Enjoy!

Book Four: The Nurse and The Officer

By: Rontora

Chapter One

New Beginnings

Mercedes Jones danced around her kitchen as she unpacked a box of dishes, singing along to Lizzo, literally feeling good as hell. This was her fresh start, and she needed it. Getting out of Chicago and moving back to Ohio couldn't have come at a better time for her family since her brother, Mitchell, and sister-in-law Rebecca were called to head out with Doctor Without Borders to Yemen. Usually, they would take her niece Kiera, but being 12 and in so many activities at the middle school, she begged and pleaded not to be uprooted, and her parents agreed.

When Mitchell asked Mercedes to keep his daughter, she jumped at the chance to spend time with one of her favorite people and to get out of Chicago.

She was very proud of her brother; with him being two years older than her, they were actually in med school together, but Mercedes realized that she wanted to be a nurse; she felt she could help more people that way. And ever the amazing big brother, he supported her. He also was glad to get her away from his frat brothers. The Jones siblings, though very close, couldn't have been more different. Mitchell was tall, stoic, and built like a brick house, most people assumed he would go into the NFL, but he wanted to follow in his dad's footsteps.

Mercedes was the opposite, short, curvy, and ever the girly girl. She loved manicures, makeup, getting her hair done, and heels. If her shoes and purse didn't match, she didn't wear them.

She leaned against the counter, grabbing her water bottle as she thought about the previous year. It was very trying for her; from breaking things off with her ex and uprooting herself from her second home to finding a job at Lima General, this move somehow felt right. She had a lot of readjusting, and it took her forever to get Kiera settled into their new routine, but she was finally in a place where she could finish unpacking.

Feeling her phone vibrate, she smiled, leaning against the counter. "We are fine, Mitchell."

"Have you finished unpacking?" He asked through the phone.

"I am doing that as we speak; all that is left is the kitchen stuff."

"Still avoiding mom?"

Mercedes exhaled. "I am not avoiding her; I just don't want to hear 'I told you so' over again. Plus, she's still pretty mad that Kiki is here and not staying with her and dad."

"It was the best decision. Kiki wanted to stay stateside, which only works because you were moving back to Lima." He said. "Plus, mom and dad are retired; they don't need to be raising a teen."

"Yeah, well, to have her tell it, you don't trust her with your daughter. It's not like Kiki won't be over there too; I mean, she goes there after school on the days I work; and every other weekend…I dunno, she just feels like we are ganging up on her."

"Speaking of Kiki, where is she? When I spoke to her earlier, she was heading outside?"

"Yeah, I can call her back in here."

"No, we are about to board; we will video call her when we land."

"Okay," Mercedes said, exhaling.

"Merce, you know what happened wasn't your fault, right? Some things just don't work out; that doesn't make you a bad person." Mitchell said, and he always seemed to know when her mind drifted to Chicago.

Mercedes closed her eyes. "I didn't know he was ready to get married; we hadn't really had that conversation… I mean, for two years, not once did that come up. Of course, it crossed my mind, but I just wasn't ready… the man proposed to me."

"Publically at that…." Mitchell teased, and she rolled her eyes like he could see her.

Mercedes laughed. "To my defense, I whispered the no…."

"Hate to break it to you, baby sis, you were never really good at whispering, and I was there so… that whisper sounded more like a shout. I gotta go, but I love you and tell Kiki the same."

"I love you." Mercedes said as she hung up the phone. Her mind returned to Chicago; she thought she had the world.

Eight Months Ago

Walking into Chicago Medical Center, Mercedes smiled, seeing her longtime boyfriend Craig Harper smiling at the door, waiting for her. She smiled as she got closer. You could have your McSteamy's and McDreamy's, but Craig was that and then some. He was the Attending Heart Surgeon and was as cocky as he was kind. The man had gorgeous icy blue eyes,

"Hey, handsome, I thought you were off today?"

Craig smiled, pulling her close to him. "I am; your shift doesn't start for another 20 minutes. Come with me."

Mercedes laughed. "Boy, do I look like I am gonna go anywhere with you after last week? You told me, 'Oh, give me five minutes, and then I was half an hour late for my shift."

"I won't make you late, I promise…come on." He smiled down at her, and she melted. "Please."

"Fine." She smiled.

Craig took her hand and led Mercedes towards the elevator. As the doors closed, he pulled her close to him. "Tell me, how many times have you made out in this elevator?"

"Every time you get me alone in here." She smiled as he pushed her against the wall and kissed her softly; she smiled happily against his lips. "You do make elevators enjoyable."

As the doors opened, he led her off of the elevator to the surgery floor. She leaned against him, and he kissed her forehead. "We've been together for what? Two years?"

Mercedes nodded. "Two pretty great years; I am happy I was assigned to you your first week here. It was pretty romantic in that surgery room."

He stopped and opened the door, "You mean this surgery room?"

Mercedes turned to see a dozen roses and a small box sitting on the gurney. "Craig…what…"

He pulled her into the room and got down on one knee. "I love you, I love you more than I ever thought possible, and I want to know if you would do me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me."

"Oh, Craig…" She looked and panicked, which is also when she looked up and noticed not only was her family in the viewing room, it was what looked like the entire staff, staring down and waiting for her answer.

"What do you say? Will you marry me?"

She pulled him up and hugged him. "Craig… no." She said softly, hoping no one would hear her.

He pulled away from her. "No? Mercedes, we've been together two years, and neither of us is getting any younger; why won't you marry me?"

She frowned. "I just didn't think we were there yet…we just moved in with each other."

"Clearly, that was a mistake. I thought you loved me, but I guess I was wrong about that too." He said, stalking out of the room.

Mercedes closed her eyes. "I'm sorry." She said more to herself than to him.

Coming back to reality, Mercedes turned the music on as she finished unpacking the boxes, wanting to finish so she could make dinner for Kiki. Tossing the box to the side, she opened the fridge, grabbing the ground turkey and red and green bell pepper; as she closed the door and turned, she came face to face with her niece Kiki and a familiar face that she couldn't place.

Kiera, aka Kiki, as she was known by everyone who loved her, was the perfect blend of both of her parents. Tall and Mocha chocolate like her father, high cheekbones, long flowing hair, and light brown eyes that matched her mother's.

"Kiki, your parents, are on the plane; they said they will call you when they land. So who is your friend?"

"Aunt MJ, This is Bailey; she goes to my school and lives down the street."

Mercedes smiled at the blonde in front of her; she was almost as tall as Kiki, with long blonde hair and pretty green eyes. "That's where I know you from! You live in the blue house. It's nice to meet you, Bailey."

"We have a problem," Kiki said as she nudged Bailey.

The young teen nervously walked up. "Umm, Ms. MJ… Ma'am…"

Mercedes laughed. "Sweetie, you can just call me MJ or Mercedes."

"Okay, my uh Aunt and Grandma are out of town…and I just…I need help."

Mercedes moved closer to them. "What kind of help? I am a nurse, but I will have to call someone if it's serious."

Bailey shook her head. "It's not that kind of help…I am… I'm…"

"She got her period," Kiki said.

Bailey's eyes widened as she stepped back, turning red.

Mercedes could see that she was embarrassed and nodded, not wanting to make her anymore skiddish. "Oh, oh sweetie, it's okay, it's natural. You said your Aunt and grandma are gone but is your mom around?"

Bailey shook her head. "She left when I was a baby… I'm scared, and Kiki said that you could help."

Mercedes nodded. "Of course, I can help you."

"I got her a pad, but she's emotional and sad, and well, you know what it's like…and you helped me," Kiki said.

Mercedes moved closer to the young blonde and gently pulled her into a hug. "I know it's a weird time right now, but you aren't alone. How about you stay with us for dinner, and I will answer all of your questions and show you some tricks to help you."

Bailey hesitated as Mercedes hugged her; she glanced at Kiki and then back to Mercedes. "Ummm, thank you."

Mercedes pulled away and turned to the counter, showing them brownies. "First thing to know about having a period is that chocolate is your friend; it helps; how about you two grab a brownie, sit right here, and I will do my best to answer any question you might have."

The girls took a seat, and Mercedes placed the brownies in front of them, going to grab them glasses of milk. "Okay, fire away."

Bailey looked at her and frowned. "How long does it last?"

"Well, that depends on your body, but in my experience, no less than three days and no more than seven."

"SEVEN!" Bailey exclaimed. "I'm not ready for this."

Mercedes nodded, talking about a brownie herself. "I know it sucks. We got a raw end of this deal. But we get through it with chocolate, heating pads, and romcoms."

Kiki smiled. "MJ is the best at making me feel better on those days."

"I don't have a heating pad or anything that I would need for this. My Aunt said that she would help me." Bailey said softly.

Mercedes nodded. "How about this? I will help you until she gets back, and then she can take over."

Bailey looked at Kiki and then back at Mercedes. "Okay."

"Good, now let's talk about clothes; it's important to tailor your clothes to your period…."

Sam Evans walked through the front door, tugging at his uniform and wanting to fall out and not get up for the next 12 hours. As tired as he was, today wasn't a bad day.

"Bay?!" He called out, kicking off his shoes. As Sergeant of LPD (Lima Police Department), Sam had a lot on his plate; while he was not on patrol anymore, he had to finish up a few reports.

He walked over to the fridge, grabbed a beer, and turned, expecting to see his daughter, but instead, he was met with silence. Looking at the table, he noticed a note.

Dad, I am over Kiki's house with her and her Aunt. Don't worry. The address is 812 Work the Lavender house. Love you, Bay

Sam placed down his beer and grabbed his boots, stuffing his feet into them; he sighed. He warned her to never go to a friend's house that he had never met. His daughter was more intelligent than this. He grabbed his phone, called Bailey's number, and swore when it went off on the book shelve being charged.

Grunting, he walked towards the Lavender house, he never liked it, while the rest of the houses on the street were blue and white, maybe a brown here; whoever this person was colored their home Lavender, was nuts, who did that?

Going to the door, he lifted his hand to knock and stepped back, waiting for an answer. He knocked again and screamed in frustration as he didn't get a response. Hearing the faint sound of the music, he moved to the side of the house.

Walking to the open French doors, he stopped seeing his daughter and two others dancing and singing with cooking spoons as microphones. It was something he had only ever seen her do with his family. Bailey didn't really bond with other women. Ever since her mom left, she didn't trust them, so this was a good surprise for Sam, even if he didn't know the woman.

He watched as the older woman stood in front of the girls and started to sing.

"My persuasion can build a nation, endless power; with our love, we can devour."

The younger girl smiled at Bailey. "You'll do anything for me."

"Who run the world!" Bailey sang out. And Sam pulled out his phone; his mom was not going to believe this.

Sam hit record as they took turns singing, dancing, and laughing, making sure everyone knew who ran the world. His heart swelled, and his anger was all but gone. Sam was so into watching his daughter that he didn't notice the woman stop dancing.

"What do you think you are doing?!" She asked, coming towards him with a ladle raised high. "Get out!" She said, hitting him,

"Hey!" He said, moving away from her. "Stop hitting me!" Sam grabbed her wrist. "You really shouldn't hit an officer." He stated.

"I am not! I am hitting a pervert who is recording me in my own house! Badge or not, get out before I throttle you!"

"Dad?" Bailey asked, running over to them. "What are you doing here?"

She coming with some heavy hitters y'all be ready!