It was now December and there was a feeling of both excitement and sadness in the air. Anne was now a fourth year med student, having spent an entire year with Dr. Romano. Unfortunately, her rotations would keep her away from him for the most part. Anne tried to keep that out of her mind as she thought about the Second Annual Pedes Christmas party.
Robert and Anne were decorating his office together. Anne was hanging lights and Robert was trimming the tree from last year. "So, do you think I should book a Santa, or will the one from last year do it again?" She asked Robert innocently.
Looking thoughtful as he sat at his desk to survey his office, he replied "I heard the one you got last year was the best Santa ever! I'm sure he'll show up again." Looking up, Robert grinned as he saw that Anne had put mistletoe over his chair again.
"Well that's good, because I need to tell him what I want for Christmas," Anne said, walking over to his chair and sitting on Robert's lap. "I've been such a good girl, he should give me whatever I want, don't you think?" Anne put her arms around Robert and kissed him passionately. Apparently the mistletoe worked! Robert sat back and enjoyed the effect it had on her.
*****
The Pedes Christmas party was a success again. Santa showed up and stole the show, the children adored him. He loved to see the joy in their innocent, adorable faces.
Robert was thinking about them while he changed out of his Santa costume, back into regular clothes, in his office. He'd never realized how much he loved children before this moment. His thoughts turned sad as they changed to Anne beginning her rotations. "There's no reason to even be here if she's not," Robert thought to himself, as he made his way to the door to leave. Thoughts of quitting his job danced in his head, not for the first time either. The only reason he was still there was for Anne. He'd never fully recover to be a surgeon again. The joy of power as Chief of Staff no longer appealed to him. He didn't need the money. There was absolutely no reason for him to stay.
Steeped in his thoughts, Robert had forgotten his coat when he'd left his office. He was walking down the block, blindly, before he realized it. Shivering in the falling snow, he turned back towards the hospital to get it. He heard a strange sound as he walked past a cluster of garbage cans. He stopped and listened for a while. He heard it again, louder this time. It sounded like a muffled cry coming from one of the garbage cans. Walking over to them, Robert began lifting the lids to see what was crying. He was shocked to find a baby under one of the lids. The child wore only a thin shirt and a diaper; it was screaming and flailing its arms.
Without thinking, Robert began to take off his shirt to wrap the baby in it. He couldn't get the sleeve off his bad arm fast enough, so he just scooped the baby up in the shirt material that was free and ran back to the hospital.
*****
Robert stood back, stunned, while the ER staff took care of the baby. He was quite a sight to behold. His shirt dangled off his bad arm, which throbbed from the cold. Snowflakes had caught in the hairs on his chest and were now melting, creating rivulets of water that weaved around the muscles of his chest and stomach. The cold caught up with him again and he shivered uncontrollably, his teeth chattering.
A blanket was placed over his shoulders from behind him. Anne had been paged and came to be with Robert. Together, they stood, watching as the doctors and nurses tried to raise the baby's body temperature. The child, he could see it was a boy, wasn't an infant, he looked to be at least a year old.
"Who could do that to a child?" Robert thought to himself, warming up from the anger that welled inside him. From deep within him, paternal instincts he never knew existed, crept to the surface. Robert walked up to the gurney that the boy was on, and grabbed his tiny hand, as though to comfort him. Amazingly, the baby calmed down and stopped crying, which drew a few surprised looks from the other doctors.
"How is he?" Robert asked, eyes fixed on the baby.
"His body temperature is stable. We've given him fluids and glucose to stabilize his blood sugar. He's doing very well under the circumstances," Dr. Lewis replied.
Robert stood before the child, shaking his head. He could now get a clear look at his face. It was different from other children's faces. He had Down's Syndrome. "Somebody dumped him in the trash because he's different? This is why I have no faith in humanity," Robert thought to himself.
The other doctors left Robert alone with the baby. They made the proper arrangements for him. Anne went up to Robert's office to get his coat after she had helped him out of his wet shirt. Robert looked around and saw a chair in the hall. He dragged it into the room and set it by a window, and opened the blinds to watch the snowfall. Picking up the baby, Robert sat down in the chair. Holding the baby, who was unaware of what was going on, against his bare chest, he watched him fall asleep, listening to the sound of his soft breathing.
As Anne walked back to the room with Robert's coat, she stopped in the doorway to see what was going on. The image of Robert, leaned back in a chair, holding a baby, was a most unexpected, yet touching picture. Instinctively, Anne's hand reached up to grasp the locket she always wore. In the silence, she could hear Robert singing softly: "Is is okay if I call you mine? Just for a time...And I will be just fine..." She had never heard the song before, but the lyrics flowed so naturally from Robert's lips, that it seemed as though he'd written them himself.
Anne stood at the door for the longest time before entering the room. Walking up to his chair, she laid the coat over the sleeping child and Robert.
Robert knew that this child would probably end up being passed back and forth through foster care and end up being a ward of the state. He couldn't understand why he cared so much. This was all so unlike him! But, it seemed; he didn't really know who he was anymore.
An image formed in his mind that made him smile. He saw Anne and himself, at home, in his large bed, laughing, with this child between them. The Sunday paper was spread all over the bed and Robert read the comics to the boy. This small vision took only an instant to be seen, but in that instant, it became everything he wanted in his life. He didn't need to escape in his career now that he had the true love and happiness he'd longed for his entire life.
Robert sat with the baby in the chair, watching the snowflakes settle on the window ledge. For the second Christmas Eve in a row, he spent a sleepless night, lost in thought, until the dawn awakened.
Robert and Anne were decorating his office together. Anne was hanging lights and Robert was trimming the tree from last year. "So, do you think I should book a Santa, or will the one from last year do it again?" She asked Robert innocently.
Looking thoughtful as he sat at his desk to survey his office, he replied "I heard the one you got last year was the best Santa ever! I'm sure he'll show up again." Looking up, Robert grinned as he saw that Anne had put mistletoe over his chair again.
"Well that's good, because I need to tell him what I want for Christmas," Anne said, walking over to his chair and sitting on Robert's lap. "I've been such a good girl, he should give me whatever I want, don't you think?" Anne put her arms around Robert and kissed him passionately. Apparently the mistletoe worked! Robert sat back and enjoyed the effect it had on her.
*****
The Pedes Christmas party was a success again. Santa showed up and stole the show, the children adored him. He loved to see the joy in their innocent, adorable faces.
Robert was thinking about them while he changed out of his Santa costume, back into regular clothes, in his office. He'd never realized how much he loved children before this moment. His thoughts turned sad as they changed to Anne beginning her rotations. "There's no reason to even be here if she's not," Robert thought to himself, as he made his way to the door to leave. Thoughts of quitting his job danced in his head, not for the first time either. The only reason he was still there was for Anne. He'd never fully recover to be a surgeon again. The joy of power as Chief of Staff no longer appealed to him. He didn't need the money. There was absolutely no reason for him to stay.
Steeped in his thoughts, Robert had forgotten his coat when he'd left his office. He was walking down the block, blindly, before he realized it. Shivering in the falling snow, he turned back towards the hospital to get it. He heard a strange sound as he walked past a cluster of garbage cans. He stopped and listened for a while. He heard it again, louder this time. It sounded like a muffled cry coming from one of the garbage cans. Walking over to them, Robert began lifting the lids to see what was crying. He was shocked to find a baby under one of the lids. The child wore only a thin shirt and a diaper; it was screaming and flailing its arms.
Without thinking, Robert began to take off his shirt to wrap the baby in it. He couldn't get the sleeve off his bad arm fast enough, so he just scooped the baby up in the shirt material that was free and ran back to the hospital.
*****
Robert stood back, stunned, while the ER staff took care of the baby. He was quite a sight to behold. His shirt dangled off his bad arm, which throbbed from the cold. Snowflakes had caught in the hairs on his chest and were now melting, creating rivulets of water that weaved around the muscles of his chest and stomach. The cold caught up with him again and he shivered uncontrollably, his teeth chattering.
A blanket was placed over his shoulders from behind him. Anne had been paged and came to be with Robert. Together, they stood, watching as the doctors and nurses tried to raise the baby's body temperature. The child, he could see it was a boy, wasn't an infant, he looked to be at least a year old.
"Who could do that to a child?" Robert thought to himself, warming up from the anger that welled inside him. From deep within him, paternal instincts he never knew existed, crept to the surface. Robert walked up to the gurney that the boy was on, and grabbed his tiny hand, as though to comfort him. Amazingly, the baby calmed down and stopped crying, which drew a few surprised looks from the other doctors.
"How is he?" Robert asked, eyes fixed on the baby.
"His body temperature is stable. We've given him fluids and glucose to stabilize his blood sugar. He's doing very well under the circumstances," Dr. Lewis replied.
Robert stood before the child, shaking his head. He could now get a clear look at his face. It was different from other children's faces. He had Down's Syndrome. "Somebody dumped him in the trash because he's different? This is why I have no faith in humanity," Robert thought to himself.
The other doctors left Robert alone with the baby. They made the proper arrangements for him. Anne went up to Robert's office to get his coat after she had helped him out of his wet shirt. Robert looked around and saw a chair in the hall. He dragged it into the room and set it by a window, and opened the blinds to watch the snowfall. Picking up the baby, Robert sat down in the chair. Holding the baby, who was unaware of what was going on, against his bare chest, he watched him fall asleep, listening to the sound of his soft breathing.
As Anne walked back to the room with Robert's coat, she stopped in the doorway to see what was going on. The image of Robert, leaned back in a chair, holding a baby, was a most unexpected, yet touching picture. Instinctively, Anne's hand reached up to grasp the locket she always wore. In the silence, she could hear Robert singing softly: "Is is okay if I call you mine? Just for a time...And I will be just fine..." She had never heard the song before, but the lyrics flowed so naturally from Robert's lips, that it seemed as though he'd written them himself.
Anne stood at the door for the longest time before entering the room. Walking up to his chair, she laid the coat over the sleeping child and Robert.
Robert knew that this child would probably end up being passed back and forth through foster care and end up being a ward of the state. He couldn't understand why he cared so much. This was all so unlike him! But, it seemed; he didn't really know who he was anymore.
An image formed in his mind that made him smile. He saw Anne and himself, at home, in his large bed, laughing, with this child between them. The Sunday paper was spread all over the bed and Robert read the comics to the boy. This small vision took only an instant to be seen, but in that instant, it became everything he wanted in his life. He didn't need to escape in his career now that he had the true love and happiness he'd longed for his entire life.
Robert sat with the baby in the chair, watching the snowflakes settle on the window ledge. For the second Christmas Eve in a row, he spent a sleepless night, lost in thought, until the dawn awakened.