Chapter 10 #2
“I’ll always be the chief where you’re concerned,” the woman said, touching the bandage around her head gingerly.
“I’ll see you,” Jade said and rolled her eyes. “Don’t scare me like that again.”
“I’ll do my best,” Elizabeth chuckled and waved to shoo her out the door.
Once she stepped into the hallway, she recognized little Jasmine walking toward her hand-in-hand with a woman who was clearly Stephanie’s sister. Their family resemblance was almost uncanny. Jasmine waved at her, and the woman stopped to let the child speak.
“Hello, Jasmine,” Jade said and put her hands on her knees to come closer to the girl’s level.
“Hello,” she answered with a slight smile. Jade’s heart broke as she could see the fear still lingering there.
“I was just going to check in on your moms, do you want to come with me?” Jade asked.
The little girl looked up at the woman with expectation.
“I’m Stella,” the woman said and put out her hand. “Stephanie’s sister, they called and said she was awake.” Jade’s eyes widened slightly—that was really good news.
“Nice to meet you, Stella, let’s go see her,” Jade said with a smile.
She looked down at Jasmine and she could see the worry easing from her ever so slightly.
Her chest swelled with hope. They walked down the short hallway until they reached Stephanie’s room.
She was still bandaged all over, and her face was bruised, but she was awake.
Jasmine hesitated, but Stephanie smiled and waved at the little girl.
“How are you feeling?” Jade asked, stepping up next to the bed. Her chest tightened as the child was nervous to walk into the room with all the intimidating machines. Jade had seen it a hundred times before, but the pain on the mothers’ faces was always gut-wrenching.
“A lot better than I was,” Stephanie said with a slight grimace. “Do you have any updates on Hannah?” Her eyes creased with worry. She glanced at Jasmine again, as the child slowly took a step forward.
“I was going to check on her next. If you want, I can go see to her and come back?” Jade said looking back and forth between Stephanie and Jasmine.
“That would be wonderful,” Stephanie said and turned her attention back to little Jasmine.
She and her sister Stella both spoke to quell the little girl’s fear as Jade left the room.
Stella grabbed a chair near Stephanie’s bed and placed Jasmine in her lap, and the fear on the girl’s face lessened slightly.
She wanted to try and reassure her and her mother, but patience was the only thing that would work for small children in situations like this, no matter how much it hurt.
Jasmine would slowly become more comfortable as her mother progressed, and after some time she would feel as comfortable as she always had.
A few doors down, Hannah was still motionless in her bed.
Jade picked up her chart; it was unsettling that she had not woke up from her surgery yet, but her vitals were strong, and there was time yet.
She placed the clipboard back at the edge of the bed and started to walk out of the room when she heard a soft croak behind her.
She turned to see Hannah’s eyes barely opened and focused on her.
She smiled and walked to the edge of the bed. “Welcome back,” she said softly. “You’ve been through a lot.”
“What about Stephanie? And Jasmine?” Hannah croaked.
“They’re a couple of doors down, just waiting until we give them the go ahead to come see you,” Jade answered.
Her voice was thick with emotion. Her job was difficult at the best of times, but moments like this were what made it worth it.
It would take some time, but this family would be whole again.
It was an amazing win that doctors rarely had the chance to see.
“Thank you,” Hannah smiled weakly as Jade paged the nurses and Lillian, as well as Dr. Noble.
“We’ll get you checked out and then get you two bunked together,” Jade said.
Hannah nodded slightly, her eyes drifting closed again.
Jade stepped out of the room before she accidentally ran into Lillian; she just couldn’t yet.
She updated the nurses and left them to do their checks with Hannah, and she made sure that they would be moving her into the same recovery room as Stephanie.
She poked her head back into Stephanie’s room with a smile. “Good news,” she said softly. Their eyes turned toward her. “Hannah is awake.”
Tears spilled down Stephanie’s cheeks, and Stella hugged Jasmine close as she choked with relief.
Jasmine’s eyes were wide, though she didn’t really understand what was happening.
What she could tell was that everyone was happy, and that brought a smile to the child’s face. Jade thought her chest might burst.
“Can we see her?” Stephanie asked and started to shift on the bed.
“You stay put,” Jade ordered, coming to stand next to her. “Very soon,” she added. “I’m having her brought in here as soon as the doctors do a few more checks.
“Do you know what happened?” Stephanie asked as Jade helped her settle back into her bed.
“She had a blockage, it’s actually very lucky that she was here, if it had happened at home, well…” Jade didn’t finish the sentence, cognizant of the little girl in the room.
“A blockage?” Stephanie asked. “How?”
“It could be a number of things, have you flown recently?” Jade asked.
“A week ago, to see her mother, why?” Stephanie said.
“Sometimes clots form when you fly for long periods, since she was otherwise healthy no one would have even thought to look for it,” Jade said. “So, while I would never wish for anyone to go through what you have, Hannah is lucky she was at the hospital when this happened.”
“I was told you had to operate?” Stephanie said.
Jade nodded. “We did, we removed the clot and put her on some blood thinners to make sure we got it all. There will be a necessary recovery period, but she will be fine and back to her old self in no time.”
“Thank you,” Stephanie said, taking Jade’s hand. “Thank you so much.” Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“It’s really Doctor Holder you should thank, she was the one that performed the surgery, and Doctor Noble checked everything afterward to make sure she would be alright. I’m sure you will meet them soon when they bring Hannah in here.”
“Doctor Holder assisted with my surgery,” Stephanie said to Stella. “She’s the reason I’m here, too.”
“Looks like we owe her a gift basket or something,” Stella said with a slight chuckle. She still clung to little Jasmine, trying to keep her emotions in check for the child.
“Momma’s okay?” Jasmine said softly.
“Yes, baby,” Stephanie said, putting out a hand for the girl. “Momma’s okay, we’re both okay—thanks to the doctors here.” Tears started to flow from Jasmine’s eyes, and Jade felt her own throat closing with emotion.
“I’ll be back to check on you both tomorrow, okay?” Jade said, her voice thick.
Stephanie nodded, mouthing thank you again, though no sound came out.
Jade’s heart was full as she left the hospital.
She probably should have mentioned to Lillian that she was leaving, but she couldn’t bring herself to face the woman again.
She needed to maintain some distance, or she would drive herself crazy trying to make Lillian fall in love with her.
She knew more than anyone that would never work and would just end with Jade heartbroken all over again.
Jade’s apartment was only a couple of blocks from the hospital, and she noticed the damage left behind by the storm as she walked.
She found it a not-so-surprising metaphor for the last few days.
The storm blows in creating chaos and turmoil, but the people stand together and help each other, so in the destruction it leaves behind there is also a sense of pride, of hope.
Her hope for Lillian was slim—the woman was tough and unlikely to yield to her emotions, no matter how strong they are—but there was still hope.
Pride in the sense that they had saved so many people.
Jasmine still had both her mothers. Elizabeth Rourke was an unexpected twist at the end, but it seemed the twist that was needed to put everything in focus.
Jade found herself wondering what Lillian was doing.
Probably the same as she was, tying up loose ends, heading home.
Jade knew she didn’t live far from her, though she had never actually visited her apartment.
She arrived home and slipped her key into the lock.
The maintenance had already come out and cleaned the debris, or perhaps there hadn’t even been much, though some broken plants and landscaping were evident from the storm.
Jade slowly poked her head into the apartment, almost nervous that there would be some major damage.
Nothing seemed amiss, and she stepped into the apartment. She noticed that it was warm and flicked the switch. She should have expected that the power would be out here since it was at the hospital, but according to the estimates it should be back on by tomorrow.
She opened a couple of windows, the breeze blowing through and cooling the rooms nicely.
The screen of her phone was clear of notifications, her staff worked pretty well to allow Jade her time off; they generally didn’t bother her unless it was a true emergency, so she wasn’t surprised.
Though she almost wished there was something to take her mind off Lillian.
Her heart twisted when she thought about it.
Lillian was amazing, and Jade wondered if she really didn’t feel the same way.
She slipped off her clothes and stepped into her shower, washing away the hospital, the storm, the lust, everything.
She focused on the water running over her body, the feel of the soap against her skin.
The water was cool thanks to the power outage, but not cold.
It was a nice change. Slipping into a set of satin pajamas, she checked her reflection in the mirror.
Her eyes were dark and hooded, the lines clear against her skin.
She pressed her lips together wishing Lillian was here with her and struggling to keep her emotions in check.
She had to stop thinking about it or she would end up calling her.
Lillian didn’t want that. Lillian needed time, and if she chose not to pursue a relationship with Jade, then so be it.
Jade hadn’t needed one before, she didn’t need one now.
Jade chuckled to herself at the thought.
Of course, she didn’t need a relationship, but damn if she didn’t want one, even if it was only stolen moments from her job.
Now I’ve set the bar too high, she thought to herself.
No woman would come close to Dr. Lillian Holder, she was everything Jade had ever wanted.
Light was fading, so she went into her storage closet and found a couple of candles, she placed them around her living room and lit them, the smell and the tiny flames warming the air slightly.
Rain started to fall; she could hear it tapping against her windowsills.
She took a deep breath and picked up the book sitting on her end table and turned to the marked page, but quickly gave up, the light from the candles not nearly enough to read by.
Stifling a yawn, she knew she needed some sleep and forced herself to go to bed.
She tossed and turned on the soft mattress.
She tried to blame the cool breeze, the warm air in the apartment, the mental load of the patients, but she couldn’t kid herself.
She couldn’t sleep because all she could think about was Lillian.
She stared at the ceiling trying to force the woman from her thoughts, but eventually gave up and just allowed the images to flash through her mind.
She kicked the blankets off of her as her body flushed with heat when she thought about the intimate moments in the hospital.
The rain fell harder outside, and Jade thought about the window in the breakroom.
Her body pressed against it while Lillian touched her and brought her to peak pleasure.
She could feel desire pulsing through her core, throbbing between her legs.
She thought about the toys she had hidden away in her nightstand, something to take the pressure off, but certainly not something that would take her mind off Lillian.
If anything, it would only fix Lillian that much more permanently in her fantasies.
With a grunt, Jade threw her legs over the side of her bed, she would get herself a cold drink. Maybe that would calm her down enough to finally get some sleep.