My Christmas Doctor

I grinned. "So, all the action took place before you got on shift." I chuckled.

"Pretty much." She smiled. "James checked her potassium before breakfast, it's moving up into the right numbers. Another day or so and she should be in the right range."

"Great. Well, I'm going to go check in on her." I pulled the book out of my pocket and strode to her door. I quickly rapped upon it and glanced in.

"Come in," Jane called, but her writing was clearly distracting her because she didn't even look up from the note pad, which was nearly full, from the look of it.

"Hey there, I see you've gotten some writing done. Looks like a lot of progress."

Finally, her bright green eyes turned up to me in the doorway and she blinked. A smile spread over her face and she set her pen down. "Hi. Yeah, I'm getting some words down. Not sure if it's any good or not, but I'll fluff it when I transcribe it to the laptop later." She flipped some of the pages. "I'm going to need another legal pad if I'm here for much longer though." She laughed and glanced back at me.

"I can arrange that." I smiled and held up my copy of A Lethal Injection. "I was hoping you'd sign this for me."

Her whole face lit up, seeing the book. "You really do have a copy!" She held her hands out for it and I handed it over. "It even looks well read!"

"Of course. I told you I was a fan." I grinned.

She opened the cover and smoothed the title page. Inside she wrote something and then closed it and handed it back to me. "There you go." She beamed up at me.

I opened the cover and read, "To Dr. Chase, thank you for fixing me, and thank you for being a fan. Love, Jane Adams."

I glanced up from the book at her and smiled. "I'll treasure this, really." I tucked it back in my pocket to bring back home. I sat down on the chair next to her bed. "So, I hear there was some excitement last night?"

"Ugh. Yeah. Jennifer took care of it though. Told them no visitors. Not that I'd mind if a friend came by, or even my agent or publisher, but not him."

I chuckled. "Well, I suppose I could give you leave to have those couple of visitors today, if you'd like to let them know."

She nodded. "Thanks, I might."

"Your potassium is looking good. If it continues to move up, and the anti-inflammatories look to be doing their job, I think I might be able to release you tomorrow."

"Really? That's great."

"Now don't forget to eat something healthy for lunch and I'll be scheduling you for another MRI to check your heart again this afternoon. If it looks good, I'll let the nurse take you off the heart monitor and you can get a shower."

"Okay, I will, and a shower sounds amazing."

"I thought it might. Well, I'll let you get back to it, and do actually get some rest today too. It will do you some good."

"Promise." She nodded.

I left her to her writing then and went to see my other patients, but the whole time I was with them, my mind was on Jane. Finally, at a quarter to twelve, I left the hospital and headed for The Capital Grille. When I got there, I could see Michael already seated at a table. "Hello," I said to the hostess, "my party is already here and waiting." I nodded toward Michael.

"Of course, sir." She gestured for me to go ahead.

As I took my seat, a waiter arrived and handed me a menu, but I waved it away. "Thank you, but I already know what I'd like to order."

"Of course, sir. Are you both ready to order?"

I glanced at Michael and was annoyed to see he was drinking a scotch, but I didn't say anything. Maybe he was finished for the day. I doubted it, but it was possible.

"I'm ready. I'll have the Pan-fried Calamari with Hot Cherry Peppers, a ten ounce Fillet Mignon, well done, and the Grilled Asparagus with the Lemon Mosto," Michael said.

"And for you, sir?"

"I'll stick with water to drink. I still have work to do today. I'd like the Ribeye Steak Sandwich, with the Caramelized Onions and Havarti, and the Parmesan Truffle Fries. Thank you."

"Of course, sir, and how would you like that Ribeye cooked?" he asked.

"Medium rare, please."

"Of course, sir." The waiter left our table.

"So, what was it you wanted?" I asked.

"Oh, nevermind that, I figured it out. So, the hot redhead released from the ICU this morning, tell me about her. I hear she's your patient. Is she single?"

Of course, that is what he's wanted all along. I should have known. "She's my patient, Michael. I'm not at liberty to discuss her with you."