Jared found Dahlia in one of the patient rooms a week later staring at the screen as she clicked on various items in a chart. “Hey.” He greeted her with a wave, stopping on the doorway when she didn’t even look at him. “Dahlia?”

“Huh?” She jumped, startled to find the tall man blocking the doorway. He noticed her eyes were red and puffy, her nose pink. She looked exhausted, dark bags under her eyes, and slightly pale complexion. She looked lost. “Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there. What’s going on?”

“That’s what I'd like to ask you. What’s wrong?” Ever the example of subtlety, he added, “You don’t look so well. Are you getting sick?”

“Nah. I don’t think so.”

“Tired?”

“Yeah. I’ve been having trouble sleeping. My brain won’t shut up.” She ran her hands over her face with a deep sigh. “I usually run on about four to five hours of sleep a day, but lately it feels more like three. I just can’t stop thinking.”

“Trouble in paradise?” he teased with a grin, but it quickly faded at her downturned expression. He went into the room, shutting the door behind him. “Are you okay?”

She gave him a watery smile and a shrug. Voice wobbly, she told him. “Well, this month has just been plain sh***y. My boyfriend...we broke up on Valentine’s Day, he’s in love with someone else. He’s gone, he moved away from here, pretty much to be with her. To make matters worse, I just found out that since he left, now I'm also going to lose the apartment we were sharing because it was under his name. I’m going to be homeless within the week if I don’t find an apartment or figure something out.” She finished softly, throwing her hands back up to her face so he couldn't see her crying.

He opened his arms and she went to lean against him, crying into his shirt. He tried not to think about how bad it would look if someone came in and found them hugging behind closed doors, but she needed someone even if it was him. One arm around her shoulders, he patted her back with the other.

“I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend.” She gave a shaky laugh; he could feel the shrug under the arm holding her. “But if he really left you to be with someone else, good riddance. You don’t need that type of negativity in your life. Heck, now you can find yourself someone better who’s nicer and better looking than him!”

She leaned back, tilting her head back to look at Jared. “We were together for three years... I don’t think I can move on that quickly.”

“Well, never mind then. We’ve been working for almost a year together and I didn’t know!? You really are secretive.” Without thinking, he reached out and wiped off a tear lingering on her cheek with his thumb. She closed her eyes, letting him, and when she opened them back again, she had a look on her face he couldn’t decipher, but it looked almost like...wonder? He dropped his hands, letting her move away from him if she wanted to. For some reason he didn’t think that being too damn close to each other was a good thing.

“Thank you.” Tissue in hand, she gave him a soft smile. “I... know I shouldn’t feel this way. I saw the signs, but it still hurts. I’m not usually this mushy.”

“I think mushy would be the last word to describe you. What are you going to do about your living situation?” He opened the door just in case anyone decided to come down the hallway and get the wrong idea.

“Well... I looked into a couple places, but they’re all so expensive! If I could afford to keep my current apartment I would, but it’s just too much for me.” Hands on her hips, she stared at him. “I guess I always wanted to live in a car,” she replied with a short laugh. “Just like camping!”

He scowled. “That is not like camping.”

“Close enough... God, I hate camping.” She dropped her gaze to the floor, staring at her shiny Danskos. “Thank you for listening to my rambling. I should go back to my office now. I was only covering Mary Anne for her lunch.”

Jared nodded, stepping to the side. She went around him, halfway down the hall, she turned to look at him once more and he still couldn’t decipher what she was thinking.

.

Jared couldn’t focus the rest of the afternoon. The image of Dahlia’s teary face filled his mind. Thank god for Fridays as he would finally get some rest. It had been a lousy week, totally hectic between work, his family, and trying to find someone to date.

Ha.

He’d received an email from his grandfather regarding the house and sale, and he’d read through half of it before he’d gotten the feeling to punch something. The email stated some of the things that he’d gone over with his grandfather a couple months back—get married and keep the house, get married and choose out, choose out and lose house. There were not a lot of options to choose from but he was glad that there hadn’t been a baby clause otherwise he’d would’ve been screwed over.

Now, how the hell was he going to find a woman to marry him? He’d look into some websites that Dahlia had mentioned to him but they all seem complicated. Tinder and Plenty of Fish seemed sketchy to him while Match.com and eHarmony appeared more…real? The people that kept popping up as possible matches didn’t seem like the type that would have a criminal record. It all came down to the fact that beggars couldn’t be choosers and he was very much begging for a miracle right now.

Dahlia.

Jared gasped, feeling as if something had clicked in his head.

Dahlia could be the solution to his problem! Hell, she needed a place to stay, he needed a “wife”. It could work out! They got along well enough, she tolerated him. He liked her enough to be willing to share his personal space with her. It wasn’t like they were going to be doing anything funny either way.

Now, the question was, how to get her to agree to this.

.

Dahlia was on her way out lunch when she ran into Jared in the hallway.

“Are you leaving for lunch right now?”

She nodded, pulling her bag over her shoulder. “Yeah. I’m running late because I had to cover earlier. Did you need anything?”

He looked far too happy and excited. He was up to something, she could tell.

“Do you think we can grab lunch together?” he asked as he flushed slightly. She narrowed her eyes at him. This was way too suspicious.

“Why?”

He smiled sheepishly. “I, uh, have something that I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Hmm.” Way too suspicious. “Am I going to be in trouble in any way?”

He gaped, recovering himself quickly. “No! Why would you be—no. I just wanted to talk to you about something important. I think you’re going to be interested. So, how about lunch?”

“Err.” She looked around the hall, no one was around. She avoided things like these because she liked to keep her private life and her work life separately. Now, he was coming up to her and asking about lunch together. It probably didn’t mean anything more than just lunch, but something told her it was a bad idea. “I don’t know… I feel like it can look bad.”

“Nah. It’s nothing related to work. People need to mind their own business.”

“It’s even worse if it’s not work related!” She scowled at him.

“Please. I swear, it’ll make sense to you. It makes sense to me. It’s perfect. I just need to… run it by you.” The wide-eyed pleading look he gave her caused her stomach to jump. Damn him and his stupid goofy grin. She knew he was just bad news. “Come on, I’ll buy. Besides, you need something to keep your mind off your idiot ex-boyfriend.”

She rolled her eyes at him.

“Fine, but I’m taking my own car. I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to be getting in your car outside of work. For non-work related lunches.” She narrowed her eyes at him again. “I better not regret this meal, doctor. I’ll meet you at Logan’s.”

With that she turned and walked off towards the exit without him.

.

“Excuse me? You think that we should what?”

“It’s a good idea.”

“Doctor, that’s a horrible idea!”

“You tolerate me, I tolerate you. What’s wrong about it?”

“What’s wrong about it? Really?”

“Dahlia, think about it.”

“I don’t know…” She sat there for a bit, biting her lip nervously. She finally looked up at him.

“So, have you decided?”

"Ha ha. Very funny."

Dahlia sat back in her seat and stared at Jared in disbelief, and maybe with a little suspicion.  She didn't trust him, not one single bit. He spends month making her life difficult, hers and the other nurses, yet now he was offering to help her out. Sure, she might end up living in a car if she wasn't able to find an apartment but she wasn't sure she needed him either.

"I don't know if toleration is a good idea for a relationship. Maybe for work, because you have to deal with a lot, but not for personal situations," she explained and watched him shrug. 

"I've used toleration for my family all these years. It's a perfect tool to use."

"But you've said that your family was a bit crazy. That's different." His mother was a piece of work according to the other nurses.

"I know. But please, see it from my point of view. I'm offering you a way to be able to save your money. Unless you want to keep spending over a $1,000 just in rent alone. You're not mandated to do anything else. You wouldn't have to cook, or clean, or anything of the sort, I have a lady for that. What woman wouldn't be interested in something of the sorts?"

When he put it like that, it did sound appealing to her. He watched her bite her lip in nervousness as she weighed her options.

"Think of the plus side, you won't have to deal with daily reminders of that ex of yours. Personally, I'd hate to come home every day to a place full of memories. That plain out sucks!" Dahlia glanced up at him with a nod. "You could consider this your... starting over period." Jared grinned at and she simply rolled her eyes back at him.

"Excuse me that I can't contain my excitement." With a sigh, she added, "This is not the type of starting over that I had in mind. I have tons of horrible endings and outcomes to this crossing my mind right now. It just seems... weird. There are many horrible things that could happen."

"I'm sure we can figure this out. It's only a bunch of technicalities, nothing else has to happen. We give it two years, and move on with our lives. Easy peasy."

"Easy for you to say!"

"What's so bad about it?"

"You're a doctor! I might lose my job and it would look unprofessional on my end!"

"It would look unprofessional on my end, too."

"There's more weight put on nurses than doctors in that aspect, it feels like..."

"Please, think about it."

Dahlia sighed heavily again, "Please give me a couple days to think about this. I can't just answer without thinking about it for a while."

"That sounds reasonable."

"Thank you." She looked down at her watch and nodded at him, "I should get back to work. My lunch break is almost over."

"Alright. But please consider my offer."

"I will. See you in a bit." She gave him one last look and left.

.

It was very bright outside when Dahlia came out of the house. Jeans, baggy The Cure t-shirt and sneakers, sunglasses on, she was ready for the day ahead.

Of shopping. Of…

“Hey, Dahlia!”

Dahlia turned to the young brunette woman standing by an expensive looking vehicle. She waved at her, coming around to meet her halfway up her driveway.

She was very beautiful. Long wavy hair, tall and slender, friendly hazel eyes that shone excitedly as she greeted Dahlia, and gave her a tight hug. She pulled back, still holding her hands, and said happily. “Let me look at you. Wow! You’re even more beautiful in real life! Jared knows how to pick them!”

Dahlia felt her face flush under the gaze of the other woman, even more so when she realized what she had said. Jared. Of course. That’s what he’d be to her now, what he said to call her in front of his family.

She felt a pang of panic hit her belly, making her slightly queasy. She was really doing this. They were really going to do this.

“I thought he was kidding when he sent us the picture of you two. Then when he Skyped us and introduced you, I realized he really wasn’t. I’m going to have another sister!” She squealed, huge smile on her face as she held on to Dahlia’s hands. On the other hand, Dahlia couldn't help but feel guilty.

“Oh, believe me, I thought he was kidding when he told me as well.” She’d been what these kids said nowadays, shook. He had a knack for always surprising people, but that day he'd surprised her in a whole other level.

“The brat. He acts all tough and untouchable but he had this card up his sleeve. Now, come on, let’s head out so we can have a head start. We’re supposed to meet Jared for lunch.” She led Dahlia to the sleek car, a shiny red BMW. “Climb on. Don’t be shy now.”

Dahlia prayed that today would go by quickly and smoothly.

“So, then he tells the lady, ‘poop? What am I going to need your poop for’? I swear, I was laughing so hard, I cried.”

“Oh! I wish I’d seen the look on his face!” Karinne giggled when she imagined her big brother freaked out about a little poop.

Dahlia chuckled when she remembered the look on his face when the lady had tried to hand him a specimen cup with stool inside. The patient had been a little loopy and Dr. Dale, err, Jared, had been horrified. Still chuckling, she turned to the doorway of the changing room, poking her head through the curtain. “Can you help me with the zipper on this one?”

“Yeah, of course.” Karinne gasped when she took in Dahlia as she stood in the middle of the changing room. “Dahlia… I think that’s the one.” She helped pull the zipper up, going around the admire the younger woman. “Take a look.”

Dahlia turned to the large mirror behind her, gasping as she took in the reflection of the woman staring back at her.

“I think this is the one…” she whispered, as she ran her hands softly down the front to feel the dress. Karinne had tears forming in her eyes as she looked at her.

“Dahlia, you’re going to be the most beautiful sight he’s ever laid his eyes on.”

Jared stood up to greet the women, giving his sister a tight hug and letting him kiss him on the cheek. He gave Dahlia a more demure hug, for his sister’s expense, letting her hold him as tight as she saw fit for appearances.

He did a once over of her clothes, raising his eyebrows at her. Who knew nurse Dahlia the calm and collected was into The Cure? What else was she into? Also, he had never seen her in jeans before, so that was a pleasant surprise.

“Jared, you’re going to really like her dress!” Karinne informed him excitedly as she took the seat across from him. He had scoot over to let Dahlia sit next to him. “She’s going to look amazing!”

He smiled, glancing at Dahlia who looked a little nervous, perhaps a little pale, but smiled back nonetheless. He threw his arm over the back of the seat casually and she flushed at his closeness.

“Karinne, I have to tell you something important…” he started and Dahlia watched him patiently.

“She’s pregnant!” Karinne gasped.

“Wha—no!”

"I hope she's not, you cad! I hope you are better than that!" Karinne said with a pointed finger.

“Oh, gawd!” Dahlia felt her face heat up in embarrassment. “Definitely not!”

“Then…?”