When I woke, I momentarily forgot where I was. Remembering, I rolled over with a mischievous smile on my face and tucked myself against Harry's sleeping body. I gave him little love nips on his neck and chin until I heard a slight grumble from his chest, causing me to giggle.
"Wake up," I said softly. "Daylight's burning."
With that he rolled towards me and engulfed me in those long arms of his, pressing me into his tattoo-laden skin. "Uh-uh," he mumbled. "I just want to stay here all day."
"Suit yourself, lazy bones," I teased him. "You only have seven hours before you have to work. You can either spend it with me or you can sleep the day away."
"Why can't I do both?" He said, whining a little.
"Because I can't sleep anymore," I announced and I moved to get out of bed, but he grabbed my elbow and yanked me back to himself.
"Where do you think you're going?" He said, smirking. He pulled me in tighter and kissed me soundly. "I love you," he murmured against my mouth.
"I love you, too. Now, let's get something to eat. I'm starved!"
After breakfast and showers, Harry said, "I propose-"
I interrupted him, laughing, "Already?"
He pulled me against him in what I thought was going to be a tender hug, but instead, he placed his hand over my mouth firmly and said, "Let me finish." And he left his hand there, while he spoke. "I propose two things: One, we should change your shift back to nights, if you want to, that is. Two, I want you to meet my parents."
When he let go of his hold over my mouth, I said, "I already met your parents."
"For what, ten minutes?" He asked. "No, I mean, you know-" Suddenly he returned to that shy version of Dr. Styles I knew a few months ago. "I mean, I want you to come to my parents house and get to know them. And I want them to get to know you."
"Ahhh," I said, nodding my head. "That sounds like a good idea. I don't know about switching my shift, though. Baxter is no picnic. She practically bit my head off at my interview." I laughed, remembering how nervous I was.
"Oh, so that's why you looked so shaken up when I saw you for the first time," he chuckled.
"Did I look that bad?" I asked in horror.
"I thought you were beautiful," he smiled warmly. "But definitely shaken. Don't worry, pretty much everyone looks like that after talking to Baxter. She can be a bear; I'll talk to her if you'd like."
"No," I waved him off. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."
When I finally went back to my own apartment, I felt like I hadn't been there in ages when, in reality, it had only been a few days. From the exhausting emotions of Thomas's funeral to Harry and I finally saying I love you, it felt like it could have been a month with all that happened. And then there was last night. Oh, last night. I closed my eyes and relived it many times.
What's strange is that, after the Dale fiasco, I had always thought I would wait to have sex again until I was married to Mr. Right. Even though I was the one who broke up with Dale, it was still a challenge since we had that physical connection, but I never regretted breaking up. I just didn't want to have an endless string of sexual relationships, only to have them end uncomfortably. I felt like something would be lost if that happened, giving more and more of myself away before giving myself to the person who truly deserved it, a man who was committed to me forever. So last night was unexpected for me. Harry and I hadn't talked about sex since that heated makeout we'd had in the back seat of his car. Last night, I felt like I caught a glimpse of my husband, the someone with whom I'd spend my life. Not exactly the best reason to chuck my convictions out the window, but it was done and I wouldn't take it back for anything. If we had truly taken things slower, like I said I wanted, we would have had time to discuss all of these things. But as it was, the past weekend seemed to usher us into an entirely new phase of our relationship, which neither of was quite expecting, but both of us welcomed wholeheartedly.
The following morning, it was my turn to work. Harry had purposely waited for me so that he could greet me in his office; by greet, I mean dipping me over his arm and kissing me heavily. "Harry," I huffed out a laugh. "This is totally inappropriate at work."
He kissed me again, running his tongue along my lower lip, but I resisted, knowing I had to clock in. "I don't care about inappropriate."
"Clearly not," I said, my chest vibrating with laughter. I pulled away and said, "I have to work. And by the looks of it, you have to sleep."
He nodded wearily, and then he reminded me, "Don't forget to talk to Ms. Baxter. It will make things so much easier if we're on the same shift again."
"Harry, I honestly think she'll fire me," I argued. "I don't want to be that employee, feeling entitled just because I'm dating some hot-shit head of the ER department."
He laughed, his belly vibrating against me. "Are you sure you don't want me to talk to her?"
"No," I reiterated. "I'm a big girl. But if she does fire me, then you'll be solely responsible for finding me a new job. You even have to go to my interviews," I teased.
"No problem. Or you can just stay home and live like a queen in my penthouse. I'll buy you anything you could ever want or need."
I rolled my eyes. "Like that would be satisfying for someone like me. Have you met me? I thrive here. I love this job!"
Still, it was worth it for me to just find out if it was even a possibility to switch back to nights. I'd give anything not to have to speak to that woman, but I promised Harry I would at least ask, and I was confident when he assured me that Baxter wouldn't fire me. When my lunch break came around, I took the opportunity to go to her office.
"Good morning, Ms. Baxter," I said cheerfully as I knocked on her partially open door.
She spun around in her chair and made no attempt to smile at me. "What do you want?"
"I was wondering if there's any possibility - I mean, I know this is inconvenient - but is there a way for me to get my old shift back?"
She pushed her reading glasses up onto her coarse gray hair and she glared at me. "What kind of game are you playing?" She spat.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean," I stuttered. "I just think I was doing better on the night shift. It turned out days weren't my forté."
She stood up swiftly and spoke with force. "Ms. Jansen. You are required to do the best possible job at any time, day or night! It does not matter which shift you think is best for you."
I nodded and swallowed hard as she continued. "I will not have you and Dr. Styles, a highly esteemed doctor in this establishment, playing house. Absolutely not. I'm not going to switch your shifts again, and I expect you to do your very best on your current shift, whether you like it or not."
"Yes, ma'am, I completely understand," I said and quickly left her office. Why did she have to be such a bitch? She could have easily just said no without dragging my relationship with Harry into it.
He had looked into the actual hospital policy, and we weren't forbidden to date co-workers, which was an obvious relief for both of us. But it was clearly stated that if the relationship began to affect our work and our professionalism, it would be grounds for termination. Maybe Baxter just thought she was doing us a favor by keeping us separated, as if were were middle school kids who couldn't control our raging hormones.
I texted Harry before my break was over.
Baxter said no :(
I assumed he would still be sleeping, but he sent a message right back.
Sorry :( We can work around it. We still work mainly on the same days. We'll see each other on days off.
That was true, and it wasn't as if Harry and I planned on spending time together at work anyway. And I knew he needed time to work on the ER addition. But with us working opposite shifts around the clock, it would definitely present a challenge to our relationship.
* * * * *
Obviously, this was a short chapter. I just wanted to post a little bit and let you know I'm still working on the story. I was just a little emotionally exhausted after the last few chapters.