Chapter 1
Bianca unlocked the door and pushed it open, motioning for Miranda to enter first. She watched her daughter trudge inside, silently hoping the little girl wasn't going to throw a tantrum after the discussion they just had in the car. Before Miranda ascended the staircase, she called out to her.
"Miranda."
The little brunette stopped and turned around with a dejected look on her face. "Yes, Mommy?"
Bianca approached her daughter and sat down on the steps, Miranda claiming the spot next to her. "Sweetheart, you understand why I have to say no, right?" She smoothed down her daughter's brown hair. "And believe me, I know you want one badly, but it just isn't the right time."
"Then when can I get one, Mommy?" Miranda looked up, disappointed brown eyes meeting her mother's. "You promised, remember?"
"I know I did, and I'm not going to break my promise to you," Bianca wrapped her arms around the child. "Have I ever broken my promises to you?"
"Nope."
"See, and I'm going to stay true to my word. We just need to get settled in and then one day, we'll go get you that puppy you've always wanted. Deal?"
Miranda scrunched her forehead in thought for a moment then smiled. "Deal."
"Good," Bianca said, pulling her daughter into a hug. "I have an idea. Why don't you bring your schoolbag to your room and come back down into the kitchen for some milk and cookies. And maybe we can go to the park later."
"Okay," Miranda stood and kissed her mother on the cheek. "Be right back," she said, rushing up the steps to her room. Reaching the top step, she turned around. "Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
Bianca smiled. "I love you, too, Sweetheart."
Maggie wheeled her cart of patient files to the nurse's station, leaving them there for the resident handling the next 16-hour shift. She walked around the counter and sat down in one of the chairs. Closing her eyes, she exhaled a long, exhausted breath.
"Rough day, Dr. Stone?" one of the nurses asked.
Maggie sat up and gave the nurse a tired smile. "No, not really, just a bit worn out."
"Well, I suppose it's good that you have tomorrow off, then," the nurse replied.
"Definitely a good thing," Maggie stood up. "And I'm going to get a start on my day off now. "Have a good rest of the day, Rose. Don't work too hard, okay?"
Rose laughed. "I'll try not to. And you, Dr. Stone, get some sleep."
Maggie finished wiping her name off the whiteboard and turned around. "You bet I will. And please, how many times must I say this to you. Call me Maggie," she smiled. "The only ones to call me Dr. Stone are my patients."
"Okay, okay," Rose chuckled. "Bye Maggie."
After changing out of her scrubs, Maggie exited the hospital and walked up 33rd Street toward Park Avenue. Reaching the subway station, she went down the steps and swiped her metrocard through the turnstile. To her luck, she didn't have to wait long for a train to come, one arriving within seconds of her standing at the platform. Maggie boarded the train and sat down by the window, pulling out her book to read for the commute home.
A half hour later, with the day's mail in her hand, Maggie entered her apartment and was immediately met by her favorite four-legged companion. She bent down to scratch behind his ear.
"Hey boy, I missed you," she smiled. The Yorkshire terrier laid down on the floor, obviously enjoying the attention from his master. "Yeah, you like that, huh?" After a moment, she got up and walked to the kitchen, the dog following close behind. She grabbed his bowl and filled with it water, placing it down on the floor in front of him. "How about a trip to the park after dinner? You up for that, Rusty?"
Rusty looked up at his master and barked his reply.
"Okay, then to the park we shall go later," Maggie nodded. She leaned against the kitchen counter and began opening the day's mail. "Cable bill, electric bill, phone bill…credit card bill… card for Jamie… bill… bill… useless mail," she sighed, knowing she'd be spending a portion of her day off calculating the month's bills. Still by the counter, she stood for a moment and heard the shower turn off, followed by the sound of the shower curtain being pushed aside.
"James, there's some mail for you here!" she called out to her roommate.
"Thanks!" came the muffled reply. A few moments later, Jamie strolled into the kitchen, clad in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a towel draped around his neck. He saw the mail sitting on the counter and opened it. "Oh, cool… it's a birthday card from my dad."
"And how is Tad Martin doing these days?" Maggie asked, pulling out one of the stools and sitting on it.
Jamie finished reading the card, then placed it back in the envelope. "Same as always. Tad the dad and still spoiling his little girls like crazy," he laughed. "I guess I should take a trip home one of these days…well, if I ever find the chance to take some vacation time."
"Tell me about it," Maggie rolled her eyes. She pulled her brown hair back into a ponytail and shook her head amusingly. "Think we'll ever have a stretch a days off and not just one here and one there?"
Pulling at the towel around his neck, Jamie shrugged. "I suppose we will… someday," met with another roll of the eyes. "Long day, huh?"
"You try working three 16-hour shifts in the span of five days."
"Ah, the woes of residency. Fun, isn't it?"
"Thankfully, I have tomorrow off," she replied. "I think I'll just spend the day at the park with Rusty, maybe lay out on the grass… read a book…"
"Meet someone?" Jamie asked, hiding a low chuckle, "of the female kind."
"Hey, now, I've met a couple of people. And I've gone on a couple of dates. It just so happens, that none of them have worked out."
"Or because you're just not putting too much effort into the relationship?"
"Well, that could be it, too. But the truth is, I wasn't compatible with any of the girls I've dated since moving here."
"Think you'll ever find happiness again?"
Maggie wistfully smiled. "Someday, I will. But for now, I'm content with my life as is. When I'm meant to find my soul mate, I will."
Jamie smiled back. "You're such a hopeless romantic."
"That I am," she replied. Her eyes drifted over to the clock, noticing the time. "Aren't you supposed to be getting dressed? I do believe you're the resident that gets the next 16-hour shift in Pediatrics tonight."
"Oh crap, what time is it?" he asked.
"No worries, you've got more than enough time. I just thought you might want to beat the evening rush on the train," Maggie hopped off the stool and walked to the fridge. She reached inside, grabbing a bottle of water, along with the leftover Chinese take-out from the day before.
Jamie watched his diminutive friend lay out her dinner for the evening on the counter. "Don't feel like cooking tonight?"
Maggie looked up at him. "Why cook when I have food right here that shouldn't go to waste," she grinned. "Tomorrow I'll cook. Any special requests?"
"Nah, you know whatever you make, I'll eat."
"Yes, I know that all too well," she opened the freezer door, scanning its contents. "I could throw some beef into the slow cooker and make some pot roast. Sound good?"
Jamie licked his lips and smiled. "Sounds yummy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need get dressed for work."
Maggie shut the freezer door and went back to the counter to prepare her dinner. She felt a warm, furry body rub against her ankle and looked down. "And for you, Kibble n 'Bits," met with the normal high-pitched reply.
"Yeah, I knew you'd be okay with that."
"Kendall, can you hold on for a second?" Bianca pulled her cell phone away from her ear and turned to her daughter. "Don't go too far. Stay where I can see you."
"Okay Mommy," Miranda replied before running off toward the playground area.
Bianca pressed her phone to her ear, resuming her conversation with her sister. "Sorry about that Kendall. Miranda and I are at the park and I was telling her to stay within my view. So, you were saying?"
"Oh God, I completely forgot now," Kendall said. Like Bianca, she was also splitting her attention between the phone conversation and watching her children. "Wait, I remember now. The book tour for "Flair." I wanted to let you know that I've got a signing in New York coming up."
"That's great, Kendall. Sounds like this second novel is going to be a hit," Bianca kept her eye on Miranda. She saw her daughter follow one of the girls toward the grassy area, where a game of catch ensued.
"And I was wondering, instead of staying at one of those pricey hotels, I could maybe crash at your place? Actually, if it's okay that Ian and I stay there? It's only for two nights," Kendall bit down on her lower lip, hoping her sister wouldn't object.
"Of course, it's okay! What made you think I was going to say no?"
"Well, considering how you and Miranda only relocated to there two months ago."
"Kendall, I have guest rooms for a reason."
"Okay, okay, since you insist, Binks, Ian and I will stay there," Kendall replied.
"Wait, what about Zach and Spike?" the younger brunette inquired.
Kendall twirled a lock of her curly brown hair with her finger. "Oh, Ryan is taking Spike up to Cooperstown. Some male bonding at the Baseball Hall of Fame, or something like that. And Zach's headed to Vegas to check on the casino there."
"Ah, so it's just you and the little man, huh?"
"Yup."
"So when's the book singing?"
"Next Friday."
Bianca laughed. "Now I understand why you don't want to impose. But don't worry, you and Ian are more than welcome to stay with us. Miranda will love spending time with her cousin."
"Then it's set," Kendall said. She heard crying coming from behind the couch, surmising one of her sons hadn't gotten his way with his brother. "I gotta go, Binks. The boys are having one of their disagreements again."
"Boys will be boys," the younger Kane woman chuckled. "Give my love Zach and everyone. Bye."
"Will do. Bye."
Bianca pushed her cell phone back into her pocket and sat back on the park bench. She enjoyed the warm evening breeze that was blowing as she closed her eyes, reveling in what she hoped would be a peaceful night in the city.
Maggie leisurely walked along the path in Central Park. She felt another tug of Rusty's leash, the four legged-pooch trying to tell his master to hurry up. She scowled at him then laughed. "Easy, boy. I know you want to play, but we need to get to your favorite hangout first."
They arrived at the grassy area a few minutes later. Seeing how it was getting close to sunset, there weren't as many people around, which made things better for Maggie and especially Rusty, giving him a little more freedom to run around.
Maggie bent down and removed Rusty's leash. "Now, don't go crazy, okay?" she told him. Pulling out a rubber ball, she tossed it not to far from where she was standing. "Go on, bring the ball back to me."
Rusty immediately went running after the object and returned to his master within seconds, placing it down at her feet.
"Good boy!" Maggie picked up the ball and threw it a bit further. "Okay Rus, go find it!" She watched the animal run about twenty feet from her, taking a minute to search for the round object. It took a little longer than usual for Rusty to locate it, but like always, he returned to his owner, earning his reward, which in some cases was a short belly-rub.
Taking a short break, Maggie laid her jacket down on the grass and sat on it. Rusty crawled into her lap and settled himself there, watching the people and other dogs around him. The sounds of happy children surrounded them, noises that brought joy to Maggie's ears at times. There was nothing better than hearing a gleeful child, playing and enjoying the world around them. It was how a child's life is supposed to be, filled with adventures, happiness and overall fun, without any heartache.
As the breeze blew across Maggie's face, she was brought back to a time during her first year out of medical school, working as an intern. It had been an overwhelming first few months for her, but she handled the stress well. Or as well as she thought she could.
It had been a relatively quiet night, the first one she recalled in a long time. She loved conversing with the nurses on staff during the night shift. They were always her favorite, since they were able to have a block of time to catch their breath and relax while the patients were asleep.
The night was still vivid in Maggie's mind, how everything happened and how she felt afterwards. She took a trip down to the ER to pick up a file on one of her patients and remembered having a chat with Ana, one of the nurses who worked there. While she was listening to her rave about how children said the silliest things, she witnessed an emergency being brought in, a family that had been in a car crash. One of the victims was a child, immediately catching Maggie's attention. That child became Maggie's patient later on that night.
Peter Castro. It was a name she'd never forget.
Impressed by Maggie's skill and knowledge, Dr. Ilene Drake allowed her to work on the case as Peter's doctor while she would oversee her work. After Peter had been stabilized, he was brought up to a room and added to her list patients she'd be attending to. Her first night went smoothly, as did the second night and she was confident Peter was on the road to recovery. Dr. Drake periodically checked on Maggie's progress with the patient, approving of everything she'd done so far. This boosted the young doctor's confidence, knowing she had chosen the right career path.
A day later, Peter's recovery hit a major setback, the boy taking a sudden turn for the worse. Maggie worked her hardest to save Peter, but was unsuccessful, the young boy having died of complications from the accident.
The loss of Peter Castro affected Maggie, causing her to question her skill and knowledge as a doctor. She remembered sitting on the bench in the locker room that night, wiping away angry tears, feeling broken and disappointed in herself, knowing deep down that no matter how much effort doctors put in to save people, there will be those that cannot be saved. Maggie knew it was a part of the job, but she never realized how losing patient for the first time would hit her this hard.
It would be the inspirational words that Dr. Drake that reinforced her self-confidence and gave her renewed determination to succeed as a doctor. She recalled how the older woman pulled her aside before her shift was finished, telling her how impressed she was with all the work she had done. She, too, felt the sting of losing Peter, but also told her that in all of her years supervising interns, she was the best she'd seen yet and to take those words to heart because she had the passion unlike anyone else when it came to saving others. When Maggie returned for her next shift, the confident doctor was back, and working harder than ever.
The sound of high-pitched giggling brought Maggie to the present, realizing that Rusty was no longer sitting on her lap. She looked around for the furry pet, wondering where he went. Getting up off the ground, she grabbed her jacket and Rusty's leash and scanned the area.
"Rusty!" Maggie called out, continuing to hear a child giggling in the near distance. She decided to follow the sound, figuring that was probably where Rusty was. After all, he did have a habit of running towards children, knowing how enamored they'd be with him. It made Maggie laugh how the dog knew he was irresistible. Indeed her instincts were correct, spotting the Rusty playing with a little girl.
"There you are!" Maggie breathed a sigh of relief, finding Rusty playfully chasing the child around. "You gotta stop doing this," she said bending down to snap on his leash, completely occupied that she hadn't bothered to realize the identity of the little girl standing in front of her. "Sorry about that, I usually keep my eye on him whenever we're here."
"It's okay. He's cute," she replied.
"Thanks," Maggie looked up, blinking twice. Standing before her was the child she hadn't seen in five years. "Oh, my God. Miranda?"
"Yeah?" Miranda giggled.
"Maggie?" a woman spoke from behind them.
Maggie recognized the voice. With Rusty's leash held firmly in her hand, she stood up and smiled ruefully, pushing back a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "Hi Bianca."
