Beautifully Awake (17 page)

“Carl. What the fuck’s your problem?” Chase growled as if he knew why the machines were beeping. He wasn’t alarmed this time, just angry. The blaring ominous tune brought back awful memories of the blood bath. “Silence the
fucking
alarm.”

Carl stared at the screen. Didn’t flinch. If looks killed, Wet Noodle needed CPR. Chase bordered on homicidal. In slow motion, Dr. Jennings finally reached up and hit a button, silencing the beep. “Just kinked IV tubing. Not a big deal.”

“Last time I checked, all the meds keeping my patient stable while I slice a huge tumor out of his brain are dripping through that tubing. It’s a
huge
fucking deal,” Chase roared then snapped over to my direction. “Blue, you ready?”

Shit, he just called me Blue.
On a scale of one to ten, the tensity of the room was teetering on a twelve point five, so I doubted anyone noticed. Chase was so angry, his heavy breathing suctioned his mask to his face with each inhale. I kept his gaze, hoping to calm him. Wet Noodle was about five seconds from being tossed against a wall.

“I’m going to wake him up now. If Dr. Jennings thinks he can handle doing his fucking job.” Chase’s eyes bored into Wet Noodle before looking back at me. “Just keep him calm, Lili, but keep him talking. Just like you did in the other cases. You with me, Blue?” He softened, I loved that I did that for him.

“With you, Chase.”
With you.
For the first time I didn’t think twice about who was listening. I had no idea what we had or where it was going, but I needed him as much as he needed me right then.

The rest of the case went off without a hitch. The whole time the
boys
remained quiet and focused. I was thankful for small favors, no more talk of birth control or sexual frustrations.

Chase dismissed Jackson and Guy, while he took his time teaching Sam how to close. Or staple, or sew the patient’s head. Something crazy like that. Methodical and patient, he was an amazing teacher.

“Nice work, Dr. Petit,” Chase said sincerely. “Why don’t you go help Guy and Jackson with post-op checks. I’ve got this.”

“You’re sure?” Sam sounded shocked that his attending wanted to stay behind and transport the patient to recovery.

“Yes. Go,” Chase instructed. “Ms. Porter. Walk with me.”

My stare wandered down his sick body, imagining every hard curve. Flashes of our first night together in my hallway against the glass ran through my head.

Catching me in my seductive act, his devilishly sexy smirk appeared. “Um ... Ms. Porter, would you like to ...
come
?”

“Um ... of course,” I muttered, not even sure if it was comprehensible.
Please, please don’t let there be a wet spot on these damn paper-thin scrubs.
I needed more than a pantiliner around this man. The two older nurses in the room shot each other a knowing look, before blushing themselves. Sure—they completely ignored the
boys’
shenanigans, but now they were completely tuned in. My luck.

“Shall
we
?” Extending his hand toward the door, Dr. Playful made his first public appearance at work. The nurses looked like they might have wet their pants too, he was just that damn sexy.

After arriving at recovery and before I embarrassed myself further, I left him with his cockiness to finish some paperwork. I chatted with Kate, who seemed in a much better mood today. Things must have improved with CJ for now. It was hard to keep up with their saga.

Suddenly, a strong presence slipped in right behind me. Incredibly close behind me. So close no one saw the firm hand that slid its way down to rub my ass. I held my breath. One wrong move and there was no more hiding anything from anyone. Definitely not Kate.

“Hi, Dr. Colton,” Kate said meekly. She didn’t know Chase all that well. No one at the hospital did. Hell, I barely knew him and I was sharing his bed. Aside from being new, he gave off a very intimidating, distant vibe. Add that to being hurt-your-eyes gorgeous, most of the female staff were easily flustered by him. Present company included.

“Nice to see you’re back, Kate.” After the last CJ fiasco she took a couple of much needed “mental health” days. “Now that you’re feeling better, tell me who I need to speak to—I’ll make sure you’re assigned to all my cases from now on.”

She looked a little green with Chase’s acknowledgement of her impromptu hiatus after seeing her hot mess display. “Umm, why? Did anything go wrong this week?”

“No. Just not a fan of people rotating. That’s when mistakes happen. I need to know who I’m leaving my patients with … that they’re on my page, doing things my way. I understand residents need to rotate as part of their training, but otherwise, I want my own team. Jackson’s got it covered in the OR and I want you in recovery. So again, who do I need to speak with to make that happen?”

Kate looked like she just won the Golden Globe for Best Nurse, if such existed. Meanwhile Chase’s assault on my ass continued, as if I needed reassurance. There was nothing suggestive in his tone, only professionalism. Dr. Sexy was all mine. I had no doubt.

“Probably the recovery room coordinator. But I’m not sure how that would work. It’s always been the nurse who is free takes the next patient. I don’t think you can choose.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Yes, I can.” Dr. Bossy was very matter of fact. “Just do me a favor. In the future, give me some notice before you take time off so I don’t schedule any of my high risk cases then.” Coming from a world-renowned neurosurgeon, the compliment was huge. Her personal life was circling the toilet, so a professional boost couldn’t have come at a better time. And it was well deserved; she was a kickass nurse. Clearly Chase was stacking his team with the best.

“Sure. You got it.” Kate looked adorable, smiling ear to ear.

“I’ll make it happen.” Of course he would. Who was going to say no to this man? Brain surgeon, inventor, sex god. “But if you don’t mind, Ms. Porter and I have some details to
bang
out.” He grabbed my ass harder, pressing his fingers low between my cheeks. Kate was too distracted by the new company standing next to Chase to notice my gasp.

“Your patient’s stable, told you there was nothing to worry about.” The awful expression on Dr. Jenning’s face mimicked the strained sound of his voice.

Kate, visibly uncomfortable by the hostility between Chase and Carl, retreated to the supply closet. If Chase’s hand weren’t now snaked down the back pocket of my shit brown scrubs, I would have done the same.

Chase shook his head in disgust. He had zero tolerance for incompetence and clearly thought the dry anesthesiologist sucked at his job. I half expected him to berate Carl Jennings right there for existing, but Chase was too professional for that. Without another word, Carl strolled away, leaving Chase and I standing uncomfortably close in a room full of people.

“Um ... that was awkward.” I widened the space between us. Chase’s hand slipped from my pocket.

“No. He’s a fucking moron. Awkward…” he said, parting his lips into a one-sided half smile that stirred my butterflies. “Awkward was hearing my team talk about
my
girl’s clear skin.” His accentuation of “clear skin” made me bite my bottom lip. No argument there. That was definitely awkward.

“Um, trust me. Just be glad you walked in then and not before. That would have redefined awkward.” The heat hit my cheeks
a-freaking-gain
.

Chase tipped his head back and snickered. “I don’t think I want to know. I’m sure you realize, baby, I won’t be leaving you alone in my OR with
the boys
again.” Welcome back, Dr. Possessive. The humor behind his eyes turned sultry. “Now I’m pretty sure, you agreed to ...
come
with me. Or do you need our OR nurses to remind you?”

Mortified, I chewed my lip harder. “You, Dr. Colton, are an Asspuck.”

“Well you, Ms. Porter, are beautiful. And if you keep biting that lip, our little secret is not going to be a secret anymore when I kiss that sassy mouth right here.” His volume was two decibels higher than I would have liked, but the sexy sweetness in his eyes melted me. I almost wanted him to kiss me. Almost. “Let’s go back to my office. We’ll
pound
out those details and I’ll order us some food. Sushi?” He was so just one of the
boys.

Luckily, we left the recovery room without any PDA and pressed for the elevator. Remembering the new piece of Chase’s puzzle I discovered today, I hoped his playful mood might open him up to me a little, so I went for it. “Hey, when did you have the time to invent that equipment you were talking about? You were one of those child prodigy kids, weren’t you? I should call you Doogie Howser, hmm.”

“You can call me anything you want, as long as it’s my name you’re moaning when I’m between your legs.”

“Chase!” I squealed and scanned the hallway to make sure no one heard him.

“That’s more like it, baby.”

His amusement was infectious, and damn, those bedroom eyes killed me. It was a welcomed change to see him this relaxed and playful at work.

“No, really. Why didn’t you ever mention inventing equipment before—was that the Boston company Asher was talking about that night at dinner?”

His demeanor shifted ever so slightly, but it shifted. “Never came up. Let’s get back to what you want to order. I already know what I’m going to
eat.
”

As much as Chase’s flirting turned me on, he was avoiding the topic. I understood not wanting to talk about his dead sister, but why dodge a career question? Chase was passionate discussing all things medicine. It made no sense. Before I could press the issue, the steel stair door swung open and Guy walked out looking content with himself.

“Hey, case all done? I’m looking for Petit, got some scut for him to finish.” Thankfully, he wasn’t interested in asking where
we
were headed.

“No you don’t, I want you both rounding on the kid hooked up to the KimCore. He should be in the ICU by now.” Chase easily snapped back into business mode.

“Why? He’s not our problem. He’s on the trauma service. You just showed them how to put the catheter in, right? That doesn’t make him a neuro case.”

“First of all, if I tell you to round on someone, you do it. No questions asked. Second of all, if we lay so much as a finger on a patient, they become our fucking problem. Understand? I don’t care whose service they technically fall under—you’ll make sure you put a goddamn note in the chart every day. That’s how I run
my
service.” Dr. Intensity resurfaced. I lingered back, speechless, while Guy’s face had
what the fuck crawled up your ass
written all over it.

Guy’s common sense kicked in and told him not to debate hospital policy technicalities with Chase. He was never going to win. “Whatever you want, Chief.” He held both hands up in surrender. “I’ll add the kid to the list, make sure we round on him.”

“Actually, any patient on the KimCore gets added to the list. Starting now,” he barked.

Guy had to be mentally counting down the days left on this rotation. Him and me both. But for polar opposite reasons. Jackson was spot on when he said Guy rubbed Chase the wrong way, so I couldn’t blame Guy for wanting off this service. I, on the other hand, had enough sneaking around pretending to only have a professional relationship with my boss.

“Sure.” Guy didn’t bother to hide his eye roll when he answered Chase’s last demand. I wondered if Chase was punishing Guy or if he really believed the KimCore patients needed neuro’s attention. Chase’s attention. God, I hoped it was the latter; otherwise my sweet, sexy boyfriend was just being a dick. What the hell was KimCore anyway?

When the elevator opened, I gave Guy a sympathetic wave before stepping inside. Chase wasn’t done.

“And while you’re at it, Dr. Hunter, remember your job is to actually teach the intern something, not just scut him out. Why don’t you give it a fucking try? You have time for sex tales in
my
OR; you have time to teach. Understand?” Point made. Loud and clear. Dr. Possessive was totally not over it.

Guy, being Guy, ignored Chase’s spanking and got the last word in. “Enjoy the
elevator
ride, Chief.”

Luckily, we didn’t speak about Guy or anything else from the morning during lunch. In fact, we skipped speaking in general. Instead, Chase did as he promised if I
came
with him, and fed me some delicious sushi.

“S
o, Lee, you need to keep the weekend of August twenty-first open for Sierra’s baby shower.”

It was a little before nine and the rest of the team was at surgical grand rounds.

“Weekend?” Leanne questioned.

“The shower is going to be in Cape Cod.”

“As in, Massachusetts? What, Arizona was too far?”

I ignored her sarcasm. “It’s gonna be Jack and Jill, so you can bring your flavor of the month.”

“You mean Jack and
whore
.”

Oops, she wasn’t feeling my humor.

“You know I’m teasing. What? You can dish it out but can’t take it, huh?”

Leanne continued to pout despite my joke. Okay, it probably wasn’t all that funny.

“Whatever,” she caved and sighed.

I laughed. “Anyway, it’s going to be at the Wychmere Beach Club in Harwich Port.”

“So you’re basically telling me I need to sit in the car for six hours or probably more because we’re gonna hit a shitload of traffic to prance around at a fancy beach club.” This time she feigned annoyance.

Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sierra’s parents bought plane tickets for all of Sierra’s friends, but I didn’t say that. “Oh come on, it will be a blast. We’ll head up Friday after work, go out, have some drinks … and after the shower, we can hang on the beach, and work on our tans. It’ll be fun.”

“Okay, okay. You had me at sun and tans. I’m in, now I just have to find a date.”

“What about Jack? You guys have been eying each other up and down for weeks.” I swore Leanne’s cheeks turned magenta; I didn’t think she had it in her. “Leanne Crowley, are you blushing?”

“Don’t you have something better to do? Discharge someone, call an insurance company, whatever the hell you do.” She waved me off as she stood and circled the counter, attempting to busy herself.

“I hit a nerve,” I said, chuckling. “He’s hot, Lee, and genuinely awesome, you should totally work that.”

Leanne immediately twirled her long blonde hair. She was definitely considering, or
reconsidering,
Jack.

“Excuse me, sorry to interrupt.” A tall, thin suited gentleman approached us at the nurses’ station. “I’m looking for Ms. Lili Porter. The security office sent me to this floor.”

I shifted uncomfortably. He looked very official carrying a large sealed envelope.

“Can I help you? I’m Lili Porter.”

“Yes. I’m a process server, and I’m here to deliver you official court documents.” A small, familiar lump formed in my throat. He handed me the envelope. “I need your signature here, please, just verifying you received the documents.” I took his pen and scribbled my name on the line. “I recommend you review them as soon as possible. They are usually very time sensitive. Any questions you might have, I would encourage you to contact your attorney.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Have a pleasant day.” He strode directly away without a backward glance.

“What the hell was that about?” Leanne looked shocked. “You’re being subpoenaed? For what?”

I tore the large familiar envelope open and removed the single sheet of paper.

You are commanded to appear before Judge Wilson of the Superior Court of the State of Pennsylvania for Wrangel County at the County Courthouse, 15 Main St. Wrangel, PA, on Friday, July 28 at 9 AM to testify on behalf of the plaintiff and to remain in attendance until you have given your testimony or have been dismissed or excused by the court.

“I was a social worker at a children’s crisis center back in my hometown. Unfortunately I have had to testify my fair share. Mostly family court stuff, but also a few child abuse cases. They can take forever to go to trial, guess this is one finally coming to fruition.” I sighed. “Can you tell the team I had to take care of something? Gonna run and make a few calls.”

“You okay?” Leanne looked concerned.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s more annoying than anything.” The thought of another innocent child being abused made me sick to my stomach.

“Okay. I’ll let them know.”

“Thanks.” I grabbed my bag from my office and headed for the river’s edge. Call me naive, but I planned to never set foot back in Wrangel. Now I had no choice.

“Hey Asspuck,” Sierra answered on the first ring. “Aren’t you working or did Dr. Hot-as- Balls give you the day off?”

“I have to go home.” The words singed my tongue.

“Explain
home
?” Sierra demanded.

“I have to be in Wrangel by nine AM Friday morning,” I paused. Shit, saying it out loud made it real.

“Wrangel. You’re not going back there. What are you talking about?”

“I have no choice. I was just served papers to testify in a child abuse case from years ago.”

“You’re kidding. What the hell? You’ve been gone more than three years.”

“Yeah, but you of all people know how long it takes for some of these cases to come to trial.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“Ya think?” Stealing Chase’s favorite line almost comforted me. Almost. “Shit, Sier, what if I see him … I can’t see him, but you know how freaking small our town is. If word gets out I’m coming home ... he’ll totally track me down. You know he will.” My phone chimed. Perfect timing for a pause.

Where are you?

What papers were you served?

Call me. Xo.

Grand rounds must have ended and I guessed that Leanne didn’t waste a second opening her mouth.

“
L
ili, talk to me,” Sierra pleaded.

“What? Sorry. I’m here, just reading a text from Chase. He’s looking for me.”

“Can’t you get out of this? I’m gonna call Dodd to see what he can do.”

“No, you’re not. I’m probably just overreacting. I just needed to vent. It’ll be quick. I’ll fly out tomorrow night and fly back late Friday night. Really, I’ll be fine.”

A familiar hand squeezed my shoulder before I felt his breath bathe the back of my neck. “Beautiful?”

“Um, Sier, I have to call you back. Chase just got here ... yeah, call you later, bye.”

“Why have you been ignoring your texts? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

I removed my sunglasses from my face “Well, I’m right here.”

“Okay, fill me in then. Want to tell me why someone served you legal papers?” He looked tense.

“Chase, it’s no big deal. I told you what I used to do back home and unfortunately, testifying was a part of my old job.” My throat burned when I uttered the word “home” out loud a second time. There was nothing homey about it anymore. “Just haven’t had to do it in a few years, so it sort of caught me by surprise.”

Revisiting all my suppressed memories was the real issue, but that I kept quiet. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his hip against the back of a bench.

“When do you have to go?”

“I have to be there Friday morning, so I’ll probably head out tomorrow.”

“We’ll head out.” He didn’t hesitate.

“Chase, that’s crazy, you’re not going to just up and leave, you have cases.”
And there is no way in hell you’re coming with me.
He dropped his arms and walked toward the water, pacing back and forth a couple of times before his eyes commanded my attention. “That’s sweet, but it’s no big deal. It’s less than twenty-four hours I’ll be gone, you can’t just leave.” I repeated, trying to get Chase to see how crazy he was being.

“Yes, I can. I can do what I want, Lil, that’s one of the perks of being Chief of the department.” Well hello, Dr. Cocky.

The corners of my mouth lifted slightly and I hesitantly questioned, “What about your cases on Friday?”

“What about them? I will reschedule them. Fuck, I’ll do them on Sunday if I have to.” Okay. Looks like traveling to Wrangel alone was out of the question. “I’m coming with you, end of discussion. You’re not going to a courthouse full of fucked up people by yourself, for any reason.” Dr. Possessive was adamant.

Shockingly, my shoulders and stomach relaxed slightly. I wasn’t doing this alone. Maybe having Chase with me would make it easier. Or was I just trying to convince myself? It didn’t matter, because right at this moment, I no longer
felt
alone.

“Thank you.”

He pulled me into a tight embrace and kissed my forehead. “Anything for you, baby. Anything.”

I let my body melt into his chest, breathing in his scent that I was beginning to crave more than air itself.

W
e boarded the plane late Thursday evening after a non-stop day of calling and rescheduling Chase’s Friday cases. The fact that his last minute “conference” randomly coincided with my last minute trip home may have been lost on the boys, but definitely not on Leanne. The girl had a sex sixth sense. She even felt the need to point out that our not-so-silent kiss outside the on call room was a great distraction during Kate’s breakdown. Oh, and she definitely didn’t miss the
Blue
slip up. Fortunately, there was no time for her to share her revelations with the rest of the team since Chase occupied them with operating all day.

After our short (probably a good thing) hour and a half flight (five more minutes and we would have joined the mile high club) into Erie International Airport, we rented a car for the second leg of the trip. To say the least, Chase entertained me the entire flight,
keeping a close personal eye
to never let my champagne glass waver from three quarters full. So when a first class passenger asked if we were on our honeymoon and Chase casually responded with “nothing more romantic than northern Pennsylvania,” I choked on my bubbly and burst into laughter. I definitely made up for Chase’s lack of drinking, no surprise he chose seltzer. He was a stickler for no drinking and driving.

He must have sensed I needed the stress outlet, assuming I was anxious about testifying in court, which of course was a little nerve-racking. But the true reason was staying deep
beneath my beautiful
. Fortunately for me, he was really good at keeping my mind from traveling down that inevitable road.

“Is this where we’re staying?” Chase pulled into the quaint, two-story motel just on the outskirts of town. When I booked the room, the thought of actually sleeping in the center of town accentuated my nausea. And since my dad knew I wouldn’t be staying at his house, he insisted we stay here. Thankfully, I had reached a level of alcohol intoxication where everything was blissfully fuzzy. I didn’t really care where I slept, as long as it was with Chase.

“What, not fancy enough for you?” I teased. “Scared of the bedbugs?”

“No, just making sure this was the right place, and until you brought it up, bedbugs hadn’t crossed my mind. Thanks for that.” He raised his chiseled brow and cocked his head to the side. Damn, he was cute.

“Don’t worry, my dad’s wife’s family owns the place, it’s super clean. Plus, Dad made sure to reserve us a non-bedbug room. It doesn’t get much fancier in Wrangel. We max out at three stars.” I smiled. “You okay with an early breakfast with him before I have to meet the attorney at 8:30?”

“Baby, I’m fine. I’m up at four every morning. It’s you I’m worried about.” Chase missing his beauty rest was not the issue; my very overprotective father was my concern. “I have some serious pipe to lay and I’m not promising you’re going to bed anytime soon.” He leaned over the console and kissed my cheek.

I glanced at the dashboard clock—11:02 PM—and giggled again. Five minutes from the center of Wrangel and I was giggling.
Crazy
how my life had changed in this last month!

Chase hopped out of the car, circling to my side to help me out. Always the gentleman. “Let’s get checked in. Leave the bags, I’ll run back and get them.”

We headed through the deserted parking lot toward the only light that illuminated the whole motel. I forgot how dark it was in the middle of nowhere.

“Is that you, darling?” Not even two steps through the door, my dad’s sister-in-law stepped around the counter and crushed me with a giant hug. Sharon’s family had adopted me as their own immediately after they were married.

“Sure is. So great to see you, Dana. Feels like forever since I’ve been here.”

She pushed me back at arms’ length to give me a good once over.

“It has been, sugar. You thinner? Your dad is always telling us what a runner you’ve become.” I glanced at Chase who was quietly leering, no doubt reminiscing about our NYC run where I practically keeled over from exhaustion. “He’s been missin’ your smiling face, Lili. All he talks about is how proud he is of you. What a life you have made for yourself in Philly.”

“I miss him too, can’t wait to see him. I wish it was under better circumstances.” Chase’s hand curled around mine, sending a familiar shiver down my spine; I loved how responsive he was to me. “We’re having an early breakfast at the diner tomorrow.” I snuggled him into my side. “Dana, this is my boyfriend, Chase Colton. Chase, this is my stepmom’s sister, Dana.”

“Well well well, what do we have here?”

Chase extended his hand.

“Oh no, sugar, I need a hug.” She tried to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders and I swear he blushed. Dana was petite, very pretty and a blonde who curved in all the right places. I grinned as he stiffened under her charm. “Lili, he’s a gem, you found yourself a good egg.”

Her kind sentiment reminded me of something my dad would say.

Dana handed me a key. “So we set you up in the suite at the end. More windows, better light, has a small couch and dining set. I know it’s not Philly quality, but I hope it will do.”

“Oh Dana, that sounds perfect.”

Chase stepped forward to place his Amex on the counter.

“Absolutely not, you are family. Put that card away.” She shooed the card back toward Chase. “Now you two must be exhausted, go. Besides I’m wiped and off to bed too, not expectin’ anyone else. Make sure to stop and say bye in the morning.”