Lily....
The morning sun bristled on her eyelids by the time Lily had fallen asleep. She groaned at the time on the clock, cursing insomnia on her days off. The fluctuations in her schedule had doubled since Lily had eagerly taken extra shifts to fill people's vacation. Money wasn't an issue but the extra overtime hours was a gift on its own. Though her little sugar glider has been needy lately.
Hani's mewing in the early mornings before he would smother Lily's sleepy face, would leave her awake till she went to work. Most nights, she laid awake in bed, tossing and turning. Any small moves had Hani going bat shit crazy. Food tends to calm him down and Lily had the cravings of her little sugar glider. Cuddles was a necessity.
And as always Hani was tangled in her hair. He held on for dear life like she would... run. And run she did as midnight avocado toast bubbles dangerously in her throat. She just made it to the toilet before disgustingly retching her life away.
When she was sure she emptied her stomach, Lily shakily sat on her bathroom floor, overthinking so many things. Last night, she did help the emergency department when patients rolled in with the flu. It was flu season, she reasons with herself denying anything else. She lifted herself off the floor and stood in front of the sink, rinsing her mouth out from the acidic taste. Brushing her teeth rigorously and running her mouth through two doses of mouth wash.
Her morning routine was still minimal. She disturbed Hani's sleep schedule for once, placing him in his cage before depositing his food. Lazily, the little one eventually ate as Lily finished her own oatmeal breakfast. She was running on three hours of sleep as she was out the door by seven. She needed coffee.
Balancing everyone's order was becoming a norm as Alyssa shuffled forward to intercept one of the carriers. Eagerly, Lily passes off the other to Mackey before shaking out her hands to increase the blood flow.
"Where's my baby?" Mackenzie questions noting she didn't have Hani's carrier around her neck.
She chugs on her water, feeling absolutely parched, "he's been a menace all night," Lily answers tiredly.
Mackey pouts beside her before they were off to the employee lounge. Her brows perk up as a beautiful brunette strides into the room. Her crisp suit only made Lily's breathing labored thinking about the only woman that could pull off the outfit.
"That's Alex Whittaker," Alyssa mumbles under her breath. "That's her married name. She used to go by Alex Bannister."
"William's sister?" Lily hums, masking her flooding thoughts of a certain brunette with dazzling cocoa orbs. Her brows furrowed, "you mean the prime minister's daughter?"
"What's she doing here?" Mackey queries taking the words right out of Lily's mouth.
Alyssa turns her back towards Alex leaning into their little group, "she's auditing the hospital. Normal budgeting," she informs.
"Budgeting?" Mackenzie puzzled worriedly, "last year, we've already lost Dr. Hamilton because of that. We couldn't afford him," she hisses gesturing her charade of air quotes.
Alyssa wiggles her brows before Lily had her first sip of coffee. The intense brew sending a rush down to her toes, "well, then we better be on our best behavior," she enunciates before they tapped their paper cups together.
As she walked into her first patient's room, Lily had her hair pulled back into a messy bun with a rainbow scrunchy that had little bells. One of her previous patients was raising money for her cheer squad and Lily had bought one for all the women in the hospital. The poor little cheerleader had to sit out for the tournament in San Francisco but she still attended. Once in a while her patients would see her in the store and gleam up at her. She loved children with all her heart and seeing their smiles was everything.
Throughout her day, she was fortunate enough to avoid the auditors that had the whole hospital in a buzz. All she needed to do was get by one more patient with a shoulder injury during his rugby game.
Lily approaches the room with her patient's chart in hand before serving a series of knocks. She toggles open the door and her heart squeezed tightly in her chest. The same auditor she was avoiding stood next to a disgruntled teen, holding his bandage arm.
"I told you I want to play," the teen, Carter Whittaker hissed through his teeth.
The brunette rolled her eyes before plastering a fake smile that didn't reach her eyes. She clears her throat as Lily stood frozen. She taps her toes irritatedly on the floor, "well, are you going to stand there or...."
That seemed to get Lily's attention as she steps forward with her chart, "apologies," she mumbles. She turns to the teen that was nearing puberty with a small stumble of hair on his chin, "Carter, I'm Dr. Spencer," she introduces.
The deflated teen flooded with embarrassment under who Lily presumes is his mother, a young mother at that. He flicks his wrist with a little wave before Lily places her chart down and grabs her stethoscope.
"Could you tell me how you hurt your shoulder?" Lily begins listening attentively as Carter retells every detail. She grimace when the teen relays that he literally collided with another teen that was bulkier than him. He was totally wrecked after being slammed on his head.
"Do you feel woozy?" Lily asks tenderly flashing her light in his eyes receiving a shake of his head. "Good, I would like to take X-rays on your shoulder to see the damages. Rugby is no joke," she jests causing Carter's lopsided grin.
Carter chuckles loudly while his mother stood by in silence, "my mother doesn't want me playing," he murmurs under his breath, seething at said woman.
Lily glances to the woman wearing a menacing glare before squeezing Carter's hand, "mother's only want what's best for their child," she gleams creating a ghost smile across Carter's face. "Anyways, the nurse will take you up-"
"Can I go with him?"
She whips her head to the worried woman, trying to decipher if the woman was testing her or if she was serious. Lily hums softly, "apologies, he will go alone with the nurse," she replies softly.
Lily had opened the door as the mother and son dual stare each other down. She waves down the nurse before Carter walks out for his examination. She spins around, closing the door behind, "it's just a scan."
Alex Whittaker huffs annoyed, "he has his father's spirit," she sneers. "Always going against me, if you haven't noticed."
"Obviously," Lily enunciated before sinking into the rolling stool. "But if it makes you feel better, I don't think it's surgically necessary. It may be a tear, a subtle one but something that could heal over time," she assures.
"And that's suppose to make this feel better?" Alex mutters, flailing her arms dramatically. "Do you have kids Dr. Spencer?"
She shakes her head, baffled by the woman's outrage, "I-I don't-"
"Then you won't understand," the brunette snaps. "That boy is my life," Alex points at the door.
"Children is my life," Lily interjects, raising her voice. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't take my job seriously. I may not have my own but I do care for people's sons, daughters, worlds, life, everything. That's why I am who I am."
The woman looked surprised as she stared at Lily. She shouldn't have snapped but the woman shouldn't judge either.
Lily crossed her arms in defiance, "Carter's strong and he's inferior. He has a fighting spirit and he is who you raised him to be. You've raised a beautiful son and he will be fine because I will help him recover. Let's not overthink and wait for the X-rays," she insists.
The woman pursed her lips, contemplating Lily's words but she remained silent enough for Lily to return to her computer to insert her medical observations. She clenched her jaw cursing the overprotective mother with the natural sense to throw insults.
Before she was finished, Carter was escorted back to the room where Lily explained that the exams take a while to reach her hands. She excused herself after the dual nodded agreement to fetch the files from the radiologist. She held the film up towards the light, hoping she was right. And there it was in plain sight, the tear that could easily be healed over time.
When she walked into the exam room, Alex and Carter stood beside one another before Lily smiles.
"It's a bearable tear. Approximately less than half of the muscle. Give or take two days possibly three to start mending itself. But full recovery will take weeks," Lily exclaims holding the film out to the mother.
A sigh of relief released from Carter before tension could ease from Alex's scowl. She gave specific instructions to have Carter rest until the following weeks for full recovery before Lily bid the pair a good day. She was still livid about the woman before Lily found herself in the cafeteria for a much deserved cup of tea. But the wave of nausea hit her hard before she was pushing out her lunch in the toilet.
Something was changing and that freaked her out. This new sensation had her trembling at the restroom sink, erasing half her makeup before Lily noticed the slight pouch protruding from under her doctor's lab coat. She twisted to the side, noting the slight weight gain before Lily was out of the restroom to retrieve her belongings. It's been a helluva day and she just needed to know.
On her way home, Lily stopped by the pharmacy before grabbing a variety of tests right off the shell. With her brown paper package, she entered her car and rushed home. She flushed her system of hope to still herself from disappointment but the maternal nature of her kept prodding and she couldn't help the eagerness to know.
Did it actually work this time?
Only one way to find out as she took the package into her townhouse and skated towards the bathroom.