What The Water Brings In

5

Previously on What the Water Brings In:

Jackie sighed heavily. "I tucked the baby into a carrier, came to this exact hospital, and left it behind a trash can. There were so many people walking around, someone was sure to find it. I didn't stay to find out. I walked away and didn't look back."

The air shifted, and I turned around just in time to see toothpaste green scrubs and a head of sandy blond curls storm out of the room.

Now...

"Dr. Green!" I called before I rushed out of the room. Jackie stayed behind, sipping more of her water as she watched me flee.

My sandals didn't have very good purchase on the tiled floor, so I skidded across the hall and crashed into the wall with my shoulder before I could change directions toward Dr. Green's retreating back. A few steps, and I had my momentum back to chase after him. Yet he was power walking and managed to gain quite some distance. "Dr. Green!" I tried to shout as loud as I thought I could. My voice still wasn't 100% since the week before school started and my unfortunate experience with lemon juice spiked with vinegar.

He turned another corner. "Dr. Sean!" I tried again, this time coming out as a croak. I hoped to get his attention before I lost sight of him, but I wasn't successful. My shoes slid with my inertia past the intersection until a hospital bed tucked up against the wall stopped me. Then I doubled back to resume my chase.

I really hoped I was following the right set of green scrubs. There were so many sets in a hospital, and it seemed everyone who was wearing them had to be out in the halls this very moment. "Sean!" my voice barked, the tone cracking as it echoed down the long corridor before my target got absorbed into an inconveniently passing crowd. The use of his personal name finally reached him and got him to pause in his tracks. His head was bent down to cast shadows over his face. I couldn't see his eyes when I caught up.

Partly annoyed he had the audacity to run away from me, but more concerned he wasn't saying anything, I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and pulled, guiding him back to the way we came. He resisted a little at first, but a gentle tug got his feet moving.

My eyes scanned the signs for each door we passed until the first patient room that said vacant. Borrowing his own trick, I switched the sign to inform everyone it was now in use and pushed Sean inside, closing the door behind us.

The Good Doctor was a shell of the man I knew. Something had scooped out everything that made him Sean. His green eyes no longer twinkled with mirth. Even his serious demeanor when he meant business and focused his energy on healing the sick and injured wasn't there. I missed his flirting. He was empty.

I flung my arms around him and squeezed with every ounce of strength I possessed. I got a grunt and his plastic badge digging into my jaw as a reward.

The room was dark. I had forgotten to turn on the lights, and the storm outside blocked out most of the daylight. Only the occasional bolt of lightning illuminated the space well enough to make out details further than a few feet away. But I didn't need light to feel Dr. Green's heart beat through his chest.

"Come back to me, Sean," I pleaded on a whisper. "I miss you already. I need you."

I felt the shudder wrack through his body before he lifted his arms to curl around my ribs and hold me to him. His head lowered until I could feel his breathing across my hairline. I didn't have all of him back, but I had some.

"How much did you hear?" I asked quietly.

"Since the part where I was born in a filthy, derelict house with my own umbilical cord wrapped around my neck." His voice was dead and monotonous.