“Dr. Dale, do you have a minute?”

Jared looked up from his computer screen to find his supervisor, Dr. Daniels, standing at the doorway. He was a man in his late fifties with gray hair, glasses, and a serious face. Most people thought he was a scary man, but the ones who worked with him knew better than that. He had worked with children most of his medical career and would occasionally fill in when a doctor was out sick.

“Good morning, Dr. Daniels,” Jared said as he shook the older man's hand. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“Well, I have been meaning to come talk to you for some time, but haven't been able to. I have a proposition for you.” He took the chair in front of Jared's desk.

“Yeah? What's the proposition?”

“I have been thinking, you’re one of doctors with seniority. You know the rules well, how we function and serve the community. Corporate has decided to open a new sister facility in Nevada. We need a lead doctor to oversee,” he looked up at Jared, “and we thought you were the best choice.”

Jared stared at him. “Well, dang. I’m shocked, that’s for sure.”

Dr. Daniels grinned, “That’s a first. Usually it's you giving us surprises. So, what do you think?”

Jared leaned back on his chair, “I'm not really sure. I would have to think about it. I mean, it would require me to move there.”

“At least until everyone got settled. You can assign a lead provider afterwards and resume the position you have here now.”

“I would still have to figure out where to live and all that…”

“Company would be providing you with living arrangements. You just pick where and they'll pay.”

“Wow.” A thought came to mind, “Could I pick staff to assist me in this transition?”

“What did you have in mind?”

Jared nodded, “Like a charge nurse. If I could get someone to assist me during my stay in Nevada, could I perhaps choose one of the nurses I work with now?”

Dr. Daniels nodded, “I don’t see why not. I’m going to take a wild guess and say you’re thinking of Miss Henderson?”

Jared flushed slightly, “Yes. I can’t think of anyone else.”

“She's a supervisor now. She's quite the famous woman around here. She's smart.”

“She has you wrapped around her finger.”

“She's efficient.” Jared frowned. “I don’t have to continuously repeat myself on things I need.”

“I'll have to look into it since she’s already supervising here.” Dr. Daniels looked at his watch and stood up, “We can discuss this in a week. I'll email you info of what we talked about. I'll speak to corporate and schedule a formal dinner to meet with you and go over details. In the meantime, just think it over, okay?”

“Yeah, I will.” Jared stood and shook the older man's hand. “Thank you for considering me, doctor.”

“No problem. I'll be in contact.” Daniels said as he left Jared thinking.

..

“If you make me a list of supplies we’re short on, I’ll get on it today.”

“Yes, thank you, Dahlia.”

“No problem—”

“Dahlia, is that you?”

Dahlia turned at the voice and smiled widely as she found herself face to face with Anthony, one of the male reps for one of their suppliers. He was redheaded, tall, and stocky and not bad on the eye. He came over to her, giving her a big hug. They’d met before from the hospital and remained friends.

“What are you doing here?” she asked taking in his wide grin and twinkling blue eyes. “Are you repping for this clinic, too?”

“I’m all over the place, baby. You can’t escape me. What are you doing here?”

“Supervising.”

“Shut up, that’s awesome. How’s it going so far?”

“Well, it’s had its ups and downs. Some days are easier than others,” she started just as Jared came around the corner. She saw the surprised look on his face before he hid it completely.

.

JARED had been looking at some papers when he turned the corner and found Dahlia and that Anthony guy standing by the nursing station, his arm around her shoulder, her arm around his waist.

He was looking at her with big, puppy dog eyes and she was smiling back. Jared hadn’t seen her smiling that widely in a long time, certainly not since they’d been married. He felt his stomach clench, a tiny sliver of… jealousy pinching his heart.

“Oh, hello doctor!” Anthony greeted him. “I was wondering if I would run into you!” Dahlia eyed Jared wearily before dropping her arm. Anthony didn’t seem to notice the dark look on Jared’s face or the way his jaw was clenching.

“Hello, what are you doing here today?” Jared asked as he shook the younger man’s hand. Dahlia stepped back a little, out from Anthony’s arm.

“Same ol’ thing as always. I needed some provider signatures, I’m just missing yours. Perfect timing.”

“Okay, is that all? I have to go see another patient.” Jared said unemotionally. He knew he was sounding rude right now, but between the conversation with his grandfather and seeing Dahlia being mushy with Anthony, he wasn’t too... happy. He saw the look that Dahlia was giving him.

Clearly flustered, Anthony turned as red as his hair. “Uh, yeah. That’s all.” He handed Jared his clipboard to sign off a couple pages. “Thanks, doc.”

“Alright. Well, duty calls.” Jared said as he started to leave. He stopped and turned to look at Dahlia. “Oh. I have to speak to you about something. Can we talk when you have the time?”

She blinked, “Uh, yeah. Sure.” He nodded and walked off.

“Wow. Talk about a cold front.” Dahlia turned to Anthony who was shaking his head. “Is that what you meant by ‘ups and downs’ because I could feel it.”

She scratched her head slightly. “Yeah. Sometimes. He’s not too bad.”

“Uh huh.” He turned back to her. “So, hey, there’s going to be a chat at Gordon’s tonight. I know it’s short noticed, but I was going to go by myself. Would you like to go with me?” He turned red as he took in her surprised look.

“Uh. What do you mean?”

“It’s a rep dinner. Want to go with me?”

“Umm.” She thought for a second. “Can I get back to you?”

“Oh. Yeah. That’s fine. I mean, it’s short notice. You probably had things to do tonight already.” He mumbled quickly and she felt bad.

“Maybe next time. I promise.” She gave him a quick hug. “Listen, I really have to go see what’s wrong with Dr. Dale now.” She eyed the hall nervously. “Wish me luck.” He waved her off with no other word.

…

“Knock knock.”

“Come in.”

Dahlia slid into the office, shutting the door behind her. She was pulling at her scrub top until she realized she was only doing it because she was nervous about the baby. Which totally brought her back to reality and made her feel extra queasy.

“Did you need to talk to me about something?”

“Yeah. Take a seat.” He said with a nod towards the chair in front of his desk. She sat nervously, hoping that she wouldn’t get sick. “We need to talk.”

“Ah...about what?” She couldn’t decipher his look. “Uh...”

“My grandfather is coming to dinner tonight.”

Dahlia gaped. “What do you mean? Doesn’t he live in Washington? How is this happening?” She was not ready to meet his grandfather. She could barely deal with Camille and now him?

“He called me earlier about wanting to meet you. I told him we could visit him in Washington, but now he’s here and I don’t know what to do.” Jared stood and begun pacing. “I’m not really sure how I’m going to deal with him and my mother under the same roof.”

“I… what am I supposed to tell him or talk about? I mean, he was the cause of this whole mess.”

“I figured, just be honest with him. I don’t know why he’d want to meet you now. I thought he’d be glad with me being married. Now he wants to see what you’re like.” He let out a deep breath then turned to her. “I didn’t know you knew Anthony.”

“I know him from NORM.”

“You guys looked pretty chummy,” he added with a glint in his eye. Dahlia stared back. “With his arm around you and all…”

“Are we starting this again?” Dahlia raised her chin, looking at him down her nose. “Tell me what time your grandfather is going to be home so I can get dinner ready.”

“You’re going to cook?”

“Unless you want to go out somewhere?”

“We can go to Gordon’s?”

“No!” She nearly screamed as she shook her head. He gave her a questioning look. “Uh, there’s a rep dinner there tonight. We might run into people we know.”

Jared made a face. “Is Anthony going to be there?”

“Uh... I think he said so.”

“Hmm.” So, she didn’t want to go because that ginger could see? His brain told him to stop being stupid, she was right, someone could see them. He pushed his thought aside. “Was there anything else?”

“What do you mean?” She asked with a frown.

“You guys seemed pretty chummy.” He grumbled and she scowled at him.

“Now, you’re being dumb. Really?”

“I haven’t seen you smile that way in a long time.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You can thank your mother about that. Anyways, we can go out to dinner or I can make something quick for tonight.”

“Alright, something quick.” He let out a deep sigh. “You look like you’re going to be sick. Are you okay?”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to y—”

“CODE BLUE TO ROOM 120. CODE BLUE TO ROOM 120.”

“Son of a—”

Dahlia jumped to her feet and they both ran out of the office, her chance to tell him her news forgotten.

….

Dahlia had been surprised at the similarities between Jared and his grandfather. Gerard Dale-Miller was a tall man, just as broad shouldered as Jared and with the same imposing air around him. The only difference was the age and hair color because everything was like looking at an older Jared. She had squeaked in surprise when instead of shaking her hand, he’d given her a hug, commenting how pretty she was and that Jared had done good. She didn’t know what to say, so she just glanced at Jared wondering what she was supposed to say to that.

“Grandfather, you’re going to squeeze her to death. Hands off the wife, please.” Jared said as he took the shaken and blushing Dahlia back, throwing an arm around her waist. The older man had thrown his head back and laughed loudly, stating that she had been a very well-kept secret if Jared had acted like he didn’t have anyone he liked, yet here she was and he was being protective of her. She glanced up at Jared, who ignored her completely, eyes still on the other man.

Dinner hadn’t been too bad as they talked about normal things like work and her family. Jared had noticed that she became animated as she talked about them, realizing that he’d never asked her about them. Camille, for the most part, had kept her mouth shut. He didn’t know what she’d done to piss off his grandfather, but it made her behave herself.

“I have to say, Dahlia, I was concerned about what type of woman Jared had chosen to marry, but I'm pleased that he chose you. You got spunk, girl. Beauty and a brain as well. Thank god! I thought he’d choose one of those blonde bimbos he likes spending time with.” Gerard commented loudly, making Dahlia grin. She smirked at Jared. “You don’t even need my grandson. I don’t know how he got you to agree to this. You could’ve done better than his ornery ass.”

“Said the pot to the kettle.” Muttered Jared between gritted teeth.

“Interests?” Camille snorted into her wine glass and Gerard gave her a bored look.

“You should know.” He commented, not even looking at her. Camille flushed hotly, but didn’t reply. “Anyways, I’m pleased, Jared. I like her. She’s good for you. Maybe you should think about the long-run instead of two years, no?”

Jared turned red, Dahlia paled, and Camille started choking on her wine.

“But Gerard! They don’t even like each— she is not even our—” She sputtered and Jared patted her on the pat.

“Our what, Camille?” Gerard finally turned to her. “The same level of money? A doctor? Let me remind you, neither are you. At least she’s being honest about everything, unlike you. Now, do refrain from pointing out stupid things like that.” Camille flinched back. She was so angry she was turning purple.

“You men are both fools!” She finally snapped. Tossing her napkin onto her plate, she turned to Dahlia. “So, you’re smart, what of it? Are brains going to keep you warm at night when this whole charade is over? Are you going to go back to your lonely life and pretend nothing ever happened? If you thought you would, let me tell you one thing, woman to woman, if you have let him into your bed with even a smidgen of affection, you’re never going to be okay. I don’t know what’s going on between you two beyond this marriage arrangement, but if you’ve let him in, mark my words, the only brokenhearted one is going to be you. And that will mean you’re not any smarter than these two.” She glared at her son. “I thought you cared about more than just money like you always said you did. You cast stones at me for my ‘lack of emotion’, but you my dear, are just the same. Maybe instead of focusing your damn anger on me, you should be angry at him!” She pointed a shaky finger at Gerard, “He’s the one forcing you to marry someone you barely know, threatening to take your home, and all for what? Some stupid company. Maybe you need to learn to label your villains correctly.”

“That’s enough, Camille!” Gerard finally thundered as he stood up, towering over her. “You speak of things you don’t understand.”

“I understand that you have lived your life controlling people, and since you couldn’t do it with your son, you’re trying to do it with Jared!” Camille said shrilly.

“Are you speaking from experience? Because it seems you know a lot about controlling people.”

Jared stood up between them. “You both need to calm down.”

“Want to know why he’s trying to control you?” Camille asked as she stared at Gerard head-on. “Because he couldn’t control me. What would you say, old man, if I told you that Jared is not your son’s?” Gerard blanched, Jared scowled, while Dahlia gasped, still not moving from her seat at the table.

“What are you saying?” He growled lowly, taking a step towards her. She shrugged. With a look at the other two, she walked out. Gerard threw his napkin to the table following behind her. Dahlia took a hold of Jared’s arm before he started after them.

“Sit for a moment. Let me go check.” She squeezed his arm before heading towards the doorway. She found Gerard leaning against the staircase rail, hand over his chest. “Gerard, are you okay? We should go talk—Gerard? Gerard!” She jumped when she saw him collapse. Rushing over to his side, she patted him on the face, pressing her hands to his neck, trying to find a pulse. He was pale and clammy. “Jared! Oh my god! Jared!” She turned Gerard over on his back, clambering over him, hands together and started pumping his chest. Camille popped up at the top of the stairs, eyes wide when she saw them on the floor. Jared came rushing through the doorway, falling to their side. “Jared! He’s not breathing, call 911!”

“Shit, shit, shit!” He dialed 911, giving them the address. Hanging up, he helped Dahlia to her feet, taking her place over his grandfather. Heart pounding, he pumped the old man’s chest, part of him knowing this would probably not have a good outcome... 

Camille still hadn't moved at all.