Doctor's Orders

One Year Later

Harry had officially started working in the pediatric ER the past spring, and he'd been busting his butt to make a name for himself over there. The two departments are connected, so I occasionally caught sight of him. When the construction was finished, I thought maybe he would have a little more breathing room, but no such luck. I should have known Harry would never really relax when it came to his career. But he seemed to have found a way to manage his stress better. He loved his job, and he especially loved the children, so that made a huge difference. And as far as I could tell, he loved being married. So did I.

I think he started to miss the process of planning and designing a construction project because he had recently brought up the idea we had talked about before we were even engaged - to start looking at building our dream house, something more family friendly than the penthouse. We were only in the beginning stages of this endeavor. We wanted to buy land to build on, but it would come with a price, other than monetary - we would have a much longer commute into the city if we wanted land. Ideally, we could find an old house on the lake to renovate. We wanted our house to have our own unique touch, from design to decor. So, although it was officially in the works, I had no idea how long it would take before it became a reality. 

I had considered applying to work in the pediatric ER so Harry and I could be on the same shifts again, but I really enjoyed my work in the main ER. I was on a great team, and we worked well together. Once in a while, I was floated to peds or a night-time shift, but for the most part, I'd gotten into a manageable routine and it worked for our life. Besides, we had recently made another decision, and that was to try to have a baby. I knew that, once that happened, I would want to stay home for a few years. It made sense to both of us that I would be the one to raise our children versus paying some daycare to do it for us. I couldn't imagine letting someone else love and nurture our children. 

Aunt Jean had been visiting frequently, for obvious reasons. She and Kurt became an official couple the night of our wedding and neither had looked back. I was so happy for them; I knew that the grief of losing her husband and son to cancer would never fully go away, but Jean was living proof that a person can go through unimaginable heartbreak and still survive, and even find happiness again. It was during our family Christmas celebration that Kurt and Jean announced their engagement.

I couldn't have been happier. I asked Jean, "Are you sure you're ready to leave small-town life behind and live in the big city?" 

She just laughed and said, "Of course. Two of my favorite people are here."

"Two?" 

"You and Kurt, silly," she said, pinching my cheek like she did when I was little. 

Kurt was a widower, too, and I'm sure that helped the bond between them. They could understand the grief that the other one carried. Kurt had three grown children, and Jean had two, Lisa and Kelly. All five kids had families of their own. That meant that Kurt and Jean would have a lot of grandchildren to love and to spoil. Kurt's grandchildren already called Jean Grandma, and Jean's grandkids called Kurt Grandpa. I'd never seen Jean happier.

Bridget and Ian were now planning their wedding, and I kept reminding them that I was the reason they were together. Bridget playfully bantered, "Right, like fate had nothing to do with it. We would have eventually met and fallen in love because he's the one. You ought to know how that works." 

It was funny to hear Bridget talk that way; she was usually much more pragmatic. But it was obvious that the two of them were deeply in love, and it made me so happy. 

Sadly, Kane and Darius had decided to move to LA because Darius wanted to be a music producer. He had made a lot of connections here in Chicago and then branched out to connect with some folks out in California. It was meant to be, I suppose, but I missed them both. 

One year down, and hopefully many to go. I still couldn't believe how lucky I was to find Harry.