Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Blake shot out of Alice's room as fast as he could. His nerves had been on red alert all day, and he could no longer stand it. Making his way back up to his office, he finally started getting Alice's scheduling in order. There were still more tests that needed to be done, files and forms to fill out and quite a few long over due appointments with his coworkers. Blake truly hoped Alice would become her old self again once they moved her out of St. Micheal's, assuming Dr. Willub would allow it.

After a few hours of busy work, Blake finally leaned back in his desk chair and stretched his arms and legs. Sleeping next to Alice had been wonderful, but it had made his entire body hurt like hell, and he really hadn't even slept at all. Now that he was caught up on his paperwork, he decided to take a little break. He closed his eyes for just a moment, and was out like a light.

When he opened his eyes again, Blake checked the clock on his computer monitor and realized that he had slept for longer than he had planned on. The lack of light outside his window confirmed that Blake had managed to sleep in his chair for just over six hours. “Damn.” He muttered to himself. Blake rubbed his eyes as he clicked open his email box. It was full of responses from his coworkers, most of them agreeing to the schedule Blake had set up for Alice's tests. One email caught his eye though. There it sat, waiting to be opened, one single solitary email from Dr. Willub. Blake's finger hovered above his mouse and he took a few deep breaths before opening the message.

Dr. Hansen, After much consideration and thought, St. Micheal's has decided to allow Alice's transfer to proceed. However, there will be strict rules that must be followed in order for this agreement to be upheld. 1.) You will be required give updates to me personally on a daily basis. 2.) Dr. Montgomery will be given top priority with regards to Alice's psychological evaluation, and must be given access to Alice on a twenty-four hour basis. 3.) Once Alice has recovered sufficiently, she will be required to leave your place of residence permanently. 4.) With regards to rule 3, Alice will be assessed by a doctor other than yourself to determine her recovery status. 5.) Alice will be required to stay in New Coven until she has met the requirements of rule 3. 6.) Under no circumstances will there be any sort of personal relationship between Alice and yourself. Dr. Montgomery and I will have the full disclosure of any such relationship between the two of you. 7.) If any of the rules mentioned above are broken or neglected in anyway, St. Micheal's reserved the right to reclaim Alice as it's patient, Alice will be immediately removed from your personal place of residence, and your medical license will be immediately revoked. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact me directly. Dr. Willub

Blake read the email three times, unable to understand how the hell a drunk sot like Dr. Willub had managed to come up with such a pert and unsociable letter. Blake scowled a little, before realizing that he had just managed to get the approval he wanted to move Alice. Yes, there were rules associated with it, but none of them really sounded that severe. So long as he and Alice followed them, everything would work out just the way Blake wanted. He wanted to run down and tell Alice the good news, but then thought better of it. Alice had been cranky and upset the entire afternoon, and obviously wanted to be left alone. He had promised that he would never leave her, and already he had broken that promise. However, Blake thought that Alice wanted some alone time for now, so he decided to stay put. After running home for a quick shower and a dinner, Blake planned on coming back for the night, giving Tess a break and seeing if Alice was any happier than before. If she was, he would definitely tell her the good news. If not, he would just have to try to not make her anymore upset than she already was.

Blake finally made it home and practically crawled into his shower. The scalding hot water felt wonderful as he stood under it, letting the water cascade down his entire body. Blake stood in the shower until he ran out of hot water, then quickly dried himself off, and jumped out. He made his way downstairs, passing his home office on the way to the kitchen. An eerie glow emanated out of the office, casting shadows around the room. Blake looked in to find that his computer monitor was on, strange though, he could have sworn he had turned it off the last time he had been home. Walking over to his desk, he noticed that once again, his email box was full. He let out another deep sigh before plopping down in his chair and scrolling through the list of unopened emails. There were several more from doctors at St. Micheal's either confirming or requesting a scheduling slot for Alice. One was from Luke, an update on Alice's case. And one was from Holly. Blake groaned and opened Holly's email first.

Dear Blake, Hi sweetie, I miss you tons! Seattle has been great, I love the big city! You should come out here with me and visit! New Coven is soooooo boring compared to this. My semester is almost over, I have finals this week. I really hope I pass them all so I can become a doctor just like you! Maybe we can work together in Seattle! That would be so wonderful! I miss you so much Blake, I've decided to come for a visit during break. I know you have plenty of room at your house, so I'll just stay there! My flight comes in on next Saturday at 1:45 at Portland International. Pick me up, okay? See you soon! Lets go over wedding plans while I'm there, okay? XOXO Holly Handfield-Hansen

Blake's head smashed down onto his keyboard, his hands clenched tightly into fists. However much he disliked Holly, she only made it worse by her emails. Holly and Blake had practically grown up together, as Holly's parent's house was only a few doors down from his own. Blake knew his father had always wanted Blake to settle down and raise a family, and as Blake Senior became more and more ill, Blake had tried to make his father happy by asking Holly for her hand in marriage. Truthfully, Blake had always planned on breaking it off with Holly after his father's passing, but his guilt always got the best of him. He and Holly had been engaged now for almost three years. For the last few months, Holly had been adding Hansen to the end of her name. Blake didn't know if she did it for all of her signatures, or just the ones she sent to him. Obviously though, she was trying to make a point.

After Holly's parents moved to Florida a year ago for the warmer climate, Holly went to Seattle to get her degree in Acupuncture Therapy. She had told Blake once that she hoped becoming a doctor 'just like him' would give them more in common. Blake never really understood how Holly thought that a one year program for an Acupuncture Therapist's certification could possibly compare to the six years he had spent becoming a doctor. They had nothing in common, but Holly apparently thought they were soul mates.

Now, Holly was planning a trip back to New Coven, and was going to be right on time to meet Alice. Maybe that would give Holly the hint that Blake had moved on to greener pastures. Blake doubted it, but remained hopeful. Holly was clingy and needy, and in general was whiny when it came to Blake's living situation. She had been begging Blake to move to a bigger city ever since their pseudo engagement. Blake disliked big cities, and always gave Holly some sort of excuse as to why he had to stay put in New Coven.

Blake saved the email, putting Holly's arrival date into his calendar. He was going to have to figure out a way to pick up Holly and keep Alice safe at the same time. Maybe he would just pay to let Holly rent a car so she could drive herself down. Closing Holly's email, he opened Luke's message up and began reading.