by Aiden Bates
He wanted to go to town, to plunder and take and leave them both a sweaty mess. That suited the volatile mood that had brought them both here and it matched his usual style. He couldn't have missed Carter's occasional winces of pain mixed in with his gasps of pleasure, though. He didn't want to hurt his omega.
So he restricted himself to a slower, more romantic pace, and he had to admit that it felt good. He could savor every second this way. Going slow gave him more control, too, and Finn had always been about control. He could aim his thrusts better, drawing immediate results from Carter.
He wanted their coupling to last forever. That would be impossible. His orgasm washed over him like a wave, the most peaceful orgasm he'd ever had, and he reached around to help Carter along. Once Carter came, hot and sticky on his fist, they collapsed onto the bed together.
Finn pulled out, as gently as he could, and walked off to go and get rid of the condom. He scrounged for a washcloth and brought it back to clean Carter up. The touch of the damp terrycloth made Carter jump at first, but he relaxed into it after a second. "Thanks," he said when Finn was done, in a wrecked voice.
Finn got back into the bed and wrapped an arm around Carter. He wasn't sure why he wanted to do this. It wasn't something that he usually did. Most guys expected it, and he figured that maybe he'd screwed up before by not giving it to Carter. This time, though, he thought it might not be Carter who needed it. "Are you all right? You sounded like you were in pain a couple of times."
Carter shrugged and adjusted his position. "Yeah, I'm still a little achy in spots. It's normal. Not something to get worked up about." He blushed. "The body basically opens up a whole new orifice. That doesn't feel good, you know?"
Finn cringed. "I'd never thought about that before. The mechanics, I mean."
Now Carter chuckled. It lit up his whole face. "Okay, well, you know what? No one does. Not unless it's their job, like me, or unless it's happening to them. Everybody's all aflutter because babies, but when you get right down to it, the whole thing is both painful and kind of gross."
Finn thought back to when they'd cut the baby out of the dead woman. "So that time when you saved that baby…"
"Well, usually my patients are alive." Finn's body surged with heat when Carter didn't need any more details. "But yeah. It's a lot like that."
"Oh geez." Finn gripped his stomach. "And you have to cut them out of people on a regular basis?"
"Probably about a third. Thirty-two point seven percent, according to the WHO. It's a little higher at Silver Oak than it is at, say, Community, because we get a lot of the higher-risk cases." Carter relaxed into the pillows. "Some hospitals pay their doctors based on who actually delivers the baby, and that's been shown to increase the rate of C-sections. So we made the change about two years ago to switch over to a straight salaried system, which brought the rates down a little bit, although like I said not by all that much."
Finn sighed into the bedding. "You've got great taste in bedding. So what you're saying is that we're always going to have higher rates because of the type of hospital that we are."
"It's our reputation. Because we're regarded as the best, people want to come here. People who already know that they're going to have a C-section for whatever reason prefer to deliver here, whether that's personal preference or medically advised. People who already know that they're higher-risk come here. People who are just scared come here.
"We're not just the best when it comes to babies, either. We have longer surgeries with more complications, for the same reasons. All the weird cases in Syracuse get brought here, not to University, because people want us to take a look at them. That hospital on the North Side is making a play for the best cardiac care unit, and more power to them, but they screwed up a couple of years ago and a lot of people would still rather come here. And you're right. I do have great taste in bedding. I love my bed. I want to savor every minute that I spend in it; there aren't many of 'em."
Finn huffed out a little laugh. "See, that's stuff that someone coming in from the outside is always going to miss. Even the auditors will miss it, because they're from Cleveland. I should tell you that they made it very clear that the C-section recommendation thing was one area that they thought merited exploration."
"They're good people." Carter sighed and sat up. "I understand where they're coming from. I get it. Believe it or not, most of us want to find ways of reducing costs too. Not because we give a crap about making the hospital profitable—that's your thing, not ours. We're more concerned about being able to deliver care to more people. But at the end of the day, we want the same thing."
"And you're not willing to sacrifice patient care to get there, which is the right attitude." Finn looked up at Carter. "You just can't come in and be insubordinate like that. Us doing this doesn't change the fact that when we're at work, I'm still the boss. If nothing else, it opens me up to harassment charges, and it does make you look like you're trading favors for, you know. Favor."
Carter smirked. "There's not a lot I won't do for my patients, Riley." His use of Finn's surname gave Finn a pang in his chest. "And you're going to suspend me, and that is what it is. Last time I was forcibly off work I wrote four articles and got them all accepted for publication. Let's see what I can do this time." He cracked his knuckles and lifted an eyebrow in challenge.
Finn cringed. "This is going to hurt, isn't it?"
"If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen." Carter stood up. "I mean, not the literal kitchen. I'm not much of a cook. You know what I mean though."
"Oh thank God. I thought you might be just too good to be true." Finn slid, reluctantly, out of the bed. "Where did you get those pillows? They're perfect."
"Target." Finn must have looked incredulous, because Carter laughed at him. "I'm a cheapskate at heart, Finn. If I don't have to spend a fortune to get what I want, I'm not going to. They're perfectly good pillows." He winked. "If I'm going to spend money it's going to be on things that matter, or on things that get seen. I'll buy the high-quality mattress. I'll buy a safer car."
Finn drew his clothes on. "You're way too practical. I take back what I said about having flaws." He stopped himself and blinked. What had just come over him? "I should go. I need to rescind that whole order with the C-sections, and get the paperwork started on your suspension."
Carter was staring at him with a little line between his eyebrows. "Yeah, all that paperwork's a bitch. There's a cost savings for you. If you switch all of that stuff to online processes you'll save a ton in overtime costs and in paper supplies."
Finn finished buttoning his shirt. His hands trembled. "That's… actually a really good idea. I don't know why it hasn't come up yet."
"Because older doctors fight technology like it's a disease, and because all of your company's processes have developed around hospitals. Hospitals are infested with doctors." Carter smirked and reached for a bathrobe; he was probably going to have another shower.
Finn would give anything to join him in there.
"Okay. Well, I'll talk to you in a few days. See how you're doing." Finn backed out of the room and fled.
He backed the car out of the driveway and only missed colliding with a hay truck by gunning the motor and running over the grass. What the hell was wrong with him? When had he gotten so distracted? When had he let anyone get to him like this and what was he supposed to call it?
He and Carter were incompatible in every possible way. Finn loved ostentation and show. Carter didn't care about flash; he only wanted comfort. Finn wasn't used to open displays of emotion, whereas Carter was more than happy to share everything that he was feeling. Finn prioritized money, whereas Carter prioritized people.
Finn wanted to prioritize Carter.
It was stupid. It had to be stupid. A guy like Finn couldn't just turn around after more than thirty-five years and decide that he wanted a partner, and maybe a family. Then again, hearing that Carter was pregnant had put thoughts into Finn's head. Maybe
they didn't belong there, but once they'd taken root there would be no getting rid of them.
The only question was, what was Finn supposed to do about it? He knew that Carter was just there for the sex. Carter didn't even like him. He'd seemed strangely content after their tryst today, but that was probably just normal post-coital lassitude.
He drove past the protestors to get to the parking garage at Silver Oak. There were more of them today, and not all of them were employees. Awesome, now the community was getting involved. Well, he couldn't blame them. He saw people, families, carrying signs that read things like Stop Stigmatizing My Birth, or Healthy Babies Over Profits. Of course the local news organizations had camera crews on the scene. That was just fabulous.
Carter hadn't planned that. He must have known that it would happen, but the whole department had chosen to walk out. And now that Finn knew what had been at stake, they'd been right to do it.
He looked around for the most senior hospital employee on the picket line and found Carter's friend Allen. That wasn't a great choice. Allen Frye had a distinct bias against Finn, even though there was no way that he could have known about the relationship between Finn and Carter. Still, he was the most senior person there, and the others would listen to him. It was time for Finn to accept the consequences of his own hasty temper.
He parked his car in his reserved space in the garage and headed back out to the protestors. When he made his way to Allen, he cleared his throat and waited for the nurse practitioner to acknowledge him. He could see the fear in Allen's big green eyes, but that fear didn't stop Allen from setting his jaw. "How can I help you?" Allen asked.
Finn paused, waiting for some of the ruckus to die down so that he could be heard. "You can get back to work, Mr. Frye," he said. He willed himself to stay still and project confidence he didn't feel. "You can get back to work, delivering babies in whatever manner is best for the carrier parent and their baby. Without reference, I feel I should add, to a budget or to a profit and loss statement."
More people around them fell silent, and Allen narrowed his eyes at Finn. "I feel like I should be suspicious of that statement, even though you just made it on camera."
Finn smirked. "I probably haven't given you the best impression of me or of Regent. I just came from a discussion with Dr. Idoni. He helped me to understand why the C-section rate is so high here at Silver Oak and what drives the decision to go to surgical birth in the first place." Carter had helped Finn understand a lot of things, but Finn didn't think it would be appropriate to discuss those things on camera. "While yes, we're looking to cut costs wherever we can, the Regent team would rather cut off our own arms than sacrifice patient care. It's Silver Oak's reputation for patient care that made you such an appealing addition to the Regent Family.
"I acted without consulting any medical advice, and that was wrong of me. We're putting together a medical review board for policy decisions. That should limit incidents like this in the future. None of the hospital staff here today will face any kind of disciplinary action for the walkout. It was obviously necessary to get the point across."
The picket line fell silent for a long moment. Then, a cheer ran through the crowd. People exchanged high fives and cried out with joy. The only person who didn't seem suitably impressed was Allen, who stared Finn down with eyes like jade. "And Carter?"
Finn sighed. "Dr. Idoni is a separate case. He interrupted a meeting screaming out accusations. I'm sure you can understand why he has to be suspended. I'm not thrilled about it, but we spoke and he accepts that it has to be done. I get that he was right to object to the change, and I'm only a little bit angry about him organizing the walkout and going on TV to talk about it. The outright insubordination, in front of employees, can't go on."
Allen huffed a little. "Good luck with that." Then he turned to the rest of the staff. "All right, folks. Let's get back to the business of bringing babies into the world!"
Staff members hugged. Some headed into the hospital; Finn assumed that they'd been scheduled to work that day. Others went home in jubilation. The protest quite simply broke up, and Finn was left alone in the hot sun, in what were for him casual clothes, to face the cameras.
A reporter for one of the local stations approached. "Mr. Riley, how exactly did Dr. Idoni change your mind?"
Finn hesitated. He wanted to chase the woman off. If he was still so unsettled about the state of their relationship, how could he expect to lie convincingly about it to the media? His mentor had told him he might have to eat a little crow, though. "I stopped by his place this morning. It turns out that he and I get along much better when we're not in a clinical environment. He's very defensive of his patients, especially when he's on campus, and I tend to be focused on my own responsibilities when I'm here. If you change the location to one where the roles aren't so sharply defined, you can find a little more common ground and start to meet in the middle.
"So as I mentioned to Mr. Frye, one of our amazing nurse practitioners and midwives, Dr. Idoni was able to explain the medical reasons why I was wrong. We both want the same thing—we want to reduce costs and improve outcomes for patients. There was no malice behind my decision, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't harmful. I regret the consternation that I caused, and I'm looking forward to working more closely with the medical staff going forward."
He hoped that Carter watched that broadcast. He hoped that Carter took his real meaning from it. Either way, he meant every word.
Chapter Fourteen
Carter stepped into the shower as soon as he heard the door fall shut behind Finn. He couldn't believe that he'd been so weak. Maybe he had wanted to feel those hands on him again. Maybe that scent made him feel safer than he had in weeks. Maybe that moment, that little moment of repose after he'd groaned out his orgasm when he'd lain in Finn's arms like someone who Finn could be proud of, had been the best moment of the past few years.
It still hadn't been real. Finn still didn't want him. He was just using Carter, using the sex to ease the tension between them. Blowing off steam, just like he'd said. Carter was just pathetic enough to fall for it. At least he'd stopped himself from begging Finn to stay with him. He'd wanted Finn to join him in the shower, maybe have a beer out on the patio and watch the Valley go by.
At least he'd kept his dignity about him. He washed away every bit of the memory of Finn's touch, even though he secretly wanted to treasure the way that Finn's touch had felt on his flesh. He scrubbed until his skin was red and raw. He scrubbed as a penance, long after the soap had rinsed out of the washcloth.
After he'd finished with his second shower of the day, he got dressed. He changed the sheets and even washed the pillows, and then he headed outside to do some gardening. Once he'd eradicated every weed on his property he went ahead and had some beer on the patio by himself. When the sun went down a little bit, he went for another run. Maybe if he managed to physically exhaust himself, he wouldn't be so inclined to throw himself at men who were no good for him.
When the sun set, he went inside and considered his options. He had a whole week to work with, and he had plenty of research material at home. He could do another paper or two, at least. He definitely felt a sense of challenge from Finn. A suspension had a paternal kind of intention to it, a "sit in the corner and think about what you've done" kind of thing. The only reasonable counter to that would of course be to thrive, to show off his professional acumen.
Finn wanted to be the only authority at Silver Oak. The only solution was for Carter to establish himself even more firmly as an authority in his own right.
He outlined papers, and even drew up a plan for reducing C-sections insofar as it would be possible at a place like Silver Oak. He couldn't say that his heart was fully in it, though.
The main difference between his suspension and the medical leave he'd been forced to take after the miscarriage was that Carter wasn't housebound this time. He knew that he wasn't going to get around to writing all of those papers. When he w
ent to bed he ordered the papers by priority, which kept his mind off the disaster that was his personal life, and that let him fall asleep in seconds.
The next day, which was Sunday, he went through his usual workouts. He did push himself on his run, because he figured that would help keep his mind off of Finn. When he brought his laptop out to the gazebo, though, his phone rang. It was Paul, asking him through what sounded like gritted teeth to come over for dinner.
Paul didn't want him there, and Carter knew it. The invitation really came from Tom. Carter knew that he should decline. It wasn't fair to Paul to let Tom continue to disrespect him that way, and Carter had to admit that it wasn't fair to himself either. Paul didn't respect him, and neither did Tom. At the same time, he knew that he shouldn't isolate himself. After the miscarriage, all that he wanted to do was to hide from the world. That would be the worst thing for him. He wanted to see the kids, too. They adored him, at least.
