by T. C. Clark
T.C. Clark
Aidan: One Night with the Doctor
First published by The Invisible Writer's Press 2019
Copyright © 2019 by T.C. Clark
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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Here we go again....
I still love you...
Goodbye...
Boom goes the dynamite...
When it all hits the fan....
One
Here we go again....
Aidan pulled off his latex gloves and wiped his brow. He’d just completed rounds with a couple of interns. They were too busy trying to impress him to notice that their patients were getting annoyed. He’d spent the last hour lecturing them on their bedside manner.
It had been a trying day. Ever since he’d become chief of neurosurgery his life had been busy. He smiled as a nurse waved at him from across the hall. He would have to stay well away from Maria Dominguez. He knew better than to mess with anyone he worked with. He took a deep breath and centered himself.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Mina. Her blood work would be in tomorrow, and he wanted to go over it first thing. She was worried that her tumor was back, and he prayed she was wrong. He was part of the team that had removed the last one.
For such a sweet woman, her life had been hell. He didn’t know what he would do if the news was bad. Once upon a time, he’d imagined himself with her. Her gentle nature had reminded him of everything he’d thrown away. But Mina wasn’t interested in him like that. She’d made that clear.
Although it had stung his pride, it hadn’t changed how much he cared for her. Instead of a lover, she’d become one of his closest friends. He’d turned his attention to a fellow colleague and friend Tara Denton. They had a friends-with-benefits situation that was working out nicely.
She was an interesting distraction, and they both had been clear about the parameters of the relationship. She was building her practice, and he was securing his career in medicine. It wasn’t exactly romantic, but it fulfilled something both of them needed.
He laughed when he read a text from her filled with inappropriate emojis. Somehow he’d created a small world of friends in the big city of Chicago. He’d landed here fresh from a residency and had immediately made a place for himself at the hospital. It had taken years, but he’d finally made it to the top.
He’d earned his success in sweat, blood, and tears. He never let himself forget that. His pager buzzed and he sighed. It was a 911 page from his secretary. That meant somewhere in his office was a pile of shit he’d have to go through. No one had told him that taking this job would mean he would spend eighty percent of his day doing paperwork.
He couldn’t ignore his call. His secretary, Bryan, was a stickler for time—it was one of the reasons he’d hired him. He typically got caught up in whatever he was doing and needed someone to stay on top of his efficiency.
He went back to his office and stopped cold when he saw the look on Bryan’s face. He was holding Mina’s folder.
“They sent this back early for you to review. You need to look at it. I’m sorry, Aidan,” Bryan said, his southern accent more pronounced because of the stress. His secretary wasn’t an emotional man, but he could see the pain in his eyes.
Bryan loved Mina, too; he and his husband spent a lot of Sunday afternoons with the two of them. The expression on his face was easy to read. He didn’t need to look at the papers to know that Mina’s initial feelings were correct. Bob, the tumor, was back.
He read through the papers quickly. How was he going to give her this kind of news? He gave himself a moment to really feel the crushing pain and then he ruthlessly buried it. He was a doctor, a damn good one. He’d worked on countless cases like hers; he’d lost some patients, but he’d saved a lot more.
If Bob was back, he would kick his ass again. The last surgery had been extremely complicated. The location and the rapid growth had made it a difficult process, not to mention the amount of radiation she’d had to go through. She’d told him after the last one that she would never do that again.
He needed time to think. He looked at Bryan and smiled when he realized he was already clearing his schedule. The man knew him well. Whenever Aidan encountered a problem, he needed time to process the information. He believed in God, but he also knew the man upstairs had created Science. If he looked hard enough, he could find his answers there.
When he met with Mina tomorrow, he would need to have a plan in place. She wouldn’t be eager to go back down this road again. He grabbed his laptop and coat.
“I’m going home.” Aidan sent a text to Tara canceling their dinner for the night. He knew she wouldn’t mind. His mind raced with all the different things he needed to do.
“I know. I cleared your schedule. I’ve also sent you a few medical case studies. I hope it helps.” The phone rang, and Bryan picked it up.
“Thanks, Bryan.” He put his coat on and grabbed his thermos.
“You got this. We’ve done this before, we can do it again,” Bryan said, cupping the phone to hide his voice.
“I hope so.” Aidan kept his head down as he walked to his truck. His expression made it clear he wasn’t in the mood to talk.
When he got home, he made a pot of coffee and got to work. He looked up from his computer a few hours later with a shocked face.
He’d never thought he’d see her again. But here she was, staring back at him from a photograph that had been taken at a charity event in her honor. She had the same curious eyes and gentle smile.
Anita Walker was still shockingly beautiful. There was very little difference in her appearance since the last time he saw her. Her dark brown skin ensured that she aged gracefully. Unconsciously, he tensed as his mind bombarded him with memories.
Yes, he’d walked away, but that hadn’t lessened the love he held for her. Leaving her was the biggest mistake of his life. He knew that now. But at the time, it had felt like the only choice for a poor boy looking to make it big. He could still remember the shock on her face when he’d told her it was over.
He forced himself to let go of the memories and focus on the task in front of him. Mina was in real trouble
, the kind of trouble that couldn’t be easily defeated. According to this article, the one person who could do this was Anita.
She’d spent the last few years of her life perfecting a medical technique that used magnetic frequencies and stereotactic laser ablation. It was very dangerous, but she had successfully completed three other surgeries on tumors that were more complex than Mina’s. She was one of the only people in the world who could do it, and she had every reason to turn him down.
He pulled out Mina’s files. He had to try. He would present her case to his colleague’s first thing in the morning, but he knew what their response would be—radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. That wasn’t a bad plan, but he’d seen Mina’s brain the last time they went in—her body couldn’t take much more.
He opened a blank document and started his letter. He had to hope that Anita would at least open it and review the contents. He wasn’t sure how to begin, so he started with an apology. He would be honest and straightforward and hope for the best. He didn’t deserve another chance with her, but Mina deserved her help.
He ignored the adrenaline pumping through his veins that was his body’s automatic response to her. His eyes went back to her picture, and he smiled. She was a special lady. Another woman would take one look at her ex’s name on the letter and throw it away. Anita wouldn’t; she never liked confrontation, but she wasn’t one to run from a fight.
Memories kept replaying in his mind, memories he’d thought he’d successfully buried. He didn’t have time for that. He took a deep breath, cleared his mind and started writing.
* * *
Anita Walker closed the file and took a deep breath. She made her mind focus on the rickety noise of the ceiling fan and forced herself to control the overwhelming emotions. She’d learned the technique in medical school.
For a woman whose mind was firmly on the side of science, she had an emotional personality. That’s how she’d earned the nickname “baby” back in med school. It didn’t take much to get her worked up.
It had taken years to master it, but she had—or at least, she’d thought she had. Tears pricked her eyes as her mind replayed ancient memories from the past. She couldn’t lose control. All of her colleagues were sitting next to her going over their own projects.
Right now, her career was at the height of its success. She remembered when she’d first presented her idea to her hospital. She’d been laughed out of the room. But she had kept her head down and pushed forward. Every surgery hadn’t been a success, but the fact that she’d saved a few people who had been deemed un-savable had given her courage.
Now she worked on a contract basis with other hospitals. Her right-hand woman was sitting next to her taking notes over everything that went on. Sarina looked bored as she kept up Anita’s part of the conversation.
She shouldn’t have looked at the file here. Sabrina had tried to warn her, but when she saw Aidan’s name, she couldn’t wait. Someone asked her a question, and Sabrina fielded it nicely. Her constant chatter a welcome distraction for the other people there.
Anita had never been a people person. Give her a lab, a computer, and a willing patient, and she was a happy woman. She’d never been good at the schmoozing part. When she sighed, Sabrina sat forward and pulled out her phone.
She scrolled through her contacts. “I’m sorry, Anita, we have to go. You have that conference call with Emory later.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that,” she lied. She focused on keeping the relief from showing on her face.
“You’re working with Emory?” Dr. Ashley Powell asked with a frown. She patted her perfectly cut dark blonde hair with a bland expression. Anita knew what was underneath those cobalt blue eyes.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Powell. We can’t talk about the case because of HIPPA and all that,” Sabrina said with a fake smile.
“Maybe if you were better at your job, things like this wouldn’t happen!”
Anita sighed when she saw Sabrina’s eyes narrow. Her Latin temper was legendary at the office. Before Anita could shut Ashley down, Sabrina spoke up.
“Well, I’m sorry I had everything perfectly planned out for today when your department decided to throw Dr. Walker a surprise lunch for her birthday, which was exactly three weeks ago. I can only do so much.”
“She can’t talk to me like that. She’s just your secretary,” Ashley snapped.
Sabrina stiffened, for once caught off guard by the open venom on the other doctor’s face. Her snide tone finally broke through to Anita’s brain.
“Mrs. Diaz is not my secretary, she is my research coordinator, and to be clear, a secretary is a perfectly acceptable job. Also, she can speak how she likes. I pay her salary, not the hospital. Now if that’s all, I do have a lot to do.” Anita stood and grabbed her laptop and bag.
The other staff of the hospital rushed to soothe her. She brushed aside their concerns. She didn’t mind Ashley, everyone knew how she was. This wasn’t the first time she’d acted like this. She’d be gone if she wasn’t such an excellent surgeon.
They walked back to her office. When they got through the door, Sabrina turned to her with a grin.
“So, I’m officially a research coordinator now?” Sabrina asked. It was a job she’d wanted for a while. Sabrina had taken to managing the clinical trials. Anita had pushed her to get the certification she needed to make the job officially hers. She’d even helped her study for it.
“Yes, you deserve it. You’ve worked so hard, and all of that work made it possible for me to move forward with my studies. I already spoke to HR about changing your title and finding you a place in the department.”
“If I leave, what would you do without me?”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you, but you can’t let our friendship hold you back.” Anita would be devastated when she lost Sabrina, but this was a great step in her career, and her family could use the money.
Sabrina hugged her. Anita knew she couldn’t hide the sadness on her face. Sabrina made working here fun.
“Why did your face do that thing when you read through that file?” Sabrina said, pointing to the manila folder Anita was gripping tightly.
She loosened her grip. “My face didn’t do anything.”
“Anita, come on, it’s me. You’ve got control down, but I could still tell you were freaking out.”
“I’ll tell you everything soon enough. Right now I need to think.”
Sabrina nodded, she knew how Anita’s mind worked. She needed time to analyze and deconstruct information before she commented on it.
Anita sighed and took a sip of her water bottle. How did she explain her mixed feelings for Aidan? He’d broken her heart, but he’d also given her a lot of good memories. She shook her head; this wasn’t the time or place to become emotional.
The information about his patient’s tumor intrigued her. She’d spent her last few years taking on cases that other surgeons wouldn’t take. She couldn’t let her feelings for Aidan affect that. Mina had the exact type of tumor she typically worked on. She sat down on her chair and took a deep breath.
She was a grown woman. She’d spent years perfecting this skill to save patients just like Mina. She knew what she needed to do, but she wanted to speak to a friend first. She needed an objective view from someone who knew her well.
Thirty minutes later she looked up and found Sabrina typing excitedly on her phone. She was probably telling her husband about the promotion. She smiled; no one deserved it more than her. Sabrina inspired her with how hard she worked to provide for her family. She had four kids, and somehow she’d never missed a day working with her.
Even though she’d never said anything, Anita knew her working hours were a strain on her family, and as much as she wanted to keep her by her side, she wasn’t selfish enough to do so. That’s why she’d pushed her into getting research coordinator certification; with it, she could work with anyone in the hospital.
“Sabrina, take the rest of the day
off. I’m almost finished here. I just need to make a few more phone calls.” Anita searched through her purse and pulled out her calendar.
“What about the new case?” Sabrina asked with a frown.
“I’m going to take it, but I’m going alone. The meeting I set up for you with HR is next Wednesday.”
“No, thank you,” Sabrina said.
“Sabrina…”
“No, I know why you wanted me to get the certification, and I appreciate it. But working with you has changed my life in the best way. The promotion is great, and it’s going to be an amazing plan B for me. But I’m going with you for the next case. I know I can’t go to the military one in Sri Lanka after you finish this one because of security reasons, but I can do this. I’m not leaving you, Anita, not until you tell me to.”
They both stared at each other for a moment. They were two very different women, but they had formed a special bond between them. Anita recognized the feeling flowing through her; it was relief. She was glad Sabrina had decided to stay on.
“I’m happy you want to stay, to be honest I didn’t know what I was going to do without you,” Anita admitted.
“I’m going to go and take my family out to eat to celebrate. I will be back in the morning and we will figure out what to do from there,” she said firmly. Sabrina walked over and grabbed her bag.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
* * *
Anita waited for a bit before she called Yoel. If someone had told her that her ex-husband would become her good friend, she would have laughed them out of the building. But here she was. She dialed his number and waited. She knew it would take a while because of the base he was on. He was a lieutenant general in the military.
“Anita, how are you, my friend? You still coming down to do the surgery?” he asked, his Cuban accent gritty over the satellite phone.