Diagnosis: Daddy (Doctors in Training 1)

The sudden hollowness that filled her made Mia reach out quickly for her coffee cup, her smile feeling patently false as she replied brightly, “I’m prepared for anything, Carla. That’s what keeps my life interesting. Are there any more of those cheesecake tarts you served for dessert, Mom? I wasn’t hungry then, but I wouldn’t mind having one now.”

“Yes, there are plenty of those left. Would you like another, Carla?”

“No, thanks,” Carla declined with a fleeting look of regret. “I already had two for dessert. But I will take another cup of coffee.”

Relieved that she’d successfully managed to change the subject and determined to enjoy the rest of this visit with her family, Mia pushed her doubts and worries to the back of her mind. Or at least, she tried.

Connor dragged himself into his house on the last Tuesday in October, so tired he could almost feel his joints grind with his movements. He was overstressed, under-rested and so discouraged that he was beginning to wonder what on earth had made him enter medical school. He’d had a pretty good life before, teaching and coaching and spending free time with his friends. Back when he’d remembered what free time was. What on earth could be worth this grind?

He could usually count on someone in his study group to cheer him up, but they’d been as glum as he was today. Ron’s joking had been forced and he and Haley had snapped at each other a couple of times. Haley hadn’t been able to rally her own spirits, much less everyone else’s. Anne had been even more stressed and intense than usual, and James…well, it was always hard to tell what James was thinking, but even he had seemed a bit more distant than he usually was.

The high-pitched, musical sound of a child’s laughter made him pause in mid-step. He tilted his head, hearing the laughter come again from the living room. Alexis certainly seemed tickled by something.

Feeling his gloomy mood lighten just a little, he went to see what was so funny. He could certainly use a laugh himself.

He found Mia sitting cross-legged in the living room floor, smiling while Alexis danced around her on tiptoes, her little arms arched in the air above her. Connor cocked an eyebrow as he noted his daughter’s outfit. She wore a pink leotard and tights with a fluffy pink tutu, a sparkly tiara and shimmery lavender wings studded with rhinestones. She clasped a glimmering plastic scepter in one hand and wore an ostentatious faux-jeweled necklace that jingled rather loudly with her movements.

“What’s going on?” he asked, feeling a grin tug at the corners of his mouth.

Alexis paused in mid-pirouette. “It’s my Halloween costume,” she said, spreading her arms to give him a better look. “Mia helped me.”

“You’re a…ballerina?” he

hazarded.

“I’m a ballerina fairy princess,” she corrected him.

“Ah. I see.”

“She couldn’t decide between them, so we combined them,” Mia explained, a smile reflected in her eyes. “We’ll add some glittery makeup on Halloween because Alexis wants to sparkle all over.”

“I think you make a beautiful ballerina fairy princess,” he assured her.

Alexis looked pleased.

“Why don’t you go get ready for bed now,” Mia suggested. “You don’t want to mess up your wings before Halloween.”

“Okay.” Alexis headed for the doorway, then paused there to look back at Connor. “Are you going trick-or-treating with us?”

He was a little startled by her question because he hadn’t even given it a thought. He’d even lost track of what day it was. “Uh—when is Halloween again?”

“Friday.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

Alexis nodded timidly. “If you want to,” she added.

“I’d like to,” he assured her. “I’ll try to make time, okay?”

“Okay.” She turned and hurried out of the room, her glittering wings fluttering behind her.

Mia turned to Connor with a bright smile. “Did she look adorable or what?”

“Yeah, she was cute. Where’d you find all the stuff?”

“We stopped on the way home from school and did a little shopping. The tiara and scepter were mine. A group of my students gave them to me during homecoming week last year as a joke.”

“Yes, I remember that. They named you the Teacher Queen.” Despite being a challenging teacher, Mia was popular with most of her advanced placement students. She walked the fine line between being friendly and firm and her students benefited from her skills.