DESTINED AFFECTION

FIVE

Oh no, I must really be tired. It 's just that she was so wonderful with Kyle. That's all it is. Gratitude.

Ignoring the faint pulse of excitement that accompanied the unbidden memory, Lauren quickly finished her shower, pulled on sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt emblazoned with the PMC logo, and called for Kyle to, come to bed. Her daughter was apparently more tired out by the afternoon's events than Lauren had realized, because she had barely begun reading when Kyle dropped off. Carefully, Lauren closed the book, turned off the bedside light, and crept quietly from the room.

Downstairs, she found Phyllis at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and Pooch beneath her feet, watching her with a hopeful expression.

"You're not feeding him from the table, are you?" Lauren helped herself to a cup of coffee and sat down opposite her mother-in-law at the rectangular oak peasant table.

"He only gets sushi, because he likes to eat off the chopsticks."

Lauren nodded as if that made perfect sense. "Thanks for leaving school early so I could go back to the hospital."

Phyllis was an administrator at Green Street Friends School, where Perrie and Ally's two children, Dennis and Kim, and Kyle were students. Usually, Perrie picked all three children up when their after-school activities were over and kept them at her house until Phyllis came by for Kyle at the end of her workday. Since Perrie was one of the soccer coaches and all three children played, it made that simple. During the summer, all the kids were at day camp, so the same arrangement worked well.

In the evening, Phyllis usually made dinner at Lauren's. When an emergency came up that kept Lauren in the ER longer than usual, or when she was on night duty, Phyllis stayed with Kyle or took her granddaughter to the other half of the house, where Kyle had her own room as well.

"No need for thanks," Phyllis said quietly. "I'm just grateful she's got a hard head."

Lauren imagined that Phyllis had been as shaken as she herself had been initially, even though when she had called the older woman at work to tell her about Kyle's injury, her first words had been that it was only a minor accident and that Kyle was fine. Nevertheless, she knew that neither of them would ever be able to hear the word accident without an involuntary surge of dread. Lauren slid her fingers over Phyllis's hand and squeezed.

"She's going to be just fine."

"I know." Phyllis smiled. "Actually, she couldn't stop talking about it. Seems like she made a friend at the hospital."

Lauren looked inquisitively at her mother-in-law.

"Someone named Cami... Camila?"

"Ah," Lauren sighed, "that would be the new ER attending, Camila Cabello. She's the one who put in the sutures."

"Sounds like she's a cross between a savior and a soccer star."

"Hardly. But she was great with Kyle."

Phyllis heard the note of reservation in Lauren's voice. "You don't like her?"

"No," Lauren said quickly, blushing. "No, it's not that. It's... complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"I don't know what it is, really." Lauren ran a hand distractedly through her hair, frowning at her own jumbled thoughts. It was hard to recall just what exactly about Camila bothered her, especially when she remembered sitting with her in the car while the rain beat down around them, enclosing them in a thundering gray cocoon, and seeing that sliver of pain flash across Camila's expressive face. "She was hired without my input, so that annoyed me at first. Her qualifications don't really fit the job description, so that makes me suspicious of a problem in her background."

"Don't fit how?"

"She's not trained in emergency medicine; she's trained in surgery. There's no reason she should want this position."

"Is she doing a good job?" Phyllis continued her gentle probing because she and Lauren often talked over Lauren's frustrations and triumphs at work. More than that, she sensed that her daughter-in-law was troubled.

"Yes. Fine. Considering her training wasn't in emergency medicine, better than I had hoped at this point." Lauren sipped her coffee, finally feeling warm. "She works hard, never complains, and is reasonably good natured about what has to be a difficult adjustment for her."  

  "Sounds like she's a great new addition to your staff, then."

"I suppose you're right." Lauren aimlessly turned her coffee mug on the tabletop, staring at the swirling liquid. "I just can't help feeling that there's something she's hiding."

"We all have things we'd rather not talk about, Laur," Phyllis reminded her gently. "Those things aren't necessarily bad, only painful sometimes."

Lauren raised her eyes to Phyllis, and, as was so often the case, they shared a moment of mutual sadness and understanding.



* * * * *

Camila blinked the sweat from her eyes, and despite the ominous shaking in her arms, pushed the barbell straight up in the air one more time and slowly lowered it until it almost touched her chest. She held it to the count of two, then laboriously raised it and levered it back onto the cleats. With a gasp of relief, she closed her eyes and let her arms hang down by her sides as she waited for her breathing to return to normal. She hadn't had a full workout in months, and despite the fact that she had been advised to start slowly, she'd been pushing herself hard for the last hour. Now her entire body was so tired, she wasn't certain she could sit up. Absently, she reached up with her right hand and rubbed the annoying itch above her left breast.

"I wasn't certain you were going to make that last one," a soft voice with a sensuous drawl said from beside her.

Camila turned her head, opened her eyes, and looked into the blue eyes inches from her own. Those striking eyes, shadowed by long honey-colored lashes, were set in a Meryl Streep face that was framed by thick blond hair. Camila blinked. "Hello?"

The wide, full mouth stretched into a lazy smile. "Hello yourself. I'm Mandy."

"Camila."

Mandy, who crouched beside Camila, wore a black jog bra and spandex workout shorts that left her toned midriff bare and showed off the rest of her body to perfection. She rested her fingertips lightly on Camila's left upper arm. "I know this sounds like a line, but are you new in town?"

"I've been here a few weeks." Camila laughed and pushed herself upright on the workout bench, then swung around until she faced the kneeling woman. "First time here, though."

"I'm one of the personal trainers. I was going to ask you if you needed any help, but I can see that you don't." As she spoke, Mandy's eyes drifted slowly down Camila's body.

Camila wore gray Champion shorts and a T-shirt that had been cut off above the waist and at the shoulders. Her skin shone lightly with perspiration. She was warm, and it wasn't entirely from the workout. Mandy's gaze was openly appreciative, and it didn't escape Caila's notice either that Mandy's hand now rested ever so gently against Camila's knee. Unexpectedly, Camila felt her heart race.

Mandy gave a startled laugh and pulled her hand back. "God, I believe I felt sparks!"

Camila blushed, quickly suppressing a gasp. "I think that's what you call static electricity."

"Really," Mandy said disbelievingly, tilting her head and giving Camila another lazy smile. "Whatever you call it, it was nice."

Abruptly, Camila stood, anticipating the dizziness and waiting for it to pass. "I've got to run. It was nice meeting you, Mandy."

Mandy rose to her feet, momentarily barring Camila's path. "It was nice meeting you, too, Camila. I hope I'll be seeing you again soon."

"I'm sure I'll run into you here. Night."

It was after ten, and, deciding to shower at home, Camila hurriedly packed her gear. Outside, the storm had abated, leaving behind only a thick clinging mist that shimmered in the air and felt heavy on her skin. The health club that she had discovered in the neighborhood guide and had joined just that evening was in Alden Park, a collection of ornate red stone buildings clustered on a hill overlooking Lincoln Drive and the wild, northern extension of Fairmont Park. It was a brisk ten-minute walk from her apartment, and she decided to take the "long" way home by circling a small corner park that bordered her street to the south.  

 It was a residential neighborhood and, late on a weeknight, the streets were deserted. Moisture floating in the air cast halos around the streetlights, and as Camila walked through the dark from one circle of light to the next, she felt isolated and eerily alone. That was a new feeling, that sense of being alone. Or to be accurate, she thought, her awareness of being alone.

She'd either been too busy or too focused to notice before. She'd been on the fast track since she was fifteen years old, skipping a year of high school and then entering an accelerated combined college and medical school program. At about the time others her age were finishing college and contemplating the benefits of taking a year off before entering graduate school, she had begun her internship. Nothing had stood in her way, nothing had ever slowed her down, until everything had come to a screeching halt just when she thought she had accomplished her goal.

Camila was so immersed in her reminiscences that when a shape materialized out of the shadows, she gasped in surprise and stumbled to a halt. Realizing almost immediately that it was just another late-night stroller, she moved forward again, feeling foolish. As the figure neared, she stared, thinking at first that she merely imagined the familiar stride and unmistakable form.

"Lauren?" Camila asked when it became apparent that she had not been mistaken.

Lauren halted within touching distance of Camila, and Pooch obediently sat at her side. She brushed her hair back with one hand, taking a moment to hide her discomfort. She had been thinking about Camila, remembering the events of the afternoon again, and to see her suddenly appear was disorienting. "Hi. I...uh..." She motioned to Pooch with her chin. "Walking the dog."

"I see that." Camila extended her fingers toward the dog and got a warm lick as a reward. "Hi, pooch."

"Yes." Lauren laughed. "That's him. Pooch."

Camila raised a brow.

"His name. Pooch."

"Ah!" Camila laughed. "He's very well behaved."

"That's an anomaly, I can assure you." Lauren smiled, feeling foolish for her previous discomfort. "What about you? Kind of late for a stroll."

Camila lifted her gym bag. "Working out."

Lauren shook her head. "Don't you ever relax?"

"It was either that or unpack boxes." Camila shrugged. "Seemed like a no-brainer to me."

By silent agreement, Lauren turned around, and together they walked in the direction of their homes, making intermittent stops so that Pooch could smell a particularly delightful morsel of trash or leave his mark on top of one left by some interloper into his territory.

"I take it you didn't have much time to move," Lauren said conversationally.

The brunette hesitated, then said, "I wasn't certain I would get this job, and then when I did, I only had a couple of weeks to find a place to live. I was lucky to get one so close to work."

"Do you intend to bike all winter?"

"As long as I can. I can always walk if the weather gets too bad."

Lauren laughed. "I think you'll change your mind round about January. I'll see what I can do about getting you a parking space in the doctors' lot. They're rare as hen's teeth, but I'll cash in on some favors."

"Don't bother," Camila said without thinking. "I can't drive."

"What? You don't know how to drive?"

"No, I.. .uh...don't drive," Camila amended quickly. "No car."

Lauren cocked her head and gave Camila a curious stare. She's lying. She knew it as surely as she had ever known anything. But why?

"Well, then. I'll hold on to those favors."

"Thanks anyways," Camila said awkwardly. Being around Lauren made her forget her usual caution, which was not only disconcerting, but dangerous.

"This is my house," Lauren said, indicating a dwelling setback from the street behind a white picket fence.

"Good night, Lo," Quinn said softly.

"See you tomorrow." Lauren turned quickly into the driveway ignoring the new nickname the brunette gave her, pulling Pooch along while ignoring the insistent urge to watch until Camila disappeared from sight. But as much as she would have liked to, it was hard to deny that she was already looking forward to seeing Camila in the morning.  

AN: that's it for now folks, hope you like it. What do you think? See you next update.