Flowers Sent to the Hospital

“Are you okay?” Jamie asked, wrapping his hands around the ceramic mug he was drinking from. The pair were sitting outside of a little local shop that served coffee to the people of downtown Dallas; their metal table for two was perched in the sun.

Tyler made a face, scrunching up both his nose and lips. He shook his head.

“My stomach’s been hurting since I woke up, but I’m okay, Chubbs.” Jamie studied him over the rim of his mug, watching him through the steam swirling into the late summer air. Tyler was hunched in his chair, elbows on his knees with his coffee cupped in both hands. His face was pinched. Just below his hairline, Jamie could see small droplets of sweat beginning to form.

“Segs…” his captaincy started to spill over his lips. He tried not to lecture the boys too often, but he could tell when someone was hurting.

Tyler cut him off, “I’m fine, Jamie! Really, it’s nothing.” He bounced his leg a few times, blowing a breath out through rounded lips. Jamie raised his eyebrows, but at the use of his real name, decided against saying anything else.

They had both landed in Dallas a few days ago and had met up this morning to begin a workout regime before training camp started. Segs had called him a few minutes before Jamie left his apartment to head to the gym, asking if he wanted to grab some breakfast first. The shop they had met up at had flowers hanging in baskets from the ceiling and tall shelves where all sorts of trinkets and gifts were sitting, waiting to be picked up for a birthday present. Jamie had found him already sitting at the table, sunglasses on and hair slicked back. His face had been neutral then but had slowly fallen the longer they sat.

“All right, Segs.”

~~~~~

“Ow! G- Ah! Ouch!” Emily screamed, hopping around her kitchen while holding her fingers to her chest. “Ow,” she whispered, unfolding her left hand from her right, looking down at the damage the coffee pot had done to her flesh. There was a line where she had accidentally pressed them against the burner of the machine. It was red, but it wouldn’t blister.

“What a great way to start the morning,” she grumbled, reaching again to pour some of the dark liquid into her mug. The steam from the freshly made pot drifted over the already burnt skin, making it sting. She drew in a breath through her teeth.

She was so tired that she drank it black, grimacing at the taste. The mug made a loud clanking noise as it hit against the countertop.

It was her last of four days off, and her best friend, Bethany, had dragged her around club hoping the night before. Emily had limited herself in the drinking department and praised herself for it when she woke up without a hangover; unlike Beth, who had woken up at four in the morning to throw up in the bathtub. Now she was passed out on the couch, the majority of her blanket resting on the ground, as Emily started to pour her second cup of coffee.

She jumped as something brushed up against her ankle and cursed as she spilled the contents of her mug down the front of her shirt. Her shouts stirred Beth who grumbled something and threw a pillow in the general direction of the kitchen.

Emily glanced down as she pat herself dry with a hand towel. A little bundle of black and white fur was still pushing itself against her legs, circling her feet in a figure eight. She sighed, setting the mug back down on the counter and trying to avoid stepping on the small kitten as they padded over to the laundry room.

“C’mon Denny,” she called as the kitten hid behind the doorway, peeking out at her and the food cup she was holding. She shook it, rattling the contents, and he came sprinting over to circle his bowl. He dug his face into the food as soon as she started to pour it out. His back arched as she ran a hand down it to his tail where he playfully batted at her hand when she gently tugged on it. Emily smiled, giggling down at her pet.

She left him to eat and walked back towards the kitchen, seeing the mess of coffee she’d spilled on the floor. Emily sighed. It was too early in the morning for this, only half-past seven. Her patience was thin, and maybe getting coffee from somewhere where she didn’t have to pour it herself would brighten her day. She went back into her room, emerging a few minutes later with a sweatshirt and running shorts on, paired with fuzzy socks and the first slip-on shoes she could find.

She reached for her lanyard that was hanging on a hook by the door while she glanced over at Beth, wondering whether or not she should bother with a note. She decided to scribble one on a used Post-it Note and rush out the door before Denny finished his breakfast.

~~~~~

Jamie could tell he was stalling. Tyler was nursing his drink that was sure to be cold by now. At times he would press the mug to his mouth to make it look like he took a drink, but would pull it away again without actually letting the coffee slip through his lips. Jamie wanted to say something about the flush that had crept upon his friend’s cheeks, or the fact that the beads of sweat were starting to get fatter, running down his forehead. Tyler could blame it on the Dallas heat all he wanted, but Jamie could tell something was wrong.

Jamie stood up to go get a refill, glancing back at Ty as her held the door open for a random girl that slipped past with a quiet “thanks”. The noise inside was at a minimum, just a few couples and old ladies talking with each other, enjoying their mornings. The girl he had held the door open for was laughing quietly with the man behind the counter. It was easy to stand in here and forget the noisy world outside. The girl stepped aside once she had placed her order, going to stand by another counter where she again started talking with the barista.

Jamie handed over his cup, waiting with his hands in his pockets for the man behind the register to turn and pour more coffee into it. Him and the girl were handed their coffees at the same time, in-unison “thank you’s” were exchanged. They glanced at each other as they turned from the counter.

Her eyes were light, bluish-gray, but dark bags hung underneath them. Her dark brown hair was messy without looking unkept. She was short, much smaller than Jamie, but the running shorts she wore showed off her legs. The muscles there were defined, but her legs couldn’t be considered skinny. More of an athletic build, Jamie thought to himself, wondering if she bore muscles under the baggy sweatshirt she was wearing, too.

She gave him a small smile, starting to turn back towards the door when there was a yell from outside. They both stilled. Jamie’s head whipped around to look at Tyler through the large windows. He had fallen from his metal chair and was now laying on the ground, rolling around with his hands on his stomach and attracting a lot of attention. The girl beside him gave a gasp as Jamie rushed towards the door, throwing his mug onto the nearest table without caution.

He took Tyler by the arms when he could reach him. Tyler’s face had gone pale, all the previous redness gone. The sweat was all over his body, making his skin sticky beneath Jamie’s grip. His friend let out a low groan that was painful to hear; the noise an animal makes when it’s dying.

“What’s going on?” Jamie didn’t notice the door thrown open behind him or the group of people gathering. The girl in the sweatshirt ran over to them. She quickly kneeled down beside Tyler, glancing towards both of their faces before turning her attention to where Tyler’s hands clasped around the lower, right side of his abdomen. Her eyes were wide, but there was no fear in them.

“Do you still have your appendix?” she asked Tyler. Jamie watched his face as he took quick breaths, holding them for a second and then letting them out in short puffs. He nodded slowly and shortly, barely visible. Jamie glanced over to see her nod to herself, mumbling incoherent things under her breath. “Don’t mind me,” she spoke louder as she fumbled with his shirt.

“Wha- Ahhh!” Tyler screamed, twisting away from her as she managed to pull the shirt up past his hands. They were now trapped under the fabric so they could see his stomach. It was swollen out past the other half of his abdomen by about half an inch and was bright red. Jamie moved his hand towards it and could feel the heat radiating off of it. His hand was slapped away.

“Hey! He-”

“Shh!” Her hands brushed away the strands of hair that danced around her face, obstructing her sight. She brought them down slowly, watching Tyler’s expression. His glassy eyes looked back at her before he threw his head back in pain and howled once more. His noises got louder as she pressed gently onto the swollen area. He grabbed at her hands, throwing them away so forcefully she almost toppled backwards.

“Hey, calm down,” her voice was soothing, sounding nothing like the intense worry that had laced her voice when she had come to kneel next to them, “I’m a nurse. I can help, but you have to let me.” Tyler was breathing hard, now sucking in breath through his teeth and letting it out the same way. Some breaths were paired with whimpers. Their eyes locked, and she didn’t touch him again until he nodded, gaining a sense of trust through the eye contact with a complete stranger. She nodded back and pressed against his skin again; he tried to clamp his mouth shut, but his lips parted once again in a deep groan.

“Is there something I can do?” asked the man from behind the register. He had come outside with the rest and was leaning over the girl, breathing on her shoulder as she reached a hand forward to lace with Tyler’s. He gripped it hard, happy to have something to hold onto. She turned her head to look back at the man, their faces inches apart.

“You can call him an ambulance.” He ran inside quickly.

“Hey, what’s your name?” There was a gentleness about her that radiated calm. It poured off her in waves as she gazed back down at Tyler, and Jamie could feel his heart hammering a little less. Tyler tried to answer, but he couldn’t unclench his teeth.

“Tyler,” Jamie blurted out beside her. She peeked over at him and nodded.

“Okay, Tyler,” she stroked at his hair, “we’re going to get you to the hospital, okay? You’re going to be fine.” She continued to run her fingers through his hair and talk quietly to him, holding a one-sided conversation well, until the ambulance arrived. The EMTs took over as soon as they got to him, pushing both Jamie and the girl away without a second glance. Tyler cried out when his hand was ripped from hers, but she shushed him over the noise of the gurney being lifted, promising that they’d see him at the hospital.

As the gurney neared the ambulance, Tyler leaned over the side, upheaving his breakfast onto the nearest EMT’s shoes. He didn’t even glance at them as he loaded Tyler into the back of the vehicle, jumping in after him and slamming the door. He banged on it a few times to let the driver know they were settled, and the ambulance left in a flash of lights and sirens.

The noise faded into the distance, until Jamie could almost pretend he was imagining it. He let out a deep breath.

“C’mon,” she said, snapping Jamie out of his trance, “I’ll drive.”

~~~~~

Emily watched as he stuffed his long legs into the front seat of her car. His knees were practically touching his chest.

“Sorry, I’m still paying off my Nursing Program,” she blurted out. She mentally recoiled chastising herself for the inappropriate outburst; he didn’t care about her car, he just wanted to be at the hospital with his friend. He flicked his eyes up from adjusting the seat belt.

He seemed uncomfortable as he said, “Uh...I- It’s okay?” His eyebrows arched in confusion, and Emily turned herself towards the steering wheel, muttering under her breath as she started the car before she could embarrass herself further.

He was attractive, strong and fit underneath his Under Armour shirt. His dark hair was slicked back with some type of gel, but a small piece of it was threatening to fall into his dark eyes. Emily resisted the urge to reach over and swipe it back while she turned into traffic. At a red light she tempted another peek, scanning the sleeve of tattoos running down his left arm. She didn’t get a good look at them, but she secretly grinned to herself when she felt a blush creep up through her face.

“I’m Jamie.” Emily jumped. She glanced over, startled, and he chuckled at her expense. “Sorry, didn’t mean to break the silence.” Jamie was still looking at her; she noticed that he looked much calmer than he had while crouched over Tyler.

“No,” she laughed it off, “it’s fine. I’m Emily.” The light turned green, Emily didn’t see Jamie return her smile.

“Thank you, Emily,” he spoke, making her catch her breath. Her mental berating continued. He was just another man, someone who she was helping out. He was too attractive to not have a girlfriend, Emily thought. She would bring him to the hospital, see Tyler through his probable surgery, and go back home to finish what was left of her final day on break. She couldn’t keep imagining herself with every attractive guy she interacted with on the streets. The unfulfilled expectations would rip her heart to shreds.

So she smiled politely, allowing herself to glance over at the man sitting next to her. “You’re welcome.”

~~~~~
Emily promised Tyler that she’d stay at the hospital until they were sure he was okay, but she stayed polite and detached otherwise, just like a nurse should. They were sitting next to each other in the ER waiting room while Tyler was rushed into emergency surgery. Her legs were drawn up in a crisscross pattern. The chairs were pretty small, and Jamie couldn’t help but wonder how she was comfortable sitting like that. She flipped through a Pregnancy magazine, pausing to read a particularly long article whose pictures made Jamie’s stomach churn. When he had asked about it, she responded by saying she was a Peds nurse, kids five and under were her specialty.

They shared short conversations as Jamie glanced around, watching moms with crying kids and an old couple, the husband whispering things into his wife’s ear that made her smile though she was holding onto her chest tightly. Jamie frowned, bouncing his leg faster the longer they sat there, anxiety sweeping over him, making his heart flutter in his chest. His movements caught Emily’s attention, and she looked at him through her lashes, her head still tucked down to read the small writing in her magazine.

“Jamie,” he stilled his movements at her tone, it was insistent yet gentle, “how about we go to the cafeteria, get something to drink?” He traced the line of her jaw with his eyes before moving them up to meet hers. In the bright, sterile white light of the hospital they were even lighter than before, a pale blue. Jamie couldn’t read into them like most people, hers were like walls, keeping out what she didn’t want in. And despite his friend and teammate going into surgery at any moment, he couldn’t help but wonder why.

“Okay,” he croaked out, readjusting the watch on his wrist. The face of it read 8:30; they had only been sitting there for thirty minutes.

They stood together, and Jamie insisted that they check the front desk for news on Tyler one last time before leaving the waiting room. The lady he had talked to earlier had gone on break, replaced by an over-friendly blonde who sloshed her ponytail around behind her head while she typed Tyler’s name into the computer.

“Are you a friend?” she asked with a giant smile. Jamie was caught off guard, having to explain his relationship with Tyler to this woman when most people knew the extent of their friendship the moment they recognized the two.

“We’re like brothers,” he finally breathed out. The words caught in his throat, and he felt Emily’s hand squeeze around the back of his arm. She gave him a comforting smile when he turned his head to look at her. He let out a huff of breath as the blonde nurse handed him small disk.

“It’s a beeper,” she said. “It’ll flash when the doctors have an update.” Emily thanked her as she tugged at Jamie’s arm. He was still staring at the beeper but allowed her to blindly lead him through a maze of halls.

~~~~~

They were sitting at a table in the middle of the cafeteria, surrounded by people in scrubs and visiting families. It was a huge open space with plastic, round lunchroom tables, flanked with gift shops, vendors, and small cafes. Everything was shades of white, tan, and gray, spotted with random green plants that bore no flowers.

Jamie could tell that Emily was getting more and more nervous the longer it went that the beeper didn’t flash. She kept looking at the disk in Jamie’s hands and glancing at the big clock nailed onto a walkway above their heads, frowning before turning back to her cardboard container of eggs and bacon.

“Is it normal for it to take this long?” the bluntness of his question must have startled her because she quickly snapped her eyes up to his, trying to take in his expression. Jamie could tell his face was distorted into fear and anger, his eyes hooded and his jaw set.

“Yes,” she said carefully, slowly. “He should be out any minute, it’s just weird that they haven’t given us an update yet.” He studied her, trying to pry through the blue of her eyes to the real reason she seemed worried.

“Do you think something happened?” There was another pause as their stare down continued, but she ended up shrugging with the straw of her smoothie still between her lips; Jamie watched her bend it slightly with her teeth before mumbling around it.

“It’s possible that his appendix burst considering how bad the swelling was.” At the horrified look on Jamie’s face she continued, “I wasn’t going to lie to you.” The hardness in her eyes wasn’t malicious as she said it like a fact, like she would never think of lying to him. Jamie swallowed hard and nodded.

“Should we get back to the waiting room?” he asked.

“We won’t learn anything new until the beeper goes o-” she was cut short as the disk sitting on Jamie’s thigh vibrated and flashed bright reds and greens. The straw was now free from her teeth as she stared down at the device. “Yeah, we should get back to the waiting room.”

Jamie led the way from the table, leaving her to pack up her food and follow him in a rush. She pushed him down a long corridor when he stalled at a fork in the halls. From deep within his mind the thought that she knew these halls well pushed past his worries for Tyler. It rolled off his tongue before he could stop it.

“Do you work here?”

“Yes,” she answered, smiling and waving as another brunette in scrubs strode past them. “In the Maternity and Pediatrics wing.” Her voice was lost to him when they appeared in the ER waiting room, seeing a young doctor with dark blue scrubs waiting by the swinging doors of the ER.

“Are you Tyler Seguin’s doctor?” Jamie demanded across the room. Many pairs of eyes turned his way, but he turned his back to the crowd when he reached the man in scrubs. He caught Jamie with a stern look, but couldn’t hold it while looking at Jamie’s hunched shoulders and the obvious fright lighting up his eyes.

“I am his resident doctor, yes. Sir…” he paused when Emily walked up beside Jamie’s side, “Ma’am,” he nodded towards her with a small smile, “there were some complications with the surgery. We were almost done removing the appendix when it burst. It leaked quite a bit of fluid into Mr. Seguin’s abdomen, but the doctors are cleaning it up as we speak. I wanted to come inform you of the delay.” Jamie gasped, reaching for Emily’s hand, grabbing it hard. He noticed her body go stiff and loosened his grip, thinking that he had overstepped a boundary. But she didn’t pull away, instead stepping into a more detailed conversation with the doctor, using more medical terms than Jamie could understand. Their talking faded into the background as all he could concentrate on was the second hand ticking away on the clock over the nurses’ station.

“Jamie...Jamie...Jamie…” his name was being used, but only the sharp tug of Emily’s hand in his made him look down to her face. He knew all the blood had rushed out of his, and his brown eyes were wide. Her look was sympathetically.

“Tyler’s going to be fine,” she spoke evenly. “They’re going to clean him up and get him into recovery. It’s pretty common that the appendix gets infected, less common that it bursts, but the doctors know how to fix it. It will just take longer, okay?” Her voice was distant, but he nodded along at the end. “C’mon,” she said, leading him over to a set of chairs with a hand on his chest and the other one still laced with his. “He’ll be okay, Jamie. Try to get some sleep, you look tired.” He shook his head against the back of the chair where he rested it.

“I can’t.”

“You should. All this stress is making your body exhausted.”

Jamie peeked over at her through slitted eyelids. She looked sincere and smirked when he yawned.

“We’ll see.”

~~~~~

Jamie was prodded awake, Emily’s finger poking at his shoulder. Sometime during his catnap, his head had fallen onto her shoulder, nestled in the curls of her hair. He lifted it noticing the brunette nurse they saw in the hallway hovering over them; her name tag read Lindy in playful letters. Emily’s eyes were wide with urgency.

“Wha...What?” he asked through a yawn.

“One of my patients needs me-”

“I know it’s your day off,” Lindy began, apologetically glancing between the two, “but I just thought you could help calm her down.”

“Oh course, it’s not a problem,” Emily smiled up at her, turning to Jamie with a pleading look. He was surprised, wondering why she was asking his permission to go do her job. He furrowed his brow and nodded, sitting up and crossing his arms, preparing to sit and deal with his nervousness on his own. She seemed to notice his demeanor, reaching a hand across the armrest to grab his and squeeze it.

“Jamie, he’s going to be just fine.” She stood up to join Lindy, dropping his hand onto his lap again. “I’ll be right back.” She jogged towards the elevators with her colleague, securing her hair with a hair tie Jamie hadn’t seen on her wrist. She smiled reassuringly at him as the doors shut in front of her.

Emily’s breakfast container still sat on her seat, propped open by her plastic fork. She must have finished it while he was sleeping. It crossed his mind to get up and throw it away, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, knowing that if he got up now, he wouldn’t be able to sit back down; knowing instead that he’d take to pacing the carpeted area between the waiting room and the nurses’ station. So he looked at the clock, busying himself with watching the second hand tick by each hash mark again. He noticed he had only been asleep for ten minutes.

He could feel the weight of the beeper still in his lap. It would go off when there was news, Emily said it would take time, he lectured himself.

He looked at anything, anything at all that would keep his attention away from the plastic device resting on his thighs. The clock was his main focus point, but knowing that it would make time go slower by staring at it, Jamie moved his eyes from the perky blonde chatting with someone behind the front desk, to the ER doors swinging open and closed again as people in scrubs walked out in twos or threes.

It was another half hour until Emily showed up again, this time in white Mickey Mouse scrubs and tennis shoes with her hair tied up in a bun, strands were falling out by her ears. Jamie almost didn’t recognize her.

“Hey, sorry that took so long,” she breathed. She was breathless like she had run back down to him. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve said it was that statement that made his heart race.

“It’s okay,” Jamie mumbled, staring at the pattern of her shirt. He smiled mischievously which sent her into giggles. Her cheeks were flushed pink when he finally looked up at her.

“I always keep an extra pair of scrubs in my locker,” she explained. Jamie nodded, still grinning as he tugged at the end of her shirt to see the Mickey and Minnie silhouettes better. When he finally stopped, she was studying him carefully, eyes narrowed with a grin that matched his. “Want to come meet my favorite patient?” Jamie was shocked, the grin instantly fell from his lips. He sat still for a moment, wondering if she could do that. She held out a hand, beckoning him to come with her. His frown was replaced by a soft smile as he wrapped his fingers around hers.

She led him to the elevators she had left in before, and then through a mess of hallways. Slowly, the pictures hanging on the walls were replaced by colorful murals of jungle and ocean animals; a random assortment of stuffed teddy bears were stacked high on short, green, plastic tables. Books with cardboard pages lined mini bookshelves. Nurses in pastel scrubs sat behind a large, rounded desk. Magnetic zoo animals hung onto the back of their computer screens. Emily chuckled as he looked around, wide-eyed.

They walked past all this, hands still twined together, before Emily opened swinging doors like the ones down at the ER with a badge she wore on a lanyard. The doors opened slowly at first, allowing anyone near them adequate time to get out of the way, then they swung forward quickly, stopping when they were parallel to the walls.

It wasn’t as childish in these halls, instead the walls were only lined with a strip of wallpaper that had cartoon bunnies decorating it. A couple of cries caught Jamie’s attention.

“It’s a running joke between the nurses,” she spoke, the cries not seeming to bother her, “bunnies because it’s a Maternity ward.” She chuckled softly. Jamie was suddenly aware of every cry that rang out around him, wondering how many soon-to-be moms were in serious pain; his heart hurt for them.

Noticing his discomfort, Emily chuckled again, pulling him to a door on their right. “The moms are another hallway over. This is just the nursery. The cries,” she swung the door open, gaining a glance from an older nurse who was carrying a clipboard around from crib to crib, “are coming from these guys!” Her smile was suddenly giddy as she turned to look at Jamie; he couldn’t help but match her smile, he loved kids. “And this,” she started, tugging him over to a bed directly across the room, “is Eloise Mae, Ella for short. It was her grandma’s name.” Jamie watched her talk, noticing how the hard walls in her eyes were beginning to fall while looking at the unusually small infant. “She was born at 35 weeks, just before her lungs were fully developed,” Emily was pulling at a purple, plastic apron that unfolded from a box on the wall and handed it to Jamie while grabbing one for herself. Then she reached into the glass crib, slowly pushing her hands beneath the little girl’s back, pulling her into her chest, “but she’s a fighter. Her mom’s still here, recovering from complications during her C-Section.”

All worries Jamie had about Tyler were gone while watching Emily softly handling Ella’s little body. Without warning she was handing her to Jamie. He stressed over where to put his hands without ripping out wires and IVs, but Emily directed his hands until he was holding Ella just as she had been, right against his plastic covered chest.

“Was this the patient you went to see earlier?” He asked as Emily took a step closer to stroke Ella’s head. She shook her head.

“No. It was a girl in Peds,” she motioned with her head towards the doors that hid the brightly colored tables and buckets of toys. “But we’ve been through a lot too, haven’t we baby girl?” Her voice had noticeably softened from their time spent in the ER; just by hearing the tone she was using, anyone could tell she was talking to a child.

“Are you supposed to let strangers hold the babies?” Jamie asked, warily glancing over at the other nurse who was sitting by a crib in the far corner. Emily chuckled, starting to lift Ella out of Jamie’s grasp; he let go of her sadly.

“No, but Janice won’t tell,” she nodded in the nurse’s direction. “Plus,” there was a shit-eating grin on her face, “her parents are major Stars fans, they wouldn’t care.” Jamie did a double-take, wondering if he heard her right. He gripped onto her arm, a little hard, but she didn’t flinch away.

“You know who we are?!” he whispered, surprised. Emily laughed.

“I knew who you were the moment I saw you, but I’m more of a Hawks fan,” she shrugged it off like it was nothing, but that playful smile still crept into her eyes as she slipped away from him, striding towards the door. Jamie laughed, too loud for the quiet nursery and was shushed by Janice for it.

Emily was across the room already, holding the door open to the hallway. “C’mon,” she said, “let’s go check on Tyler.”

~~~~~

The next morning, Emily made sure to stop in to say hello to Tyler before starting work. He was complaining grumpily to his male nurse when she walked in.

“-keeps me up half the night, then I’m prodded awake by you guys at ungodly hours of the morning only to be asked how my pain is. The pain that I wasn’t feeling until I was woken up! I-”

“Sounds like you’re doing better Tyler. You’re actually talking this morning,” she interrupted him. He turned his head towards the door, watching her as she strode in and sat next to him. Her and Jamie had come to see him after he was out of recovery, but he was still drowsy from the pain meds and had barely gotten a few words out before falling asleep. Emily had to leave not long before he woke again after a frantic call from Beth, insisting that she needed a ride home because it was ‘hot as ass’ outside. She left Jamie at the hospital to stay with Tyler overnight.

“Emily! What a nice surprise!” his words were drawn out as he was still high on whatever opioid they were giving him to control the pain. “How have you been?”

She chuckled before responding, taking a bite of the Poptarts she had brought for her breakfast. He eyed them, reaching for one only to have her pull them away as the male nurse glanced up from Tyler’s chart.

“I’ve been good, Ty. How ‘bout you?”

“Chubbs talked my ear off about last night about you, wouldn’t let me sleep.” Tyler’s rant trailed off as Emily watched the nurse over her shoulder as he left, then reached to break off half of her remaining Poptart and hand it to Tyler.

“Don’t tell anyone,” she cautioned. He nodded while gnawing at the corners.

“Anyway,” he started up again, “he’s down at the cafeteria right now, but he said something about flowers, and I don’t know, I’m too high on this good stuff to remember things,” he tugged at the IV tube that was draped over his bed. Emily stopped eating her breakfast, looking up at Tyler carefully, noticing him readying himself to grab for the last of the snack in her hands.

“Have it,” she held it out for him. He didn’t hesitate to start chewing on it like the last one. “Flowers?” she persuaded him, trying to keep him talking, maybe something else would slip.

“Yeah, som’fin’ ‘bout flowers,” Tyler said, around the Poptart. He swallowed quickly, giggling at his thoughts. “You want to know what else he told me?”

“What else, Tyler?” She reciprocated his grin.

“Said you were a Blackhawks fan.” She laughed at the mock hurt in his eyes.

“That indeed I am.” He scoffed at her, eyeing her hands, which she held up so he could see there were no more treats hidden in them.

“Trader.” Emily was still laughing as she looked at the clock and stood.

“I gotta go, Ty. You’re going to make me late for work.”

“Okay,” he huffed, turning to lay back in his bed once more, hands crossed over his stomach. “I’ll miss you, and so will Jamie,” he threw at her as she headed towards the door. He heart did flips.

“What?” she asked, turning in surprise. Tyler had sat up again, the blankets falling to his waist as he poked at the blankets with his finger, picking up Poptart crumbs and shoving them into his mouth. He paused, smiling sheepishly when he noticed her watching.

“I said, ‘I’ll miss you, have fun at work’.” Emily could tell he was a handful to be friends with and rolled her eyes as she turned back towards the door.

“Try to sleep before Jamie comes back.”

~~~~~

Emily had been hoping to run into Jamie on her way up to work; she had even walked slower than usual, strolling along the hallways until she couldn’t stall any longer and needed to be doing rounds. Now, an hour and a half into her shift, she had been paged to Eloise’s mom’s room. It took her only a minute to backtrack through the Peds lobby to get to recovery in the Maternity wing.

“Hey, Alyssa, Beth,” Emily greeted the blonde-haired mom of three and her best friend with equally sweet smiles.

“Hey, Emily,” Alyssa smiled back, looking well rested from the night before. “Nice scrubs, my oldest would love them!” Emily smiled down at her Frozen scrubs. Olaf was the main feature in all the little pictures.

“Ha, thanks,” she laughed. “What’s up? I was paged just a minute ago.” She looked from Alyssa to Beth, the latter of which had a large smirk plastered on her lips.

“Someone,” Alyssa huffed as she strained to pick up a vase of flowers. Emily hurried over to help her lift it onto the bed, “left these with a super sweet card attached.” Emily hesitated, glancing between the two women. Beth finally sighed.

“Read it,” she pushed.

Emily paused, narrowing her eyes at Beth before glancing over to see Alyssa’s encouraging nod. In sloppy handwriting, obviously a boy’s, it read:

To the Parents of Eloise Mae,

You’re daughter has an amazing nurse. Never stop fighting.

-Jamie Benn

Notes