"Hey, sorry for coming so late." Hank apologized after knocking at her hotel room.
"Are we going to start making this a thing? You standing at my door?" She joked, one hand gripping the door.
"Yeah, maybe." Hank looked amused. "But not for long, right?" Grabbing a few papers, he set his bag on the floor.
"Right." She opened the door so he could step into the hotel room for privacy to discuss her results. "So what's the verdict?"
"Everything checks out and you're clear to go."
"Just like that, I'm clear to go?"
"How do I put it nicely? Most likely because of your busy schedule and changing diet, you weren't taking the best care of yourself, which isn't really like you. Don't get all excited at once now."
Jill closed her eyes as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sorry, it's just been a really long day."
He looked over at the open suitcase on the floor. "Going somewhere?"
"Yeah, I'm checking out of this hotel."
"Oh?" Hank gave a raise of his eyebrow. "And going where exactly?"
"Back to Carina's. She felt bad that I felt the need to come to a hotel after traveling all this way. That and she understood that my brother can be a little intense sometimes."
"Sounds like some people don't want you to leave."
"Join the crowd. I've been hearing that a lot lately."
Putting his bag down, he sat by her on the edge of the bed. "I guess the question is do you want to leave?"
"I don't know, Hank. I mean it feels like a waste if I gave up our relationship and my job, put my house for sale and left my family and friends for something that I've wanted to do for years."
He met her gaze with a gentle smile. "The way I like to think of it, is that sometimes we have to experience something before we truly find out whether its important to us."
"Is that what you first thought when Evan dragged you to the Hamptons?"
"No, that is not what I thought when Evan dragged me here. In fact, it took me awhile to see that he wasn't crazy. Now I thank him for it because it has been surprisingly the most rewarding adventure that I have ever been on."
That caused her to laugh a little. "I'm glad you see it that way." Her eyes searched his with a hopeful spark of wonder as he leaned in. Their lips collided in the most delightful but hungry way. And when it was all over, it left them wanting more.
"I guess now's a better time than ever to tell you Carina will be here any minute."
His eyebrows rose then fell in slight disappointment. "Right. The sister-in-law who is picking you up to take you back to her house."
"Yeah, this is really starting to suck that I no longer have a car to drive. And If she sees you here, she'll probably ask more questions than we both want." They both shared an amused look as they waited for the elevator.
He held the door for her as she stepped in, the pull of gravity causing their shoulders to bump slightly as they stood next to one another. "About earlier-"
"No need to explain." Hank shifted his bag in his hand. "I think we both just got caught up in the moment." The door slid open and a woman and her son stepped onto the elevator which quieted their conversation.
"Mommy." The boy tugged on his mom's shirt half way through the ride. "I forgot my inhaler."
"I'm sorry. Do you mind if we got back up to the fifth floor?"
"Not at all." Hank pushed the button to go back up and he shared a look with Jill that went along the lines of I guess we'll be stuck with each other for a few minutes longer than we expected. Just as he finished that thought, the elevator lurched to an unsettling stop.
"It's probably nothing." The woman assured her son, giving his hand a tight squeeze. The little boy who was wearing a red polo shirt and dark jeans, knit his brows together with slight worry.
"But Mommy, I need my inhaler." The boy whined, sucking in a breath.
"Christopher, I'm sure we'll be out in a few minutes, okay? Take a deep breath in, and out." The little boy did was he was instructed to do. Hank stepped forward and pushed a few buttons but it was useless, the elevator would not budge.
"I'm probably going to need your help." Hank inquired to Jill in a low voice, his eyes shifting over to the little boy. She peered around him, recognized what the problem was and turned back to Hank.
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm not sure yet." Hank dug around in his bag to assess what he had brought with him. "But if we don't get out of here soon, I'll have to think of something." Looking over the elevator buttons, he looked for a possible call button or way out but there didn't seem to be much of an option.
By this time the mom and her little boy were sitting down on the floor. "Christopher? You hang on, okay? We're getting out of here."
Christopher raised his chin and looked up at his mom. "I really don't feel well."
"Christopher, my name is Hank and this is Jill."
"Hi, Christopher." Jill greeted with the most comforting smile that she could muster.
"Hi. This is my mom, Jody." The little boy introduced, wrapping his arm around her neck and placing a small kiss on her cheek.
"It's nice to meet you both." The woman nodded but looked particularly drained as she sat against the elevator wall. "You two a couple?"
"Uh, I would like to think of us more as good friends." Hank said tensely, meeting Jill's gaze to make sure he was correct with his assumption.
Jill nodded back to him, understanding his unspoken question as they stood next to one another. "Actually Hank is a doctor. The only reason he was here at the hotel was he was checking up on me."
"He was?" Christopher inquired weakly as he scrunched his nose up. Jill nodded as she sat down a few feet away from them. "Are you a doctor too?"
"Close. I was a hospital administrator."
"I think you just made his day. He's always wanted to run a hospital." Jody smiled, although her eyes fluttered closed as her chest heaved back and forth. "That or be a doctor."
"Jody, do you also have asthma?" Hank asked, concern lacing in the tone of his voice.
"No." She shook her head back and forth. "I'm kind of claustrophobic. Usually I take the stairs but decided it would be quicker to take the elevator so we could meet my brother at the restaurant down the street. I'm not sure what I was thinking."
"You probably weren't thinking you weren't going to be stuck in an elevator today." Hank joked, bringing out his stethoscope.
"No, I didn't. Do him first. He probably needs it more than I do." Jody told him in one breath as Hank kneeled down on the elevator floor.
"I'll see if our phone has a connection." Jill mentioned, taking her phone out of her pocket.