My Christmas Doctor
"Dr. Chase. Do you know him?"
She frowned. "No, haven't heard of him, but then if he's exclusive to NY-P, then I wouldn't. I'll see what I can find out though, let you know."
I already knew all I needed to know, Dr. Chase was kind and caring, and smart. I didn't have any doubts about that, but I didn't want to dissuade her from checking him out. Ellie was always efficient in everything she did, which was why she was usually my go to source for my medical knowledge for my novels. If she didn't know it, she knew someone who did and always got me the information I needed. Without her, my novel would have sucked and not even come close to the NYT best seller list.
"Thanks." I smiled.
"No problem. Anything you need before I go?"
"No, the staff here are really good. I should have asked you to bring my laptop and a change of clothes, but I didn't think of it till now," I said with a laugh.
"I totally would have. Tell you what, if they're gonna make you stay longer, text me and I'll go get those for you."
"Deal." I grinned.
"Okay, I gotta go, love you, girl."
"Love you too." I hugged her back.
She gave me a wave and left me alone.
Sighing, I turned the tv up and started watching the show I'd put on. It was nearly over when Dr. Chase came in, but I didn't mind as it hadn't really held my attention. I pushed my hair back from my face, I was sure it was a rat's nest, but I tried to smooth it down.
"Hey there," he said, his face lit up with that handsome smile of his.
"Hi," I answered.
"So, I've got good news. You, my dear, are just about ready to get out of here."
"Um, yay?" I replied.
He chuckled. "I'm gonna bet you want to get a shower, am I right?"
"Oh yeah, I am looking forward to that." I smiled.
"Okay, well before that, I wanted to go over a few things about your release, which will be tomorrow morning, I want you here one more night, just to be sure you don't have a relapse."
"Okay, yeah I don't want to have one either." I nodded.
"So, I'm going to put you on colchicine for the next four months. It does have side effects, like nausea for example, so I'm going to want to monitor you. Are you okay with that?"
I smiled and nodded. "Yes, of course, I'm glad I get to still see you… I mean…" I felt my cheeks heat. "Um… I wish it wasn't because I had this disease, but because… well I wish we'd met under other circumstances." My voice got squeaky as I admitted what I was feeling.
He leaned in close and said, "I wish that as well, but we'll see… once you aren't my patient."
Our gazes connected and we shared a moment of mutual understanding and my heart sped up, which caused the monitor to beep a little faster, which broke the connection between us.
"Ah, let me just…" He reached over and switched the machine off. He cleared his throat and smiled. "So… I'll let you go take that shower and I'll see you in the morning. Sound good?"
"Yes, thank you." My face was on fire.
He gave me a wink, and as he headed out of the door, he said, "Have a good night, Jane."
"You too," I murmured, watching him leave.
In my head, I played the scene over, repeatedly. Did he really say that he wished he'd met me under other circumstances as well? Was he really interested in me? I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that the handsome doctor might actually be interested in me as a person, not just a patient, or as an author. But me, the person. I knew if that heart monitor was still on, it would have gone crazy with the beeping by now, because I could hardly contain myself.
Lara returned wearing a smile, her arms filled with a bundle of towels, a new hospital gown as well as some shampoo and soap. "Dr. Chase says you can take a shower."
"Yes, I'm ready for one," I replied. "I probably smell to high heaven!"
She laughed. "Ah, I've smelled worse, believe me!"
I shook my head. "I'm sure you have, but I'm ready to get rid of the stink."
"Let me just remove your IV, then you can head on in, and while you get yourself cleaned up, I'll get your bed freshened. Sound good?"
"Sounds perfect, honestly. You all have been fantastic. So patient, and kind, and caring, seriously, I can't thank you all enough."
Lara smiled. "That's the job. I mean who goes into nursing to be evil and cruel? Not anybody I know. Well…" she paused, "okay there might be a doctor or two I'd put in that category, well maybe not evil and cruel but aggravating, and annoying, and condescending… yeah… there's a few, but not Dr. Chase. He's one of the best."