Stern Men Always Finish Last

Chapter 18

A/N: Second half of the chapter is a bit more mature. Enjoy!

Sean POV

A week with Pookie. A whole week with Pookie. None of those other Neanderthals interrupting, no Academy missions unless absolutely necessary, and Dr. Roberts' blessing to work an altered schedule. Merry Christmas to me!

Thinking back on our family meeting last week I can't help but smile. In my heart I knew that she loved us, but my head still had doubts. But when she said those words, those glorious words that somehow took on a husky tone in my ears and were like a lightning bolt to my dick, I wanted to jump up and hug Owen until it wasn't awkward for him anymore. Ok, so maybe that would take a while. But it would be fun to watch him squirm. Then I had to plan. First order of business was working everything out with Phil. If I hadn't been talking about Sang, I'm sure he would have considered having me committed.

Sean: Phil, I'm going to need to cash in a favor.

Phil: Of course, Sean. What do you need?

Sean: We're trying to prove to Pookie that she worthy of our time and affection. She trusts us to take care of her, but she doesn't trust us when we tell her how amazing she is.

Phil: Self-esteem issues. Not good for trust building. You'll have to fix that before the introduction. What can I do to help?

Sean: I was hoping you would ask that. I need to adjust both of our schedules next week. After school until around dinner time every day during the week. I would like Sang to shadow you whenever possible. But you have to promise not to go easier on her then you did me at the same point in my training. She has to know that she can do anything I can.

Phil: And you can't have her shadow you because?

Sean: As much as I would love to have Pookie with me the whole time, she'll never believe that I didn't go easy on her. And it is imperative that she believes in herself as much as we do.

Phil: This will cost you two favors. It would be more, but I happen to like that little bird of yours and I'm excited to see if she really is a know-it-all. We could use more doctors.

Sean: If she goes into medicine, I get to be her mentor. I'm calling dibs now.

Phil: Deal. Make sure Gabriel has her looking the part and I want her in my off at 2:30PM Monday on the dot. Without you there. You want her to have the whole experience, she'll get it. But I won't go easy on her.

Sean: I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks, Phil.

Phil: Anytime, my young apprentice.

By Monday morning I was ready to go for Pookie. Gabe had packed her all new professional clothing and dropped it off to my condo Sunday night. While I love her in skirts, they can get in the way when running around the hospital, so he made sure that she had smart slacks and some lovely blouses to wear. During Japanese I had the class work on translating medical terminology. When I would catch her eye in class I wanted nothing more than to dismiss the rest of the class and kiss her senseless.

As soon as we were both able to slip out of the school and into my car without being noticed by the west of the Ashley Waters population, we were off for the hospital. "Pookie, I know you are nervous for today, but it's just Phil. If Phil cannot be with you, he'll bring you back to me. Although that would only be in a case of extreme emergency, understand?" Her wide eyes had me debating the brilliance of my plan, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy her holding my hand the whole ride – even if she cut off circulation with her death grip.