Elizabeth stood at the back of the ambulance, both doors open as she ran through the daily equipment and supply check with Clara. She grinned at Clara as her phone alerted her to a new text. It had to be Rosemary; she had been waiting for her to reach out.

The season finale of a favourite TV show had aired the night before, and Elizabeth, Rosemary, and Clara had been eagerly awaiting the episode. In the final moments, the writers had ended a long-running love triangle, and Elizabeth knew Rosemary would not be happy; she wasn't either, for that matter. When they arrived at work that morning, Elizabeth, and Clara had placed a bet on how long it would take Rosemary to reach out. Elizabeth won the bet with her guess of less than five minutes. Clara had guessed fifteen, which Elizabeth knew would be way off. Clara now owed her a hot chocolate and Danish from Minnie's Café, their regular stop when time permitted in their shift.

"Can you believe it? I have no words." Elizabeth read the text aloud to Clara.

"Rosemary, without words, I want to see that." Clara laughed as she looked up from the checklist they were working through.

Elizabeth's phone pinged again.

"And that kiss. It was horrible!. I had to cover my eyes."

Elizabeth read that text to Clara, too. "She followed her comments with ten vomiting emojis," she explained, chuckling as she replied to Rosemary with a horrified expression gif.

Elizabeth's phone pinged again, but before she could check it, their radio crackled to life, and she slipped her phone into her pocket. She and Clara listened intently to the request for assistance before jumping into their rig and heading to the call.

Elizabeth stood the moment Clara slowed, then stopped the ambulance, jumping out of the rig the moment the door opened. Clara stood beside her as they unloaded the stretcher where their patient lay, securely strapped to it.

Hurrying into the foyer of Concord Hospital's emergency department, Elizabeth was on one side of the stretcher, and Clara was on the other as they wheeled their patient inside. The call they had responded to was to a home in Laconia. A woman had called 911 requesting assistance as she suspected her husband was having a heart attack. They had assessed the man, Mr Rawson, at the scene and stabilised him before transporting him to the Hospital. His wife and adult daughter had followed behind in the family car.

Elizabeth focused on her patient as they guided Mr Rawson into an emergency cubicle. She pushed back the curtain as she recited their medical observations and treatment for the responding ER Nurse. Clara reassured Mr Rawson as he lay on the stretcher, an oxygen mask on his face, eyes wide at the commotion surrounding him in the Emergency room. Hospital staff crowded into the area as they prepared to transfer him from the stretcher to a hospital bed.

"Transfer on my count of three."

Elizabeth turned at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. It was him. Dr Nathan Grant. The photograph she had seen had not prepared her for what it would be like to see him in the flesh, to hear his deep, husky voice. He was standing so close she could see the light stubble on his chin and smell his aftershave's subtle, woody scent. Swallowing hard, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach, Elizabeth reached for Mr Rawson and listened for his count, lifting on three, in sync with everyone else.

Elizabeth nodded at Clara as they stepped back from the bed; Mr Rawson was in good hands. Once they submitted the paperwork, they could resume responding to calls. Elizabeth hesitated before following Clara into the foyer, watching Dr Grant and the team go to work. She liked the way he directed the team without hesitation while respecting those who had experience with how this hospital was run.

Elizabeth started when Clara called her name and realised, she had spent far too long staring at Nathan Grant as he worked. She had been mesmerised watching his hands; his long, elegant fingers were firm but gentle as he examined the older man. Elizabeth hurried to join Clara at the nurse's station, where she was completing the paperwork.

"Hey! Wait! Please!"

Elizabeth turned back to the emergency bay, assuming the person was calling her and, came face to face with Dr Grant as he stepped around the curtain. She waited as he approached her, trying not to stare.

"Sorry, I don't know your name?" He apologised. His full lips were turned up in the same crooked smile she had seen on Rosemary's screen. Her heart raced as he gazed at her.

"Can I help you, Doctor?" Elizabeth asked, pleased when her voice came out sounding normal. She would never tell anyone, but she had thought about Dr Nathan Grant way too many times since seeing his photo. She thought she had exaggerated his looks, her imagination building up how handsome he was. She hadn't. If possible, he looked better in person.

"Dr Grant," he said, extending his hand. As their hands met, he glanced down where they were connected, then blinked at her and stammered, "Nathan, my name is Nathan; you can call me Nathan." He took a deep breath, paused, and said, "I wanted to ask if Mr Rawson came in with anyone."

"His daughter is bringing his wife," Elizabeth explained, withdrawing her hand as quickly as it was polite to. Tucking her hands into the pockets of her pants, she resisted the urge to curl her fingers, sealing in the feel of his hand on hers. "They were driving themselves; they should be in the waiting room by now. Do you want me to see if I can locate them?"

Elizabeth watched as he glanced at Mr Rawson, ensuring he was well cared for before responding.

"Could you take me to them, Ms?.." he asked with a questioning smile.

"Elizabeth Thatcher," she said, smiling as she nodded in answer to his request. "Elizabeth, please."

"Thank you...Elizabeth."

Walking beside Nathan, she tried to collect herself. The combination of that crooked smile and hearing him say her name had sent shivers down her spine. Elizabeth told herself to rein in her wildly inappropriate thoughts. He was a doctor at the hospital, and she transported patients to the hospital almost every shift. She had a strict rule about dating people at work ever since...Nope! She slammed on a mental brake as her thoughts drifted somewhere she didn't want them to go. She wasn't going to waste a second thinking about her ex. She had wasted enough time on that man.

Passing Clara, where she was chatting to a group of nurses, Elizabeth saw her raise her eyebrows and fan herself as they looked at Nathan Grant. Elizabeth looked up at Nathan and was pleased he hadn't noticed; his attention was on the people seated in the waiting room.

After glaring at Clara, Elizabeth also turned her attention to the waiting room, quickly spotting Mrs Rawson and her daughter. Elizabeth made hasty introductions before excusing herself so Nathan could provide an update.

Elizabeth was determined not to look back at Nathan Grant as she walked toward Clara.

"Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth halted at the sound of Rosemary calling her name. Turning, she smiled at her friend as she hurried toward her, a group of young students following behind.

"I am so glad you're here. What perfect timing!" Rosemary cried.

"For what?" Elizabeth asked suspiciously. She loved Rosemary but had been caught up in some outrageous schemes her friend had devised over the years.

"Not to talk about that dreadful ending to our show. I always love to see you, of course, but. I was going to text you through your Secret Santa, and now I don't have to. You either, Clara," Rosemary said, including her in the conversation.

Elizabeth watched as Rosemary leaned toward Clara, her lips close to her ear, as she whispered the results of the Secret Santa draw. Clara smiled at whatever it was, or rather whoever it was, Rosemary mentioned.

"Now, Elizabeth, you matched with..." leaning forward, Rosemary whispered, "Dr Nathan Grant," her voice conveying her excitement.

"Rosemary." Elizabeth's mouth dropped open in shock as she stared at her friend, hands on her hips. "How could that happen?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"I made an executive decision to include him. I didn't want him to feel left out when we did the exchange; that would just be awful! Where's your Christmas spirit?"

"And who did Dr Grant match with?" Elizabeth demanded suspiciously. If he had matched with her, she would know Rosemary had plotted to make this happen.

"It's a secret, Elizabeth - you know that" Rosemary said innocently, patting her forearm.

"Besides, if you don't believe me, you can check with Lee; he helped with the draw. It's

completely above board."

Rosemary turned away from Elizabeth and clapped her hands to gather the children's attention. "Now, children, take your places; we can sing a song for the people in the waiting room. It will be a good distraction for them."

Elizabeth and Clara watched in amusement as Rosemary and the children positioned themselves in front of the waiting area. The staff barely blinked; they were used to Rosemary visiting with the choir and performing for the patients. Elizabeth saw relief cross the faces of some parents who were busy trying to amuse sick toddlers. But there were clusters of people who didn't seem to notice, too distracted by whatever brought them to the hospital.

As Rosemary and her students began to sing, Elizabeth's eyes once again drifted to Nathan Grant. She watched as he paused his conversation briefly and smiled at the group of young singers. Elizabeth wondered if he had children of his own. She hadn't seen a wedding ring on his finger as he examined Mr Rawson, but not everyone wore jewellery, especially during work hours at the hospital.

The children's voices rang out pure and clear, temporarily drowning out the industrial, sterile sounds of the hospital.

'Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

Bells on bobtails ring

Making spirits bright

What fun it is to ride and sing

A sleighing song tonight, oh!

Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one-horse open sleigh, hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh.'

Elizabeth and Clara waited until the end of the first chorus, then waved goodbye to Rosemary. Once again, Elizabeth had to force herself not to turn around and look for Nathan Grant. She told herself he was only a new colleague and besides, he had to be in a relationship even if he wasn't married. She doubted the women of Boston would have let him remain single for any length of time.

"Wow, right?" Clara commented as they walked out of the hospital.

"You are talking about the weather, I hope." Elizabeth replied tersely as she saw the fresh flurry of snow falling, covering the windscreen of their vehicle.

"Of course, I'm not. I'm talking about Dr Nathan Grant." Clara looked at Elizabeth and shook her head. "You can't tell me you didn't notice how gorgeous he is?"

"He is a colleague, Clara. We shouldn't be talking about him like this."

"You're right, I suppose, but please…you have to admit how handsome he is. Even you can't deny that."

"What do you mean – even me?" Elizabeth stopped, frowning at her friend. Colour flooded Clara's cheeks as her eyes went wide at her blunder.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth; I didn't mean to upset you." Clara clarified quickly.

"You didn't, but I still don't know what you meant by 'even me'?" Elizabeth said arms crossed over her chest.

"It's just…you never seem to notice guys. When we go out, you don't see how they look at you or try to talk to you. You turn down everyone who asks you out…I wonder why you do that. I hate to think of you as being lonely, we all do?"

"Have you all been talking about me?" Elizabeth asked, confused, and hurt that her friends would do that behind her back.

"Not like that, Elizabeth. We're concerned about you, that's all."

"You don't have to be part of a couple to be happy. Some of the most miserable times in my life were when I was in a relationship."

Elizabeth clenched her jaw, her lips compressed into a tight line. She had never spoken to anyone in Crystal Haven about her previous relationship. She had never wanted to relive that time and wouldn't start now.

"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth; the last thing I wanted to do was upset you," Clara murmured.

"It's fine, Clara. Let's forget it."

Elizabeth and Clara walked toward their truck in uncomfortable silence. Elizabeth knew Clara hadn't meant to hurt her and she had to shake off her feeling of disappointment with her friends. She and Clara couldn't do their jobs properly if there were tension between them.

Elizabeth wondered what Clara and the others would think if she knew how hard she was trying not to notice Nathan Grant.