A Friendly Hand
By Didi
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.
Summary: Oh how lovely the season of giving is. Now let's give the staff at Presidio Med a little more excitement.
Rating: PG-13 on this chapter.
Timeline: Dutifully noted is how the holiday has already passed and everyone had a very lovely time. But since this story is written about a chapter every two weeks, we're still at early December, just after Thanksgiving. So let's just assume that Christmas is about three weeks away.
Note: I'm incorporating the last scene in the last episode shown so far, where Rae tells her husband about her affair. I'm going to let my imagination do the walking from here on out. As always, creative criticisms are welcomed but any flames on storyline line ideas are not. If you don't like where I take the story, I am very sorry but it's my prerogative.
Author's Note: Presidio Med returns to the airwaves on January 17, 2003. I want to try to finish this story before that but I may not be able to. Here's to hoping you enjoy my story as much as we all enjoy the show.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Chapter 13
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"Good morning," Dr. Kokoris greeted cheerful as he came up behind a weary Dr. Brennan. He's day was already beginning brightly at the sight of her.
Turning to look at the Greek doctor, Rae paused for a moment. She had not expected nor wanted to see him this morning. Her life was in enough turmoil without his presence adding to them. "Hi." Then continued to walk.
Not the least bit deterred since these brief moments were becoming a regular occurrence, he followed still upbeat. "How are you?"
"Fine," she answered briskly and headed for coffee. She needed coffee, lots and lots of coffee. Preferably ones with a couple of caffeine pills in them.
"You look tired," he observed with a slight frown now. More than tired, she looked almost haggard. It was unlike her to be so silent, even in her displeasures. Rae Brennan, if nothing else, was a woman that met things head-on. "Is everything all right?"
"Peachy," she replied, forcing a smiled on her face. Everything was just great considering she spent the seventh consecutive night alone in her bed and her husband has yet to be seen since leaving the house a week before. All attempts of contact she's made so far have failed. "I have patients."
Bemused now, "Did I do something to upset you?"
"No."
A pause. "Did something happen I should know about?"
For a second, Rae considered telling him. Her eyes traveled over the ruggedly handsome face, the kind of face that women put dreams and fantasies on. It was a face that crowded her dreams one too many nights. For god sakes, she was a married woman. "Nothing that concerns you."
He stopped her with a hand to her elbow, "Rae..."
"Kokoris," Letty Jordan called out from the end of the hallways. "What the hell are you still doing in your clothes?"
Even in her state of depression, Rae raised an amuse brow at the statement. Nick looked at her, amusement dancing in his eyes.
Letty threw them both a look of annoyance, it was barely eight in the morning and she hadn't had her first cup of coffee yet. "I meant, shouldn't you be scrubbed in for surgery by now?"
"Someone misread the notes on the girl's chart. They gave her breakfast. We'll have to wait a bit to go in," he explained calmly.
"Excuse me," Rae said, slipping away.
Nick opened his mouth to stop her. "Rae..." then gave up. She was not going to talk to him, no matter what he said or does, he could tell by the way she moved. And if there's anything he's learned about women in his life, it was that you shouldn't push when they are unwilling. "Stubborn woman."
"All the good doctors are," Letty commented, her eyes fluttering between the two. "Anything I should be concerned about?"
"No," Nick answered without visible reaction. "I was just in..."
"NICK!!!" Jules Keating came charging down the call toward the pair. An analogy of a charging rabid deer would not be far from the mark. Slapping a chart in his hands, she glared at him. "I hate you."
"Good morning, Dr. Keating. Did you have breakfast?" he asked blandly as he opened the chart to see what she was showing him.
"Don't act the innocent with me," she warned with a growl. "And you can take the tray out of my office right now. I've had more than enough to eat this morning, thank you very much." Slingerland had made enough to feed six starving sailors before she even had a chance to shower. Her kitchen was quite literally bare now.
"Perhaps you can have it for lunch," he replied with a grin, as he glanced at Dr. Jordan, who was making no attempt to hide her amusement.
"All three?" Jules asked, exasperated.
"Three?" he questioned mildly.
"Yes, three. And don't tell me you don't know anything about it," she wiggled a threatening finger at him.
Making a quick note on oxygen saturation levels, he glanced at her. "I only ordered one."
Letty chuckled out loud. "If I'd known you were going to do it, I wouldn't have bothered."
"You?" Jules threw up her hand. "Then who sent the third one?"
"I did," Harriet announced as she came up behind her with three charts in her hand. "And I don't want to be hearing any more about you skipping meals. It's not healthy." Handing her the charts, "I've got three high risks coming in today, one into her seventh month. I need a neonatal consult at two and three thirty."
Grumbling, Jules made a note. "I'll check with my schedule but I don't think it's going to be any problems. I'll move my three thirty up fifteen minutes."
"Good," Harriet nodded and put on her reading glasses to do a chart. "Now go eat your breakfast."
"I've already had breakfast," she complained under her breath as she made her way back to her office. "In fact, I had enough breakfast for two."
Letty frowned as she watched Dr. Keating walked away, having caught that last comment. "You don't think she meant..."
"Do you believe it?" Kokoris asked, his brows raised and curiosity evident on his face.
"You mean the pregnancy?" Letty asked, watching the slim figure turn the corner.
"What pregnancy?" Harriet asked absentmindedly as she made notes on her patient's chart.
"Jules's pregnancy," Letty informed her.
Turning her head, Dr. Lenning slipped her glasses off and stared at the two. "Dr. Keating is pregnant?"
"Is she?" Nick asked.
Harriet shook her head, confused. "You just said..."
"No, no," Letty made a face. These conversations get out of hand real fast if not clarified quickly. "There were rumors that Keating and Slingerland are expecting. Since you're her OB/GYN, we thought you would know."
"If I was, doctor/patient confidentiality still applies. And if Jules is pregnant, I don't know anything about it," neatly side stepping the rule. Sighing, she gave them an exasperated look. "Don't spread unfound rumors and don't be speculating. We have better things to do around here. Like saving lives. Don't you two have patients?"
Two of the most respected doctors in their fields grinned and scurried off to do their jobs.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"Hold all my calls, I'm going on my lunch break," Slingerland called out as he dropped the last of the charts into the sorting bin and headed for the elevators. "I'll be back at one."
"Dr. Slingerland," Norman chased after the long legged doctor waving several leaflets of notes in his hands. "You've got phone messages," and caught up to the doctor just as he stepped into the elevator.
Grabbing them from the outstretched hands, he snatched his own back before the elevator doors could do damage to it. Leafing through them, he noted that his brother called three times, his mother called twice, two patients called about renewing prescriptions and Janice from Alpha Pharmaceutical called again. Probably to push the new allergy pills... or to ask him out again; neither of which are much interest to him.
With a sigh, he pocketed the bunch and headed for neonatal. He knew that rumors were high now, not a damn thing he could do about that, plus it was not nearly as important as assuring himself that the loopy woman had food at regular intervals.
Coming to the receptionists' desk, he leaned against it and cocked his head toward the Dr. Keating's office. "Anita, is she in with a patient?"
Eyes wide behind her lens, she shook her head and pointed to the door.
"Thanks," he replied with a quick flirtatious smile for an attractive passing nurse. The sudden increase of whispered voices did not surprise him as he walked into Jules's office. The easy greeting he was about to give was lost in his throat.
Kokoris was pulling the pixie doctor onto her feet and out from behind her desk. "Come along. Do not make me carry you again."
Jules made noises of protests as she resisted the tugging arm. "Nick..."
"Am I interrupting?" Slingerland asked in his most reasonable tone. At the moment, it would give him a great deal of pleasure to plant his fist into Kokoris's smiling face.
"Matt, tell him to stop treating me like a three year old," Jules complained with a pout, oblivious of the underlying current of anger in Matt's tone.
Running his tongue over his teeth, for he had a feeling that Slingerland was tempted to knock some of them out, Nick release the arm he had previously been pulling on. Being in physical contact with the woman at the moment could be detrimental to his health. It was not hard for a man to recognize jealousy when it smacks him in the face. "Good, now you can convince Dr. Keating that her paperwork isn't as important as a healthy meal, especially after two hours in surgery."
Matt turned his eyes on the woman behind the desk, who had opened up her chart again. "Jules..."
"Two charts," she muttered quickly, her hand scribbling across the page. "I just have two more charts to finish before I begin my rounds this afternoon and..."
"No," he grabbed the pen when it came to a pause. He nodded his head at Kokoris, who flashed him an acknowledging grin and left them alone. "You are going to behave like a normal, sensible person, not to mention a doctor, and eat when it is lunch time." Closing the clip with one hand and pulling her up to her feet once more with the other, he glanced at the door that Kokoris had very considerately shut behind him before pressing a quick kiss on her to shut her protests. "Behave or I'm going to Dr. Lenning."
Her jaws dropped open and she stared wide-eyed at him, "Are you threatening me with Dr. Mom?" a nickname of the matron doctor that no one dared to say within her hearing.
"Whatever works," he said with a grin as he pressed another kiss on her lips. "Hum... I definitely I like this." Then kissed her again with seduction on his mind.
When her legs were beginning to feel like limp noodles, Jules pulled away and took a deep breath. She has a hard time thinking straight when he's in the mood to cloud her mind with passion. "Okay, we have to stop."
"Why?" he murmured into her ear as he pulled her close again. She was wearing some soft floral scent, so endearingly sweet and delicate, so like the woman, that it was incredibly provocative.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," she muttered before pulling away again. The man could charm the devil into going to church. "Oh yeah, someone might see us."
"And your point would be?" he asked teasingly but sobered when she frowned at him. "Jules, believe me when I tell you that there isn't a single staff member in this hospital that doesn't know about us anymore." He'd heard enough whispers and sly looks to last him a lifetime.
"More the reason not to flaunt it," she replied firmly.
"All right, all right, we'll do it your way for now." He grinned and studied her pixie face. "You're too pale."
"Irish roots," turning to pick up some files that needed to be returned to nursing.
Shifting her, he took her chin with his fingers and studied her sweet face. "No, I mean it. You're too pale, even more so than your normal pallor." The only spot of real color on her face was the dusty rose color lipstick he was no doubt sharing now. "Let's go to hematology and get some blood drawn, do the whole work up. Then we'll go get lunch."
She stared at him, not sure if he was serious or not. "I don't want to..."
"I give you ice cream," he offered with a smile, hiding his concern behind a well-placed tease.
"I'm not some three year old that you can bribe with sweets," coming around her desk to get to the nurses' station.
"Worked last night," he pointed out.
"Only cause I wanted ice cream," she shot back and grabbed the door handle.
"Jules," placing a palm above her head, keeping her office door shut. "Please," he asked in his most appealing tone, eyes staring into hers with concern. "For my peace of mind, will you please get some blood drawn? I don't like the fact that you appear to be wasting away right before my eyes."
Because he was asking nicely, because he possibly have the most heart-melting cute puppy-dog brown eyes, because he was so sweetly concerned, and because she has been feeling more exhaustion of late, "All right, all right. If it'll make you get off my case about this, I'll get blood drawn." She slanted him a glance, "Do I still get ice cream?"
Matt grinned. "Strawberry or vanilla?"
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"Jules!" Jackie Colette comes into a near collision with the pediatrician in the hallway. "I'm glad I caught you."
"What's up?" signing an order before glancing at her watch. It was almost five and she still had three patients waiting to see her. She was so not getting out of here on time... again.
"I was thinking that maybe you and I could go out this weekend," Jackie suggested with a full smile. "You know, a couple of attractive gals out on the town."
"Where?" Dr. Keating asked absentmindedly as she looked over her next patient's chart. Another case of sniffles and fever, it would be her tenth one today. Winter, along with its holidays, brought many small ailments that can thoroughly ruin a kid's school break.
"I was thinking the Blue Note," Jackie suggested as she leaned her elbow on the countertop and tilted her head to watch her friend. "I hear they have some great swing bands there at nights. Ever been there before?"
Jules's hand paused at mid-scrawl of her signature. "Once," wondering just how in the world Dr. Colette could have possibly known that. "You?"
"Once," Jackie answered, quick to hide her amusement. "But I've been dying to go back again. Met a really fine looking man there." Eyes twinkling, "Perfect place for a date. Intimate, lively, great food..."
Glancing at her, "What do you want Jackie?"
"Nothing," she replied innocently. "I just thought you and I, two very intelligent, lovely doctors, shouldn't spend Friday night all by our lonesome. So what do you way? Tonight? Blues Note? Pick up some hot guys?" At Jules's slight hesitation, "Or do you have other plans?"
Anything she said now was either going to condemned her or put her in the worse possible spot in the world, luckily, the gods were showing her favor as Dr. Lenning came around the corner, chart in hand and legs moving at a pace that could only be described as a dead-run. "Jules, Mrs. Morris's water just broke."
Snapping into doctor mode, "That's not possible. We just saw her two hours ago, she wasn't even having contractions."
"Yeah, I know," Harriet's eyes spoke volumes of disapproval. "Remember how she refused to do the sonogram?"
Jules rolled her eyes and picked up her charts and shoved them at Jackie, "Do me a favor, give these to Anita and tell her to page Dr. Carlton to cover for me. I've only got three more left. I just need someone to see them, small cases, nothing to them. I've got to get neonatal set for a high risk baby."
Jackie struggled for a moment with the toppling charts. "Hey, what about tonight?"
"If I'm not too exhausted," she answered and mentally made a note to herself to avoid Jackie for the rest of the day. Slingerland would not be happy with her if he were to hear about this.
Jackie stood there for a moment, laugher in her eyes and a big silly grin on her face. Jules couldn't have been more obvious if she tried.
"Something amusing, Dr. Colette?" Nick asked as he set his charts on the nurses' counter and exchanged them for the ones for his next set of patients. Six more patients to check in on before he turns the whole lot to the night shift doctor. That's six patients too many by his exhaustion scale.
"Keating and Slingerland," Jackie grinned as she glanced at his charts. "Anything in there that you can throw my way? Hospital is grumbling about my workload again."
"I've got a auto-accident that may be good for you. Sliced legs and everything," he murmured, glancing through the charts once more. "What was it you were saying about Keating and Slingerland?"
"Sliced legs? Are we talking about the motorcycle verses Mack truck the fourth floor nurses were yapping about?" The horrified look on her face had Kokoris smiling.
"That would be the one."
Colette closed her eyes with resignation. "God help me from stupid teens and their stunts. How much skin am I going to have to graft for this guy?"
"Not much, only two legs' worth," he laughed and stacked his clips together. "I may also have a nose job for you too."
"Kid with the baseball bat?" she slanted him a smug look at his startled face. "I heard about that one too."
"Does anything happen in this hospital that you don't know about?" he asked, mildly curious but amused at her closely she manages to keep her ears to the ground while he barely had time to grab snacks between patients.
"Not really," she said with a grin. "Speaking of which, if you watch real close today, you'll see our dear Dr. Keating going home with Dr. Slingerland." Her face lit up with sheer mischievous fun. "She's spending the weekend at his place cause apparently he spent several nights at hers this week."
"Really?"
"Yup!" then grabbed the clips and skipped off, delighted with life in general.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"Nice digs," tossing the overnight bag on the couch before following it with sigh of relief. "Mr. and Mrs. Morris are the proud new parents of five pound two ounce boy. Seven weeks too early but healthy as a horse and wailing like a banshee."
"So why are you keeping him in an incubator?" Matt asked as he leaned over the back of the couch to kiss Jules on the forehead. Grabbing the overnight bag, he headed for the stairs up to his bedroom in the two-story townhouse "I ordered Italian while waiting for you in the hospital. Should be here in half an hour."
"Did you get tiramisu?" she asked, turning to watch him climb the stairs she hadn't worked up enough energy to attempt.
"Double servings of it," he called back.
"Good," flopping back on the couch and taking a good look at her surroundings. Chuckling, she got up to search through the movie collection that rivaled her own and to have a more appreciate look at the 32" flat screen TV with surround sound. "Life is good when you can entertain yourself in style," she mused as her finger trailed over the titles of the video section. "Three Stooges. So like a man."
"What are you up to?" Matt asked as he came down the stairs cheerfully, enjoying the sight of her in front of the gold accented cheval mirror his mother had sent him last Christmas. She looked good in her maple color sweater, standing in a room decorated in classic masculine earth tones.
"My brother would so approve of this get up," she commented as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "I like the fact that you have the Shirley Temple collection with your Humphrey Bogart collection. Very classy."
He grinned and dropped his chin onto her shoulder. "How about we have dinner in front of the TV and put on a movie. I just picked up 'The Big Sleep' on DVD. I think you'd like it."
"One of my favorites," she grinned and turned her head to look at him. "That sounds like a plan." The blinking red light on the stand by the stairway caught her eyes. "You have phone messages."
Turning to look, he sighed. "I'll get us something to drink. What would you like?" going to the kitchen and pressing the replay button on the answering machine on his way.
"You have five new messages."
"A beer would be nice," she answered, sitting in the sofa again.
"Stay off the alcohol Keating until we get your blood works back on why you look half like a ghost," he warned. "How about some good old English coffee?"
"You've convinced me," she grinned at him. "Why haven't the blood works come back yet anyways?"
"The lab is backed up. One of the equipments failed."
"Oh." She hated it when that happens.
"Matt? Matt, are you there and just screening your calls?" the deep rich British tone came through the machine. "If you are there, pick up the bloody phone. If you aren't, call me the minute you receive this. Beep. Message sent, Thursday 11:00 AM."
"Who was that?" Jules stared wide-eyed at the machine as he whirled to the next message.
"My brother George," he said plugging in the coffee maker before coming into the living room. "Very dramatic, dear George."
"Matthew darling, it's your mother," came the next greeting in a singsong voice that had Slingerland rolling his eyes. "Call me when you get this message. I don't hear from you nearly enough, dear."
As the machine announced when the message was left, Slingerland pulled her into the crook of his arm and cuddled with her for a moment. "You'd think after thirty odd years, I would begin to recognize her voice when I hear it."
"That's okay," she laughed. "My mom still leaves the telephone number when she leaves a message, like I don't know it by heart."
"Matt, it's George. Call me, you blood bastard. I swear you doctors have the worse possible schedules in the world. Never seem to reach you when I need you, and you don't even carry a bloody mobile phone."
"Someone's in trouble," Jules predicted.
"With George, that's a normal occurrence," he commented.
"What do you think it is?"
"Probably had to do with his wife again."
"Really?"
"Yeah, usually is."
"Why don't you lend him a hand then?"
"And how am I to stop it from occurring the next time? The man never learns from his mistakes."
"Which are?"
The next message began with a foul curse, which had both doctors staring. "Matthew Edward Slingerland, where the bloody hell are you? It's George again; I need help. Alice plans on filing for divorce. Bloody woman wouldn't even talk to me. Call her will you? Get her to see reason and for god sakes, tell her to give me some of my clothes! Can't bloody well buy a whole new wardrobe just because she's in a snit about me secretary."
"Alice?" Jules asked with one raised brow.
Matt made a face. "Wife number four. The three marriages beforehand crashed after his wives learned the hard way that my brother has a difficult time keeping his secretaries." At her questioning look he sighed and explained, "They usually end up his wives."
"Ouch."
"Yes. Mother still hopes for him to settle down and give her grandchildren."
"And you?"
He grinned. "She hopes that I will come to my senses and leave the bloody colonies."
"Consorting with the rebels," she giggled as she tilted her ear to the next message, hoping for another one from George. They were just beginning to become interesting. But another voice came on, most distinctly not Georges.
"Hey ya, Doc. It's Mitzi. I'm flying into San Francisco tomorrow evening. You can get me at all the usual numbers. Can't wait to see you. Until tomorrow."
Matt's face turned an ash gray as Jules pulled out from his arms and turned to face him. Mild curiosity had her arching one fine brow. "Who is Mitzi?"
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
You knew that I was going to throw Slingerland's past in here sooner or later.
By Didi
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. John Wells and his friends do. Let's not get into the debate as to who owns the ideas and all that; cause let's face it, you'll lose. Enjoy the story anyways.
Summary: Oh how lovely the season of giving is. Now let's give the staff at Presidio Med a little more excitement.
Rating: PG-13 on this chapter.
Timeline: Dutifully noted is how the holiday has already passed and everyone had a very lovely time. But since this story is written about a chapter every two weeks, we're still at early December, just after Thanksgiving. So let's just assume that Christmas is about three weeks away.
Note: I'm incorporating the last scene in the last episode shown so far, where Rae tells her husband about her affair. I'm going to let my imagination do the walking from here on out. As always, creative criticisms are welcomed but any flames on storyline line ideas are not. If you don't like where I take the story, I am very sorry but it's my prerogative.
Author's Note: Presidio Med returns to the airwaves on January 17, 2003. I want to try to finish this story before that but I may not be able to. Here's to hoping you enjoy my story as much as we all enjoy the show.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Chapter 13
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"Good morning," Dr. Kokoris greeted cheerful as he came up behind a weary Dr. Brennan. He's day was already beginning brightly at the sight of her.
Turning to look at the Greek doctor, Rae paused for a moment. She had not expected nor wanted to see him this morning. Her life was in enough turmoil without his presence adding to them. "Hi." Then continued to walk.
Not the least bit deterred since these brief moments were becoming a regular occurrence, he followed still upbeat. "How are you?"
"Fine," she answered briskly and headed for coffee. She needed coffee, lots and lots of coffee. Preferably ones with a couple of caffeine pills in them.
"You look tired," he observed with a slight frown now. More than tired, she looked almost haggard. It was unlike her to be so silent, even in her displeasures. Rae Brennan, if nothing else, was a woman that met things head-on. "Is everything all right?"
"Peachy," she replied, forcing a smiled on her face. Everything was just great considering she spent the seventh consecutive night alone in her bed and her husband has yet to be seen since leaving the house a week before. All attempts of contact she's made so far have failed. "I have patients."
Bemused now, "Did I do something to upset you?"
"No."
A pause. "Did something happen I should know about?"
For a second, Rae considered telling him. Her eyes traveled over the ruggedly handsome face, the kind of face that women put dreams and fantasies on. It was a face that crowded her dreams one too many nights. For god sakes, she was a married woman. "Nothing that concerns you."
He stopped her with a hand to her elbow, "Rae..."
"Kokoris," Letty Jordan called out from the end of the hallways. "What the hell are you still doing in your clothes?"
Even in her state of depression, Rae raised an amuse brow at the statement. Nick looked at her, amusement dancing in his eyes.
Letty threw them both a look of annoyance, it was barely eight in the morning and she hadn't had her first cup of coffee yet. "I meant, shouldn't you be scrubbed in for surgery by now?"
"Someone misread the notes on the girl's chart. They gave her breakfast. We'll have to wait a bit to go in," he explained calmly.
"Excuse me," Rae said, slipping away.
Nick opened his mouth to stop her. "Rae..." then gave up. She was not going to talk to him, no matter what he said or does, he could tell by the way she moved. And if there's anything he's learned about women in his life, it was that you shouldn't push when they are unwilling. "Stubborn woman."
"All the good doctors are," Letty commented, her eyes fluttering between the two. "Anything I should be concerned about?"
"No," Nick answered without visible reaction. "I was just in..."
"NICK!!!" Jules Keating came charging down the call toward the pair. An analogy of a charging rabid deer would not be far from the mark. Slapping a chart in his hands, she glared at him. "I hate you."
"Good morning, Dr. Keating. Did you have breakfast?" he asked blandly as he opened the chart to see what she was showing him.
"Don't act the innocent with me," she warned with a growl. "And you can take the tray out of my office right now. I've had more than enough to eat this morning, thank you very much." Slingerland had made enough to feed six starving sailors before she even had a chance to shower. Her kitchen was quite literally bare now.
"Perhaps you can have it for lunch," he replied with a grin, as he glanced at Dr. Jordan, who was making no attempt to hide her amusement.
"All three?" Jules asked, exasperated.
"Three?" he questioned mildly.
"Yes, three. And don't tell me you don't know anything about it," she wiggled a threatening finger at him.
Making a quick note on oxygen saturation levels, he glanced at her. "I only ordered one."
Letty chuckled out loud. "If I'd known you were going to do it, I wouldn't have bothered."
"You?" Jules threw up her hand. "Then who sent the third one?"
"I did," Harriet announced as she came up behind her with three charts in her hand. "And I don't want to be hearing any more about you skipping meals. It's not healthy." Handing her the charts, "I've got three high risks coming in today, one into her seventh month. I need a neonatal consult at two and three thirty."
Grumbling, Jules made a note. "I'll check with my schedule but I don't think it's going to be any problems. I'll move my three thirty up fifteen minutes."
"Good," Harriet nodded and put on her reading glasses to do a chart. "Now go eat your breakfast."
"I've already had breakfast," she complained under her breath as she made her way back to her office. "In fact, I had enough breakfast for two."
Letty frowned as she watched Dr. Keating walked away, having caught that last comment. "You don't think she meant..."
"Do you believe it?" Kokoris asked, his brows raised and curiosity evident on his face.
"You mean the pregnancy?" Letty asked, watching the slim figure turn the corner.
"What pregnancy?" Harriet asked absentmindedly as she made notes on her patient's chart.
"Jules's pregnancy," Letty informed her.
Turning her head, Dr. Lenning slipped her glasses off and stared at the two. "Dr. Keating is pregnant?"
"Is she?" Nick asked.
Harriet shook her head, confused. "You just said..."
"No, no," Letty made a face. These conversations get out of hand real fast if not clarified quickly. "There were rumors that Keating and Slingerland are expecting. Since you're her OB/GYN, we thought you would know."
"If I was, doctor/patient confidentiality still applies. And if Jules is pregnant, I don't know anything about it," neatly side stepping the rule. Sighing, she gave them an exasperated look. "Don't spread unfound rumors and don't be speculating. We have better things to do around here. Like saving lives. Don't you two have patients?"
Two of the most respected doctors in their fields grinned and scurried off to do their jobs.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"Hold all my calls, I'm going on my lunch break," Slingerland called out as he dropped the last of the charts into the sorting bin and headed for the elevators. "I'll be back at one."
"Dr. Slingerland," Norman chased after the long legged doctor waving several leaflets of notes in his hands. "You've got phone messages," and caught up to the doctor just as he stepped into the elevator.
Grabbing them from the outstretched hands, he snatched his own back before the elevator doors could do damage to it. Leafing through them, he noted that his brother called three times, his mother called twice, two patients called about renewing prescriptions and Janice from Alpha Pharmaceutical called again. Probably to push the new allergy pills... or to ask him out again; neither of which are much interest to him.
With a sigh, he pocketed the bunch and headed for neonatal. He knew that rumors were high now, not a damn thing he could do about that, plus it was not nearly as important as assuring himself that the loopy woman had food at regular intervals.
Coming to the receptionists' desk, he leaned against it and cocked his head toward the Dr. Keating's office. "Anita, is she in with a patient?"
Eyes wide behind her lens, she shook her head and pointed to the door.
"Thanks," he replied with a quick flirtatious smile for an attractive passing nurse. The sudden increase of whispered voices did not surprise him as he walked into Jules's office. The easy greeting he was about to give was lost in his throat.
Kokoris was pulling the pixie doctor onto her feet and out from behind her desk. "Come along. Do not make me carry you again."
Jules made noises of protests as she resisted the tugging arm. "Nick..."
"Am I interrupting?" Slingerland asked in his most reasonable tone. At the moment, it would give him a great deal of pleasure to plant his fist into Kokoris's smiling face.
"Matt, tell him to stop treating me like a three year old," Jules complained with a pout, oblivious of the underlying current of anger in Matt's tone.
Running his tongue over his teeth, for he had a feeling that Slingerland was tempted to knock some of them out, Nick release the arm he had previously been pulling on. Being in physical contact with the woman at the moment could be detrimental to his health. It was not hard for a man to recognize jealousy when it smacks him in the face. "Good, now you can convince Dr. Keating that her paperwork isn't as important as a healthy meal, especially after two hours in surgery."
Matt turned his eyes on the woman behind the desk, who had opened up her chart again. "Jules..."
"Two charts," she muttered quickly, her hand scribbling across the page. "I just have two more charts to finish before I begin my rounds this afternoon and..."
"No," he grabbed the pen when it came to a pause. He nodded his head at Kokoris, who flashed him an acknowledging grin and left them alone. "You are going to behave like a normal, sensible person, not to mention a doctor, and eat when it is lunch time." Closing the clip with one hand and pulling her up to her feet once more with the other, he glanced at the door that Kokoris had very considerately shut behind him before pressing a quick kiss on her to shut her protests. "Behave or I'm going to Dr. Lenning."
Her jaws dropped open and she stared wide-eyed at him, "Are you threatening me with Dr. Mom?" a nickname of the matron doctor that no one dared to say within her hearing.
"Whatever works," he said with a grin as he pressed another kiss on her lips. "Hum... I definitely I like this." Then kissed her again with seduction on his mind.
When her legs were beginning to feel like limp noodles, Jules pulled away and took a deep breath. She has a hard time thinking straight when he's in the mood to cloud her mind with passion. "Okay, we have to stop."
"Why?" he murmured into her ear as he pulled her close again. She was wearing some soft floral scent, so endearingly sweet and delicate, so like the woman, that it was incredibly provocative.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," she muttered before pulling away again. The man could charm the devil into going to church. "Oh yeah, someone might see us."
"And your point would be?" he asked teasingly but sobered when she frowned at him. "Jules, believe me when I tell you that there isn't a single staff member in this hospital that doesn't know about us anymore." He'd heard enough whispers and sly looks to last him a lifetime.
"More the reason not to flaunt it," she replied firmly.
"All right, all right, we'll do it your way for now." He grinned and studied her pixie face. "You're too pale."
"Irish roots," turning to pick up some files that needed to be returned to nursing.
Shifting her, he took her chin with his fingers and studied her sweet face. "No, I mean it. You're too pale, even more so than your normal pallor." The only spot of real color on her face was the dusty rose color lipstick he was no doubt sharing now. "Let's go to hematology and get some blood drawn, do the whole work up. Then we'll go get lunch."
She stared at him, not sure if he was serious or not. "I don't want to..."
"I give you ice cream," he offered with a smile, hiding his concern behind a well-placed tease.
"I'm not some three year old that you can bribe with sweets," coming around her desk to get to the nurses' station.
"Worked last night," he pointed out.
"Only cause I wanted ice cream," she shot back and grabbed the door handle.
"Jules," placing a palm above her head, keeping her office door shut. "Please," he asked in his most appealing tone, eyes staring into hers with concern. "For my peace of mind, will you please get some blood drawn? I don't like the fact that you appear to be wasting away right before my eyes."
Because he was asking nicely, because he possibly have the most heart-melting cute puppy-dog brown eyes, because he was so sweetly concerned, and because she has been feeling more exhaustion of late, "All right, all right. If it'll make you get off my case about this, I'll get blood drawn." She slanted him a glance, "Do I still get ice cream?"
Matt grinned. "Strawberry or vanilla?"
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"Jules!" Jackie Colette comes into a near collision with the pediatrician in the hallway. "I'm glad I caught you."
"What's up?" signing an order before glancing at her watch. It was almost five and she still had three patients waiting to see her. She was so not getting out of here on time... again.
"I was thinking that maybe you and I could go out this weekend," Jackie suggested with a full smile. "You know, a couple of attractive gals out on the town."
"Where?" Dr. Keating asked absentmindedly as she looked over her next patient's chart. Another case of sniffles and fever, it would be her tenth one today. Winter, along with its holidays, brought many small ailments that can thoroughly ruin a kid's school break.
"I was thinking the Blue Note," Jackie suggested as she leaned her elbow on the countertop and tilted her head to watch her friend. "I hear they have some great swing bands there at nights. Ever been there before?"
Jules's hand paused at mid-scrawl of her signature. "Once," wondering just how in the world Dr. Colette could have possibly known that. "You?"
"Once," Jackie answered, quick to hide her amusement. "But I've been dying to go back again. Met a really fine looking man there." Eyes twinkling, "Perfect place for a date. Intimate, lively, great food..."
Glancing at her, "What do you want Jackie?"
"Nothing," she replied innocently. "I just thought you and I, two very intelligent, lovely doctors, shouldn't spend Friday night all by our lonesome. So what do you way? Tonight? Blues Note? Pick up some hot guys?" At Jules's slight hesitation, "Or do you have other plans?"
Anything she said now was either going to condemned her or put her in the worse possible spot in the world, luckily, the gods were showing her favor as Dr. Lenning came around the corner, chart in hand and legs moving at a pace that could only be described as a dead-run. "Jules, Mrs. Morris's water just broke."
Snapping into doctor mode, "That's not possible. We just saw her two hours ago, she wasn't even having contractions."
"Yeah, I know," Harriet's eyes spoke volumes of disapproval. "Remember how she refused to do the sonogram?"
Jules rolled her eyes and picked up her charts and shoved them at Jackie, "Do me a favor, give these to Anita and tell her to page Dr. Carlton to cover for me. I've only got three more left. I just need someone to see them, small cases, nothing to them. I've got to get neonatal set for a high risk baby."
Jackie struggled for a moment with the toppling charts. "Hey, what about tonight?"
"If I'm not too exhausted," she answered and mentally made a note to herself to avoid Jackie for the rest of the day. Slingerland would not be happy with her if he were to hear about this.
Jackie stood there for a moment, laugher in her eyes and a big silly grin on her face. Jules couldn't have been more obvious if she tried.
"Something amusing, Dr. Colette?" Nick asked as he set his charts on the nurses' counter and exchanged them for the ones for his next set of patients. Six more patients to check in on before he turns the whole lot to the night shift doctor. That's six patients too many by his exhaustion scale.
"Keating and Slingerland," Jackie grinned as she glanced at his charts. "Anything in there that you can throw my way? Hospital is grumbling about my workload again."
"I've got a auto-accident that may be good for you. Sliced legs and everything," he murmured, glancing through the charts once more. "What was it you were saying about Keating and Slingerland?"
"Sliced legs? Are we talking about the motorcycle verses Mack truck the fourth floor nurses were yapping about?" The horrified look on her face had Kokoris smiling.
"That would be the one."
Colette closed her eyes with resignation. "God help me from stupid teens and their stunts. How much skin am I going to have to graft for this guy?"
"Not much, only two legs' worth," he laughed and stacked his clips together. "I may also have a nose job for you too."
"Kid with the baseball bat?" she slanted him a smug look at his startled face. "I heard about that one too."
"Does anything happen in this hospital that you don't know about?" he asked, mildly curious but amused at her closely she manages to keep her ears to the ground while he barely had time to grab snacks between patients.
"Not really," she said with a grin. "Speaking of which, if you watch real close today, you'll see our dear Dr. Keating going home with Dr. Slingerland." Her face lit up with sheer mischievous fun. "She's spending the weekend at his place cause apparently he spent several nights at hers this week."
"Really?"
"Yup!" then grabbed the clips and skipped off, delighted with life in general.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"Nice digs," tossing the overnight bag on the couch before following it with sigh of relief. "Mr. and Mrs. Morris are the proud new parents of five pound two ounce boy. Seven weeks too early but healthy as a horse and wailing like a banshee."
"So why are you keeping him in an incubator?" Matt asked as he leaned over the back of the couch to kiss Jules on the forehead. Grabbing the overnight bag, he headed for the stairs up to his bedroom in the two-story townhouse "I ordered Italian while waiting for you in the hospital. Should be here in half an hour."
"Did you get tiramisu?" she asked, turning to watch him climb the stairs she hadn't worked up enough energy to attempt.
"Double servings of it," he called back.
"Good," flopping back on the couch and taking a good look at her surroundings. Chuckling, she got up to search through the movie collection that rivaled her own and to have a more appreciate look at the 32" flat screen TV with surround sound. "Life is good when you can entertain yourself in style," she mused as her finger trailed over the titles of the video section. "Three Stooges. So like a man."
"What are you up to?" Matt asked as he came down the stairs cheerfully, enjoying the sight of her in front of the gold accented cheval mirror his mother had sent him last Christmas. She looked good in her maple color sweater, standing in a room decorated in classic masculine earth tones.
"My brother would so approve of this get up," she commented as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "I like the fact that you have the Shirley Temple collection with your Humphrey Bogart collection. Very classy."
He grinned and dropped his chin onto her shoulder. "How about we have dinner in front of the TV and put on a movie. I just picked up 'The Big Sleep' on DVD. I think you'd like it."
"One of my favorites," she grinned and turned her head to look at him. "That sounds like a plan." The blinking red light on the stand by the stairway caught her eyes. "You have phone messages."
Turning to look, he sighed. "I'll get us something to drink. What would you like?" going to the kitchen and pressing the replay button on the answering machine on his way.
"You have five new messages."
"A beer would be nice," she answered, sitting in the sofa again.
"Stay off the alcohol Keating until we get your blood works back on why you look half like a ghost," he warned. "How about some good old English coffee?"
"You've convinced me," she grinned at him. "Why haven't the blood works come back yet anyways?"
"The lab is backed up. One of the equipments failed."
"Oh." She hated it when that happens.
"Matt? Matt, are you there and just screening your calls?" the deep rich British tone came through the machine. "If you are there, pick up the bloody phone. If you aren't, call me the minute you receive this. Beep. Message sent, Thursday 11:00 AM."
"Who was that?" Jules stared wide-eyed at the machine as he whirled to the next message.
"My brother George," he said plugging in the coffee maker before coming into the living room. "Very dramatic, dear George."
"Matthew darling, it's your mother," came the next greeting in a singsong voice that had Slingerland rolling his eyes. "Call me when you get this message. I don't hear from you nearly enough, dear."
As the machine announced when the message was left, Slingerland pulled her into the crook of his arm and cuddled with her for a moment. "You'd think after thirty odd years, I would begin to recognize her voice when I hear it."
"That's okay," she laughed. "My mom still leaves the telephone number when she leaves a message, like I don't know it by heart."
"Matt, it's George. Call me, you blood bastard. I swear you doctors have the worse possible schedules in the world. Never seem to reach you when I need you, and you don't even carry a bloody mobile phone."
"Someone's in trouble," Jules predicted.
"With George, that's a normal occurrence," he commented.
"What do you think it is?"
"Probably had to do with his wife again."
"Really?"
"Yeah, usually is."
"Why don't you lend him a hand then?"
"And how am I to stop it from occurring the next time? The man never learns from his mistakes."
"Which are?"
The next message began with a foul curse, which had both doctors staring. "Matthew Edward Slingerland, where the bloody hell are you? It's George again; I need help. Alice plans on filing for divorce. Bloody woman wouldn't even talk to me. Call her will you? Get her to see reason and for god sakes, tell her to give me some of my clothes! Can't bloody well buy a whole new wardrobe just because she's in a snit about me secretary."
"Alice?" Jules asked with one raised brow.
Matt made a face. "Wife number four. The three marriages beforehand crashed after his wives learned the hard way that my brother has a difficult time keeping his secretaries." At her questioning look he sighed and explained, "They usually end up his wives."
"Ouch."
"Yes. Mother still hopes for him to settle down and give her grandchildren."
"And you?"
He grinned. "She hopes that I will come to my senses and leave the bloody colonies."
"Consorting with the rebels," she giggled as she tilted her ear to the next message, hoping for another one from George. They were just beginning to become interesting. But another voice came on, most distinctly not Georges.
"Hey ya, Doc. It's Mitzi. I'm flying into San Francisco tomorrow evening. You can get me at all the usual numbers. Can't wait to see you. Until tomorrow."
Matt's face turned an ash gray as Jules pulled out from his arms and turned to face him. Mild curiosity had her arching one fine brow. "Who is Mitzi?"
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
You knew that I was going to throw Slingerland's past in here sooner or later.