CATRINA

I look into the baby's blue eyes as she gazes around herself trying to take in her surroundings. Her grip on my finger is pretty strong for a sick child and she's giggles when I let her twist my finger. I cry out in a fake attempt to make her comfortable. Dr. Vasil uses this opportunity to inject the syringe in the baby girl's other arm while I completely distract her. She only winces at the bite of the needle.

Once she's bandaged properly, I pick her up and take her over to her mother who's waiting anxiously and perhaps waiting for the cry of her daughter.

"It's done, Mrs. Volkov. She didn't even shed a tear," I say and hand over the baby to her mother.

"Oh, thank you. I thought she would throw a tantrum."

"Oh no. You have a brave little daughter. Aren't you brave, Lapochka?" I speak to the baby, waving my finger in front of her face, and watch as she giggles and catches my finger, twisting it. I laugh at her antics.

"She's just got the flu. Lots of fluids and sleep will do wonders. Don't worry," I tell the mother while she holds her now fussy daughter. After giving them proper instructions on the anti-biotics, I head towards Mrs. Ivanov's room. It has been a couple of days since the incident when he came to visit her and ignored me and today, Mrs. Ivanov is going to be discharged. I just want to say goodbye to baby Aiden and his mother which has nothing to do with the green-eyed monster who's haunted me for the last seven years. I reassure myself.

Knocking on the door and then twisting the knob to enter the room, I freeze when I see the new parents all ready to leave and their baby in a third person's arms. Don't they have any other friends? Why does he have to come here?

Why me? Doesn't the God Almighty have any other sinner to punish instead of me?

"Hey, Catrina. Thank you so much for looking after my wife and son. You were professional as well as a friend to her when she needed a woman by her side," compliments Mr. Ivanov and I blush, embarrassed that I am standing at the door without entering or greeting them.

That's completely unprofessional. Just his presence has me flustered and my emotions are all over the place. Fuck him! No, I don't want to. Shit!

"Uhhh, thank you, Mr. Ivanov. It is my job to make the new mother comfortable," I say.

"We have been given the "all clear" by Dr. Beaupre. He suggested that you are the appointed nurse to us if we ever need any help from the hospital staff," says Mrs. Ivanov.

"Yes, that's what I came here for. You can call me anytime you need my help. Do you need me for anything now?" I ask, desperately wanting to turn and walk back to the nurses' station rather than have him stare holes on my head.

"Oh no. We were just leaving. Our friend's here to help us. You remember Connor?" she asks and I curse her, mentally, of course.

She turns her head towards him making me turn my head and my gaze collides with his which were probably ready to glare at me. I nod at him, professionally and not wanting to be rude to Mrs. Ivanov.

"Well then. Take care," I say in the hopes of escaping. I don't want to sound rude but neither do I want to wait and get ignored like I did last time. I don't want to get my heart shattered into pieces especially when Mrs. Ivanov is trying to have us talk to each other.

Not happening!

So, I don't wait and take a U-turn, walking back towards the nurses' station, silently expecting him to follow me but he doesn't. Why would he? He made it clear all those years ago that he didn't think of me as a permanent part of his life. I was just a temporary fuck buddy.

All those thoughts running through my mind make me walk briskly towards safety when I collide into someone. Shit!

I move back a few steps, balancing myself when I look up at a very tall man's face. He looks familiar. Brown eyes, blonde hair, tan skin with a slightly muscular frame but not bulky. Oh yes. That's Maxwell, Connor's friend from high school but what is he doing here?

"Hey. Catrina, yes?" he asks, smiling as if I was just an acquaintance and not his friend's girlfriend.

"Hey," I mutter not at all understanding how to greet him. He wasn't there when Connor dumped me and I didn't see him after that so I don't know what he thinks of me. It is better if I stick to a short and sweet conversation instead of being friendly and get slapped in the face.

"You look different. You work here, right. That's great."

I always felt nervous around this guy. He is very intimidating, not in a creepy way but more like he's observing me. As if I am a bug under the microscope and he wants to dissect me and see what I am like. I don't like that, maybe because I am used to many such looks.

"Maxwell. Come on here."

We both turn to look at Connor who still has the baby in one hand and is waving Maxwell with the other. Wow! He's a natural at handling babies, I guess. I let out a sigh. He's good but surely with other's kids. He wouldn't want to settle for only one vagina, would he?

I excuse myself quickly before any more questions are asked which will definitely make me feel more awkward than I already am, and walk back towards my desk to look at the new patient's file assigned to me.

~~~~~~

A week has passed by since Mrs. Ivanov was discharged and I have been busy with three births. Babies are exhausting both to deliver as well as to care for but I love it.

I walk into the hospital and greet Ellie, the medical receptionist as she's furiously typing something into the computer and talking on the phone.

"Hey, Catrina. Are you assigned to Mrs. Ivanov in case of any medical emergency?" she asks, lifting her head from the computer screen.

"Yes. Why?"

"I got a call from the baby's father mentioning the flu. Can you take over?" she asks.

"Yes, sure. You can give them my cell number. They lost it maybe," I reply and then walk towards my station to dump my purse on my desk and sip on my coffee. I need it to be awake. It's been a tiring week and with a smaller number of nurse staff, we are over-burdened here.

I sit behind my desk and ponder over the files of the new patient when my phone buzzes. I pick it up and see that there's a new message. A message from Mrs. Ivanov. Strange!

Unknown number: Hey, Mrs. Ivanov here.

Me: Hello. Hope everything is well?

Unknown number: Are you in the hospital today? For the morning shift?

Me: Yes. Is everything alright?

I wait for a few minutes for her reply but she doesn't. Strangely, she asked for me. If their son's unwell then she should go for a pediatrician's appointment and not mine.

Maybe they need me to babysit for a day or two. Yes. Maybe that's why she asked about my shift. Not paying much attention to that chat conversation, I finish my coffee and begin my day of caring for babies and their mommies alike.

~~~~

Lunch is over and I already wish for the day to be over. I want to go home and sleep. I don't know why I have been feeling very tired lately. I am exhausted and it is nothing that I have felt before. I am tired of my bones whereas I was at least able to push myself till the weekend while doing all the household chores alone, not that there are many.

I groan as I plant myself in my chair and am thankful that I am alone right now. It's not good to show your exhaustion to your colleagues. It makes them barge in and look for weaknesses.

My phone buzzes but I ignore it, closing my eyes and resting my face in my palms which are supported by my elbows on the desk. Taking in a few deep breaths, I try to feel a little more energized but I feel more uneasy.

The small knock on the door feels like a hammer on my skull and I lift my head expecting to see a doctor or a nurse but what I find instead makes me choke on my breath.

"Hi. Am I disturbing?"

His husky and gravelly voice reaches all my pores and goose-bumps make their way on my skin making me shiver. I stifle the urge and look at him, the bane of my existence.

"Yes. One might say that. After 7 years of disappearance." I can't help the venom that seeps into my voice. This man and his arrogance. How can he just barge into my workplace and have the audacity to ask if he's disturbing me? Of course, he is!

"Ah, still my fiery red-headed temptress, I see," he says, smirking now as he leans on the entrance door of the nurses' station. He looks around, notices that I am alone here at the moment and his smirk only widens which makes my hackles rise, not out of fear but out of awareness. Awareness of him and his predatory gaze.

"Not your fiery redhead," not anymore. I try very hard to keep from trembling. His nickname for me still has a way of getting to me. This is not good, especially here where anyone can walk in on our spat.

"You forgot "temptress". Did you get a message from Mrs. Ivanov, asking for your appointment details?" he asks and I nearly sigh in relief thinking that he's just here with his friend's wife. I am not jealous; no, I am just curious about his presence here. Why would Mrs. Ivanov come here with him instead of her husband? Unless he has an ulterior objective?

I nod at his question, pushing aside my thoughts and get up from my chair, picking up the file and swiftly walking towards him to push past him and then walking to the nearest patient's room to check-upon. Easy to say. Let's see how easy it is in practice.

"Save that number. It's mine."

Bastard!

I pause in my steps and nearly turn around to hide behind my desk when his eyes roam over my figure. What he is looking at I don't know because I am completely decent in my nurse's uniform. I ignore his burning gaze and my goosebumps, taking a step in his direction and looking him dead in the eye before answering.

"No, thanks," I mutter and am nearly out of the door when he pulls me by my elbow and in front of him, against the wall, effectively pinning me under his huge body.

Shit! This is not how I imagined my reconciliation with him. Get out from here, Cat. Fast!

"Let go, Connor," I say, keeping my voice as firm as I can manage with his manly scent swirling around me. Oh god, this is a disaster in making. There are cameras here and I don't want anyone here to know about my personal life, not when this macho idiot of my ex-boyfriend isn't a part of it anymore.

"No," he's smirking, probably getting off on my anxiety. He knows me well. He knows that I am not comfortable in PDA, not that I would allow him close to me after all that has happened between us. This is bad. I need to get out of here before anyone comes in.

"What do you want?" I bit out, knowing full that he won't let me go till I hear him out.

"We need to talk."

"There's nothing left between us to talk about. Now let me go," I say, trying very hard to keep my body from touching his. It's very difficult when he is so close, his face inches away from mine, and his hands almost centimetres away from framing my face, his chest half a foot away from my face. I have to look up to stare in those green orbs that are darkened with lust and arrogance.

He knows! He knows that he still affects me and he's all high on his male ego now. Great, just great, Catrina. So many years and I still can't keep a lid on my emotions around him.

"Go out for dinner with me," he says and begins bending his face. Closer and closer his face comes and his eyes flicker from my eyes to my lips. I unconsciously wet them, preparing myself, as I did all those years ago when he had me pressed up against the gym's wall in our school.

He groans and I close my eyes when I feel his lips whispering above mine, anticipating the tingles and the thrill of kissing this man who once was my prince in a shining armor. 

~~~~~

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