Her Name Was

CHAPTER II

My day off ended up becoming a week off, as I was bedridden with food poisoning and allergies from my meal which made me sick. As a nurse, it sounds strange that I could not realize that I was allergic to a certain type of food, yet after spending time with Jenna and her boyfriend Keegan, and then having dinner with my family, I ended my day off by the toilet and with a severe rash.

Luckily, my room mate Hamish (I know, it's a weird name) was around and helped out with providing medicine and food that was kind to my stomach. I slowly finished my soup before moving to take a shower and preparing for the day. I glanced at the clock noting that it was midday as I was  almost done getting dressed, then my phone started ringing.

"Hello, Terry speaking", I answered. "I know very well you who are, I called you", Jenna responded with an amused tone. I scoffed and shook my head, "Ha ha, you're so funny. How can I help you?" "More like how can I help you", she retorted.

I raised my eyebrow, "What do you mean?" "I know you're still booked off until this Friday, and I hope you're feeling better, but I have great news", she said.

"What is it Jenna? You know I don't partake in guessing games, I suck at them", I sighed as I locked my apartment and started walking downstairs. "Okay then I'll tell you. She's awake! Katie finally woke up!", Jenna cheered, stopping me in my tracks.

I froze and looked at my phone, making sure that I was awake, and that it was Jenna on the other line. "W-What did you say?", I stuttered. She laughed, "I said that Katie woke up. I was about to clock out for my shift, but then Doctor Bridges received an alert from her room.

We went in to check and found her looking around quite alarmed. She's been up for about an hour now". I scratched the back of my head and walked to my car, slowly in shock.

"H-Has she spoken? Has Katie said anything?", I inquired, wondering how her voice sounded. "Yeah, when she spotted us, she asked for some people named Malcolm and Lisa. I guess they're friends or family", Jenna replied. 

I nodded in agreement. I knew exactly who she was talking about, as I had met both of those people when I was checking on Katie. "Malcolm is Katie's brother, and Lisa is her friend. I had met them when I was checking on Katie a few weeks back", I said, notifying Jenna. 

Jenna let out a small shriek making me cringe. "Well, I just called to let you know in case you wanted to pass by and introduce yourself. Who knows, she may have even heard you while she was asleep".

My heart started racing at the idea of finally speaking to her, and soon I hung up on Jenna as I drove to the hospital, away from my original destination of visiting my sister. My head started filling up with random conversation starters that I knew I would be too nervous to say to her but I was so eager to meet her that I didn't think I would need a cheesy starter.

I arrived at the hospital in record time and jogged inside, slowing down as I approached Katie's room. I spotted Malcolm exit the room and his gaze spotting me immediately.

"Terry, it's nice to see you", he spoke smiling. I waved as I walked closer. "Good morning Malcolm. How are you and how's Katie? Any changes?", I asked as evasive as I could.

"I'm great now because Katie finally woke up! I got the call this morning from Doctor Bridges, and after I called Lisa, we drove straight here", he exclaimed. We both sat down opposite Katie's room, and I caught a glimpse of her smiling at Lisa. I could not stop the smile appearing on my face.

"So, how's the patient doing?" Malcolm glanced at her room, "Doctor Bridges says she's much better than a month ago, nor does she have amnesia or anything else, but she still has a few injuries that have to heal. She wants to keep her for another week or so before discharging her". I frowned at the idea of not visiting Katie any more in the hospital but I quickly covered it with a small smile. "Well, that's good to hear. She's been such great company to us nurses", I joked.

Malcolm laughed, "I don't doubt that. Why don't you go inside and say hi? I'm sure she would like to meet the nurse who looked after her for so long". "Won't she be shocked that I'm not a male nurse?", I asked unsure. "Nah, she's very open minded. Besides, our father was a nurse practitioner, so we're pretty well-learned about your career. Go ahead", Malcolm said patting my shoulder.

I shrugged and pushed myself up, but sat back down when I saw that Lisa was still inside. "I'll do it later, Lisa is still busy with her". "No, no", Malcolm protested. "Go in, they won't mind another visitor. I'll be outside, so we won't reach the visitor's limit".

Knowing that I was going to lose this debate, I nodded my head at Malcolm before stepping inside, catching both Lisa and Katie's attention when I knocked on the door. "Hello ladies, I hope I'm not interrupting". Lisa glanced at Katie before smiling at me, "Hello Terry, long time no see. Katie, this is Terry Wagner. He was one of the nurses who looked after you and kept updating us about your condition", Lisa spoke squeezing Katie's hand.

Katie listened to Lisa's introduction before turning to me and smiling, and I was further bewitched by her and her bright gap tooth smile. She simply was beautiful. "Hello Terry, it's great to finally meet you. Lisa and Malcolm had told me about you", she spoke softly, and as I predicted, her voice was as soft and angelic as I had hoped.

I grinned and moved closer, sitting right next to her since Lisa was sitting on her bed. "It's great to finally meet you too Katie. I'm happy to hear that you're awake and feeling better".

No one said anything afterwards, and I noticed Lisa glancing between the two of us, no doubt coming up with a her own assumptions. "I'm going to grab some coffee with Malcolm. Do you guys want anything?", Lisa asked already standing. I shook my head, as did Katie without either of us talking.

After Lisa left, I moved closer and stuck out my hand to shake hers, and as she held my hand, I knew without a doubt that I was probably falling for Katie Madison Burrows.

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A/N: I figured Sabrina Claudio's 'Belong to You' would be a nice song to describe Terry's feelings for Katie.

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