ER Doc's Forever Gift

‘So you’re glad I dragged you out of bed early?’

‘There wasn’t much dragging going on.’ And that was what she had to hold on to now, not spend precious time thinking about what could go wrong. ‘But if you’d thrown me over your shoulder and taken me away then, well, we mightn’t have made it to Coromandel.’ Not until they’d had time in his bed first.

Harry grinned. ‘Let’s head in. We’ve got more than enough fish for dinner, and I’d like to go for a drive over the other side of the peninsula, mosey around some.’

‘Sounds perfect.’ More time getting to know Harry better, and better. The more she learned about him, the more she had to know. It was as though she had an insatiable appetite for all things Harry.

They moseyed and talked, drank a beer at a pub and talked, before Harry suggested they head back to their accommodation.

‘I can run with that. In fact, I’m salivating about barbecued fish with fresh bread for dinner.’

‘I’m disappointed.’

‘Oh, all right, I’ll dribble about testing out that bed again before the fish.’ It wouldn’t be hard to delay a meal for making love. There was hunger to appease her stomach, and then there was downright hungry for Harrison. No contest.

Later that night, Sienna fell into the deepest sleep the moment her head hit the pillow, only to wake when Harry wound his arm around her and snuggled into her back. Of course, she wasn’t going to miss out on any touching time. Touching which progressed so that they weren’t lying quietly for long.

‘What made you want to become a doctor?’ Harry asked when their heart rates were back to normal and their bodies languishing in after-match stupor.

Where did that come from? Sienna wondered. ‘When I was eleven I had an appendectomy and according to my dad I didn’t stop asking questions about why an appendix could get infected, what would happen if it wasn’t removed, why it had happened to me. I know I wasn’t satisfied with some of the answers nurses fobbed me off with, so when I got home I tried to find out everything I could. I was becoming a science nerd.’

‘That was enough to make you want to do medicine?’

‘Not at all. The nurses were kind and did everything to make me feel better—apart from answer my questions—and I planned on being a nurse when I grew up.’

‘But that science nerd took over?’ Harry’s fingers were making soft circles on her skin.

‘Yes, thank goodness. I can’t think of being anything else.’

‘Why paediatrics?’

Ah.

‘I’ve always liked kids, especially the little ones with their inquisitive minds and willingness to try out anything before they learn they might get hurt or make a mistake.’

And I was never sure if I’d be lucky enough to have my own family.

‘What made you take up emergency medicine? Apart from being an adrenalin junkie,’ she asked.

‘Not so much the adrenalin rush as the need for action, the urgency, putting things to rights as soon as possible. Not that I always save my patients, but I put everything on the line in the attempt.’

‘How’s that related to your past?’

‘Don’t hold back, will you?’ Those fingers didn’t hesitate with their circles.

‘Sometimes it’s the only way to find out what I want.’

They lay there for a while and Sienna knew he wasn’t going to answer her. Disappointing as that was, she accepted his choice. They might be getting along better than ever but, since it wasn’t a permanent thing, he didn’t owe her details of his past. Unfortunately.

Then his hand stopped, his fingers splaying across her waist, holding her lightly, as if he was acknowledging they were together, however temporarily. ‘As an emergency doc, I go in, do all I can to fix up a patient and discharge them, or get them stable to move on to a specialist ward where they’ll get the care they need, and I move on to the next person needing immediate attention. In and out. Done and dusted. It works for me.’

‘None of the long-term involvement.’ Like his relationships with women by the sound of things. Like his connection with his parents. Short and sharp. Was everyone the result of their childhood? Their adolescence?

‘Yeah,’ he sighed, and his fingers went back to making those relaxing circles on her skin, making her sleepy again.

As Sienna drifted into sleep Harry stared at the darkened ceiling, trying not to admit the day had been one of the greatest he’d known in a very long time—if not the best ever. They’d been so comfortable together it was as though they’d known each other for a lot longer than a few weeks. Yet they knew next to nothing really, not the deep, hurtful reasons for being who they’d become. Sure, there’d been some give and take about family and growing up, but they’d only scratched the surface, yet still this felt different, like a real friendship. Friendship with benefits? No. A true, deep and meaningful relationship had to have it all. Was it possible that Sienna would give him that and more? Had they found a connection because they were both marked by their pasts? Did the reason even matter?

She flung an arm out, clobbered him lightly on the chest and muttered incoherently before settling further into her pillow.

He waited, breathing deep the scent that was Sienna. And knew hope. Knew they were special together. Knew this fling would still have to run its course because he wasn’t prepared to take a risk again.

* * *

Sunday brought more of the same: sex, a leisurely breakfast, fishing... Except instead of driving along the coast to visit other towns, the excursion drew to a finish. Reluctantly Sienna climbed into the four-wheel drive, sensing that more than the weekend was over. If not today, then soon. In one sense she felt happier than she had in a long time, in another way she’d been given a taste of something that was not long-term. ‘That was fabulous. Thank you so much for taking me along.’

‘It wouldn’t have been half the fun on my own.’ Then Harry gulped and went all silent on her. Realising he did like sharing his time with someone? With her, even?

She wasn’t asking. The answer might be confronting and that was not how she wanted to end this interlude. While the kilometres ticked over and the Coromandel Peninsula disappeared behind them before the Bombay Hills on the outskirts of Auckland began to fill their vision, she refused to dwell on anything but how enjoyable these two days had been, not on what she’d

been missing out on. Finally she told Harry, ‘I’d forgotten how much fun doing something simple like fishing could be. Dad and I used to go out quite a lot in some places we stayed.’

‘You’d do it again?’

‘With you?’ She winced. Wrong thing to say. ‘Yes, if the opportunity arose, but then it’s not likely to, is it?’

‘I can’t imagine I’ll get another chance before I head away.’ Definitely reminding her he wasn’t here for ever.

Then slam. Out of nowhere it hit hard.

I am like Dad. I do enjoy wandering about with no timetable to adhere to.

Putting emphasis on keeping her life orderly all her adult life was designed to make her feel normal. Other people went fishing, played sports or partied, had lots of friends around them, and stayed in one place. This past week had opened her eyes, and she’d hardly started on that list. All she had to do was find a balance between who she needed to be and the girl who wanted to toss caution to the wind and have a ball every day. It did not have to mean reverting to the girl child on the road. Yeah, sure. ‘I’ve been fooling myself all along.’ A shiver rattled down her spine.

‘What are you talking about?’

She’d said that out loud? See, already losing control. ‘Nothing.’

‘Sienna? What’s going on?’

‘Nothing,’ she repeated. When had she become such a fool? It had taken nothing more than a wonderful weekend to loosen all the restraints she’d spent her adult life putting in place.

‘You’re shutting down on me.’

How could he think that? ‘No, I’m not. Because of this weekend I’m starting to understand all that I’ve been missing out on, and that I can’t let go entirely if I don’t want to be like my father.’

Harry clenched the steering wheel. This couldn’t happen. Sienna needed to live life to the full. She’d missed out on too much already, and he didn’t want to be the one who showed how it could be if she wasn’t going to follow through. That’d make him feel guilty, like waving chocolate in front of her then eating it himself. ‘You’ve got another week’s leave yet. Plenty more time to catch up on some of those things you want to do.’ He also wanted this Sienna to become stronger. They’d got on so well he’d miss her if she reverted to her old self.