TheAtomicCheesepuff, thank you for your review. I'm thrilled you like the idea for the story! I was worried about the title so I'm really happy you like it.
ETWentHome, I'm really happy you like the idea and I hope you'll enjoy reading the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Thank you for the review!
CBloom2, I had to put some caring Ethan in! Ethan is different from Cal so things won't be quite the same, but I won't say any more than that. Thank you for your review.
Tato Potato, Thank you so much! I just hope you're right and you will enjoy the rest of the story. I'm glad you feel some sympathy for Cal - even though it's his own fault, he does feel awful!
Tanith Panic, thank you for your review - I'm really happy you like the idea and I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story. The first time I was called 'Madam' instead of 'Miss' in a shop, I was horrified. I felt like I'd aged ten years or something! Then I realised they must have seen my wedding ring. I hope that was the reason anyway!
"What was that doctor's name?" said Taylor Ashbie.
Zoe looked at her in surprise. "Which doctor do you mean? Do you mean Lofty? He's a nurse."
"No, I mean the doctor who brought me in here," said Taylor. "Blond. Has glasses. Looks about twelve."
"Oh, that was Ethan. Dr Hardy," said Zoe, and couldn't help smiling to herself as she wondered if Ethan had made a conquest.
She smiled even more at the thought of how Cal would react if his brother went out with someone as beautiful as Taylor… but it didn't seem very likely. Taylor seemed far too self-sufficient to fall in love at first sight and Ethan would never be able to get a full sentence out in her company so the relationship would be doomed.
"Oh, yes, that's right. Dr Hardy was so kind to me, but I didn't even say thank you," said Taylor, a worried look on her beautiful face.
Zoe smiled reassuringly. "Oh, don't worry about that. Ethan won't mind. He probably didn't even notice and you weren't feeling very well at the time."
"I know, but I do feel a bit bad," said Taylor.
"There's no need," said Zoe. She smiled at the young woman. In some ways, she'd been a difficult patient, but as Taylor had said herself, medics often were. Zoe had been slightly annoyed that Taylor had taken so long to tell her about her mother's often-inherited health condition, but she knew from experience that a lot of patients would have neglected to mention it at all.
But Taylor had been so charming about it, Zoe had quickly forgiven her and had listened in awe as Taylor had told her about the time she'd spent in La Paz and, before that, helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Zoe knew that the work she and her team did in the ED was very important. They literally saved lives. But Zoe couldn't quite imagine having the strength to deal with the sort of thing that Taylor faced all the time.
Ethan was sitting outside on a bench, enjoying a coffee when the woman approached. He barely glanced at her when she sat beside him. He had no idea if she was a hospital worker, a patient or a visitor, but he didn't much care as long as she left him alone. He was busy enjoying his coffee and feeling proud of himself for resisting Cal's demands to go home and look after him.
"Hi… Ethan, isn't it?" said the woman.
Ethan jumped and turned to look at her. He had no idea who she was, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings by admitting it. Perhaps she was one of Cal's ex-girlfriends. "Hello," he said.
The woman looked a bit embarrassed. "You don't remember me, do you?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm terrible with faces," said Ethan.
She laughed. "It's okay. I'm Taylor Ashbie."
Instantly, the memory clicked into place. "Of course I remember you. I'm so sorry. You were suffering from breathlessness and chest pains so I took you to Dr Hanna."
"Yes, and I was terribly rude and didn't even thank you," said Taylor remorsefully. "I'm so sorry. I really am very grateful for your help. I was scared out of my mind and I wasn't sure if I was really unwell enough to come to the emergency department, but that's no excuse for rudeness. But I hope I can make up for that now. Thank you so much for being so kind and making sure I got treated." She touched his hand briefly. "I really appreciate it."
Ethan smiled. "I'm glad I was able to help you – and if it puts your mind at rest, you were quite right to come to the emergency department." He still had no idea why she was talking to him, but he decided he didn't mind. "I do hope you're feeling better now."
"Much better, thank you," said Taylor. "I feel a bit guilty for wasting hospital time and resources, though."
Ethan put his coffee under the bench. He felt uncomfortable drinking it when he couldn't offer one to Taylor. "Oh, please don't worry about that. You weren't wasting our time or our resources at all – it's better to be safe than sorry."
He was pleasantly surprised by how easy she was to talk to. Ethan usually got completely tongue-tied around beautiful women, though perhaps that was because most of the beautiful women he met were the ones who wandered out of Cal's room dressed in nothing but their underwear – and occasionally not even that.
Cal would love her, thought Ethan, and couldn't help but feel slightly smug at the thought that Cal had missed out on meeting her.
"I was really just panicking over nothing," said Taylor with a self-deprecating laugh. "I've just come back from La Paz and I was convinced I'd have picked up some kind of illness there, but I haven't. It's probably just a reaction to being cooped up on a plane for so long."
"La Paz?" said Ethan, surprised. "That must have been interesting. I've never been to Bolivia. Or anywhere in South America. My holidays tend to be quite unadventurous."
"It wasn't a holiday, but it was very interesting." said Taylor. "And very sad. I was actually doing charity work there. We're a pretty small charity, but we support people in disadvantaged countries. We provide medical care ourselves and also arrange for doctors and surgeons to treat more serious conditions." She put her hand on his arm and rested it there for a moment longer than Ethan would have expected. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Ethan! I've already talked Dr Hanna's ear off about my charity. I don't want to do the same to you."
"No, it's all right," said Ethan. "It's very interesting and I'd love to hear more. I'm just a little bit concerned. If you're not well, you should probably go home and rest."
Taylor smiled. "You're a sweet man, Ethan. I knew as soon as I met you that you were kind."
Ethan began to feel flustered. He wasn't good with compliments. Especially not from women. Even more especially not when they were beautiful.
Because Taylor, he was beginning to realise, was extraordinarily beautiful. She had long, blonde hair that framed a heart-shaped face and sparkling blue eyes, emphasised with large quantities of black eye make-up that made her look sophisticated rather than trashy and a lovely smile that made Ethan feel as though he needed to sit down, even though he already was.
"I'm actually waiting for a taxi," said Taylor. "So I'll get out of your way as soon as it arrives. But…Ethan, I know this is terribly forward of me. I wouldn't usually to do something like this. But I was wondering..." She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. "I don't suppose you could give me your number?"
