| Chapter Three |
| �Ok Michael, now here�s your prescription, you know what to do with it, and I expect you to go get it ok.� Alexis handed him the paper and he took it, slightly brushing his hand with hers as smile came to his face.
�Yeah sure, of course doc, will do.� �I�m being serious here, I don�t think you want me checking up on you like a little kid.� �Well�I mean no of course not.� He gave that sly grin as he had so many times before, a grin that Alexis just learned to accept. �Ok I have to go now, great talk, can�t wait to do it again.� This time he winked at her. �Yeah ok Michael, I�ll see you here Fri. 3pm, no later.� Alexis called out after him for he was already half way out the door. �That kid�� she just shook her head and picked up the papers in front of her and arranged them neatly before heading out the door. She locked the door to her office and put the key in her coat pocket. She proceeded to go down to the hospital cafeteria for her well-deserved 15-min. break of the day. She bought herself a cup of coffee and sat down at an empty table by a window. She was lost in thought now as she sipped her drink and stared out the window. �Mind if a guy like me joins a beautiful lady like yourself?� Alexis jumped about a foot as those words were said. �Oh Greg, hi, you scared me half to death, sure have a seat.� �Sorry didn�t mean to scare you like that, didn�t know you were so deep in thought.� �Yeah, neither did I.� She still looked kind of spaced out. �Penny for your thoughts.� Greg told her as he got comfortable and began eating away at the bag of chips he had bought. �Oh,� Alexis smiled lightly. �I was just thinking about everyone back home.� �Back home?� �Yeah I moved here from Chicago.� �Long way off.� Greg told her in between bites �Yeah it is. So any way how do you like it here, at the hospital I mean.� �Oh it�s great I love it, I just can�t wait to be called a doctor.� �It�s a great feeling, what kind of doctor are you studying to become?� �Surgeon.� �Oh, guess you have to be born for that kind of stuff.� �That�s what I�ve been told.� Greg�s eyes met Alexis�s from across the table. Sparks seemed to fly from his eyes his breathing quickened all of a sudden, and he looked away. A beeper went off and he couldn�t ask for better timing. �That�s not me, it must be you.� �Huh?� Alexis looked at him with a strange face, and then she heard the beeper still ringing. �Oh, that�s right,� she grabbed it from her pocket and looked at it, she saw it was Dr. Kendrick calling her. �Just got it today, guess I�m not used to it yet.� She gave a small laugh and got up from her seat. �Sorry to cut this short, but duty calls.� �Yeah me too, I�ll see you around.� Greg gave her a huge smile and a nod of his head and watched Alexis walk off. ************************************************************************ �Dr. Kendrick, you beeped me?� Alexis was in her office 5 minutes after she had been called. �Yes I did. There is another patient I want you to see. The thing is she isn�t an ordinary patient, we believe she just needs someone to talk to, we don�t think she�ll be needing any type of medication, but that is for you to determine once you get over there and talk to the women.� �Ok I understand. Not a problem.� �Good, you can find her in room 3637, she is with her son, he was just in a car accident yesterday, and well as I said before she needs someone professional to talk to.� �Ok 3637, and her name is?� �Mrs. Chasez, I believe that is how you pronounce it. Oh by the way she isn�t expecting you, take it easy and if it seems as though she really doesn�t want to talk to you then leave it alone.� Alexis looked at Dr. Kendrick�s with a strange face. �She�s not expecting me?� �No, it�s the doctors and nurses who have been attending to the boy who suggested I send someone down there.� �Ok I think I got it all now. I�ll be going if that�s all.� �Yes that�s all, thank you.� Alexis walked out of Kendrick�s office and headed towards the elevators reciting in her head everything she had just been told. �Ok, so this lady isn�t even expecting me, might hate me and not want to talk to me at all, this is great, and what was her name? Chasez why does that name sound familiar?� As Alexis finished her thoughts she was in front of room 3637. The door was slightly open, she knocked. �Hello, Mrs. Chasez?� Alexis stepped into the room. She saw a woman sitting on a chair by the bed holding a young man�s hand, her son as she was told. She seemed as though she had been crying because she was sniffling now. Her head was hung down low, and her fingers soothingly ran over the hand of her son. �Mrs. Chasez.� She looked up suddenly but slowly and gave Alexis the best smile she could muster up. She wiped away the few tears that rolled down the side of her cheek before speaking. �Umm� hello, you are?� Alexis made her way towards Mrs. Chasez and extended her hand. �I�m Dr. Alexis Gray, I�m sorry to disturb you this way.� �Oh no it�s ok, you here to check on Tyler right?� �No I�m not, I�m here to talk to you actually, if that�s ok of course� �Here to talk to me? Oh I see you�re a shrink aren�t you? Well I�m really ok Dr. Gray.� �I never said you weren�t ma�am. I just thought you might want an ear to leave all your problems on, mind if I take a seat?� As Alexis sat down and took a good look at the women�s face then at the boy lying on the bed, she realized that he was the same boy she had seen the day before being rushed in. Dr. Smith�s words came rushing back to her; �I wouldn�t be too surprised if we had to see her, even if it�s just because she needs someone to talk to.� Alexis shook her head and continued staring at the boy on the bed. Mrs. Chasez took a deep breath and let it out slowly. �Sure have a seat,� she said as though she was giving up. �You seem as though you are a nice young lady, why not just tell you everything huh?� �Well you can tell me what you want to, and I can almost guarantee that it will make you fell better.� �Hmm� make me feel better, so what kind of doctor are you exactly?� �A psychiatrist.� �Oh one of those I see, rather young aren�t you?� �Yes, you could say that.� Alexis had learned smiles can go a long way so she gave one now. Mrs. Chasez seemed to respond to that because she gave one back and leaned back in her chair. �Well if you�re so concerned, and you�re telling me it will help.� She paused for a moment, to collect her thoughts. Alexis was about to say something, but Mrs. Chasez picked up and began talking. �I wish I didn�t send him out, there was something telling me, why bother him, he�s studying you can go to the store yourself. But I was so busy, I couldn�t go. So I asked Tyler to go to the store for me and pick up some of his brother�s favorite things. See his brother was coming back that day, yesterday, after three months of being away.� She paused again, this time a few tears rolled down her face. Alexis sat there listening intently, she knew this is what the women needed, to let it all go, out in the open. �So he said sure mom, as he always does, and off he went. About a half hour later I got a call saying my son was being taken to the hospital.� �What happened?� Alexis asked softly. �A car ran a red light hit him on his side, he went through a three hour surgery last night to repair his leg. I went from being told that he might not be able to use that leg, to we have a chance, and now to he will need extensive therapy.� �So it�s been like a roller coaster huh, but it has been going up, it started at the bottom and it has gone up. This roller coaster you are on, it doesn�t go back to that bottom point, it might have its dips but remember the worst is over.� She nodded her head as to agree and closed her eyes shut. �But I can�t help but feel this was my fault, I sent him out there.� �Mrs. Chasez this was in no way your fault, you just asked him to pick up a few things for your sons homecoming, there is no way you could have predicted this.� Alexis�s voice became a little more forceful to instill her words. �Hey mom, dad and Heather they�re�� The man�s voice that came from behind the two stopped abruptly. �Mom are you ok, and who are you?� Alexis turned in her chair to face this stranger, her eyes widened in confusion at the look of him but she quickly tired to hide it. This man, he was well breathtaking was the word. He was tall, dark hair and hazel eyes that sparkled in the midst of his confusion and anger. There was also another man standing behind him, younger looking with curly brownish hair and significantly taller, he was an eye grabber himself. �Oh honey hi, you�re back, this young lady, we were talking,� Mrs. Chasez said as she wiped the tears away one more time. Alexis over came the fact that these two men looked so familiar to her and stood up to introduce herself. �Hi, I�m doctor Alexis Gray.� �Dr.? As in what kind of doctor, may I ask?� The first said. �As in a psychiatrist.� Alexis said simply staring at the stranger with a spark in her eyes. �And why were you in here talking with my mother she has no need for a doctor like you.� �I never said she did, I just thought she needed someone to talk to that�s all.� Alexis kept her voice at a reasonable level. �That�s what she has her family for.� His voice raised a notch. �Please. JC, you are being rude, and this young lady has been nothing but nice to me. This is my son I was mentioning before, his name is�� �I have a feeling she knows who I am mom.� Alexis tried her best to pretend not to know who he was, although she had figured it out as soon as Mrs. Chasez said JC. �Why, should I know?� Alexis asked. She smiled when she saw JC�s shocked expression. �No, not at all.� �As I was saying he�s name is JC, and that person behind him is Justin one of his best friends.� Mrs. Chasez said �Hi,� Justin said as he shook her hand. JC and made no attempt to do so. �Hello.� Alexis smiled widely. JC looked at her with eyes that could kill so she took it as her cue to go. �Well I can tell when I�m not wanted so I�ll be going now.� Alexis moved the chair from behind her and began to walk out. �Mrs. Chasez if you ever want to talk you can always find me, any time.� �I don�t think that will be necessary, and I�m sorry for my son�s behavior.� JC just rolled his eyes at his mother�s comment. �Oh it�s understandable, I guess.� And with that she walked out of the room. �Umm� JC not to be rude or anything, but are you crazy?� Justin asked as he watched his friend take the seat Alexis had been sitting in. �Excuse me?� �You heard me, you must be crazy to be that mean to such a beautiful girl! Did you see the way she first looked at you? Man and if you don�t want her I�ll take her.� �Not only that JC, you were being out right rude to her, and that�s not like you.� His mother said. JC looked at his mother and deep down he knew she was right, but he didn�t want to admit it. His eyes wandered towards Justin, �Look Justin I�m really not in the mood, plus she lied, she knew who we were.� �I�m sorry but I just had to say that, and I�m not too sure if she really knew us, I think she�s old enough to be past the stage of really knowing who we are.� Justin took a seat on the other bed that was in the room. �Tyler hasn�t wakened up again has he? �No, just that one time while you were all here, but the doctor said he needs his rest and that there�s nothing to worry about.� Mrs. Chasez informed the boys. ************************************************************************ Alexis leaned against the door of room 3637 after she had closed it behind her. �Oh my god, that was them,� she thought to herself. A smile spread across her face as she remembered how good JC had looked in person, but her smile quickly faded. �Just because he�s the guy from Nsync doesn�t give him the right to be rude, I know he�s been through a lot in the last few days but still.� She mumbled under her breath as she made her way towards the elevator. But the picture of his face when she first turned around was stuck in her mind, and it made her knees weak. Alexis couldn�t help but be amused at the fact that he was shocked when she said she didn�t know who he was. So she was lying, that was beside the point, he was being rude and she didn�t want to give him the satisfaction of him knowing that she knew who he was. �Now Justin, he seemed nice, and what a cutie that boy is.� Alexis thought. �Too bad, I think he�s a little too young.� She giggled at the mere thought. She rotated her head to crack her neck and tried to brush off the shock, amazement and the slight excitement she was feeling. In the process her hair moved out of place. Walking towards her office she picked up her hair and placed the barrette back on. She un-locked the door to her office and made her way to her chair. She sat down giving a sigh as she did so. She turned the chair to face the widow. The sun had begun to set, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was 5pm, almost time for her to go. Her eyes went back to the window and landed on some ducks swimming around the lake. There was a little boy in a wheel chair feeding bread to them, he looked so happy, so care free. �The innocence,� she said half aloud, �what I wouldn�t give to go back to that time in my life.� �Talking to yourself are we now Dr Gray, it seems that it is too early in your career for you to be doing that.� Alexis rapidly turned in her chair to face this person who was in her office now. �Oh Dr. Kendrick, I didn�t know..� Her cheeks turned a light shade of red. Dr. Kendrick stood at the door of the office; purse in hand ready to leave it seemed. �I just stopped by on my way out to see how it went with, with what was her name again, I know it was a strange one.� �Mrs. Chasez,� Alexis helped her out. �Ah, yes her, so how did it go, did she talk to you?� �Yes she talked to me, she was a little apprehensive at first, and if given more time to think about what she just did, I think she�s going to regret talking to me. Also her son walked in and well he was being really rather rude once he found out what it is I do. That didn�t help her any.� �Yes I�ve seen it before, the rude family member, let me guess he said she doesn�t need you, she has her family.� Dr. Kendrick said. �Yes that�s exactly what he said.� �Well he needs to understand that it isn�t his choice, it is his mother�s choice on whether she wants to talk to a professional or not.� �Right, well I told her she can come and see me whenever she needed. But I don�t think that will be happening but I left the door open.� �I suggest you talk to her tomorrow, just to see how she is doing.� Dr. Kendrick looked down at her watch. �5:15, I promised my husband I�d be home already, you better get going as well too, good bye and see you tomorrow. And just ignore that rude son.� She walked out of the office before Alexis could say anything. Forgetting the whole conversation in general, her attention went back towards the window and the view outside. "Rude son huh? Well news travels fast around here doesn�t it?� This time Alexis practically fell out of her chair as she heard the voice, �What?� She turned around to face JC who was leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe of her office. He looked calmer then before, maybe just a slight upset, but nothing like earlier. �Well that lady was talking to you and she mentioned, rude son, so I put two and two together, you were talking about me.� JC said simply, as though it really didn�t bother him. Alexis now standing, stood there with a shocked look on her face, shocked from the fact he was there, talking to her when only 20 minutes before he was looking at her with eyes that could kill. She quickly tired to change the expression on her face; JC caught on and smiled. �Well yes chances are pretty good that we were talking about you, but I can assure you that the world doesn�t revolve around you, and neither did that conversation.� JC laughed, finding deeper meaning in what she said as he moved further into her office and took a look around. �Ah but you see, I know you were talking about my mother, and my attitude towards you earlier today.� Alexis didn�t let him finish. �Eavesdropping too Mr. Chasez?� He smiled once again and continued. �I wouldn�t call it that, see I was on my way here to apologize to you, I was upset, and I somewhat took it out on you. But I still don�t think my mother needs your services.� �I think that is for her and her alone to decide.� Alexis heard her voice coming out, she heard herself saying all of this and in this tone, but she just couldn�t believe she was actually saying it all, and to none other then JC from Nsync. But at this point she really didn�t care. �I�m not saying that she will be needing me for the full extent of what I can do, which is prescribe medication, I highly doubt she needs that, but I do think she needs an ear that will listen a professional one.� This whole time they had been standing, and now JC walked over to a chair. �May I?� �Yes of course.� He sat down and said nothing for the next few minutes. But as he sat there he seemed to be observing Alexis, taking in her beauty was the only way of describing it. JC loved it when women took a stand, when she wasn�t afraid to say what was on her mind and fight back without being too aggressive, and that�s exactly what Alexis was doing, and he loved every second of it. Although Alexis couldn�t understand where this strength to be saying all of this was coming from. �Justin was right.� JC mumbled as his eyes quickly roamed her body. �Excuse me?� Alexis said already feeling uncomfortable of being under his stare for so long. �Oh no I�m sorry nothing.� �Well if all you came here for was to say that and half apologize..� She trailed off and began collecting her things to leave. �Yeah I guess that was all, and ummm..yeah I�m sorry for the way I treated you before, let�s just say this hasn�t been the best past few days.� �Right, it�s understandable. Not that I appreciated it.� Alexis said as she went through a drawer in her desk looking for her purse. She found it, and looked up only to be met by his waiting eyes, she smiled and stood up from her seat. He followed her lead. �I�m sure your brother will be fine in no time, and I hope you don�t take it the wrong way if I go and visit your mother tomorrow, just to see how she�s doing. You can take that as a warning per say.� Alexis tried to step out of her office but she was met by a huge tall guy standing in front of the door. She had a look of confusion written all over her face. JC who was behind Alexis stepped in front of her and smiled when he saw her face. �Oh, this is Mike, Mike met Dr. Alexis Gray.� JC said. �Hello, Miss.� Mike�s huge hand gently grabbed hers and shook it. �Uh, Hi.� JC moved close to Alexis to whisper in her ear, �body-guard.� �Body-guard, ok I see.� Was her answer before she began to walk down the hall. JC walked quickly to keep up with her pace. �You really don�t know who I am, or are you just toying with me and enjoying it?� Alexis stopped in her tracks and looked at him with a devilish smile. �Enjoying it, yes, but why do you have to assume that everyone automatically knows you Mr. Chasez? That is being just a tad conceited.� �Call me JC, and well what can I say, it comes with the territory, plus you looked like a fan of the music.� �That�s right the music, not one of those teens who�s obsessed with the people. I wasn�t even sure if it was you until your mother said your name actually.� Alexis continued walking and looked over her shoulder to see Mike a few feet behind them. JC kept in step right next to her. �Oh, is that so, well I guess you have to go brush up on your Nsync.� �Yes I guess I have to do that.� With those words they reached the entrance of the building. She couldn�t resist. �Bye, bye, bye JC, I have a feeling I will be seeing you again though.� She looked into his eyes as she said this then turned around to head out. �I can only hope.� He said in a sarcastic tone, and that was the way it was taken as Alexis walked out. �I can only hope.� JC repeated once she was gone. �Ha so Justin was wrong about one thing, she did know who we were.� JC thought to himself as he headed back up to Tyler�s room. The smile hadn�t left his face and Mike had taken notice of this. �Quite a looker that girl is, what kind of a doctor is she?� �Don�t ask,� JC said. "Why? What�s the big deal?� �She�s a psychiatrist, and I was kinda rude to her today for that. She was in the room talking to my mom and well�� �Is your mom ok?� �Well yeah, but I don�t know, she was in there talking to her, supposedly just to lend an ear, a professional one.� Anger began boiling inside of him when he talked about this. He had that male pride within him, that pride that said his family was his own matter that can be taken care of without any outside help. Besides that, by her coming just plain insulted him. �Oh I see, and you took this opportunity to come and apologize to her, and check her out huh?� Mike said JC laughed at his words knowing how true they really were. �Something like that, I regret treating her that way, but she seems to be an understanding women, one with some zest too.� JC turned into room 3637 to find his family along with Justin sitting by Tyler�s bedside. �So JC where�s that coke you went out to get about half an hour ago?� Justin asked innocently lifting his eyebrows up and down. *********************************************************************** Alexis was in a daze as she drove herself home. All she could think about now was JC leaning against the doorframe of her office as if nothing had happened earlier that day. It made her wonder if he had come down there because he was forced to or if he did it because he wanted to. It seemed as though he did it out of his own free will, he could have gone down there, said I�m sorry bitterly then left, but that wasn�t the case. She always knew he was cute, from the pictures she had seen on their CD, but there was nothing like the real thing. Alexis was so excited, she couldn�t wait to get home and call Marissa, she knew she would totally flip and say I told you so. Another thing Alexis couldn�t help but wonder was how she had acted. To her she wasn�t herself; she was never that openly aggressive to someone she had just met; she�s usually more reserved. There was just something about him that brought out this other side of Alexis, something about him that made her react this way. It could have been because of his ruddiness towards her and her profession, which was something she wouldn�t tolerate. Yes, she decided, that had to be it. Alexis put her keys down on the table by the door and shut and locked it behind her. She slipped off her shoes and hit the play button on her answering machine. �Hey sweetie, it�s mom, just calling to see how you�re doing, I miss you, call me soon bye.� The next message began to play. �Girl, where are you when I need to talk to you? Ahhh, I can�t hold it in any longer so I�m just gonna tell you here, I got the job, they hired me! I start Mon.� Alexis didn�t wait until she had heard the whole message before she had picked up the phone and began dialing Marissa�s number. �Come on pick up,� she said into the phone as it rang for the 5th time. �Hello?� �Ahhh, you got the job, I�m so happy for you, I knew you would!� Alexis screamed into the phone. �Yeah hi to you too, and thank you, I�m so happy, this is all I�ve wanted.� �I know, I know, it seems like we�ve both gotten what we wanted.� �Yes it seems that way. They loved the design I made and already want me to make it, they say it has big potential to be in their fall line!� �That�s great Maris, I�m so happy for you. So soon I will be seeing Marrisa�s originals out there right?� �Yeah, but it won�t exactly have my name on it. But soon darlin� soon.� �And that�s the day I will be waiting for.� Alexis told her. �Well I had an interesting day today that I think you�d like to hear about.� �Ok,� Marissa said questionably. �Tell me.� �Ok, the head of my department Dr. Kendrick asked me to go talk to this lady downstairs who�s son got in a car accident yesterday and the doctors down there thought the mother needed someone to talk to. So I went down there not knowing if this lady was even going to want to talk to me.� �Ok, well did she talk to you?� Marissa said interrupting as she always did. She could never wait for people to build up to the point of the story, she wanted it first then the whole story with the details later. �Hold on I�m getting there.� Alexis said knowing her best friend and making her wait on purpose. �I got down there and yes after a bit we began talking. She tells me that her son got hit by another car and that he was in surgery to repair his leg..yadda yadda. Doctors say he�ll be fine after some extraneous therapy. So anyway she says this was her fault because she sent him out to buy some of his older brother�s favorite foods because he was coming back home after 3 months. Oh did I mention that this lady�s last name sounded familiar but I couldn�t put my finger on it?� �No you didn�t mention that, what was this lady�s last name?� �No can�t tell you yet, that will ruin everything. So let me just continue.� Alexis knew Marissa was about to explode any minute now, wanting to know the whole point of this story so she tried to finish a little quicker. �Well his brother walks in with a friend, I turn around and wow, this guy is gorgeous, and looks so familiar too. But I mean wow.� Marissa giggled at her friend. �Was he beautiful, I can�t tell from your wow�s?� �Oh yes, you can use that word, familiar too, him and his friend. But he was being rude to me once I let him know what kind of doctor I was.� �Great, there goes that one.� �No wait, there�s more. His mother called him by his name and right there I knew who it was, my jaw almost fell to the floor but I kept my cool and pretended I didn�t know who he was. She went to introduce me to the two, and their names are JC and Justin.� Alexis barely got out their names before Marissa started screaming on the other side. �Oh my god, are you serious?! You met them; you met Justin and JC of Nsync? You�ve got to be kidding me, oh my god, I so told you so.� �How did I know you were going to say that?� Both girls stayed on the phone for at least another hour as Alexis explained in detail what happened after that first meeting. �You said all that to him? You sure, what you just told me right now is what you said to him? I don�t know, that doesn�t sound like you, you�re usually more, reserved I guess.� �Yeah I know, I found it really weird, I said all that stuff and as I said it and the way it came out, I don�t know it�s like I didn�t recognize myself. The only excuse I can come up with is the fact that he disliked me from the beginning because of what I do, I had never encountered that before and it made me mad, it made me come out and just act that way.� �Humm...well it doesn�t seem like he dislikes you anymore.� Marissa said in a giggle. �Well who says that I don�t dislike him?� Alexis said trying to sound cool. �Oh come on please, and don�t be telling me looks isn�t everything cuz you and I both know that it does play a big role. Plus just get to know the guy, no harm in that.� "No I guess not, I could do that. But am I ready to get into another relationship, and with a guy of his status?� Alexis asked without really looking for an answer. Chapter Four |