Mount Mercy

I looked down at the sheet that covered my chest. “Was it bad?”

He shook his head. “Nah.”

I kept staring at him. He huffed and looked away. When he looked back at me, I pinned him with a look. Corrigan!

“You’ve been out for a full day,” he said. “I had to open your chest.”

I looked down at myself in disbelief.

“I had my hands right inside you,” he said. “In some cultures, that would make us married.”

My heart flip-flopped. That didn’t sound so bad. “Did you fix me?” I asked, shocked at how weak my voice was.

He acted mock-offended. “Are you doubting me?” Then he frowned. “I mean, I wasn’t sure of a few things. Had to do some guessing. A kidney might be in backwards and I think I put your spleen where your liver should be—”—I lifted a hand as if to hit him—“Yes! Of course I fixed you!”

I bit my lip. Of course he fixed me. Just like I’d known he would. We looked at each other for a second and then he leaned down and gave me a very careful hug.

“Krista?”

“Recovering well. Everybody’s doing well. Colt’s in a cell at the police station. Phone lines are still down and the roads are still blocked. But look….”

He wheeled my bed around so that I was facing the window. It was noon and, above Mount Mercy, the snow clouds had parted. For the first time in days, we could see blue sky.

Epilogue

Two weeks later

“Mine’s bigger,” I said.

“But I have two,” said Krista. We were standing in front of the mirrors in the locker room, our scrub tops lifted to our necks. “And two exit wounds.” She counted off her scars, turning this way and that. “One, two, three, four.” She grinned proudly. “I look like I’ve been to war.”

I shook my head and let my top fall back down. Both of us were still weak and not officially back at work yet, but we hadn’t wanted to miss today. Today was the day Rebecca went home.

The blizzard had been over for two weeks, but the snow was so thick, it had taken the authorities two full days to get the road to Denver re-opened. When they did, Rebecca’s parents had been the first people to arrive. They’d barely left her bedside since.

To reach the elevators, we had to cross the ER. The critical care beds had gone back upstairs and the doors I’d smashed through had been replaced. Outside, I could see Maggie supervising the unloading of the new generator from the back of a truck. Earl, who was technically still on sick leave, was out there with her in his civilian clothes, holding her hand. They were inseparable and I’d never seen them happier, although Earl grumbled to me that she’d made him cut back on the donuts to look after his heart.

We had our full complement of staff back and the ER was busier than ever. But the chaos didn’t freak me out, anymore. I knew I’d always prefer the calm of the OR but everyone needs a little chaos in their lives.

The elevator doors slid open in front of me and I saw blue scrubs stretched over a broad, hard chest. I looked up into blue eyes that twinkled with mischief.

“Doctor Beckett,” rumbled Corrigan.

“Doctor Corrigan,” I said coolly.

We stood there staring at each other, not touching, but our eyes just eating each other up. It was a game we played. We’d be completely formal and professional whenever we saw each other, letting the tension build and build and then, when we couldn’t take it anymore….

“Oh, please,” muttered Krista, leaning between us to hit the button. “Get a room. And I don’t mean the linen closet.”

I flushed down to my roots. We’d have to be quieter, next time. But then I caught Corrigan’s eyes and grinned.

Upstairs, we barely got through the door to Rebecca’s room before Rebecca’s mom threw her arms around me. “God bless you,” she said into my neck. “Thank you.”

I gently patted her back. This was nothing: when she’d first arrived and seen that her daughter was okay, she’d locked me in her arms and not let me escape for nearly a minute. I didn’t mind at all. The poor woman had been worried out of her mind.

The family moved towards the door. Rebecca looked up at me with big eyes and a slightly shaky lower lip. “We’re coming back, right?” she asked her mom. “We can all come back here. I want to learn how to ski.”

“We’ll try,” said her mom. Her dad ruffled her hair. Rebecca kept her eyes on me, her lower lip getting shakier by the second. I knew exactly how she felt. After everything we’d been through, I was having trouble saying goodbye, too.

That’s when Corrigan bent down and handed Rebecca a clumsily gift-wrapped package. When she tore off the paper, she found an aging, much-loved bunny rabbit. Rachel’s rabbit.