevin wondered what in the world he was going to do for the ten remaining hours that marked Valentine's Day.

 

Without Elizabeth... without a significant other... the day sort of sucked. A whole day devoted to love and romance... fine, if you were connected. Lousy if you weren't.

 

He sighed, then was struck by a thought. Groceries! Surely he needed to re-stock on some basics. If he took his time, and went to the market across town, it'd take him at least an hour. Happily, he grabbed his coat, grateful for something to do.

 

To his chagrin, the grocery store didn't provide the escape from Valentine's that he had hoped for. Instead, the aisles were packed full of bouquets, chocolates, decadent treats, cards, balloons... when had grocery stores turned into mini-malls, anyway?... and a hundred other reminders of romance. By the time he'd turned his cart down the coffee aisle, he was muttering under his breath about hating the color red.

 

He looked up at the sound of a familiar laugh.

 

“Now there's something... a surgeon hating the color red.”

 

“Hayley!”

 

“What you doing here, Kev, slumming?” she teased, her hazel eyes full of laughter.

 

“I just kind of needed to get out of my apartment for a while, decided to get a change of scenery. What about you?”

 

“I was down to a can of tuna and some bendable celery. Desperation set in, so I figured it was time to get some supplies.”

 

A silence settled between the two friends for a moment. Hayley looked into his cart and raised an eyebrow. “Three frozen dinners, six eggs, and a head of lettuce? Wow, you're going all out.”

 

“Well... I haven't gotten to the pasta section yet...” he defended.

 

She rolled her eyes. “I know you can cook, I've seen you do it. And don't tell me you can't afford stuff, not on your extravagant salary.”

 

“I deserve every penny I make,” he said, a small grin appearing. “Especially for putting up with certain surgical nurses on my team.”

 

“Oh? Who are they? I'll have a talk with them.”

 

Kevin finally laughed. “I knew coming here was a good idea.” He looked down for a second. “Truth is, it's been hard being alone since Liz and I broke up. I mean... why cook, just for one person?”

 

“I know what you mean,” Hayley said. “There are days when my dinner consists of popcorn and Hershey bars.”

 

He made a face. “That's sad, Hay.”

 

“Don't I know it,” she said, shrugging. Then, her eyes narrowed. “You don't have any plans for tonight, do you?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Neither do I. And you know what? The last thing I want to do is sit home feeling sorry for myself, and I bet you feel the same.”

 

“Well, I sure don't want to sit home feeling sorry for you, that's true.”

 

She gave him a smack on the arm. “Kev, you're such a doofus. You know what I mean.”

 

He smiled. “Yeah, I do. So what are you suggesting?”

 

“Let's go out to dinner. Someplace where we can talk and laugh and have someone else cook, serve, and do the dishes afterwards.”

 

“Tonight? But it's Valentine's Day-”

 

“And?”

 

He blinked. Hayley was right.

 

“That sure sounds better than scrambled eggs with a side of self-pity,” he said.

 

“Great!” she said. “I'll pick a place and you can buy dinner. Sound fair?”

 

“Wait a minute, how come I-”

 

“Because you make the big bucks,” she interrupted with a smirk. “Deal?”

 

He laughed once again. “Deal, you crazy woman. How about I pick you up around seven?”

 

“Perfect. It'll be our Un-Valentine's dinner.”

 

With a smile, she gave him a wink and continued down the aisle. By the time Kevin had paid for his purchases, he was truly looking forward to a fun dinner with his best friend, romance be damned.

 

+++

 

Imagine having your appendix burst on Valentine’s Day.  Nick shook his head as he walked out of the OR, feeling sorry for the woman he had just assisted Dr. Brunson in operating on.  Valerie Abrams would not be feeling up to eating a box of chocolates anytime today.  He still thought it sucked that he and Isabel would not get to do anything special for the holiday, but at least they’d be here at the hospital as staff, rather than patients.  Things could always be worse.

 

He disposed of his surgical gown and washed his hands before heading to his locker in the lounge to grab his lab coat.  Slipping the white coat on over his scrubs, he instinctively shoved his hands in the pockets of it as he wandered back out.  His fingers brushed something stiff, a smallish, thickish piece of paper.  Confused as to what he might have put in his coat pocket (he didn’t remember sticking anything in there), he pulled the paper out.

 

It was a small index card, he saw, folded over once.  He didn’t recognize it, but when he opened it up, he did recognize the handwriting.

 

Big, loopy, and flowing, it was undeniably Isabel’s.

 

 

It said:

 

You’ve been working hard with surgical tools,

But I hope that you didn’t forget…

It’s Valentine’s Day, and I have a gift for you.

To find it, go to where we first met.

 

 

Nick smiled.  A treasure hunt; she was sending him on some kind of treasure hunt for his “gift.”   He could recognize a clue when he found one in his pocket.  It even rhymed.  He wasn’t surprised.  Isabel was just the type of girl who would take the time to make her clue rhyme.

 

He read it over again, focusing on the last line.  Go to where we first met.

 

That was easy.  They’d met here at the hospital, though not on this floor.  Downstairs, on their way into the ER, the first day of their rotation.  He would never forget how nervous he had been, and how confident she had seemed, and how her smile had both relaxed him and twisted his stomach into even tighter knots because it was such a beautiful smile.

 

His own smile growing, he slipped the clue back into his pocket and ducked out of the lounge, stopping by the nurses’ station just long enough to announce that he was running downstairs and would be back in a minute.  He hoped Brunson wouldn’t be looking for him, but he didn’t really care.  At this particular moment, he would gladly endure a lecture from the head surgeon just to satisfy his curiosity about Isabel’s note.

 

Taking the stairs two at a time, Nick trotted down to ground level and wove his way through the ER, which was bustling as usual.  He waved a few quick hellos to the nurses he’d gotten to know, but was glad they seemed too busy to stop and chat.  He was on a mission. 

 

He slowed as he reached the entrance on the other side of the emergency department.  This was where he had met Isabel, when they’d arrived together that first morning.  Looking around, he wondered where the clue might be.  There weren’t exactly a lot of places to stick a piece of paper and not worry about someone else picking it up.

 

He didn’t see it anywhere on this side of the double doors, so he pushed through them and stood on the other side.  It was quieter here and, for now, deserted.  He took his time, hunting for any place where a note could be wedged.  His eyes were drawn upward, to the sign over the doors that said Emergency Room, and as he stared up at it, he was taken back to the first time he’d lain eyes on it.

 

 

Looking up at the sign mounted over the doorway, he gulped.  Now that he was here in front of these doors, his stomach was cramping up horribly with nerves, and he felt slightly nauseous.

 

He took a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach.  He was so busy worrying and trying to get up the courage to open those doors that he didn’t even notice the soft footsteps of someone walking down the hall towards him.  It was only when he heard the voice that he realized someone had come up behind him.

 

“Let me guess – med student?”

 

Nick whirled around, surprised, to find a petite young woman standing behind him.  “Uh… yeah,” he choked out, his heart pounding.  “How did you guess?”

 

She smiled.  “It was pretty obvious.”  Laughing, she added, “You look terrified.”

 

For some reason, Nick suddenly felt much more at ease.  Her smile and laugh were contagious, and he couldn’t help but sheepishly smile himself.  “Yeah, I’m pretty nervous,” he admitted.  “So, how about you?  Are you a med student too?” 

 

She slid the strap of the large bag she was carrying back onto her shoulder and nodded.  “Yup.  Isabel Rivera.  I’m a third year too.”  She held out a hand, and Nick shook it.  Now that he had relaxed a bit, he had a chance to step back and take a good look at her.  She was quite pretty, Hispanic, with bronze skin, dark curly hair, and chocolate brown eyes.

 

“I’m Nick Carter.” 

 

 

Nick grinned now, not just because of the memory, but because he had spotted a small bit of white poking out from behind the gray sign.  Reaching up, he pulled out another folded index card that had been wedged behind the sign so that only a corner was peeking out for him to find.

 

Unfolding the card, he read the second message.

 

 

Hello, Nick!  You’re well on your way

To getting your gift for Valentine’s Day,

But while you’re down here, you might as well stop

At Memorial’s own handy gift shop.

 

 

More rhyming, he thought and smiled, pocketing the note as he walked down the hall to the gift shop.  He hadn’t the slightest idea where to even begin to find a clue hidden in here, but thankfully, he didn’t have to look.  As soon as he walked into the shop, the woman behind the counter looked up, smiled, and motioned him over.

 

“Mr. Carter,” she said, reading his ID badge.  “I believe I have something for you.”   And she reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a third note.

 

“Thank you,” replied Nick as he took it, surprised at how easy that had been.  He stepped back to read the third clue.

 

 

By now you’ve read clues two and one,

And now you’re onto the third.

Could this be the charm?  Just ask Dr. Chung!

P.S.  Put in a good word!

 

 

Nick chuckled; apparently her mentor, Dr. Shannon Chung, was in on this charade too.  Guessing he was to head up to cardiology next, he thanked the gift shop cashier for the clue and hurried to the elevators.

 

He was lucky to bump into Dr. Chung right in the hallway of the cardiology department.  Clearing his throat, he said to her, “Hi, um, I’m Nick Carter; I’m a med student in surgery.  Um, do you by chance have anything for me from your student, Isabel?”

 

“Oh!  Mr. Carter.”   The cardiologist’s almond eyes brightened with recognition, and Nick felt a surge of triumph, which quickly turned to confusion when she said, “I thought you came up for your EKG.”

 

“Huh?”  Nick was puzzled.  “What EKG?”

 

Dr. Chung arched one slender brow.  “I thought your mentor would have told you.  The administration is requiring that all staff members undergo a routine EKG, just as a precautionary measure.”

 

Nick frowned.  “Why?  I’ve never heard of that.”

 

“They don’t want any liability issues, I suppose.  Over in Indian Valley last year, a nurse died of an MI while on duty.  His family tried to blame it on the hospital – rigors of the job and such – but the autopsy showed he had an abnormality which could have been detected with a simple EKG.  If they’d caught it earlier, they could have treated it and prevented his death.  Such a tragedy,” she added regrettably, shaking her head.  “If you’d like, we could get your EKG out of the way now.”

 

“What?  No, I can’t,” Nick said quickly, “I’m on call in surgery, and I’m not even really on a break; I just came down to-”

 

“No worries.  If they page you, the tech can stop it early,” Dr. Chung replied breezily.  “I’m on good terms with the head of surgery.  You won’t be in any trouble.”

 

“Brunson?”  Nick was surprised that anyone could be on good terms with Holli Brunson.  Dr. Richardson was the closest, but Nick had seen even him butt heads with Brunson.

 

“We’re slow today.  I can get you set up right now; it won’t take long.  Why don’t you come with me?”

 

Nick’s first impulse was to keep resisting; he didn’t want to do this.  But Dr. Chung, in her subdued, patient way, was oddly persuasive, and before he knew it, Nick found himself on a cot in a room with her telling him to take his scrub top off.   “The tech will be here in just a few minutes to get you started,” she promised when he did, and left.

 

What am I getting myself into? thought Nick, as he sat shirtless on the cot, looking around the room.  He felt jumpy; something about this just didn’t seem right.  Why hadn’t he heard anything about this requirement?

 

Then the door opened, and the tech walked in, and Nick felt, if anything, more uneasy.  She – he could tell she was a woman only because she was short – was gowned up fully, the way he dressed for the OR, in baggy scrubs, a surgical gown that hid her body, a cap over her hair, and a mask over her mouth and nose.  All he could see of her was her eyes, and just as he opened his mouth to tell her that she must be in the wrong place, he recognized them.

 

Her eyes.  Deep brown and sparkling, like two pools of molten chocolate, he could gaze into them for hours.

 

He swallowed, a sigh of relief escaping his throat, where his heart had been lodged.  “Are you here to check my heart, Dr. Rivera?” he asked, smirking up at her.

 

As the mask came down, Isabel’s grin was revealed.  “Did it skip a beat when you recognized me?” she returned, her lovely lips curving upwards.

 

“It did,” Nick nodded.

 

Isabel smiled again, radiant.  “Then there’s no need.  Things are just the way they should be.”

 

Nick snickered.  “You just wanted an excuse to get me without a shirt.”

 

Shrugging, Isabel turned and shot him a devilish smile over her shoulder.  “Maybe,” she quipped as she walked to the door, closing and locking it.  Then she tore off her cap, shook out her mane of shiny, black hair, and started to strip off her surgical garb, one garment at a time.  First came the mask, which she tossed across the room, strings flying.  Then the papery gown, which she dropped to a heap at her feet, leaving her in just a pair of blue scrubs. 

 

“Is your heart rate climbing?” she asked as she stalked back towards him, almost panther-like, her eyes seductive.

 

“Oh yeah.  Lose those scrubs, and I’ll be downright tachycardic.”

 

She arched an eyebrow.  “Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?  How about a compromise?”   She pulled her scrub top up over her head, and he was disappointed to see she had on a tank top underneath.  Disappointed, that was, until he took in the sight of her lean, toned arms, her collarbones rising above her smooth, caramel skin, and the gentle swell of her breasts beneath the thin, white material.  He’d never been with anyone more perfect, he couldn’t help but think.

 

Still cat-like in her movements, she climbed gracefully onto the cot and into his lap, straddling him so that they were face to face and almost touching, her legs wrapped around his waist.  His pulse had quickened, the way it always did when he was near her, and he gently took her hand and placed it in the center of his bare chest.  He watched the smile spread across her face as she felt his heart beat.

 

“You’re not tachycardic,” she said after a few moments, “just horny.”   She winked, and he grinned broadly.

 

“A fair assessment, doctor,” he concurred and pulled her closer, capturing her mouth in a deep kiss.

 

“How’d you like my treasure hunt?” she asked, in between kisses.

 

He smiled and kissed her smooth forehead.  “I liked it,” he replied.  “It led me to my treasure, didn’t it?”

 

Grinning back, Isabel seemed to glow.  “Happy Valentine’s Day, Nick,” she said, before pulling him back to her again.  She knew as well as Nick that they had to make the most of his “break.”

 

+++

 

“What do you think of summer?” Rita said as she walked over to Howie.  It had only been 2 months since they became engaged, and they were just starting to get into the hard part – deciding and planning a wedding.  By some luck, they both had breaks at the moment and had ended up in the emergency department together.  The staff lounge’s table looked like it had exploded with bridal magazines and calendars.  With two weddings being planned at the same time, Howie and Rita and Jack and Addie, the staff lounge suddenly became Wedding Central.

 

“Wouldn’t it be too hot?  You know how it gets during the summer months…” Howie responded.  Rita sat in a chair next to Howie and glanced at the calendar.

 

“Yeah… I don’t want us to sweat on our wedding day,” she said, chuckling at her remark.  It was simple little things like that that made Howie love her.  She could be serious at some times, but totally relaxed and bubbly at other times. 

 

“And I take it you don’t want to freeze on our wedding day either,” Howie remarked.  Rita smiled and looked at one of the bridal magazines’ winter specials.

 

“True, but they make lovely formal coats…”  Howie flipped through the calendar and stopped at the picture that accompanied September.  It was a simple picture – a small pond in fall.  It had fallen leaves everywhere, which illuminated the pond with their orange and gold colors.

 

“What about fall?  It won’t be cold from winter yet, but it won’t be that hot either,” he said, showing Rita the picture.

 

“Hmm….” was all that Rita was able to say, before his pager went off.  He checked it, and Rita gave him a small kiss before they both walked toward the door.

 

“Duty calls,” he said.  Rita gave him an understanding look.  She knew all too well that sometimes, work had to come before life. 

 

“See you at home?” she asked. 

 

“Yup.  Tell Dani that I’m really sorry.  From the look of the page, it’s really bad.”

 

“Of course. Now go do your job.” Howie gave Rita a quick kiss before joining Harry and the others, who were down the hall.

 

“If there was any time I want to kill that pager that would have been one of them,” Rita thought, returning to the Cardiology department.

 

+++

 

Risha headed to her desk after a long, tiring surgery.  One that had ended with the patient’s death due to complications she couldn’t control.  It just added on to her saddened mood.  It was hard not to feel sad on Valentine’s Day, a day she hated, began to love, and now hated once more.

 

However, on the desk, she spied something she far from expected that day.

 

It was covered in roses of every color, balloons trying to escape through the doorway as she entered.  And then, her ocean-like orbs caught sight of the final treat, a…  No…  Was that a dancing stuffed Hershey’s Kiss with an Elvis wig and sunglasses on, shaking its booty on the desk as it played the tune “Burning Love”??

 

There she saw a note, and only skimmed the name.

 

Chris, she thought.  Great.

 

Obviously he had gotten the wrong message, so how was she going to tell the obviously eager young man she wasn’t interested, or even near ready for a relationship?

 

It had been awhile since she had received anything like this, however.  She picked up a chocolate despite herself, eating slowly as she pondered quietly.  Most guys had gotten the “not ready” vibe she had been sending off ever since John’s accident.

 

A sigh came.  As hard as it was to move on, it was natural to think of him on Valentine’s Day.

 

 

She had been out late.  Between her rotations at the hospital and trying to keep up with school, she didn’t have as much time for John as she liked.  The idea saddened her, and she resolved to work on that more.

 

She had gone to pick up John’s Valentine’s Day gift, the most she could afford.  A simple, yet handsome watch laid upon a long delicate gold chain with his name engraved on it.  It would set her back a bit, but he was worth it.  Also, she would never tell him how much it did cost her, or how much she could not afford it, even though she had bought it anyway.

 

The young red-headed woman trekked up the stairs to her apartment, when an odd smell reached her nose as she wrinkled it in distaste.  Was that smoke?  Shaking her head and heading to the door, she saw the note from her roommate, Kimmy, taped to it.

 

 

Rishie,

Out with my lover boy tee hee! Be back tomorrow-ish!

Hugs, Kissies and Wishies!

Kimmy

 

 

She opened the door and was seemingly almost attacked with smoke. Coughing she waved it by, leaving the door open so it could air out.

 

Risha went in further, to the source of it, worried.  Did Kimmy leave an oven mitt on top of one of the stove burners?  She raced to the oven quickly, only to find the most surprising yet interesting sight.

 

There stood John, fanning the stove with an oven mitt frantically.  His light brown hair stood out in tufts under a big chef’s hat.  He wore an apron splattered with different types of food.  His bright blue eyes sadly went to – well, Risha wasn’t sure what it had started out as, but it was now nothing more than possible coal.

 

She started laughing, uncontrollably, and grabbed her stomach as she entered a complete fit of giggles. John turned around, his gentle, slightly-freckled face giving an apologetic look at the chaos that surrounded him.

 

“Happy Valentines Day?” He said, with a shrug of hopelessness, seeing his doom.

 

She laughed and hugged him tightly. “I love you, you goober.  Happy Valentine’s Day.”

 

 

The Hershey’s Kiss Elvis… thing brought her back to the present when it belted out its final note in an odd manner.  She ignored it and smiled at the memory.  At least she had those.  She’d try to sort the Chris ordeal out later and just hoped she wouldn’t run into him today.

 

Suddenly, she spotted her watch and realized her break was over.  She sighed and looked up.

 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, John,” she whispered and headed out, back to where she was needed.

 

+++

 

“Dr. Harnett!  They need a doctor with the team coming into the ER.  ETA is two minutes!” a nurse interrupted Ivory’s thoughts as she walked through the emergency room.

 

Ivory hastily set down the mug of coffee she’d been carrying with her on her way to a ten-minute break.  “What’s the condition?”

 

“Forty-three year old female in heart failure.  Her husband found her clutching her chest as she lay on the floor of the bathroom.  She’s on the transplant list at the moment, but you know how those things work,” the nurse answered as the phone at her station rang again.  “Excuse me, Dr. Harnett.”

 

Ivory nodded and began to make her way towards the doors to the ER.  She’d had a relatively peaceful day with a few broken bones, some stitches, and an ice skater with a concussion.  If she had it her way, the rest of the day would be just as peaceful.  After all, it was Valentine’s Day, and she needed a way to figure out how to tell Brian that she was almost definitely taking the job at her cousin’s clinic in Seattle.

 

“But that can wait for a better time,” she muttered to herself and rolled up her sleeves as the sound of an ambulance’s sirens became increasingly louder.

 

When the gurney was wheeled off the ambulance, she rushed over to it.  AJ glanced over at her as they pushed the cart into the hospital.  “She was pretty bad when we got there,” he spoke low and fast, hoping the woman’s husband wouldn’t hear.  “Her heart sounds are irregular and too slow.  We stabilized her on the way over, but it’s definitely not over for her yet.  You good to take her?”

 

Ivory let the gurney get wheeled into a room and looked over her shoulder at AJ.  “We’re good.  Thanks.”

 

“No problem.  Happy V-Day.”

 

“Yeah,” Ivory murmured, whipping out her stethoscope.  “You, too.” She moved over to the bed and tried to listen to the heartbeat even as she watched it show up on the monitor that the nurses worked to hook the woman up to.  AJ was right—it was too slow and very irregular.  If this woman didn’t get a transplant soon…

 

“Doctor?”  The woman’s husband stepped up next to the bed, worry etched in every feature of his face as he took his wife’s hand between his.  “Is she going to be okay?”

 

Ivory managed a grim smile.  “I can’t promise anything, Mr…”

 

“Donnelly.  Michael.”  He squeezed his wife’s hand again.  “And this is my Kate, who’s been trying so desperately to hold on, but the doctors can’t find a damn heart in the whole world for her.”  His voice grew angry.  “It’s not right nor fair.  I can’t lose the woman I love because the doctors are slow, so please, Doctor, please help us.”

 

Ivory sighed, handing a note to one of the nurses for the meds that Mrs. Donnelly would need before turning back to the woman’s husband.  “Mr. Donnelly, I’m going to try my hardest, but you should know that it is very difficult to obtain a heart for a transplant anywhere.  Kate’s not the only one on the list; there are thousands just like her.”

 

“No.  No, they aren’t like her because I’m not married to them.”  He looked up at Ivory now with a heartbreaking face.  “I can’t lose her.”

 

“I’m not going anywhere, Michael.”  The voice was weak and faint, but Ivory moved closer to Kate.

 

“Mrs. Donnelly, I’m Dr. Harnett.  How are you feeling?”

 

Kate licked her dry lips.  “Like a thousand pound anvil is weighing on my chest,” she whispered.  “How bad am I this time?”

 

Ivory didn’t know how to answer other than with the truth.  “I’m not going to lie.  It’s not good.  We’re going to run a couple of tests, but, in the meantime, we’ve got you on medication that will keep your heart stable.  I’m going to go call in to see if there are any possibilities for available donors any time soon, and I need you to stay as comfortable as possible.  How’s that sound?”

 

Kate nodded and smiled weakly up at Michael before turning to Ivory.  “That’s fine.  I’m not expecting any miracles, Doctor. I’ve been on the list for five years, and they’ve yet to find me a heart.”

 

“It doesn’t hurt to try,” Ivory replied with a smile.  “Rest, and I’ll be back in a little while.”

 

+++

 

“Brian, I’ve got one for you in room two.” Melissa held out a chart as Brian made his way towards the nurses’ station.  “Bad asthma attack coupled with a possible onset of pneumonia.  You good for it?”

 

Brian tore his mind from the plans he’d made for Valentine’s Day for himself and Ivory.  His apartment was currently a mess involving a few dozen various scented candles, what seemed like a thousand different CDs full of romantic music, and the beginnings of a homemade dinner of Ivory’s favorite foods.  Tonight would, if all went right, be a way to get Ivory’s mind off of her investigation and hopefully make her relax.  He hadn’t seen her relax in weeks, months.  Tonight, he vowed that he’d see her let loose and laugh.  Really laugh.

 

But that was for later.  Right now, it was time to get back into work.

 

He nodded at Melissa as he took the file from her.  “I’ve got time.  Thanks.”

 

“No problem.  Got any plans for later tonight?” she asked, leaning against the counter so she could hear him over the squawking cries from a fussy toddler.

 

Brian smiled.  “Oh, yeah.  Ivory needs a real night off.”

 

“You won’t hear any arguments from me on that one,” Melissa agreed.  “What do you have up your crafty sleeve, Dr. Littrell?”

 

“You’ll just have to ask Ivory tomorrow, won’t you?” he teased her.

 

Melissa rolled her eyes.  “I can keep a secret, Brian.  Come on.  I’ve got to get my Valentine’s Day kicks from somewhere if I’m going to spend it single.” When he remained firm, she shook her head.  “You’re good, Brian.  She’s lucky to have you.  And speaking of Ivory, how’s the investigation going?”

 

The sparkle vanished from his eyes.  “Not good,” he admitted.  “It seems like they can’t make up their minds, but Ivory’s convinced that, because Brunson hates her, she’s not going to rest until Ivory’s out of Atlantic Memorial.”

 

“Oh, I’m so sorry.  That witch!” Melissa added heatedly.  “She has no feelings, does she? I wonder how she’d like it if-”

 

Brian spotted Brunson making her way down the hall and drew his finger across his throat in an exaggerated motion.  “Thanks for the file, Melissa. I’ll get right on that patient.”

 

Melissa’s eyes widened for a moment as she saw the older woman, too, before she cleared her throat and nodded at Brian.  “No problem, Dr. Littrell.”

 

Avoiding Brunson’s hard stare, he sped down the hall, weaving his way around other doctors, nurses, and patients to get to his patient.  He was practically under scrutiny, too—at least, he was under Brunson’s scrutiny because he was involved with the woman who was number one on her personal Wanted list.  That was nearly as bad as being the one who was under suspicion, and he was determined to avoid the older woman as long as he could.

 

Knocking on exam room two’s door briskly before he pushed open the door, he stepped in and found himself face-to-face with a teenager whose pretty face was tear-streaked.  From the look of her formal dress, he figured she must have been getting ready for a Valentine’s Day date.  Glancing down at his chart, he noted her name.

 

“Hello, Sabra.” Brian pulled out his stethoscope and slid a pair of latex gloves on his hands.  “I’m Dr. Littrell.  I’m not going to ask how you are because I bet you’re hating being here tonight, but I’ll ask if you’re able to breathe any more easily.”  He listened to her breath sounds and heartbeat before settling her back.

 

Sabra wiped the tears out of her large, blue eyes before she lifted the oxygen mask to speak.  “I’m supposed to be at a dance.  How long am I going to be here before I can go back to it?”

 

Brian pulled a chair over to her bedside and sat.  “You know why you’re here, right?” When she nodded reluctantly, he continued.  “Sabra, you had a pretty bad asthma attack tonight.  Would you mind telling me what exactly happened?”

 

She rolled her eyes, and Brian had to hold back a smile at her stubbornness.  She was obviously in pain, but she didn’t want anyone to really know.  More set on getting her way and getting back to a certainly more important social function, she seemed to be debating whether telling him would get her back to the dance quicker or if she should just ignore him all together.  To be a teenager again, he thought briefly.

 

“I couldn’t breathe right at lunch today,” she admitted finally.  “I just thought it was a tiny attack, but I didn’t really think about it because I was too excited about the dance—the one I’m supposed to be at right now,” she added for emphasis.  “Ryan McCourt actually asked me to the dance, and I’ve been, like, over the moon for the last two weeks.”

 

“Ryan must be a lucky guy,” Brian said with a smile.  Poor thing was stuck in the hospital on what was supposed to be a special night.  He remembered being a teenager and wanting to go with that special girl to the Winter Ball.  He’d gotten to go, but Sabra was stuck in the hospital.

 

Sabra shrugged.  “Not really. I’m the lucky one because Ryan’s never looked at me twice before this year, and, all of a sudden, we’re lab partners for chemistry.  I hate chemistry, by the way,” she added.  “So, anyway, Ryan’s not so good at it, and I start tutoring him.  And then he asked me to go to the dance.  It’s been a total fairytale come true.” She sighed.  “And now I’m being forced to stay here even though I feel fine.”

 

“Let me be the judge of that,” Brian replied.  “So, you had a tiny attack at lunch?”

 

“Yeah, but, like I said, I just ignored it.  It sort of got worse as the day went on, so I used my inhaler.  Nothing happened, though, so I just thought if I ignored it…”

 

“It would get better?” Brian finished.  “Sabra, did you think that maybe if your inhaler didn’t help you feel better, maybe it was because it wasn’t working properly?”

 

She shrugged.  “Yeah, the nurse told me that.  Said she’d have you fill out a prescription for a new one.”

 

“And I will,” Brian agreed.  “So what made you come to the hospital?”

 

Sabra slumped lower on the bed.  “My older sister.  She was doing my hair for the dance, and, all of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe at all.  I guess she freaked out when I passed out.  Next thing I know, I’m in an ambulance.” She sighed sadly.  “Ryan’s never going to ask me out again.”

 

“If he really likes you, he will.” Brian checked her vitals again and jotted down a few notes on her chart.  “I’m afraid you’re going to miss the dance, Sabra.  You’ve got a fever, and you’re displaying a few signs of pneumonia.  We’re going to keep you a little longer than you’d like, but we want to make sure you’re safe and healthy.”

 

She let out a little moan of anguish and smacked a hand to her forehead.  “This is the worst night of my life!”

 

Brian waited until he was out of the room before he laughed a little.  “Kid, you’re gonna have a thousand worst nights of your life.”

 

+++

 

“Step 6… stir the sauce. Easy enough,” Logan Cole said, walking four steps from the tiny kitchen counter to the stove, where a small pot sat over the burner.  He stirred the sauce and looked around the small apartment. Everything had to be perfect.  The candles were lit on the table, rose petals were scattered in a pathway from the door to the table, and dinner was almost done. The only thing left was to put dinner on the table and have Carrie walk through the door.

 

“Step 7… pour sauce on chicken and place on plate. Okay.  I can do this!” Turning off the stove, Logan took the sauce pot off of the burner and grabbed a serving spoon.  The two plates of chicken and mashed potatoes were sitting on the counter, waiting to be complete.  Surprising himself, he poured the sauce with ease.  When both plates were finished, Logan grabbed both of them and walked to the table.  He placed one at one chair, and reached to place the other one.  His elbow accidentally hit the large candle in the middle, knocking it over.  It proceeded to hit the other candles, knocking them down as well.

 

“Oh my god!” Logan yelled, running to grab the fire extinguisher. When he came back with it, the entire table, as well as the drapes, was entirely on fire. 

 

“No…no, no, no, no, no!” he screamed, using the fire extinguisher as much as he could.  He used half of its contents, but the fire still burned.  It then reached the kitchen.

 

“Oh n-” was all Logan could fit in before the flames met the gas from the stove.  The stove exploded, and Logan held his arms in front of his face so it could be protected.  He howled in pain, as he could feel his arms burning.  He then heard the fire alarms ring and ran out of the apartment, unable to think of anything but getting away from the fire.

 

He saw other tenants frantically running out of their houses, trying to figure out where the fire was.  The fire was rapidly growing, and smoke filled the entire building.  Logan saw that someone was already on their cell phone, calling 911.

 

As soon as he was out of the building, he looked back on his former home.  There was no way he would be returning that night.  At that moment, he felt a familiar box shape in his pocket. 

 

“At least that wasn’t lost…” he thought, as he started to cry.  What was he going to tell Carrie?

 

+++

 

“...and then I looked up, and down the hall comes the patient, buck-naked and making kissy noises!” Hayley said, giggling.

 

“Naked?” Kevin asked, trying not to snort.

 

“Buck-naked,” she affirmed. “Apparently the security straps weren't all that secure. He was fairly out of it, thank goodness, so we just kind of steered him back to his room and settled him back down.”

 

“That's not exactly a common reaction to anesthetic,” Kevin said, taking a sip of their complimentary champagne.

 

“You're telling me,” she said. “He didn't remember a thing afterwards, and I didn't have the heart to tell him what an exhibitionist he'd been. Can you imagine what a shock that would have been to a fifty year old English teacher?”

 

Kevin sat back and grinned. “I don't know, maybe he wanted bragging rights.”  He watched as she drained her  glass; picking up the nearly-finished bottle, he poured them both a final portion. “Ya know, Hay, this was such a great idea. I haven't laughed this much in a long time.”

 

“To friends,” she said, raising her glass.

 

“To friends,” he echoed.  After a clink, they finished the last of the bubbly.

 

He sat his glass down and looked at the woman across from him. Hayley's cheeks were flushed from laughter and champagne, her eyes bright with their usual spark. In the candlelight, she looked positively alluring.  Beautiful, even. The way she had her hair, upswept...

 

“Earth to Kev,” came her voice. “What, do I have spinach in my teeth or something?”

 

“What? Oh, no, sorry... I was just thinking there for a second.”

 

She tilted her head in consideration. “Thinking about what?”

 

He was quiet for several seconds. “About you. How wonderful all this is, how beautiful you look... how things seem different tonight.”

 

She blinked, clearly not expecting his reply. “Different?” she finally managed.

 

He leaned forward. “I always laugh and relax when I'm with you, Hay. I never feel pressure to be something or someone I'm not. I never realized that until now.” His hand moved up, almost of its own volition. With the gentlest of touches, he brushed her cheek. “You are really something else, Hayley.”

 

Her look of astonishment blossomed into a tentative smile. “I could say the same about you,” she said, her heartbeat quickening. “But... why all this now?”

 

“Maybe it's the magic of the day, maybe it's the champagne or the fine meal or the ambiance of this place...” He paused. “Or maybe I just woke up.”

 

“Kind of seems like a dream to me,” she said, wondering at the glimmer in his deep green eyes.

 

“Have you ever considered... I mean, thought about... us?”

 

“Us, like in a not-just-a-friend us? Like an us us?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Hayley shifted slightly in her chair. “You never really indicated that kind of interest before,” she said, eluding a direct answer.

 

“But would you be willing to explore the possibility?”

 

His words sent a sensual shiver up her spine. Are you kidding? After all these  years I've wondered what it would be like...

 

“Maybe,” she heard herself say.

 

“We've always had a great friendship,” he said. “But maybe... that's not all it has to be.”

 

“This feels weird, talking about it in such a public place,” she said. “Perhaps we should go elsewhere.”

 

With a smile, Kevin signaled for their dinner check. Soon the pair were making their way to his car.

 

“Are you okay to drive?” she asked.

 

“I'm fine,” he assured her. “That champagne was really good, but we didn't have that much.”

 

“I have another bottle collecting dust in my cupboard,” she said. “A remnant from New Year's. I was going to pop the cork for a midnight toast, but ended up falling asleep on my couch.”

 

Kevin chuckled. “I can so see you doing just that,” he said. “Well, maybe we could take advantage of that poor, neglected bottle tonight. Maybe talk about a few things.”

 

“You know the way,” she said, fastening her seatbelt.

 

+++

 

Harry Littrell drove down the street, racing to the scene of the fire that had just been called in to the dispatcher.  Harry already knew how to get to the apartments – they were old, dilapidated, and always having some sort of problems.  He knew that most new couples and college graduates lived there since the rent was cheap.  In fact, when he had first moved to Atlantic City, he had considered living there.  When they arrived, Harry parked the car and looked for a group of people outside.  Chances would be that anyone who needed help would be with other people.

 

He ran to the first group of people, eying who would need the most help before he reached the group.  There was a man sitting on the ground crying, trying to hold his arms, and looking at the apartment building in shock.  Harry knew by instinct that he would have burns on his arms, so he was mentally prepared for the worst.

 

“Sir?  My name is Harry Littrell, from Atlantic City Memorial Hospital.  What happened?” he asked the man.  The man couldn’t have been older than twenty-five, and he continued to look at the apartment, crying.

 

“I… it was… I…” was all he said.  Harry started wrapping the man’s arms, and the man didn’t even notice.

 

“What happened?” he asked again.  “What’s your name?”  Finally, the man acknowledged Harry’s presence.

 

“Logan Cole.  I… I didn’t mean to!  I was just…” Logan cried.  The fire had gotten worse since Harry and the paramedics arrived.  The flames had just reached the third floor of the five-story building. 

 

“Okay… Logan?  I need to know exactly what happened.  What were you doing when the fire started?”

 

“I… I was cooking dinner for my girlfriend.  She works as a waitress at Le Château, and she gets off work late because it’s Valentine’s Day, you know?  So I thought it would be nice to cook for her.  But now… aah!  I’m so stupid!” Logan said, and tears were still running down his face.  Because the fire was so bright then, Harry looked at Logan’s face.  It was a little burnt, but not as bad as his arms.  Logan must have tried to protect his face by putting his arms across it. 

 

“Shhh… it’s okay.  We’re here to help.  Now, how did the fire start?  Do you know?”

 

“I was putting the chicken onto a plate on the table, and I accidentally knocked over a candle.  It was a huge candle, and started burning everything instantly.  I tried to stop it with the fire extinguisher, but it didn’t help. The fire reached the stove within a few minutes, and… and...” Logan looked at the ground, looking as if he was cursing himself. 

 

“It’s going to be okay, Logan.  We’re –“

 

“No!  It’s not fine!  Where will we live?  Where will we go?  This was the only place we could afford.  But now… now what will we do?”  Harry felt bad for the guy.  He couldn’t imagine losing everything he had in one night.

 

“Listen, I have to take you to the hospital to look over those burns.  The Red Cross will take you in for as long as you need, okay?  You’ll get free food and a place to stay until you are able to find a new house.  Was your girlfriend in the apartment during the fire?”

 

“No.  It was supposed to be a surprise.  Guess this is more of surprise than any engagement ring, huh?”

 

“You mean…”

 

“Yeah.  Cheesy, huh?”  Finally, Logan cracked a little smile.  Suddenly, Harry heard a voice screaming and saw a girl running towards them.  It had to be Logan’s girlfriend.

 

“Logan?  Logan??  Where are you??” a young woman asked.  She had blonde hair and was still wearing a work uniform.

 

“Carrie!  I’m right here!” Logan said.  Carrie tried to hug him, but stopped as soon as she saw the bandages.

 

“I came as soon as I could.  I overheard someone talking about the apartment, so I just left.  Are you okay?”  Carrie then noticed Harry standing next to Logan.  “Will he have to go to the hospital??”

 

Logan then looked at Harry, with a twinkle in his eye.  “Yeah, but Carrie?  I have something to ask you.”  Logan leaned towards Harry.  “Reach into my left pocket and grab the box in there,” he whispered.  Harry, knowing what was going to happen next, grabbed the box in Logan’s pocket.  “Okay… now open it towards her.”

 

Harry did.

 

“Well… I can’t use my arms right now, and I know we don’t have a home anymore, but Carrie Reinwald, will you marry me?” Logan asked.

 

The ring was a simple band with one diamond on it.  Carrie started to cry.

 

“Of course I will!” she said.  “Umm… does he have to put it on my finger?”  All three of them laughed.

 

“Logan?  It’s your call.  But I have to take you to the hospital soon, so make up your mind quick,” Harry said, smiling at the newly engaged couple.

 

“I think I can kinda hold the ring.  The tips of my fingers aren’t burnt.”  Harry took the ring out of the box and placed it so Logan could sort of hold on to it.  Carrie moved her finger into the ring.  As soon as it was on her finger, she held her hand out, looking at the ring.

 

“Guess you got the perfect night after all.  Well… besides the fire.  Congrats, Logan.”

 

+++

 

Bianca rushed down the hall, looking for an empty trauma room as AJ and Howie followed her, wheeling a gurney.  Their current ER patient was a woman who’d gone into labor as her apartment building had filled with smoke and flames.

 

“Mrs. McHeart,” AJ spoke to her gently as she struggled against the hands that kept her from sitting up.  “We promise that your husband and son are fine.  They’ll be here soon.  You need to worry about giving birth right now.  Dr. Parker is going to make sure your lungs weren’t damaged by the smoke inhalation before she gets you checked into the maternity ward.  Everything will be fine.  We promise.”  He exchanged a sympathetic glance with Bianca and knew they were both thinking the same thing.  The unexpected fire had forced them to cancel their romantic dinner plans.  But there wasn’t much they could do about it.

 

Bianca guided them into a trauma room just as Lianna pushed AJ’s hands from her shoulders and managed to sit up.  “I can’t be giving birth tonight. I’m not going to have my baby until my husband and Sam are here.  Please,” she reached for Bianca’s hand, “find my husband first.  I can’t do this without him.”  Even as she spoke the words, she struggled through the first contraction.  “I can’t,” she added, even as she clutched her belly.  “I need Matthew and Sam.  They have to be okay.”

 

Bianca nodded and pressed Lianna back gently, even as nurses rushed to hook the woman up to sensors to detect the baby’s heartbeat and an ultrasound machine was rolled into the room.  One nurse gently stripped Lianna’s nightgown off and slid a hospital gown on instead.  Another nurse applied gel to Lianna’s belly while Bianca set up the ultrasound machine.  Noting her patient’s heart rate, blood oxygen level, and the fetal heartbeat, she positioned the ultrasound wand on Lianna’s abdomen, and the first flickering images of the eight month old fetus appeared on the screen.

 

“Lianna, your baby is in the perfect position for birth,” Bianca told the laboring woman.  “How fast have your contractions been coming?” she asked, even as the next contraction had Lianna moaning a little.  “Three minutes,” Bianca answered herself.  “Great! You’re almost through this part.”

 

Lianna shook her head emphatically.  “I can’t do this now! My baby’s not even supposed to be born yet! I’m only eight months along, and I can’t be having my baby right now.  Not as long as Matthew and Sam are still missing!”

 

Bianca took Lianna’s hand in her own, knowing that, the more hysterical Lianna became, the more dangerous it was for her baby’s health.  “Lianna, I can’t promise you that Matthew and Sam are going to be here before your baby is born.  Your baby is ready to enter this world, and, if you wait and worry, you’ll hurt both of you.  Don’t you think your husband would want you to take care of your nearly-born baby the same way you’re trusting him to take care of your son?”

 

Lianna seemed to consider Bianca’s words even as she struggled through another contraction.  When the woman didn’t say anything, Bianca sighed and moved away.  As she checked Lianna’s cervix, the eight-and-a-half centimeter dilation told her what she already knew.  Lianna was speeding through labor and, whether or not her husband arrived in time, her baby was going to make an entrance.  Soon.

 

“Doctor?” Lianna’s labored breathing made her voice waver.  “You’re right.  Matthew would want me to concentrate on having our baby.  I’ll just pray that he and Sam make it through safely.”

 

Bianca nodded.  “Great.  Let’s get you into a delivery room.  You’re almost ready to deliver.”

 

+++

 

As Bianca and one of the ER nurses wheeled Lianna’s gurney towards an elevator to send her up to the maternity ward and into one of the delivery rooms, there was a shout from down the hall.  Glancing back to see what was going on, Bianca saw a man in his early thirties rushing towards them, clutching a little boy in his arms.  Both their faces wore light streaks of soot, but the cry of relief from Lianna confirmed what Bianca had already figured out.  The McHearts were going to be just fine.

 

“Matthew!” Lianna’s arms went around her husband even as her son burrowed his face against her neck.  “I was so worried about both of you. I didn’t know if you’d gotten out or not, and then the medics said that I was in labor, so-”

 

“I found Sam, and I’m so glad you’re alright.  But… labor?” Matthew broke off, confused, and glanced from his wife to Bianca.  “She’s only eight months along. How is she in labor? Isn’t that bad?”

 

Bianca shook her head.  “Everything will be just fine.  The stress from the fire and worry pushed her into labor, but so far your wife and baby appear to be perfectly fine.  In fact, we’re taking her up to the delivery room because she’s just about ready to give birth.  So if you’d like to join us…” The elevator doors opened, and the gurney was pushed onto it.  She noticed the shocked look on Matthew’s face as he stood rooted to the spot.  “Mr. McHeart?  Would you like to come up with us?  I’m sure Lianna would appreciate your presence enormously.”

 

That seemed to push him out of his shocked state.  “Yeah, of course.” He clambered aboard, Sam held tightly in one arm.  With his free hand, he reached down and took Lianna’s hand in his own.  “How are you feeling?”

 

“Now that you and Sam are here, I’m perfect.” Lianna squeezed his hand and smiled.  “What a Valentine’s Day!”

 

“You can say that again,” Bianca murmured to herself.  Even as she smiled at the happy family with her, she couldn’t help but think that it was too bad she and AJ had to cancel their plans.  So much for that romantic dinner for two.

 

+++

 

Justin was sitting at a table in the lounge, reading one of his textbooks.  It was slow, since not many people had surgeries scheduled on Valentine’s Day. While he wanted to concentrate on his book, he couldn’t.  All he could think about was what Dr. Richardson had said to him.  It’s all he had been thinking about for the past month.

 

“Am I not cut out to be a doctor? What if I chose the wrong path?” he thought, turning the page in the textbook. 

 

“Timberlake! Come on! We have to go to the ER!” Dr. Cannon yelled through the lounge door. Justin closed the textbook and was a little happy that something was going on.

 

“Huh? Why?” he asked as he stood up and walked out of the lounge.

 

“There was a serious fire, and all of the ER staff is taking care of them. They need us to help take care of those who need help, but weren’t involved in the fire.” Dr. Cannon explained.

 

As soon as they got to the ER, Justin was amazed at how packed it was.  Many of the doctors he knew were rushing around, trying to get to each patient. Justin couldn’t help but like the feeling of being busy again. He couldn’t stand being bored. He looked to his left, where Dr. Cannon was, but she was already gone. Justin hadn’t stepped more than 10 steps forward when Dr. Parker stopped him.

 

“Hey! Are you busy right now?” she asked quickly, looking around a bit.

 

“I – “he started to say, but Dr. Parker had already shoved a chart in his hands.

 

“Good. Room 2. He’s all yours…” Dr. Parker ran to another room, leaving Justin to wonder why she was in such a hurry.

 

“Odd…” he thought, walking to the room.  He opened the door and found….a guy lying on the bed, with an erection. Justin’s eyes bulged.

 

“No wonder Dr. Parker was in a hurry…Maybe I should have looked at the chart first…” he thought. Sure enough, the chart said “prolonged erection due to Viagra.”

 

“Err….umm….hello…my name is Justin Timberlake and I’ll be – “he started, but then Dr. Cannon rushed through the door.

 

“Oh god…they sent you in here by yourself?” she whispered to him, shaking her head. She took the clipboard from Justin and walked towards the patient. “Hello, my name is Dr. Amory Cannon, and I’ll be your doctor tonight. Can you tell me how long this has been going on?” she said as calmly as she could.  Justin couldn’t help but be in awe of how she handled the situation.

 

“The… condition… you have is known as a priapism.  We’ll perform a procedure to fix it, so don’t you worry.  It won’t take very long, and if all goes well, you might be able to go home tomorrow.” She leaned towards Justin, and handed him back the clipboard.  “Have you seen one of these before?” she asked.

 

“No…but I’ve read about them…” he said, trying not to stare at the man.

 

“Well…you’re going to find out.”

 

+++

 

Andy Coburn was sure he would die of embarrassment. Fear and desperation had finally compelled him to go to the emergency room, but now he wasn't so sure that he could live through the humiliation. Why had he been so stupid?

 

He'd walked in to the ER with his jacket over one arm, draped in front of his hips. It had taken almost two minutes to explain his 'problem' to the receptionist; he hadn't even been able to look her in the eye. Amazingly, she had taken the description in stride, making notes on a chart and handing him paperwork to fill out while he waited.

 

He could feel everyone staring at him as he tried to answer the trivial questions on the forms; he knew they were secretly laughing behind his back. It was almost a relief when he was finally called back to an examination room.  Almost.

 

He was horrified to find a female doctor standing before him, asking him to describe his problem. Face flushed red, the words choked in his throat until he finally was able to ask if there wasn't a male doctor on duty instead. The woman had raised an eyebrow, given him a disapproving frown, but didn't try to argue. Instead, she had turned on her heel and left without further comment.

 

Less than a minute later the curtain had opened and a young man entered the room. After a surprised look and a long stare, he introduced himself.

 

“Err... umm, hello... my name is Justin Timberlake and I'll be-”

 

Another doctor, a woman, came into the room. Andy shrank back on the examining table as he felt his face redden once again.

 

“Hello,” she said, glancing at the chart in her hand. “My name is Dr. Amory Cannon, and I'll be your doctor tonight. Can you tell me how long this has been going on?”

 

“I... I asked for a male doctor,” Andy said, licking his suddenly dry lips. “I don't think-”

 

She lowered her clipboard and spoke in a clear, no-nonsense voice. “Mr. Coburn, I am the doctor that has been assigned to you. Your condition is serious and must be attended to ASAP. This is not the time to be prudish; trust me, I've seen it all. The ER is very busy and no other doctor is available, but if you want to risk the possible loss of penile function permanently, or worse...”

 

“W-worse?” Andy croaked, his horror hiking up a degree.

 

“Much worse,” Dr. Cannon asserted. “Mr. Timberlake is going to be here, assisting me, and I assure you we are professionals. Now... shall I proceed, or did you want to wait-”

 

“No, no, I don't want to wait,” he said in a shaky voice.

 

“Very well then,” the doctor said with a nod. “Now, according to my information here, you took four tablets of Viagra all in one dose, correct?”

 

Andy could only nod.

 

“Where did you get the prescription?”

 

He mumbled something, then looked up when the doctor cleared her throat.

 

“I, ah, bought them online. One of those internet sites you see everywhere.”

 

“No prescription required, correct?”  When he nodded, she made a notation. “Very dangerous thing to do, as you obviously have discovered,” she said. “At least you came in to seek treatment.”

 

“It had b-been, like, four hours, you know, and...”

 

“The condition you have is called priapism,” she said in an even voice. “There are treatments we can try, and with any luck there will be no permanent damage.”

 

“O-okay,” he said.

 

“First thing we have to do is draw a blood sample.”

 

“I'd be glad to do that, Doctor,” Justin piped up, eager to participate in something. He didn't notice Amory's flash of a grin.

 

“Very well. We'll need two vials pulled, and I'll get them to the lab stat.”  She opened a drawer and got out the blood kit.

 

When Justin stepped up to the examination table and reached for Andy's arm, Dr. Cannon cleared her throat.

 

“Not from his arm, Mr. Timberlake.”

 

“But-”

 

“First we must examine the area affected,” she explained. “Then, you'll need to draw blood directly from-”

 

Andy felt the room begin to spin as he realized what the doctor was saying. He'd never liked needles, and now they wanted to stick him there? Right in his-

 

“Mr. Coburn!” the doctor was saying, her hand gripping his upper arm. “Deep breaths, nice and slow. Focus, okay?”

 

He did as requested, finding the dizziness easing a bit with each breath.

 

“Are you with us now?” she asked.

 

“Yeah,” he said in a hollow voice. “I just... the idea... do you really have to draw blood from, from there?”

 

“I'm afraid so,” she said. “Hopefully, the treatment will be much less... invasive.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Believe it or not, if the blood gases are what I expect they'll be, we can treat you with what amounts to a decongestant.”

 

“Like, for a cold?”

 

“Yes. If all goes well.”

 

“And if... if not?”

 

She caught his glance and held it. “Let's cross that bridge if we come to it,” she said. “But trust me when I say that we're hoping the first treatment works.”

 

Andy swallowed against the lump in his throat, his fear and anxiety replacing his humiliation. He shut his eyes and tried to think of other things.

 

Justin stood with a blank look on his face until Amory nudged him. “If you feel you can't do the procedure,” she began in a low voice.

 

“No, no, I can do it,” he said. “Just the idea... I mean, my God, right in the-”

 

“Just be thankful you're not the one on the bed,” she whispered.

 

With a heartfelt nod of agreement, Justin prepared to draw the needed blood. As he swabbed the area, he wondered, once again, if his place truly was being a doctor. This is the kind of stuff they don't really warn you about in the classroom, he thought as he clenched his jaw and prayed for a clean stick.

 

Amory Cannon watched closely, noting to herself that Justin's face was as pale as Andy's. However, the young resident went forward with the draw and did as required. With approval, she accepted the vials and headed for the lab.

 

“You, ah, okay, Mr. Coburn?” Justin asked in a slightly unsteady voice.

 

“I guess so,” Andy mumbled.

“Can I ask... why you took four? I mean, you're so young and all-”

 

Andy gave a groan. “There was this girl I met,” he said miserably. “I mean, she was hot, you know? But every time I was alone with her I got nervous. We had a big date all lined up for tonight, and I was hoping... well, you know.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I wanted to be ready. I figured that if one pill was good, four pills would be awesome. I didn't think the damn things would act so quick! At first I thought, great, but then when it wouldn't... ah... go away...”

 

Justin shook his head. “Not what you had in mind.”

 

“No way. Man, this is the worst day of my entire life. I hate Valentine's Day.”

 

“I guess I'm just lucky,” Justin said, thinking of Britney and the evening they had planned. With her around, he'd never need artificial stimulation. And after seeing what had happened to the young man on the bed, he swore he'd never take a single pill of that nature.

 

+++

 

Ivory was livid, furious, downright outraged.  Of all the nights that the hospital board wanted to see her, tonight was not only last-minute but certainly inconvenient.  She had plans with Brian, and she didn’t want to cancel or delay them.  This hospital, she thought as she made her way back to see how Mrs. Donnelly was doing, was driving her crazy.  She was more than halfway convinced that she should just quit and take Tom up on his offer to be his partner at his Seattle clinic. 

 

Shaking her head at the thought of leaving behind everything she’d worked hard to attain since finishing her residency, Ivory stepped into Kate Donnelly’s room.  The machines were beeping steadily, though the heart rate wasn’t any more regular than it had been an hour earlier.  The medicine pumping through the woman’s system simply made it less erratic.

 

Though Michael Donnelly was nowhere to be found in the room, Kate’s weary gaze shifted towards the door when Ivory stepped into the room.

 

“Dr. Harnett.  Anything?” she asked in a scratchy, weakened voice that was barely above a whisper.

 

Ivory sighed and shook her head as she moved over to the bed.  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Donnelly.  There’s nothing.”

 

“I’m out of time, aren’t I?”

 

“No.” Ivory shook her head again.  “You’re certainly not a lost cause.  There are so many different treatments we can put you on while we wait for a heart.  Don’t lose hope yet.  Modern medicine’s made a lot of headway in ways to keep your heart functioning in its diminished capacity.”

 

Kate gave her a small smile.  “Dr. Harnett, what if I told you that I didn’t want any of those procedures? That, at this point, I don’t really want to spend anymore time in a hospital waiting for a heart that will never come?”

 

“If you go home, it’ll only be a matter of time before you’re back here again,” Ivory pointed out.  “Actually, the instant we take you off the medicine, perhaps even before, you could go into cardiac arrest again, and then you’ll be back to the stage you’re at right now.”

 

“That’s only going to happen if you administer some sort of treatment to stabilize me again, right?” Kate asked.

 

“That’s right.”

 

“Well, I’d rather you not give me any more treatments.  If something goes wrong, I’d rather you, or other doctors, did nothing.”

 

Ivory swallowed.  Hard.  “Are you saying you’d rather pass away than undergo more procedures to help save you?”

 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” There was a faint gleam in the older woman’s eyes.  “I’d like my file to have the ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ classification.  Please.”

 

“I think you should speak with your husband about this first,” Ivory began, but Kate cut her off.

 

“Michael would never agree.  He doesn’t understand how tired I am of this constant fatigue, the attacks, the hospital visits.  He loves me too much to believe that I’d rather just let nature take its course with my heart,” she explained.  “He would never agree, so I’m asking you, on my own, to please help me fill out the proper paperwork.  I want to die on my own terms.”

 

Duty warred with wanting to help a patient.  Despite her internal conflict, though, Ivory understood.  She may not have agreed, but she understood and would help Kate Donnelly sign the necessary papers to prevent any further life-saving treatments.  “All right.  I’ll get the papers together, as long as you’re sure this is what you want.”

 

“More than anything,” Kate replied firmly.  “Thank you, Doctor.”

 

“Yeah.” Ivory jotted down the woman’s vitals on her chart before moving towards the door again as Michael came back into the room.  “I’ll be back in a bit, Mrs. Donnelly.  Just try to relax.”

 

She offered a sympathetic smile to Michael before stepping into the hallway again.  She hadn’t even made it ten steps down the hall before the alarms from Kate’s room beeped.  Rushing back to it, she discovered that Kate had coded.

 

It was the hardest thing she’d ever done to step back and, while Michael Donnelly alternated between raging at her to do something and tearfully holding his wife’s hand, watch Kate Donnelly pass on.

 

+++

 

“Isabel,” said Dr. Chung, “I need to run down to the ER.  There’s been some sort of incident; a heart patient of mine died, and the husband is blaming the ER physician who treated her.  I need to go and help sort out this mess.  Can you carry on with rounds without me?”

 

“Sure,” Isabel replied with an understanding smile, watching her mentor hurry off to the elevators.  She couldn’t complain about being left up on the lonely cardiology floor while Dr. Chung went to where the action was; after this morning, she owed her mentor a big one.  Dr. Chung was hard to read; she was a kind woman, but very reserved and straight-laced, not the sort of person Isabel normally would have involved in something as frivolous as a Valentine’s Day surprise for her boyfriend, especially with her assessment for this rotation on the line.

 

But Dr. Chung had walked into the lounge yesterday when she was there on her break, writing the little poems she planned to leave as clues for Nick, and when she’d asked Isabel what she was doing, Isabel found herself explaining all about how she and Nick were working different schedules on Valentine’s Day and would not have time to do anything together, so she was planning a little surprise for him.  And to her surprise, the doctor had smiled and asked if she needed any help.  “I know it’s hard,” she’d said, in her quiet, gentle way, “trying to date and live your life with all of this hard work and pressure.  It’s a lot to balance, even after your years of medical school.”

 

Isabel was amazed at how understanding she could be, and to her amazement, the women had spent their break conspiring the whole EKG story to give Nick and her a moment of privacy.  Isabel had a new admiration for her mentor after that.  Not only was she an intelligent and talented cardiologist, but beneath her conservative outward appearance, there was a sense of humor just waiting to be coaxed out.

 

Isabel was so happy with her mentor and her rotation and how well this morning had gone, she really didn’t even mind having to be here on the evening of Valentine’s Day.  True, she would rather be with Nick, but at least they’d gotten to see each other.  And maybe, if it stayed slow, she’d be able to leave early and drop by his place.  Normally she liked to catch up on her chartwork before she left the hospital, but tonight, that could wait.  She’d just come in early tomorrow and finish.

 

She was just finishing her rounds when one of the nurses on the floor, Tricia, approached her.  “Isabel, Dr. Chung just called from the ER.  A man is being flown in on the life flight chopper in full arrest; she wants you to meet her up on the roof.”

 

“Oh… okay!”   Isabel was a little surprised; she’d been up at the landing pad to meet life flight patients many times during her ER rotation, but as a cardiology student, she usually didn’t see patients until after the ER physicians had worked on them and called for a consult.  But she wasted no time in getting upstairs.  Throwing open the door that led out to the roof, she was glad to see that there was no sign of a helicopter yet; she had made it with time to spare.  Made it before even her mentor, it appeared, for there was no one anywhere near the landing pad.

 

She looked around, wondering where everyone was, and as she was wondering, her ears picked up the faint sound of music, music which was gradually getting louder.  Frowning in suspicion, she realized it sounded like it was coming from the roof, and so she went looking for the source.  Edging along the building, lest she get too close to a sudden landing helicopter and lose an appendage, she rounded a corner and found herself staring in surprise at a small band, complete with a guitarist, bass player, keyboardist, drummer, and… Nick.

 

Nick, standing front and center behind a microphone.  Nick, grinning briefly at her before opening his mouth to sing.

 

She recognized the instrumentation of the song seconds before the first lyric flowed smoothly from his lips.  “I’ve got sunshine… on a cloudy day…”

 

It was “My Girl.”

 

“When it’s cold outside,” Nick crooned, “I’ve got the month of May…”

 

It was, in fact, chilly up on the roof, but even so, Isabel could feel her heart melting and knew that the goosebumps rising on her arms had little to do with the cold.

 

“We-ell, I… guess… you’d… say… what can make me feel this way?  My girl… talkin’ bout my girl… my girl.”

 

He had a good voice.  A really good voice, Isabel realized, staring at her boyfriend in awe as he sang to her.  Nick Carter… was amazing.  How had he pulled this off??  The band, the roof, everything… it was all so romantic and incredible.  Isabel had never had a guy put together something so special and elaborately simple for her.

 

But right now, she didn’t care how he had done it, what strings he’d had to pull to make this work.  All she could focus on was his smooth voice and his vivid blue eyes, which gazed directly into hers as he sang.

 

“I’ve got soooo much honey, the bees envy me.  I’ve got a sweeter song… than the birds in the trees…”

 

Isabel grinned at the smile he gave her; he was too adorable.  And as he launched into the chorus again, she knew it was true…

 

“My girl… talkin’ bout my girl… my girl.”

 

She was his.

 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” he said over the mic when the song finished, but then he put the equipment down and left his band to join her.

 

She practically threw himself into his arms, grateful for the warmth they offered as much as the comfort of his embrace, and as they hugged, she replied, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Nick.  That was incredible!!”

 

“The least I could do after your little treasure hunt this morning,” Nick returned, winking, as he released her.

 

She chuckled; in her mind, her little surprise had paled in comparison to the display of sweetness she had just seen from him.  “That was nothing.  This was really amazing, Nick.  You made me feel so special.”

 

“You are special.  You’re my girl,” Nick smiled.  Pulling her close again, he tipped her chin towards his and bent to kiss her lips.  He drew the kiss out, making it long and sensuous, and when it ended, he whispered, “I love you.”

 

Logic would have told Isabel that was it too early to say such things; they had only known each other six months, only been together for a few.  She had never said those words to a guy and meant them, but right now, looking up into Nick’s eyes, logic was thrown out the window.  She was not a medical student on call anymore; she was a puddle at Nick’s feet, formerly a woman who felt more in love than she’d ever been.  It was Valentine’s Day, and her heart was pounding faster than Nick’s had been this morning, and so it just seemed natural to say it.  And when she did, the words slid out easily, comfortably.

 

“I love you, too.”

 

+++

 

Not bothering with formalities, niceties, and any sort of regard for decorum, Ivory stalked into the meeting room and let the door slam shut behind her.  The nine members of the board turned their identically disapproving stares on her.

 

“Dr. Harnett,” the director of the hospital greeted her coolly.  “We’ve received a very recent report regarding the admittance, subsequent lack of treatment, and death of a patient of yours.  The incidence took place less than an hour ago, in fact.”

 

Ivory didn’t bother to sit and leaned against the table, turning a glare on each member separately.  “Would you mind giving me a minute to explain?” After a moment, they all nodded, and she took aim carefully.  “I came to this hospital because I’d heard all about its fantastic programs, its integrity, and its outstanding reputation among hospitals in this state.  With all of those credentials, I’d expected to gain far more than I’ve received during my time here.  Several weeks ago, I acted on impulse and did harm a patient’s father.  I regret that unfortunate action on my part, but, whatever else I’ve done, I stand behind fully.  I did not intentionally cause the man who car-jacked another patient of mine to die.  I did everything I could to save him, yet this board is determined to believe the word of a young, fairly inexperienced nurse over mine.”

 

She took a breath to steady herself before continuing.  “Today, Katherine Donnelly passed away on my watch because she was a DNR patient.”

 

At her words, the members of the board murmured to each other before Holli Brunson spoke.  “Dr. Harnett.  Nowhere in Mrs. Donnelly’s file does it specify her wishes to be filed as a Do Not Resuscitate patient.  Please explain how you could make such a horrid mistake and not help save a woman’s life.”

 

God, I hate you.  Ivory shoved the thought back and focused.  “Minutes before she coded, Mrs. Donnelly explained her wishes to me, and I had been on my way to get her paperwork to complete when she coded.  Her husband did not know of her wishes because she believed that he would not support her actions.  I, however, did know of her request and followed through on it.  This board may not believe me, and that’s fine.  I have decided that I can no longer wait and have you play games with my career.  I am a damn good doctor, and I have provided outstanding treatment to hundreds of patients at Atlantic Memorial.  Unfortunately, the working environment here is not conducive to my practicing medicine, so I’ll do you all, and myself, a favor.  I quit.” She took a deep breath at the words she’d just spoken and barreled on before she lost her nerve.  “I have two weeks of sick leave and two weeks of vacation time coming because I’ve been working round the clock for the last three years, so consider that my month’s notice.”

 

Not bothering to wait for their reactions, she stormed out of the room and didn’t let herself think until she reached the lounge.  She fumbled through her bag for her cell phone and, flipping it open, dialed a number.

 

When she’d made the necessary calls and put the next chapter of her life in motion, Ivory let the horrible pressure in her chest ease as hot tears spilled over her cheeks.  She hated letting them win.  She’d loved her job at this hospital, and she’d made so many good friends here.  She’d done her work eagerly, even when she’d been pulling thirty-hour shifts.  Medicine was her life—but Atlantic Memorial no longer was a part of that life. 

 

She wondered how she’d tell the people she cared for most at this hospital that she was leaving.  That she’d quit her job.  Some of her closest friends were doctors here, and she couldn’t imagine not seeing them, working side by side with them day after day.

 

And Brian.  She closed her eyes as the painful thought of leaving him worked its way through her heart and mind.

 

“Ivory.”

 

Her eyes popped open.  How had he known where to find her? How could he have known that she’d needed him at that moment?  Swiping the tears from her face, she turned to face him.  The watery smile she’d mustered up was wiped off at the cold look on his usually cheerful face.

 

“Brian.  What’s going on?”

 

He didn’t come closer, though he could see she’d been weeping.  A tiny part of his anger broke off at her sorrowful face, but he needed to know what the hell she’d been thinking.  “How could you let a woman die just because there was no heart readily available for her heart transplant?”

 

The accusatory words slapped at her, and she felt herself bleed from a dozen new wounds.  “I don’t have to explain anything, Brian, but I can tell you that she’d requested to be a DNR.  I couldn’t just up and deny a patient’s wishes.”

 

“She wasn’t officially a DNR, Ivory.  She hadn’t signed the paperwork, and you could have saved her.  She might still be alive if you’d abided by the oath you took when you became a doctor instead of following your personal agendas.”

 

Ivory nearly sputtered in shock at his words.  “I can’t believe this.  Oh, God. How could you be the one who won’t believe me? Brian,” she pleaded with him, but the coldness remained.

 

“You know how I feel about patients with heart problems, Ivory,” he replied, reminding her that he, too, had once gone under the knife for his heart troubles.  “There’s always something you can do to save a patient, and you could have helped that woman.  You chose not to for reasons that escape me, and I can’t agree with it.  I’m sorry, Ivory, but she wasn’t officially DNR, and you let her die.”

 

Frustrated, hurt, and devastated that the one person she’d relied on as support was abandoning her, too, Ivory stood and gathered her things.  “Well, it’s done now, and there’s nothing I can do to change it.” She slipped into her coat and blinked back the tears in order to see him clearly.  “I suppose it’s best that we’re at such odds,” she said quietly.

 

Brian frowned at her uncharacteristic meekness.  “Why is that?”

 

“Because I’m leaving in a few days for Seattle.  Permanently,” she explained.  “I quit today, and I’m going to move to Seattle to help my cousin with his clinic.  It’s going to make the move easier to know that there’s not much I’m leaving behind,” she added, tears clogging her throat and making it difficult for her voice to stay steady.

 

The shock of her news punched through the wall of anger he’d built up against her and had him taking steps towards her, but she was already at the door.  “Ivory.  You can’t just-”

 

She smiled sadly.  “I can, and I am.  I do want to thank you, Brian, for being my rock during all the craziness of the last few months.  I guess a rock has to crack sometime, too, though.  Either way, I wouldn’t have lasted this long without you.”

 

“Ivory, don’t do this.” Brian wracked his brain for reasons why she should stay.  “Look, I can get past whatever happened today, but you don’t have to leave.  Come on, Ivory.  You don’t have to go all the way to Seattle.  We’ll talk to the board together, and they’ll let you stay.  You’ll see.” Even as he spoke, he knew his arguments were fruitless.  “Ivory,” he whispered, his blue eyes full of devastation.  “Don’t leave me.”

 

Setting her bag down, she crossed to him and wrapped her arms around him.  “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice fierce with emotion.  “Thank you for everything.  I’m going to miss you.”

 

His arms banded around her tightly.  “I’ll miss you, too.” He leaned back and brushed at her bangs before laying his lips over hers in a soft kiss.  “There’s still time for you to stay,” he tried again, knowing he was wasting his breath.

 

Pressing a kiss to his cheek, Ivory slid out of his hold and picked her things up again.  “Goodbye, Brian.”  And she was gone.

 

+++

 

Justin walked into the small apartment, with roses in one hand and his present for Britney in the other.  He was emotionally drained, a bit traumatized from his last patient, and all he wanted to do was have a nice night with Britney.  He was just about to turn on the lights when he heard moaning from another room.

 

“Maybe Brit’s watching a movie,” he thought as he walked toward the sound. With each footstep, the moaning got louder.  Finally, he was at their bedroom door.

 

“Odd…” With a quiet breath, Justin let his curiosity get the better of him and opened the door. He looked around the dark room and saw Britney on the bed. With another man. Frustrated and hurt, Justin threw on the lights.  Britney pushed the man off of her, but it was too late.  Justin dropped the roses and her present on the floor. After a moment of silence, Justin finally spoke.

 

“How long?” Justin asked quietly.  He stared directly at the pair, not letting either of them out of his sight.  Britney and the other man looked down at the bed.

 

“How long?” Justin asked again, a little louder. There was still no response from either of them.

 

“How long, Britney? How long have you slept with him??” Justin yelled, not caring if the neighbors heard or not. He could feel the tears forming in his eyes.

 

“Um…well…you see…I…um…got lonely when you were working late, Justy!” Britney finally answered.

 

“Don’t call me that anymore! And you STILL haven’t answered my question!” Justin now was furious. It was obvious that she was stalling.

 

“Umm…Jacob and I met last year, during the hurricane. We were evacuated to the same place, and we just started to talk.” Britney said, looking at Jacob for approval.

 

“The HURRICANE?!” Justin still couldn’t believe it. Those two had been together for 4 months.  And all behind his back.

 

“So we hit it off, and exchanged phone numbers. But, when you worked late again on Thanksgiving, I was lonely and depressed, so we decided to go drinking and dancing. Then…one thing led to another…and here we are.” Britney continued.

 

“So…at Christmas….” Justin started to say. He didn’t even want to know the rest.

 

“Yes…he was there. I’m so sorry, Justy,” Britney said, reaching toward Justin.  Her arm almost touched his, but Justin slapped it away.

 

“NO! Don’t touch me. I was an idiot to think that I could trust you. I…I thought we were happy, Britney. Weren’t you?” Justin could feel a tear running down his face. He didn’t care how he looked. Not anymore.

 

“I was, Justin! But you kept on working late! What was I supposed to do?”

 

“Wait for me to come home! Stay loyal! But instead, you meet up with some guy not even a month after I started working at the hospital! Just….go away. Get out.” Justin pointed to the door.

 

“But Justin!”

 

“No! Just get OUT. I don’t want to see you anymore.” Britney held Jacob’s hand, trying to find support.

 

“But…where will I go?”

 

“I don’t care. Go stay with him if you want. Just get out.”

 

“But…”

“Get OUT, Britney. We’re over.” Britney and Jacob walked to the front door. Jacob put his arm around Britney’s waist, and Britney had the sheet wrapped around her like a strapless dress.

 

“I’ll come by for my stuff later.” She said angrily.  And with the resulting slam of the door, Justin knew they were gone. Stunned by the past event, Justin walked to the bedroom. He saw the roses and present on the floor, looking sad and forgotten.  Justin growled angrily and threw them across the room.  Then he sat with his knees tucked in, held his head in his hands, and let the tears flow down his face.

 

+++

 

“So then I dropped them all off with Lianna’s OB/GYN who showed up just as we got off the elevator. I stuck around for a while.” Bianca followed AJ up the stairs of his apartment building and recounted her time with the McHeart family.

 

AJ stopped in front of his door and fished his keys out of his pocket.  “So, the baby was delivered normally? Everyone end up healthy?”

 

“Sure, yeah.” She ran her hand through her hair, making it stick it out a little more than it already did from her harried shift in the ER.  “Neither the dad or the little boy had any real medical problems.  Just a little smoke inhalation. Nothing a little time breathing clean oxygen couldn’t cure.  Lianna came through labor pretty well.” Bianca leaned against the wall next to AJ’s door as he frowned and fumbled through all the keys on his key ring, looking for the right one.

 

“That’s good.  Damn it, I know which key goes in this lock! Where’d it go?” AJ tried one of his keys in the lock and cursed under his breath when it didn’t work. 

 

Bianca chuckled at his consternation.  “It’s okay.  Besides, you can hear the most romantic part of the whole story.  I know how much you love romance,” she joked.

 

“Oh, yeah. Me and romance go hand in hand.”

 

“So Lianna gave birth to a little girl,” Bianca continued, as though AJ wasn’t becoming grouchier by the moment. “They named her Amanda.  Don’t you want to know why?”

 

“Amanda’s not exactly the most unique of names, Bianca.” He stuck another key into the lock, and, this time, it opened the lock.  “Finally!”

 

Bianca followed him into the apartment still recounting the story.  “AJ, they named her Amanda because it means ‘love’ or ‘worthy of love’ is how Matthew explained it to me afterwards.  It’s like a…” Her voice trailed off as she stepped into the living room and was dazzled.

 

Dozens of glowing candles were scattered about the room and, in the center of the room, a table set with dinner for two sat.  A fingertip vase with a single red rose was in the middle of the table, flanked by two long, white tapers whose glow matched that of the other candles in the room.

 

“AJ, I don’t know what to say.” She finally managed to speak in an awestruck voice.

 

He grinned and held out another beautifully red rose.  “Say you’ll be my Valentine.”

 

Her bedazzled eyes swept the room once more before returning to land on him and the delicate bloom he offered her.  As her fingers reached out to stroke the petals and wrap around the slim stem, a smile spread across her features.  “You know I will.”

 

+++

 

The wick of the candle was starting to get as long as Jaela’s index finger.  The food was getting cold, and the flowers had wilted hours ago.  And yet, Paul wasn’t home.  Jaela couldn’t understand where he could be.  It was Valentine’s Day, for crying out loud. She sat at the table, hoping hear Paul walk through the front door.  The materialistic side of her wanted him to walk through the door with a present and a good explanation.  But in reality, all she wanted was her husband to come home.

 

After another half an hour of waiting, Jaela finally heard the front door open. But something was wrong.  Was he…sneaking in?  Curiosity got the best of her, and she creped toward the front door for a better look.  He was quietly closing the door and taking off his shoes.  He was acting like he had done something wrong, and didn’t want her to find out.  Jaela couldn’t stand it anymore.  She walked up to Paul and tapped him on the shoulder.

 

“Hi, Paul. Where have you been?” she asked. Paul jumped a bit and turned to face Jaela.

 

“Oh geez!” he yelled. “How long have you been standing there?”

 

“Long enough to know that you’re late. Where have you been?”

 

“I was out with some friends. I thought I told you already.”  Jaela sighed. She’s heard this excuse before. 

 

“Well, you hadn’t.  I had dinner prepared and everything, Paul. You were supposed to be home at 7…and now it’s past midnight.” Jaela started to walk away.  She was too tired to fight…again, and she had work the next morning. “I’m not waiting anymore, Paul.  I’m tired, and I have work tomorrow. Your present is on the table.  Goodnight, Paul.” She turned around, and walked to the stairs.  She paused at the pictures on the wall, especially on their wedding picture.  They looked so happy…so hopeful…so promising…is this what they were waiting for?  Arguments and forgotten dinners?

 

“Oh, and happy Valentine’s Day.” Jaela said, walking fully up the stairs, leaving a stunned Paul to his thoughts.

 

+++

 

Brian wandered the halls not knowing what to do with himself.  His shift had ended hours ago, and he’d gone home…to nothing.  Seeing the candles, the flowers, the beginnings of the dinner he would’ve cooked had caused him misery.  It had driven home the point that he was alone, that he should’ve had dinner with the woman he cared about, but it was over.  That part of his life was over.

 

The worst of it was that she hadn’t let him fight for them.  She’d just given up.

 

Unable to sit in his apartment alone, Brian had returned to the hospital.  And, like a small town, news of Ivory’s departure had spread like wildfire through the staff so that he was greeted with sympathetic glances from everyone upon his return.  Hating the looks, however well-meaning they were, and hating the situation he’d found himself in, he avoided speaking to anyone. 

 

When he saw the room and the accompanying chart, he smiled for the first time in hours and pushed the door open.

 

“Dr. Littrell?” Sabra looked up from the magazines she’d taken to flipping through aimlessly.

 

Brian offered her a sympathetic smile as he settled down in the chair he’d been seated in earlier.  “Hi, Sabra.  How’re you feeling?”

 

She shrugged.  “Okay.  I still wish I didn’t have to be here, but I know it’s for the best,” she added, resigned.  “What are you doing here? Is there something wrong with my lab results because you told me I was okay before.  Did something change?”

 

“Oh, no.  Definitely not.” Brian patted her arm.  “You’re fine.  Barring any complications, which I don’t think there will be, you’ll be on your way home tomorrow morning.”

 

“Oh.” She nodded slowly, looking him over.  He was no longer wearing the requisite lab coat, and she had to admit, though it made her squirm, that he was pretty cute for a doctor.  And that thought made her cheeks pink.  “Uh, are you off-duty?”

 

“Yeah.” He sighed.  “Actually, I am.  I’m a regular old person now, and I just thought I’d drop by to see how you were doing.  And I brought these.” He held out the box of chocolates he’d initially bought to go along with the dessert he’d planned on making for Ivory.  While that had gone down the drain, he hadn’t seen any reason why the chocolates had to, so, when he’d thought of going back to the hospital, he’d brought them with him, thinking that he’d just pass them on to somebody else.  Besides, it was too feminine to spend Valentine’s Day eating chocolate and sighing over past loves.  Not that he was against getting in touch with his feminine side, but…he was thinking too much again, he realized.  And his patient was staring at him like he’d grown three heads.

 

“Thanks.” Sabra took the box and set it next to her.  “Why are you still in the hospital and not on some V-Day date somewhere?”

 

Brian frowned.  “What makes you think I should be on a date?” Was his pain that transparent?

 

“Because, uh…” How could she tell him she thought any woman would be lucky to have him because he was just too cute?  He was her doctor, for crying out loud.  “I don’t know, you just seem like the kind of guy who should have a girlfriend?” Sabra mentally smacked herself.  God, could she sound any lamer?

 

“That’s a nice thought,” Brian replied with a smile.  “Actually, my girlfriend and I broke up today.” It was interesting, he thought, to finally admit it out loud.  He and Ivory were broken up.  It would no longer be Brian-and-Ivory or Ivory-and-Brian.  No more Harnett-and-Littrell or Littrell-and-Harnett.  He blinked and refocused when he realized Sabra had asked him a question.  “Sorry, what?”

 

She felt bad for him because he looked sad.  Still cute, but sad.  “Would it be too weird if I asked why?” And then quickly, she added, “You don’t have to tell me or anything if you don’t want to or whatever.”

 

“I, uh, it’s okay.  She worked at this hospital until today,” Brian began.  “But the people who run this hospital didn’t always agree with how she practiced medicine.  Hell, I didn’t entirely agree with Ivory all the time, either, but she got fed up and quit.  She’s moving to Seattle in a couple days to work with her cousin in a clinic there.”

 

“Wow, she found a job that fast?” Sabra thought maybe it would be best to steer clear of the relationship aspect of her doctor’s life and focus on something else.  Otherwise, it was just too awkward.

 

Brian frowned.  “No, no.  I guess it wasn’t really that fast. I mean, she’d been talking to her cousin lately because he asked her to find him someone to be his partner.  I just didn’t realize that she’d been thinking about doing it herself,” he finished, thinking it over as he spoke. 

 

It had been a rather quick decision on her part, he realized.  How could she just have gone from working at the hospital then switching within hours to working with her cousin? Hadn’t she given herself time to be upset over the loss of a job at all? Most people would’ve needed at least a few days to regroup, but, apparently, not Ivory.  It was almost as though…As though she’d been thinking about it for a while, and the decision had been practically made before she’d even quit.

 

As that puzzle began to fall into place, his heart broke again.  If she’d been planning it all along, Ivory hadn’t told him.  She’d never said a thing about contemplating switching jobs, switching coasts.  Had she stopped trusting him lately? Was he just like everyone else to her?

 

“Maybe she forgot to tell you? Or maybe she meant to tell you, but everything happened really fast today?” Sabra, having read far too many romance novels during her fifteen years, figured he had to have been thinking along those lines.  He was a man, after all, and most romance novel men thought like that.  And it was really weird, she decided, that she was thinking about romance novel male leads during a time such as this.

 

Brian sighed.  “Yeah, maybe.  Either way,” he looked over at her and managed a brilliant smile, “looks like you’re not the only one with a bad ending to Valentine’s Day, huh?”

 

“I guess.”

 

“Dr. Littrell?” Susan, the nurse who’d been a part of the reason Ivory had been under suspicion, poked her head in the door.  “Could I see you for a second?”

 

Brian patted Sabra’s hand.  “Be back in a bit.” Once outside, he watched Susan coolly, knowing he was irrationally partly blaming her for the loss of his relationship.  “What did you need?”

 

Susan gestured behind her, so that Brian noticed the suit-clad teenage boy standing nervously to the side.  He had a bunch of flowers and a large bag under one arm as he used his other hand to tug at the dark hair that fell over his eyes.  “That’s Sabra Elliott’s dance date.  He just showed up a couple minutes ago, asking if he could surprise her.  I was hoping, since you’re in there with her anyway, if you could get her out for a few minutes so he can do his set-up.  Please?”

 

Brian had to smile at the hopeful look on the boy’s face, which made him think that Sabra would be over the moon once she found out Ryan McCourt really did care about her.  “Okay.  He’d better hide, so I can bring her out of the room.” Stepping back in to see Sabra, he smiled.  “Wanna go for a walk, Miss Elliott? I bet you’re tired of being cooped into this room for the last few hours, huh?”

 

Sabra’s jaw dropped.  “I’m gonna be let out of this crappy room?” She winced. “I mean, it’s a really nice room and all, but…”

 

Brian laughed.  “It’s okay.  It is pretty dull.” He held out his arm.  “Shall we?”

 

“Yeah!” Sabra enthusiastically leapt out of the bed and let him lead her out and down the hall.

 

Twenty minutes later, after he’d given her a tour of the ER, Brian brought his young patient back to her room and watched her eyes widen as she saw the flowers, balloons, and the table her date had set up for her.

 

“Ryan!” She was in shock, and Brian didn’t need to be a doctor to know that.

 

Ryan took her hand and led her to the table, and Brian decided he’d leave the two lovebirds alone.  As he made his way back to his car, once again avoiding everyone’s knowing looks, he found he had to smile.  Despite the terribly unexpected twist to what should have been a good day, things, when he really thought about it, weren’t as bad as they could have been.  He had ended a good, solid relationship, but it didn’t have to mean that he and Ivory could never see each other again.  If nothing else, he thought as he turned his car on, they could keep in touch.  He did hope she would do well in Seattle and wished her all the best.

 

And, he decided, turning his car onto the road, he would be okay, too.  Because, despite the obstacles it often hurdled, the human heart always endured.

 

+++

 

 

Next Episode ->