XIII. Jabberwocky
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
-Lewis Carroll
"Let's begin the sun salutation sequence," Hope's melodic voice sounded in the studio. She stood straight in the first position in her yoga outfit, correction, maternity clothing outfit. Her sleek raven hair was pulled up into a ponytail. Moving to the next position she said, "Exhale. Bend your knees, and remember to keep your feet wide and parallel."
Yoga always helped center Maria who was in the first row in a room of some twenty women and men, not all pregnant. Chet, another instructor, walked in the middle of the rows, assisting people who needed it. He wore drawstring pants and a tight black tank. He was easily a distraction for some of the ladies.
Maria oomphed, feeling the weight. Luckily, Chet was there to help her. She smiled thanks. It was her third trimester so it was understandable that some of the positions would be increasingly difficult for her. Positions that compressed the belly were not recommended, and Maria never pushed herself to exhaustion.
Soon, the sequences were over and Hope began to take everyone into a cool down. They ended in a standing pose, arms up, palms together, taking soothing breaths.
"That was a good one, Hope," Maria said five minutes later when people were filing out.
The pregnant Mrs. Parry grinned. "Thanks. How are you? I noticed you lost your balance." Her brow was furrowed with concern.
"Oh, yeah," Maria replied, rubbing her stomach. "I think I'll definitely have to start decreasing my yoga time."
She smirked. "Please, at least you made it this far. Pogue always manages to oh-so subtly insert his disapproval about my instructing."
Maria tsked and shook her head. "Boys."
"Hey, come on, ladies," Chet interjected, muscles rippling beneath his shirt. "Can you blame a guy for wanting his woman to take it easy?"
"His woman?" Hope repeated. "I think you might want to reword that statement." Chet laughed and she swatted him on the arm…just as Pogue walked in. She saw his smile momentarily waver, but he got it under control.
"Hey, babe," he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "Hi, Maria. Chet."
Chet offered his hand and Pogue took it.
"I'm going to go see how Vita's doing," he said. Vita was the newest self-defense instructor. "Talk to you later."
When Chet was out of earshot Pogue managed to relax his shoulders.
"Smooth, Pogue," Maria said. "Your eyes didn't even turn green."
Pogue pulled a face. "You're lucky you're family, Diz," he told her, using the diminutive she'd acquired in high school. "So, do I get to take two lovely ladies out to lunch?"
"Ty's not coming?" Maria questioned, her joy deflating.
"Yeah…" Pogue trailed off. "Um, he tried to call you, but I guess you were in the middle of your session. He's really swamped today." He glanced at his wife.
Maria nodded. She understood. Two weeks ago had been their first Lamaze class, and Tyler had been there for every one since, despite being late a few times. "Well, okay." She shrugged. It was only Tyler's lunch hour, he'd be home for dinner. And he had Thanksgiving Day off, hopefully.
"I'll get your coats," Pogue said, leaving the two women.
"Sorry, Maria," Hope said, putting her arm around her.
"I'm fine, really," she insisted. "Just hormones, I promise." It wasn't a complete white lie of avoidance. The closer the due date, the more anxious and excited she became. She was more eager for Tyler to be near her, and when he wasn't…
Pogue came back with their jackets, and ever the gentleman helped both of them. He opened the car door (he and Hope had gotten a car for the winters) for them. "Where to?"
xx
His phone beeped and he took a minute to check it, hoping it was from Maria and she wasn't too disappointed. It was, and she wasn't. She texted that she would see him at home and to drive safely because Rowan said a slight storm was coming. Tyler was sorry himself that he missed lunch with Maria, but a young boy, Kelvin, had once again come in with a broken bone.
Tyler had an entire file of x-rays the six year old had accumulated this year alone. Kelvin's mother was quiet with dark circles under her eyes, wary, but obviously loved her son. It didn't stop Tyler from suspecting that someone was being physically abusive to Kelvin. His mother insisted he was just very active and uncoordinated…then pretty much rushed out of the hospital after Tyler set Kelvin's ankle.
He then confided in his superior, who had said he'd also seen his fair share of children who were 'active' and 'uncoordinated.' It was difficult, but Tyler did what he felt he had to do and called Child Protective Services.
Tyler pocketed his phone and shut his locker. He said bye to another colleague who was heading home after a long night shift.
"Say hi to your wife for me," he said.
"I will, thanks," Tyler replied.
The youngest Son rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
"Need a massage?" Serena queried.
Tyler nearly jumped. "Uh…"
"Relax, just kidding," she assured him. Serena plopped down on the bench next to him. "Hiding out?"
"Checking a message."
She nodded. Quiet, then, "It's sad about Kelvin."
He sat up straight, turned his head towards her without saying anything. It was awful to think that Serena was doing the sympathetic bit to get closer to him, so he shook that idea off. "Yeah."
"A kid's parents should love him."
"But that's not always the case."
"No, it isn't." She tried a smile. "But your kid's going to be really lucky, having such a great dad."
"And mom," Tyler added, the mention of both of them giving him something to look forward to. He checked his watch. Five more hours of his shift provided everything went okay.
"Did you eat?" Serena asked.
"I…no, I was talking to CPS and…"
"Well, let's go." She stood up. "Doctors need energy too."
He hesitated. Maybe he was being overly paranoid in thinking that Serena was hitting on him. She had her own life, right? And that attempt at a kiss happened so long ago. What harm could lunch do? Lunch in a crowded cafeteria in the hospital. And seeing how it was getting hectic, they'd likely be paged before they took their first bites.
"Sure, okay," he finally answered.
xx
When Maria got home she showered, taking her time under the hot water. After, she put on a pair of draw string pants, a tank top, and one of Tyler's old button-down shirts. She combed out her long hair, braided it, slipped her feet into some slippers and went to the nursery. Looking around, she sighed contentedly at the finished product. It held elements of Where the Wild Things Are, Dr. Seuss characters, and fantasy.
"You'll be in here soon Alexander," she crooned to her stomach. "And hopefully Daddy will be able to get home on time tonight."
Maria was already missing him, she felt an irrational swell of emotion in wanting to see him, but tamped it down. Silly hormones. There was always a good reason when Tyler backed out of an arranged date. The telephone rang then, and Maria waddled back to her bedroom for the cordless on the nightstand.
"You did not answer your cell," Pinkie's voice chastised.
"Sorry," she said, picking up said cellular from the bed. "I turned the ringer off when I was having lunch with Hope and Pogue."
"No Tyler?"
"No, he had an emergency."
"Oh, well. Doctors. Can you imagine, he'll probably, like, win a Nobel Prize one day."
Maria smiled. "I wouldn't be surprised."
"Okay, anyway, I called to see if you were feeling up to going over a few more details for the baby shower." It was this Friday.
"Did someone cancel? The caterer?"
"God, no!" Pinkie exclaimed. "You would so hear about it on the news if they did. I can't have that. No, decoration placement. We can go over it on the phone or I can come over."
"Come over," she said, maybe a bit too quickly.
"Will do." There was a beat of silence. "Are you feeling okay, sweetie? I mean, really."
She heard the concern in her friend's voice, stifled a sigh. "Yeah." Maria looked out the window, the amassing clouds. "Better hurry, Pinkie. Storm's coming."
xx
"I wish you would take it easy, Hope," Pogue said as she wrapped a soft blue towel around her body.
She half-frowned at him indulgently. "The doctor said I am fine, Pogue. Fine." She wiped the steam off of the bathroom mirror, then began to comb her long hair out. Hope studiously ignored Pogue's discontented face behind her. "Thank you for lunch, sweetie."
He grinned, amused. "I can take longer lunches every day."
"Don't you dare, Pogue E. Parry," she chastised, finally turning around. Pogue worked with his parents at the Parry aviator franchise. Both Hope and Pogue had their pilot's licenses, as well. "Honey, why are you so worried?" She was serious now, standing in front of him with her hands on his broad shoulders.
Pogue sighed. "I just want you and our baby to be okay."
"We are," she promised. "You've been with me every doctor visit, has she ever been displeased?"
"No," he admitted grudgingly. But she was five months pregnant…things could go wrong from here to whenever.
"Come here." Hope led him into their bedroom and sat him down on the bed. "Talk to me." She peered into his blue eyes. "You're thinking about Rowan, aren't you?" Hope never begrudged Pogue's love for Rowan; it was one of the things that had attracted her to him in the first place. They weren't even blood related, but Pogue acted as if Rowan were his very own sister.
"You know me too well," he said wryly. He kissed her. "I'll try to worry less. Or at least try not to show it." They both chuckled.
"Love you," she said.
"Love you, too," he replied, kissing her again. "You look sexy in that towel, by the way. You wearing that to dinner?"
Hope laughed. "I don't think it's proper attire for a dinner with your parents."
Wayne and Beatrice Parry were coming home from two weeks out of the country and had planned supper for the four of them. The Parrys loved Hope like their own, and thought she was the perfect match for their son.
"I think I'll have a snack before we go though, I'm starving."
"You just had lunch two hours ago."
"I'm eating for two!"
She traded the towel for a robe, Pogue followed her into the kitchen where his wife ruffled through the refrigerator.
"Ooh, jackpot," she said gleefully, taking out last night's leftover Chinese food. "Whoever said chow mein doesn't taste good cold…" Hope shook her head in obvious disagreement. "So, what do you think is going on between Diz and Tyler? She looked more than disappointed that he missed lunch."
Pogue shrugged a shoulder. "He's been working a lot. I hope it's not that Serena chick."
Hope's face scrunched, remembering that debacle. She swallowed the last of the chow mein.
Seeing her furrowed brow, he was quick to assure her, "Hey, I'm sure it's nothing. She's near the end of her pregnancy, hormones are all over the place." The crook of his index finger caressed her face. "Tyler would never skip something with Maria unless he had to."
She smiled softly. "You're the expert on female hormones now?"
"Baby, I haven't done this much reading since college."
xx
"Come in! Sit down, Hope," Wayne Parry insisted. He led her into the dining room where he had a throw pillow already on a seat for her. He fluffed it and situated it behind her back.
"You know, the family resemblance between you and Pogue is never-ending," Hope joked. "Thank you."
"She won't listen to me," Pogue said, taking his seat next to her.
Beatrice Parry laughed. "Oh, your father acted the exact same way towards me." Her voice became distant when she went into the kitchen, adjacent to the dining area. "How are you, dear?"
"Great," Hope replied, smiling.
"Will we be getting another picture soon?" Wayne asked, filling their wine glasses; cider for Hope, of course. Both he and Beatrice had the sonogram picture in their cockpits along with other family photos.
"Yeah," Pogue answered. "He's only getting bigger."
"Do you need any help, Bea?" Hope called.
"No, honey, don't you move!" she said.
"I'll help," Wayne said, getting up.
Fifteen minutes later the family was sitting and eating. They had a natural bond and Hope fit in seamlessly from day one. She shared the Parrys innate love for adventure and excitement, the thrill of trying new things while facing them head on. It was the family she had once had before her parents died.
"Are you two any closer to finding a house?" Beatrice asked casually, receiving a sideways stare from her husband.
"We've been looking," Pogue said. "Nothing we really like."
"No homey feeling yet," Hope added.
Beatrice glanced at Wayne. "That's too bad."
"Bea," Wayne started.
"There's plenty of room here," his wife went on.
Both Hope and Pogue's brows shot up in surprise.
Wayne said softly to his wife, "We said we were going to wait, honey."
"I know!" she exclaimed. "But this is home, and it's certainly big enough for all of us."
"Wait, what are you saying, Mom? You want us to live here?" Pogue asked.
His parents went quiet and seemed to exchange an entire conversation with just their eyes. Wayne said, "We weren't going to butt in."
Beatrice waved that excuse off. "I don't see why you guys are looking for a house when you come here so often and feel so comfortable here." She looked at both of them. "How nice would it be to not have to travel back and forth?"
Now it was the younger couples turn to eye one another.
"And you know this estate goes to you and Hope when we die," Beatrice said.
"Are you sick?" Pogue questioned immediately. "Dad? Mom?"
"No!" Wayne insisted. "Nothing. Your mom and I are healthy as horses."
They breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared us," Hope said.
"Sorry, Hope," she said.
"We weren't really going to bring this up," Wayne apologized. "It was just something we talked about briefly, really."
"We…We couldn't intrude," Hope grappled for words while thinking about what it would be like to live here. She loved Pogue's house, it was big, warm despite the vast space. It had history. But surely they couldn't just come and live here and…
"You wouldn't be!" Beatrice assured her. "No decisions need to be made here and now. Just…think about it. It doesn't even have to be permanent. Just a bigger place for you two and the baby." She smiled. Wayne squeezed her hand under the table. "And us."
xx
Maria waited anxiously on the couch in the sitting room that looked out to the front of the house. Pinkie had left a half hour ago; all their plans were set and finalized for the baby shower. After, Maria went about making dinner (pasta and garlic bread), now she only needed Tyler to complete everything. She hoped his work day had gone well, she knew her husband could become stressed from the things he encountered on even a regular work day. He put so much of himself into what he did and the result wasn't always thankful.
Five minutes later she saw Tyler's headlights coming around the corner. She had to actually maneuver herself off of the couch with the extra weight she was carrying, and she could hear Tyler's door closing by the time she reached the door. When he came in a blast of cold wafted in the foyer and abruptly ceased.
"Hey, honey!" she greeted.
Tyler smiled, bent down to kiss her. "You look excited about something."
She shrugged. "Just glad you're home."
His head tipped to the side. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I just…" How silly did she sound now? "I made dinner."
He hung up his coat and followed her into the kitchen. "I'm sorry about lunch."
"That's okay, don't worry about it."
The kitchen smelled good, and Tyler felt his stomach rumble. Like he'd predicted, he'd been paged in the middle of his 'lunch' at the hospital. But that was par for the course.
"Hey." He made his wife pause for a moment, the crook of his finger gentle under her chin. "I really am sorry about lunch."
"I understand, Ty. I know you had a good reason," she told him. Maria checked the pots on the stove and the bread in the oven. It was ready, so she slipped on an oven mitt and extricated the bread from its heated niche.
Tyler got out the plates, forks and glasses and set them out. Soon they were eating and Maria was telling him about the finalizations of the baby shower, and he smiled seeing her so enthusiastic. Not that he wasn't, but he knew the baby shower was more of a female thing.
"How was your day?" Maria asked.
Tyler hesitated, chewing, not wanting to sour the mood.
"What happened?"
A half-smile twitched the corner of his lips. She knew him too well. So, slowly, he told her about the kid, and CPS. Always, she listened attentively in silence, compassionately.
"…Serena said that she went through this at the previous hospital she worked at," he went on, "hopefully it's taken care of quietly for the child's sake."
An irrational twinge of jealousy came when she heard Serena's name, but Maria managed to suppress it well. This was no time for pettiness in the midst of the dilemma her husband had found himself in.
"You did the right thing," she told him.
"Thanks." A few people had told him that today, but it felt extra nice and reassuring hearing it from Maria. "I worry that…what if I was wrong?"
She shook her head. "You followed your instincts, and didn't act rashly. You wouldn't have made the call unless something inside of you was certain that little boy was being abused." Maria gasped suddenly, hand flying to her stomach.
"Are you all right?" Tyler asked, instantly on alert.
She exhaled. "Whoo. Yeah. Just a really strong kick."
"Have you been having cramps?" he questioned.
"No."
"Sweetheart, I think you've been too active. Maybe you need to take it easy."
"Ty-"
"Let me take your blood pressure." Before she could reply he was up and in the foyer getting his medical bag where his blood pressure monitor was. "Is the fetal Doppler in the bedroom?"
"Tyler, really, I'm fine," she said, coming into the foyer where he was just about to ascend the stairs.
"Maria, please." He shuffled her to the living room and sat her down on the couch. He put the blood pressure monitor on her and began to assess her carefully.
"Normal?" she said when he was finished.
"Hmm."
Maria cupped his face between each of her soft palms. "It was just a kick. Alex is big and still has some growing to do. You know that Dr. Simms."
He chuckled. "Right." Tyler looked at her deeply. "It's different when it's someone you love though."
She caressed his cheek. There were dark smudges under his eyes; his long day was catching up to him. "You're tired, Tyler Bear."
He 'hmmphed.'
"Tell you what; I'll clean up the kitchen. We'll worry about the dishes tomorrow. We can go upstairs."
"I got a better idea." He helped her up. "Did you take your daily bubble bath?"
"No…just a warm shower."
"Good. I will clean up the kitchen. You draw the bath."
"And you'll join me?"
"Definitely. Give me ten minutes."
She gave a girlish squeal, pecked him on the lips and went upstairs. Maria started the bath; put some aromatherapy in the water along with the bubbles. She began to light some soothing candles, hoping it would help Tyler's nerves. They were new, however, and she couldn't remember the order she was supposed to light them in.
"Darn."
She waddled hurriedly to the bedroom for her cell phone and hit the pre-programmed number for Rowan. Rowan answered on the second ring.
"Row!" Maria exclaimed in a hushed whisper, though why she was whispering she didn't know.
"Maria? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she was quick to assure her. "You know those candles you gave me? What order was I supposed to light them in again? Because, you know, Ty came home about an hour ago and he had to call CPS today, and he's really, like, stressed, and he needs to relax."
"That's awful," Rowan replied.
"What is?" Reid's voice came through the phone.
"Row!" Maria called her attention.
"Sorry, Diz." Rowan told her the order of the candles, and they hung up quickly after. Maria had the bath ready by the time Tyler came upstairs.
xx
Tyler checked the clipboard file outside the door. He had a few hours of clinic duty he needed to finish. It was late-morning. His brow furrowed the further he went down the paper.
"Gaylord Weenis…" he muttered. Well, he'd heard stranger names. Tyler walked into the room, head still down perusing the file. "Mr. Weenis…"
"Doc!" Reid exclaimed, and Tyler's head snapped up. The blonde was grinning profusely at the startled expression on his friend's face. He hopped off the bed. "What's up?"
"Reid, what the hell?" Tyler demanded both baffled and amused. He made sure to close the door so none of his colleagues witnessed this.
"If that's how you greet your patients, it's a serious wonder how you got voted Doctor of the Month," he quipped. "I might have to file a complaint."
"Oh, yeah," Tyler mocked dryly, "like on your chart here? Gluteus maximus pains? Do you even know what the gluteus maximus is?"
Reid chuckled. "It sounded good." He took a moment to observe his oldest friend. Yeah, Baby Boy had some dark smudges under his eyes, those troubled, tiny wrinkles fanning out at the corner of his eyes as well. Other than that, Tyler had the usual affable, kind stance to his body, genial and approachable.
"What are you doing here?" Tyler asked, taking a seat. "Everything okay? Row? Luke?"
"Yeah, Row's fine. Luke's great," Reid replied.
"How's your…" Tyler made a subtle gesture at Reid's nether regions.
"Ah. My family jewels are doing good. Stitches came out, now…"
"You have to wait for the zero sperm count," he finished.
Reid nodded. He had gone ahead with the vasectomy. His parents had been sad, worried, slightly disappointed that there would be no more grandchildren before quickly dismissing that one bit and exclaiming that they'd just spoil their one and only rotten. Rowan's health was far more important. The entire family had gathered around with support. He'd gone home after the surgery and rested, bruised and stitched, but otherwise okay. Rowan catered to him like always, but more so as if he were an invalid. He knew she still felt like this was partially her fault, and he was always quick to tell her otherwise. They weren't allowed to make love right away (that did not stop them from fooling around), the doctor said it could take up to two months before a sperm count of zero would occur, and Reid had to go in for frequent tests. He had no regret of his decision.
"So, what are you here for?" Tyler asked again.
"Christ, can't I just come see my friend?" Reid argued. "I haven't seen you in almost two weeks."
"I'm touched," Tyler grinned wryly.
"Nah, seriously, let's go out to lunch."
His brow rose. "I can't just leave."
"Fine. Let's go to the cafeteria."
The doctor's head tipped slightly to the side. He was just about to answer when the door sounded with a brief rap before it opened.
"Hey, Ty, I thought we'd go out for lunch. You game…?" Serena stopped short, seeing he was with a patient. Her mouth opened in a tiny 'o.'
Reid cocked an eyebrow, his blues hard on the woman before flicking to Tyler.
Tyler cleared his throat. "Uh…Serena this is Reid. Reid, Serena."
"Right," Reid said, not offering his hand. People often assumed that Reid's relations with his friends were casual, but his devil-may-care attitude shouldn't be taken at face value. He was fiercely loyal, 'ill-tempered' as he would say, and didn't like anyone messing with his family. And Serena has messed with his family. He knew a manipulative woman when he saw one.
"I think we've met once," Serena said kindly, having the good grace to rouge at her gaff.
"Hmm." Reid crossed his arms over his chest. "Hate to disappoint you, but I already got Ty," – he said the name with an edge of irony- "booked for lunch."
"Reid," he calmly censured. He turned to Serena apologetically. "I did agree to go to lunch with Reid."
Serena nodded furtively. "Of course. Another time. Sorry to interrupt. Talk to you later, Tyler." She quickly left.
"Yeah, bye," Reid mocked when she was gone, not caring if she heard him. "'Ty?' You guys that familiar?"
Tyler sighed a bit, shrugged.
Reid let it go. "Dude…you kind of look like shit."
This made Tyler laugh. His best friend, blunt as always. The blond pretty much commandeered Tyler's person and told him to lead the way to the cafeteria, even though he knew where it was. He had spent many a night and day here whenever Rowan was ill. They went through the line and sat in a corner by the window ten minutes later. The sky was pure blue today, and even though the sun was shining it was colder than a witch's tit outside.
They ate in silence for several minutes. Reid's intense eyes were on Tyler, not at all wondering why he was so good with his patients. Even as he got older he maintained a boyish air to his face and smile that could easily put others at ease. The blond knew Tyler had wanted to be a doctor for as long as he could remember, and not just because both of his parents were in the medical field. Vaguely, because Reid had been young, he recalled Tyler crying because he was scared Rowan was going to die. And as was his way, a six year old Reid had scrunched up his face in peevishness and said, "Row's not gonna die. Don't be dumb, Ty!" Present day Reid's lips twitched at the memory.
"You usually get to the point," Tyler spoke.
Reid pulled a face. "Jeez, you're impatient." He chewed, swallowed, shrugged. "Nah, when Diz called last night to ask Rowan about which order to light the candles, she said you had to call CPS and you were stressed out."
"Oh." Well, those candles, and mostly Maria, had dissipated said stress. But the CPS issue wasn't going to go away. "It's nothing to worry about."
"Come on, Baby Boy, I know you. You're going over every second of that encounter in your head."
Tyler put down his plastic fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Yeah, well."
"And not just CPS, either," Reid went on nibbling at his food casually. "Something at home? Serena?"
His eyes narrowed. "This has nothing to do with Serena." And it really didn't. "I…I don't think I'm home enough for Maria. Something was troubling her when I came home last night, and I don't know what it was. Then she started telling me about the baby shower and got so animated that I thought I was imagining it."
"She probably just missed you," Reid provided. "The hormones, you know? Rowan was getting like that, too; wanting me to be close by. A little anxious if I wasn't." He hadn't minded.
"Maybe I could try to cut down some of my hours," Tyler said more to himself than Reid. But the holidays, things just got so swamped during this time, and even if he did lower his hours, no doubt he would be getting emergency calls at home to come in because extra help was pertinent.
Reid didn't know what to tell him. He'd had the luxury of not having to work several hours a day and leaving Rowan to her devices in the mean time during her pregnancy. And the blond knew that Tyler was afraid of disappointing Maria again, of losing her. He'd never seen Tyler so wrecked during that two month separation four years ago.
"Tell you what, Baby Boy," Reid proposed. "Why don't Rowan and I keep Maria occupied during the days, you know? So she's not by herself."
Tyler blinked. "Yeah?" That probably would make Maria feel better. Rowan was always good at soothing people, and Reid, well, when he said he would keep someone distracted, he could definitely get that job done. "That would be great. Thanks."
He shrugged magnanimously. "Now that we got that squared away." Bite. Chew. Swallow. "What's with this Serena? I thought we agreed you'd try to stay away from her?"
"There's nothing with Serena.'
"Uh huh…" Reid screwed up his face, then said in a mock-falsetto, "Hey, Ty, I thought we'd get lunch…"
Not amused, Tyler stabbed his salad. "We'd just been talking, you know, about the CPS case a lot. She knows what it's like."
Bland eyes stared at his sadly good-natured friend, shaking his head in disappointment. "Are you sure she's been through a CPS case? She could just be making it up to get closer to you."
"That wouldn't be anything to joke about," Tyler said seriously.
Reid agreed, but: "Some chicks will do anything to reel in a guy. She took advantage of you four years ago-"
"She did not-"
"Because women like her know no boundaries once they get fixated on someone."
"You're overreacting, Reid."
"Sure. Sure. Bury your head in the sand. I'm telling you… Stop being chummy with her, no more lunches."
Tyler rolled his eyes. "It's insulting that you'd think I would be unfaithful to Maria."
"I don't. I know you'd never do anything to…purposely hurt Maria. But, I think if this 'innocent' acquaintance with Serena goes on, something will happen to make you feel guilty, and Maria will know it."
His pager vibrated, saving himself from forming a response. He checked it. "Sorry, Reid, I-"
Reid waved off the apology. They stood up, Reid gave him a man-hug complete with a few pats on the back. "Go save lives, Doctor."
And what's Tyler to do now, really?
I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving if you celebrate it.
Feedback is always welcome. (Is anyone even still reading this?)