Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Leo
It had been another long day. I hadn’t been able to get Everleigh off my mind. I hated how we’d left things last week, but I was following her wishes. Or so I told myself. She seemed like she wanted to take things further, but she pulled away.
At the office she’d been cordial but not friendly. We hadn’t eaten lunch together as per our usual routine. It felt like not only had I lost the chance with my special Little girl, but I’d lost my friend as well. Today I hadn’t seen her at all. Sighing, I shut off the lights in my office and headed out.
“No one has seen Everleigh since this afternoon,” Tasha, one of the newer nurses announced as I passed the nurses’ station, almost as if she’d been reading my mind.
I stopped my trek and turned with a frown. “Did she go home?”
“I doubt it. I think I saw her car in the lot still.”
“Is she on call tonight?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Hey! I found Everleigh sleeping in the breakroom!” Harlow, another nurse and Everleigh’s close friend, called as she came down the hallway.
It was so unusual that Tasha and I shared a look of concern and confusion.
“Do you want me to wait to leave until she’s awake?” Tasha asked with a lilt of concern in her voice.
“No, it’s all right. I’ll wake her,” I assured them.
“All right,” they answered in unison.
“Thanks for your help.”
“Goodnight, Dr. Callahan.”
“Have a good night.”
Finding Everleigh tucked under several blankets on the couch in the breakroom, I shook her shoulder. Something was off but I didn’t know what. She groaned and buried her head in the cushions. Tugging the mound of furry comfort off her body, I saw beads of sweat on her brow. Her eyes fluttered open, glassy and unfocused.
“Are you all right?”
Everleigh sat up slowly, placing a hand on either side of her head. “Ugh. It feels like my head weighs a hundred pounds.”
“Do you have a headache?”
She glanced out the window. “Yeah. Wait. Why is it dark out?”
“The clinic is closed for the night.”
“Oh my goodness!”
She jumped up from the couch, immediately losing her balance. I caught her around the waist so she wouldn’t fall. Heat radiated from her scrubs worrying me that more than just exhaustion had made her sleep for hours.
“Easy, sweetheart.”
“I’m so sorry! I laid down on my lunch break. I’ve never been so unprofessional.”
I placed my free hand against her head confirming my suspicions. “You’re burning up. Were you sick this morning?”
She bit down on her lip. “No, I don’t think so, well, maybe.”
“What’s bothering you?” I slowly released my hold.
“My head, my throat. Everything aches. I’m hot and cold at the same time.” Everleigh rubbed her arms.
“Let’s get you checked out. My money’s on the flu.”
“I had a flu shot,” she whined.
“It’s likely a different strain than what you’re inoculated against.” I motioned for her to follow me but she shook her head.
“You can’t be my doctor if we’re… uh, you know.”
“We aren’t together. Yet.” I kept my eyes on hers.
She licked her lips. “Yeah, but you aren’t allowed to date a guest.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, gathering patience. She seemed stuck on a rule that didn’t apply to us. “If we’re dating, it’s news to me.”
“Oh right. You don’t want to date me,” Everleigh scoffed.
“I’d very much like to be in a relationship, something I have made clear to you. As of right now we are not in one.”
“Semantics,” she retorted.
“Come on.” I took a step toward the door, expecting her to follow.
Everleigh merely stared. “I’ll be okay, Leo.”
“Do you want me to page the physician on call? I’m happy to do so.”
“No, no, no. That’s just silly.”
“What is the problem?”
“Nothing. I guess you can be my doctor for tonight.” Everleigh teetered on her feet. I caught her, sweeping her into my arms.
“When did your symptoms start?”
“I don’t know. Maybe late yesterday afternoon?” She let out a long breath.
“And you still came to work today?”
“I didn’t think it was this bad.”
“Just relax.” I ignored her whimpered protests and turned up the hall.
“I’ll be fine.”
“If you don’t have the flu, I owe you a week’s worth of hot cocoa.”
“From Cozy Bean ?”
“From wherever you want.”
Carrying her into one of the exam rooms, I closed the door behind us before setting her on the table. Everleigh grabbed a blanket from the seemingly never-ending supply. Each room was outfitted with several and they were washed whenever someone used one.
“These blankets are so soft.”
“They are. Now, what illness do you think you have?”
“It could be anything, Leo. There have been a myriad of lovely viruses walking through here.”
“You should call them guests.” I winked.
“Leo!”
“At least I got you to smile.”
“I bet I have more than one issue going on. It might be the flu, but my ears were bothering me last week too.”
“Your health and well-being are important. I wish you had asked someone to look you over when you started feeling ill.” Moving the blanket slightly, I wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her arm. Satisfied with the number, I checked her pulse as well as her blood-oxygen levels. They weren’t perfect, but it was nothing alarming.
“What do the machines say?”
“Your numbers aren’t great, but they are consistent with what you’d expect from a virus.”
“Uh-huh. That’s all the vitals you’re doing today.”
“I already know you have a fever. We should see how high it is so it can be monitored later.”
“Not happening.”
I cocked my head to the side, studying her overall posture. It could be that she was cold and uncomfortable and didn’t want to get undressed. Everleigh gave me no indication that she was going to be reasonable.
“Give me one good reason.”
Everleigh
Huffing, I pulled the blanket tighter. I felt like absolute garbage. Leo’s frustratingly calm demeanor wasn’t helping. We both knew I had a fever, but anal stimulation wasn’t my favorite thing, either in or out of the bedroom.
My objection stemmed from the action and not the handsome man who had no qualms about where a thermometer needed to go. The clinic had a pretty strict policy about the method for obtaining a temperature, but guests were allowed to refuse unless it was absolutely necessary. It didn’t happen often and only in serious conditions. In those cases, the guest was typically unconscious and being transferred to a hospital for advanced care. All that aside, I wasn’t eager to be bottoms up for the gorgeous doctor standing next to me.
“I’ll do it myself. At home. Later.” I gritted out each word, irritated and tired.
“Please give me a reason.”
“It’s uncomfortable. A few times a newer staff member did it to me for practice, you know? It’s not super common. Of course I’d offer to be a pretend guest, like when I was a baby nurse learning the ropes. It’s not my favorite.”
Leo shook his head. “A thermometer, no matter where it’s placed, shouldn’t hurt at all.”
“You’re not poking anything inside of me,” I stated firmly. “At least not here. I mean nothing that I don’t want.” The thought of the two of us having sex suddenly aroused me despite my awful headache. If I wasn’t so sick, I would have been mortified.
“What do you want inside of you?”
“Nothing,” I insisted.
“Then what did you mean?”
“Just swab me.”
“We’ll get to that. I’ll drop the topic of a thermometer for now, but if you get worse, we’ll revisit it.”
“Yeah, right.”
Leo placed his stethoscope against my chest. “Breathe in.”
I did as instructed, slowly inhaling and then exhaling. He moved the bell of the instrument in several different spots as well as my back.
“My lungs are clear. Do a test and let me go home.”
“Are you always combative during doctor’s visits?”
“I’m hardly combative .” I practically growled.
“I’d call your behavior combative since you seem unwilling to let me assess you.”
“You don’t need to examine me any further, okay? I just wanna go home.”
Oh. My Little peeked her head out because what I really wanted was Leo to bring me home and take care of me. He’d make sure I had medication and fluffy blankets and chicken noodle soup.
“Just a few more tests and we’ll be done. Let’s see if there’s a bird in your ear.” He plucked an otoscope from the wall and affixed a cover.
His attempt at humor relaxed me a tiny bit. He examined my ears, nose, and throat while I complied. “Did you find anything interesting?”
“No flying creatures, but you have a double ear infection, for starters. It must be very painful.”
He threw away the cover and returned the instrument to the wall. He rubbed his hands around my neck while I sat obediently.
“Your lymph nodes are swollen but your throat looks fine.”
“Do you still think I have the flu?”
“I do.” Leo moved to the large cabinet next to the sink, and pulled out the collection kit.
The test wasn’t fun, but it was necessary. He was usually right, and if he was wrong, at least I’d get free cocoa out of it. I’d administered dozens of tests myself the past week or so and I knew what to expect.
I held my hands out. “Give it to me. I do more of them.”
“Drop the attitude, Leelee.”
“I do not have an attitude,” I countered. “But I’m embarrassed for falling asleep at work and I want to go to bed. You’re making this take longer than it needs to.”
“If I miss something and you wind up sicker…”
“That’s not going to happen.” I hugged my arms to my chest as I interrupted him. Leo was a brilliant physician and I was battling for no reason. Sick or not, he was right. My sudden little ‘tude was causing the issue, not him.
“Do you have a deviated septum or any sort of previous trauma to your nose, sweetheart?”
“Nope. My nose is perfect.”
“Tilt your head back.”
I wanted the whole ordeal to be done with. I did what he commanded, and he quickly swabbed each nostril. I was pleasantly surprised despite the procedure. Sometimes the person administering it stuck it too deep or left it too long but like everything else, Leo had a knack for it. I owed him an apology since he stayed late for me.
“I’m not trying to be difficult.”
“Ten minutes and we’ll have an answer,” he said gently. “Returning to your angry ears: What is your antibiotic of choice?”
He was not going to like what I shared with him. “I have a bad habit of not finishing medications.”
“Typically if I’m treating someone who shares that information, I’d be suggesting a stronger antibiotic. One that wouldn’t be delivered via a lollipop. Will you promise to take the full dose?” He rubbed his hand over his chin.
I was medically minded and understood the connotation behind his statement. I wasn’t afraid of needles but I didn’t want an injection. “Yes, I promise.”
“What’s your favorite flavor?”
“I never thought about it before. Can they do coconut?”
“It doesn’t hurt to ask. What’s your second choice?”
“Watermelon.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Be right back.”
Ten minutes ticked by as slow as watching paint dry. I laid down on the table huddled under the blanket as I waited. Leo entered the room and though he seemed like he was trying to hide a smile, his expression was professional.
“You can gloat,” I mumbled.
“I’m not gloating. You have the flu as I suspected.”
“Fine. You still owe me hot cocoa.”
“I’ll buy you cocoa every day if it will make you happy.”
“Back to the flu,” I said, not entertaining his remark. Sliding off of the exam table, I dropped the blanket into the hamper near the bed.
“We caught the symptoms early enough for the antiviral Tamiflu. The second is an antibiotic for your ear infection. I can’t promise coconut-flavored lollipops, but I requested them.”
“I really hate being sick.”
“You should feel better soon. If your symptoms get worse, you need to come back to the office.”
“I will, Leo. I know the drill.”
Leo exited into the hallway and I followed him. If my bed wasn’t calling to me, we could have stood there talking for hours.
“ Go grab your things so we can leave.”
“I should do something to make up for the fact that I disappeared all afternoon.” I ignored his comment about us leaving. I could take care of myself.
“Please try not to think about it. Focus on getting better.”
“Have a good night, Leo. I appreciate you staying late.”
“You’re not driving home this ill. We’ll go straight to the pharmacy. I’ll help you get settled in bed.”
“I’m not dizzy. I was unsteady in the break room because of being groggy. I’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
“No arguing. I’ll take care of you. You can return to work after you’re fever-free for twenty-four hours. Understood?”
“If I’m taking antibiotics I should be able to return much sooner.”
He stared at me, the muscle in his jaw twitching. Oh, I was far too sick for him to be looking at me like that.
“Then the next time you’re at work, I’ll bring you into my office, set you across my lap and check it myself.”
Shit. I wouldn’t put it past him. No, he might do that even if I stayed out for a week. If I wasn’t already warm from the fever, my cheeks would have flushed.
“Twenty-four hours fever-free. Got it.” I put as much sweetness as I could into my statement.
“Very good, Leelee. Let’s go. Either Ronnie or I will arrange for your car to be dropped off.”
Not knowing what else to say and longing for my bed, I gave a half-hearted stomp. Leo simply gathered me into his arms. We stopped so I had my stuff and he would figure out a plan for my car. He carried me out of the clinic as if this kind of thing happened all the time. We hadn’t gotten our relationship off the ground yet, but I really wanted to discuss it more. However, now was not the time. Not when I was sick. Still, I ‘d been missing him terribly. Being cradled in his arms like I was something precious helped me relax. Leo was all I needed to feel better, not lollipops and medication.