Keeton's internal clock went off at 5:30am, just as it did every morning. Carefully extricating himself from the woman curled around him, he got out of bed and checked her IV. Everything looked good – her fever was down. A quick shower and a hike, and he'd be back to check on her before having to open the clinic.
For the first time since he could remember, he was eager to see what the day would bring.
Lily awoke slowly, not unlike the lifting of a veil or fog. Everything was just a little bit distant, but after a few minutes, she was able to take stock of her surroundings – her IV, the chair beside the bed, the morning sunlight spilling into the room. She vaguely remembered Keeton putting her to bed last night, but had just assumed that she was in the ward. That definitely wasn't the case. She was in Keeton's bed…and she was alone.
She quickly lifted the sheet, and peeked at what she was wearing; Lily flopped back down on the pillow in relief to see that she was still dressed in her bra and panties. Thank god! Now if she could only remember what had happened last night to land her in Keeton's bed? She knew that she'd been feeling incredibly warm when Keeton was removing the anaconda teeth from her arm, but everything from that point was a bit fuzzy around the edges. Now and again, brief flashes of something would pop into Lily's head – more like feelings rather than pictures, really. She couldn't be sure if they were dreams or memories. The only thing she was sure of was that the sea-green eyes of Dr. Ben Keeton were the one constant in those elusive flashes.
The clock on Keeton's desk flickered 6:32am. She was late. The clinic would be open in less than 30 minutes. If she hurried, she could head back to her cabin and maybe have enough time for a shower before her shift started. Lily reached back for the two bags of fluid connected to her body, threw back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, letting her body adjust to the new position. Grabbing the blanket from the bed and awkwardly wrapping it around her, she made her way to the pharmacy on shaky legs. After carefully removing the IV and applying pressure, she clumsily dressed the back of her hand. Not her best job, but it would have to do.
She headed back into Keeton's room to find her clothes. Throwing on her cargos and her tank top, she grabbed her shirt and headed out the door as quickly as her rubbery legs would take her. She was so late.
Back from his morning hike and shower, Keeton was looking forward to heading back to his quarters and finding a still-sleeping Lily in his bed. She'd probably sleep for a while, yet. He had a smile on his face as he quickly took the stairs two-at-a-time. He'd just poke his head in and check on her before opening the clinic. Opening the door to the Admin office doubling as his quarters, Keeton quietly slipped inside so as not to wake Lily, only to find his bed empty and his patient gone.
She was in no shape to be wandering around the jungle – not after a high-grade fever. As a doctor, she should know that. What was she thinking? She could be anywhere, lying on the jungle floor. Damn it! There goes his good mood.
And as he headed out of his office and down the stairs, he passed Zee in the garden. Taking in his determined stride and stormy expression, Zee knew that one of Keeton's new recruits was going to catch hell. They spoke simultaneously.
"Don't worry, I'll open the clinic." Zee said, recognizing his mood.
"Zee, I'm going to need you to open the clinic." Keeton said, not even breaking stride.
Freshly showered, Lily wrapped a towel around her body and walked to her cabin. She felt surprisingly drained, like much of her strength had disappeared with the water from her shower. Oh well, she'd just have to push on through – she'd done it before while working in the ER. Putting on clean underwear and a bra, she set about finding a pair of cargos and a tank top to wear.
Knock, knock…"Brenner," came the irritated voice of her boss before he stepped into the room
"Dr. Keeton!" Lily stood in front of Keeton, yet again in a state of undress – it was beginning to become a habit. Quickly grabbing her wet towel off the hook on the wall, she wrapped it around her half-dressed body.
"What are you doing out of bed? You should still be resting." His frustration was apparent, but Lily was unsure of the cause. "As a doctor, you should know that you'd experience weakness and fatigue after a high-grade fever. What if you passed out walking back here? What then?" Keeton was just getting started. "You don't think that we have enough to do back at the clinic than search the jungle looking for your body? You, of all people, should know how unforgiving the jungle is."
"Hey, wait a minute," came Lily's shocked reply. "You may be my boss, but you aren't my keeper. I appreciate you taking care of me last night – pulling the teeth from my arm and giving up your bed for me, but I'm fully capable of taking care of myself." Lily's mounting frustration was a match for Keeton's.
"Like you took care of yourself yesterday, allowing your bite to get infected like that? You should have left the OR yesterday to take care of it when I told you to." Keeton could feel the hole he was digging getting deeper and deeper, but was powerless to stop. This day could have started so much differently if she would have just stayed in his bed.
Wait…she said that I gave up my bed for her. So, she doesn't remember anything? Keeton knew that she probably wouldn't, but had hoped otherwise. She has no clue about the sweet agony she'd put him through or how much of himself he'd lost to her last night. Truth be told, there was a part of him that was disappointed. Thinking about how he must seem like a raving lunatic to her right about now, Keeton made an effort to calm down.
"Brenner, last night you were out of your mind with fever. How did you think that I felt when I walked into my room this morning to find you gone? Your fever had broken during the night, but finding you gone this morning was still concerning. You don't know how much of a challenge it was last night to get you to settle. Your sleep was pretty fitful, so I thought you'd welcome the chance to sleep in this morning." Sounded reasonable enough.
Lily visibly calmed down with Keeton's words and change in tone. "I didn't realize how high-maintenance I must have been last night. It may not have sounded like it, but when I said that I appreciated you taking care of me and giving up your bed last night, I really meant it. I know that probably the last thing you wanted was to have to take care of one of your new employees, especially after a long day."
"It wasn't so bad, Brenner – it had its' moments," he replied with a little smile, his gaze locking with hers. As he held Lily's gaze, Keeton fought the urge to walk her backwards toward the bed and finish what she was so intent on starting last night. Clearing his throat, he offered, "Why don't you go back to bed for a few hours and then see how you feel. If, at that point, you feel ready to come back to work, you know where we are." It was really all that he could ask for, and probably all that he would get from her in terms of relaxation.
Somehow, after being trapped by Keeton's gaze for those few moments, Lily had a feeling that something had shifted between them, but had nothing tangible to attribute it to. Just like her brief flashes, it was just a feeling she had.
Keeton took a step toward Lily and placed the back of his hand against her forehead, holding it in place for a few moments. To her what seemed like Keeton checking her temperature was actually satisfying his need to touch her. Turning over his hand so that his palm was against her skin, Keeton gently stroked his way from her cheekbone to her jaw, his thumb and eyes coming to rest on her lower lip. Her surprise evident, Lily held her breath waiting for what was to follow.
Keeton dropped his hand and stepped back. "Get some rest. I'll come and check on you later," his softly accented voice instructed before he turned and headed out Lily's door and back to the clinic.
Lily's softly expelled breath was the only sound in the room.
Four hours later, Lily made her way to the clinic feeling relatively rested, but unnerved by what had transpired in her cabin. Not only were Keeton's actions from this morning confusing, but also had her dreams been during her nap. They'd been filled with Dr. Ben Keeton and the beautiful things he'd been doing to her body – deep, soul-shattering kisses, calloused hands against her soft skin, talented fingers bringing her to release. She was a wreck and had to get out of her cabin – out of her own head.
What was so confusing was that Lily wasn't sure that it had all been a dream. Something that vivid couldn't just be supposition or wishful thinking, could it? It had all felt so…familiar. He would have said something if it had all been real, wouldn't he? She had to find him – to ask him, otherwise she'd just be going over and over it inside her head and that kind of distraction could be potentially deadly to her patients.
She arrived at the steps of the clinic, only to find the man of her dreams standing on the veranda – his usual stethoscope around his neck and patient's chart in his hands. As if sensing her presence, Keeton's head turned in Lily's direction, his green eyes fastening on her blue ones. Nerves had Lily breaking eye contact, but internally strengthening her resolve, she climbed the clinic steps to stand on the veranda beside Keeton, Zee and Cole.
"Welcome back, Brenner," was Keeton's greeting. "I hope you're well rested, because we've been slammed for most of the morning."
"I'm good to go, Dr. Keeton – ready to work," was Lily's reply, her awkwardness fading as the familiar surroundings gave her comfort and confidence. Here, she had a measure of control – she knew what was expected of her and could think on her feet with the many and varied situations the jungle threw at her. Looking around her at the people on the veranda, she smiled. She could handle this.
Then, a loud voice from behind Keeton, "Who do you have to sleep with around here to get the morning off work?"
Lily's and Keeton's eyes snapped to meet each other – shock evident in both of their gazes.
The voice belonged to Dr. Ryan Clark.