A Rose by Any Another Name

The following morning I went to work even more excited than the day before. Maya greeted me in the nursing office, handing me a fresh cup of coffee.

"You left quickly after work yesterday," she said. "How was your first day?"

I smiled, secretly thinking about Mike making me come in the locker room, the sex at his place and the spanking that left me wild with desire for him.

"It was great," I answered, trying not to sound too cheerful, which was easier said than done. "It definitely exceeded my expectations."

"Awesome," Maya smiled. "I'm sure you're going to fit right in."

I printed out a list of all my patients, and Maya continued.

"We have some things to take care of before morning rounds," she said, suddenly a more serious look on her face. "A fifteen-year-old girl came in last night after a suicide attempt. She took an overdose of her mother's morphine pills and her brother found her unconscious when he came home from work. She's stable now but we need to run some tests and talk to her mom, she's a mess. Apparently she was on a business trip and she blames herself for what happened since she left the kids home alone."

"Oh God," I said, shocked. "Sure, let's go see her."

Maya gathered what we needed for the blood tests while I finished my coffee, and we went to the patient's room. When we walked in, the first thing I saw was Mike talking to the mother who was crying. He turned around as he heard the door open and smiled when he saw me, but didn't say anything. I walked over to the patient who was lying in her bed with her eyes closed.

"Hey," I said in a soft voice. "Are you sleeping?"

She opened her eyes and looked at me but didn't say anything.

"Your name is Ella, right?" I asked, and she nodded. "I'm Rose. How are you feeling?"

Ella sighed and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Not great," she said. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"

"Hey," I said, putting my hand on her arm. "You might not believe me, but for what it's worth, I'm glad you're still here. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

She hesitated, looking at her mom and then back at me. Maya was talking to Mike and Ella's mother and neither of them were paying us any attention.

"I just wanted to disappear," she whispered. "I couldn't stand it anymore."

"You couldn't stand what?" I asked and sat down next to her.

"School," she muttered. "I'm so sick of everything. I've been bullied ever since I started high school and nothing helps. Yesterday I found this in my locker."

She reached over to her jacket and handed me a crumpled up note from her pocket on which someone had written "you're disgusting, do us all a favor and go kill yourself" in big red letters. Appalled to see what had triggered her suicide attempt, I tore up the piece of paper and threw everything in the trash.

"Whoever wrote this obviously has their own problems," I said, stroking her hair in an attempt to comfort her. "That's why they feel the need to put others down. It has nothing to do with you, you have to trust me on that."

Suddenly tears spilled from her eyes, leaving long streaks of mascara behind. I squeezed her hand as she cried, trying to wipe her tears away with my thumb. Mike turned around when he heard her.

"Rose, can I see you for a minute?" he asked.

I excused myself and followed him outside.

"I don't know what to do with her," he said, concern in his voice. "Her mom admitted that there were signs but that she never thought she would actually do anything. She took over sixty pills without her mom even noticing. Apparently she had been planning this for some time, and honestly, I don't want to know what would have happened if her brother hadn't called an ambulance."

"Did you see the note?" I asked.

"What note?"

"She found a note in her locker yesterday," I explained, telling him what it had said.

"Shit, who would do something like that?!" Mike exclaimed with a troubled look on his face. "I feel so bad for her. We'll have to do something to help while she's here, I'm just not sure what would be best. Maybe I should refer her to Dr. Summers, he's a really good child psychiatrist that I know. Honestly though, I wish I could find the punk who wrote that note and make them regret it."

"It would feel good, wouldn't it?" I agreed, touched that the man who had fucked me like an animal the day before was such a kindhearted and devoted doctor.

"Anyway," he said, trying to change the subject. "I was really happy before I heard about this case."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," he said, looking at me tenderly. "Because I knew you were going to be at work."

Suddenly a playful smile appeared on his face.

"But don't get used to it," he teased, "because I'm usually not all hearts and cuddles. Now get your ass into my office because morning rounds start earlier today and I don't like it when nurses keep me waiting."

Since Mike had to work during my lunch break, Maya and I went out for some fresh air and a bagel. There was a little park right behind the hospital, so we sat down in the newly cut grass to enjoy the sun.

"I saw you talking to Dr. Miller today," Maya said, raising her eyebrows.

"Dr. Miller?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah, Dr. Miller. Ella's doctor," she explained.

"Oh, you mean Michael!" I blurted out without thinking.

"First name basis already, huh?" she teased. "Wow, second day at work and you're already friends with the hottest doctor of the hospital."

I almost choked on my bagel which made Maya laugh.

"Come on, you have to admit he's pretty hot," she said playfully, making me blush.

"I didn't say he wasn't," I pointed out, smiling.

"Sorry to burst your bubble," she said, "but I'm pretty sure he's gay. Well, me and every other nurse who has ever worked with him."

Her comment made me laugh out loud, thinking about the conversation Mike and I had had the day before.

"I think you're right," I said, not knowing if I was trying to hide the fact that we had already had sex or if I just wanted any potential adversaries out of the way. "He seems like a good doctor, though."

"All the kids love him." Maya sighed. "If only I could find someone like him. It's so typical, the best guys are always unavailable, and you know why? Because they date each other."

I chuckled, thinking I sure as hell wasn't going to let her in on my secret. Mike was all mine.

With five minutes left of my lunch break, I went to Mike's office to see if he was there. The door was slightly open so I peeked my head inside and saw him sitting in front of the computer, writing on one of his patients' medical records.

"Excuse me, Dr. Miller," I said in my sexiest voice ever.

Mike turned around with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Well, hello nurse Hayden," he replied, and I almost melted. "What brings you here during your lunch break?"

"I've been suffering from severe sex withdrawal symptoms," I said playfully, not quite believing I was actually using such a cliché way of flirting with him. "And I think you're the only one who can help me."

Mike laughed but decided to play along.

"Is that so?" he said, taking my hands and drawing me down onto his lap. "It sounds pretty serious. It's definitely going to take longer than you have left on your break, though."

"I don't mind," I tried, moving my face closer to his. "I need to prioritize my health, you know."

"And I need to prioritize

you

," he said before leaning forward slowly until our lips met, a moment that almost felt magical. I moaned as his tongue intertwined with mine and softly played on the edge of my lips, longing for more than he could give me right then and there. It took all the strength I had to break the kiss, and by the looks of it, Mike was equally reluctant.

"So," I said, trying to change the subject. "What are you working on?"

Mike turned us around in his chair and showed me the computer screen.

"I'm multitasking," he explained. "Aiden needs a referral to a diabetes clinic, and we're getting a new patient this afternoon that I'm reading up on. Her name is Kylie, she is five years old and she's having a tonsillectomy tomorrow. Will you admit her when she gets here? Or even better, we could go see her together."

"Yeah, sure," I said. "I'll let you know when she arrives."

I didn't want to leave Mike's office, but I was already ten minutes late. Just as I was about to leave, I blurted out something I had absolutely not planned on asking, at least not until much later.

"Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?"

"Dinner as in a date?" Mike asked. "I don't really do dates, Rose..."

I could have just accepted his answer and left, but for some reason I thought he was worth fighting for.

"So we'll just buy some takeout and have dinner at my place, like friends. We can even throw in a few beers and play videogames, if that makes you feel better."

Mike grinned.

"When you put it like that, how could I say no?"

"It's a date then!" I exclaimed, and just as Mike opened his mouth to contradict me, I held out my hand to stop him. "Just kidding!" I added, teasing him. "It's just a casual, unhealthy dinner for two friends... who are insanely hot for each other."

Laughing, Mike grabbed my wrists and smacked my ass, then pinned me against his office door.

"Can't wait," he whispered, moving in as if to kiss me but stopping right before his lips touched mine. When he let me go I really thought my heart had stopped beating for a moment.

I tried to pull myself together and was just about to leave his office when someone knocked on the door. Maya was surprised to see me.

"There you are!" she said. "I've been looking for you!"

I opened my mouth to say something - although I didn't know what exactly - but Mike interrupted my racing thoughts.

"I was just telling her about a new patient we're getting this afternoon," he explained.

"Five-year-old Kylie?" Maya asked. "She just got here. She's waiting in the dining room with her mom. I was thinking Rose and I could admit her together."

"Actually," Mike said, "I'm going to go see her straight away so Rose can just come with me."

Maya looked slightly bothered. "I just thought she might need some help. It's only her second day at work, after all."

"She'll be fine, Maya. Thank you," Mike said in a firm tone that no one would dare question. "Oh, and while you're here, little Jake in room eight hasn't been able to keep anything down today so he needs a PVC and an IV drip as soon as possible. I would appreciate it if you could take care of that while Rose and I go talk to Kylie and her mom. The prescription is in his medical record."

I blushed and looked down at my feet, mainly because of the uncomfortable situation, but also because I didn't want anyone at work to find out about me and Mike and come to the conclusion that I had a habit of sleeping around with anyone or that I was only doing it to get some kind of benefits at work. Seemingly, I wasn't the only one who found the situation awkward.

"Of course," Maya said, swallowing her pride. "I'll take care of it straight away." She turned to look at me. "Rose, just let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"I will," I promised. "Thank you."

I waited a few seconds after she had left to make sure she couldn't hear us, then turned around and glared at Mike. "Really?" I asked, not quite expecting an answer.

"Okay," Mike said in an attempt to justify his behavior. "I've only known you since yesterday but I'm pretty sure you can admit a patient all by yourself."

"Of course I can!" I blurted out. "But that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean, then?" Mike asked, smiling, doing his very best to seduce me.

"Never mind," I sighed, obviously falling right into his trap. "You're hopeless, you know that, right?"

"I'm very aware of it, nurse Hayden," Mike teased, making me laugh. "Now let's go work!"

We walked to the dining area where a little girl with long blonde braids was sitting, drawing on a piece of paper while her mom was reading a book.

"Mrs. Hale?" Mike asked.

The woman smiled and got up, as did her daughter who then proceeded to hide behind her.

"I'm Dr. Miller," Mike said and shook Mrs. Hale's hand before kneeling down to say hello to his new patient. "And who do we have here?" he asked.

The girl peeked her head out from behind her mother's legs and looked at Mike but didn't say anything.

"Hmm..." Mike rubbed his cheek, making me smile. "I think your name is Bob. Am I right?"

The girl giggled. "I'm not Bob!" she exclaimed. "I'm Kylie!"

"Kylie?" Mike asked, pretending to be shocked. "Well, I have to say that fits you a whole lot better than Bob."

Kylie laughed.

"My name is Dr. Mike," Mike said. "And this pretty lady is Rose, your nurse. We're going to take care of you while you're here at the hospital with us. You and your mommy are going to get your own room. Would you like to see it?"

Kylie nodded shyly and Mike showed them the way to the room we had prepared for them. Kylie looked around, fascinated, and climbed up onto the bed.

"Has your mommy told you why you're here?" Mike asked.

Kylie looked nervously at her mom, then back at Mike.

"We've talked about it at home," her mom explained, "but she's really scared."

Mike nodded, then turned to Kylie again.

"I heard that you're going on a space adventure tomorrow," he said and immediately caught Kylie's attention.

"A space adventure?" she asked, her eyes wide open.

"Yeah," Mike assured her. "Didn't your mommy tell you about that part? She must have forgotten! Would you like me to tell you?"

Kylie nodded, suddenly more enthusiastic.

"Well, you're going on a space adventure because your tonsils are a little big," he explained, pointing at her tonsils as he spoke. "When you travel in space, you're not allowed to have breakfast because you travel so fast that your tummy might feel a bit ill if there's food in it. So tomorrow morning, nurse Rose is going to put a tiny little airplane on your arm."

"An airplane?" Kylie asked, astonished. "I can't have an airplane on my arm. They're too big!"

"Not this kind of airplanes," Mike told her. "This is a really tiny airplane. Maybe nurse Rose can go get one and show you?"

I understood what he was talking about, so I went to the nursing office and came back with a peripheral venous catheter, through which she would receive intravenous fluids the next day. I removed the needle so all that was left was a little plastic device with wings and a small, flexible catheter. I handed it to Mike, who told Kylie to have a look.

"This is the airplane I was talking about," he said. "Nurse Rose is going to put it on your arm, and then you're going to get special space food through this little tube. Do you want to hold it for yourself?" he asked and Kylie nodded. "If you want, you can pretend that your teddybear is going on a space adventure and put it on his arm."

Kylie smiled.

"After you get that space food," Mike went on, "we're going to take you to a special room where all the space travels take place. It has a lot of cool machines with tons of buttons, just like in a spaceship. You'll get to lie on a special bed and a nurse will cover your nose and mouth with a mask that has special space air in it, because when you travel all the way to space, you need to bring special air from the earth. And after that, you and your mom will get to count from 10 to 0, and I promise you that before you're done counting, you'll be on your way to space already. But the special thing with this space adventure is that it's secret, so after it's done, you might not remember everything. You'll wake up in your bed and your mom will be there, and those tonsils that used to be a bit too big are going to be just the right size."

Kylie was mesmerized by his captivating story and I was moved to see how great he was with kids. I thought about Aiden and the way he had talked about Dr. Mike and realized that he was perfect for this job. Not only did he treat sick children but he also made their stay at the hospital so much more enjoyable, and that was truly remarkable.

I played with Kylie for a little while so that Mike could talk to her mother without being interrupted. I had found some gauze in my pocket which we had used to attach the PVC on her teddybear's arm and Kylie pretended that she was giving him special space food.

"Are you and Dr. Mike going to travel in space with me?" she asked.

"No, honey, I'm sorry," I said. "There are going to be other doctors and nurses there, though. And Dr. Mike and I will be with you before they take you down to the space travel room, and we'll be here waiting for you to come back."

She didn't say anything for a while, probably taking in all the information she had been given, but suddenly she looked up at me again.

"I like you," she said. "And I like Dr. Mike. You're really nice."

"That's so sweet of you," I smiled, my heart warming for the little girl. "I think you are really nice too."

"Is Dr. Mike your boyfriend?" she asked.

I laughed.

"No, he's not my boyfriend," I said. "We just work together."

As we continued to feed her teddybear with pretend space food, I kept hoping that sometime in the near future, Mike would actually want me to be his girlfriend and not just a co-worker that he secretly liked to have sex with.

Ten minutes before my shift ended Mike appeared in the door to the nursing office.

"Ready?" he asked. "If I recall correctly, you challenged me to some kind of video game, right?"

I laughed and pulled up a chair next to mine.

"Give me five minutes. I'm almost ready to leave."

"So, what are we playing?" he asked innocently. "Not that it matters, of course. I'm confident enough to say I can kick your ass at any game."

"I'm definitely up for some ass-kicking," I teased, making Mike's eyes sparkle with excitement. "But unless you keep quiet and let me finish my work, you won't see how this ends."

"Okay, okay," Mike sighed. "I'll be good. But if you're not done when your shift ends I'm going to throw you over my shoulder and walk out of here, no matter how much you kick and scream."

"I promise," I said in a sweet voice and quickly finished what I had been working on while Mike waited by my side.

After I had logged off the computer we got changed and went to Mike's car.

"So, take away it is, then?" I asked and Mike nodded.

"I know the perfect place," he said and took me to a Chinese restaurant not too far from work. We placed our order and sat down in a booth while we waited for our food. Both of us were quiet for a while, not really knowing what to say. Finally, I broke the silence.

"What did you mean when you said that you don't do dates?" I asked, not able to hold it in any longer.

Mike smiled awkwardly.

"I meant just that," he said. "I don't go on dates."

"You've

never

been on a date before?" I asked, dismayed.

"Of course I've been on dates," he snapped. "I just don't do it anymore."

"Why not?" I tried to hide my disappointment.

"It's just not a lifestyle that fits me," he explained. "I'm not boyfriend material. I've been with women, it's just that I'm not looking for anything serious."

"Maybe you'll change your mind once you find the right one," I suggested, getting slightly irritated at his stubbornness.

Mike reached forward and held my hands.

"Rose," he said, looking me in the eyes. "I've only known you for two days but I can already say with certainty that you're an amazing woman. But as much as I like you it doesn't change the fact that I'm not looking for a relationship. Not now, not ever."

I tried my best not to show him how much that had hurt me. I didn't know anything about him, yet I was convinced that I couldn't let him go. I wanted to think it was about more than just the sex, although at that moment, I wasn't completely sure. I tried to tell myself that it would be best to walk away, that he would eventually break my heart and that it would just hurt more the more invested I got. But a part of me couldn't let him go, so I succumbed.