Every New Beginning... (Chris Evans AU)

.131.

"Nice to meet you too," I tell him before going back to my seat. "Who are you here for?"

Phillip wipes his hands against his khakis. "My dad, actually. He just doesn't know it."

"Oh, is he unconscious?" I ask, confused because he probably wouldn't be on this floor if he wasn't awake and aware.

He shakes his head. "No. I only go in when he's sleeping. We don't have the best relationship and I don't really want him knowing I'm here."

I try not to read too much into the situation that doesn't include me, reminding myself that he's welcome to his privacy and I don't know him from any other man walking down the streets of Jacksonville. "No judgement here," I admit to him, holding my hands up in a peace offering.

"Before this week I hadn't seen him in over twenty years. He doesn't even know I have a family." I can see he's unsure of himself in that confession, wondering if he's said too much.

He's an older gentleman, easily early fifties. Hasn't seen is father in at least twenty years, and doesn't know he has a family. Maybe he married later than normal. I mean, here I am at 31 just now at that point in my life. No shame in that part I suppose.

Do I play counselor for this man, or just change over to small talk? There's enough craziness in our lives right now that I probably don't need to welcome a stranger's crazy into the mix. I decide to go with a question that can't possibly invite him into a deeper conversation. "You live around here?"

Phillip sits against the back of his seat, relaxing into the worn leather. "Not really. Savannah, Georgia."

"Ah. I live in Atlanta."

"You've gotta be insane to live in Atlanta," he laughs out, fixing his glasses against his nose. "All that traffic, the crime and drugs. I'm assuming you must live in a decent area?"

I tell him that I live downtown, smack in the middle of all of it. "But, I'm a police officer, so there's that."

His fingers snap as though he's remembering something. "Ya know, I did hear about a big drug bust that went down. Was that in your area?"

I nod my head, my lips in a tight line. "It was."

"Heard a cop got shot or something like that. I couldn't do that, be so selfless, it's just not in my nature."

"Shot and stabbed, actually," I correct him without telling him that said cop is sitting right in front of him. "But you're right, it's a very selfless job. I go in each day knowing anything can happen."

"And your bride to be is alright with it?"

"She knows it's a part of who I am. Not really something you can just shut off and walk away from."

And I speak the utter truth. Although, if Opal ever told me that it was her or the street, I'd find myself working behind a desk real quick. But, a stranger doesn't really need to know that.

My phone rings, interrupting our conversation. "Excuse me," I say, noticing Opal is calling. "Hey gorgeous," I answer, stepping out of the waiting room and back into the hallway.

"Hey," I hear her tired voice. "I'm gonna try and get back up there before visiting hours end, but it's looking like it'll be just before. Are you alright to stay with him a bit longer?"

I take a deep breath through clenched teeth. "I don't know, love. He's talking about us taking a couple nurses out for drinks soon. You may not want to leave me alone with him much longer."

She laughs lightly. "Tell him I'll bring him a cup of coffee he can gift to one of the night nurses tonight. But you mister, the only drink you'll be buying for someone is me."