Chapter Seven - Pictures
Emergency Room at Cornell Medical Center - Twenty Four Hours Missing
Stacie walked up to the ER nurses station, returned the medical charts she had been working on to their files, and flashed a tired smile at her favorite evening nurse, Gloria. Gloria, a no-nonsense and stunningly beautiful black woman, had been Stacie's first friend when she joined the emergency room team at Cornell Medical Center. They were an unlikely duo...Gloria - the loud, boisterous, and sometimes outrageous nurse with plenty of attitude and a heart of gold; and Stacie - the too smart for her own good, 'skinny white girl' doctor with a quick wit and control freak tendencies. But, somehow their friendship worked.
"Your friend, Mary Belle, is in Exam 3." Gloria informed her with mischief in her eyes. "She says she can't feel the baby kick."
"And did you tell her that at 16 weeks the baby hasn't yet formed legs with which to kick yet?" Stacie asked with a grin.
"Nope. I left that for you." Gloria handed her the chart, which Stacie promptly handed back to her.
"Find an intern." Stacie groaned. "I need a break."
"You ain't lying, girl." She leaned over the counter of the nurses station and fixed her gaze on Stacie. Her tone turned almost motherly as she said, "Go home, baby. Let me call Dr. Martinez to come in and cover your shift. Get some sleep."
"I can't sleep." Stacie said, grabbing a bottle of water off the counter and taking a long sip.
"Then take a bubble bath. Call your uncle or one of your girlfriends. Watch one of those mindless reality shows on TV. But don't stay here." Gloria reached up and brushed a stray lock of Stacie's hair out of her face.
"I like it here. I stay busy here and can keep my mind off things. And besides, you're here." Stacie smiled, but then looked extremely sad. "And my apartment is very empty right now."
Grabbing Stacie's hand, Gloria squeezed her tight and Stacie had to force back the tears that were forming in her eyes. The two women stayed that way for a few moments, sharing a silence that can only occur between real friends. Finally, Gloria said, "You know what you need, baby? You need a man."
"Here we go again!" Stacie laughed, turning away from her and heading toward the staff lounge.
Gloria moved quickly to catch up with her, not ready to end this line of questioning. "I just don't understand how you stay single in a city full of eligible men. Do you walk around with a paper bag over your head?"
"Yes. On my way from home to work, work to home, home to work, with a stop at the gym thrown in for good measure." Stacie joked, pushing the door to the staff lounge open. "The only men I meet are either gushing blood from a various wound or throwing up on me. Where exactly do you suggest I meet this man you think I so desperately need?" Stacie picked through the coffee mugs in the sink drain looking for a clean one. "Coffee?" She asked Gloria, who plopped herself down on the couch.
"Not unless you're adding a shot of scotch." Gloria grinned as Stacie wrinkled her nose at the thought of the combination of scotch and coffee. Then she tilted her head and said, "Well, I may be a happily married mama of four, but I am not blind to the fact that they are making F.B.I. agents a helluva lot finer these days. Especially that Danny boy with the sexy eyes and tight little butt."
Stacie poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down next to Gloria. She sipped her coffee and then smiled at her friend. "He is a beautiful man, isn't he? Inside and out."
"You know that fine man?" Stacie took another sip of her coffee and her eyes twinkled mischievously at Gloria over the rim of her cup. Gloria suddenly realized what was going on and slapped Stacie on the arm, almost causing her to spill her coffee. "Oh my God! He's your Danny, isn't he? The one you almost married before Mikey came along? Damn, girl! You sure do know how to pick 'em!"
Stacie nodded and laughed out loud, grateful for the way Gloria was helping to take her mind off Maggie. "Yep," she said, "he's my Danny. Small world, isn't it?" It had been a long time since she had called him 'her Danny'.
"No, girl. It is not a small world. It is a great, big world full of millions of people." Gloria was almost giddy. "The fact that this man came back into your life just when you need him most is nothing short of a miracle. Any of the old feelings coming back?"
"Well, we've been a little preoccupied with the perverts who are holding my sister as a sex slave to think about that." Stacie tried to reign the conversation back in because she knew where Gloria was going to go. "Besides, it's been ten years. He's probably married by now."
"I didn't see a ring." Gloria said quickly.
"Some men don't wear them." Stacie retorted just as quickly.
"The feelings are back, aren't they! Look at you, baby. You're practically blushing." Gloria pointed at Stacie's face and Stacie pretended to bite at her finger. "Did your feelings for him ever really go away?"
Stacie stopped the teasing with that. "I loved Mike more than anything in the world. He was everything to me."
"I know that." Gloria's voice softened. "Baby, I know that better than anyone. I was the one here with you on those nights when you didn't think you'd ever make it without him. I'm not doubting your love for Mikey. I just mean that the way things ended between you and F.B.I. boy..."
"I never really stopped loving Danny." Stacie admitted before Gloria could say anymore. "I mean, we didn't hurt each other, or cheat on each other, or say things to each other that we couldn't take back. We just drifted apart. We fell in love with our careers and forgot to make room for each other. And then Mikey came along and swept me off my feet..." Her voice trailed off as she leaned her head on Gloria's shoulder.
"And nowyour husband'sgone. And that sucks more than anyone can imagine. But you didn't die that day, baby. You're still here. And now, so is Danny. You have the second chance that so many people never get. He's back in your life for a reason."
"To find Maggie." Stacie said, straightening up and swirling the remains of her coffee around in the bottom of her mug.
"Or," Gloria persisted, "it could be Divine Intervention..."
The door to the lounged opened at that moment and one of the volunteers from the main lobby poked her head in. "Dr. Callahan?" Stacie looked up and nodded, as the volunteer approached and held out a brown mailing envelope. "This was left at the desk for you a few minutes ago."
"Thanks." Stacie smiled, opening the envelope and removing a photograph. As she looked down at the photo, her hands flew to her mouth in horror and she dropped her coffee mug on the floor.
"Baby?" Gloria said, alarmed, and looked over at the picture in Stacie's shaking hands. "Holy Mary Mother of God." she exclaimed, putting her arm around Stacie to keep her from falling over and looking up at the volunteer. "Where did you get this?"