I am sitting in the waiting room of the hospital for my appointment with the doctor. Alexander is coloring in his coloring book in the chair next to me after a ten minute discussion about going to see Samuel after my appointment is over. His unruly curls are held back in a ponytail to show off his chubby cheeks and beautiful grey eyes. He looks up at me every now and then to smile and to show me the progress he has made with his picture. My name is called and I gather my things before picking Alexander up to head into the office. One of the nurses takes Alexander with her to another room by the doctor's request and I feel my heart begin to beat wildly in my chest in fear of what is going to be said. I sit in the extra chair in the doctor's office, wringing my jacket while trying to keep my breathes even, while the doctor goes over my records from my last doctor in Boston.
"So, we did some new test as requested by your last doctor to give us an idea in what we will be dealing with. Now, the tests that you did before leaving Boston and then coming here were different," the doctor says.
"Good different or bad different?" I ask quietly.
"Good," the doctor says with a smile. "The treatment you were doing with your last doctor was working really well. I was surprised when I saw you have all of your hair while doing the chemo and I think we should continue the treatment for the time being."
"My doctor and nurses say I was a lucky person to not lose all my hair. Thank you for the good news," I say with relief and then make a few more appointments to do my chemo. I emerge into the hallway to see Alexander coloring with the nurse and his bright smile lifts my spirits. After giving the nurse a hug and telling her thank you, we go to the ER to look for Samuel. He is standing at the desk in his scrubs and white coat on, looking just like he did when I first met him years ago. Alexander runs over to his father and hugs his leg with a quiet giggle. Samuel looks down with a surprised look and pats Alexander on the head before looking up at me.
"What are you two doing here?" Samuel asks when I am right beside him. We share a quick kiss out of habit, making my face become red, and I smile widely.
"Alexander wanted to see you at work before my interview and going to spend some time with Mercy. She is coming to get him in about twenty minutes," I say.
"I can watch him, we are a little slow today," Samuel says. I never understood his reasoning behind wanting to work in the ER as a surgeon.
"Can I stay with daddy instead, mama?" Alexander asks with a little pout. I look up at Samuel to see he too is pouting at me and I cannot help but laugh at my two boys.
"Fine, but daddy has to call Aunt Mercy to tell her," I giggle. Samuel pulls out his phone to call Mercy while I kneel down to fix Alexander's jacket. He moves a piece of hair out of my face with a small smile and I tap his nose to make him giggle. "Be good for daddy and show him all the pretty pictures you colored for me and him. I love you, mon ami, with all my heart and soul."
"Mama, you will only be gone for an hour," Alexander giggles. I kiss his forehead before standing up and looking at Samuel.
"Take care of, Samuel," I say. Samuel kisses my nose softly with a big smile and leaves with Alexander holding his hand. I wait for them to round the corner before heading off to my interview for a job position here as a physical therapist and a part time orthopedic surgeon. It is literally an hour later that I walk out with a job and head to find my boys. The chief of surgery and head of physical therapy found it odd for me to leave Boston and they were concerned about my treating oncologist being at this very hospital. After careful explanation, I had them believing in me being able to be a mother, doctor, and patient easily. Samuel is sitting in the cafeteria with Alexander, eating a snack, and laughing about something.
"Mama," Alexander gasps when he sees me walking over. I smile widely as I get closer and kiss the top of his head. "Daddy was showing me how to write my name."
"Oh, that is cool," I giggle. Samuel looks at me with bright eyes and a big smile on his face.
"How did it go?" Samuel asks quietly.
"I start at the end of the month," I say. Samuel laughs while taking my hand and kissing the top of it.
"Congratulations, beautiful, I am so proud of you," Samuel says. I smile widely, feeling inflated with joy that I have a job and Samuel is happy for me.
Adam comes over just after I put Alexander down for bed and I hear Samuel open the door for him to come inside. Mercy has moved a few things in her office to bring in a small bed for Alexander to sleep in. He loves being in this room because of the books and I am glad he is a trooper for being good while we wait for our own place to call home. I am closing the door to his room when Mercy comes out of her room to greet Adam and she smiles at me for a moment. Quietly, I walk to the living room to see Adam and Samuel conversing about something that seems to be a secret.
"What are you two plotting over there?" Mercy asks. I go into the kitchen to make a cup of tea before bed.
"Marie," someone says softly. I turn to see Adam standing in the doorway with a small smile.
"Yes?" I ask quietly.
"I was wondering if you would mind going out to lunch with me one day so we can get to know each other," Adam says. I realise then that he is trying to get a rise out of Samuel, knowing that the two of us are not back together. I hear Samuel growl in the living room when the sounds of his feet coming towards the kitchen.
"Why are you asking my wife out on a date?" Samuel growls.
"She may still be married to you, but you two are together anymore. I can sense the tension between the two of you," Adam says with a wide smile. Samuel growls again with his chest out and I rush over to push the two men away. Mercy is laughing in the living room and it makes Samuel explode.
"What are you laughing at?! Are you laughing at my wife being asked out too?!" Samuel snaps. I grab his shirt collar, pull him to my face and give him a few smacks. Adam and Mercy gasp at my choice of action and wait for Samuel to shift on me in a few seconds, but instead Samuel calms down with his eyes on mine.
"One, do not snap at my sister like you just did. Two, I never agreed to the date so you need to remain calm at times like that. Three, our son is asleep and I want him to remain asleep all night so you can get enough rest for work tomorrow. Lastly, I am not leaving you for anyone for reasons you know very well. Now, apologise and step outside so we can go for a walk to calm you down a little more," I say sternly with my motherly voice. Once I let Samuel go, he apologises to Adam and Mercy before heading outside to wait for me.
"Wow, no one has ever survived doing what you just did," Adam says. I get my coat and phone without saying a word to him, but stop at the door.
"Keep an eye on Alexander, there is leftovers in the fridge, and I am only to do what I did because he and his wolf accept me for who I am. He has never attacked me for that," I say and then walk out to Samuel waiting by my car.