Can't Fall in Love Without You (Christian Yelich)

10

Elizabeth woke up startled from a nightmare. She couldn't remember all the details, but the ground was definitely splitting apart – like a cartoon version of an earthquake.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before looking around at her surroundings. She definitely wasn't in her room, but she knew instantly the four walls belonged to Christian. The air just smelled like him . . . She had never considered his scent before. Sort of like a dewy summer morning mixed with a bit of sweat. She thought it was nice, but she didn't dwell on it too long. She couldn't.

She glanced at the clock – 6:30 am. She had to get back to her place and prepare for work. His bed was warm and comfortable, though, and it was hard to bring her feet to the cold hardwood floor. When she finally did, she looked up and was greeted by a photo on the wall. It was Christian with a beautiful, thin, statuesque woman wearing an incredible white gown. It was obviously a wedding photo.

Christian had never mentioned a wife before, but Elizabeth had never asked . . . She knew better than to pry.

Christian was absolutely beaming in the picture; his smile reached his eyes. She had never seen him so happy in real life. In fact, he never really looked happy at all. She'd occasionally see a hint of a smile on his usually solemn face, but that was the best he seemed to be able to do.

She knew something horrible had happened. She wasn't daft, but she also knew that it was his secret to share. She never wanted to push him, and she never wanted to make him hurt more than he already did.

She got to her feet. The apartment was completely quiet, so she peeked in Ivy's nursery to make sure she was still sound asleep. She was.

She then spotted a sleeping Christian on the couch. She felt awful that he felt obligated to surrender his bed to her. He should have just woken her up, and she would have gone home. But that didn't seem to be the type of person Christian was. He was always trying to take an extra step to make her comfortable. To make her happy. How did she even get to the bed? She had dozed off on the couch before the clock even struck midnight. She didn't remember making the short trip from sofa to bedroom.

She debated waking him up to tell him goodbye, but the man deserved his sleep. She'd just text him once she got back to her room.

And that's what she did.

Thanks for everything, Christian. I had a wonderful night and got to sleep in an extremely comfortable bed. Kick me out of the apartment next time, though.

She got ready for work as quickly as she could. Showered, threw on scrubs, packed a small lunch that she probably wouldn't have time to eat, and booked it out of her one-bedroom.

She had appointments all morning and barely had time to breathe. There was certainly no time to check her texts, even though she wanted to hear from Christian. His messages were always something to look forward to.

Around 1:00 pm, she had to run downstairs to drop off some paperwork to Pediatrics at the request of her attending. She was shocked when she saw Christian in the large waiting room cradling Ivy in his arms – he stood out in a sea of moms filling out paperwork with their children in tow.

Shortly thereafter, she heard his voice. "Elizabeth?" he sounded unsure of whether or not it was actually her. She could keep going . . . Pretend she didn't hear. But that wasn't in her character. And she was very concerned about Ivy and her sweet friend. She hoped it was just a routine checkup, but Christian would have probably mentioned that to her. As an infant, Ivy's schedule wasn't very packed, but Christian kept Elizabeth updated in case she had any advice to offer.

"Christian, hey," she replied, her tone surprised, even though she had recognized him first. "What's going on? Is something wrong?" She went from surprised to worried quickly, remembering that he was he with Ivy, and that meant Ivy needed help.

"She spiked a fever. I didn't know what to do. I texted you, but I knew you were at work . . . So I came here."

Elizabeth nodded. "I'm so sorry. I haven't had a second to myself today. Which doctor do you see?" she asked, her tone gentle as she let Ivy play with her hand.

"Dr. Street," he responded.

"She's very, very good," Elizabeth responded with a smile. "The best. And this little princess here is going to be just fine. Please don't fret. She's warm, but she looks great. She still has color, and she's calm."

"Is this where you work?" Christian asked, instantly reassured by Elizabeth's words. "St. Luke's Pediatrics?"

Before she could respond, they were interrupted. "Hey, Dr. Reed, thanks for dropping off those immunization records so quickly. You're a lifesaver. Our scanning system is down, so I guess we're doing things the old-fashioned way today."

"Any time," she replied, giving her fellow MD a bright smile.

"You're a doctor?" Christian asked when she returned to their conversation, his brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought you were . . ."

"A nurse?" she finished his sentence with a grin.

"Yeah, something like that. You just seem so . . ."

"Young?" she finished again.

He laughed. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just really . . ."

She couldn't finish his thought this time, so she waited.

"Impressed. I'm impressed."

She laughed. "Well, thank you, Christian. Listen, I have to get back to work, but let me know how I can help. I get off around 6:00 if you need me to bring anything home to you. I'm sure I'll have time to text later." She gave Christian a quick hug goodbye before making her way back upstairs to take another appointment.

When she did have time to check her messages and scarf down some baby carrots at lightning speed, she couldn't help but smile when she read Christian's stream of texts.

I could never kick you out of my place. You're way too nice. Thanks for coming. It meant a lot to me.

Ivy has a fever. Are you home? I don't think you're home. I think you're at work. You live there, right?

I'm going to take her to her pediatrician. I'll keep you updated.

A doctor, huh? Never thought I'd have a doctor friend, but it explains your baby IQ. I should have guessed.

Thanks for everything. You really are the best, Elizabeth.

Maybe you should let me cook dinner for you tonight. As a thank you.

Ivy's fever is down. Please come say hello to her. She misses her bff.

And that's exactly what she planned to do after work -- check on her friend's daughter and make sure that all was as good as it could be for them. That's all she wanted.