HANNAH'S POV

"You paged me?" I ask Wyatt as I walk up to the nurses station.

Wyatt was only supposed to be a temp but we were understaffed and he proved to be a good qualified nurse so they offered him a permanent position and he took it.

"Yeah, there's someone here for you." He replies pointing behind me.

I turn to see Diego in the waiting room, talking to a beautiful dark haired girl who looks vaguely familiar.

"Thank you." I nod at Wyatt and approach Diego.

He looks up when I get closer, a smile gracing his face.

"Hannah." He greets getting up to hug me.

"Hi Diego. What are you doing here? Are you hurt?" I ask looking at him concerned.

"No I'm okay. I stopped by at your place but you weren't home so I figured that you were here at work. I have a delivery for you." He replies.

He reaches into his jacket and retrieves a familiar envelope. My heartrate increases because I know exactly what it is.

"I gave Santiago your letter yesterday and he asked me to bring you this. I got back pretty late so I couldn't deliver it that's why I'm here so early." He explains handing me the letter.

"Thank you." I nod at him.

Santiago's name, mine and our addresses are inscribed on the top in his beautiful handwriting. I can't wait to read what he said to me considering things aren't so good between us but I pocket it instead. It'll have to wait till later.

"Anytime. Anyway now that my job is done, I've got to take my girl Sofia out for breakfast." Diego informs me motioning to the girl next to him.

She gets up and stands by his side. Sofia is gorgeous with long dark hair, clear Mexican features and straight white teeth accompanied by a charming smile.

"Hi Sofia, I'm Hannah." I introduce since Diego slacks on doing that.

"It's nice to meet you." Sofia replies politely.

"You mentioned going out for breakfast?" I ask Diego.

"Yeah, we both have to work later so we spend time together in the morning." He answers.

"How about I treat you to breakfast here at the hospitals cafe. I promise that the food is good and I won't stay long, we'll just catch up and I'll leave you to your breakfast date." I suggest.

"We wouldn't want to intrude. It's clear that you're working." Diego counters.

"It's a slow morning and I'm due for my break as I just worked all night." I assure him.

"I'm okay with it if you are." Diego says to Sofia.

"A free breakfast, let's do it. Hannah can also tells me all the fun things about her profession." Sofia replies.

"Awesome, right this way. Sofia are you interested in studying medicine?" I ask her leading the way to the cafeteria.

"Yes I've wanted to become a doctor ever since I was in middle school." She replies.

"What field?" I inquire further.

"Pediatrics." She answers making me smile.

"Wow, that's great. My best friend is a pediatrician. If you're not in a hurry I can introduce you to her and she'll answer all your questions." I suggest.

"Oh my God! Really?" Sofia exclaims.

"Of course but she's in surgery right now, should be out in about minutes so why don't we eat first and I'll text her to meet us at the cafeteria once she's done." I express.

"That will be great." Sofia cheers a big smile etched on her face.

Diego looks at me and winks. It looks like the little tricksters plan worked. He already knew that Jada is a pediatrician and once I met Sofia and realized that she's passionate about it, I'd introduce them. Looks like the kid just scored major boyfriend points through me.

When we make it to the cafeteria, I let them order what they want, I pay for it and we find a nice table to eat and chat over breakfast.

"I thought hospital food sucks. This is delicious." Diego moans appreciatively digging into his food.

"Told you." I smile at him as I enjoy my pancakes.

The three of us talk a lot over breakfast and I discover that Sofia is a very self driven girl. She's very serious about the future she envisions for herself and I encourage her as much as I can to persue her dreams.

Jada joins us after she is done with the surgery and gets to bond pretty well with Sofia. Jada is all about mentoring women who want to join medicine. Sofia being so young and knowing what she wants is like an aphrodisiac to Jada. I know for a fact that they'll keep talking even after today.

"How is your brother? How did he seem to you yesterday?" I ask Diego when we get iced out of the conversation by the two ladies.

"He's doing okay, looks the same but he also seemed sad. Probably had to do with what happened to that Julius kid." Diego replies.

"Yeah that was so unfortunate. I hope he's okay now." I reply recalling what Santiago had told me about him.

"Yeah, Santiago told me that he's doing better." Diego replies.

That is such a relief to hear. Nothing is okay about sexually assaulting someone so I'm glad to hear that the kid is doing fine.

"Santi also looked sad about some regarding you. What happened?" Diego inquires.

My heart clenches in pain when I recall our last conversation. I handled it horribly and followed it up by ignoring Santiago's calls for a week.

"Nothing major, I'm sure we'll fix it." I reply not wanting to get into it with Diego.

It's not that I don't trust him, I just want to keep what happened between Santiago and I private for now.

"Please do. You're the first girl I've seen Santi so wound up over." Diego replies.

"I'm sure he's dated before." I counter fishing for more information about Santiago's dating life.

He knows all about mine but I know nothing about his.

"Not seriously. He had a couple of women in his life but they were all flings and sexual buddies. I don't think he's ever had a serious girlfriend." Diego explains.

"Oh I see." I mumble thoughtfully.

"Santiago is hard headed when it comes to love. I think our parents toxic relationship and seeing so many failed marriages screwed him up a bit but he is a good guy. I can see that he is serious with you so don't give up on him." Diego pleads.

"I won't, I promise." I assure him.

We have to cut breakfast short much to Sofia's dismay when Jada and I have to get back to work.

"Here is my card. It has my personal number on it. Call me anytime in case you have questions, just want to talk or need motivation." Jada says to Sofia giving her the card.

"Thank you so much. I appreciate it." Sofia beams hugging the card to her chest.

"Okay you two, enjoy the rest of your breakfast date. Sofia it was nice to meet you and you young man, I will see you soon." I say as I hug the two young lovebirds goodbye.

"Bye Hannah. Thanks again." Sofia repeats.

"Anytime." I nod at her.

Jada and I leave the two to spend some time together. We refill our coffee mugs before making our way back to the emergency floor.

"Young love. They are so cute together." Sofia comments.

"Yes they are." I affirm.

"Speaking of love. Is that a letter I see in your pocket? I thought you and Santiago upgraded to phone calls." Jada ever the observant one asks.

"We did but we still send letters to each other. It's our thing." I reply not wanting to reveal the real reason behind this specific letter.

"Old school love, I like it." Jada grins.

"It's not love. We aren't even dating yet." I defend.

"Yet being the key word in that statement. I'm sure you two will be soon enough." Jada encourages.

"You don't think it's wrong for me to be dating a convict?" I ask her.

I don't normally let what people think about me affect me but I care about my best friends opinion.

"Hannah you are one of the most perceptive people I know. You wouldn't be in this if he was a bad guy and besides he already got the stamp of approval from Darius. I trust you to make the right choice for you. And besides he raised Diego and that kid is amazing and that's all I need to know about him. Convict or not, we all make mistakes and he was just trying to make a living considering his upbringing. If you like him, then I like him for you." Jada assures me.

"Thanks." I mumble floored by her words.

"What are best friends for? We'll catch up later, I have a new born in the NICU that I need to check up on." She says excusing herself.

"I'll see you later." I nod at her.

I have patients to check up on as well so no time to read Diego' letter. I am on hour fifteen of a twenty four hour shift. I am in the middle of my rounds when Flora, my boss summons me into her office.

"Take a seat Hannah." She ushers me in.

I lock the door behind me and take a seat infront of her desk. Flora is a fifty four year old woman who is strict at her job but very nice if you do yours. She recruited me it or nursing school and encouraged me to keep persuing my dreams to become a trauma nurse. She's a huge part of the person I am today.

"Is everything okay?" I ask worriedly.

Being summoned to your bosses office is always a cause for concern especially when it is random.

"Yes Hannah, calm down. You are not in trouble. You're actually here because I have an assignment for you." She replies and I sag in relief.

"What assignment?" I inquire.

"I'm sure you've noticed that we've been treating a lot of Hepatitis B patients lately." She comments.

"Yeah it's like an epidemic out there."

"Actually it is an epidemic. There's an outbreak of the disease out there that's why this hospital is taking it upon itself to issue vaccines to the people. We'll be doing this in homeless shelters, runaway homes, prisons and camps. I am putting together a field team and was wondering if you wanted to be part of it. There's risk involved since you'll be working out of the hospital but it's more money and the program will run for seven months." Flora proposes.

"Of course I'm in. This is an opportunity to work for the community. The money boost is appreciated but even without it, I'd be all in." I say to Flora without having to think about it.

The whole reason I became a nurse was to follow in my brothers footsteps of helping the community and keeping it safe. Field work is hands on experience, direct contact with those in need and those in desperate need of it.

"I knew I could count on you. Here's a contract, read it and if you like it sign it and give it to me by the end of the next week. We'll begin working from the first of next month." Flora says giving me a folder with a contract in it.

"Thank you Flora for thinking of me." I appreciate her.

"Of course. It'll be good to have you on the team." She nods at me.

I excuse myself and leave her office. I flip through the contract as I walk to the locker room to drop it off. I get to the page with the list of places we'll be working at and one name catches my eye. Phoenix Federal Correctional Institution.

"Fuck." I cuss under my breath.

FCI? Where Santiago is. I read further and realize that we will be divided into teams so there's a chance I won't even go there. I don't want to overthink it since its so far away. I will probably never go to FCI but if I do, I'll cross that bridge with I get there. I consider telling Santiago about it but brush off that idea. There's no need to make him panic over nothing. There's a possibility that our paths won't even cross so why jump the gun.

I put the contract in my locker to be reviewed later when I get home after my shift. That list of places we'll be working at distracts me for a moment but I force myself to block it out. I can't afford not to be at my best while working. My patients depend on me to deliver the best care so I push myself to be on my A game.

As soon as my shift is over, nine hours later I grab all my stuff and leave the hospital. As soon I get in my car I realize that I don't have the patience to wait until I'm home to read Santiago's letter so I retrieve it right there in the hospital's parking lot.

Dear Hannah,

Hi mami. I would have preferred to call but you aren't picking up my calls. The last time we talked things didn't go so well and the sound of your broken voice before you hung up has been haunting me since we last spoke. I miss you, I miss you so goddamned much it hurts.

I am sorry so sorry I hurt you but mami, I'm just not ready for us to meet up yet. I know this might be difficult for you to understand but I'll try to explain it the best I can.

For a long time now, all I've ever known is how to survive. I've lived on survival mode ever since I was born. This has led me to become the man that I am today. Taking care of Diego is my purpose in this life and it's what put me in here. I do not regret it, not for one second. I would give my life up for that boy in a second.

Because of that I never really cared much for anyone's opinion, as long as I did my job and got paid, the rest didn't matter. I didn't care what anybody thought about me, least of all women. I never dated because that was a commitment I was not willing to make. That all changed the moment our paths crossed.

You are the first woman, besides my late mother who sees me as more than a drug dealer. Your opinion matters to me mami. I care about what you think of me, how you perceive me.

You might not think that way but I don't want the first time you see me to be in this orange jumpsuit. I feel like if you do, that image will be stuck in your mind forever and you will never be able to separate the man I become later to the man I am now.

Of course I want to meet you. It's all I think about. I think about what it would be like to be in the same room as you, to smell your perfume, to look into your eyes and see you smile, to touch you. I want all of that but not like this.

I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings but I desperately want you to see things from my perspective. I like you Hannah, so much, more than I've ever liked anyone and I want to see where this goes.

If you share the same feelings and are willing to overlook my giant ego, I will call you tomorrow at four thirty pm. Please pick up my call. I want to hear your voice and tell you just how much I miss you and hear your laugh.

Until then, take care of yourself.

Yours truly,

Santiago Cesar Delgado

I am in tears by the time I am done reading the letter. It makes me feel like a bitch by the end of it because of how mean I was to Santiago. He didn't deserve it and now that understand him better, it makes me feel bad about how I've been behaving towards him. He didn't deserve me dodging his calls. Santiago's letter echo exactly what Diego told me about him earlier.

My phone rings and I quickly clear my voice and face as I fish it out of my bag. It's a call from FCI. Diego was supposed to give me the letter yesterday so the tomorrow that Santiago was talking about is actually today.

"Mami."

The sound of his voice and that addictive nickname is all I need to know that all is well with the world.

"Hi Cesar." I sigh in relief happy to hear his voice.

"Why's your voice so rough?" He asks.

"I'm just tired, I'm clocking out of a twenty four hour shift." I reply using my rearview mirror to wipe away the remnant of my crying session from my face.

"How was work? How've you been. I've missed you." He asks me.

"Work was good and I missed you too. I'm so sorry for how I reacted. I just read your letter and ..."

"We both could have handled what happened in a better way. How about we forget about it and focus on the future?" He suggests.

"I like that." I smile nodding my head as if he can see me.

"Perfect." Santiago says making me smile.

"Diego, Sofia and I had breakfast together this morning. She's a very nice girl. I like her for him." I inform him.

"I do too, she makes him better. Wait, how did you two have breakfast together if you were working a twenty four hour shift?" Santiago asks.

"They came by the hospital, Sofia wants to be a doctor and my best friend is head of pediatrics here, the field she wants to specialize in. I think Diego wanted to use me to earn some boyfriend points." I reply.

I didn't lie to him but Diego asked me to cover for him about the time he delivered the letter.

"That sounds like Diego." Santiago laughs.

"Yeah it was good seeing them together. We also got to chat a lot and your brother seems to think that you're screwed up when it comes to matters of love and dating." I inform him with a laugh.

"And how did that little prick come to that conclusion. What are you two doing discussing me and my heart?" Santiago counters.

"First of all we talk about you because you're our mutual connection and he thinks that way because of your parents failed marriage." I explain.

"He couldn't be more wrong?" Santiago retorts.

"How so?"

"My parents failed marriage is my motivation to find something meaningful. They were great together at the beginning until dad got into drugs especially the using. Their failed love story is what pushes me to find something meaningful. None of the girls in my past wanted that. They just wanted the feel of dating a gangster. To them it was a fetish and to me it was a quick easy fuck. We both got what we wanted. I believe in love but I just haven't found it yet, not until now anyway." He explains.

My breath hitches at the mention of the l word. It's too soon.

"Cesar what are you saying?" I whisper carefully.

"Calm down mami, I'm not confessing my love. We aren't there yet but it's something I see in our future. You're different than anyone I've ever known. You see past the drug dealer in me to the real man inside. I want a future with you that I haven't desired with anyone else. I know it will take us a while to get there but like you said I am in this for the long haul too. I want you to know that I am willing to work on us." Santiago assures me.

I sigh in relief because I was worried for a moment there. We aren't even officially dating yet so love isn't even a factor. Sure we care about each other but our feelings are still fresh and growing. We need time to cultivate the love.

"I completely agree." I affirm.

"Good. It's nice having you on board." Santiago teases.

"Aye aye captain." I laugh.

Santiago laughs with me but then all of a sudden the mood changes.

"What's wrong? What happened?" I inquire worriedly.

"Mami I need you to sit down." Santiago answers.

"Why?" I ask confused.

"There's something I need to tell you." He informs me.

"Cesar you're scaring me." I mutter hear the seriousness in his voice.

"Please find a place to sit." He insists.

"I am seated. I'm in my car. What's up?" I repeat.

I have no idea what to expect but it's definitely not what he relays on me.

"The man responsible for Darius' death has been sentenced to death by legal injection." Santiago explains and for a moment everything around me shuts down.

I am so glad Santiago insisted I be seated because if I was on my feet I would have fallen as I feel my knees buckle. I didn't expect such news.

"How do you know this?"

"I have my ways." Santaigo replies.

I've been wondering what happened to the man who killed my brother and now Santiago is telling me that justice has been served. I feel relieved, oh so relieved. My brother's soul can rest in peace now.

"Thank you for letting me know." I appreciate him.

"You're welcome."

It feels good knowing that. I'm sure my friends will appreciate knowing too if Tom doesn't already.

"I know you are tired mami. I'll let you go home and get some rest. Drive safe and we'll talk again soon." Santiago says.

"Yeah okay. Take care too. Bye Cesar. Thanks for everything." I reply.

We end the call and I sit in the car a few more minutes thinking about the roller-coaster of the day I've had. So much has happened that I need to think about. I start the car and drive off intending to get home, take a long bath with some scented candles and a bottle of wine as I think about my day.

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