Dr. Micah Barnes is frantic when he enters the emergency room. Doing a quick scan of the area, he makes a beeline for Bay 5 and flings open the curtain, startling the entire group inside.
Emily, dressed in her street clothes, has on latex gloves and is carefully finishing up a line of sutures just above the right eyebrow of a little boy whose red eyes and quivering lip indicate he has only recently stopped crying. A nurse stands on the other side of the exam table bouncing a chattering baby girl.
"What happened?!" Micah demands, the fear in the pit of his stomach making his tone much sharper than he intended.
"I falled down!" exclaims the little boy excitedly, immediately trying to get up from his seat.
Emily shushes him, forcing him to be still again as she ties off the last stitch. "I think he hit his head on the coffee table" she elaborates. "Although, that ugly crystal vase my mother gave us got broken somehow, so it's possible he ran into the shelves too…maybe bounced off one into the other…"
By this time, Micah has pushed past Emily and has the boy's chin in his hand, examining her work carefully. "You checked for glass?"
"This isn't my first day on the job, Dr. Barnes. Of course I did!" says Emily, a hint of irritation present in her voice.
The nurse clears her throat nervously. "Dr Barnes?"
"Yes?" Emily and Micah both respond, looking at her suddenly.
"I really should be getting back to work…" she stammers, nodding to the baby in her arms who is now squirming happily and reaching for Micah.
"Right. Thanks, Sunny." Says Micah, taking the baby from her.
"Always good to see the kids. Glad everyone's okay." She says quickly as she rushes past.
"All done, Mommy?" asks the little boy hopefully, looking up at Emily.
"All done, Baby." she replies, smoothing back his hair.
But Micah isn't done. "What's the rule about the living room, young man?" he asks sternly coming back to stand before the guilty party as he unconsciously continues to bounce the baby girl in his arms.
"No running." Says the boy, hanging his head guiltily.
"Sweetheart, we have rules for a reason" says Emily crouching down so she is eye level with their son. "Mommy and Daddy don't want you to get hurt like you did today. And we need you to remember that following rules is important, which is why we'll have to talk about a consequence when we get home."
"What's a consequence?" asks the little boy, puzzled.
It's at that moment that Micah's pager goes off. He shifts the baby to his other arm and checks it before looking at Emily ruefully. "I've gotta take this."
"Go!" says Emily. "We'll be fine."
"Yeah?" he says, handing her the baby.
"Yeah." She says confidently, smiling at him.
Micah lifts the little boy's chin again until brown eyes meet brown eyes. "You be good for Mommy the rest of the day. Okay, buddy?"
"Okay, Daddy."
"That's my boy." says Micah, planting a noisy kiss on his head. "I love you."
"And I love you, too" he says more quietly to Emily, kissing her and tickling the baby. "I shouldn't be too late tonight. Whatever you think is fair punishment is fine."
"Okay," Emily calls after him. "Just remember that whatever I choose will be your job to implement tomorrow while I'm here at work!"