Journey (3)

Chapter 14

"And?" Maggie echoes, leaning over the desk. "And then what? Don't leave me hanging!"

It is the day after I went out the bar with Connor, and Maggie is desperate to know how it all went. 

"And then we talked," I say, letting her down slowly. "That's it. Nothing else. I know how much you were hoping that we would have some sort of rekindling."

"You just talked?" Maggie asks me, raising an eyebrow. "Tessa, with the amount of history that the two of you have, how could you just talk? You're seriously telling me that there was nothing else there?"

"There was nothing else there," I confirm, nodding. "I told you this Maggie, so many times. All of that is behind us now. We're moving on, and moving forward. It's what we have to do."

"I admire that," Maggie says, smiling. "I do. There was a time where I thought you'd never get over it. As much as I still believe that the two of you have a shot at working everything out, I appreciate that you're moving on. It's mature."

"Thanks," I say, nodding. "But I don't think we do have a shot at working everything out. Too much has happened. We can't try again."

Maggie nods, approvingly. "Good thing you're getting on so well with him," she starts, a grin on her face that tells me I should be expecting something. "You're going to assist with his patient."

"Me?" I ask her, sighing. "When there's a whole lot of other doctors, who can just as easily do that. This has your mastermind planning written all over it, Maggie." I smile. "I don't mind. We're friends, anyway. It will be great to work with him."

"It was either you, or Lanik," Maggie explains. "And I did not want to have that fight going down in my ED, so I might have changed things around a bit. You should be thanking me, really."

"If you say so," I laugh. "Okay, now where is this patient? Which room are they in?"

"One," Maggie says, pointing over at the treatment room that is directly behind us. "Nothing major, just some guy with a heart murmur, you should be done with him in no time."

"Got it," I say, nodding gratefully. "Thanks, Maggie. I'll go to Treatment One right now."

She nods, as I get up and walk into the treatment room. As I enter the treatment room, Connor is talking with the patient about the surgery that he will be likely to need. 

"Hi," I say, making my presence known. Connor smiles faintly at me, before turning back to the patient. "I'm Dr Miller, and I'm here to assist Dr Rhodes."

Connor looks up at me again, with a small smile lifting at the corners of his lips. He is happy to see me, and I'm glad. This is the new normal for us now. 

"Dr Miller, I was just explaining to the patient that as soon as I check him over, we should be able to take him up to the OR and begin the surgery." 

"Sounds good," I say, nodding. I am about to continue speaking, when Maggie enters the treatment room. "Maggie? Everything okay?" I ask her. 

"It's fine," she says, reassuringly. "Dr Rhodes, there's a call for you. It's from your father, and he wants you to call him back now." Her eyes are wide. "He practically yelled that last part at me, so I'd say it's quite important."

"Really?" Connor sighs. He rolls his eyes, so subtly that I doubt even Maggie sees it. "Wow. Okay. Sorry about that. I'd better go and answer him, see what he wants." As he walks out, he briefly turns back to me. "You'll be okay, Dr Miller?"

"I'll be fine," I tell him, nodding. "Go ahead and answer your call. We'll wait for you to get back before transferring the patient up to the OR, don't worry."