The One

Chapter 3

"Mommy!"

Carrie barely had the car door open and Billie was already crawling in, giving her mommy a hug. "Hi sweetheart."

"Mommy I missed you."

"I missed you a lot sweetie."

"Mommy will you still read to me?" She begged, getting off her mother's lap.

"Of course B. Now will you help mommy with her stuff?"

Billie nodded, grabbing her mommy's backpack which contained her computer. Carrie got out of the car, slinging her briefcase over her shoulder.

She followed her daughter in the house and into the kitchen where her mom Debbie was seated at the kitchen table. "What took you so long today?"

"I was prepping a patient for surgery."

"What's their name?"

Making sure Billie wasn't in earshot, she whispered Harrison's name. "The football player?"

"Yeah."

Debbie took a deep interest in her daughters patients, for she frequently treated professional athletes. "Are you all in with him?"

She nodded, emptying her bags on the kitchen table. "He's my priority patient. All of my other patients have been assigned to my staff."

"Does Billie know about him? You know how much she loves the Cowboys."

"I didn't tell her yet, but I'm going to take her in next week to meet him."

Carrie went into the kitchen and heated up some chicken for dinner. "I hate these late nights."

"Your daughter does too," Debbie answered simply.

"I know mom. There's nothing I hate more than coming home late at night to not even spend time with her. It kills me."

"Mommy will you read to me?"

"Of course sweetie. I'll be up in a few minutes."

Billie ran up the stairs. "Hurry up mommy!"

Carrie watched her go before finishing the rest of her dinner. Being a doctor was hard on both her and her daughter. There were some days she wouldn't get home until 9 or 10 at night, and by then Billie would already be asleep. She was missing so much of her daughters childhood.

She cleaned up her plate, said goodnight to her mom, and headed upstairs to her daughters room. "Yay mommy!"

"What'd you do with grandma today?" Carrie asked, noticing a shopping bag sitting next to Billie's desk.

"Grandma took me shopping mommy! Look what I got!" She said excitedly, pulling out a small pair of sandals.

"Those are pretty B."

"And look at this mommy," she said pulling out a Cowboys t-shirt.

"I have a surprise next Monday for you B."

"What is it mommy!?" Shaking her mommy's arm, she insisted, "tell me mommy!"

Carrie smiled. "I'll give you a hint. Wear your Cowboys stuff."

"Is it a player mommy?"

"You'll have to wait and see B. Now what do you want to read?"

Billie hopped off the bed, grabbing a stack of books she already had picked out for her mommy. Carrie put her arm around her daughter who rested her head on her mommy's shoulder.

Beginning to read to her, Carrie wished Billie's dad was still here. And that he didn't leave them for a guy. She needed a father to take care of her when her mommy wasn't around.

But Carrie wasn't sure she was ready to love someone again. That person needed to love Billie equally as much if not more, and be willing to take care of her. It was going to be hard after Billie's dad Bryan blindsided them both when he left when Billie was just a year old. Carrie hadn't talked to Bryan since.

"Mommy can we read another book?"

"Sure sweetie."

Billie came back with a second book, leaning against her mom as she began to read to her.

•••

It was Friday. Carrie entered the hospital beside Harrison and his parents. "Mom and dad this is Dr. Fisher."

"Nice to meet you Dr. Fisher," his dad whose name she learned was Chris, said shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you sir. And you can call me Carrie."

"Thank you for everything you've done for him Carrie," his mom said from beside her.

"No problem ma'am."

On the way in, she prepped his parents of what was going to happen during the surgery. "I've been given the all clear to schedule him for a probe surgery. Using the probe will allow more strength and stability in the knee post surgery. And after that it will be all rehab."

"How long will the rehabilitation process take?"

"I'm shooting to have him running by the end of December."

"Isn't that quicker than normal?"

"Yes much quicker. But my plan is to rehab him as a football player, meaning he will be doing football related exercises for his knee. Of course he will still spend the first month in a rehab center."

"I see," his mom Dorothy said, following them into the elevator.

"With most of my acl patients, I wait 4 weeks to start rehab, but I have a feeling he'll be ready at 2 and a half weeks."

"Now Harrison, are you ready?"

He nodded before saying goodbye to his parents. Harrison followed her down the hallway and to a hospital room where he would be prepped for surgery.

After he changed into his gown, she came back in. "Your mcl repair will be done first. Then they will move on to the acl. I have also been given permission to oversee the surgery so I will be right there the whole time."

Harrison felt so much better hearing that she would be there the entire time. If anything were to go wrong she'd be there to fix it. "Now do you have any questions before we knock you out?"

"No."

"Alrighty then," she said as the nurse entered with an iv. "Don't worry, it's going to be okay."

He felt himself now lightheaded as the anesthesia took effect. The last thing he saw was her smiling down at him as she squeezed his hand. Then everything went black.

•••

Carrie stood beside the surgeons, watching as the began the procedure. She watched as they stitched up the side of his knee and began with the probes.

A few minutes into the next part of the procedure, she was informed, "we have a complication with the surgery."