Sara awoke the next morning to a loud beeping. She looked over at her clock, it was only 4:30. Her alarm was not the source of the annoying sound. A blinking red light cut through the darkness and Sara identified it as her beeper. The hospital was paging her.

"It is way too early for this."

With a yawn she got dressed and headed for the door. The streets near her apartment building had been empty and she had only seen two people on her way to the hospital. It was a stark contrast to what was happening inside the hospital. The ER was in chaos.

"Dr. Tancredi! Thank God you're here."

"What happened?"

"There was an explosion at a hotel downtown," Dr. Perry explained as he ran in with a patient. "We have three more critical patients on the way."

Sara surveyed the ER one last time before grabbing a pair of gloves and running outside to meet the next ambulance.

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Nine hours, seven patients, and two deaths later the ER returned to normal. Sara was finally able to sit down and rest. Days like these exhausted her. She had been working on patients non-stop for hours and she still had five hours left on her shift.

Sara glanced at her watch. It was almost 1:30. Realization hit her and she sighed. She and Michael were supposed to have coffee at 7:00. With all the chaos it had completely skipped her mind. She wished she could contact him, but they never exchanged numbers.

Maybe it was a sign. Maybe they really were supposed to stay away from each other. Only a small part of her actually believed that. She had such a great time with Michael at dinner and she had really been looking forward to seeing him again.

"Dr. Tancredi, Mr. Greene is out of surgery. Dr. Perry was able to repair the damage to his heart."

"Thanks Susan," Sara said standing up and grabbing a file off the table. She rubbed her eyes and drew a long breath before going off to check on her patients. A few more hours and she could go home and get some sleep. Then maybe she could find some way to contact Michael.

"Lose your key?"

Michael's head shot up then he shook his head. "I don't live here. I'm waiting for a friend."

"You've been waiting for a long time," the old man said fumbling with his keys.

Michael smiled and looked down at his watch. "Almost two hours."

"Didn't I see you this morning too?"

"Yeah."

"Is she pretty."

"Very."

The old man chuckled. "Good luck son."

Michael wasn't really sure how long he should wait or if he should even be there at all. She stood him up for a reason and he was probably the last person she wanted to see. Still part of him was worried. Another hour or so and he figured he'd break down her door to make sure she wasn't passed out on her couch. Michael prayed that it wasn't he case, but he had drove her to extremes once and he didn't want anything like that to happen again.

A moment later he saw Sara turn the corner. She looked exhausted. He watched her reach into her purse for her keys before she noticed him.

"Michael."

"Hey," he replied smiling at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked smiling back at him.

She didn't seem mad. That was a good sign. "I was waiting for you."

"For how long?"

"Couple of hours," he said feeling himself blush slightly.

"Michael, I'm really sorry about today. I had to go to the hospital at 4:30 this morning. I guess there was some major explosion at a hotel downtown."

"I heard about that. We'll just have to do it another time."

"You can come up if you want." The words left her mouth before she could stop them. She saw surprise flash in Michael's eyes before he smiled. "My coffee may not be as good as Starbucks, but it'll do."

Michael nodded and followed her up the stairs. Sara's apartment was just like he imagined. Very clean and organized.

Sara lead him into the living room before speaking again. "I'll go start the coffee."

"Okay."

Michael's eyes scanned the living room and his eyes fell on a small origami rose sitting on top of a book on her coffee table.

"You kept it," he said when she re-entered the room.

"I'm a pack rat," she stated with a slight smile. "I never throw anything out."

"Once again, the clutter is overwhelming." They locked eyes and smiled at each other. Just like that time in the infirmary the whole world disappeared and he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms. This time things were different. There was no one to interrupt them or pass judgement.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked sitting next to him on the couch. He nodded and she continued. "How long were you planning on waiting outside?"

"Probably for a few more hours. Another hour and I would've broke down your door to make sure you weren't . . ."

"Overdosed on the couch," she finished for him her eyes growing dark.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean . . . I was just starting to worry."

"Thank you for your concern," Sara said sincerely. It had been a long time since anyone cared where she was and it felt good to have someone care enough about her to worry.

"You look tired."

"Today was rough. All I want to do is curl up in bed and go to sleep."

"Oh. I'll let you do that," Michael stood up and grabbed his coat.

"You don't have to leave. It's nice to have someone to keep me company."

"No, I really should let you rest." Sara just nodded. She didn't have enough strength to argue with him.

He made it to the door and turned to her. "Do you have plans for Christmas?"

"No. Why?"

"Well, I'm going over to Lincoln and Veronica's. Would you like to come?"

"I don't want to impose."

"You wouldn't be. Please?"

It was a nice offer. She had no family to go home to. Plus it would be a perfect chance to spend some time with Michael. "Sure."

"Great," Michael smiled. "I'll pick up Christmas morning." She nodded then without thinking Michael walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight."