by Amy Wiseman
"Really?" He looked surprised, taking the carrier from her hand, their fingers brushing lightly before he took the handle and walked over to the reception desk to open it. His mouth dropped at the sight of six cupcakes with the delicate and detailed medical decorations. "Thank you," he breathed out. He looked up at her, surprise and awe in his eyes.
Kara glanced around and noticed the small audience of front desk workers currently watching her talk to Jason. Could her face get redder? She wouldn't have thought so, but with Jason looking at her so intently, and the woman at the front desk scrutinizing her every move, it felt as though she would reach new blazing levels.
Jason looked up at the same time and scowled at the nosy women until they looked away. He closed up the cupcakes and motioned for Kara to follow him. He made his way to the doctors’ lounge and held the door open for her, motioning for her to enter. As soon as he set the carrier down, he re-opened it and grabbed a cupcake. Peeling back the paper cup, he took a large bite, moaning in delight.
"Thank you, really...thank you," he said again, closing his eyes and enjoying the swirled treasure in his mouth.
"You didn't have to you know, I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did," he laughed, “but as a doctor I was sort of required to treat you," he teased.
Kara grinned and nodded her head, "I know, Hippocratic oath and all. And I'm glad you like them."
"I do."
They stood looking at each other for a minute, when suddenly Jason's pager began to beep. Sighing in frustration, he grabbed it off his hip and read the message. "I'm sorry, there's a peds patient coming in..." he trailed off.
"Oh, no, I understand. I'll let you get back to work." Kara looked around the room and spotted a paper plate, "do you mind if I unload these and take the carrier back?" She felt a little bad about that the request, but she used the carrier frequently.
"Oh, of course." Jason helped her place the cupcakes on the plate then re-secured the top. They stood together in silence, unsure of what to do next.
"Well it was good…"
"I'm really glad you came by…"
They both started at the same time and laughed.
Jason swallowed and began again, "I'm glad you came by. I was wondering how you were doing."
Kara looked up shyly through her eyelashes and smiled. "I'm okay, just a little sore today. I need to head home to get some rest."
"Yes, take care of yourself," he agreed and then once again they were left in silence, not knowing what else to say, yet neither wanting to leave.
"I really do have to go." He frowned and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder at the door.
Kara nodded again and grabbed the cupcake carrier from the table, turning to head out.
"Can...can I get your number?" Jason asked hesitantly.
"Yeah." Kara breathed out, grinning, "Can I see your cell phone?" She held out her hand expectantly.
"Uh, sure." Jason reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone, then handed it to her. She quickly dialed her own, letting it ring once before disconnecting and saving the number to his address book. She handed him his phone back, smiling, a little smugly, that she now had his number also.
"Thanks." His eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement. As they left the lounge, Kara could feel the heat of his palm on her lower back, as he gently guided her from the room.
There was something about the way he did it, so offhanded and gentlemanly and familiar, that surprised her. But what surprised her more was that it felt so right.
~*~
Jason watched as Kara left the building, before returning to the front desk to look through the charts for his new patient.
"Dating a patient, Jason?" Laura asked, turning toward him in her chair and crossing her legs, allowing her skirt to rise slightly up her thighs.
"Laura, I don't know what you’re talking about," he said, trying to hide his annoyance at the interruption. Laura was always snooping into Jason's private life. She'd made no secret of her desires for him, which he had politely declined since his first day. He tried to be subtle, not wanting to hurt her feelings, but Laura didn’t seem to notice. She was persistent.
"The sickly looking one with red hair? The one who brought you the baked goods? She was a patient here, wasn't she?" Laura persisted, slowly turning back and forth in her chair, watching him.
Jason sighed in irritation, "Yes, she was, and no, I'm not dating a patient." He hoped the lack of pronoun wouldn't be obvious. Of course it was semantics; it could, in fact, be construed that he was dating a patient. Jason didn't agree. It's not as though he could control who came through the doors of the hospital, and as it was, he was not currently treating Kara. He decided to keep it vague, go with a denial and hope that Laura dropped the whole thing. He was sure legally he was doing nothing wrong, but scrutiny at work was a hassle he didn’t need. Jason was a professional and didn't need that challenged by some hormonally driven coworker with boundary issues.
"You know, any time you want to get out, or,” she raised her eyebrows, “relieve stress, I'm here. We could go for drinks," Laura pressed.
Jason gave a fake smile, "Thanks, but that's probably not a good idea. I'm not dating a patient and it would be a bad idea to date a coworker." He tried to be polite.
"Well, let me know if you change your mind." She was trying for seductive but mostly came off as desperate as she ran her finger down his arm from his bicep to his hand. He fought the urge to cringe at the contact.
"I will," he replied, nodding his head and grabbing the file he needed as he left the reception area.
Chapter Six
Jason finished his shift in the best mood he'd been in – what? Weeks? Months? Hell, in the best mood he'd ever been in. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this giddy over a girl. Kara had brought him cupcakes; delicious, adorable, doctor-themed cupcakes. And then she gave him her phone number. Not only did she give him her number, but by using his own cell to do it, she now had his too. Would she call him? No, he would make sure to call her first; he wanted to be clear with his intentions. He glanced at his watch to check the time. It was after eleven, and he briefly considered calling her, but just as quickly decided against it. Surely it was too late - or was it? Jason let out an exasperated sigh; he was so bad at this. He didn't want to look desperate by calling too soon, but neither did he want to play games.
He looked at his watch again and determined it was too late, calling was out. Instead, he decided to send her a text message. He quickly typed out another thank you for the cupcakes, letting her know his co-workers had been extremely jealous, and admitted he finally relented and had generously given two away - but only two. He hit send and then briefly wondered if she would reply in the morning, and whether she would call or text him back.
Less than two minutes later his phone chimed with a message.
Then I'll bake you more. ;) Kara replied. That means she's awake...
Jason immediately dialed her number without hesitation, not really knowing what he would say when, or even if, she answered.
"Hello?" Kara's voice softly answered, sending tingles throughout his body. Jason wondered briefly if she had been asleep, and if his text had awoken her.
"Hi, did I wake you?"
"No, I was actually just settling down for the night." He heard her giggle while clearly trying to stifle a yawn.
Jason chuckled when he yawned in return, "I was just about to turn in myself."
"Long day?"
"Yes and no." Jason pulled his shirt off and grabbed pajama pants from his dresser drawer. "This flu season is kicking our asses, but some of the residents who've been out sick are back, so at least the shifts are beginning to ease up a little. Plus, somebody brought me these delectable cupcakes today, so right there my day ranks higher than any of the others I’ve had lately."
“I’m glad you liked them. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure if it would be inappropriate.” Kara’s voice was trailed off and Jason had to strain t
o hear her. They were both quiet for a minute. It was now or never - he had to take a chance.
“Not at all,” he answered, almost in a whisper. “I’m glad you came by. I ... I wanted to see you, but I wasn’t sure if you’d think that was inappropriate, considering the doctor-patient thing. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to do.” Jason chuckled nervously, stopping as he realized he was pacing in his living room. She didn’t say anything but he could hear her breathing.
“Kara?” He was almost afraid she had fallen asleep. As nervous as he was feeling, considering his strong desire to ask her out, he wondered if maybe her falling asleep wouldn’t be a good thing, postponing his anxiety a little longer.
“I’m here,” she replied softly.
Jason sighed, “I’m glad you came by tonight. And the cupcakes were really good; in fact, good is not the right word, maybe I should say fantastic, delicious, when I ate them I’m pretty sure I saw God.” He heard her chuckle, followed by another yawn on her end, and he smiled.
“You should get some sleep; your body needs it to heal.” He immediately wanted to take back his words, fearing she’d see him as a doctor, or worse, her doctor. That was the last thing he wanted. As far as he was concerned, that aspect of their relationship ended as soon as she left the emergency room.
“Yes, sir, Doctor Dietrich.” Jason grimaced slightly at his correct assumption, but hearing her quiet laugh and the smile in her voice he relaxed, silence once again settling between them.
“Can I call you tomorrow?” he asked hesitantly.
“I’d like that.”
“Goodnight, Kara.”
“Goodnight, Jason.” He waited a few seconds until he heard her disconnect, then looked at the display. They’d been talking for ten minutes. He smiled and put the phone down, then practically skipped to the bathroom for a quick shower before bed.
~*~
The following day at work was pretty much the norm of late. While the staff members were slowly coming back, things continued to be intense as the patients continued to show up in a never-ending stream. Before he knew it, Jason had skipped lunch and his stomach was voicing its complaint. Loudly. After discharging his last patient with directions to rest and stay hydrated, he made his way to the cafeteria. Grabbing a sandwich and a can of soda, he found a quiet corner and enjoyed the few minutes of peace he would get until the end of his shift. Thinking of Kara and his promise to call today, he began going over ideas on how to ask her out. She had already said she didn’t feel their current relationship, for lack of a better word, was inappropriate, and he felt confident she would agree to dinner with him. So confident in fact, he decided to go ahead and call for reservations; he could always cancel if she said no. Please don’t let her say no. After securing a table for two at a nice restaurant, he scrolled his phone book to Kara’s number, pausing briefly before hitting the call button.
He listened anxiously as the phone rang, beginning to worry over what he should say if he had to leave a message. Should he ask her out over voicemail? Thankfully, she answered before he had the chance to over-think the entire scenario.
“Hello?” Kara’s soft voice drifted through Jason, calming him immediately.
“Hi, Kara, it’s Jason.”
“Hey, how are you? Busy day?”
“Terribly. I can’t wait for my ER rotation to be over, this place is insane,” Jason chuckled.
“Maybe you should have gone into podiatry,” Kara giggled.
“No way, I’d still have an ER rotation, only then, afterward, I’d be stuck looking at feet all day.” He laughed easily when he heard Kara snort on the other end. Now was the time; he cleared his throat, “Would you like to go to dinner with me?” he asked. “Tonight?” he amended.
There was a pause before she answered, “I’d love to. What time?”
“I’ll pick you up at seven thirty.” Jason couldn’t stop the enormous grin that spread across his face.
“Sounds good. Um, I’ll text you directions, is that okay?” she asked.
“Perfect.”
Later that evening Jason stood in front of his closet, showered and anxious. He skimmed through the shirts in front of him, touching each; he pulled one out only to replace it with another moments later. Jason was taking Kara to dinner and he had no idea what to wear. He was officially a woman. He huffed at the thought that next he’d be checking out his butt in the mirror, wondering if his pants made it look too big. He walked to his bedside table and grabbed his cell phone, pausing for just a moment to take in the ramifications of what he was about to do, then quickly pressed the number three pre-set before he could change his mind.
"What's up little brother?" Jaime answered on the second ring.
Jason paused for a second, squinted his eyes, and blew out a deep breath. "I need your help," he replied, ignoring the younger brother statement. She was seven minutes older than him, which didn't exactly qualify him as younger in his book.
"With?" He could hear her chewing in the background and looked at his watch. It was six forty five, he had exactly forty five minutes to get dressed and drive over to Kara's or he would be late.
"I have a date.” Pause. “And I don't know what to wear." He struggled to get the last part out.
He could hear her snort through the phone and the subsequent choking of whatever she was eating as it went down the wrong pipe. Serves her right. He smiled.
"Seriously?"
"Yes, Jaime, I'm serious."
"Wear the long sleeve navy blue knit shirt with black jeans and your Docs. You look hot in those and less like an uptight, pretentious, doctor."
"I'm not uptight, or pretentious," he defended himself.
"That's why I told you to wear the shirt I got you for your birthday with the black jeans and Docs. I know you're not either of those, but when you dress like a middle-aged pediatrician in pressed khakis and a tie, you come off as slightly pretentious. On a date that is. Go get dressed," Jaime ordered, then continued, "and call me later. I want details."
"Yeah," Jason sighed and hung up. “Middle-aged…” he mumbled. “We’re the same age!” He exclaimed, then snorted as a thought came to him, “Ha! According to her I’m the younger one.” He shook his head at the conversation he had with himself and tossed the phone on his bed. He’d think of a way to point that fact out to her in the near future.
He grabbed the shirt out of his closet, then pulled boxers and his jeans from his dresser and quickly got dressed. He looked himself over in the mirror and had to concede his sister was right; he looked good. Staring at his reflection he tried to tame his hair, which was always a little unruly, especially when he was due for a haircut. He grabbed some styling goo and messed with it, still not having much luck but decided he didn't have enough time to keep messing with it. Nodding at his image in the mirror he left the bathroom, shutting off the light behind him and heading out to the living room to grab his keys off the kitchen bar. A quick look at his watch told him he had thirty minutes left and he breathed a sigh of relief. He had plenty of time to get to Kara's. Knowing how his schedule had been of late, even without the overwhelming flu epidemic wreaking havoc, he knew that in the future there would be plenty of instances when he'd be late, or even have to cancel altogether, but not tonight. Not on their first date. He was determined to make a good impression, but more he was determined to get to know the woman; the woman that the girl he'd watched in high school had turned out to be.
The drive to Kara's was only about fifteen minutes, and he walked up to her door at exactly seven thirty on the dot, and knocked twice without hesitation. A minute later Kara opened the door. She was a vision, and almost took his breath away. She was dressed casually in soft jeans that fit her curves perfectly, with a soft hunter-green button down v-neck sweater.
Jason couldn't help the smile that split his face upon seeing her. She really was beautiful. Even back in high school she had been pretty, but now, now she was ... perfect? His mind raced with a whirlwind of emoti
ons. This was happening so fast. All he wanted was to take her in his arms and kiss her. Did he really have to wait until after their date? Couldn't a first kiss happen at the beginning? Who made those rules anyway?! Kara stood in front of him holding the door, seeming to be in the same immobile state he was, as she looked him over. He was pretty sure the attraction was definitely mutual and that thought widened his grin. He watched as the blush ran up her cheeks when she realized she was staring, then dropped her gaze and opened the door wider, motioning him in.
He crossed the threshold and looked around briefly.
"Are you ready?" he asked turning to her as she closed the door.
"Yeah, just let me grab my jacket." She smiled, almost shyly, while she tucked her hair behind her ear and eased past him, her body so close to his that he could feel her body heat.
He watched as she grabbed her coat and purse and walked back over to him. "Okay, I'm ready." She smiled as he opened her door for her and followed her back outside. He stood to the side as she locked the door and then guided her back to his car with his hand on the small of her back.
Jason noticed she seemed as nervous as he felt as they made their way to the restaurant, and the drive was relatively quiet. He had the radio on with his mp3 player on the dock. "Do you mind if I look?" she asked, motioning to it.
"No, not at all, be my guest." He smiled, returning the motion toward the player in response. Kara lifted it out and scrolled through his music. Jason's taste in music varied, and he believed he had a fairly good collection. He couldn't help but glace at her out of the corner of his eye as they drove, watching her look through it.
"You've got a lot of stuff on here," she commented, then she busted out laughing. "TLC? Really?"
Jason blushed at his guilty pleasure and laughed in response. "That was their best album!" Kara just nodded and smiled as she returned to his music. She selected a Jack Johnson song and put it back on the docking station. Jason looked over at her and smiled in approval.