Demi

I didn't bother knocking as I went into Dr. Conners' office, who was head of the facility. Stevens was sitting with his head down and Connors was leaning back in his chair, fingertips pressed together.

"Ah, Dr. Lovato. Now we can start. How is the patient?"

I inhaled deeply. "All of her progress is out the window. All of it. We have to start over."

He shook his head. "Stevens what were you thinking?"

I whisper around to face him. "Yes, what were you thinking? Do you want me to kill you?!"

He sighed. "I was following policy. I made an acting doctor's decision-"

"Excuse me?!" I yelled. "Following policy?! You're supposed to 9-1-1 me if anything goes wrong! You're supposed to call the anesthesiologist in for a consult if there's an allergy! You don't force feed unless she's under sixty! You complete idiot! You could've killed her! Did you bother checking her cardio records? Did you notice her heart issues? You're done. You'll never get another job in this country. Once the board is contacted you'll be stripped of your medical license and when Jessica's guardian finds out about this, you'll be sued for all you're worth." I looked him up and down. "Which can't be much."

Connors stood up. "She's right. You're done. The police are here. You're going to jail for unlawful endangerment of a minor. You're fired, by the way."

His face twisted in anger. "You can't fire me! It was a mistake!"

I shook my head and walked over to get in his face. "Your mistake nearly cost a patient their life. And it shattered her recovery. This is my patient. Before you even touched her you should've talked to me. You're a disgrace to the medical world. Now I suggest you don't say another word."

~*~

I walked into Jessica's room when I was done with Stevens and Connors and smiled when I saw her curled up into a ball, fast asleep. Her wrists her bandaged from where the ropes holding her down dug into her skin I gently shut the door and smiled at the nurse outside it who was about to come in.

"I was just getting some coffee."

I nodded, glancing back at Jessica. "Just keep monitoring her. She's a very good fake sleeper."

Next, I stopped in Mia's room. She was sitting up in bed, playing solitaire with a deck of cards.

"Hey Mia." I said, leaning in the doorway.

She looked up. "Is everything okay?"

I smiled. "Yes, we just had an issue with Jessica. I disagreed with another doctor on her treatment."

Mia's eyes were still worried. "Is she okay?"

I nodded. "She'll be fine. She's asleep right now. How was your day?"

She shrugged. "Good, I guess. Dr. Lawlor is cool. She told me to call her Olivia."

I smiled. "That's good that you met with her. She's your dietician. She'll be working closely with me in your recovery."

Mia looked down. "She told me."

I sighed. "I just wanted to check in. Tomorrow I'll be back, there was just something that came up.

She nodded. "That's okay. I kinda just want to sleep though."

I nodded. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

Mia gave me a small smile. "Bye."

~*~

As I drove back, I thought about going back to my house, but the thought of being alone again terrified me. So, I made my way to Wilmer's house and sat in the driveway for a while, wondering if I should go in or crash at Olivia's. A knock on my window made me yelp, and looked up. Wilmer stood there, and I opened the door, looking at him sheepishly.

"Hi."

He smiled, then frowned. "What are you doing outside?"

I sighed. "Just... Decompressing."

He held out his hand. "How about dessert?"

I took the extended hand, feeling his calloused palm. "Dessert sounds perfect."

We walked into the out and Wilmer got something out of the fridge, then took a tub of ice cream from the freezer. He began mixing what looked like apple pie mixed with ice cream.

"Okay, what am I about to eat right now?"

He chuckled. "It's apple fritter. Basically fried apple pie stuffing."

My eyes widened. "I can't believe you cook like this."

He shrugged. "It's not hard. I'll teach you some time."

We ate mostly in silence except when I kept gushing about how good it was. Once we were done, he suggested we watch a movie. I sat down between his legs and leaned back against his chest.

"So what happened at the treatment center? Is Mia okay?"

I sighed. "Mia's fine. Don't worry. There was another doctor, Stevens, he broke policy and there was a horrible situation with one of my other patients. It's over though. I'm just a little tense because I'm so angry with him."

Wilmer moved his hands up to my shoulders, gently massaging the muscles there. "Well it's over now. I'm sure she'll be okay." I closed my eyes and hummed as he he slowly unkinked the knots in my shoulders, moving down my back. Eventually, I felt his lips at the side of my neck. "It's gonna be okay."

I turned slightly and raised an eyebrow at him. "And how do you know that?"

He smiled and shrugged. "In my experience, it always is."

I shrugged down so I could say against his chest, my head fitting perfectly in the crook of his neck. "That's very optimistic of you."

He lifted my hand and intertwined our fingers. "I think... After enough misery to last a lifetime, I deserve a little optimism."

I closed my eyes. "I wish I could've been here for you."

Wilmer kissed my temple and I looked up at him. "Don't worry... You're here now."

I smiled and leaned in, pressing my lips to his. "Yes, I am."

He squeezed my hand. "Did you want to stay here tonight? It's getting late."

I took a deep breath. "I don't want to intrude or anything."

Wilmer shook his head, leaning down to kiss my shoulder. "But I want you to."

I smiled. "Then I'll stay."

He grinned. "Let's go to bed then. You have work tomorrow."

I nodded and stood up, following him up the stairs.

"I have some pajamas for you." He said, and disappeared into the closet. When he came back he held a bundle of clothes and had changed himself. I took the clothes with a smile, and went into the bathroom. I washed off my face, and opened a drawer. There was an unopened toothbrush there. I brushed my teeth then looked at the clothes. It was a pair of black boxer-briefs and a black t-shirt. I slipped them on, and peeked back into the room. Wilmer was sitting with his back to me, and when I walked up behind him, I saw he was looking at a picture of Isabella and him. I bit my lip and climbed on the bed, putting my hands on his shoulders gently.

"You miss her."

He smiled softly. "Every day." He put the picture back on the nightstand, face down. "But it's a new chapter for me."

I reached over and stood it back up. "That doesn't mean we can't take her with us. I don't want to try and replace her."

"I know that."

We got under the covers and I put my head on his chest, sighing heavily. "Am I the first girl to sleep here since Isabella?"

"Nope- Ouch!"

I had smacked his chest and sat up. "Who else?"

He laughed loudly. "No one! I got a new bed!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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-Rachel