Then there was Eva. She was 38 but didn’t look a day over 30 in his eyes. Her caramel hair looked as though it had just caught the sun. Her olive skin was still smooth and soft. And her lips…her lips were full and beckoned him at his very moment. It was a shame there was a side of him that prevented him from letting go and loving her the way she deserved to be loved. He always held back, yet she never did. Until now. He sensed words were resting at the tip of her tongue that begged to be freed.
“Please tell me what you’re thinking,” he finally said. “We knew this was coming. Now it’s here and we can’t ignore it.”
Eva turned her sights to him. The recessed lighting above cast a shadow on her head, giving her features a halo-like glow that made him want her even more.
“I don’t think we have a choice, Cam. I think we have to end this.” She turned back to face the television.
“We just need to talk to HR. This doesn’t have to change anything. It could be considered a pre-existing condition.”
She chuckled under her breath before returning her gaze to him. “I didn’t realize our relationship was a condition.”
“You know what I mean,” he pleaded. “We should be grandfathered in. Do you think Scarborough and Reid are breaking up anytime soon?”
“Who knows right now,” she replied. “I mean, their situation was different. Reid was hired on with the knowledge that they were already in a serious relationship.”
“Exactly. They were grandfathered in and we should be too,” he replied.
“Honestly, none of us should be dating. I mean, seriously, Levi is the only one who isn’t sleeping with a member of the team.”
“That is good to know,” Fisher added. “All kidding aside, I don’t want to end this. And I don’t think you do either.”
“I don’t.” She studied him. “But all of this has gotten so out of hand. So complicated. You and me. Scarborough and Reid. Quinn’s gone for God’s sake. It’s all different now. Did you tell Kate her case was going before the board soon?”
“Cole was supposed to mention it, but I think he’d prefer it come from me since I’m…”
“The boss,” she said. “He’s right. It should come from you. It’ll shape the rest of her career.”
“It doesn’t have to. Scarborough was censured a few years ago and look at him now?”
“Right. He’s been demoted,” she replied. “Look, can we just put a pin in this for a little while? We both need time to process everything and figure out where we stand and where we want to be.”
Fisher nodded. “I can agree to that. Does that mean we can’t have sex?” He smiled.
She laughed again. “Really?”
He turned up the palms of his hands. “What? What’d I say?”
3
The front passenger tire of the ambulance truck plunged into a pothole as it drove along a crowded Baltimore road, jarring the occupants inside.
Pete Fryer was driving and quickly swerved to the left to avoid the rear tire suffering the same fate. Medical supplies rattled in their cabinets. He looked to his partner. “Oh man, sorry about that. Thing came out of nowhere.”
Dr. Theodore Bishop grabbed the bar above the window. “I didn’t see it either. Don’t worry about it.”
Pete nodded. “You know, it was a good thing what you did for those people in Texas. Taking your vacation days to go there and help out.”
“I hope I didn’t leave anyone here in a lurch,” Bishop replied. “They needed a lot more help than what I alone could offer. It looked like a third-world country. But there were a lot of good people doing their best.”
“Your being gone was no skin off my teeth,” Pete added. “It’s good to see someone with your skills putting them to good use. I would’ve gone if it hadn’t been for my family.”
Bishop looked through the passenger window and rolled his eyes. “Sure, man. You have to be there for your own family. I get that.”
“This is it.” Pete gazed through the windshield. “The brownstone up here on the left. Third one in.”
“The seizure?” Bishop asked.
“Yep. 55-year-old female. Her son made the call.” Pete pulled the keys from the ignition and jumped out of the truck. “Let’s get the bags and see what we’re up against.”
Bishop jumped out of his side and jogged around to the back where Pete had already grabbed his kit. Bishop reached for his and followed his partner to the door.
A young man stood in the doorway wearing a look of panic. “Thank God you’re here. Come in. Mom’s in the kitchen.”
“Has her condition worsened?” Pete asked.
“I don’t think so.”
Pete waved Bishop to follow into the kitchen and spotted the 55-year-old slouched in a dining chair. “Ma’am, how are you feeling? Are you experiencing any chest pains?”
She appeared weak and only nodded. Her skin was ashen and her curly blonde hair with streaks of grey was disheveled.
Pete checked her pulse and turned to Bishop. “It’s weak. Let’s get her into the truck.” He looked to her son. “What happened when she started to have the seizure?”
“I don’t know. I was in my room. I heard a crash and ran downstairs. That’s when I saw her on the floor. I rolled up the dish towel and put it in her mouth. You know, like they say you should put something in their mouths?”
“Well, that’s um… it doesn’t matter. You called us,” Pete added.
Bishop ran outside to retrieve the stretcher. On his return to the kitchen, Pete had prepared the woman. “Sir, can you give us a hand?”
The woman’s son, a kid not more than 25, trembled and his eyes watered.
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to take care of your mom, but we could use an extra hand to get her onto the stretcher.”
“Yeah, okay.” He approached them. “They’re going to take care of
