Forever and Always

Chapter 18

Five Years Later

"Can we get Dr. Peters to the Pediatric Ward." Clara, who was trying to get a soda out of the vending machine, had to ditch it and run off to the the pediatric ward. She pushed past doctors, nurses, and stretchers to the elevators. She pressed the button, causing the doors to open immediately, and she pressed the button to go to the third level. However, before the doors closed, a hand stuck in between the doors causing it to open back up. The hand belonged to her colleague, Dr. Andrew Grayson, who also worked in Pediatrics. She greeted him with a small nod and he stood next to her in the elevator. She stared forward, hopping to dodge a conversation, but with Dr. Grayson, that was almost impossible.

"Did they page you too?" He asked, and she nodded silently. It's not that she didn't like him. If anything, he was a really cool guy. But she also knew that he liked her. He wasn't good at hiding it. She's known ever since they both started out.

About...five years ago, she decided that she had to do something with her life. That she couldn't just...give up. She thought about Tony wanting that family life, and she decided that maybe trying out that doctor life she always planned to have might get her mind off things. Instead of going back to D.C, she decided to stay in New York, but to go in Brooklyn. Steve gave her some money, well actually quite a lot. She wasn't sure where he got it from, but it was very generous of him, and it was enough to get her a small apartment and go back into medical school. And since she still basically knew everything, she sped through it quickly and before she knew it, was a pediatric surgeon at the University Hospital in Brooklyn. She decided that Pediatrics would be a good way to go. They reminded her of the kids she watched in Wakanda. It made her happy seeing them smile. But like all her patients, they had lost someone close to them from the blip, which people had been calling it for the last five years. All her patients would have pictures on their bedside tables: of their mom or dad, sibling, best friend. Some of her older patients had boyfriends and girlfriends.

No one was truly over it. The blip. Some would say they would be, some denied losing anyone important, but you could tell that they thought otherwise as they stare into space or their eyes start to get a little glassy. Sometimes, Clara would get paged to the hospital because one of her patients would wake up crying because she or he missed her family. She would stay with them until they were calmed down or were okay by themselves again.

"Umm, yeah." Clara responded bluntly. The elevator doors closed and they stood there awkwardly.

"So, Clara. We've been working together for a long time now, and I was wondering if maybe...I don't know you wanted to get a drink with me after? I know a great bar a few blocks down we can walk to." Clara kept her eyes forward.

"Well, Dr. Grayson, I believe that I've told you many times before that I am not really in a place to be dating anyone right now. I am focusing on my career and my career only." He didn't seem to upset at being rejected. He just shrugged and folded his hands in front of his stomach.

"Ahhh, we'll, it was worth a shot. One day though, I'm gonna get you that drink, and maybe I'll get a glimpse of who Dr. Clara Peters really is as a person." He had this smirk on his face, and she just rolled her eyes. The elevator doors opened, and she walked out of the elevator.

"You know, maybe your better off knowing only Dr. Peters and not Clara Peters." She could feel his brown eyes locked on her, and she rushed off into the crowd of others doctors until she made it to her patients room. She shook off the awkwardness of the elevator ride and opened the door. Inside, on the bed, was her patient. She was in her hospital gown, and she was smiling. She was pale and looked tired from all the treatments. The chemo had cause all her hair to fall out, but she still had that little glimmer of happiness in her eyes. Clara leaned up against the door and smiled.