by Kay Edwards
"Doctor…?"
Dalton looked up from the chart he was reading. "Yes?"
"We have three victims of an MVA on the way. How do you want us to set up?" The ER charge nurse Kim asked.
Dalton closed the chart and asked. "What are the ages of the victims?"
Kim looked at her notes. "We have a mom age unknown and two kids. They are guessing one to be no more than two months old, and the other is around three."
Dalton looked at her and asked. "What is the ETA and how severe are the injuries? If we can keep mom and kids together, we need to."
Kim walked beside Dalton as they headed toward the trauma rooms as she spoke. "The paramedic was still questioning the mom and said both children were in proper car seats. I don't know if they are injured or not."
Dalton walked into the bigger of the trauma rooms. "Let's keep them together here. The kids will be easier to assess if we can have mom help keep them calm."
Kim nodded her head. She looked at the chart he held. "Do you want me to pass that off to Dr. Huff?"
Dalton handed her the chart. "Yes, thanks."
Kim came back with the paramedics and the mom. Dalton heard the children's cries from the hallway. "Let's get those kids in here. We can't check them for injuries quickly if they are that upset."
The group of nurses and doctors spent the next thirty minutes doing their best to assess any damage done to the victims. It was ideal for all involved to find out that the only significant injury was that the mom had bruises from the seat belt. The kids suffered no injury at all.
Dalton walked out of the room to chart and sign release papers. He sat down at the nurses' station and started to write. When his cell rang, he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the number. He smiled and answered it. "Hey, I'm almost out of work. Can I call you back in ten minutes? I miss you." He murmured before he hung up.
Kim and another nurse looked at each other. As long as they had known Dalton, they had never seen him even remotely interested in dating. Sitting down beside him, she nudged him with her elbow. "Care to share who that was?"
Dalton chuckled as he continued to do his work. "Not really."
Kim was not deterred. "Come on Dr. Nelson. Just a hint of who that was is all I want."
Dalton looked at her and smiled. "Not a chance Kim, I have no desire to have my romantic life known all over the ER."
Kim's eyes lit up. "So, it was a special 'someone' on the other end."
Dalton finished signing the last of the paperwork. He stood and handed it to her as he said with a grin. "I'm done with this conversation, and I'm out of here. Find someone else to chat about."
Kim grinned at the other nurses. "Have a nice night Dr. Nelson."
Dalton chuckled as he waved at his co-workers. As much as he enjoyed his job, his personal life was just that, and he had no intentions of sharing. Pulling his phone from his scrubs pocket, he dialed Misty's number.
"It is almost midnight. I take it Rachel didn't go down easy." He said when Misty answered.
Misty giggled. "I think she knew I wanted to talk to you and gave me the perfect excuse to stay up late."
Dalton laughed. "How was your session today?"
Misty paused. "As strange as it sounds I'm supposed to write down how I feel about you."
Dalton opened his car door and got in. "Really…?"
Misty answered him. "Yup… I'm supposed to write how I feel about you and then address it the way I know Brent would."
Dalton thought it seemed a little fast for her to be doing that. He could not understand the grief process that included that. "Did she say why you were doing this?"
Misty paused on the other end of the phone. "You know I have a fear of saying 'goodbye.' I also feel very guilty."
Dalton started his drive home. "What do you feel guilty about?"
"I feel guilty because…" Misty was not sure if she should say it over the phone.
Dalton stopped at a red light. "What is it? You know you can tell me anything."
Misty took a deep breath. "I feel guilty because of all of these feelings I have for you. You have a place in my heart that used to belong to Brent."
Dalton understood why she hesitated to tell him. "You feel guilty because you think it is too soon?"
Misty spoke softly. "I miss Brent so much, but I miss you so much right now too. I don't understand how I could love Brent and still miss you so much it hurts."
Dalton spoke. "God's timing doesn't always make sense. I guess that is why we are supposed to trust Him. I don't know how you feel in some cases, but I do miss you like crazy. Don’t be afraid to work through this. We are not in love. At this point, we are just really good friends that know it could be more."
Misty whispered. "Dalton the part I feel really guilty about is that I guess I know it could be more but …. Dalton, I want it to be more."
Dalton whispered back. "I guess if I’m honest, a future with you is what I want. We are drawn to each other even though love is not there yet. It is still ok to work through that, though. Please tell me you will."
Misty hesitated. "I will. It doesn’t change the fact I feel guilty, but I will be honest with how I feel. A part of me had wondered if your feelings came from the intense emotion of our meeting. I was worried that once you left… you might realize they were not real."
Dalton chuckled. "You do know I'm an ER doctor? Things get very intense some days, and I'm surrounded by nurses most of whom are female. Trust me when I say it is only you that has ever made me feel this way."
Misty giggled. "You say that with such conviction that I can’t help but believe you."
The two talked for Dalton's entire drive home. When Misty yawned, they both knew it was time to hang up. Each spent the night praying for God's wisdom as they journeyed the path that was before them.
