Carolina Blues

"Dr. Pavel, how long should we expect to be here?"

I glanced over the chart one more time before meeting Mr. Kaplan's worried eyes. "By the look of these numbers, Dianne should be out of here in two, three days tops. She's really- everything looks great." I watched his furrowed brow relax, shoulders dropping as he reached out to take his wife's hand in support.

"You really think she'll be out that quickly? Because I've been doing some research-"

The loud beep of my pager broke the quiet atmosphere of the room and I jumped a bit, reaching for it perched on my hip and pulling it up. It read 911 EMERGENCY from April, and I shot an apologetic smile to Mr. and Mrs. Kaplan.

"Emergency Room. I'm so sorry, I will be back as soon as possible."

I tucked the chart under my arm and ran towards the elevator, jabbing my thumb into the down button as many times as I could without breaking a finger. "C'mon, dammit!" My pager buzzed again and I pulled it back off of my waistband. 911 YOUR OFFICE still from April. I frowned and turned around, walking down the hall and heading towards my office.

The door was cracked and I could hear her laugh from outside as I pushed in. "Goddammit April, if this was a joke-"

She shot me a smile, eyes wide with her hip resting on the edge of my desk. "There you are!"

"What's the emergency, dude? I was with a patient!"

She cleared her throat and I jumped at a familiar voice behind me. "I'm sorry Georgia, that's my fault." I spun on my heel as Justin stood, a bouquet of bright purple flowers tucked under his elbow as he reached out for my hand.

"Oh, you're fine."

"I didn't mean to barge in, I just wanted to apologize. If you have work to do-"

"She doesn't!" April chirped, sliding Mrs. Kaplan's chart from my hand and leaning close. "You're welcome, by the way." I followed her to the door and shut it, smoothing down the front of my scrub top as I turned back to Justin.

"Sorry about that! April has a very odd definition of emergency. One time I got a 911 page because a resident we both hated ripped her pants in front of everyone." He shook his head and chuckled, sitting on the arm of the chair. I mimicked his movement and met his kind eyes, the familiar butterflies coming back. "So how-"

"Georgia-" He said, at the same time. We both stopped short and leaned back before breaking into laughter. I pointed to him and he nodded, brushing his hair back before continuing. "Georgia, I wanted to apologize for how I left the other day. I didn't mean to- these are for you by the way," he held out the bouquet of flowers and I took them, noting the vibrant purple swirls in each petal, "I lost track of time and ended up late but I feel terrible for running out on you."

I brought the flowers to my nose and took a deep breath, the floral aroma so light and perfect with the light scent of his cologne in the room. "These are beautiful, Justin, thank you so much. And no apology necessary." His eyes fell and I reached out to take his hand. "I had a great time."

He looked up and smiled, the corner of his eyes crinkling in the sweetest way. My stomach flipped when he squeezed my hand, standing up and stepping a bit closer. "I did too," he sounded so excited, his voice deep and strong, "I actually wanted to see if I could take you out again? On a real date this time."

Notes

It'll pick up, I promise.