My Christmas Doctor

She looked amazing, dressed in a lovely pale yellow sundress with a black belt that came just past her knees. I noticed a matching wide brimmed hat sat on the chair with her black clutch purse. On her feet were black heels. Her face lit up as I entered, and my smile grew. "Good morning."

I closed the door and stood near her since she was sitting on the exam table. "How are you? Anything to report regarding your treatment?" I asked wanting to get the official stuff out of the way.

"I'm good." She smiled. "And no, I've been feeling great. No attacks, not even a hint of chest pain."

"That's great news. Especially since this is your last official visit."

"It is? You mean… I'm good now? The treatment's finished?"

"Yes, your last tests look great. And you've finished the treatments. So after today, you're no longer my patient."

"Oh," she said sounding a little saddened by my words. "So, I, um, I won't be seeing you anymore?"

"Well… no. Not as a doctor. But…" I took a breath and she looked up, a curious look on her face. "I was hoping that maybe, since you won't be my patient any longer, that you might want to meet me out someplace?"

"What, like a date?" she asked, her eyes brightening and her lips curving up into a sweet smile.

"Yes, exactly like a date. Is that something that you might want to do? With me?"

"I would, very much."

"Great." I felt like my heart was pounding a mile a minute. "I'll call you later to set something up then."

"Yes, all right." Her cheeks pinkened. "I'll look forward to your call."

I grinned as I helped her down from the table. "I'll call this evening, after I look in on my patients at the hospital."

She nodded and picked up her things. "Okay."

I moved to the door and opened it, and then she held her hand out to shake mine, as we'd done after every one of her visits. I took her hand in mine and cherished the feeling of her delicate hand in mine. "I'll see you soon," I said, keeping my tone hushed, so I didn't draw the attention of my staff.

"I'm looking forward to it," she murmured just as softly, and then as Linda came down the hall, she added. "Thank you so much, Dr. Chase. I appreciate you looking after me."

"It has been my pleasure, Ms. Adams." I smiled as she pulled her hand from mine and with a little wave, she left my office.

I spent the rest of the day in a daze, my thoughts on what I'd like to do with Jane on our date. I wanted it to be something memorable. Something she hadn't done before but would enjoy. And then I recalled, they were doing Shakespeare in Central Park this coming weekend, and I just happened to have Saturday off. I knew they would have early evening performances, and I thought maybe we could take a picnic, sip some wine, and enjoy a little outdoor theatre. She'd enjoy that, wouldn't she? Literature was something dear to her heart, I knew from the many talks we'd had, and you couldn't get more close to literature than Shakespeare, right?

I decided I should come up with an alternative, just in case that didn't appeal to her, so I stood at the nurse's station scrolling through the entertainment options on my phone.

"You look frustrated, Doctor. Anything I can help with?" Lara asked from behind the desk.

"I'm trying to find something memorable to do on a first date." I frowned.

"Oh? New lady in your life then?" she asked, grinning.

I glanced at her and nodded. "Yeah, a former patient—"

"You asked her out finally!" Lara grinned. "I knew you liked her."

"Who?"

"Jane Adams, the author."

"How did you know it was her I asked out?" I questioned.

"Because you both looked smitten when we saw you together. It was pretty obvious." She grinned. So, Jennifer, Kelly, James, and I had a bet going on whether or not you would pursue her after she was released as a patient and when."

I narrowed my eyes and frowned at her. "Seriously? You were betting on my love life?"

"Oh, come on, Dr. Chase. You know us, we're always making wagers on things, half the time you're in on it!" She laughed. "We all could tell you were into her while she was here. But we also knew you'd wait till she wasn't a patient anymore, because you're not like a certain other doctor around here."

"Yeah, all right, I did ask her out."

"But when is the question." She grinned. "I'm going to guess you just had your last appointment with her and released her as your patient. Did you even wait until the ink was dry before asking?" She laughed at the look on my face.

"None of your business." I shook my head. "Since you knew I'd ask, what do you think we should do? I was thinking Shakespeare in Central Park—"