Title: Hope Floats
Show: Saving Hope
Pairing: Alex Reid/Chris McKenzie
Description: Takes place during the first season of Saving Hope. Alex meets a new doctor, Chris McKenzie, which creates unexpected conflicting emotions.
Disclaimer: I don't own Saving Hope and I only really ever watched the first season. I created Dr. Chris McKenzie in Tom Welling's likeness. I missed Smallville, what can I say? This was for entertainment purposes only and to fill a void.
This story was written in 2012.
Hope Floats
Dr. Alex Reid made a path down the halls, a nice, fresh hot cup of coffee in her hand. She was taking on shifts left and right, even to the resistance of others. She needed to work. She needed to help patients. She hated going home alone and the hospital was full of people, people that she might be able to save—maybe, someone that could even save her.
Lost in thought, she didn't see the robust body that had suddenly stepped into her path. With an 'OOF,' she walked right into him, her coffee spilling all over.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She said picking up her cup and trying to find tissues or scrap paper that she could use to wipe up the spill.
"It's okay." The male voice replied. He had to smile at the awkwardness of the situation. The doctor that was before him looked very cute as she scrambled to clean up the mess.
She looked up and saw the face of the man that she had bumped into. Her breath caught in her throat as his green eyes shined under his dark mop of hair. She was beyond embarrassed and felt her face heating up. She spotted the large stain on the front of his shirt and immediately snapped into medical mode.
"That coffee was blistering hot! Are you sure you're okay? You could be harshly burned. Maybe, I should get you into an exam room."
…Which, would mean he'd have to take his shirt off. She bit her bottom lip and then internally smacked herself for even thinking such a thing. How horrible of a person was she, plus she was a doctor, to have her mind go there? Especially in the same hospital where Charlie was a patient. He was getting better. She would focus on that and not whatever frivolousness that was trying to infiltrate her brain.
"I'm fine. I'm sure the burns are only minor."
"I'm really sorry. I'm working on hour twelve right now. I should have been more careful." She tried to explain.
"Believe me, I understand." He replied.
He really did. One time when he had been sleep deprived and on call he had placed his stethoscope and other materials in the freezer of the lounge, somehow thinking it was his locker. It hadn't been pleasant chiseling out his things.
She extended her hand out, "I'm Dr. Alex Reid."
He went to shake her hand, but stopped when his attention veered as he heard another female voice say, "Dr. McKenzie, sorry to keep waiting. I'm Dana Kinney, Interim Chief of Surgery. We spoke over the phone."
Alex turned to see Dana walking toward them and then looked back at the man that stood in front of her. He was a doctor. Something inside told her this was trouble. What kind of trouble she wasn't sure.
Finally, his hand met hers and he said, "I'm Chris. Dr. Chris McKenzie."
There was something in that hand shake that both of them felt, a shock that electrocuted their senses. They quickly dropped their hands to their sides and turned back to the third, and almost forgotten, doctor staring at the both of them.
"Glad to see that you two have met." Dr. Kinney said, eyeing them. "Chris, how about you come into my office and we can discuss the kind of work you'll be doing at Hope Zion."
Chris nodded and followed her. Turning back one last time to see Alex looking down in thought. He realized she was looking down at the ring on her finger. He suddenly lost some of the excitement he had for the position he was taking.
"So, no music when we do surgery?" Chris asked.
"You've asked that every surgery you've done this week." Alex replied, trying to focus on the task at hand.
"And I still don't get an answer."
"Can we not have this conversation when I'm in the middle of suturing a heart valve?"
"Fine, I'll ask when you're suturing something else, then." He said watching her technique.
Alex took a deep breath and kept working as some of the nurses snickered.
"It's distracting." She finally answered.
"I didn't say we needed to blast Metallica, or do you guys prefer Nickelback up here?"
There was a shuddering in the room and glares sent his way.
"Never mind then." His eyes looked toward the nurses beside him. "Can I have a clamp?"
Alex silently hoped it was for his mouth.
Chris walked down the steps to the lobby hunting down a good cup of coffee. Just as he reached the landing, he spotted her standing in line, presumably doing the same thing. It was hard not to be a coffee addict when being a doctor. What was harder was dealing with the taste of horrible coffee in order to satisfy the craving. He detested the coffee at the hospital, but found himself standing behind her in line anyway.
Her mind seemed to be else, which it always seemed to be when she wasn't dealing with patients. He understood it. He had heard the story. He'd seen the chart. Yet, she still persevered through the workload and was a great doctor. He knew that there were times that he really bugged her, but he did that for reasons he didn't want to admit. Reasons that he buried within.
She ordered her coffee and as she turned in line when she had gotten it, she realized he had been the presence behind her.
"Hey, I didn't see you there behind me." She said, her dark ponytail whipping behind her.
"You seemed like you were thinking about something. I didn't want to interrupt the thought process."
She smiled. "Just thinking about Charlie."
"How's he doing?" He asked with genuine concern.
"Still hopeful. We're almost positive he moved again."
"That's great!" He smiled.
She was about to open her mouth to respond when a car careened uncontrollably through the glass window. In a split second, Chris grabbed Alex and quickly got her out of the way, his broad hard body on top of hers to protect her when the car crashed into a pillar, sending glass through the air.
There were cries of pain and screams as the air clouded with dirt and debris. Chris lifted himself up off of Alex, first checking to see if she had been injured.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded and then spotted the cut on his forehead. She winced when she touched it, but shook it off with an, "I'm fine."
They both turned to witness the scene in front of them. It was so synchronized how they both sprang into action. Chris checked the car, making sure nothing was leaking that would cause it to catch fire and hurt anyone else further. He saw the driver, face all bloodied, head on the steering wheel. He opened the door and checked for a pulse. He found a faint one.
"I need another doctor over here and a gurney!" He called out.
Alex was already on the other side and spotted a woman trapped under the car.
"Chris! I have a woman under here!"
Chris let the other doctors from the E.R. who had rushed over, which included Dr. Zach Miller, get the man out of the car as he sprinted over to help Alex. The woman was unconscious. Her arm seemed to be caught under the tire.
"I'm going to lift the back of the car up."
Alex nodded and focused on the woman before her. The wheel lifted and she quickly, but gently, moved the lacerated arm. She was handed a board from a nurse who had arrived and placed it under her body, pulling her out from under the car with Chris's help.
"Let's get her up the O.R.!" She shouted.
She and Chris both looked at each other briefly, not believing what they had just encountered and not being able to deny how good a team they were when put to the test.
"Even though I am very happy with Victor, that Chris McKenzie is very handsome." Shahir commented to Alex as she took a sip of her beer.
"I hadn't noticed." Alex lied.
"Sure you haven't." Melanda added walking up to the bar.
"What? I'm not going to go gaga over him. I'm a professional and he's my colleague."
"Says the woman who's engaged to her colleague." Melanda pointed out.
Alex playfully smiled, but it dimmed when she saw who Chris was talking with.
"Seems like Maggie has her sights set on him." Victor said, as he rounded out the group.
Chris's eyes diverted from his conversation with Maggie to Alex's, the intensity of them meeting hers made a shiver go down her spine. She took another sip of the bottle she was nursing and severed the connection, the weight on her ring finger signaling that she would be striding into dangerous territory if she had kept looking.
"I'm going to go outside for some air," she announced and left for the exit.
Chris smiled at Maggie and excused himself, ending their conversation, and headed back to the bar to get another drink. He sided up next to Joel, who was waiting on a refill himself.
"I see the way you look at her." Joel commented, staring ahead of him.
"Who, Maggie? Look, I know something used to be there with you two and you don't have to worry."
He finally turned to look at Chris."I wasn't talking about Maggie."
Chris stared at Joel. "Then I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do. You're always stealing glances at Alex. Don't be coy about it."
Chris sighed. "Look, whatever it is that you're implying there isn't anything there."
"Doesn't stop us from trying, now does it?" He said and catapulted himself off the bar.
Chris took a deep breath and nodded at the bartender when he finally received his drink, leaving a tip. He had been at the hospital for over two months. He thought he had gotten his feelings under control, but apparently that hadn't been the case. He cursed himself for that. The last thing he wanted was for the hospital to turn into an episode of Grey's Anatomy.
The room suddenly became too crowded and loud for him and he decided he needed to clear his head. He walked past the group of doctors he had arrived with and went for the exit. Once he was outside he heard two familiar voices.
"Joel, just stop." Alex said.
"I need you to talk to me."
"I don't want to." She replied, beyond annoyed at Joel's antics. She knew exactly how this would go. It wasn't any different than when they had been dating so long ago.
"Alex, you don't understand…"
"Joel, you're drunk. Go home."
"Alex…"
It was at this point that Chris decided to make his presence known. "Joel, I think you need to heed her advice. Go home."
"Oh, look who suddenly showed up. Figures." He smirked. "Secret meeting?"
Alex rolled her eyes at his insinuation. "Joel, stop it now before you say something even more stupid."
"Well, this is the pot calling the kettle black. You threw it up in my face how I cheated and look what you're doing!"
Alex raised her voice, her finger raised and pointed in his face. "I am not cheating on Charlie!"
"Come on. You think there isn't talk about the both of you bantering in the OR?"
Chris let out another deep breath, trying to hold back his strength as he clutched his hand around Joel's arm. "Alright, let's go."
Joel pried the hand out and pushed Chris back. "Get your hand off of me."
Chris again went to move Joel. A punch was thrown in Chris's direction, but he easily deflected the action since Joel was drunk and his coordination wasn't exactly stellar at that moment.
"Joel, stop it!" Alex shouted.
"You stop being such a bitch to me!" He retorted.
With a lone word in that sentence uttered and directed at Alex, Chris's' arm pulled back and his fist met Joel's face.
Alex walked into the doctor's lounge to witness Chris throwing his cell phone against the wall.
"Wow. What did it do to you?" She asked.
Chris collapsed on the couch. "Called me a disgrace."
"I know they have smartphones now, but something tells me that it wasn't just the phone that said that to you."
Chris looked up at Alex's concerned face. He didn't like talking about his family much, but keeping it bottled inside wouldn't do much good either.
"That was my father. He's actually Dr. Chris McKenzie II. I'm now Dr. Disgrace."
"What is this disgrace business?" She asked, sitting down next to him.
"Even though I busted my ass through medical school, enlisted in the Marines as a medic, actually shipped out, and, having returned, am now working as a cardiac surgeon in Toronto because I was highly recommended to come here, I'm still the weakest link in my family chain. Anything that goes wrong is automatically my fault."
"What happened that triggered the phone call?" She quickly added, "If you don't mind me asking."
"Well, for starters, my sister Carol, the free spirit she already was, packed up and moved to New York City. That actually is probably my fault since I told her not let our father suck her in and to keep her dreams. Then, there's my charismatic and painkiller addicted younger brother, who, mind you, got out of rehab six months ago and has decided he wants to be an architect."
"What's wrong with that?"
Chris snorted. To any normal person it wasn't such a big deal, but in the McKenzie family? That's another story.
"Unless he's the architect of scheduling rounds in a hospital, my dad doesn't want to hear it. It's all about medicine for him, all about the science, which is why I jumped at the chance to leave the country." He shook his head and hit the back of it against the couch, "I should have just gone into professional golfing. That would have really pissed him off."
"I'm sorry. I know how it is to have a dysfunctional family." Alex said, thinking back on her own life. "I have two older brothers and one younger brother who have scattered themselves across the country, a mother who is bipolar, and a father who walked out on us when I was three. I spent a lot of time trying to prove myself. To who, I'm not sure anymore."
Chris leaned back once more and nodded his head, understanding the need to try and prove something. For so long he had been trying to prove himself to his father with no avail.
"But, I wouldn't let your father get to you. You live your life and move on from those experiences. Turn the word disgrace into something else."
Chris smiled, "You mean, make disgrace a positive? So, from now one when I hear it it's actually a compliment?"
Alex laughed, her smile bright. "Yes."
"Well, Dr. Reid," he started as he got up with a matching grin, "You are the most disgraceful doctor I've ever met."
She tried to become serious,"Thank you, Dr. McKenzie. You're pretty disgraceful yourself."
Gavin stood in the doorway watching the pair's exchange. "Is there something you guys need to share?"
Alex sat down at the counter in the kitchen and opened up the newspaper. Working late shifts at the hospital made her miss some of the things going on in the outside world it seemed from time to time. Going through the pages, her attention was drawn to an article about her neighborhood, particularly in the vicinity of her building, and recent attacks and break-ins.
Normally, she wouldn't be fazed about things, she was highly capable and could defend herself, but ever since coming home alone since Charlie's accident the apartment didn't seem as safe as it once had been. She was more attentive of her surroundings at times, her nerves on the rise.
Closing the paper, she didn't want to dwell on the harsh reality of the world. With that thought, she moved her drink and bowl of popcorn to the living room to settle in with a movie. She felt like she hadn't done that in forever.
Turning on the television, she flicked through the channels to try and find something good to watch. The sounds coming from the hallway diverted her attention. She turned the volume down and listened, trying to decipher what it was that she was actually hearing. The floor creaked, and it sounded like more than one person. The sounds seemed to be coming down her end of the hall. The creaking had ceased and was replaced with the sound of something against the wall right outside. The gentle turn of her door knob sent her stomach turning.
Scrambling up off the couch, Alex grabbed the phone and a baseball bat from the closet. She got closer to the door, making sure all the locks were set, and tried to look through the peephole, but didn't see anything.
"If there is anyone out there, I have a," she looked at the bat, "a weapon and I've called the police." She said through the door.
She could have sworn she heard the creak of the floor go in the other direction, but she wasn't positive. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, but it didn't matter. Her heart was racing and she'd never be able to sleep. She didn't want to leave her apartment and she couldn't call Melanda because she wouldn't want to put her in the situation of coming over late at night if there truly was someone outside.
Looking at her cell phone she dialed the only other number she trusted. When that person picked up, she explained the situation and waited on her couch for them to arrive. About fifteen minutes later there was a knock on her door. She carefully made her way with the bat and looked through the peephole, seeing that it was who she was expecting. Undoing all the locks she opened the door, feeling a tad bit safer.
"Are you okay?" Chris asked, seeing that Alex looked a bit pale. He also saw the bat she was holding and had to hold back a smile. She looked cute with it in her yellow tank and light blue sweatpants, her hair tied up in a messy bun on her head, which wasn't exactly the threatening look she was going for, he assumed.
"I've slowly calmed down."
"Did you call the police?" He asked, taking off his coat and surveying the room. This had been the first time he had seen her apartment.
"No. I'm not sure that anything even happened. It could just be nerves of being alone in this place. I don't want to send them on a wild goose chase."
"So, you called me?" He asked.
"Yeah, well, you saved my life once before." She said, recalling the incident with the car in the hospital. "And you have a mean right hook."
Chris smirked at the memory outside of the bar."Joel still winces when I pass by him."
Alex shrugged. "Joel has his good side, but he deserves that. Though, that could be the angry ex side of me saying that."
"He seems very misguided. Maybe he just needs to find the right person. Whatever type of person that is."
Alex eyed him. She hadn't seen Chris around with any women, talk about dating, or even mention a previous relationship. She suddenly got very curious.
She crossed her arms across her chest, which caused Chris to take a quick glance and then divert his eyes."What's your type?"
Chris' mouth slightly opened and then closed. He really wasn't sure how to answer the question.
"The ones that are always hard to get. The unobtainables." He said gazing at her.
"Oh." She said, and cleared her throat, her eyes suddenly planted on the floor—which she noticed she really needed to sweep.
Chris wanted to hit himself for saying that, making their situation possibly uncomfortable, but he couldn't help it. It was true—at least, at the moment.
Glancing up at him standing there, Alex moved over to the couch and made room for him.
"You mind as well sit down, unless you're on guard duty."
He playfully smirked at her and sat down. "What are we watching?"
"Anything that will cure my phobia of robbers breaking in."
The channel landed on a horror film, a woman screaming as the killer punched through the glass pane on the door, trying to unlock the door. Alex's eyes widened in fright and Chris quickly took the remote from her and changed the channel.
"Pretty sure that wasn't going to help."
Alex slowly nodded, still a bit scared. Chris went through the guide and put on the Home and Garden network.
"I say we mock these people trying to buy a house, then bet to see which one they pick."
"That sounds safe. You're on."
It was the feeling of his phone vibrating in his pocket that woke Chris up. He turned to his left and found Alex asleep against his shoulder. He didn't want to move since she was in such a peaceful slumber, but when he pulled out his phone he saw the hospital's number.
Moving gently, he set her down fully on the couch and lifted her feet up. The colorfully patched quilt hanging over the back of the couch was lightly placed over her. Finding a pad on the refrigerator, he jotted a quick note explaining his absence and had the idea of making a mean face and taking a picture of it with her phone. The note indicated to show it to robbers if they came to the door.
When Alex finally woke up to find these things a short time later, she was highly amused.
It was a fluke that he was in the ICU. Melanda needed information on a patient, so he had come to deliver. Of course, Charlie's room was in the vicinity. How he could be envious of a man in a coma, he couldn't fathom. Yet, he was.
He was only going to peek through the door, but he hadn't taken into account that Alex would be in there, which, he realized was stupid since she was his fiancé.
Alex stroked the side of Charlie's face and waited for a response, anything really. He seemed to be making progress, limbs moving at certain times. She wished she could be present when he did it, but it seemed to happen when she was in surgery, when she was with a patient, or getting coffee. She recalled being paged by Shahir on two separate occasions when she had been enjoying coffee with Chris in the newly built cafe downstairs.
"Charlie…I need you to wake up. You're doing so well, but we can't seem to pinpoint what's keeping you from opening those eyes of yours." Her own eyes started to tear up as she looked at his sleeping form. "Why won't you come back to me?"
Chris slowly backed away from the door, feeling like an intruder and walked out of the ICU, berating his curiosity for getting the best of him.
Chris and Alex walked into the room of a young girl who was having a heart transplant, scheduled in just under an hour.
"How's my favorite patient?" He asked as he rolled a stool over and started checking her vitals, removing his stethoscope from around his neck and listening to her current heart.
The little girl smiled at the cute doctor and noticed the woman who had come in with him.
"Who are you?"
Alex smiled and said, "I'm Dr. Reid. I'm going to be assisting Dr. McKenzie in the surgery."
"I'm Mikayla. I'm ten." She announced.
"It's very nice to meet you."
Mikayla's eyes traveled down to the hand that the doctor was holding the clipboard with. She looked between both doctors and frowned a bit when she saw Dr. McKenzie looking at the lady doctor the way she wished he would look at her.
"How did you two meet?" She suddenly asked, catching the doctors off guard a bit.
"Uh, well…" Alex started.
"Our first encounter was hot." Chris interrupted.
"Chris—erm—Dr. McKenzie!" Alex shrieked. "Why are you saying that? Number one, no. Number two, she's ten years old!"
"She spilled coffee on me." He finished with a wink.
The little girl giggled. Alex rolled her eyes and lightly smacked his upper arm.
"You guys are funny."
Chris returned his stethoscope around his neck. "I try to loosen her up every now and again. She doesn't exactly love my humor."
"That's not true." Alex protested, then bit her lip at his smile and decided to just remain silent.
"I hope I can meet a guy like you one day." Mikayla said, staring adoringly at the gorgeous doctor.
"They are going to be lined up around the block for you when you grow up."
The little girl blushed.
"I'll see you again in a few and by the end of the day you're going to have a new heart."
The little girl beamed in excitement.
As the team worked during the surgery, the heart monitor started to flat line as they were getting the new heart prepared.
They frantically tried to revive the girl, Dr. McKenzie more so than anyone else. He screamed for the others to keep trying as he used the internal cardiac paddles. The defibrillation did nothing to reverse the unexpected cardiac arrest. He kept using them until he felt Alex's hand on his arm, telling him he needed to stop. He couldn't look down and see that face. He couldn't do it. He dropped the paddles from his hand and stormed out of the O.R., leaving everyone in shock over his emotional break.
He had managed to break the lock of the door to the roof. He needed fresh air, but in a place that no one would look for him. He was standing up there for quite a while, just staring into the life moving in Toronto.
"So did you use the hammer in the janitor's closet or the loose brick in the wall to break the lock?" He heard her voice ask.
"The brick." He answered, still looking out towards the skyscrapers.
She shrugged, though she knew he couldn't see her."I used the hammer myself the time I needed to come up here."
"How many places did you look before coming up here?" He wondered out loud.
"Just this one. You and I might differ on some things, but after losing a patient this is where I imagined you going, just like I did. I wanted to give you some time before I came looking."
Chris clenched his fist and sniffed back any tears that were forming. He couldn't stop thinking about it. It was tearing him apart inside. He hadn't been this affected by the loss of a patient in a while. It always hurt to lose one, but this one in particular really tortured him.
"I'm supposed to be a doctor. I'm supposed to expect these things."
She shook her head,"But you never do. You can prepare yourself for these situations, but when they happen it's reality. The emotions are real." Placing her hand on his shoulder, she said, "It just means that you care."
He couldn't hold back anymore as a tear glided down his cheek.
"She was just ten. She had her whole life ahead of her."
Alex tilted her head to the side sympathetically, "Chris…"
He turned toward her with his tear streaked face and she felt compelled to grab him into an embrace. They had all been there at one time or another, losing a patient; it took a toll of varied proportions. Doctors weren't robots and in cases such as this one, with such a young vibrant life taken away, the walls of stoic science would get beaten down. It always helped to have that extra hope of a person to keep someone afloat, to be a support. He had been a good friend to her and that's why she was doing right back—at least, that's what she told herself as she held him.
Alex dropped her bagel when she heard the knock on her front door. Wiping her hands together to get the seeds of the bagel off, she made her way to the door and looked through the peephole. With a smile, she opened the door.
"What are you doing here?"
"Grab your stuff, Reid. We're going out." Chris proclaimed.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What?"
"Come on. Get your bag and let's go."
Still not sure of his intentions, she grabbed her bag and keys, also finishing the rest of her bagel, and met him back at the open doorway.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see," he said, grabbing her arm to get her in the hallway and closing the door behind her.
He had heard her remark to Maggie about not getting out and having fun in a while, so he wanted to do that for her. He wanted her to have a day where she let go and enjoyed life. He could see it on her face at work every day. She was tired, and not just physically, but emotionally drained at some points. She needed to let her mind go free and he knew just how to do it.
"You're bringing me to Wonderland?" Alex gasped.
Chris looked over at her and watched her eyes dart around, looking at all the rides of the park.
"Do you think I'm twelve?" She asked as he parked.
Unbuckling his seatbelt and turning the car off, he shook his head. "You'll see."
Alex highly doubted that, yet, she was curious. Why would he bring her to such a place? She hadn't been to an amusement park in—well, she didn't really know how long. Carnivals, sure, but this? It had been a long time.
She followed his lead, noticing that this wasn't some spur of the moment trip since he had already purchased the tickets beforehand, and they piled into the park among the throngs of other people. She started to feel out of place as she saw teenagers and families roaming around.
"Okay, when are you going to let me in on the significance of this trip?" She asked.
Chris inwardly smiled as he unfolded the map given to him at the window. He found where they were and looked at the color coding to find where it was that he intended them to go. He had researched the park online, but this was his first time being there. It looked amazing, though.
Finding the attraction he wanted to show her, he pulled her arm and headed to the right. "This way."
She let him drag her for a few feet until she shook her arm from his grasp. The place was intriguing as they passed different amusement rides, arcade games, and signature treats. They kept walking until they stumbled upon a very long line and monstrous looking roller coaster.
"What is this?" She asked with wide eyes.
"This is Leviathan. It's one of the biggest and tallest of all the roller coasters," he explained.
"In the park?"
"Oh, it's the biggest in the park, but I was referring to the world."
"And you want us to go on this, why?"
Chris stood and looked up at the coaster, its height would be scaring him to pieces on a normal day, but standing next to Alex it didn't seem so frightening.
"Because, it's a thrill ride and, while we deal with a different kind of thrill in the hospital, this is the kind that makes your mind numb. The intensity of it makes everything else fall away and all you can feel is your heart racing and adrenaline pumping. It leaves you gasping for breath..."
They both looked at each other and knew they were both thinking the same thing, and it wasn't about the coaster. Alex cleared her throat and was the first to break eye contact. "Which brings me back to the why. Why bring me here?"
"I overheard you the other day talking to Maggie about not getting out and having fun, how you missed it. So, this is you getting out and having fun."
"Why?" She asked again, wanting to know why he was doing this for her.
"Because…" He looked at her and then quickly looked away, "I want to see you happy. I want to see you laugh and have a good time." He looked at her once again. "It's what friends do."
"Friends." She repeated.
"Besides, you were there for me when I needed a shoulder and even in the short time I've known you, I know you. You're not going to admit it, but you wanted this. You wanted someone to whisk you away and bring you somewhere where you could breathe."
"I'm afraid to." She admitted as the line moved.
"Alex, you need to. If you don't, you'll make yourself suffer. You'll let the hospital suffocate you. You need this and it isn't going to mean that you're abandoning or forgetting him if you let yourself have a good time." He explained without saying the name that popped into both their heads. "And by doing this, maybe you'll breathe again."
The line moved again and again as they both stood in silence and watched the coaster move at incredible speed, the screams of the riders filling their ears. They soon reached the top of the structure and were next to get into a car. The gate opened in their row and they sat close to the front, strapping in and pulling the bar down over their bodies.
"I'm scared." She said.
"Me, too. I'm afraid of heights." He confessed.
"What!?" She said with her head snapping to him, not listening to the rider operator wish them luck as Chris shrugged at her reaction.
The car moved and started up a hill, slowly reaching the top, three hundred and six feet up in the air. Alex grabbed his hand and held on to it tight, her knuckles starting to turn white.
"We're going to go down fast. When we do, we're going to put our arms up." He instructed.
She was going to ask why, but then they started the plunge, an eighty degree drop. Both screamed as the wind whipped at them. Chris still held her hand and began to lift his arms up. Alex let him, but her other hand still held the bar tightly. The car twisted and turned, going upside down and around again. Their hearts hammered in their chests. Their breaths caught in their throats. As soon as it had started, the car was pulling in, and the ride was over.
They panted in breath and then laughed as they looked at each other. They both had messy hair and rosy cheeks. They got out of their seats and let the next riders have their chance.
As they stood on the platform, Chris asked, "So?"
Alex let her lungs catch up and steady. "Let's do it again." She smiled.
Chris returned her smile and pulled out the map. "How about we go on the next ride I have planned?"
She nodded and they exited to the stairs, heading to the next attraction. Chris explained it was another thrill ride, though he wasn't sure how it was going to compare to the one they had just been on. They waited on another long line and headed up the stairs of the ride Time Warp.
Again, soon the gate to their row opened and they sat in a seat, bringing the harness that covered their body down over them. They set out in a spiral and then dropped down, facing the ground.
In no time they were soaring. She reached out her arms and felt Chris do the same. They didn't even realize their hands were wrapped together. It was like…it was like they were flying. After about two minutes, they were back where they started and getting off the ride.
"Whoa." She said.
"Right?" He countered.
"I felt like I was flying up there." She smiled. "I've never felt anything like that."
Chris nodded as they walked down the stairs, "Before my parents got divorced, we had one more family vacation and it was to Disneyland. I was so excited about it that I forgot all about the trouble that was going on in the house, all the fighting I had to endure. I was so scared to go on some of the rides, because of the height, but I felt like if I did I could escape it all."
They reached the landing and Alex intently listened to what he was opening up to her about.
"I remember there was one ride where I felt like I was floating in the air, kind of like that one we were just on. It was the strangest thing, but in those moments I felt like anything was possible. That somehow there was a way for anything to work. That maybe my parents could work. I remember thinking that maybe that's what hope was like, that just when you think it's all sunk, it floats back up again. My parents didn't work out, of course, but I never forgot that."
Alex grinned as she thought about those words. "And I won't either."
The crowd of guests cheered as Shahir and Victor walked through the door, beaming with happiness. The music from the stage started as they walked to the front table and the band leader welcomed the newlyweds in. Alex smiled at their blissful state. It was beautiful. Her smile started to fall when she thought about how that was once supposed to be her. Shaking her head, she didn't want to think about that. She wanted to be happy for her friends.
Turning around she found her name plate at a table near the dance floor and sat down, watching as family and friends went up and congratulated the couple. She admired the place setting and the centerpiece. She thumbed at the lilac tablecloth. It was gorgeous.
"Penny for your thoughts." Melanda said, sitting next to her.
Alex put a smile back on her face. "They did a great job with this."
"Didn't they? I wish I could envision something like this, but my design skills are severely lacking even with all the HGTV I watch."
Alex chuckled, but her mind still kept wanting to go somewhere else. She sighed and placed her hands in her lap, toying with the cloth napkin.
"If Shahir's cousin comes over here and asks, you're my date." His deep voice whispered in her ear, her heart quickening from feeling his breath on her skin.
Chris quickly sat down next to her, pressing his hand on his navy tie as he scooted the chair under the table.
Alex reached for her champagne and took a few gulps of it. She hated that her body reacted that way. She always felt that it was betraying her, betraying Charlie. How could she help it, though? She couldn't deny that Chris was attractive with his dark hair, eyes that shifted between green and blue depending on the light, and when he wore those black frame glasses sometimes…
"Here you go, Miss." The waiter said, placing a plate of chicken in front of her.
"Thanks." Thanking him not only for the food but for interrupting her thoughts.
There was light chatting at the table during the meal. Stories were shared of everyone's first meetings of Shahir and Victor and stories of the couple throughout their relationship. Joel and Gavin reminisced about the certain bar they had been taken to and how Joel had won a certain contest being held. Melanda told of how she knew how much Shahir had fancied Victor in the beginning of their relationship and how adorable he got when Victor would walk into a room. Alex told a story of how she caught Victor trying to convince Shahir to meet him in the supply closet.
Chris listened and envied the relationship of Shahir and Victor and the one at the table. Even though he had been at the hospital for months, it still seemed like he was on the outside looking in sometimes. Though, many times it was his own doing. It was hard to get attached to something, only to have it torn away. He glanced to his right and watched Alex smile at Melanda.
Yes, he always had a reason.
"Will the happy couple please come to the dance floor?" The head of the band asked.
Everyone clapped as Shahir and Victor walked to the middle of the floor. The sound of the string instruments in the band filled the air as the female singer started singing the beginning of the Etta James song "At Last."
The singer interrupted the song. "Shahir and Victor would like to welcome their guests to the floor."
Chris watched as others at the table began to get up and head to the dance floor. Soon, it was just he and Alex left, finishing the last of their champagne. They both stood up to watch the others dance. Alex could feel a million different emotions running through her as she looked upon the scene. She was about to walk back to her seat when she felt someone grab her forearm. She looked up to see Chris tilt his head toward the dance floor. She let him guide her to the wooden dance floor, his hand slipping down to meet hers, and they started to sway to the music.
"Still trying to get away from Shahir's cousin?" She assumed.
"Nope." He said, getting lost in having her in his arms. He didn't know why he was putting himself in this situation, but he needed to feel it just once and maybe, even for a moment, pretend. It was unhealthy, but wanted a memory of it.
"You look beautiful tonight." She heard him faintly say, not sure if she was meant to hear it or not.
"I found a thrill I could press my cheek to. A thrill that I have never known…"
She let her body relax and let her head rest against Chris's chest. Their feet still moved to the music, but everything else seemed to fade away. She listened to the words and let them wrap around her and she took a moment to pretend it was her day, the day that had been taken away from her. She lifted her head up just a bit and saw Chris's eyes shining down into hers.
"For you are mine….at last…."
Somehow, their bodies became uncontrollable. Chris leaned in and she followed, the gap between their faces closing as their lips met. It was a chaste kiss, brought on by the elements surrounding them-the music, the wedding, and the champagne. No one was even paying attention to them, but Alex pulled away as though she had been burned. Her eyes welled up and she was overcome with emotion, her stomach turning at what had just occurred.
Chris backed away, too, not believing what he had let happen. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. That was completely inappropriate." His hand slid across his mouth and he felt like he committed a crime against her. The tears in her eyes were killing him. He had done that.
"I'm sorry." He said once more and left, bee-lining for the exit.
Melanda, noticing the look on Alex's face, hastily came to her friend's side.
"What is it? What happened?"
Alex shook her head, "I'm sorry, it's just this whole thing is finally getting to me."
Melanda gave her a sympathetic look and pulled her into a hug.
Alex wasn't lying; it was all finally getting to her. She was just leaving out a major detail. That Chris had kissed her and that she had liked it.
It had been an uncomfortable couple weeks around the hospital. Chris had tried to bypass Alex, not wanting to stir anything up between them. He still kicked himself for what had happened. How he had made her feel. He felt so guilty. So much so, that he found himself coming up to the ICU and checking on Charlie every now and again, apologizing as he checked the machines and promising that nothing like that would ever happen again.
He meant his word on that, especially after the phone call he had received that morning—an opportunity to travel to a less fortunate region in the world and practice medicine. He hadn't made a decision, but he knew he had options.
Just like every day since the kiss, he found himself outside Charlie's door. He looked at the man in the bed that was still holding on to life. He knew exactly why he was fighting so hard. Who wouldn't for love?
"Hey, Charlie." He said, picking up the man's chart. "Looks like everything is stable." He sighed as he looked at Charlie's face. "You're very lucky. I can see why you love her, why you're holding on. I would, too."
Just as he put the chart back down, the machine hooked up to Charlie's heart became erratic. Chris quickly hit the button by his bed alerting the staff to help in the room. Chris immediately looked at the heart monitor, bent over Charlie's body and started compressions.
"Come on, Charlie." He monitor was still flat lining, the long beep unbearable to hear. "If you die it will destroy her! Come on, Charlie. Come on!" He said as he continued compressions.
The rest of the team, including Melanda, rushed into the room to assist him. The long beep was replaced by small, continuous beeps. Chris let out a deep breath, relieved that Charlie's heart was beating once more. What surprised him, though, were Charlie's blue eyes staring up at him. Charlie's mouth moved as he tried to speak, but only squeaking like sounds were coming out.
"Oh my god." Melanda said. "Someone page Alex. NOW!"
Chris was speechless. Charlie was awake. His decision was made.
Alex walked into the locker room and heard someone shuffling around. Well, she knew who that someone was. The news had travelled to her through Victor. She had been so immersed in Charlie's care since he had woken up than to listen to the gossip of the hospital, but when she heard that it was Chris' last day she had been caught off guard.
Walking past a few more rows, she saw him pack the last of his things into a duffle bag. Crossing her arms she tried to keep her emotions at bay.
"So, were you even going to say goodbye?"
He looked at her with wide eyes, surprised to find her there. He had hoped he wouldn't see her, knowing it would be too hard to leave.
"I'm lousy at goodbyes." He replied and shut the door to the locker.
"I thought that we were friends. Friends would tell each other when they're leaving their job. Especially when that job is on another continent. Africa?"
Chris looked down at his feet and then back up to her.
"I wish that we were just friends, but you have to know that—that …" He couldn't even get out the words.
Alex pursed her lips, knowing very well what he was trying to say.
"I don't want you leaving because of me."
Chris shook his head and walked closer to her. "I'm not leaving because of you. I'm leaving for you."
"Chris…" She began.
"Let me talk. For once." There was a glimmer of amusement in her eye and he was glad he had seen it there. "Staying here, it wouldn't be right. I—I feel something for you, Alex. Something more than friendship and I know you know that. I like you, a lot. Most of the time I can bury it and be professional, but there are times, like at the wedding, where I can't. That's why I can't stay. I don't want to jeopardize anything. You had a life before I came here. I had a life, too. I travelled and I used my expertise where it was needed most. There's another place that needs me now."
Alex's eyes welled up with tears. "What if I said I didn't want you to go? What if I was selfish and asked my friend to stay?"
Chris raised his hand to cup her cheek and brushed away an escaped tear with his thumb. Leaning in he kissed her on the cheek.
"It's for the best." He whispered.
Pulling back he memorized her face, wanting to keep that with him on his journey. He carried his duffle bag over his shoulder and left the locker room. He would keep this place with him, his experiences here close to his heart. Most of all, he would never forget Alex Reid.
Alex took a moment to breathe as she sat on the couch in the doctor's lounge. Things had been progressing with Charlie, but after his whole ordeal he was being very obstinate on how methods of treatment should be done, which she could understand, but it was starting to get to her. Charlie would get agitated and it was starting to create some hardships between them, but she pushed through. After the whole debacle of what happened, she was willing to give leeway with his recovery. She just needed time to recover, too.
"Hey, you." Maggie said joyfully.
"You're happy." Alex commented.
"That's what happens when Dr. McSexy-PornHair sends photos and a postcard from Chad."
Alex jolted up from her seat. "Chris sent something?"
Maggie nodded getting her lunch from the fridge. "It's at the nurses' station. And let me just say, that man taking pictures with children is enough to make my ovaries explode. Imagine if he had been an OBGYN instead of a cardiac surgeon. The irony."
Thoughts of Chris started circling Alex's brain. She had thought about him since he left, but anytime that happened she quickly weighted it down with Charlie and his recovery. Charlie was awake. He was physically here. That's what mattered. That's what she had wanted, what she had kept hoping for.
"I'll see you later." She hastily said to Maggie as she left the lounge.
She found herself gliding down the hallway, to the nurses' station, and, once she was there, spotted the postcard and photos tacked up on the board. He was smiling. That bright smile he had that could light up a small town. That had lit up her heart when she didn't even know it. She missed him. She wouldn't let anyone know that, though. They couldn't know.
They were just feelings. Feelings that would leave just as he did.
It was for the best.
"So, what about an African Safari for the honeymoon?" Charlie asked.
Alex flinched. Turning to him she shook her head 'no'. "I don't think I'm safari material."
Charlie closed the laptop and turned to his fiancé. "What is it?"
"Hmm?" She asked, cradling her coffee mug.
"Alex, your mind has been far away these past couple weeks. What's going on?"
"Charlie, I think…I think we need to postpone the wedding."
He let out a sigh. "Alex, I told you I'm fine. I can handle a wedding."
She shut her eyes closed tight and then opened them back up again. "I don't think I can."
That caught his attention. He knew that his progress since waking up from the coma had worked both their nerves, but he thought they would get back to where they were before the accident, but maybe he had been kidding himself. That accident had changed him. While he didn't remember everything about being in the coma, the feelings still lingered around inside of him. He had a feeling that somewhere in the timeline of his coma an event occurred that had affected Alex. He could feel it. In the past couple weeks she had been pulling away slowly, like an ebb tide. He was losing her, but somehow he was expecting it. He had been starting to have doubts concerning their future, too.
"Alex, tell me."
She couldn't hold it back anymore. She tried. She tried to keep it together, but it was tearing at her. The feelings she wanted to push away, to leave her alone, wouldn't go. She couldn't do this. Not to Charlie.
"I can't marry you, Charlie. I'm sorry. I can't." She said as she shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Why?"
"Because I'm a horrible person."
Charlie felt his stomach plummet. "What happened?"
"I'm going to start off by saying that I didn't have an affair, I would never do that."
"I know." He agreed.
"But, there was this other doctor. He and I became friends. He was someone that I could open up to with everything that was going on. Somewhere along the way, it came out of nowhere…"
"What did?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"I started having feelings for him. I tried not to, Charlie," she cried, "but they wouldn't go away. And I can't do that to you, I can't marry you when I have these feelings inside somewhere because it isn't fair, it's not fair to you. Even though I'll never see him again, it doesn't matter. You're such a good man and you don't deserve that." She started pacing and repeated. "I'm such a horrible person."
Charlie could feel his own eyes watering at her words. "Don't say that because you're not."
She stopped moving and stared at him. "Just know that I do love you. I do. And I wanted you to be that man that I loved completely, with no doubts."
Charlie looked down, letting everything she was saying sink in. "I guess we're not the perfect fit I thought."
Alex placed her hand over her mouth as more tears escaped. She removed her hand and pulled the engagement ring off her finger. She walked over and pulled his hand open, gently placing the ring in his palm.
"I…I don't want you to hate me." She choked out.
Charlie shook his head. "I could never hate you. You were by my side through all of this, Alex. Maybe it's not ending the way I had hoped for, but it wasn't just my hope that got me through this in the first place, it was yours."
She wiped her eyes and tried to listen to what he was saying.
"You had hope and that saved me, Alex. Now, I'm going to return the favor."
He walked over to her and kissed her lips for the last time.
Alex stared at her "Dr. Alex Reid" name tag and looked around the hospital floor. She was a far cry away from Hope Zion, having gotten the opportunity to work in New York City. Charlie had actually written a glowing recommendation for the job. She smiled thinking of him. He was a good memory.
Clipping the badge to her white coat, she looked at the board of the ER where she was doing a consult. Spotting the case, she took the clipboard and headed over to where the patient was waiting. Pulling the curtain back, a blonde girl was sitting on the hospital bed, holding her left shoulder.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Reid. Can you tell me what happened?"
The girl nodded. "I was walking when a guy on a bike clipped my shoulder. It didn't hurt badly at first, but now I can't seem to move it."
"May I?" Alex asked, pointing to the shoulder.
"Sure."
Alex unzipped the girl's pullover and pulled it down the left shoulder so she could examine it. She lightly touched it and heard her wince.
"It looks very bruised and swollen. I'm going to recommend that you get an x-ray."
"I knew you would say that. That's why I was so reluctant to come."
"You don't like hospitals?" She mused.
"Not so much. My family is affiliated with them. Makes them that much more irritating."
Alex chuckled. "You have doctors in the family? Do they work at hospitals?"
She nodded. "My father and my older brother Chris. If my father had his way I would be interning in one right now, but my brother told me to go live my dream, which was going well until a bike clipped me this morning."
Alex halted when she heard the patient talk about her family. She looked down at the chart and saw the name Carol McKenzie. She controlled her breathing when she realized who this might be.
"Out of curiosity, is your brother Chris McKenzie? Cardiac surgeon?"
Carol smiled. "Yeah! He was working in California, then up in Toronto, and is now being even more of a goody two shoes and saving the world by working with Doctors Without Borders. Do you know him?"
She nodded her head. "I worked with him at Hope Zion in Toronto."
Carol eyed the doctor's badge and internally kicked herself for not putting it together. Chris had talked about her enough you would think the name would have rung a bell.
"Wow, you're Alex Reid! You're just as gorgeous as he described."
Alex felt her cheeks become red. "That's very nice to say."
Carol also recalled the story of what Chris had told her about the background of the doctor. She checked Alex's left hand and didn't find a ring. That was very telling.
"So, what brings you to New York from Canada?"
"Just looking at new opportunities," Alex shrugged.
"Alone?" Carol couldn't help but ask.
"Alone." She confirmed.
Alex started writing down what Carol would need in her chart when the girl cleared her throat. She looked up, her attention caught.
"He still carries a torch for you, you know."
"Excuse me?"
"Chris." Carol reminded her. "He buries himself in his job to save people, but he still thinks about you. He thought it was easier to leave, to not be in your way." Alex looked at her confused at this information when Carol supplied, "He told me. We video chat once a week."
Alex went back to writing in the chart; the feelings she thought she had finally beaten came rushing back up for another round.
"I'll have someone come and get you for the x-ray. Tell Chris I said, 'hi,' when you talk to him." She said and then pulled the curtain away to leave.
She took a few deep breaths when she put the chart down and made her way to an empty exam room. She needed a few moments to collect her thoughts, but her thoughts just wanted to chew over Carol's words. That he thought about her. That he still carried around feelings for her.
Rushing out of the exam room, she used the elevator to go up a few floors. Once she reached the floor she wanted, she knocked on the door of the chief of surgery, Dr. White.
"Hey, Chief."
The older man smiled. "What can I do for you, Reid?"
"I was wondering what you knew about applying for Doctors Without Borders."
"J'ai besoin de plus la pénicilline. S'il vous plaît, mettez-le sur la liste." [I need more penicillin. Please, put that on the list.] Chris asked, in French, to the assistant working with him at the clinic.
"Oui, docteur." [Yes, doctor.] The man replied.
It was an unbearably hot day in the village he was currently located in in Chad. He was also running out of supplies, which was going to make it harder for him to treat locals. He knew he was doing a good service, but on days like this all he wanted was to be home. Or, at least lounging at a pool. He had to remind himself, though, that the people around here didn't have some of those luxuries, didn't have a chance to know them, so he would have to suck it up and leave those thoughts to his nightly dreams.
"Docteur! Un camion de ravitaillement est à venir!" [Doctor! A supply truck is coming!] His assistant cried.
Chris turned to see the jeep pull up. He squinted through the hazy and dusty air to see who exactly it was who had come with supplies. A figure jumped out of the vehicle in white and khaki, but he didn't recognize them. When the person removed the scarf around their face, his jaw dropped at the sight. Maybe it was a mirage. It had to be. He was seeing things.
She looked around the area until her eyes gravitated toward him. He had some stubble on his face, wearing a gray t-shirt and khaki pants. She could see the shock on his face. It made her smirk. Alex Reid then started walking toward him, carrying her medical bag across her body.
"Are you real or am I seriously dehydrated?" He asked.
Alex smiled. "I'm real."
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his breath escaping him.
"I felt like something was missing in my life." She replied.
He looked around her to the jeep, waiting to see if anyone else was about to reveal themselves.
"How's Charlie?" He couldn't resist asking.
"Charlie's good. His recovery was somewhat of a miracle. It took some time, but he's been back to work for a while."
"And how was the wedding?" He prodded.
"There wasn't a wedding. I got a job in New York City. I actually, by chance, had your sister as a patient." They had actually become good friends since their chance encounter.
Chris closed his eyes and nodded to himself, realizing why his sister had been so coy for so long, like she was the cat who caught the canary. Now, it all made sense.
"Thanks for taking care of her."
"No problem." Alex said. There was silence between them and it was making her uncomfortable. This wasn't exactly the way she had rehearsed it in her head, in the car to the plane, on the plane, or in the jeep.
"Chris, about when you left…"
"Alex, that's over and done with." He interjected.
"No, it's not. Will you let me finish?"
"Like I have a choice?" He smirked as she rolled her eyes.
"Listen, you said before you left that you had feelings for me, well I had them for you, too. I tried to ignore them, but there were times that I couldn't. To go back to my life before the accident, I couldn't do it. I had changed. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I did. The feelings didn't go away, so I couldn't marry Charlie." She sighed, brushing her hair away from her face. "It didn't matter where I was, Toronto, New York, or Timbuktu. I missed you, Chris. I missed you. And just when I thought I wouldn't see you again, when my hope for that had sunk, fate made it so your sister was my patient that day, and my hope floated back up."
Chris smiled as she used the words he had said to her so long ago.
"I missed you, too." He said.
Taking a few steps toward her, he grabbed her and planted a hard, passionate kiss on her that he had been waiting to do since the day he met her. They stood still, while the camp moved around them, time stopping only for them.
Under the hot African sun, they stayed in their embrace for just a little while longer, the hope they had been holding on to rejuvenating them just like the sun's powerful rays.
After a late night at the clinic, they both knew that this was it. After weeks working together again in a professional capacity, and trying to piece together what exactly their relationship was, the attraction they felt could no longer be denied and brushed away. In such an exotic location, the beauty that surrounded them among the chaos, it was fitting that on such a hot night they would finally give in to the temptation.
"Mosquito nets don't exactly scream romance." He quipped, as he backed into the tent with her in his arms.
"We'll make do." She replied. They both wanted this. To continue their thrill ride. "Okay," he answered.
Their kiss was sweet at first. His lips gently brushed against hers with a whisper. They both looked at each other with such yearning, knowing that they waited for such a long period of time for each other. Chris's arms wove themselves around her body and pulled her even closer, causing her to be flush up against him.
The humidity in the air was already making it hard to breathe. His hand traveled up her back and dug into her luscious chocolate hair, his fingertips pressing into the back of her skull. His lips careened on to hers, not being able to stop any longer. Her mouth opened slightly and welcomed him. Her fingers clutched and pulled at his T-shirt.
She moaned when she felt his hand under her shirt, gliding across her hot skin and down each vertebrate of her spine. Her mouth pulled away from his so she could catch her breath. She moaned as he decided to attach his lips beneath her ear lobe, sucking and licking her salty skin until he reached the crook of her neck. He pulled the straps of her tank top and bra down and kissed the top of her shoulder.
He lifted his head and looked into her eyes, without words, asking for permission to continue. Her answer was reaching for the hem of his T-shirt and pulling it over his head. The shirt dropped to the floor and her hands gravitated to his perfectly sculpted bronze chest. He watched and felt them journey down to his waist. The sensation sent all the blood in his veins rushing to the southern region of his body with a groan escaping his lips.
He clasped his hands over hers, stopping the exploration for the moment, and lifted them up into the air, so he could lift her tank top over her head. Her shirt met with his on the floor. He let go of her hands and let his return to her back, letting them feel their way to the clasp of her black bra, and flicking it undone.
The material fell forward, letting him peek more at the flawless mounds it had been securing. Alex let her bra fall to the ground, standing with the top portion of her body bare to him. She felt a little self conscious as he stared, but as his hands started to move around on her, those thoughts rolled away.
"You're so beautiful." He whispered to her.
Her lips found his again, her eyes closing as she lost herself in him. No, not lost—melted. They were melting into each other, becoming something new, something unshakable, something that filled the void that had been between them for so long.
They maneuvered through the netting around the bed and fell onto the mattress with a bouncing thud. They disrobed each other further until there was nothing else keeping them apart. They lay sprawled against each other, their bodies already slick with sweat from the heat. Moans filled the air once more, with each making sure that every appendage on the other got undivided attention. The collision of their bodies created a sense of completeness—a perfect fit.
His hands clasped with hers and together they flew among the stars.
Years later, in a Buffalo hospital, doctors and nurses moved around the various floors checking on patients and saving lives. Still encouraging hope to those around them, sick or not.
The speakers suddenly came alive with a woman's voice paging one of those doctors.
"Paging Dr. McKenzie to the O.R.…Dr. Alex McKenzie…"