In the Doctor's Bed Page 16

  “Hey, don’t look for any sympathy here,” Isabelle was saying. “I told you this morning that I thought you needed to stay home and get some rest.”

  Jaclyn rolled her eyes. “Why do I need rest?”

  “Because you’re sick. And I agree with Dr. De Winter, you don’t need to be around patients.”

  Jaclyn glared at her. “Whose side are you on?”

  Isabelle smiled. “Yours. When you’re well. Otherwise I’m in with Dr. De Winter. You need to take better care of yourself. I heard you moving around last night with stomach pains. You need to get checked out.”

  “I’m fine. I’m just experiencing flu-like symptoms.”

  Isabelle rolled her eyes. “I can’t stand a doctor who tries to diagnose their own condition.”

  “Whatever.”

  Jaclyn was about to step in the elevator when suddenly she felt dizzy at the same time a sharp pain ripped through her stomach. She heard Isabelle call her name when everything began turning black and she felt herself tumbling to the floor.

  Lucien had just left a patient when he got paged. He went to the nearest phone, punched in a couple of numbers and said crisply, “This is Dr. De Winter.”

  “And this is Dr. Isabelle Morales. Jac…I mean Dr. Campbell…just passed out.”

  Lucien’s heart dropped. He forced himself to stay calm. “Where is she?”

  “She wouldn’t go down to the E.R. like I suggested, but she did give in and agreed to be seen by a doctor on staff.”

  He was moving although he wasn’t certain which direction he should go. “What floor?”

  “The fifth.”

  “I’m on my way.” And not caring who saw him, he all but took off running toward the nearest elevator.

  “Acute appendicitis?” Jaclyn said, staring at Dr. Bradshaw like he had two heads. “There must be some mistake. I have the flu.”

  Dr. Bradshaw shook his head. “Trust me, I know what I’m taking about. You might have flu-like symptoms, but you don’t have the flu, Dr. Campbell. You have acute appendicitis and it needs to come out immediately.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. You’re a doctor, so you know the dangers of a ruptured appendix.”

  Jaclyn began nibbling on her bottom lip. Yes, she did know and that’s what scared her. Now the shoe was basically on the other foot. Treating patients was one thing, but becoming the patient was another. “I need to think about this.”

  Dr. Bradshaw glanced up from filling in his chart. “There’s nothing to think about. You need the surgery immediately.”

  Jaclyn opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly the curtain was pushed aside and she literally caught her breath when Lucien walked in. And she could tell from the look on his face he was both angry and worried.

  “Jaclyn, are you all right? What happened?” he asked quickly moving toward her and pulling her into his arms.

  She went willingly and gazed over his shoulder and met the surprised look in Dr. Bradshaw’s gaze. She immediately knew her and Lucien’s cover had gotten blown to smithereens. Lucien then touched her chin to bring her gaze back to him and placed a kiss on her lips. “Sweetheart, what happened?”

  Before she could say anything, Dr. Bradshaw cleared his throat. “Hey, you two, remember me?” he asked teasingly. Then he added in that same teasing voice, “And remember the hospital’s nonfraternization policy? So if I were you, Lucien, I would shield my reaction to Dr. Campbell’s health issue so it won’t be apparent what the two of you have been up to.”

  Lucien glanced over at his close friend. “Go to hell, Thomas.”

  “Yeah,” Dr. Bradshaw said chuckling. “But not until Dr. Campbell is doing better. She needs surgery.”

  “Surgery?” Lucien echoed.

  “Yes,” Dr. Bradshaw said. “She has acute appendicitis and her appendix needs to come out immediately. She’s being difficult.”

  Lucien raised a brow. “Difficult in what way?”

  Dr. Bradshaw smiled at Jaclyn and ignoring her frown he returned his gaze to Lucien. “When I told her she needed the surgery she said she needed to think about it.”

  Jaclyn’s frown deepened. The two men were conversing like she wasn’t there. It was her medical issues they were discussing. “Excuse me, Dr. Bradshaw, but isn’t there a privacy law prohibiting discussing a patient’s medical situation with a nonfamily member?”

  “That was before Lucien kissed you,” the man replied seriously, all manner of teasing gone from his voice. “I know Lucien. He’s a close friend who loves his job as much as I love mine. And for him to risk that by breaking a hospital policy tells me a lot.”

  The man paused a moment and added, “And it tells me a lot on your behalf as well, Dr. Campbell, because I’m sure your career is important to you, too. But the most important issue at the moment is your health. Like I said, you need surgery immediately.”

  Jaclyn nervously nibbled on her bottom lip and she glanced over at Lucien. Before she could say anything, the curtain was pulled aside once again. Dr. Dudley walked in. He glanced at everyone in the small room before looking back at her. Jaclyn was certain he’d taken note of how close Lucien was standing to her bed.

  “I understand one of our interns passed out, Dr. De Winter,” he stated in an authoritative voice.

  Lucien took a step back. “Yes, and I needed to see how she was doing,” he said as if to explain his reason for being there.

  Dr. Dudley glanced over to Dr. Bradshaw. “What’s the diagnosis?”

  “Acute appendicitis. She needs surgery immediately.”

  Dr. Dudley nodded. “Then let’s get it scheduled,” he said as if Jaclyn’s decision wasn’t needed.

  He then glanced over at Lucien. “Don’t you have a conference call with that attorney they hired to handle the Matthews lawsuit in less than ten minutes, Dr. De Winter?”

  Before Lucien could blow their cover, Jaclyn quickly spoke up. “Thanks for dropping by to check on me, Dr. De Winter. I really appreciate it.”

  Lucien turned to her and she hoped he could read the plea in her gaze. He did. Without saying anything, he nodded and then left the room.

  Lucien hung up his phone, grateful the conference call had lasted only ten minutes. And more grateful that the attorney had only a few questions to ask him because his mind hadn’t been able to function worth a damn.

  He stood and began pacing the room. He knew he needed to pull himself together, but how was he expected to do something like that when the person he cared about, the one woman who had come to mean the world to him, could be in danger?

  It didn’t take much to remember nine-year-old Brittney Adams whose parents had brought her to the hospital last year, hours too late. Her appendix had ruptured and she had died on the operating table. He had been the one to deliver the news to her parents.

  The thought of losing Jaclyn that way made him shiver from the inside out and he didn’t have to wonder why he felt that way. He loved her. For a while he’d suspected he had but hadn’t wanted to own up to it because he’d known what that meant: choosing the woman he loved over the position he had worked so hard to achieve.

  But the choice had been taken out of his hands. It was technically a no-brainer. Jaclyn meant more to him than his career. He wanted her no matter the professional cost. He was tired of their sneaking around for stolen moments to be together. She deserved more. They deserved more.

  And a part of him refused to believe she hadn’t fallen in love with him, as well. No woman could give herself to a man the way she gave herself to him without love.

  He crossed his office to the window and looked out. But it seemed he could have it all thanks to that conversation he’d had with Dr. Waverly back in Florida. The man had been so impressed with the way Lucien had handled the emergency involving the multicar accident that he had told him if Lucien ever wanted to switch departments he’d love for Lucien to come over to E.R. and take the position of head doctor.

  Lucien had been thinkin
g seriously about accepting the man’s offer. No longer being Jaclyn’s boss meant they wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore. Without wasting any time he moved back to his desk and picked up the phone to make a call.

  “This is Dr. Waverly.”

  “Yes, Dr. Waverly, this is Dr. De Winter. Is that offer you made in Florida still out there?”

  “Most definitely. I’d love to have you as a part of my E.R. team. I’ve seen you in action. I can’t think of anyone else I’d want as my head doctor.”

  “Thank you and I accept your offer. How soon can we make the change?” Lucien asked. He preferred working with Dr. Waverly than Dr. Dudley. It was time for him to break camp and move on.

  “I’ll put in the paperwork today. Are there any special requests?” Dr. Waverly chuckled. “Now is the time to make them.”

  “I have two weeks off around the holidays this year. I promised my grandmother I’d be home in Jamaica for Christmas.”

  “That’s not a problem. I’ll approve those days off for you now as part of your lateral-move package.”

  “Thank you,” Lucien said.

  “No, I want to thank you. And I’m looking forward to working with you.”

  After he hung up the phone Lucien glanced at his watch. Thomas had texted him earlier to say Jaclyn’s surgery was scheduled for three, which gave him ten minutes to get to the surgical floor. He planned to watch from the gallery and hoped and prayed nothing went wrong. He loved her and knew there was no way he could go on without her.

  “How is she, Thomas?”

  Thomas Bradshaw smiled at Lucien as he exited the O.R. “Hey, man, I know you were watching, but I’ll answer anyway.” All amusement was removed from his features when he added, “She was lucky. Had we waited any longer her appendix would have ruptured. Passing out was in her favor. She had to have been in tremendous pain and working all those hours didn’t help. Her body was extremely exhausted. I’m going to give her a generous amount of recovery time away from here. She needs it.”

  Thomas then looked at him curiously. “What about your relationship with her? You can’t keep taking chances. If Dudley finds out you can kiss your career here goodbye.”

  Thomas glanced around to make sure they weren’t overheard when he added, “Personally, I think although you did the right thing in firing Terrence Matthews, Dudley is holding it against you, anyway. Especially in light of all the problems the Matthewses are causing the hospital. I know how much your career means to you, so I hope you have a plan B.”

  “I have. I’ve accepted the position as head doctor of E.R.”

  Thomas smiled. “Hey, that’s wonderful and Dudley won’t go up against Waverly, especially when the hospital moved mountains and courted him like the dickens to bring him here. Obtaining someone with the credentials of Waverly is the only stellar thing Dudley has done lately, and he knows it. Trust me, he’d want to keep Waverly happy.”

  Lucien nodded slowly. “When can I see Jaclyn?”

  “In a few. They’re wheeling her to recovery now.” Thomas paused and then asked quietly, “You love her, don’t you?”

  Lucien pulled in a deep breath. “Yes, with all my heart. I didn’t realize just how much until the thought of losing her became a reality. Then I knew I could no longer sneak around with her. She deserves more. We both do.”

  Jaclyn slowly opened her eyes while several jumbled images floated through her mind. She was still at the hospital, but she wasn’t standing up and moving around; she was the one lying flat on her back in a hospital bed. She was now the patient. With that realization she felt the pain which made her remember why she was there. Acute appendicitis… Surgery…

  “You’re awake.”

  She blinked at the sound of the deep, husky voice and shifted her gaze to her side. Lucien was sitting beside her bed. She opened her mouth to speak, to ask what was he doing there. He would blow their cover if he didn’t leave. There was no reason he should be sitting at her bedside and holding her hand. What if Dr. Dudley or Nurse Tsang walked in?

  “Shh, don’t try to talk, sweetheart. Just listen to what I have to say.”

  He paused a moment and then said quietly, “I love you. I think I’ve known it for some time but wasn’t sure what to do about it, how to go about handling the situation we’d boxed ourselves in with the hospital’s nonfraternization policy. But none of that matters now. Your medical issue made me realize it doesn’t matter. It’s time we live our lives for ourselves and no one else. And I believe you love me, too. Thanks to you there’s no way I can think otherwise.”

  Jaclyn felt the tears spill out of her eyes. Lucien loved her! She couldn’t speak, so she moved her lips to say, “I love you, too.”

  He smiled. “And don’t worry about our careers. We’ll be able to work things out and have it all.”

  Jaclyn didn’t understand what he meant and wanted to ask him, but she felt sleepy all over again and could barely keep her eyes open.

  “Go back to sleep, Jaclyn. You need your rest. I’ll still be here when you wake up. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Jaclyn held his gaze. And looking into his eyes and seeing the love so blatantly shining in them was the last thing she remembered before sleep took over once again.

  Just like he’d promised her, Lucien was still there at her bedside a few hours later when he saw Jaclyn open her eyes. He had gotten off work more than five hours ago but had refused to leave her side. Isabelle had dropped by several times and so had several other interns. No one questioned his reason for being there, although he’d seen some curious glances. He was certain there would be some buzz about it. Both Dr. Dudley and Nurse Tsang had come by, although he doubted it was out of concern and not out of just plain nosiness.

  “Welcome back,” he said, gazing over at Jaclyn. “Feeling better?”

  “Yes.”

  He was glad she had her voice back although it sounded kind of raspy. “Is there anything you want? Anything I can get you or do to make you more comfortable?”

  “Lucien, what are you doing here?”

  By asking him that question he wondered if she had remembered their prior conversation. He decided to jog her memory. “I’m here because I love you and I can’t imagine being any place else.”

  He saw the frown settle on her beautiful face and knew she was remembering. Moments later she said, “But what about our careers? I love you too, but—”

  “I have it all taken care of. In a few weeks I will become head doctor in E.R.”

  “You’re changing departments?”

  “Yes. That means I will no longer be your boss. And as for your remaining under Dudley, he is smart enough not to hassle you because he has no proof of anything between us before today. I’m sure he and Nurse Tsang have put two and two together, but he can’t prove anything. And he knows what kind of trouble he can get into if he files any kind of report based on speculation. That means your career is safe as well.”

  “And you think he will let the matter go just like that?” she asked.

  “Knowing Dudley, I doubt it, but he can’t and won’t try doing anything about it. Dr. Waverly approached me about the position while we were in Florida. Dudley knows the hospital considers Dr. Waverly the golden calf. It took a lot of hard work to get a doctor of his caliber here and Dudley’s not going to do anything to piss him off.”

  “But will you be happy in the E.R.?” she asked and he could tell by her tone that she truly needed to know.

  “I’ll be happy practicing medicine, sweetheart. But it’s really a blessing for us. I couldn’t keep you behind closed doors any longer. I wanted to be with you and be seen with you. It would have only been a matter of time before our secret got out and both of us risked losing our careers. This way our careers are safe and we can be in love out in the open.”

  “And you want that?”

  “Yes,” he said, and he meant it. He eased closer to her bed. “And there’s something else I want.”

  “What?”
<
br />   “To marry you. Make you my wife. I love you. Will you marry me, Jaclyn?”

  He saw tears form in her eyes and saw the way her lips trembled. “I fell in love with you, Lucien, that first day I met you, even before you said a single word to me,” she said brokenly. “My mom said it would probably be that way for me because it was that way when she met my dad. She said she’d known all along that Danny wasn’t the man for me and that I’d know him when I saw him.”

  A smile touched her lips when she added, “Although I knew you were the man for me, I just wasn’t sure I was the woman for you.”

  He leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips. “You are. I can’t imagine living my life without you. You don’t know just how scared I was during your surgery. I watched from the gallery while thinking I could lose the most precious person in my life. I would not have been able to go on without you, sweetheart.”

  “Oh, Lucien,” she said, swiping at her tears.

  “And I want you to go home with me for Christmas, to meet my grandmother, my sister and all my cousins.” He chuckled. “Although I think I need to warn you that I told Lori about us earlier today and she’s already making plans to come here to meet you.”

  He paused and then said, “And if you want we can have a small wedding in Jamaica and another one here in the States. And just so you’d know, I called your parents.”

  She lifted a surprised brow. “You did?”

  “Yes. They needed to know about your surgery and I also told them what you mean to me. I asked your dad’s permission to marry you and he gave it.”

  Jaclyn drew in a deep breath, thinking she doubted she could love him any more than she did at that very moment. He had worked out everything for them to be together, and that meant all the world to her.

  “Thomas said you’ll be able to go home tomorrow if you continue to improve. I’ve talked to Isabelle and she knows you’ll be staying with me. Your parents are flying in tomorrow and I have plenty of room for them to stay at my place.”

  He slid her hand from his and got up and went to lock her hospital room door. He didn’t want any interruption while they sealed their marriage agreement. He returned to stand by her bed. “I love you, sweetheart, and when you get better we’ll go shopping for a ring.”