A/N – Thanks so much for your encouragement to the story thus far! I struggled a bit with this chapter, as I'm not a medical professional, nor do I play one on tv. But Colleen & Andrew do live in that world, and there had to be a scene of them working together, right? Any factual errors I ascribe to dramatic license.

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Chapter 3

Not wishing to be late his first day, Andrew arrived early on Monday. Admittedly, that wasn't the only reason - he was hoping to run into Colleen out front again. He didn't spot her as he approached the building and checked his watch. He could wait a few minutes outside, enjoying the mountain view, before needing to head in.

He'd spent the weekend mostly online, one day focused on finding activities to do during his stay in Colorado Springs, the other compiling restaurant recommendations. Normally Andrew got absorbed in his web surfing, but this time he found himself wondering how many of the sites and restaurants Colleen had already visited herself. Did she enjoy the great outdoors, exploring nature, or did she prefer staying inside to watch a movie? Did she like Chinese food, or was she partial to fried chicken? On top of those musings, his mind also returned to the fact that she'd said she only worked part-time, so what did she do with the rest of her day? Was she in school to further her education? Did she have a second part-time job elsewhere to make ends meet? Might she be a nanny for Dr. Quinn when she wasn't at the office? That scenario would make the most sense to fit the scattered crumbs about her life that he'd picked up so far.

By Sunday evening, Andrew had started to go crazy with all the questions and had had to remind himself that he'd be lucky to learn even a fraction of the answers before it was time for him to move on, as the traditional method of getting to know someone better – dating – he'd already ruled out.

"Morning, Dr. Cook." Colleen looked just as she had three days ago, ponytail in place, a lovely smile on her face. He appreciated the fact that she didn't wear much makeup, letting her natural beauty shine through.

"Good morning, Colleen."

"Are you here early to get a breakfast burrito?"

He'd entirely forgotten about that. "Oh, uh, no, perhaps tomorrow. I, uh, just thought I should get here early in case I had trouble with my badge."

"Oh. Well, let's see if it works then."

A green light answered the question. Andrew held the door for her, and together they walked in. At the door to the doctor's lounge Colleen said she'd see him upstairs and headed off, presumably to get a breakfast burrito and/or change into her scrub uniform. Andrew could only nod and let himself into the lounge, where he found a locker to hang up his garment bag, unzipping it to reveal his white coat, Andrew Cook, M.D. embroidered on the left side just above the breast pocket. His stethoscope was at the bottom of the bag, and he retrieved it as well before shutting the door and reclipping his ID to his coat pocket. He didn't change into scrubs, as he wasn't expecting to perform any procedures. Family practitioners generally didn't see that type of action in an office setting.

After stopping at Grace's for a cup of coffee to bring upstairs, he made his way up alongside others getting ready to start their day. Some were chattering amongst themselves, catching up on events from the weekend, while others, like Andrew, kept quiet. He didn't see Colleen; she must have already made her way up to the office.

Indeed, she had, already prepping for the day ahead, simultaneously chatting with a curly haired young woman. Alice… something, Andrew was blanking on her last name but remembered her from the tour Colleen had given on Friday. He smiled politely at them, uttered another "Good morning" for the benefit of Alice, then retreated with his coffee to Michaela Quinn's office.

It was time to be professional and get to work.

He'd passed the office doorway on last week's tour, so this was his first time stepping inside. The room turned out to be small but serviceable, a bookcase against one wall, and two guest chairs set out for visitors. A pair of framed photos sat on the desk. One was of a middle-aged gentleman and a younger woman – Michaela no doubt - both wearing white coats and smiling. Father-daughter? Looking closer, it did appear that the name Quinn was sewn on both garments. The other snapshot was from a wedding. Michaela was older here, radiant in her gown. The groom - presumably Sully - turned out to be a tanned, good-looking guy with shoulder length hair, and in lieu of a standard tux he was dressed in a fringed leather garment, perhaps to honor his family's heritage. With them stood a young man, a teenage girl, a younger boy, and a pet dog.

The girl in the photo was Colleen. Younger, but unmistakably her.

Was she Michaela's or Sully's daughter from a previous relationship? That would explain much… except, she didn't refer to either one of them as 'mom' or 'dad'.

Perhaps a niece or cousin then. Or… might she be a foster child?

Andrew abruptly put the picture down. It was one thing to be intrigued and curious about a young woman - it was quite another to feel like he was snooping behind her back, invading her privacy, albeit unintentionally.

Taking a swig from his coffee cup, Andrew turned his attention to the computer, where someone had thoughtfully taped a sheet of instructions with how he could login to the PPMG system. It would be best to familiarize himself with it before embarrassing himself in front of a patient.

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Before too long Colleen summoned him to the examination room to meet his first patient in Colorado Springs. She'd already taken the man's vitals, within normal parameters for a man in his age bracket, though the rapid pulse rate and elevated blood pressure indicated he was nervous about seeing a doctor.

"Good morning, Mr. Bray, I'm Dr. Cook. What brings you here today?" Andrew already knew, it was on the man's chart that he was here for a general physical. However, a doctor always liked to hear it from the patient first-hand, establishing a rapport before conducting the examination.

"Well, the missus has been pushing me to come in, she goes on and on about how wonderful Dr. Mike is, and sure, she's nice, I mean, she comes in my store, regular customer, but, you know, she's a woman, and I just didn't want to show her, you know, the goods."

Andrew got the picture. "I understand, Mr. Bray. Have you been experiencing any pain or discomfort anywhere or have any special concerns?"

Loren leaned forward and lowered his voice, even though there was no one else in the tiny room to overhear. "I have to go a lot. And it doesn't feel so good when I do. You don't think it's cancer, do you?"

"Well, I'll need to examine you first and run some tests before we make that determination. Is it all right if I examine you?"

"Oh, sure, sure. I just didn't want to drop my drawers for Dr. Mike, it would be too embarrassing having her in the store knowing that she'd seen... those parts."

"All right then, let's take a look. Some of this might feel a little uncomfortable, I apologize in advance."

Andrew conducted his examination, then removed his latex gloves.

"I suspect there's an issue with your prostate, Mr. Bray, which is not uncommon in men your age. A blood test will help us determine if it's cancer or not. Since it's been a while since you've seen a doctor, I'd like to do a complete panel, including your glucose levels, which means you'll need to fast before we draw the blood. That will give me a better picture of your overall health. You can come in tomorrow morning before having anything to eat or drink to do that, that's usually easiest. Then I can see you again next week to go over the results. Hopefully, we won't discover anything serious, but if there is, I can refer you to a specialist for further treatment. In the meantime, for your discomfort, you can take over-the-counter pain medication and warm hip baths once or twice a day."

"A blood test doesn't sound too bad."

"I also strongly urge you to get a colonoscopy. If you're worried about cancer, it's the best screening there is for colon cancer."

In a defeated tone, Loren replied, "Maud said you'd say that. Yeah, go ahead, sign me up for that."

"Actually, Mr. Bray, you can make your own appointment at the desk before you leave today. And there's one other thing, I noticed from your medical history that you've had chicken pox?"

"Yeah, when I was a boy. Got it from Dorothy Jennings, well, she was Dorothy Wright back then. Aw, she was a stunner, those redheads, you know," he reminisced.

"Yes, well, you should know that the virus which causes chickenpox usually remains inactive in the body, but there's always a possibility that it might flare up years later as an infection called shingles. It's not life-threatening, but shingles can be quite painful and potentially cause other problems, especially for seniors. There's a vaccine for it now, and I highly recommend that you get it as a preventative measure. It's a two-dose regimen, we can give you your first injection today, then you'll need to return in two to four months for the second dose."

Loren made a face. "You doctors are always finding excuses to jab needles in people's arms," he grumbled.

"You don't have to get it if you don't want to, but I do strongly suggest it."

"Nah, I'll do it," Loren caved. "I promised Maud I'd follow your advice."

Andrew smiled slightly. "I'm glad to hear I have her endorsement. You can put your pants on now while I put what we've discussed into your file but leave your shirt off so we can give you your vaccination."

Andrew sat at the small desk in the corner to type up his notes and request the blood test. Computers in medicine were a godsend, making instructions and prescriptions much easier to read.

When they weren't causing frustration, that is. Andrew tried clicking the Submit button, but it wasn't working, and he wasn't seeing where he was going wrong. Each medical facility used its own software, and this was a program he hadn't encountered before.

He picked up the phone in the room to contact the front desk. "Colleen, it's Dr. Cook. I'm with Mr. Bray and the program won't let me request his blood panel." Andrew went silent as she explained what to do. "Check the box, yes I did that… scroll down… ah, the update button… and then submit. Okay. Thanks, Colleen." He hung up the phone and locked the computer until it was time to use it again.

"Pretty gal, that Colleen," Loren said from the chair, pants and shoes back on. "And sweet, too. She deserves a nice fella. You gotta girl, Dr. Cook?"

Andrew startled. Was the man trying to play matchmaker? "Uh, no, I don't."

"Got a fella? Cause it'd be all right if you did, I try to be open minded bout these kinda things, you know, keeping up with you younger folks…"

Andrew crossed his arms, attempting to keep a straight face. "No, Mr. Bray, that's not my preference. But this job doesn't really lend itself to having a relationship. I'm just here temporarily until Dr. Quinn returns. Then I'll move on to a new location."

"Seems kinda lonely way to live," the older man lamented. "I don't know what I'd do without my Maud."

"Well, don't worry about it, I'm sure I'll settle down one day. I'll send someone in for your injection. It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise." They shook hands and Andrew left the room to authorize the vaccination.

"Colleen, can you handle Mr. Bray's shingles injection?"

"Sure."

"Thanks." As an assistant Colleen was not permitted to prepare the syringe on her own, so Andrew accompanied her to where the medications were kept under lock and key. "Um, I was wondering something, he seems to know you, but it's clear it's been a while since he's seen a doctor. Does he come to his wife's appointments?"

"Sometimes. But we go to his store all the time."

Andrew noted the 'we' in that sentence and wondered at it. Did she mean 'we' as in the wedding photo, or 'we' as in herself and a significant other? It was damn frustrating. He could ask all the questions he wanted about Loren Bray, a patient, but asking anything personal about her would be considered inappropriate. "I see," he said slowly, unlocking the cabinet to retrieve the vial.

"It's on the corner of Main and Church streets," Colleen continued breezily, unaware of Andrew's thoughts. "I know Grace gets most of her produce from him."

"I guess I'll need to stop by and check it out sometime." And hopefully see you there, he silently added as she handed him the empty syringe.

She flashed him a smile, causing his heart to skip a beat. "Maybe we'll run into each other." Andrew promptly forgot what he'd been doing, dumbfounded that she had echoed his private wish. He didn't realize he was staring until she shifted her feet nervously and gently prompted, "Um, Dr. Cook, you need to prepare the dose."

"Oh, uh, right," he acknowledged, snapping out of his daze. He prepared the syringe for her and set it on the tray she was holding. Offering up a small smile of thanks, she left without another word.

Left standing there alone, Andrew locked the medicine cabinet before returning to Michaela Quinn's office to await the next appointment - and clear his head. The wedding photo mocked him, however, so he moved it behind the one of the Doctors Quinn, turning it to face away for good measure.

It was as he'd told Loren Bray - the job didn't lend itself to having that kind of romantic relationship. He would never have the chance to be anything special to Colleen. He would have to simply be her co-worker – and, with any luck, someone she considered a friend.

It would have to be enough.

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