Disclaimer: I own nothing but a Lord of the Rings Calendar and a tape dispenser. With the exception of Jules Archer and Max Shepard, the characters in this story are the intellectual property of Ken Corday and Days of Our Lives.
Chapter 7: Invitations
Three weeks had passed since Belle, Brady, and Little Victor's visit, and Chloe was now on rotation in pediatrics. There was something both highly rewarding and deeply heart wrenching about working with children. On many levels, they were the best patients. Children didn't second-guess your decisions, their attitudes were generally better, and they were little troopers when it came to treatments. They seemed able to accept things that adults couldn't or wouldn't. On the other hand, a sick and hurting child was the most painful sight in the entire world.
With permission from one of fourth-year residents, Chloe took off for her lunch break. Feeling somewhat anti-social, she made her way towards Craig's office. Being the COS's daughter had some perks, and one of them was being able to eat your lunch in his office. Craig was away for a few days attending a medical conference in Boston, and Chloe was one of the few people who had access to his office when he was gone.
Chloe reclined on one of the comfy sofas and placed her pager on the coffee table so that it wouldn't become muffled in the cushions. She contemplated taking a nap but unpacked her lunch instead. As she absently munched on her portabella mushroom and tomato sandwich, she let her thoughts drift away from diagnoses and treatments. Her mind jumped back to the day she had been mulling over for the past three weeks.
How nonchalantly Brady Black had waltzed back into her life! Jules had just opened the door, and there he was. She had been shocked but not surprise by his arrival. Somewhere in her heart or mind, she had expected him to be there. Brady looked good. The expensive suit he was wearing had fitted his lean-muscled body too well. He wore his hair a little longer than she remembered. It curled just enough away from his scalp to dare her fingers to run through it. Those intense blue eyes still peered into her soul like before, and she had to fight the simultaneous urges to run away from him and to jump into his arms.
Chloe had struggled that day to focus on Little V, the darling boy, and Belle, her beautiful friend. But time and time again, she found her eyes falling to where Brady was. During their whole visit, her heart was beating so loudly that she could barely hear over it. She had tried to chatty and witty, yet she was sure that she had been barely coherent. Luckily for her, no one except Jules recognized her inner turmoil. Of course, Jules was the only one who knew the whole truth.
How many times did Chloe want to shout out, Why, Brady? Where did it all go wrong? Why did we throw it away? The love he inspired in her hadn't dissipated. The emotion had been beneath the surface all along, and three weeks ago it had emerged and had been strangling her ever since. Familiar tears began forming in her eyes. We could have been happy, she thought, but we were both too stubborn to trust ourselves. I was a stupid coward who ran away from the only thing I ever really wanted. Chloe felt like a little child lost alone in the woods, and she didn't know how to get back home.
The buzzing of Craig's intercom interrupted her thoughts. Chloe was so surprise by the sound that she jumped up to answer it without thinking. "Yes?"
"Dr. Wesley," a voice she recognized as Craig's administrative assistant said, "There's a man here to see you. Should I send him in?"
Chloe was baffled. "I…I guess," she stuttered turning towards the office doors. One swung open, and Brady glided in as naturally as the spring breeze. Chloe's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. A person with weaker constitution would have expired of a heart attack right there.
"Hey Doc," Brady said laughingly, "Moved up to chief of staff already?"
Chloe snapped her jaw shut. She opened her mouth to speak but found no words. Finally, she just gestured at the sofa where her partially eaten lunch sat abandoned.
"Ah lunch break," he said reaching down to swipe her apple. "Are you too good to sit with the other doctors?"
She ignored his typical Brady-fashion remark. "What are you doing here?" she demanded finally finding her voice.
Brady chuckled with his eyes sparkling. "I came here to see you in your element."
"Craig's office?" Chloe asked befuddled. Honestly, she couldn't get her brain to function.
"No silly," Brady laughed, "Not that Craig's office isn't nice. You're a doctor, and I came to see you in the hospital."
"Why?" she blurted.
"Fine, we'll cut to the chase," he sighed. He took a bite of her apple and wrinkled his nose at the tart taste she loved. With a flick of his wrist, the apple went flying into the wastebasket before she could even think to protest. "I did a little detective work and found out you were off this Friday and Saturday. I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me?"
Chloe's heart soared. He'd come here to ask her out on date, a real honest-to-God date. "Yes!" she cried.
A brief look of relief danced across his handsome face before it was replaced by a huge grin. "Great I'll pick up around 8," he said turning to go.
"Wait no," she shouted suddenly. "I can't go."
Brady's grin became an angry smirk. "So make up your mind Doc! Yes or no?"
"Friday is the opening of Jules and Max's club," she explained, "I promised I would be there to help out if they needed it."
"It's okay," Brady sighed, "I understand." She could tell from his defeated expression and voice that he didn't. He turned to go again.
"Wait!" she called out desperately. "Why don't you come to the club opening? Jules and Max are hosting a little dinner at seven for a small group of friends before the official opening. You could be my date, and then we can spend the night in the club. I know it's probably not what you had in mind, but heck, Fantabulous is going to be the number one spot in Salem anyways. You and I could be the first to test the waters."
"I like the way you think, Doc," Brady said. "You have yourself a date. I'll see you at seven on Friday." He planted a quick kiss on her lips and disappeared out the door.
Chloe stood frozen in her spot trying to regain her composure in the wake of Brady's visit. She had a date with Brady Black. A squeal of delight that could have shattered eardrums escaped her lips. She ran over to Craig's desk, spun around a few times in his desk chair, and dialed a familiar phone number.
"Hello," Jules answered distractedly. "For the love of Pete just put down the power drill," she shouted angrily to a nearby Max.
"Jules! You'll never guess what? Brady Black was just here!" Chloe gushed into the phone.
"Chloe-zoey is that you?" Jules asked bringing her full attention to Chloe.
"Yes silly," Chloe giggled. "Brady was here. He asked me out."
"Oh my God, Chloe. I'm so happy for you," Jules congratulated. "When?"
"He's going to come to the club opening on Friday with me," Chloe explained. The slight beeping of her pager caught her attention. "Look Jules, I have to go. I'm being paged. I'll fill you in later."
Chloe hung up the phone, threw the remains of her lunch in the trash, and practically skipped back to the pediatric ward.