Martin walked up to his porch, his heart heavy. He trudged up the steps, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He clutched the cold, brass handle and hesitantly turned the circular knob. The door creaked open as he quietly walked in the door. He shut the heavy wooden door behind him, pressing his back against the door. He leaned his head back and sighed.
"Daddy! Daddy!" a high voice squealed.
Martin lifted his head and smiled seeing his little girl come running toward him. Her sapphire eyes sparkled as she laughed. Martin knelt down on one knee and scooped his daughter up in his arms. She grinned ear to ear as she sat on his knee.
"How was work today Daddy?" she asked, beaming.
Martin faked a smile, "It was good sweetie."
"Oh that is great Daddy!" his daughter grinned.
Martin nodded his head; his throat dry, as he looked at his daughter's smiling face. He had failed her. He looked up as he saw Feliciana standing in the entry to the kitchen.
Feliciana smiled as she leaned her head against the white wall; watching her husband and daughter.
"Why don't you go play in your room Isabelle, I need to talk to Mommy," Martin gently whispered, brushing a strand of his daughter's black hair behind her ear.
Isabelle frowned, "Ok."
Isabelle jumped off her father's lap and walked up the stairs to her room. Martin listened to her door click shut and stood up. Feliciana smiled as she saw Martin.
"How was work today?" Feliciana asked.
Martin walked over to his wife, every step feeling like he was walking through hardening cement.
Feliciana quickly realized something was wrong.
"Martin what is wrong? What happened?!" Feliciana whispered.
Martin refused to make eye contact as he looked down at the gray carpet.
"Martin," Feliciana repeated.
Martin still looked down. He couldn't bring himself to look his darling Feliciana in the eyes. He didn't want her disappointment; he didn't want her to worry.
"Martin, tell me right now. What is wrong?" Feliciana demanded.
Martin knew that tone and he knew that he had to tell her, no matter the consequences. He looked up at her anxious face. Her brown eyes were searching his face for answers. He gently grabbed her hand and held it for a moment.
"Feliciana, I'm afraid today was, not a very good day at work," Martin began to explain.
"Why? Did the patient die? The one you were really worried about?" Feliciana asked.
"No darling, he is alive and well. He has a lot of recovery, but he will be fine," Martin quickly replied.
"Then what is it Martin?" Feliciana sighed.
Martin fidgeted under her gaze. He didn't want to break her heart, they already had so much to worry about, and his news would only make things worse.
He took a deep breath, "Feliciana, I was fired today."
Feliciana dropped Martin's hand in shock and took a step back. Her mouth hung open in horror. Martin watched her reaction, deeply pained.
"Martin," Feliciana gasped, "Oh Martin! What did you do?"
Martin nervously shuffled his feet, "Well I broke some rules…"
"Again?!" Feliciana interrupted.
Martin looked down in shame, feeling her piercing stare.
"Martin! We talked about this! I warned you that if you kept breaking the protocols and openly disobeying your boss, you would be fired," Feliciana scolded.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Martin mumbled.
Feliciana ran a slender hand through her black hair, "What rules did you break this time?"
Martin cleared his throat, "I broke the HIPPA laws."
"The HIPPA laws?! Again Martin?! Oh Martin how did you do it this time?" Feliciana asked, clearly distressed.
"I told Mrs. Pane about her husband's condition, even though permission hadn't been granted yet. She deserved to know," Martin stated.
"I know, but we don't make the rules Martin. Now, your kind heart has gone too far! What are we going to do Martin? What about Isabelle? Your little girl is about to start kindergarten. That means we need school supplies and she needs new clothes. What about our bills and food? Martin, what are we going to do? Can you work for another hospital?" Feliciana fretted.
Martin looked down again in embarrassment and shook his head, "No Feliciana, I can't. Apparently my practices were unauthorized. My results are too peculiar and this was one of the best hospitals around here. No hospital is going to hire a fired surgeon."
"Oh Martin, this time you really have gone too far! Are we going to have to move? Do we really have to do that to poor Isabelle?!" Feliciana inquired.
"No. No, because I do have some good news…" Martin desperately protested.
Feliciana raised her eyebrows suspiciously and crossed her arms.
"I was offered another job today, by Mrs. Pane. She wants me to become her husband's care taker," Martin quickly explained, trying to redeem himself.
"A caretaker?" Feliciana asked incredulously.
"Yes, but I'll get paid double my salary. She really wants me to take care of him, in case he needs my extra help..." Martin rambled on.
"Well I suppose it sounds like a good job," Feliciana smiled.
Martin stopped, "But Feliciana, I really don't want to take this job."
Feliciana's eye brows scrunched together and her eyes grew darker. Martin recognized this expression and frantically tried to explain.
"You don't know what he is like!" Martin protested.
"Neither do you," Feliciana pointed out.
"Oh, but he is a business man. Not just any business man, but the CEO of Knights' Furniture! He is stuck up, arrogant, rude, and he thinks that no rules apply to him. I mean he acts like is king of everything!" Martin ranted.
"Well, it sounds like you have a few things in common. As you both think rules don't apply to you," Feliciana interrupted.
Martin froze in place. He knew he was treading on dangerous ground. He needed a job, but surely he wasn't so desperate he had work for such an arrogant man.
Feliciana saw Martin's hesitation and continued, "Martin. You made a mistake and you are lucky we aren't being sued. Not only that, but you are being offered a job that is easier and makes more money. We have Isabelle to think about and we don't have room for your selfish thoughts. So you are going to call Mrs. Pane and tell her you accept the job, for the good of this family."
Martin's mouth hung open in protest, "But Feliciana…"
"No buts. If you don't take this job Martin, you can see how comfortable it is to sleep on our couch," Feliciana threatened.
Martin knew it wasn't an empty threat. As much as he didn't like the idea of working for Alex Pane, he really hated the idea of have Feliciana so mad at him. Besides, this job would be a chance to redeem himself for Feliciana and help Isabelle. Martin knew he had lost the battle.
"Ok, ok. I'll go call her right now," Martin sighed.
Feliciana nodded, "Good. Dinner is waiting for you at the table. You might want to warm it up, after you make that phone call."
Martin nodded in return, "Ok."
Feliciana walked over and gently place a kiss on his cheek.
"I love you Martin, but sometimes I worry about you," Feliciana whispered.
Martin took her hand again, "I know, I love you too."
Feliciana walked away, "I'll warm up your food while you go call Mrs. Pane."
Martin nodded as he took out his blue cellphone. He slowly dialed the number, he paused a moment, and then pushed the green talk button.
Jen slept quietly in the chair, at long last able to sleep. She had struggled to sleep as every dream turned into a nightmare. She worried for Alex, the fact that someone had tried to kill him, had her on edge. She finally sunk into her fitful sleep when her phone started vibrating.
She bolted awake and quickly grabbed her cherry red phone. She answered, feeling very flustered.
"Hello?" she gasped.
"Hello, Mrs. Pane?" a voice asked over the phone.
"Yes." Jen wearily responded.
"Hi Mrs. Pane, this is Dr. Martin. I've called to accept your job offer and I would like to know when the care for your husband starts," Martin's voice stated.
Jen's heart leapt in her chest, as she exclaimed, "Oh! Dr. Martin that is great news! Oh! Alex gets out of the hospital in two days, so you can start at 6:00 am on Thursday."
"Sounds great. I will see you then," Dr. Martin's voice responded.
"Thank you Dr. Martin!" Jen exclaimed again.
"No, thank you Mrs. Pane. Have a good night," Dr. Martin stated.
"You too Dr. Martin," Jen smiled.
She hung up the phone, after hearing a click on the other end. She looked over at her sleeping husband. She didn't really know how she was going to tell Alex, but it was too late. She had already hired Dr. Martin and at 6:00 am, on Thursday, Dr. Martin would sign the contract she had drawn up. She settled back into her chair, her mind at peace.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading. Disclaimer I do not own the characters: Merlin, Freya, Arthur, or Gwen. I do own Isabelle and the other characters. Thank you for your support. Enjoy!