CHAPTER 9

Robert winced to himself as he closed the door of the rehabilitation ward, and made his way down the corridor towards Jessie's office. After the fool he had made of himself with Nurse Hamilton, he had tried to request a different nurse to oversee his physical exercises, but had been refused. She had, he considered, dealt well with his overtures. She hadn't laughed at him. Not to his face, anyway. She'd blushed and stammered, and said that she was flattered, but she had a boyfriend. Robert didn't really care whether or not she was lying. He had asked her and that was enough for him. But it was still embarrassing to see her, even though a month had passed since he'd broached the subject.

As he strolled through the hospital, Robert thought about his assessment. Jessie had been acting strangely recently, and he'd assumed it was because she was coming to the end of her assignment. In just four weeks, Robert's fate would be determined. He would learn what the Board had decided. Jessie was busy compiling her report, he reasoned. It would make sense that she was a little distracted.

Humming gently under his breath, Robert reflected on the last five months. He had really enjoyed working with Jessie. Even though she'd been assessing him, he'd found her to be interesting and friendly and kind. Not like certain people, he thought, as he saw Dr Weaver heading towards him, a determined look on her face.

"Robert," Weaver began, as she approached him. "I've been looking for you all afternoon."

"How can I help you, Kerry?" He asked, smoothly, managing a smile and trying to keep his voice even. He knew that Kerry didn't want him around; knew that she was hoping Jessie's report would leave the Board no alternative but to terminate his contract. Without him in charge of the ER, Kerry could put someone much more malleable in charge – maybe Carter, or Lewis.

"I wanted to remind you about the function you agreed to attend last month. It's on Saturday night and I had a call from the organizers saying that they couldn't find your acceptance. They need to do the seating plan." Kerry's eyes glinted at Robert, knowing that she had him trapped. He'd agreed to attend on behalf of the hospital, during one of his weaker moments.

Robert's expression darkened, as he frowned in annoyance. He'd just about forgotten about that stupid dinner. What had he been thinking, agreeing to go out in public where everyone could see him? He knew the reason he'd agreed – Jessie had been telling him to take a chance and seize the day and he'd been so caught up thinking about how it might change his life that he'd said yes before he'd even known the words were out of his mouth. Now Kerry had him cornered. He couldn't deny it – half the Board had been in the room.

"It must have been lost in the post," Robert looked Kerry squarely in the eye and managed to lie with a straight face. "Do ring them and let them know I'm coming. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Call them yourself!" Kerry snapped. reaching into her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper "I've got better things to do than organise your social calendar." She handed him a square card which looked vaguely familiar to Robert. It was, he realized, his invitation. Black tie, he noted, spotting the small script in the right hand bottom corner. Great. He'd not tried on his tux since the accident.

"Certainly, Kerry," Robert smiled at his boss, the warmth not reaching his eyes. He squared his shoulders and slipped the invite in his pocket. "I'm sure it'll be fun."

Kerry ignored the sarcasm and turned away.

"I've put a folder on your desk," Robert heard her say as she disappeared down the corridor. "Make sure you've looked at it before you go. I don't want you embarrassing the Board here at County." She stopped and turned, a half smile on her face. "You wouldn't want anything to cloud their judgement so close to the report, now would you?"

Robert nodded and turned away, muttering curses under his breath. That was all he needed. He'd have to work fast. He stopped off at his desk on the way to Jessie's office and sure enough, there was a thin folder on his desk. He decided to pack up before he went to see Jessie. That way he could sneak off after their session and go and see his tailor. He was not going to look a fool on Saturday, and he had just over 48 hours to achieve that. He needed to book a taxi. He hoped, suddenly and fervently, that they wouldn't serve spaghetti. He'd been trying to master it with only one hand, as it was his one of his favourite dishes, but he couldn't quite manage without causing one hell of a mess.

Placing the folder in his briefcase, Robert had an idea. He needed to confirm his attendance; he might as well check to see what they were eating and whether he stood a chance or whether he was going to go hungry. He fished the invitation out of his pocket, trying to remember where he had seen it before. The colour and patterns on it looked really familiar, but he couldn't place it. Never mind, it would come to him.

Waiting for someone to answer his call, Robert thought about the enormity of the situation he had placed himself in. He wasn't sure why he had offered to go – he knew it was partly due to what Jessie had said to him, but, he realized, as he listened to the purr of the telephone, it was also done because part of him wanted the Board to realize that he was still an asset to the hospital. He wanted to keep his job. Without it, he was nothing. He had no family, few friends; here he had respect, of sorts, and something to keep him occupied. There were people here who were as familiar as his own face in the mirror. They kept him sane, even though some tried to drive him crazy; like Lizzie. And then there was Jessie. She….

"Can I help you?" The nasal voiced secretary at the other end jolted Robert out of his reverie.

"Oh yes, hello," Robert stammered. He'd been on the verge of thinking something important and he couldn't remember why he had called. Then it came to him. "My name is Dr Robert Romano," he began, his confidence seeping back into his voice. "I understand that you haven't received confirmation of my attendance at the tri-state medical symposium and awards dinner on Saturday." He squinted at the invitation, trying to remember if he'd attended one of these things before. He'd been to a couple of functions but they'd been a few years ago, and with everything that had happened, memories seemed to blur into one.

"Ah yes, Dr Romano. Thank you for calling. Your boss has confirmed your attendance on Saturday." Robert could hear the shuffling of papers. He took a deep breath and asked the question he'd been dreading to ask.

"Could you…um…could you let me know the menu for Saturday?" He enquired politely.

"I think there's a choice," the secretary rattled off a series of interesting dishes and Robert thought he could manage one or two without looking like a toddler.

Robert thanked the secretary, and replaced the receiver, relaxing visibly in his chair. He might just be able to get through this. That'd show the Board. Robert smiled to himself and realized that he wanted to tell Jessie about what he was going to do. Robert glanced hurriedly at the clock. Damn! It was just after three o'clock. Almost as he stood to leave, his pager went off.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Robert muttered smiling to himself at Jessie's uncanny sense of timing. He picked up his briefcase and locked his office door. He was practically running down the corridor and was so busy thinking about what he was going to say to Jessie that he collided with someone as he rounded the corner.

"Sorry," Robert said automatically and moved out of the way without seeing who it was he had bumped into.

"Hey, Robert. How are you?"

Lizzie's voice made him freeze. He turned and faced her. He'd hardly seen her since the incident in the toilets which was, he remembered, back in the Summer. He'd been deliberately avoiding her, he knew. The hurt had healed over the past two months, but he saw she was still beautiful. He waited for his heart to perform its now familiar back-flip as it always did when he saw her, and was surprised to note that it didn't come.

"I'm well, thanks, Lizzie." Robert's smile was genuine and Elizabeth frowned slightly as she studied her friend. He didn't look like he normally did but she couldn't put her finger on the difference. "I'm off to the tri-state dinner on Saturday." He grinned suddenly, as if enjoying a private joke, and Elizabeth's frown deepened as she realized that she'd not seen him like this since before the accident. She wondered idly if he'd met someone.

"Really? How come you're going?" Elizabeth asked sharply. She'd put her name forward for that dinner months ago and forgotten about it. Robert had reminded her, and it irked her that he was going. There were lots of connections to be made, if you knew the right person to talk to.

"I volunteered and the Board thought it was a good idea." Robert replied. He'd noticed that she was angry about something and decided not to push it. He'd had enough mood swings that afternoon. He didn't need Lizzie to make him upset. "Anyway," he continued, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got an appointment and I'm already late." He paused and looked at Elizabeth.

"It was lovely to see you again, Lizzie," he said. "I hope all's good with you."

Without waiting for a response he turned and walked down the corridor towards Jessie's office. He whistled to himself as he thought about what had just happened. He'd seen Lizzie and his heart hadn't broken. In fact it hadn't even flinched. He was, he decided, well and truly over her. Grinning at the thought, he reached Jessie's office and pushed open the door.

"….I'm really sorry… I'm busy then… seriously, I have to…" Jessie trailed off as she spun in her chair and faced Robert. She blushed, and lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry, Craig, I'm busy on Saturday. I have a work function…okay…okay, yes, of course I understand…yes I've had fun too…goodbye." Jessie replaced the receiver and glared at Robert. Why did he have to hear that? She fumed. It was bad enough that she'd been unable to stop thinking about Romano, and here he was, listening to her being dumped by another man. Jessie rose out of her chair, angrily.

"How dare you just barge in! And what time do you call this?" She demanded. Wincing as she placed her right leg on the floor, she stalked over to her coffee machine. "For God's sake, Romano, I don't spend the whole day just waiting for your session, you know. I mean, I'm…" she stopped, and ran her hands through her hair. Sighing she shook her head and looked at Robert. He could swear there were tears in her eyes, but she blinked them back fiercely as she turned away and started to make them both coffee.

Robert wondered what had happened to make Jessie act like this. He'd never seen her really angry or upset. This wasn't a side of her he'd ever experienced, and he found himself desperate to comfort her and cheer her up. Wondering at these emotions he was feeling, he moved towards her and disengaged her hands from the coffee pot.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he whispered, putting the coffee pot back on the machine and taking her left hand in his right. His prosthetic arm moved awkwardly up and bumped her right arm. "I'm sorry I'm late," he began. "I've got lots to tell you." How about I make you a coffee and we swap stories?" He smiled gently at Jessie and was pleased to see some of the twinkle in her eyes return.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," Jessie sniffed, gently pulling away from him, and moving back behind her desk. "I'm just having a bad day. I'm trying to…" she gestured at her desk and the huge pile of papers on it. "…well, I've got this report to do in four weeks; you know how it is…!" She grinned at Robert, and sat down, making some attempt to tidy up the mess.

"No problem, Doctor," Robert said, and turned his attention to the coffee. He had become proficient at making the coffee with just one hand – he'd been practising at home – and he wanted Jessie to see how well he could manage. As he worked, his gaze wandered round her office, stopping on the bookshelf next to her water machine. A familiar square of card caught his eye and he nearly tipped the coffee over his shoes as he moved towards it. Hastily placing Jessie's mug on the desk, he moved over to the bookcase and reached for the card, seeing the now recognizable gold lettering.

"Are you…um…are you going to this?" he began, trying to keep the hope out of his voice.

Jessie glanced idly at the invitation in his hand.

"Yeah, I said I would," she shrugged.

Robert put the card back and finished making the coffee. He sat down opposite Jessie.

"I'm going as well," he said quietly, not daring to meet her eyes.

Jessie looked at Robert, trying to decide how to deal with this information. She'd been looking forward to the dinner all week, and now here was another reason to be excited; and nervous. Romano would be there. She speculated briefly on what he would look like in a tuxedo. Hmm, this could be interesting, she thought.

"You'd better tell me all about it," she smiled. "Come on, spill the beans. How did Kerry manage to talk you into it?" She paused and sipped her coffee, wondering whether her next question was really a good idea. She knew that there were several reasons why she and Romano could never be together – apart from him being her patient, she didn't think he felt the same way about her. But it might be nice to spend some time with him. Sod it, she thought. Seize the day, right?

"And since we're both going," she added, "why don't we share a cab?"