John looked up and was struck dumb, before him stood one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. Her long brown hair was tied back in a high ponytail, her bright green eyes were captivating, and she had a smile that could have lit the earth five times over. After what had seemed like forever, he finally came to his senses and softly grunted, "Doc."

Being so close to the base, Ellie had seen her fair share of service members come in with their children. Many in uniforms similar to what the man she was now standing before was wearing. His hair was short and cut in the usual high and tight fashion that the Marine Corps were so fond of, his electric blue eyes sent a thrill through her body when they locked on hers. She'd been handing over a patient file at the nurses' desk and had seen him as he'd walked back to the exam rooms and noticed that he was very fit under the uniform he wore. If that wasn't enough, what was truly her undoing was the extreme care he clearly felt for the little girl in his arms. Granted, she'd seen a few dads come in with their kids, but the sight of this strong, handsome Marine gently cradling a little girl was making her knees weak and threatening to melt her from the inside out.

John couldn't help the surreptitious look at the female doctor's bare left hand. Granted that didn't mean much, she might be married or engaged and chose to not wear her rings when working. Focus Marine, he chided himself, You are not here to pick up on the pretty Doc, Alexandra needs you to get it together! Shaking his head, he refocused on the older doctor.

"We were able to get you in pretty fast, did you have a chance to fill out the paperwork we gave you?" Doctor Clark asked.

"Some, but not all," John shrugged, "Figured it was more important to keep Alex calm."

"That's fine, just make sure you finish it before leaving." The older man gave him a kind smile.

"I can help with that," The words left Ellie's lips before she realized it, causing both men to turn her way.

John couldn't help but love the pretty blush that rose up the lady doctor's neck and flushed her cheeks, "I'd appreciate that, thanks Doc." He smiled at her, pleased that it only served to make her blush even more.

Ellie accepted the forms that the Marine had handed her and couldn't help the amused smile that graced her lips, "It's a good thing you let me help you with this, Marine. Now someone might actually be able to read it."

John grunted a small chuckle and turned back to the older doctor as the woman walked around them and took the seat adjacent to John's. She quickly set to work translating the chicken scratch into legible English characters.

Trying to not notice the attractive brunette beside him, he turned back to the doctor who was explaining how this would work. The doctor would physically examine the injured arm, likely get an x-ray, then, if it was warranted, they would cast the arm. John was aware of how much attention the doc had been paying to what was going on as when it came time for Doctor Clark to start his examination, she put down the clipboard and paperwork and turned all her attention onto Alexandra.

"Hi Alexandra, my name is Ellie." Ellie smiled at the little girl who was clearly still scared about what all was going on. "I know you're scared, Sweetie, but we are going to do our best to make it feel better okay?"

Alexandra slowly nodded her head.

"Good, now, Doctor Clark is going to have to look at your arm," She explained and gave a sympathetic look at the girl, who held her injured arm closer to herself. "I know it hurts, and when he looks at your arm it will probably hurt more, but we have to look to make sure we are fixing it the right way." The little girl relaxed a little, "You know my little brother broke his arm once, he and his friend were climbing trees in the park, and he missed a branch and fell. He broke his arm right here." Ellie pointed to her right forearm a few inches above her wrist. "I took him in to see the doctor and they had him count to ten out loud while they looked at his arm. Can you count to ten?"

Alexandra nodded her head, "Yeah, Nanna taught me."

"Good," Ellie smiled at her, "I can count with you if you like."

Alex looked a little dubious but nodded her agreement.

"Alright let's count together," Ellie took a deep breath, which Alexandra copied, and they began to slowly count together.

"One… two… three…four"

"You're doing so good, Alexandra." Ellie encouraged the little girl.

"Five… six…seven"

"Almost done," Ellie interjected.

"Eight… nine……… and ten!" They finished.

Alexandra had tears in her eyes, which Ellie quickly wiped away with the sleeve of her lab coat. "You did so, so, good Alexandra. You are a very brave little girl." She praised shooting a look to the other doctor who nodded toward her. She nodded back to let him take the lead.

"Captain, I do think that the arm is broken," Doctor Clark explained, "So, we will need to take Alexandra over to get an x-ray done."

Casey grunted his acknowledgement. "Do you do that here or do we need to go somewhere else?"

"We have an imaging suite here," The older man informed him. "I'm going to go see how soon we can get in to use it, if you'll excuse me."

John nodded and the older man stepped out of the room, but the Doc didn't. "Don't you have to go with him?"

"No, I'm right where I need to be right now," Ellie assured him with a soft smile, "It only takes one person to talk to the radiology tech anyhow." Ellie eyed him and his daughter a moment before coming to a decision. "So, I got as far as I could with the forms without your input. How about you finish it up, while I take Alexandra and explain what we are going to do next?"

"I don't know," John hedged.

"I'm only going to sit her on the exam table while we talk," Ellie nodded to the paper covered table a few feet from them, "Would that be okay with you?"

"Guess that would be alright," He gave a small shrug, "Alex, are you okay going with the Doc?"

Alexandra looked between her daddy and the pretty doctor and nodded. Ellie helped her slid off of her daddy's lap and walk over to the table.

John watched as the Doc scooped his daughter up on her good side and set her on the table. She kept her hand on the girl at all times, even when she reached out to claim the stool that Doctor Clark had been using, giving it a few spins to raise it up a little and take a seat. He did his best to concentrate on completing the forms as the Doc began to talk to his daughter.

"You know that special camera I was talking about?" Ellie asked Alexandra, earning a nod, "Okay, we are going to go use it. The thing that is so special about this camera is that it can help us to see inside of you to look at your bones so we can see if they are broken and where. When we are taking the pictures with our special camera, it is really important that you stay very, very still, can you do that?"

"Yes, ma'am," Alexandra nodded.

"Good," Ellie smiled, "If you want, we can have your daddy sit beside you and hold your hand."

"Okay," Alexandra nodded again, "Can you hold my hand, too?"

Ellie shot a look over to the marine who looked as surprised as she figured she did as he gave her a shrug she interpreted as, "Up to you."

"Sure, I have to be in there anyhow to make sure your arm is laying down correctly so we can get all our pictures." Ellie smiled at the girl, "If you're really good, I might even have a surprise for you."

Alexandra smiled widely at the Doc.

Whatever the Doc was going to say next was cut off by the knock on the door. Doctor Clark stuck his head through the door, "The machine is free now." He advised, "You can leave your paperwork here, if you like, we'll be coming back here afterward."

John nodded and went to pick up his daughter before the trio of adults and the little girl made their way down to the imaging suite in the back of the clinic. He noticed Alexandra's apprehensive look as she saw the darkened room and the big machine.

"I know it looks a little scary, Sweetie," Ellie soothed, rubbing her hand on the little girl's shoulder, careful not to make contact with the large man holding her. "Especially because we have to keep it dark in here for our special camera to work. We are going to have you kneel on one of the chairs," She pointed to the chairs sitting next to the bed under the machine. "And put your arm on the table while our special camera takes it's pictures."

Alexandra nodded as they stepped up to the large machine. Her daddy set her down on the chair and Doctor Ellie left to come back with three smocks.

"When we use our special camera, we have to wear these smocks," She explained, carefully draping the child sized one over Alexandra and securing it around her body before handing one to John and putting on her own. She'd noticed John quickly don his, making sure all the appropriate areas were covered as she put her own smock on. The adult smocks had straps that crisscrossed over the back. Normally she'd loosely secure them and lift the smock up and over then tighten the straps, but somehow in the midst of grabbing everything, she'd forgotten to do it. "Oh, shoot." She grumbled.

"Need some help, Doc?" She heard the Marine ask.

"Erm, um, yeah, sorry, could you?" She gestured to the back of the garment.

"Sure," John nodded and gestured for her to turn around. He quickly found the straps, and without thinking, pulled them around her to where the Velcro fasteners were just over where the ridge of her hips would be. John hadn't realized how close he'd gotten until he caught the faintest smell of honey and cocoa butter. He cleared his throat and stepped back, embarrassed he'd been so forward. "Sorry."

"You're okay," Ellie assured him, thankful the dark room hid her blush. She hadn't expected him to fasten the straps for her, which required him to, at least partially, wrap his arms around her. Part of her wished he hadn't stepped back so quickly as she wondered what it would feel like to be wrapped up in his arms, her back against his strong chest, her head leaned back on his shoulder. Able to surround herself with his clean scent mixed with the feintest tang of gun oil. What is wrong with you, Eleanor, he's here for his daughter, not to be your fantasy fuel. She chided herself.

It had been a little over a year since the last time a man held her. Devon was a good guy, if a bit immature – especially when around his fraternity brothers. When they found out their residencies were going to be in two different cities, him in L.A. and her in San Diego, they'd tried to do the long-distance thing, especially since the drive wasn't even all that long, just a little over an hour and a half on the I-5 either way. However, their schedules rarely lined up to see each other in person or even talk on the phone, when they did have time to actually get together, they just slept. After nearly a year of this, they mutually decided to go their separate ways.

What had surprised her was, when she called her brother who was attending Stanford, to break the news to him, he didn't seem surprised, " To be honest, Awe… erm Devon is a good guy, but I don't think he was meant to be your good guy, Sis. Nowhere is it written that you have to marry your college sweetheart."

" How is Sarah, by the way?" She teased him, referring to the Harvard transfer he'd met when they both wound up at Stanford for graduate school and had recently proposed to.

"She's fine, nice deflection," He'd shot back before going back to his original point, " Maybe you're meant to be with someone whose life goals are broader than rock climbing, white water rafting, and chasing his next adrenaline high. Someone who would prioritize time with you over time with his buddies."

She'd known he had a point, she agreed with his point, and it had helped her make peace with the end of that relationship. Since then, Ellie had gone on a few dates with fellow residents and random blind dates her girlfriends set her up on, but nothing that ever made it past the first or second date. She took it as a sign that she should just focus on finishing her residency and possibly her fellowship – assuming she got in – before giving any serious thought to pursuing a relationship. That had been her plan until one glance from a dark haired, blue-eyed, Marine had sent a shock of electric current through her. Too bad he was the father of a patient, and very likely married. She'd noticed his bare ring finger, but it was common for men with physical jobs to choose not to wear their wedding rings when working.

She shook her head to bring her musings to an end and headed over to the side of the x-ray table across from where Captain Casey and his daughter were. Every time the radiologist came in to reposition Alexandra's arm on the table, Ellie guided her through their counting exercise and immediately claimed the little girl's hand, partly to offer comfort, and partly to ensure the girl held her arm as still as possible. The procedure didn't last long, ten minutes at most, and she was soon collecting and putting away the smocks before they returned to the exam room to wait on the results.

Ellie had passed the time talking with Alexandra, trying to keep her calm… and ignore the growing attraction she had to the little girl's father, which couldn't go anywhere considering she was one of his daughter's doctors.

Doctor Clark came in a little while later with a portfolio and turned on a light panel in the wall, sliding the exposures onto the panel for them to see. "Doctor Bartowski, what do you think?" The older man asked her as she examined the images carefully.

"Looks like a closed transverse fracture of the ulna." Ellie stated, looking to Doctor Clark for confirmation, who nodded his agreement.

"What do you suggest for treatment?" Doctor Clark asked.

"Casting the injured arm with a follow up at 4 weeks to see how much remodeling has occurred in that time." Ellie reported, "Pain management and referral to pediatric orthopedist."

"Very good," Doctor Clark smiled at her, "Would you like to do the honors?"

Ellie beamed at her mentor, "I would be honored." She then turned and walked over to where the little girl was seated on her daddy's lap, crouching down to be at eye level with the girl. "Okay, so it looks like we will need to put your arm in a cast so that it can have time to heal. The cool thing is we can make casts different colors," She gave the girl a warm smile, "Do you have a favorite color?"

Alexandra nodded, "Purple."

"Well, you're in luck, we have the stuff to make purple casts," Ellie beamed at the girl, "I'm going to need your daddy to sit you up on the table, okay?" She looked over to the man in question, who nodded and rose to his feet, holding his daughter in one hand and reaching his other out to assist the pretty Doc up from her crouched position.

Ellie had to school her expression to not give away how much she enjoyed the feel of his large hand wrapped around her smaller one, and the warmth that shot through her body at his touch.

John likewise was affected by the Doc's touch and was using everything in his training to not give away how much he enjoyed the feel of her hand in his. When the Doc was back on her feet, he dropped her hand as if burned and quickly strode over to the exam bed to sit his daughter down.

Ellie frowned a bit at his behavior but hid her disappointment as she walked over to the cabinets to start pulling out the materials she would need to set and cast Alexandra's arm.

Calvin simply watched from the corner of the room as the two younger adults attempted, poorly, to hide their attraction to each other. He understood the reasons why they both were being deliberately obtuse, the whole doctor/guardian of patient thing. However, he knew their attraction to each other had nothing to do with transference or any kind of Florence Nightingale-type situation. He was satisfied to just sit back and watch them circle each other like idiots and hope that they'd eventually get over their collective selves. In the meantime, he was supposed to be acting as Ellie's instructor, so he refocused on his primary task. He listened as she explained the process, smiling, recognizing that she had the best bedside manner of any pediatric resident he'd ever worked with. She seemed to have an innate knowledge of how to communicate with children and teens of all ages, which he'd been witness to the last two years. He also knew she was ambitious and had already applied for a pediatric neurology fellowship. The referral request had come across his desk earlier in the week, which he'd, naturally, signed. He knew she'd do well in general pediatrics, but she wanted to be a neurologist and frankly, specialists were in short supply.

"Alright, Alexandra, I'm going to have to give you a couple pokes," Ellie reminded the girl, "They'll make your arm numb so that it won't hurt when I wrap and cast your arm. Don't forget, if you hurt or are scared, you can squeeze your daddy's hand as much as you need."

Alexandra took a deep breath and put on her brave face her right hand reaching out to her daddy as the Doc turned around to get the poker. She squeezed her daddy's hand in anticipation and he gave her a light squeeze back. Alex closed her eyes and felt a pinch near her elbow and another her wrist.

"You did so good, Alexandra!" The Doc praised her. "We're going to give that a few minutes to work and then we'll start with your cast. So, what is your favorite thing to do at school?"

"I like coloring," Alex replied.

"Which hand do you color with?" The Doc asked.

"This one," The girl raised her right hand.

"Well, that's good, looks like your cast won't keep you from coloring," Ellie smiled at the girl. They kept talking as she walked over and began to touch Alexandra's forearm, "Does that hurt?"

"No, Ma'am," Alexandra shook her head.

"Perfect, that means we can put on your cast," The Doc announced, "Now first we are going to put this long glove on your arm." She reminded the girl, slipping a long tube of material with a large hole for the girl's fingers and a smaller one for her thumb and went up past the girl's elbow. Once that was set, she started wrapping the gauze padding around the first layer. "Alright now for the color, do you want purple or another color? We have blue, pink, orange, green…"

"I want purple," The girl told her.

"Purple it is," Ellie smiled, pulling the roll of fiberglass from the drawer. She deftly wrapped the girl's forearm and once she was done, she wrapped her hands around the girl's cast to mold it into place. Once she was sure it was all set, she stepped back and smiled at the little girl, "You did so good, Alexandra! I'm so proud of you!"

"Tank you," Alexandra smiled at the Doc.

"Can I sign your cast?" Ellie asked and saw the girl look up at her daddy, "I know your daddy has probably told you that you can't write on your arm, but a cast is different."

When the Marine gave his daughter a slight nod of approval, she turned back to the Doc and beamed, nodding her head.

"Great!" Ellie returned the girl's grin and pulled a permanent marker out of a nearby drawer, "Now what should I write?" She thought about it for a moment before taking the girl's cast in one hand and signing with the other 'You are so brave! Love Dr. Ellie' and included a little heart over the 'I' in her name.

Now that everything was all wrapped up, Doctor Clark stepped forward and handed a slip of paper to the Captain, "Alexandra's prescription is here, one dose when she is feeling the pain, but no more than one every 4 to 6 hours. Stop by the front desk to schedule a follow up in four weeks.

"Thank you," John shook the man's hand.

"You're welcome," Doctor Clark smiled warmly at the younger man before turning to his daughter. He pulled out a pen from his lab coat and signed Alexandra's cast as well, 'Heal up soon. Dr. C' and then held out his hand for a high five, which the girl happily gave him.

"We'll see you in a few weeks," Ellie smiled at the girl and her father as they made their way out of the exam room. When the door swung slightly closed behind them, she let out a sigh.

"You know, it's not too late to catch them." Calvin advised, "Give the man your number, see where it goes from there."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ellie protested.

"Eleanor, I'm old, not blind." Calvin gave her a knowing look, "I saw the way you looked at Captain Casey, and for that matter, the way he looked at you when he thought you weren't looking."

"He's probably married," She pointed out.

"I doubt it," Calvin shook his head, "Captain Casey strikes me as an honorable man. I highly doubt there is any wife or girlfriend at the moment for him to step out on." He shrugged, "Give it a shot, what have you got to lose?"

"My pride," Ellie said, "My professional integrity, I mean the man's daughter is my patient."

"Actually, although you treated her, little Alexandra is my patient," Calvin told her, "You were just assisting."

"That's just a technicality, semantics," Ellie huffed.

"Take the win," Calvin rolled his eyes, "Now go, before you lose your chance."

"God, you're a persistent pain in my ass," Ellie grumbled.

"Arlene tells me the same thing," Calvin smirked, "So are you going or not?"

"I'm going, I'm going," Ellie rolled her eyes and walked out to reception. Captain Casey was still waiting to hand over his daughter's paperwork and set her next appointment. That gave Ellie a moment to stop at the nurses' station, borrow a piece of scrap paper and a pen.

"You're lucky I'm married, that's one fine looking man," The jovial nurse behind the desk grinned knowingly up at her, "Get it, girl."

"Grace, not you, too." Ellie chuckled and shook her head as she wrote out her name and number before handing the pen back to the nurse and walking over to where Captain Casey stood, holding his daughter and waiting for the receptionist to finish her phone call.

"Captain Casey?" He turned at her voice, a slight smile on his lips.

"What can I do for you, Doc?" He asked

"Uh, well, here," She held out the paper, which he looked at confused, "In case you have questions… or need someone to talk to."

John was shocked, but took the paper with a softly grunted, "Thanks, Doc," before pocketing the paper.

They looked at each other awkwardly, their staring contest broken by the sound of the receptionist hanging up her phone.

"Well, I gotta," John nodded to the reception desk.

"Right, and Doctor Clark is…" She gestured toward where the older doctor and the nurse were watching them with amused expressions. "I guess I'll see you later?"

"Not if I see you first," John quipped, earning a small giggle from the Doc as she waved goodbye to him and Alex before heading back to the nurses' station. "Not if I see you first?" He muttered to himself, "Real smooth, Casey."

"Can I help you, Sir?" The receptionist interrupted his mental beatdown of himself.

"Yeah, Doc said we needed to come back in four weeks to check on my daughter's cast." He informed the woman.

"Alright, and are you wanting to see the same doctor as you did today?" The woman asked.

More than you know, lady, John thought idly before nodding.

"Looks like Doctor Clark is free on August 15th at 9am, would that work for you?" The woman asked.

"Yeah, that should work," He nodded.

"Great," The woman smiled up at him before typing some information into her computer and writing out an appointment reminder slip. "We'll see you in a month. Have a good day."

John nodded and made his way out of the clinic, thoughts of the Doc invading his mind his whole drive home.