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Jack blinked awake to the sound of old shower pipes squeaking through the walls and socked feet padding across the hardwood. The clickity clack of nails followed shortly behind as Samira walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her hair. Morning light seeped in through the cracks in the curtains, they were expecting light snow today.
He gave no indication of being awake, but Samira could feel his eyes on her, watching her get ready for her shift.
‘Try and go back to sleep for a little, I’ll make a pot of coffee and take the dog out’ she whispered
‘Thanks, I’ll try. See you later when we come in yea?’
‘I’ll be there,’ she answered, reaching for his hand and kissing his knuckles goodbye.
He heard the door shut when she left the house a while later, the dog softly whining in her absence.
They had been quietly dating for 4 months now, about to spend their first holiday together. He’d told Samira he was in love with her on their third date, decidedly not caring how pathetic he sounded. She’d only smiled coyly at him and said ‘I know’ around a cocktail straw. She hasn’t said it back yet but he’s pretty sure she loves him too. A past version of himself might feel bad for the way he feels about her, but after years of living in guilt and reconciling with his past he simply does not care about this either. Samira had once given him a study on the statistics of former smokers, how quitting was so hard because of the psychological aspects of giving something up. Participants in the cessation trial thought they were losing a best friend instead of ridding themselves of a worst enemy. It was not lost on him at the time that she was perhaps making a comparison to his grief. Samira had intentionally helped him acknowledge that he was deserving of happiness too, if he was willing to carve out the space. She felt ethereal in a way that had blinded him, so he’d lingered really, in her peripheral, with rides home and coffee and gentle encouragement until she’d noticed that he was waiting for her.
He rolled out of bed with a groan and reached for his prosthetic. It was December 22nd, the city and the ED recently buzzing with the anticipation of the fast approaching holiday. It’s technically his day off, but once a year he brings his dog Noodles into the pediatric wing of the hospital. The nurses appreciate a distraction for the kids and Noodles loves the attention that comes with the visit. A 110 pound bernese, active enough to keep him busy on his days off but lazy enough to sleep the night away while he was on long shifts. His niece Violet had picked out the dog's name shortly after he’d brought her home, and because he is an exceptional uncle he’d just dealt with what he considered a dumb name for a dog. The first time Samira had come over he’d worried how Noodles would react, if she’d be jealous of sharing his attention. The thought was futile however, as he’d quickly become the third wheel in his own home.
After getting dressed and eating a quick breakfast he pulled a red snowflake sweater over Noodles’ giant head.
‘Do not forget, we're working today so there’s no goofing around when we get inside okay?’ He gently reminded her.
He’s not sure what to expect when he heads into the hospital. This time of year is generally busy, lots of people without primary care physicians trying to squeeze in to see any doctor they can before their insurance lapses with the new year. As a general rule for all holidays, the public will also use any excuse they can to get away from their in-laws and over-bearing families.
Jack guides Noodles through the ambulance bay entrance, it’s easier than trying to navigate a huge dog wearing reindeer antlers through chairs. He stops at the nurses station to let Princess and Perlah say hello, eyes scanning the room involuntarily for Samira.
He’ll find her later he thinks, he’s already causing too much of a distraction as it is, when he spots her coming out of a trauma bay with Robby. She catches his eyes across the room and gives him a small smile, throwing her gown and gloves into a trashcan. He has to stop himself from grinning like an idiot. They’ve agreed to remain professional at work and while he knows people speculate about them he also knows that no one has any definitive proof of their relationship. At his feet Noodles’ tail thunks on the floor and she whines.
Whitaker has been standing next to him for a few minutes rambling on about some farm he used to live on.
‘I used to help train the herding dogs at my family's house back in Nebraska, it’s a lot harder than it seems’ he says, looking up at Jack from the ground where he’s crouched next to Noodles.
‘That sounds nice kid’ Jack sighs.
He’s overwhelmed and distracted enough to not feel the leash start to pull out of his hand, and while Noodles is a good girl, she also has her moments because the second she senses his diverted attention she takes the opportunity to rip her leash out of his hand and bound after Samirah across the ED floor, using her front paws to push open the break room door.
‘Oh what the fuck’ Jack exhales, following after the dog.
When he opens the door to the break room he can’t help but laugh at the scene in front of him. Noodles’ head is resting in Samira’s lap, belly up, with all 4 legs straight in the air. Robby is pretending to make coffee on the other side of the room trying not to smile, while Dana sits at the far side of the table watching them silently. A rotation of identical moments of them at home flash across his brain.
‘Sorry, I don’t know what's gotten into her, she never acts like this in here’ Jack apologized, reaching to grab the back of the dog’s sweater and pry her off of Samira. ‘Come on, we gotta head up’
Robby may want people to think that he tunes out the hospital gossip but Jack knows that this is far from true. You get a few drinks in him and Robby can hold court with the best of the nurses. That’s how Jack knows he’s onto them, his eyes narrowing and flicking back and forth.
Samira starts to get up, unfolding herself from under Noodles. ‘Come on sweet girl, listen to dad’. She freezes, realizing what she’s just said out loud. Jack internally cringes.
‘Jesus Jack’ Dana’s head whipped back and forth between them as Samira, always the professional, brushes off the mishap and heads back out onto the floor, Noodles yowling behind her.
‘Mohan wait’ Robby stopped her, ‘you haven’t taken a break yet, go up with them but don’t take too long’
Samira beams back at him ‘Thank you Robby, I’ll be quick’
‘Thanks brother, she probably smells Mohan’s cat or something’ Jack tries and fails at nonchalance.
He gently hands Samira the end of the leash as they walk towards the elevator together, dog in between them. ‘I always thought I’d be the one to break first, I’m honestly impressed with myself right now’ he huffs.
‘Yea you really held it together back there with the fake cat comment, if anything this is her fault not mine’ she rolls her eyes, gesturing down to the dog at her feet. She thinks she should probably feel embarrassed but she’s not.
Robby and Dana watched the two of them wait for the elevator from across the room, choosing not to comment as their fingers link together.
‘You think Mohan actually has a cat?’ Robby asks
Dana nudged her shoulder against his, ‘she definitely does not’