Chapter 1

Sheeba

I stopped mid-sentence when I noticed Chelsea walking into the break room, looking as white as a ghost. And believe me, for someone with such a pale complexion, that was saying something.

"What's the matter, Chelsea? You look like you're about to pass out." The woman, used to my abrupt manner after two years of working together in the Orthopedics ward of the hospital, gulped dryly before answering, catching the attention of the other two nurses in the room.

"I… I've never seen anything like that," she said with another dry gulp. "The new patient just came up from Banff. The bone is sticking out of his leg!"

"Woah! They just left it hanging out of him?" Amy asked incredulously. Amy had the most years under her belt as an Orthopedic nurse. 18 years of experience and she suddenly looked as white as Chelsea. Ai Lo butted in before Amy could say anything more.

"Which room?" Ai Lo whispered, her oval-shaped eyes wide and scandalized. Personally, I was with Ai Lo - who went by Janice. In the two years I'd known Amy, I'd never seen her perturbed like this. The woman was the soul of calm.

"He's in room ten. They're not even putting him in an overcapacity room right now. He came straight from Banff Mineral Springs Hospital. The doctor is with him now. I think he's going-" Janice and I were out of the room and headed for the corner room before Chelsea could finish her sentence. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Hell, I was surprised that someone hadn't made a general announcement over the intercom system! Amy followed along with a reluctant Chelsea.

We made our way to room 10 like a bunch of kids who'd been told we were about to see a dead body. Considering that we were grown-ass adults who had seen plenty of dead bodies in our collective years of nursing, this was almost comical. Especially when we arrived and not a one of us could come up with an acceptable excuse to barge into the patient's room. Chelsea was the only one who had a reason to be there, she was his nurse. The rest of us were just being newsy. Since we were all gathered outside of his room like a bunch of guilty teens, I decided to say something, as opposed to all of us gawking at his leg.

"Hello, my name is Sheeba and I'm a nurse on this unit. Would you mind terribly if me and my associates had a quick look at your leg? None of us have ever seen an open fracture. How did you get it?" The man was gorgeous. Not to mention tall! He had to be over 6 feet tall, with perfectly sun-kissed skin and a bright smile for the interruption to his conversation. There was pain in that smile though, and my nursing heart went out to him. His right thigh bone was broken and one part jutted proudly a good two inches out of the skin of his right leg, wrapped in a donut-shaped towel to protect the site from dirt. "When was the last time you had something for the pain?" I asked, sure that he wasn't looking for remarks on the state of his leg.

"Damn, girl! I know you ain't from around here. None of these ultra-polite women would push into a man's room and demand to take a look at his injury like that!"

"Especially with that white-girl talk," his companion added, drawing my attention. "Simeon, we gotta straight-up Oreo in our midst."

"Excuse you," I turned to him, my dark skin mottled with fury. With one off-color comment, this man had brought to the fore all the insecurities of my childhood. Suddenly I didn't need to see the injury as much as I needed to set this rude asshole straight. "I don't have to be from 'around here' to ask a question of a patient! I don't recall being rude or inconsiderate when I did it, either, unlike your ignorant, American ghetto ass! This was an 'A' and 'B' conversation. I don't recall anybody inviting you to 'C' your way into it."

I wanted to say more. Truly, I did. But I was staring into his sumptuous hazel eyes and words were failing me. Apparently, they were failing him as well. We just stood there, staring at each other like a couple of fools. If the patient was gorgeous, this man was a whole buffet of sexy. Standing over 6 feet tall himself, this Adonis towered over my 5 foot 2 frame. Strangely enough, I didn't feel diminished or dwarfed by him, though. Shaking my head and stepping back to break the spell, the silence between us stretched to a breaking point as we again got lost in each other's eyes. Was that even a thing that happened outside of romance novels?

"Come on, cuz," the patient - Simeon - said with an embarrassed huff of laughter. Our eyes unlocked at last. "I don't need you sabotaging my pain med schedule," he added jokingly. Nervous laughter rang out from the doorway and the two of us stepped away from each other, remembering our audience.

"How y'all?" The unnamed man stepped around me to talk to the other nurses. "I'm Steele, Simeon's cousin. How we looking on pain meds for my man here?" He flashed a devastating smile on the ladies which seemed to brighten the room, even with my back to him. Damn, he was smooth!

"I-I'll… Um… I'll check his chart to see when his meds are due," Chelsea stuttered her way through her sentence. "Sheeba, you want to double-check it with me? Dr. Phillips wants him prepped for surgery right away."

"Of course," I nodded to her, cutting one more evil look at Steele before exiting the room. I was surprised to see Chelsea glaring at me. Great, just great. So I was in trouble on top of everything else.

Nothing was ever easy.

Steele

I did not expect that reaction from shorti. I'd just been joking around, something I did often in our family. Apparently, this chick had baggage.

"Why you have to be like that?" Simeon griped once the nurses were gone. He reached behind himself and threw one of the pillows at his back at me. I dodged, but not in time. He was right. I owed shorti an apology. She hadn't been anything but respectful when she asked to see his injury. She'd even thought of his pain while asking. Her fascination with his injury was apparent, but she hadn't let it override her duty of care. I could get down with a woman like that.

"I'll apologize," I sighed, hoping that she'd accept it instead of milking it like most women would. I didn't need that up here in the sticks. I crossed the room to put his pillow back behind him when we picked up the low, tense conversation in the hallway.

"Sheeba, you have to-"

"I'm not apologizing."

"Come on, Sheebs! It's no different than-"

"Chelsea, do you know what an Oreo is?"

"Well, no. But-"

"If you don't know what it is, then you have no idea how racist that statement was."

"Sheeba, it's a cookie. Plus, how can it be racist? He's black." There was a weighted pause that we both sighed heavily into.

"So what? You don't think black people are capable of being racist? That is not a word that is thrown around lightly. You don't say that shit unless you're ready to throw hands. That punk is lucky I didn't do just that! Then I'd really be in trouble."

"Hefsiba, it's just a word."

"Right. And if I were to call you a cracka?"

"Hefsiba!"

"What? It's just a word," she said innocently. Another silence was broken by giggling. "You and I both know the power of words. And a racial slur is a racial slur, I don't care who says it. I'm not apologizing. He's lucky all I did was school a fool. It was within my rights to make it physical. I was about to go all up in his gums!"

"You'd need a stepstool," Chelsea snorted. "That guy could pack you up in a lunchbox."

"I know, right?" Sheeba giggled. "Gigantism notwithstanding, I ain't afraid. David didn't do too badly." A pause. "Against Goliath? God, you Canadians…"

"Shut up! You're living here with us, so what does that make you?"

"Certifiable," she answered, causing me to chuckle. I could get down with Shorti's sense of humor. "Do what you need to do, Chelsea. And call if you need help."

"I always do." Simeon's nurse came in and I was surprised to hear footsteps heading away from the room. Did these people honestly think we couldn't hear them whispering right outside the room? In their defense though, the amount of noise in the hallway probably could have masked their voices if we weren't listening for them. A woman was yelling for her husband, and what had to be multiple alarms going off all over the unit. All of this at 10:30 at night. How the hell was anyone supposed to get any sleep around here?

"Where's shorti?"

"What?" Chelsea asked in complete confusion as she hung a few things on Simeon's IV pole.

"The girl you work with. You know, Sheeba?" I said, not letting on that I'd heard their conversation.

"Oh," she said, pausing in her work. "Sheeba and I have spoken and we felt it might be best if you two didn't interact anymore." Old Man Sim and I exchanged a look, but let it go so she could get back to work. "The porters will be here to pick you up for surgery in a few minutes. In the meantime, I have those pain meds I promised you. You can have them every 2 hours, you just have to ask for them. And I'm sending you to surgery with antibiotics to help prevent infection."

"What are the names of these drugs?" Simeon asked curiously.

"The antibiotic is Ancef. 2 grams. Considering that the bone has broken skin, it's almost inevitable that you'll get an infection. But we can start fighting it early. The hydromorphone is for pain," she answered as she unplugged the bed. "You're getting 2 milligrams. You don't have any allergies, do you?"

"Never been sick to know," he quipped as the med started running. "Is it going to beep like the last time I had it?"

"No. You have regular IV fluids running anyway, so the machine will run the meds and then continue with your infusion." Before Simeon could ask more, two big, burly men in maroon scrubs showed up to take him away. "We'll see you after surgery!"

I dapped my cousin as he left the room. I hadn't been invited to go with him to surgery, so I figured I'd have to wait for him to come back to the room. In the meantime, I needed to find shorti before she left for the night.

"Where can I find shorti?" I asked politely as she was leaving the room. Chelsea jumped as if she'd forgotten I was in the room. I don't blame her. I tend to blend into the scenery. Being the youngest of my 30 cousins, I rarely seemed to have anything new to add to conversations. We Masons were a tight bunch, but I wasn't too talkative in the group. I preferred to listen. Growing up, I'd been the same way, gathering dirt on my family and friends. Maybe that was why my chosen profession suited me so well. I owned my own spy and surveillance business. Business was booming back in Connecticut where we're from; I wasn't worried about the time it would take to see my cousin through this. One thing I did know though. His woman, Choyce, was gonna be pissed.

"I told you that it's best if you and Sheeba not interact-"

"How'm I supposed to apologize if we're not allowed to interact?" That brought her up short. "I was out of line, I know it. I just want the chance to say I'm sorry to her face." That brought the nurse up short. She looked me over as if she could figure out my true intentions just by studying me long enough. Good luck with that. My own Mama couldn't figure me out after years of study.

"You really plan to apologize?" she finally asked with trepidation. I couldn't blame her for her nerves. A fight - verbal or not - wouldn't look good in the middle of this free-for-all of noise and energy.

"I'm not looking for drama, Mama. I just want to right my wrongs. I shouldn't have called her that. I was only playing, but she obviously didn't take it that way. Can you get her in here so I can holla at her real quick?" Chelsea looked a little confused and I sighed. But something I said must have clicked because the next thing I knew, she was on her portable intercom, asking the other nurse to come to room ten.

"Why do you need me there? I thought I saw the patient roll out a few minutes ago."

"Yeah… The patient's cousin wanted to talk to you?" she asked me with her pretty brown eyes. I nodded. "Yeah. He wants to apologize, Sheebs. And I think he's on the level."

A pause. "I'm bringing Charge," she said belligerently and disconnected. I didn't understand what that meant until I heard two sets of purposeful steps headed towards us. Damn! Shorti must be truly pissed off to involve the head nurse in this. I needed to shut this shit down quickly before I got labeled as some kind of dirty racist or something.

Sheeba marched into the room, looking more than ready for Round Two. Her short and squat form was tense for conflict. She was near the door for a quick exit and her arms were folded as if to ward off more nastiness from me. But it was her deep brown eyes that caught and held me. Underneath her anger and indignance was a world of hurt. I'd done more than simply hurt her feelings. I'd struck a nerve - with a sledgehammer. I had to wonder when that wound had first been inflicted. But first…

"Damn girl. You don't just glare daggers. You glare katanas and shit," I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. The three women in the room groaned.

"I'm Maureen. I'm the charge nurse tonight. I understand that you wanted to say something to my colleague before we submit a report to the unit manager tomorrow?" I'd never been a troublemaker growing up, therefore I wasn't especially familiar with that 'you're in trouble' stare teachers gave to condemned students. But I sure as hell was feeling that shit now. Rubbing the back of my neck, I put my thoughts together carefully. There was every chance that I could be banned from the hospital if she managed to paint me as a garden-variety racist. I'd be damned before I let my cousin go through his recovery and rehab without me.

"I'm real sorry, shorti. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"Apology accepted," Sheeba said sharply. She turned around abruptly and started out of the room like an angry pitbull. The other women were staring at her worriedly, but I knew what she was trying to do. That mountain-sized chip on her shoulder needed to be displaced.

"Hold up," I said, sounding more like myself to my relief. I passed through the protective stances of her co-workers to face her head-on. "Where did you first hear it?" I asked stubbornly.

"That's none of your-"

"Cause whoever said it to you, I'm not them," I continued as if she hadn't spoken. She blinked up at me, stopping her angry retreat. "I was only joking around, I wasn't tryna hurt your feelings or nothing." I lifted her head with a finger under her chin to see her glistening brown eyes. How could they look even more bottomless when she was about to cry? If I didn't say something soon, I'd never get a chance to discover the secrets in those beautiful eyes of hers. "It was a joke. It was in bad taste, but it was meant as a joke nonetheless. I'm sorry I offended you. Even more sorry that I made you cry." Her eyes widened in shock. "I'm not them, Babygirl. I swear I'm not."

By the end of my apology, I was bending down to stare directly into her eyes, one hand massaging her neck and the other one rubbing her lower back soothingly. She hiccuped and gave in to my invitation, leaning on me as she cried. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Babygirl. I didn't mean it," I crooned to her as I held her close. She felt like Heaven in my arms and I was suddenly very glad that I'd taken the time to really apologize to her. When she pulled away from me, my arms ached with the loss of her.

"I… um… I need to finish my charting," she sniffled, grabbing a paper towel on her way out of the room to wipe her face. She didn't turn around as she all but ran out of the room.

"I've never seen anything get to Sheeba like that," Chelsea told her Charge Nurse. She looked at me suspiciously. "Did you mean it?"

"Yes," I nodded. "I didn't come here to start a ruckus. I only want to be here for my cousin. Simeon's recovery is going to be hard enough without drama from the care team. How long do you think his surgery is going to be?" The two nurses traded worried glances before Maureen answered.

"There's no way of knowing. Compound fractures like your cousin's are tricky. Add to that the fact that most of our doctors haven't seen one before… Expect to be here at least the rest of the night. Is there any way you could help us fill out the paperwork for him? I understand that he has travel insurance to cover the cost of the surgery and recovery until he's safe to travel home. We need to activate that as soon as we can so that he doesn't get stuck with a huge bill at the end of this."

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do right now. I'm awake and trying to arrange to have our things shipped over here from Banff, so why not?" He smiled at the nurses and was gratified with their shivers of delight. "Word to the wise, though. Expect to be descended on by my family. Old Man Sim and I have 28 cousins and we're all tight with each other. Not to mention all the uncles and aunties and Grandma Vern. I'll take point on getting the word out on him so that you're not fielding hundreds of calls from the family, but we're gonna have to be kept in the loop."

"We'll do our best to accommodate your needs," Maureen said with a shocked glance at the clock. "It's time to switch off to the night shift. Things are going to get crazy for the next half hour or so. After that, we'll get started on the paperwork. Good night, Mr…"

"Mason. Steele Mason." I shook hands with the nurses, settling myself on the daybed at the back of the room. I'd have to remember to ask for some pillows and bedding - this bed was too small for my huge frame. At 6 foot 4, I was too small for most beds. Hell, Simeon barely fit in the hospital bed! My family was used to bunking on the floor anyway. The texts were already starting to trickle in from the group chat that included all the cousins. Good thing it was so late at night and I'd had to charge my phone on arrival.

It was going to be a long night.

This is going to be a fun one, so buckle in. This is a fanfiction of a series of books I truly enjoy reading by AshleyNicole. See y'all next chapter!