Chapter 4
Jane
Jane arrived at the hospital well over an hour before her shift began and made a beeline for Leslie’s room.
She learned that Leslie had woken up from the anesthesia sometime early in the morning, but was sleeping again, which was good news.
Still, she checked all the vital signs, all the monitors.
Everything looked good, considering the situation.
She couldn’t help but worry though; there were still a thousand things that could go wrong.
She just had to hope that Leslie was strong enough to recover on her own.
She reached down and took Leslie’s hand and squeezed it gently, a familiar gesture.
She’d known Leslie a long time, and up until about six months ago, they had lived together.
Leslie was all Jane had wanted in a partner, but it just wasn’t enough.
They had parted amicably, and tried to remain friends, but as these things go, they had quickly drifted apart.
While they still saw each other occasionally at the hospital, she hadn’t really spoken to her in months.
Watching Rosalind operate on her yesterday had been confusing, to say the least. Jane still loved Leslie, and probably always would, but their futures just never quite synced up with one another.
Jane wanted to travel, and Leslie wanted to work—it was what she loved and what she was good at.
Jane couldn’t handle the stress of her job, though—the daily fear of this very thing happening.
It had led to tension, fighting, and eventually, the end of their relationship.
Despite how much she still cared for Leslie, she couldn’t bring herself to regret what happened between them.
Though it did make it difficult to leave the room.
Rosalind had been amazing. Watching her work was like watching someone creating art.
The fluidity of her movements, the control, the focus.
There was no other way she could think to describe it.
She was brilliant, plain and simple. And beautiful.
Jane was forced to admit that she was attracted to her, no matter how much she wanted to deny it.
She had come so close to closing that distance after their fight in the OR.
Just inches of space and she could have pressed her lips to Rosalind’s, and the crazy thing was that she wasn’t sure Rosalind would have pulled away.
As a matter of fact, she was almost certain that she wouldn’t have.
Jane gritted her teeth and left Leslie sleeping, heading back into the OR.
Perhaps she did have to admit that she was attracted to Rosalind, but she dreaded how she was going to be this morning.
If her arrogance yesterday was any indication, she would be impossible after saving Leslie’s life.
Jane had forced herself to walk away before the surgery was over, but she heard the applause even from her office.
Rosalind was most definitely going to be impossible, and with all Jane’s conflicting feelings about the whole situation, it would probably be best to avoid her completely.
She went back to her office and turned on the computer.
She still had several reports to write from the day before and charts to catch up on.
Yesterday was one of the busiest days this hospital had seen in a very long time.
She tried to bury herself in the paperwork, but thoughts of Rosalind kept bubbling to the surface.
Tired of fighting, she finally just allowed the thoughts to break through, her mind taking her back to their almost kiss.
Jane imagined what would have happened if she’d closed that distance, and heat flooded through her.
Sucking in a deep breath, she glanced up at the ceiling, resting her head on the back of her chair.
She could almost feel the heat of Rosalind’s lips on hers, her hands reaching beneath the scrubs to touch her soft skin, her fingers—rough from being freshly scrubbed—against her stomach, her chest, her nipples.
She sucked in a breath, the heat pooling deep in her stomach.
Her clothes suddenly felt too tight, to warm.
She unbuttoned the top of her blouse, and her fingers trailed across her own collarbones, she imagined they were Rosalind’s.
Her fingers dipped down into her cleavage, and she felt heat pooling between her legs, the pressure, the desire.
A knock sounded on her door, ripping her from her fantasy.
She quickly sat up, trying to force herself back.
“Come in,” she called and started stacking papers on her desk.
Her world tilted when Rosalind poked her head around the door.
Jane’s cheeks flushed and she stood up just a bit too quickly.
“Hi, um, good morning, did you… Do you need something?” Jane felt herself cringe inwardly.
“No, I just wanted to check in. From what I understand, yesterday was a pretty rough day for everyone,” Rosalind said, almost as though she couldn’t see how flustered Jane was.
“I take it that’s not normal for you,” Jane said and lifted her chin. The arrogance of this woman was insane.
“I’ve only been here a day, I don’t have normal yet,” Rosalind said, lowering her brows.
“Well, I’m sure you’ve been through worse,” Jane said and turned back to her computer.
“Okay, I’m not sure what just happened, but I’m going to go,” Rosalind answered and started to pull back from the door.
“Wait a minute,” Jane said and waved at Rosalind to come inside. “We need to talk.”
Rosalind furrowed her brow but stepped inside the door and closed it behind her.
“I know everyone thinks you’re some sort of hero for saving Leslie, and trust me, I am just as grateful to you for that as anyone,” Jane started.
“But…” Rosalind said with a lift of her eyebrow.
“But, you need to remember that this is not a war-zone, we take our time here, we aren’t just doing patch jobs,” Jane continued.
“Yeah, I think you covered that yesterday,” Rosalind said, and her nostrils flared.
“I just want to reiterate that,” Jane said, hoping her expression wasn’t revealing everything that she was actually feeling.
“I got it.” Rosalind’s voice was barely more than a growl.
“That’s it,” Jane said and turned back to the computer. What the hell was she thinking? Jane wondered if she could possibly have made a bigger ass of herself than she felt right then.
“Okay,” Rosalind answered and turned back to the door.
She gave Jane one last glance before pushing through it.
Jane sat down heavily in her chair, completely unable to process what that was all about, even though she was the one to initiate it.
Who the hell was this woman that she could get under her skin like this?
Frustrated, Jane put aside the paperwork and went to check in on Leslie again.
As she stood in Leslie’s room watching the monitors, she noticed Leslie stirring in the bed. She glanced down just as Leslie’s eyes fluttered open. “Hey,” Leslie croaked then grimaced in pain.
Jane leaned down and took her hand, tears welling up in her eyes. “Hey, Les,” she said and forced a smile.
“What are you doing here?” Leslie asked, her voice barely audible.
“Checking in, you were pretty busted up when they brought you to us,” Jane said, fighting to keep her voice even.
“So I’ve been told,” Leslie said. “I guess some new military doctor put me back together.”
“That’s the gist of it,” Jane said and squeezed Leslie’s hand again.
“When do I get to meet her?” Leslie asked with an attempt at a smile, her bruised and swollen face made it look like more of a grimace.
“I’m sure she’ll be around,” Jane said and tried to brush it off. “How are you?”
“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck,” Leslie said and chuckled, which quickly turned into moans of pain. “I’m okay, I guess.” Her head fell back onto the pillow.
“Good, you can’t die on me, I won’t allow it,” Jane said, her voice cracking slightly.
“What’s gotten into you?” Leslie asked. One of her eyes was swollen shut, but the other lifted a brow.
“What do you mean?” Jane asked.
“You’re being awfully nice for I told you so.”
“You really think that’s why I’m here?” Jane felt offended.
“I think this is why we broke up,” Leslie said, “and I think you don’t know how to process it.”
“I guess that’s fair,” Jane said and sat down in a chair next to her. “I just can’t stand the thought of losing you.”
“Jane, I love you, but we didn’t work,” Leslie said and grimaced again. Jane stood up and checked the machines.
“Do you need more pain medicine?”
“I’m fine, Jane.”
“You’re in pain,” Jane said.
“There it is.”
“There what is?” Jane stepped back.
“You’re telling me how I feel,” Leslie said and closed her eye. “Jane, I was hit by a truck yesterday. Of course I’m in pain, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. If it gets that way, then I’ll ask for help. You need to go do your job.”
A knock sounded on the door, and Jane had to force a smile when Rosalind poked her head in. She was really starting to get annoyed with her.
“Oh, hi, Jane, I didn’t know you were in here, I’ll come back later,” Rosalind said and started to duck out.
“No wait,” Jane said. “Leslie wanted to meet you.”
“Is this the one?” Leslie asked and lifted her head from the pillow.
“Yes,” Jane said, hoping her pained expression was appropriately hidden. “This is Doctor Rosalind Maxwell, the one who spent over six hours in surgery with you yesterday.”
“It’s good to finally meet you, Leslie,” Rosalind said and stepped into the room. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” Leslie said again, this time earning a chuckle from Rosalind. Jane felt a spike of jealousy at the gesture, though she wasn’t sure why.