"Don't start what? I can't make love to my girlfriend?"
"No, not after you were just fighting with her."
"Baby, making up is the best part of fighting." She stepped closer to her, stealing a kiss.
"Loren,…" Mac kissed her back then turned to go put clothes on. "I really don't feel like it okay."
"Whatever." Loren stormed off pissed that she didn't get her way for once.
~
The fire station was fairly quiet for a Tuesday morning, until the bell rang loudly. Neil, Smith, Harris, and Brown slid down the pole. Connor and Harris were already getting into the ambulance. The fire team was on scene within two minutes of the call. The two story wood and brick framed house was almost completely engulfed in flames. Screams were heard from the second story window as they prepared the hoses.
"Neil, take Harris and Brown in with you." The captain said.
"Yes, Sir," she said. They were already dressed in their Kevlar turn-out gear. She quickly checked her oxygen tank, checked the radio, dashed into the burning house with her respirator on and the two guys behind her.
They could barely see through the smoke. Neil led them up the staircase towards the screams. At the end of the hall was a small bedroom with a young woman crouched in the corner. Neil took off her mask and gave it to the woman to breath fresh air just before she picked her up and carried her all the way downstairs and outside, as the guys blocked the flames from getting to them. As soon as they hit fresh air Neil began coughing and handed the woman to Connor and Lawson, who were waiting with the stretcher.
"Neil, come with me. You need oxygen." Smith said taking her straight to the ambulance. The coughing persisted and her vitals were slowing down.
"Connor, get this thing going. Take Neil with you, she needs to be checked out."
"Yes, Sir." He strapped her into the jump seat and gave the call for Lawson to take off.
~
Mac was close to finishing her shift and decided to take a walk through the ER to see if her assistance was needed.
"Mac, it's great to see you. We have a young woman and a fire fighter coming in with smoke inhalation. We could probably use your help," Lyle said. He had been friends with her the entire time she worked for HHMC and she always enjoyed working with him.
"Sure. Do you know the name of the fire fighter?" She questioned.
"No, sorry." He shrugged.
Just as she turned around the first stretcher came through the doors with a young woman lying on it breathing through an oxygen mask. She was quickly followed by the second stretcher. Neil was still in her yellow turn-out gear and was holding a mask to her face. Mac immediately ran over to her. Oh no…Kylie!
"Put her in number three!" Mac grabbed her stethoscope and began listening to Kylie's lungs. Kylie pulled the mask away and tried to sit up and talk. Mac put her hand on Kylie's chest and pushed her back down.
"Put this back on your face and breath. I know what I'm doing!" Mac went back to checking all of Kylie's vitals as the moved her over to the hospital gurney from the stretcher.
"Go ahead and get a complete chest work up. Let's also get her blood down to the lab and do an ECG," Mac said. The nurse nodded and walked out of the room. The young girl Kylie saved was already on her way to x-ray.
"What a mess," Lyle said as Mac walked up next to him at the nurse's station outside of Kylie's room.
"Yeah you're telling me. That is so painful," Mac said.
"Hey that was our local girl wasn't it? I see her here and there. I didn't know she was a fire fighter though."
"Uh huh, she's actually the Lieutenant."
"Wow."
"Excuse me, Doctor, there's a call on line one about the fire fighter." The nurse at the desk said.
"Thanks." Mac ran over to the phone.
"This is Dr. Trotter."
"Hi this is Captain Smith. One of my fire fighters, Lt. Kylie Neil was just sent there for smoke inhalation. Can you give me an update on her condition?"
"Yes, she's in x-ray right now. It doesn't sound too bad. She's able to breathe on her own and pending the results, she will probably be released this evening or tomorrow morning. The other girl was far worse and will require admittance for a few days."
"Thank you, Ma'am. I know she's in good hands with you."
Mac wasn't sure what he was talking about so she just said 'thanks' and hung up.
~
"You're coming home with me tonight," Mac said two hours later. Kylie tests results showed that her lungs weren't damaged and the CO2 level in her blood wasn't extremely high, but she still needed to be looked after. The effects of smoke inhalation could easily cause the tests to be present normal at first and worsen as time passed.
"No I'm not, Mackenzie I'm fine."
"Kylie damn it you're hurt and do not need to be alone tonight. I'm only letting you go home because I know how pig-headed you are!"
"This isn't the first time that I inhaled smoke. I'm a fire fighter for god's sake! I'm fine!"
"Okay, you won't listen then I'm admitting you!" Mac grabbed the chart and stormed out of trauma room number three. Kylie jumped off of the bed and ran after her pushing the IV pole with one hand while the other held the back of her hospital gown closed.
"Damn it, Mackenzie, this isn't funny!" Kylie growled.
"Get your ass back in that bed before I give you two days!"
"Look, can we talk please?"
Mac followed her back into the room. "I'm listening."
"I don't want to impose on you. Besides, I'm at the station until tomorrow night anyway. Then I'm off for two days. I'll recuperate then."
"First of all, you're not imposing. Second, you are not working for the next two days at all anyway. I've already talked to Captain Smith. I told him I'd get you home tonight and that you needed to be on bed rest for at least three days."
"What about Loren?"
"She's out of town as usual." Mac huffed.
"Fine, but I'm not going to your house. You can stay with me."
"On the mainland?"
"Why not?"
"Compromise, we'll run by my house and get Stimpy and stay on the boat. I'm off tomorrow anyway."
"Fine."
~
"Here let me help you." Mac grabbed Kylie's waist and helped her climb aboard the boat. Stimpy passed both of them and was already waiting at the cabin door. "Patience is a virtue Stimpy, pretend you have some!" Mac yelled at the tiny dog that was barking at them to hurry up.
"She's just excited. I can't believe she loves this boat so much," Kylie said walking down the steps to get into the cabin with Mac standing in front of her offering assistance.
"I know it's crazy. Here, I have some clothes you can change into." Mac threw a small pair of cotton shorts and a small tee shirt at Kylie.
"Can I shower first? I smell like fire."
"Yeah, can you hold yourself up?"
"I'm fine."
"Okay, call me if you need me."
Mac was in the galley making the box of soup that she grabbed from her house when Kylie emerged freshly showered. Her naturally tan skin looked pale. "Here, eat this and drink this Gatorade. They'll make you feel better. You need to stay hydrated. You can sleep in the aft cabin and I'll sleep in the V berth."
"Yes, doctor." Kylie said shaking her head. She'd been through this before, although not as bad, but she still knew what signs to watch for and how to recover. It was still nice having Mac take care of her.
A few hours later both women had gone to bed after Mac insisted on listening to her lungs two more times. Mac was sound asleep until she heard Kylie coughing and fumbling in the galley.
"What are you looking for?"
"Water, my throat's dry as a bone." Kylie sounded very hoarse.
"Here," Mac said pouring her a cold glass from the fridge. She unconsciously rubbed Kylie's back as she swallowed the liquid. The coughing stopped abruptly. Kylie turned towards Mac, not realizing how close they were standing to begin with. Their b
reast were now touching.
"Thank you, for everything. You're such a passionate person and an amazing doctor." I wish you would wake up and see what's right in front of you. You deserve so much better.
Mac blushed. Luckily it was dark and Kylie didn't notice, but she was well aware of the heat stirring between them. Kylie leaned forward and Mac slowly backed away.
"I…uh…I'm…" Kylie fumbled to find some kind of words.
"Kylie, not like this. You're hurt and we're both tired. There's no need to apologize." Mac reached out and pulled Kylie into a friendly embrace. "Goodnight." I have to keep reminding myself that I'm with Loren and you're just a friend.
Chapter Six
"It's good to have you back, Neil." Smith spoke softly between bites of his banana.
"I've been back for three weeks, Captain. Where have you been?" Kylie finished the last bite of cereal and put the dish in the sink.
"I know you were here, but you weren't a hundred percent. You're just too damn stubborn to take time off to heal. All I'm saying is you're starting to get back to your old routine. I noticed you finally stopped coughing and taking your medicated inhaler a few days ago. Are you running again?"
"Yeah, my lungs feel a lot better. I guess I didn't realize how bad it was until I still couldn't breathe a week later," she said.
"I know what you mean. I went through that right before you joined this station. I had to stay in the hospital for a few days and I swore my lungs were burnt to a crisp. At least you had 'Doctor Love' taking care of you."
"Come on, I get shit from the guys about her all day long. Do I really need to hear it from you too?"
"I'm only pulling your leg, Neil. She seems to be a great friend and she genially cares about you. I'm glad you have someone to spend time with. Whether you're sleeping with her or not, that's none of my business."
"Of course I'm not sleeping with her! She's in a relationship in case you guys haven't noticed." The agitation was starting to show in her voice.
"Calm down before your eyes pop out of your head. You're starting to look like a cartoon. I'm really not trying to piss you off. We've been pretty close for a long time and I just wanted to let you know that I'm glad you have her as a friend, that's all."
"Well, thank you, I guess. I'm going to make the new rookie wash the truck today."
"Ha ha, that should be fun to watch. It's freezing outside."
"It'll be even better if Harris and Brown crack jokes with me about Mackenzie, I'll make them help him."
"Perfect!"
~
"I bought the airline tickets today so we can go see my family for Christmas," Loren said as Mac walked into the kitchen.
"You did what? Without talking to me first?"
"Well, we saw your family last year so we're going to see my family this year."
"Thanks for telling me that you decided this three days before Christmas. Loren, you know I can't just take time off at the last minute to fly to Brazil. I run part of the damn hospital!" Mac was furious.
"Exactly, you run the place. How hard can it be to adjust your schedule for two weeks? You never take any vacation time anyway."
"You are so selfish! I swear, Loren, one of these days I'm not going to be here when you come home."
"What's that suppose to mean? You're going to leave me because I want to take you home with me for the holidays? That's ridiculous, Mac."
"Fine, Loren, if that's the way you want it to be. You obviously don't hear what I'm saying or you just don't give a shit. Either way, I'm not changing my schedule for you, not anymore. I'm tired of this, I'm tired of us…I won't be here when you get home. Your Christmas present is under the tree. Take it with you and open it there. I'm moving back onto the boat," Mac said walking out of the room.
"So that's it? You're just going to throw it all away because you won't take time off?" Loren questioned.
Mac spun back around. "No, Loren! Don't you fucking get it? I'm done, finished, it's over…we're over. I'm so sick of fighting with you and doing everything that you want to do. I'm tired of being the third most important thing in your life next to your career and your god damn ego." Mac went into the bedroom and tossed a bunch of clothes into her gym bag along with her toiletries. She stopped long enough to grab Stimpy and all of her dog stuff and stormed out of the condo, looking back only once. Loren never came out after her.
~
"Hey, Merry Christmas," Kylie said when Mac answered her cell phone.
"You too." Mac smiled.
"Are you at the hospital?"
"Yeah, my shift ends in a few minutes, then I'm driving to Charleston to see my family."
"Cool, where's Loren?" Kylie asked, trying to show compassion.
"Brazil I guess."
"Oh."
"I'm staying on the boat," Mac sighed.
"What?"
"I moved out. Well not completely but I'll be gone by the time she comes back."
"Oh, Mackenzie, what happened?"
"I don't really want to talk about it right now."
"I understand. Hey, I'm driving back to Goose Creek to see my family. We should car pool."
"I don't mind, but I may need to come back in a hurry if there is a problem at the hospital."
After the two and a half hour drive Kylie dropped Mac off in front of her parents home and continued on to see her family. Mac had a great time visiting with her own family, especially her uncle, whom she missed dearly. Still not ready for it to be real, she told everyone Loren had to work during the holidays. Their visit was short and sweet and she promised to see them again soon.
Eventually, Mac told Kylie the story on their drive home. She explained how much they actually fought and how Loren was in charge of every decision they made. Kylie was happy to see Mackenzie finally realizing that she didn't have to take Loren's shit anymore. Kylie wondered why the hell she had hung on for so long. She deserved so much more than some halfwit talking to her like a piece of shit and treating her like a dog. Kylie decided now was not the time to rant and rave to her about it.
~
"How was your New Year's, Mac?" One of the young Resident Pediatricians was always fascinated with Mac's life. She never could figure out why, but she was use to being idolized by the young newcomers. She wondered if maybe he was in the closet. Either that or he was attracted to Loren since he always asked about her.
"Fine, I took my sailboat out and stayed on it all weekend."
"Oh, I bet Loren liked that."
"Actually, she was out of the country. I was with my dog." Alone.
"I see."
~
"Welcome back, Neil, Happy New Year." Smith gave her a hug.
"Thanks, you too. Were you guys busy?"
"No, not too bad. A few close calls with some homemade fireworks, but that's about it. I still can't believe how quiet the Island is this time of year."
"I know, the tourists are all gone, I love it," she said.
"So what did you wind up doing?"
"I actually cleaned my apartment and read a book. It was nice and peaceful."
"Cool, did you see the doc?"
"No. She took her boat out for the weekend, alone."
"I take it she's still not talking to her girlfriend."
"No, they're broken up. Mackenzie packed all of her stuff and moved out last week. I think Loren comes home this week so we'll see what happens. They were together for a while so it's a lot to deal with and a lot of ties to sever. Thanks for not telling the guys."
"It's your business, Neil. I would never have known if you hadn't accidentally mentioned it after Christmas. Besides, I'm sure she needs a friend right now and you make a pretty good one." He smiled.
"Thanks." She smacked him on the back. "Let's go see what our 'kids' have gotten into. It's too quiet around here."
~
Mac sat at her desk signing papers and typing on her laptop. It was no surprise to hear a knock at the door. Most of her staff would pop their h
eads in from time to time if they hadn't seen her on the floor.
"Come in," she called out.
Kylie appeared in the doorway with her hair pulled back in a pony tail and her ice blue eyes twinkling.
"Hey busy bee. What's up?"
"Not much, just catching up on some of my desk duties. What brings you here?" She has the prettiest eyes Mac thought.
"MVA, nothing major, just cuts and bruises. One of our guys is on vacation so I'm filling in on the ambulance this week."
"Oh. Is it busy down there?"
"No, this is our third trip today. I haven't seen more than three or four people in trauma at a time. Nothing life threatening so far."
"That's good then."
"Yeah, so what are you doing for Valentine's Day?" Kylie asked.
"Uh…working…why?"
"I was hoping you and Stimpy would come to the townhouse for dinner."
"Sure, I guess."
"You don't have to. I'm not really doing anything and I figured you'd be alone so…"
"Of course we'll be there. At least let me buy the wine if you're cooking dinner."
"Sounds good."
"Are you sure it's okay for Stimpy to come too?"
"Absolutely, I love that dog, she's a trip!"
"Okay, see you about six thirty." Mac smiled.
~
A few days later, Mac walked into the two story townhouse. She set Stimpy down on the floor and proceeded to follow Kylie around on the Grand Tour. Kylie was dressed in jeans and a white polo shirt. Her hair was down just past her shoulders with loose wavy curls. Her deep blue eyes were glistening in the light. Mac was sure her heart skipped a beat. She was attracted to Kylie the first time she saw her and the idea of acting on that attraction wasn't something she let herself fantasize about because of her relationship with Loren. Now, she was starting to wonder what that might be like.
"It's probably not as big as your place was, but it's perfect for me." Kylie implied as she showed Mac her bedroom, complete with a queen sized sleigh bed and surprisingly large bathroom. Then, they moved into the spare room which was set up with a full sized bed and dresser set. Downstairs, Kylie showed her the kitchen which had an eat-in dining room. The table was already arranged with a flower centerpiece and candles burning on either side.
Igniting Temptation Page 4
