"It doesn't matter who I am, what matters is Emm...Emmerentia's health," Nathan replied, looking at Emma. "She has to return to the hospital where she escaped from."
Sean turned his sharp gaze on Emma.
"I did not escape, I...I left. Here I was thinking that this is a free country..."
"You can't just leave when you've been booked in. The staff are waiting to check you out. You could could die, but you don't seem to care."
"Emma!" A shocked Sean exclaimed.
"I...I was not the one that booked myself into Platinum Care, okay! Even the air in that place is expensive," Emma responded. "You can stand on your head, Doctor Adams, but I will not return to that place."
Emma folded her arms and held her head high, defiantly staring at Nathan.
Nathan smirked, if Emma thought that she was stubborn, well, he was no less. He took his phone out of his pocket.
Sean glanced between the two of them, feeling like something was amiss.
"Let's hurry up Sean, Bubbles can't be out here all day."
"No, Emma. Go back to the hospital. I'm man enough to bury Bubbles by myself, but if anything were to happen to you..." Sean trailed off.
"It won't. Anyway, I feel fine."
"I wonder if you'll feel so fine behind bars," Nathan quipped.
"What? I'm not a criminal to be behind bars."
"I don't think that Platinum Care's owner will agree with you when he finds out that you left without paying," Nathan said, a blank expression on his face.
Sean pulled Emma aside, staring at Nathan, he was trying to be private, but Nathan heard everything.
"Emma, don't argue, just go back to the hospital."
"No."
"Just go. Don't worry about the money, I'll figure something out."
"No, Sean. You can't kee--"
"Emma, this is not up for discussion. Go!"
"Okay."
"I'll take you to the hospital, and then bury Bubbles."
"Yeah, I'll get a few stuff before I go."
A few minutes later Emma and Sean came out of the house with a suitcase packed to the brim. Emma even had her own food and snacks. Nathan found it humorous, why did women always have to pack so many stuff? The hospital was hardly a place for dress up.
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Emma hated the hospital gown that she was forced to wear. Whoever designed it did not care about the dignity of other people. She tried to take a towel to the theatre, but the nurses would not allow it. The fact that Nathan was in there, only made her feel worse. The anaestheticist and other medical staff were also present.
Hours later Emma woke up in another part of the theatre with Nathan sitting next to her, looking worried. She tried to get up, but was too drowsy and lay back down again. Nathan was hovering over her, and she had no energy to be petty, so she just closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. When she opened her eyes later on, she was in another room and it was pitch dark outside.
"Sleeping beauty is awake," it was the same nurse who thought that Nathan had feelings for her.
Emma was about to ask for water, when she remembered something. She placed her hands on her head, thinking that her hair had been cut.
"They did not perform surgery on you."
"I thought..."
"There was no need, the swelling had gone down and there was no visible damage, but you have to stay here for a couple of days, just to be on the safe side."
"Thank God," Emma whispered. "What time is it?"
"22:35"
"I've slept long."
"Yes, the anestaetic has that effect," the nurse said. "I have to go, but I'm sure that the dreamy doctor can't wait to have you all to himself."
"He's still here?"
"I doubt that he'll be going anywhere while you're here, but I hadn't told you which doctor..." the nurse smirked.
Emma drank a glass of water, she was hoping to come across as indifferent, but the nurse only smiled more.
"I...I...I knew that it was him, because no other doctor is that shameless. Who follows a patient home?"
"You call it shameless, I call it committed. Doctor Adams is one of Australia's best young surgeons and he genuinely cares about his patients."
"You should be the chairperson of his fan club nurse...?"
"My name is Valerie, Valerie Geswind."
"What a coincidence, Nathan's mother was also a Geswind," Emma gasped and closed her mouth when she realized her mistake.
"Aha! I knew that the two of you had a history."
Well...it's called history for a reason."
"Uh huh," was all Valerie said, before leaving.
Emma looked around the beautiful room that she occupied. It was even more stylish, then the previous one, and it was a corner suite. It had floor to ceiling panoramic views of the city and the mountains. Even at night you could see the mountains.
Emma decided to take a shower. She reasoned that she might as well make use of the benefits, as she would be paying the debt off for a long time to come. When she came out of the bathroom an hour later, after taking a bath and not a shower, a trolley with an array of fancy food was in front of her bed.
"Wow! This is the best hospital food ever," Emma said, before biting into a lamb chop that had been drizzled with mint sauce. "This is the good life. Maybe I should get beaten up more often."
To her surprise there was a television in the room. It had hundreds of channels to choose from, she hadn't had many options in that regard, since Nathan left. That thought was enough to make her switch off the television, it made her remember the things that she most wanted to forget.
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Nathan lay back against the pillows in the B&B. He was exhausted due to lack of sleep, but the truth was that he would have still been at the hospital if he hadn't forced himself to leave.
He called April, he had to hear her voice. She was the reason that he had left the hospital. She was the reason why he was not going back there, atleast not untill Emma was gone. She was his future.
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Surprisingly, Emma had been awake for most of the night. Well, maybe it wasn't much of a surprise, considering that she slept through most of the previous day. However, the fact that Nathan had not been there even once, made her irritable. She had tried not to think about what Valerie had said, but still her stupid heart focused on that. She decided to start the day earlier by taking a six o'clock shower.
"Emmerentia," Valerie called out when Emma was in the shower.
Emma wrapped a towel around her body and came out. "Hmm?"
"My shift is almost finished, is there anything that I can help you with before leaving?"
Besides getting her discharged, Emma couldn't think of anything, "No, I'm good."
"Fine. Oh! I almost forgot, the good doctor left after he arranged your dinner. It was scrumptious, wasn't it?" Valerie said, lifting a brow.
"I...I'm used to better," Emma said, avoiding Valerie's glance.
Valerie crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that so? Well, I guess that's why you were moaning like a starved woman."
"Well, I was starving, so even stale bread would have elicited the same response from me."
"Yeah, I believe you, I really do. Anyway, enjoy the view, Ms. Malgas."
Emma thought that Valerie was very cheeky, for a public servant, but she liked her. She was even looking forward to seeing her at night.
Thoughts of Nathan plagued her mind all morning. The man had messed up everything. In fact, his coldness was better than the kindness, because his kindness made her remember what a fool she had been thinking that he would come back to her. It had become obvious to her, that he had only been a good childhood friend and nothing more.
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Nathan found himself back at the hospital, but it was not by choice. His friend, Doctor Stefan Grobbelaar had asked him to meet with a little boy who wanted to be become a brain surgeon. The poor child was fighting for his life, but he did not stop dreaming.
Nathan came from the boy's room, and spotted Ruth. When he approached her, her back was turned to him and she was on the phone. They were in the underground parking lot.
"Yes, Seth, I'm at the hospital now. I'm about to tell my best employee that she won't have a job for much longer. If, only the Adams' deal went through, we might have had a chance at recovery, but now I have to close the place. Even the month of love won't be able to safe this business from sinking. I'll talk to you later, my love."
Ruth got an incoming call immediately after, and was not aware of Nathan's presence. He slid behind the wheel of the car, with a lot on his mind.
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Emma was discharged two days later, but she was not looking forward to a house without Bubbles.
She got out of Sean's bakkie with a heavy heart. Her mind's eye conjured up images of her deceased pet from the gate to the bathroom. Every area of the house reminded her of Bubbles. She spent another sleepless night tossing and turning in bed.
Her phone's alarm sounded, and Emma switched off the app, but instead of waking up she fell into a deep slumber. Her phone was offline, so no-one could get through to her.
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"I'm sorry Mr. Adams, but I can't get through to our consultant. It is unlike her to stay away without informing me. Maybe she's unwell," Ruth reasoned.
"It's fine, I can come back at another time," Nathan replied, but it was not fine. He was worried that something was wrong.
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Nathan knocked on the door to the separate entrance which Emma occupied. The landlord told him that she had not seen Emma leave, but that did not make him feel any better. What if she was unconscious inside?
After knocking several times, with no luck, Nathan, finally, heard the shuffling of feet.
Emma groaned as she reached for her phone, switching on the device, whilst she got out of bed. She was almost at the door when she looked down at the phone and noticed the time. She shrieked, as it was 12:35.
"No! I have to call Ruth," Emma decided, forgetting about the door.
"Extravaganza Desserts, hello."
"Thank God, Ruth."
"Emma, where are you?"
"I'm so sorry," Emma paused when she heard another knock at the door. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Mr. Grumpy from Australia was looking for you."
"Emmerentia! Open the door!"