***
"Well, crap," Michelle exclaimed after dropping the forms she was retrieving for Dr. Collette's new patient to complete giving permission for elective surgery. It had been a long day, a long few days and she was tired. Besides the normal schedules, the ER had been particularly busy, and being on-call meant being available 24/7. She sighed tiredly and knelt to retrieve the forms scattered on the floor.
"Matt was going on about it a few minutes ago," Michelle heard Jules comment and then a 'thwack' on the counter when she apparently set a file down. "Hello, Maria."
Michelle looked up to see Maria coming around behind the station. Although her fellow nurse saw her, she gave no indication to the doctors standing on the other side. No need to give them any ammunition against Shel. She had heard the conversation between Drs. Slingerland and Kokoris earlier and knew her friend was now in the line of gossip fire.
"Unbelievable. I went by her house a few days ago and he was there."
Michelle recognized Rae's voice immediately. Annoyed that she was now the topic of hospital gossip, she was about to jump up and give the two doctors a piece of her mind when she felt Maria's hand on her shoulder, gently holding her down.
"Really? Hmmm...he didn't seem too enthused to discuss her, must not be anything there."
Marie snuck a peek at Shel, whose face visibly registered her dislike of the nature of the conversation. She liked the Greek doctor and had read something completely different into his conversation with Slingerland. Dr. Kokoris seemed genuine and add to the fact that he was of a different ethnic origin didn't hurt in her eyes. She, herself, was Philippino and enjoyed meeting and getting to know people from different walks of life.
Rae laughed. "Yes, I highly doubt someone of his stature and ability would stoop so low as to get involved with someone like her. Besides, you know the drill. Man sees woman, man has woman...man is gone. She should know that Nick would never take her seriously. She's beneath him. Professionally and intellectually."
Hidden from view of Rae and her snide remarks, Michelle felt the unshed tears burn at the back of her eyes. Rae's words hurt more than she wanted to admit. The fact that she made a good point didn't escape Michelle. In her mind she played out the scenario that Nick could indeed only be looking for tumble in the sack. That he truly felt that nurses were beneath him and he would merely use her, just as Rae had used him.
Maria clucked her tongue at the two doctors and the unfounded comments they made. "You should not be so judgmental," Maria scorned, uncaring that she may be stepping on toes that could crush her somewhere down her professional road. "I also heard Dr. Kokoris' conversation with Dr. Slingerland. To me it sounded as if he wished to keep his private life private and did not take kindly to discussing Shel behind her back." At the somewhat look of outrage that appeared on Dr. Brennan's face, she added, "And it was very gentlemanly, in my opinion."
"You can come out now," Maria whispered when the coast was clear and the two female doctors had disappeared into the elevator.
"Thanks Maria..." she trailed. "I..."
"You know, I meant what I said. Don't let the gossip get to you, Shel." Maria smiled and patted her on the back before turning her attention to her own work.
"I know," she agreed half-heartedly. "Listen, I'm outta here after I deliver these forms. See ya." Michelle waved and headed down the corridor.
***
After making a quick stop for Chinese take-out, Michelle made her way home. A leisurely candlelit bath, a good book and a pillow to curl up to was what her evening would entail. She was too tired to care how pathetic it sounded.
Grabbing the take-out she headed toward the front door and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw movement on the small stoop. In the darkness, she couldn't tell who the figure was and stepped backwards, preparing to run.
"Michelle," the figured bathed in shadows called out softly.
She breathed a sigh of relief hearing the rich, thickly accented voice. "Nick what..." she trailed off when she reached him, his features more easily visible in the soft glow of the moonlight the more she neared. He leaned heavily up against the step rails; his posture gave the impression of a defeated man. His eyes were clouded in pain and his lips were pressed into a thin, torturous line.
Michelle sat next to him on the hard cement step and set the take-out off to the side. "You okay, Doc?" she whispered and placed a gentle hand on his knee.
He didn't answer, merely stared longingly into her eyes, seeking comfort? Acceptance? She wasn't sure, but something definitely dimmed the sparkle in his eyes.
"We're back to Doc?" he grimaced. "Things have been extremely busy and..."
"Nicky, it's okay," she interjected. "Let's go inside. We can talk about what's bothering you over a plate of vegetable lomein." She stood and offered her hand.
Nick smiled and took her hand. Immediately he felt the warmth spread throughout him from just the touch of her hand. He had sat on her stoop wondering why he had shown up at her door without so much as an invitation and when he found her not at home, he felt the need to wait. Now he understood why. The sound of her voice, the touch of her skin, the way he melted inside when she smiled. He needed those things in his life; she completed him.
Once inside, she set the table while Nick doled out portions of the meal on each of their plates. Meanwhile, Michelle opened a bottle of merlot and poured two glasses. She placed a glass in front of him before sitting next to him at the table.
"What's going on, Nick? You looked a bit lost out there," she commented, watching him push his food around his plate.
He shrugged and put his fork down. "A patient died today," he said softly, picking up the wine. He gulped the wine before continuing, "Dr. Jordan and I were working on a heart attack victim. He didn't make it."
Michelle pushed her plate away and turned to face him. "Nick..."
"I know, I know. We did everything we could," he reasoned.
Michelle stood and moved behind his chair and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Still you're going to beat yourself up over it, aren't you?" She said while massaging the tension from his neck and shoulders.
He nodded, marveling at the feel of her touch and how the pain and tension eased away with each stroke and knead of her adept fingers. "He was young, Shel...it was his five-year-old daughter that got to me."
Michelle ran her hands over his shoulders, her fingers trailing up his neck to sink into the rich blackness of his short hair. Her eyes closed in reflex to the feel of its silky softness and as she listened to the pain in his voice and felt the way he leaned back into her touch, she knew she was lost to this man. She could easily give her world over to him if he so desired, but Rae's words earlier crept back into her thoughts. "What happened with his daughter?" she asked, pushing her selfish thoughts aside to concentrate on his needs.
"While Dr. Jordan broke the news to his family," he said, reaching up and taking one of her hands and pressing the palm to his cheek, "the little girl ran over and wrapped herself around my leg. Her big blue eyes broke my heart when she begged for her father."
"Oh Nick," Shel sighed and leaned down, embracing him from behind. "It never gets easy, dealing with the pain and loss." She kissed him gently on his cheek. "I wish I could help you."
"You are," he replied, turning slightly and pulling her around to sit on his lap. "I could think of no other place to go, Shelley. Why is that?"
"I...I don't know, Nick," she whispered, gazing into the dark depths of his eyes. "Maybe you were just looking for a diversion, something to get your mind off what happened." She shook her head slightly and pulled out of his arms. Walking away from him, she said, "If that's how you see me, Doctor, then I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken."
Nick blinked. Where did that come from? He stood and closed the distance between them in two quick strides and gripped her upper arms from behind. His lips were just a breath away from her ear when he whispered, "I've never thought of you that way. Hell, Shel, I can't keep you off my mind."
"Why is that, Nick? Do you just need to work off some manly aggression?"
"And you think I came here for a romp in the sack, is that it?" he asked, shaking her gently. "That couldn't be further from the truth."
She laughed pitifully. "If I did think that, I wouldn't be alone."
Nick turned her to face him. "What..."
"Oh yeah, Doc. You're all the rage at the medical center. How you're seeing some lowly nurse, but you couldn't possibly develop any real feelings for her because she's so beneath you," Michelle spat.
"What are you talking about," he demanded softly. Where she had gotten these ideas he could well imagine. Damned hospital gossip. "Michelle...if sex was all I was after, don't you think I would have tried something the night I spent here? Or the next day that we spent together? It isn't like there weren't opportunities. You felt it as well."
Michelle nodded slightly. He had been sweet, caring, playful, adorable, and sexy along with every other adjective one could think to describe him. There was a point, as the day came to an end, that she wondered if he just wanted to be friends. The searing, toe-curling goodnight kiss he bestowed upon her told her otherwise.
Nick's hands were on either side of her neck, his thumbs caressing her cheeks.
"I won't lie, I want you...but there's more to it than that."
Michelle's eyes slid closed and she felt her body move closer to his as if it had a mind of its own. Her arms snaked around his waist and her body molded itself to his. "More than what, Nick...you think about me, yes?" He nodded. "You want to be with me?" He nodded. "Whether it's just to talk or comfort, with no real sexual agenda in mind?" Again he nodded. "Those are symptoms of the problem, Doctor...what's your diagnosis?"
He chuckled against her throat while nuzzling the soft flesh. "I'm lost under your spell. Putty in your hands," he answered, trailing soft kisses along her jaw. "Should I seek a second opinion?" he asked before crushing his lips to hers.
Michelle moaned with each pull from his lips and thrust of his tongue. She felt his hands roaming her back and felt the fire spreading throughout her body. Did he know what he could do to her? Within moments she was a quivering mass of jello. One kiss and she felt the rhythmic throb at the juncture of her thighs. When his hand cupped her breast through her blouse, she felt her knees weaken and her body leaned into his for support.
"Michelle, Michelle," he moaned, his lips pressed to her temple. He was already to the point of madness; his entire body ached for her. His very soul screamed to be one with her.
"Nicholas," she answered softly, her hands roaming freely over his firm chest. Slowly she unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it aside, gaining access to the masculine flesh beneath.
Nick sucked in a ragged breath when Michelle pressed kisses over his chest. She nipped, licked and teased his flesh before settling over one of his small, flat nipples and when her tongue circled the tiny nub, her teeth grazing over it erotically, it took all his resolve not to give in to his ravenous desire and take her up against the wall.
Michelle gasped forcibly when Nick pushed her up against the wall and thrust his thigh between her legs. It felt delicious against the throbbing ache at the juncture of her thigh. She could feel the length of his hardness as he pressed against her and she knew his need was as great as hers.
He stopped suddenly, his breath hard against her neck. "Not like this..." he whispered huskily. "Not for our first time..." He kissed her tenderly.
"First time..." The lilt in her voice questioned his intent.
Nick bent slightly and lifted her into his arms. "First of many, if I have anything to say about it," he answered, carrying her towards the stairs.