The Brass Ring (15 page)

"No, why don’t you relax for a few?" Jamie said as she stepped out of the room with Stella following her closely.

"You know that boy has a crush on you, don’t you?" Stella teased her.

"I know." Jamie grimaced. "I just keep hoping he’ll get over it. Jesus, didn’t anyone tell him I’m a big dyke?"

"I know I did." Stella snorted in amusement. "He didn’t believe me. "

Jamie rolled her eyes in disgust as she made her way to the waiting room to face Mrs. Barstow. She braced herself for the worst part of her job.

After she did everything she could to comfort Mrs. Barstow, she was informed that she could finally leave. She didn’t argue; she headed off to collect her belongings. She just wanted to go home and see CC. She smiled as she thought about the dark-haired woman. As she tossed her lab coat into the laundry, Simon entered.

"I guess we’re free," he said shyly.

Jamie simply nodded as she pulled on her black leather car coat, not bothering to change out of her scrubs. She wanted to go home and take a long hot shower and forget this night had ever happened. She wasn’t in the mood for Simon’s schoolboy crush.

"Dr. Jameson, are you sure you don’t want to get a bite to eat or something?" he persisted, his big brown eyes staring at her hopefully.

"Yes," Jamie said firmly.

"Well, how about some other time?" he suggested.

Jamie bit back the groan as she calmed herself quickly. "Simon, you know that as your supervisor I can’t really socialize with you," the blonde doctor stated firmly.

"I know it’s discouraged but it isn’t really against the rules," the young man persisted.

"Simon," Jamie spat out in a harsher tone than she had intended. "I’m seeing someone," she added in a gentler tone, hoping to finally discourage him. She wasn’t up for the whole long pointless talk about her sexual orientation. Thankfully Simon simply nodded and began to change.

Jamie blew out a sigh of relief as she stepped into the corridor. She paused for a moment thinking about what she had said to Simon. For the first time in years she was seeing someone . . . or was she? Jamie felt the persistent throbbing start to build up in her already aching head.
‘Oh great! Now I have to deal with the whole what-did-last- night-mean thing?’
As Jamie stepped outside, the sunlight caught her off guard. It was midmorning. Jamie simply wanted to wash away the smell of her patients and wrap herself up in CC’s arms.

As she fished her car keys out of her pocket, she wondered if CC would take her into her arms. Just as she clasped her keys tightly, she saw the familiar and very welcome sight of CC approaching her.

"Hi," CC greeted her brightly.

"Hi yourself," Jamie said with a smile, fighting the urge to wrap her arms around CC’s body. "Still on duty?" Jamie asked, taking notice of CC’s badge hanging around her neck.

"Yeah," CC groaned. "You all done?"

"Yes," Jamie said with a nod. "I’m just heading home." Jamie could feel her stomach flutter and her palms start to sweat as she debated what she should say or do.

The two women stood in the parking lot in an awkward silence. Each seemingly wanted to say something yet neither spoke. "I need to get back to it," CC finally mumbled as she scrunched up her face.

"Right," Jamie managed to mutter in response as she kicked the gravel on the ground. "I’ll see you later."

"Yeah, see you," CC responded absently before walking off towards the hospital entrance.

Jamie was kicking herself as she shuffled off to her car. "See you later," she muttered as she climbed into her car. "Could I be any lamer? Why didn’t I just ask her what time she was going to be off duty?" Jamie rested her head on her steering wheel, wishing the throbbing in her head would cease. "Invite her over for breakfast?" She groaned, completely disgusted with her inability to simply talk to CC.

Jamie eased her head up. "Okay," she calmed herself. "I know I want to start dating her again. Now all I have to do is find out what she wants. So I’ll just sit her down and talk to her. Then I’ll jump her bones."

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

I
T WAS MID-AFTERNOON by the time CC returned home. She was beyond exhausted. She had spent all night and the entire morning collecting statements. An hour ago the report came back from the fire marshal. It wasn’t arson. The fire was started due to faulty wiring. All of those hours had been a complete waste of time. She could have been snuggled up with Jamie. They could have finished what they had started the night before. Now she was emotionally and physically spent and she had to be back at work in a few hours.

CC yawned as she stretched her tired limbs. The townhouse was quiet. Emma was still with Brad and Stevie went out with friends. Her younger sibling was going to crash in town. She was happy that Stevie finally had some time to herself. CC thoughts quickly turned to Jamie. The blonde doctor was probably catching up on some sleep.

CC dragged herself off to take a long hot shower. Exhausted she climbed into bed after setting the alarm to wake her in four hours. "Sleep, I need sleep," the policewoman whimpered as her mind kept drifting back to the night before. Making love to Jamie had been incredible. That was the problem. CC had made love to her. Unlike their last encounter, this wasn’t about sex. CC rolled over, annoyed once again as her inner voice reminded her that their drunken encounter hadn’t been about sex either. Not for her.

"Now what do I do?" She growled in frustration as she punched her pillow. "I could barely speak to her when I saw her earlier. What if it was just a fling for her? She isn’t the sweet naïve girl I left behind all those years ago. ‘I’ll see you later’ she said. What the hell does that mean?" CC sat up and stared at the telephone lying next to her bedside. "I can’t call her; I don’t have her phone number," she reasoned. "I could just go over there," she suggested. "No, if she wanted to see me she would have said something. She’s probably sleeping anyway."

CC collapsed onto her bed in frustration. "Just take things slow, CC," she chastised herself. "Of course, yesterday wasn’t exactly taking things slow, was it? I wish I hadn’t seen that lipstick on her collar. I’d feel a hell of a lot better about things."

CC sighed heavily as she curled back up in an effort to get some sleep. She vowed that she would just take things with Jamie slowly. She needed to find out how Jamie truly felt about things. After all, Jamie lived next door. It wasn’t as if they wouldn’t see one another. CC listened to the empty sounds of silence. There was another matter she needed to direct her attention to and she didn’t want any interruptions. Smiling she slid her hand down her firm abdomen and began to touch herself. She’d been left feeling a little needy after her passionate encounter with Jamie had been interrupted.

A few hours later CC woke, still feeling irritable. Her mood had softened when she stepped into the living room and found Emma with Stevie. "Hey, peanut," she called out.

"You look like hell," Stevie commented with concern. "What did you and the nice neighbor lady do yesterday?"

"Nothing much," CC lied as she retrieved her giggling niece from her sister. "I got called in on that fire. Turned out it wasn’t arson. But we had to work witness statements all night. I just got back a couple of hours ago."

"I’m sorry, Sis. You must be wiped," Stevie said with sincerity. "So what are you not telling me?"

"I don’t know what you mean," CC scoffed. Something happened after Stevie became a mother. She seemed to possess this eerie sense of knowing when someone was lying to her.

"Right," Stevie scoffed as she glared at her older sibling.

"I need to get ready for work," CC responded coldly as she handed Emma back to Stevie. CC rushed off in an effort to escape.

"Caitlin," Stevie said firmly.

There was something in her younger sibling’s tone that made her halt her movements. It frightened her. "It’s nothing," CC lied once again as she shyly turned to face her sister. "I had a very nice day with Jamie."

"And?" Stevie pried.

"We kind of slept together again," CC mumbled.

"Have you lost your freakin’ mind?" Stevie scolded her. CC’s jaw dropped in surprise. "What does this mean? Are you two getting back together?"

"I don’t know," CC answered her honestly. "What’s the problem?"

"The problem is that you’re still in love with her," Stevie responded gently.

"Don’t be ridiculous," CC flared as she stomped off.

CC’s anger continued as she showered and then dressed for work. She just wasn’t quite sure what she was so angry about. She grunted a terse goodbye to her sister and went out to her car. She noticed that Jamie’s was gone. She knew that Jamie had already left for the hospital. She made a mental note to stop in and see her when she got home. CC turned the key in the ignition and was greeted by an irritating click. "Come on. Not tonight," she growled as she tried once again to start her car.

CC slammed the steering wheel, hurting her hand in the process. She muttered obscenities as she stomped back into her home. "Stevie, my car is dead again. Can I take yours?" she shouted.

"Go ahead," Stevie called out from Emma’s room.

CC tossed her key ring onto the counter and snatched up her sister’s. "Today is going to suck. I just know it," the irate policewoman grunted as she headed back out to the parking lot.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

J
AMIE HAD CAUGHT up on some well-needed rest and then went to work. Her shift thankfully hadn’t been as stressful as the previous evening. She often found herself thinking about CC. She pondered what the night before had meant. Jamie was displeased with Simon. It appeared that their little talk had not lessened the young man’s crush. She decided that she could no longer handle him in a gentle manner. She had thought that their last conversation would have made things clear. She wasn’t available and not interested in breaking hospital policy.

"Dr. Fisher," she said coldly as they stepped away from their patient. She had decided to start calling him by his last name, hoping the sudden change would make things clear to him. She handed him a box of latex gloves and a tube of KY gel. "You know what you have to do," she instructed him firmly.

Jamie fought back the laughter, knowing that the task she had given him was every young doctor’s nightmare. Simon turned pale as he stared at the items she had handed him. He looked back at the overweight elderly man who was lying on his stomach groaning. "The patient is impacted," Jamie said firmly. "You need to clear his . . ."

"But?" Simon squeaked out, his brown eyes pleading for help.

"Dr. Fisher," Jamie repeated sternly. "This patient needs your help. Get to it and be gentle." She patted his chest before turning him towards the suffering man.

"There has to be another way," Simon pleaded. "I can’t just reach into his . . ."

"Rectum," Jamie finished. "And clear it."

Jamie gave Simon a cocky smirk before leaving him to tend to the patient. It was a cruel task but one that everyone had to endure at least once in their medical career.

"I can’t believe you’re doing that to him," Stella chastised her as she stepped out into the corridor.

"Everyone has to do an extraction at least once," Jamie said with a feigned innocence.

"Uh huh." Stella chuckled. "And the fact that he probably won’t feel very romantic after having his hand up that guy’s backside has nothing to do with it?" Stella accused her.

"Heavens to Betsy," Jamie gasped as she sauntered over to the nurse’s station. "The thought never occurred to me."

"What’s going on?" Evaline inquired with interest.

"Dr. Jameson is having Fisher do an extraction." Stella scowled.

"Ugh," Evaline groaned in disgust. "Nothing like pulling crap out of someone to start your night off. I swear, you doctors love torturing the youngsters. You do know that boy has a thing for you?"

"Yes," Jamie groaned. "I tried being nice. I tried explaining things to him. I even told him firmly that I wasn’t interested. He just keeps looking at me with sad puppy dog eyes."

"Did you tell him that you’re gay?" Evaline pried.

"Not yet." Jamie groaned in frustration. "I thought that maybe he’d get the hint. Heck, even if I was straight he’s not someone I’d be interested in. Why is it that some guys just don’t get it?"

"Speaking of your love life," Evaline continued merrily.

"Were we?" Jamie scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

"I just couldn’t help noticing that you’ve been a little too chirper lately," Evaline explained, her curiosity clearly evident.

"Maybe I’m just happy to see you," Jamie teased.

"Right," Evaline scoffed. "Out with it."

"Out with what?" Jamie responded nervously.

"I saw you with that cop you were treating," Evaline taunted her. "There’s something going on with the two of you, isn’t there?"

"Actually, she’s my ex," Jamie explained quickly, hoping to put an end to the conversation.

"And?" Stella pushed.

"And nothing," Jamie responded with a blush. "I need to check on Fisher," she blurted out quickly.

The rest of Jamie’s shift was uneventful. Simon seemed less amorous after performing an extraction. Jamie gathered her gear together and headed out to her car. She yawned as she started her car. "I wonder if CC’s home yet?" she pondered hopefully.

When Jamie pulled into the parking lot at home, she smiled when she spotted CC’s car. Oddly Stevie’s minivan seemed to be missing. Jamie parked her car quickly and bounced out into the parking lot. Her joy quickly vanished when she noticed that all of the lights at CC’s townhouse were out. Jamie frowned, knowing that her plans to spend some quality time with CC had just gone up in smoke. "Rats," she groaned as she headed into her own home.

After tossing and turning all night long, Jamie finally managed to sleep for a couple of hours. The blonde doctor’s mind was spinning. She tried to sort out what had happened between her and CC. Her mind hummed constantly, wondering if the sexual encounter meant anything or if it was simply a case of their hormones getting the better of them.