The sound of a ringing phone cut through the silence and trough my dreams. I woke up with a start, immediately recognizing the sound. The melody meant that the hospital was calling, and I was immediately wide awake. A burst of adrenaline burst through my body as I searched for my phone on the ground around the bed. I knew vaguely that I had tossed it somewhere there yesterday along with my clothes, but it still took me a solid minute to find it. As I took the call, I went outside the room, even though I could hear that Jace was starting to wake up from all the noise I had been making.
As I walked into the bedroom again, I could see how Jace was sitting up, trying to fight his last sleepiness as he looked at me in confusion. "It was the hospital…" I explained as I started searching for my clothes. "I need to go… One of my patients… We thought we had stabilised her but her condition worsened… We need to operate immediately." I went through the open door that led to his bathroom to quickly brush my teeth (using his brush and hoping he wouldn't realise) and comb my hair while giving him all this information. As I entered again, I could see he was still surprised. I thought he was used to this from his father as a kid, but he still looked at me as I came from another planet. I climbed up the bed and gave him a long, sweet kiss. "Promise me you won't shut me out again" he said, and in that instant I realised he was as scared as me. This was new for the both of us. "I promise. It seems like you finally convinced me last night." I said, and I felt how I blushed a bit as I thought about that. "Aha" he grinned, as he kissed me again. "So it's all for the sex?" he said jokingly, but I knew he wasn't joking completely. I kissed him again, letting myself enjoy his embrace 2 more minutes before I had to leave. "No I-" I said, but I stopped for a moment as I realised what I wanted to say. It felt scary to say it, scary to admit it to myself, but I was the one who had demanded 100% honesty. "I really like you Jace. I don't want to lose this anymore." He smiled unfeigned and took my head between his two hands. "Were going to make this work, I promise." I nodded, trying to ignore the stress I got as I thought about all that we would had to overcome. But I could do it. I was strong, even stronger when he was by my side. "I let you know when I'm done working" I said as I hugged him one last time. "Go!" he smiled. "Go save some lives."
I sank down on my chair in my office, utterly exhausted after hours of surgery. I felt restless, as I always felt after a surgery like this. My patient her life was still hanging by a thin thread and the next hours would define if and how she would wake up. And I hated these hours, where I didn't know if I had done absolutely everything right. I saw how my phone was lightening up, and when I checked it, I involuntarily smiled.
Hope everything is okay with your patient. I really liked yesterday so please tell me you haven't changed your mind yet. Would really like to see you tonight if you got the time – J
I smiled at my phone and realised what a cliché I was in that moment. But I didn't care. I really liked that he asked about my patient, and I realised none of the guys I had "dated" the last few years had even bothered to ask how I was doing, let alone my patients.
Haven't changed my mind ;) Patient isn't stable yet so I'm probably gonna sleep here. Would've rather been with you tonight :( – C
I glanced at the clock on my desk and sighed. It was already 6 pm, and I knew I wouldn't be able to go home before I had news from my patient. I called the nurses and instructed them to give me an update every 30 minutes by mail. I decided to make a round to check how my other patients were doing, before starting my paperwork.
I checked my phone again as I walked back to my office. The nurses had reported me that my patient was getting more stable every hour, but I still didn't feel like going home before I was completely sure everything was okay. I felt kind of disappointed that Jace hadn't texted me back, which was new for me, and I didn't really know how to feel about that. I was drowning in my thoughts as I entered my office, but I stopped abruptly as I saw what had happened. I broke out of my state of shock and quickly closed the door behind me, as nobody was allowed to see what was happening right now. I knew we were playing with fire, but I couldn't really bring myself to be angry or even a tiny bit annoyed. I had just melted entirely on the inside and I had become a warm puddle of happy feelings. My desk was filled with candles and food from all different kinds of take-away food: Greek, Thai, Chinese,… Jace was sitting behind it in in my chair, and his face was lightened up with the cutest boyish smile I had ever seen. "Before you panic: no one has seen me come in so I'm absolutely sure my dad isn't going to find out" he said, but I couldn't give a damn about any of that right now. "Don't ruin this moment by talking about your dad" I teased, as I walked up to him and hugged him. He pulled me on his lap. "So that means you like it?" he said, as he gave me a light kiss on the lips. "I love it" I mumbled against his chest. "Just so you know, this isn't a real date yet." he said, and I looked at him in surprise. "I'm taking you on a real date. Soon." he explained, as if he was stating the obvious. "This one already looks quite real to me" I said, but he just smiled as if I hadn't seen nothing yet. "A real one. With dinner and flowers and way to expensive wine to get you drunk." he laughed, as he kissed my neck. "And who knows, maybe I even ask for a goodnight kiss as I escort you home."
I really hope you liked this, it just popped up in my head and I kind of liked the idea of Jace being the first one to do something nice and thoughtful. I'm goign on a holiday for 2 weeks so I probably won't be able to update. But that gives me more time to think about what will happen next... Any ideas, suggestions, ... are welcome. xoxo N.