Disclaimer: I do not own the Clique.

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

I, on the other hand very much disagree with this adage.

I have eaten apples since I discovered applesauce as a mere child,

But the doctor has still come.

Now,

I'm at a point where I want the doctor to come.

Dr. Christopher Plovert,

Oncology.

Yes, I know it's not the nicest profession,

But he never complains.

In fact,

I think his job has made him grow sweeter.

He's loving and compassionate to every patient that walks through his door,

And I was no exception.

Yeah, I know that's a Greek tragedy in itself,

My story,

But I'm not here to talk about that.

I'm here,

I'm standing,

And I get semi-annual checkups for free.

So I'm all good.

Yes, I wore a scarf for a few months,

But so was Skye Hamilton,

So it was fashionable.

Who cares that she had blonde hair coming from her's?

Well anyways, unlike some other stories like my own,

I did not meet Dr. Plovert during my dark days.

I had actually known him from junior high.

He always wanted to be a doctor.

He wanted to help people the way doctors had helped him immensely.

See, this boy had been extremely clumsy,

Broken leg,

Broken arm,

Sprained shoulder,

The whole nine yards.

Well, then again, I guess I did "meet" him during my time,

Because I guess that's when I fell in love with him.

At first I thought he was going to be just another doctor...

Cold, heartless, emotionless.

Then he became my full-time physician when I went on chemo,

And my whole perception of him changed.

He cared, he asked how I was,

He actually LISTENED when I had a problem,

And he never looked at my shiny head,

Only in my eyes.

We were twenty-three at the time.

Since we had known each other previously,

It was very easy to talk to him.

Plenty of times he would just sit by my bed on his lunch hour,

Or after he had clocked out,

And we'd just learn more about each other.

He told me he didn't mind interning and working at the hospital,

But hoped to own his own practice one day.

He was single at the time,

Jackpot or what?

And told me he wanted to be married by thirty.

I think the moment I knew I at least had a crush on him,

Was when he looked at me and asked

"What do you want to do when you get out of here?"

Not "if you get out of here"

Not "if you have a future"

Not "if you make it through"

Not "if"

But "when"

"When you get out of here."

I swear I couldn't hold my tears back.

He smiled and patted my hand.

And I told him I wanted to be a fashion intern.

I was going to own the next hot boutique,

Or work for a fashion magazine or something.

He asked if I would ever get married.

I told him I at least wanted to have a kid by twenty-eight.

I could see he was amused by the prospect of skipping the marriage part and just getting down to business.

They told me at first I was just infatuated with him because he was my doctor,

Because he was going to make me well.

And maybe they were right.

My brother Chris even said I'd probably date Josh if he gave me the time of day.

All I know is,

It didn't end there.

Obviously I made it out okay since I'm telling this story,

But somehow my heart still ached for Dr. McPlovvie.

When I saw him again a few weeks later for my follow-up screening I asked him if he was seeing anyone.

He said he had been on two dates with this girl Dylan.

He laughed as he told me that had been over two weeks ago.

Now, if I got nothing else out of my ordeal,

I learned to just live your life the way you wanted.

So I asked him for his number.

He smiled when I said, not the hospital number, because I already had that.

I was a little nervous to call, so a few days later I rang when I knew he'd be at work.

I left a message,

And to my surprise he called me back the next day.

Our first date was March 26,

Three months and two weeks after I was announced clean.

We went to some stupid jackass comedy,

The doctor and me.

The movie was stupid,

But I felt a tightening in my chest just being next to him.

Hero complex?

Possibly.

He called me a few days later,

We went out for pizza for date number 2.

He puffed out his chest comically,

And told me about all the lives he saved.

He happened to add in the case

Of a cute girl with green eyes.

How could I not smile about that?

Other dates followed after.

Of course he had a busy schedule,

So our first few dates took place over a few months.

But I didn't mind,

I was still in love.

Our first kiss was November 29,

We were sharing a plate of spaghetti Lady and the Tramp style.

Our first Christmas was nice,

I bought him an Armani Code gift set,

He bought me a Clinique basket.

He was my New Year's kiss.

I was still adamant about a champagne flute,

But he told me a little bit would be okay.

January 9 was the first time I made it to his bed,

January 10 was a Sunday so we had pancakes and did the crossword.

February 2 we had a huge fight,

I was jealous of all the time he was at work.

We broke up for a while,

It broke my heart.

After what would've been out one year anniversary came and went,

I lost it.

I holed up in my room for two days before the phone rang.

Chris.

He missed me,

I missed him terribly.

We decided to bandage our wounds and give it another go.

I was on top of the world.

We made an effort to see each other,

But with his hectic work,

And me having landed a job with Betsey Johnson a while back,

Sometimes a month would pass without me seeing his gorgeous face.

But I knew I was still in love with him.

On June 12 I called and got his machine.

I told him I was in love with him.

My heart pounded when I didn't hear back from him.

I tried to convince myself that he was just working.

But I couldn't deny the nervous lump in my throat.

Had I moved too fast?

Did I say it too early?

I was so upset.

I knew I had probably lost the best thing that ever happened to me,

Because of a stupid voice mail.

On June 27 I got a call from my lover.

He asked to meet me somewhere.

The next day I hopped to the pizzeria around the corner.

I was just so ecstatic that I had heard his voice.

I sat at one of the tables and just drummed my fingers.

He came up from behind me and Spiderman kissed me,

And told me he loved me too.

I swear I felt my spirit lift out of my body for a good ten minutes.

He loved me!

He apologized profusely for not calling sooner,

It was work.

He also admitted he was a little taken aback,

But I didn't care.

I only felt pure euphoria.

He was honest...

And he loved me!!

I just hugged him tightly.

That gimp from seventh grade,

That doctor from the hospital,

That beautiful man from my life,

I was just so in love.

On August 8, my 25th birthday I found a little doctor bear at my doorstep,

He held a note.

Teddy told me to go to the park.

As soon as I got to the entrance I found a sign saying

"Layne...proceed with caution...and your tight jeans Birthday Babe."

I continued in until I saw a mop of brunette hair sitting in a tree.

I ran as fast as those tight jeans would allow me until I got to a really tall tree.

Right smack dab in the middle of the trunk was a huge heart with C + L carved in it.

I grinned and C came down from the highest branch and smiled,

And kissed me,

And said happy birthday.

He asked me how I liked the tree.

I said I loved it.

He asked if I wanted to make it even more permanent then letters in a tree,

And he got down on his knee.

On his knee!!!!

I said yes,

And tackled him in the grass.

So in love!

Planning took a while between our jobs,

We both promoted to more hours and more money

But I was determined.

By my 26th birthday we had set a date,

May 6.

I could hardly wait.

I ran around to find the perfect dress,

And lingerie,

And of course all of the other purer things for the day.

We both put in for two weeks vacation,

And jetted off to Aruba for our honeymoon.

I couldn't believe I had married my hot doctor.

I tackled him on the hotel bed

And he winked that we should get down to business if I were to have my baby by 28.

I couldn't believe he remembered!

So I tackled him harder.

My baby dream was realized twenty months later,

January 3.

We had a little boy,

Christopher James Plovert,

7 lb 12 oz,

22 inches long.

I was enthralled.

His little sister was welcomed three years later,

March 14,

Gabriella Madison Plovert,

6 lb 10 oz,

20 inches long.

Chris continued his high medical job,

I stayed home and took care of the children,

With the occasional sketch here and there.

I was happy,

I had went from being one foot in the grave,

To being a wife, mommy, designer robot thing.

Then one day,

About eight years later,

My Gabby hopped on the couch and asked to hear a story,

The story of how Mommy and Daddy fell in love.