Disclaimer: I do not own Fireproof or the characters therein.
Yes and no.
No two words had ever changed his life more than those. And man, did they ever pack a punch!
He'd fairly forgotten their impact. Or rather, he'd tried his hardest to forget. He could forget his string of "yes'" with the ladies over the past couple years. He could forget the "no's" he'd given another in that same time. He could even ignore his recent "yes'" to the beauty that was Catherine Holt.
"Dr. Keller to the burn ward please. Dr. Keller to the burn ward."
Gavin looked up from his planner as his ears picked up the public announcement. The burn ward? Must be a new patient. He quickly scribbled "lunch w/ Catherine 12:30" on Friday's timeline before clapping it shut and scooping up his clipboard.
He flipped through his papers as he walked down the hall, weaving around doctors, nurses, and visitors. He slapped the button to open the handicap doors to the burn ward. His sights immediately locked on two clear blue eyes set in a soot-smudged face. Nurse Candace was in the process of removing the patient's collared shirt, where the singed badge declared him a firefighter.
"I'm Dr. Keller," Gavin informed his new charge.
"Caleb Holt," the firefighter answered in a voice still clogged with smoke.
Gavin offered a smile and proceeded with the examination. The patient looked worse than he really was: just a few first-degree burns, the largest of which was on his upper left arm. Judging from Caleb's brief description of events, Gavin figured he was lucky to have gotten out of the house without more significant burns at the very least.
He passed Caleb to Candace's capable hands while he reviewed the x-rays and set about filling a subscription for pain medication and a report form. Candace was summarizing the x-ray results and bandaging Caleb's arm when the approaching click of heels caught Gavin's attention.
"You look terrible."
Catherine? What's she…? He watched from the corner of his eye as Caleb's flickered with mild surprise.
"I feel terrible," was his reply.
Gavin had to wonder how they knew each other. Friends? Relatives? He noticed that Catherine seemed uncharacteristically unsure of herself.
"You gonna be okay?"
"Well," Candace offered, "he's sustained some first-degree burns here, but he should be fine."
Okay, so she at least had guessed a connection. Maybe his hunch was –
"So this is your husband?"
Gavin turned to Catherine. Husband? Catherine spared him a glance, then looked at Caleb, then down to the floor with a light flip of her hair. He knew body language when he saw it. She was definitely uncomfortable.
"Yes."
Her answer hit him hard in the gut and he felt the air rush out of his lungs. Married? Catherine married? His eyes darted to Caleb with a sudden rush of panic. Does he know?
"Looks like you've got a hero on your hands," Candace said in an appreciative, almost congratulatory tone.
He dropped his eyes and attempted to focus on the record form. A marked line awaited his signature, but he couldn't seem to remember how to sign it.
Candace went on. "Sir, I'm gonna need you to keep this arm elevated for the next twenty-four hours to help the swelling go down; and then I need you to come back in forty-eight hours to get it checked out again."
"Well, let me get outta your way." Whatever Catherine was doing to try to sound normal wasn't quite working. He could tell just by hearing her.
"Oh, no, you're not in our way; you can stay," Candace assured her.
"No, it's okay," Catherine answered. "I'll, uh… I'll let you do your job." And away she went with the decided clicking of her heels. Gavin didn't know whether or not he should be relieved.
There was a brief pause before Candace spoke again. "Sir, I'm gonna get you some more gauze to take home with you and fill that prescription for your pain, okay?"
Great. Gavin desperately wanted to think of something, anything, to keep Candace around a little longer. Anything to avoid being alone with… Catherine's husband. He felt his throat tighten as he studied Caleb's blackened face. Caleb paid him no heed. Just checked the gauze on his arm. And then reached for something on the rolling tray.
Gavin forced himself to speak. "I… wouldn't put that ring back on your finger until your hand has a chance to heal."
It wasn't a lie. Caleb's hand did have some minor burns. The ring – any ring, for that matter – would be a bad idea. He knew. He was the doctor, after all.
But Caleb just turned those blue eyes of his on him and answered, "My hand's gonna have to heal with this ring on my finger." And with that, he slipped it on, where it glowed bright against the sooty black of his hand. It seemed to glare at Gavin, to burn him. He unconsciously scratched his own finger and made some more markings on the report in his lap.
Candace returned with the gauze and medication and Gavin stiffly repeated the instructions she'd given Caleb earlier. Then the firefighter was gone.
Gavin stared at the tray, at the very spot the ring had occupied. Why? Why was she still with a man if she no longer loved him? Why had she allowed him to begin to dream again? He'd thought it was going well between them. And then this had happened. Why had she dashed those hopes she'd helped cultivate with that fateful word? Deep down, he knew at least some of the answers, but refused to acknowledge them.
Numbly, he made his afternoon rounds with the image of the ring on Caleb's finger branded in his mind, burning into his heart. Doubts thundered around the image, but its fire only blazed brighter.
When he finally returned to his office, he flattened the papers on his clipboard and the fireman's name glared up at him yet again. He forced his eyes away and onto a purple sticky note on his planner.
"I tried to catch you before I clocked out, but I just wanted to let you know that, yes, I'm still up for lunch on Friday. Catherine"
For the first time in hours, Gavin smiled. Really, actually smiled. "Yes". She still said "yes" to him. And who was he to say "no"?
.*.*.*.
Gavin struggled to concentrate on the papers in front of him. He could barely stop thinking about Catherine. If he let himself, his mind would wander to their upcoming lunch date, to her smile, to her sweet beauty. It was as though the episode with the firefighter had never happened.
Someone entered his office unbidden. His head still bent down, he turned his eyes up. His heart skipped a beat. A fireman. The fireman. Whatever this was about, it could not be good.
"Dr. Keller?"
"Yes?"
"Caleb Holt."
He swallowed. He'd tried so hard to forget that name. He didn't want it ringing in his ears again. And judging by the tone of his voice, this was going to be a conversation Gavin already wished never happened.
"I need a word with you please."
"Look, it's… really not a good time," Gavin said. "I'm just about to make my rounds."
"I think you need to make time."
With that tone of voice, apparently he did. Not that he'd relish it. His palms were already sweaty.
"This is concerning Catherine. My wife."
No, he was not going to enjoy this in the least. He fidgeted in his chair and dared look into the firefighter's eyes. So clear, so blue. And as grave as death itself. He took a shaky breath. "Alright. What can I do for you?"
Caleb pointed a finger at him and his voice rippled with tension. "I know what you're doin'. And I have no intention of stepping aside while you try to steal my wife's heart."
Gavin couldn't bear those eyes. He looked toward the door, hoping a nurse or somebody would come in with some emergency. He returned his gaze back to Caleb.
"I've made some mistakes, but I still love her. So just know that I'm goin' after her too."
Gavin squirmed.
"And since I'm married to her, I'd say I've got a head start." Caleb leaned down and balled his left hand into a fist. Gavin backed away, his heart beating in trepidation. "And by the way, thanks for helpin' me with my hand." The office lights set the band of gold ablaze with the unquenchable fire of the man wearing it. Gavin tried to suck in more air as the fist tightened. "My ring finger's feelin' a whole lot better."
Gavin couldn't stand the power in Caleb's eyes anymore. He glanced at the ring – how it mocked his pain! – and then down at his desk. Caleb walked out of the office, but Gavin felt his eyes bore into his head the whole way out. But at last, he was gone.
Gavin gasped little pants of breath and suddenly pulled his desk drawer open. He had to. He knew it. His left hand dropped the pen and prepared itself. Halfway on. Halfway there. But he didn't really mean it. He couldn't mean it. There was no way he could remind himself of that life-changing time he'd said "yes". Besides, how would he explain this to Catherine? The gold glinted coldly at him as it scorched his finger. No. It had to go back into the drawer. He glanced at his office door as though he half-expected someone to have seen that. No, he couldn't. He wouldn't.
He filed away his papers and picked up his clipboard for his morning rounds. No sooner had he exited his office then the familiar click of heels greeted him. No, not now….
"Hey!" Catherine greeted brightly.
"Uh, hey, Catherine," he returned lamely.
"How's the good doctor today?"
He refused to look at her. At the smile he knew was there. At the sparkle in her eyes. Like the diamond that, technically, should be adorning her hand. He shook his head clear of the thought. It was far too soon to have forgotten that flaming band knuckled up in his face. "Uh… pretty busy, actually."
"Are we still on for lunch?"
The hope in her voice made him want to forget. Forget the ring in his drawer. Forget the ring on the firefighter's hand. "You know," he started, his mind racing for words, "I feel like there are a few things I need to catch up on. I've… gotten a little behind lately." At least he didn't have to worry about lying to her. About his schedule, anyway.
"Okay, um, maybe we can talk later."
"That'd be good." Oh, how nice it'd be! But no. For his own health and wellbeing, it'd probably be best if one of them simply fell off the face of the earth. He started to baby-step away.
"Alright. See ya around."
"See ya." He escaped into a patient's room.
For once, he'd said "no". He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. But then a flash of gold reminded him why he had to, for who was he to say "yes"?
.*.*.*.
"We are here to celebrate the reaffirmation of vows, establishing them as a covenant, and not a contract…."
She was every bit as beautiful as he remembered. Outwardly and inwardly. Even more so now than ever before.
"Marriage is a sacred institution established by God and designed to last for life."
He was in this now. And he was in to stay. He couldn't remember wanting anything more. This was real. This was going to last.
He took her by the hands. He'd forgotten how gentle they were and yet how strongly they could grip. He could feel them tremble a little – or was that from his own hands? She increased the pressure on his fingers and smiled. There was once a time he thought he might never see that smile again, but the past couple months had been encompassed by them.
He fixed his eyes on their interlocked hands. On the bright gold that flashed in the light. A couple years ago, he would have said that this relationship wasn't worth the battle. Thank God for having sparked the fire again.
"Gavin, in the presence of God and these witnesses, do you commit to this covenant marriage to Nina?"
This was it. This was the moment their future hinged on. The moment he finally said, "Yes, I do."
After all, who was he to say "no"?
"Love is not a fight, but it's something worth fighting for." ~ Warren Barfield
Author's notes: Things happen when the right title idea comes into your head and a character demands that you actually write the story. I never would have dreamed that Gavin would be this pushy. Also... part three was his idea entirely. It was never part of my plan, so I blame him.
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