A/N: And, here's the second chapter. I hope you're enjoying the story.

Chapter 2:

Lunchtime! Actually, for most people lunchtime had finished already, but since they didn't close the clinic during lunch hour, they rotated. Today, both Clint and Nancy were in the late shift, and they had agreed to meet each other at the hospital since Clint wanted to be there for the discharge of one of his patients. Nancy had just arrived on the right floor, when she heard his familiar voice.

"Hey Nance, hope you haven't been waiting long."

Turning around, Nancy smiled at the country doctor. "Got here just a few minutes ago, so no, I didn't have to wait very long." They walked together to the doctor's locker room where Clint put his doctor's coat in his bag, and pulled on his ordinary leather coat.

"Ready to go then?" Clint asked, putting on his hat, and pulling the bag across his shoulder.

"Ready when you are," Nancy responded cheerfully. Her dark mood of earlier had receded somewhat. 'Besides,' her mind supplied, 'who could stay 'down' with a guy like that to cheer you up?'

"Alright, let's go then. I'm as hungry as a horse in a barn whose hay ran out a week ago," Clint replied, and a rumble from his stomach let them know the truth of that statement.

"I can hear that," Nancy said dryly. "We'd better hurry, or New York might run out of hay the moment you actually manage to get to a farm."

Clint gave her an admonishing look. "Very funny." Then he looked just past the blonde nurse, and asked, "Excuse me Ma'am, can I help you?"

An elderly lady was looking very lost, and when she saw the gentle-looking man who offered his help, she gratefully accepted. "Oh, oh, please. I'm afraid I forgot which room I was supposed to go. My grandson is here, you know. I was just going to the bathroom, but I think I went in the wrong direction on my way back. These corridors all look the same to me," she said, looking around again.

"Well don't you worry, Ma'am. We'll get you back to your grandson in no time," Clint said, and added, "I'm Doctor Cassidy, and this is…"

"Hi, Nancy, I'm a nurse," Nancy filled in, extending her hand towards the elderly lady, with a warm smile. The woman took it.

"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Mrs. O'Keefe."

"Do you remember the room number of your grandson's room?" Nancy asked gently.

With a worried look, the lady shook her head. "I'm afraid I forgot that as well."

"Alright, then we'll just ask at the nurses' desk. What's your grandson's name, Ma'am?" Clint asked.

"Gary, Gary O'Keefe," the woman said, clearly feeling much better now that there were two people who obviously knew their way around in this place.

"That sounds like an Irish name," Nancy commented, and the lady looked at her brightly. "Oh yes, it's my husband's name. We moved here from Ireland you know, when we were much younger."

"So I'm guessing Gary is your son's son," Nancy informed, and soon the elderly lady was chatting away about her son and his lovely wife, about her late husband, and about her grandson of course. Meanwhile Clint quickly went to get the room number from the desk, and when he returned, he cheerfully said, "Room 312."

Mrs. O'Keefe's face lit up like a star in the night-sky. "Oh, that's right! 312. Thank you very much. I'm sure I'll be able to find it now."

Clint gave her a broad smile. "I'm sure you could, but we'd be happy to walk you there. Let's go." He took her gently by the arm, and led her in the right direction.

The wrinkled face of the older woman became even more wrinkled as she smiled at him. "Oh dear, that's very nice of you."

Then she turned to Nancy. "Isn't it a shame he's already married?" She patted on Clint's hand where the wedding ring was clearly visible, and she winked at the nurse, who smiled. "Yeah, a real shame."

Clint sent her another one of his looks, but she just smiled. They had soon reached room 312, where they were introduced to the grandson and his mother. They all thanked the doctor and the nurse abundantly for bringing back 'Grandma'. Finally they could go to lunch.

When they arrived back at the clinic, – drenched because of the continuing rain – just before they each went their separate ways, Nancy stopped Clint. "Don't forget dinner with Nate and Beverly tonight," she said. Clint sent her a wide smile. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." He winked. "It means food after all."

Nancy snorted and raised her eyebrows. "How can you think of food after you've just finished lunch where you ate an extraordinary amount of food, which even a horse, which hadn't had his hay for a week, couldn't have managed?"

Clint shrugged. "I'm a man, ain't I?" he asked with an easy smile, and he walked off. Nancy rolled her eyes and smiled. 'No doubt about it,' she thought as she watched him disappear to his office. 'I just feel sorry for your wife who has to put up with your eating-habits.'

As she turned back to her own work, a smile lingered on her face.

TBC


Hope you enjoyed.