Emergency Room Romance

Almost

*Blair*

I walked out of the hospital and around the grounds, not really paying attention to where I was going. I was too busy thinking about what House had said. I was upset by it but I was more angry that he thought it was acceptable to mention such things to me, let alone mentioning them in the middle of the department that I ran.

The sun had started to set but I didn’t care about that or the fact that my shift was over and that the babysitter would be wondering where I was. The only thing that was on my mind now was calming down and blocking out the flashbacks from my past before I had to go home and see my little girl. She had to have a happy mommy when I walked through the door, not one who was shaking from remembering her past; a past that I had protected Emily from and planned on continuing to do so.

I couldn’t let some arrogant S.O.B ruin that. I was happy and had been so ever since I moved in with Robert. Why was it so difficult for the world to let me be happy and stay that way?

I turned, to cross the road that would take me across to the entrance building. There was a loud horn, a screech of tyres as someone slammed on the brakes and a hand closed tightly around my wrist before I felt a pair of arms sweep me back to the sidewalk and into the solid form of a body. I finally snapped out of my thoughts and saw what might’ve been. A blue Mondeo was stopped still on the road, mere feet from where I would have been walking, the driver sitting behind the wheel wearing an expression of panic slowly followed by one of relief when they realised the accident was prevented.

A pair of arms held me close and I wondered who they belonged to as I clung to them, hoisting myself back to my feet, even though my legs were like jelly and cramping really badly from walking so fast and then suddenly stopping, just like a heart on the operating table.

I looked up and found myself staring into the panicked face of Robert Chase. His shoulders slumped as he let out a sigh of relief and he seemed breathless as if he’d ran to save me. Suddenly, he enveloped me in a tight hug, holding me close. “Do you want to be back in a hospital bed no sooner than you’re out of it?” He asked, hugging me like he was scared to let me go in case the car suddenly did hit me.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, my voice hoarse and dry.

The Mondeo revved and drove away, leaving me and Robert standing there in a tight hug, one that I needed and that both of us certainly didn’t want to pull away from.

Eventually, Robert did and gazed down at me with sincere green eyes that I could have stared into all night.

“Are you okay Blair?”

I managed a small nod and swallowed hard before hugging him once more. I needed comfort right now and Robert was the only one who seemed to understand what I was like when I remembered. He held me close, running his hand over my hair before squeezing me reassuringly.

“Do you want to head home yet? We can pick up a Chinese on the way if you want.” He said softly, almost caringly as he moved the hair from my eyes.

“Yeah. That’d be great.” I said, smiling a soft smile at him before pulling away from him completely.

“You had me so worried then. You were completely in your own world.” He said, his voice shaky as he remembered what nearly became of me.

I nodded slowly, mumbling another apology to him, this time for everything; the outburst at House, the angry rant he had endured in the locker room and for making him race out here and save my life, something that was started to turn into a habit of his.

“Are you okay?” Chase whispered to me as I put the key in the apartment door and turned it, kicking it open with my foot gently.

“I’m fine.” I told him in monotone, hardly making it sound convincing. Out of the corner of my left eye I saw his throw me a disbelieving and somewhat worried look but he was interrupted before he could say anything by the small blonde girl who was my daughter.

“Mommy!” She ran to me and I swept her up in my arms, giving her a big hug and forcing a fake smile for the time being. “ I missed you and Rob!” I thanked the babysitter and handed her the cheque for the month.

“Well we had to work, didn’t we? We had to make all the sick people better.” I told her, putting her back down on the soft carpet.

“And did you?”

“We did indeed.” Robert said with a friendly smile that made the three year old giggle and clap her hands.

“Okay missy, it’s late and you have to go to school tomorrow.” I told her, putting on my fake stern voice.

Emily clapped her hands again, she loved going to the pre-school for the day three days a week. She was definitely a social butterfly and she loved to play with the other kids there. I smiled, genuinely this time, as my small girl ran into the bedroom.

“I’ll be right back.” I told Robert as he gestured that he’d serve up the Chinese whilst I was away for the short time it took to get Emily into her pyjamas, into bed and told a short bedtime story. She was out in no time at all.

“So, do you want to talk?” Robert asked, handing me a plate of food as I sat in the spot next to him on the sofa.

“There’s really nothing to talk about Robert.”

“You know I’m here for you though, right?” I looked at him, noticing the sincerity and real concern deep in his warm, green eyes.

I managed a small nod and then began to eat the noodles, despite the fact that I’d completely lost my appetite after my emotional rollercoaster of the last hour or so.

“The whole hospital is going to know about my past now, aren’t they?” I asked, my voice barely audible as I wished the thought wasn’t true.

“I’m sure no one will use it against you in the same way House did today. You may not realise it, but you’re respected in that hospital. You have saved more lives than most doctors your age and you worker harder than doctors twice your age.” Robert told me, presumably trying to comfort me.

“I’d rather my life didn’t get dragged into my work though.”

“I know and it shouldn’t have been mentioned. House was just being bitter. Wilson will probably guilt trip him for it.”

“Yeah, but it’s House, he won’t care.” I reminded him, pushing my hair back from my face.

“Yeah, but other people care Blair. I care.”

I turned to look at him again, this time with bemusement.

He cared? What for and why? Surely it wasn’t me, right? I mean, I was just another plain doctor who worked more than she lived. I had a three year old daughter and a history of baggage. Why would he want to care about me? My own family didn’t care about me for nearly four years, so what reason did Robert have to care? I didn’t amount to anything amazing and surely I just caused him more trouble than anything else. His boss currently hated him, he’d been caught up in my own past nightmares and now he had to put up with my and Emily staying with him. Surely I was more of a hindrance than someone to care for.

“Why?” I asked him, my eyes wide, curious of his answer. Robert paused for a moment and gazed at me for what seemed like eternity before answering.

“Because, I care about you Blair. You don’t give yourself enough credit sometimes because of him and I guess it blinds you in a way.”

“What do you mean?” I moved my empty plate to the pine coffee table and tucked my legs up on the sofa, glancing across at Robert for his response.

“I…care about you. You don’t seem to get it Blair. I, God this is embarrassing to actually say…“ He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and my heart skipped a beat, the metaphorical butterflies threatening to burst from my stomach, “I-”

He was cut off by Emily screaming for her mommy and his pager beeping.

“Emily.”

“House.”

Trust the miserable, cane wielding, old S.O.B to ruin my chance to find out the answer to that question.