Choices

Chapter 10: Where Were We?

"So I guess these next three days make up for my three day suspension." Dean says as he places his case file onto the table in the cafeteria across from me. He takes a seat and crosses his hands against the table before placing his head on it.

"Don't beat yourself up about it." I try to make him feel better but it clearly isn't working. "On your first day here I just got back from my three day suspension." He picks his head up and gives me a curious look. "I lost a patient. I literally lost him then lied to the cops and said he was in C.T. when he wasn't." He let's out a soft laugh and I smile, at least I got him to laugh. His eyes move from me to behind me and they widen in shock.

"Jamie is here." He whispers and I spin around to see Jamie standing at the doorway. She's wearing a pair of blue jeans and a dark green hoodie, her hair is pulled up and she has dark circles under her eyes. She looks like a mess, almost like a drug addict going through withdrawals. Her grey eyes meet mine and she nudges her head towards the direction of the door. All eyes are on her and James sits at his table amongst his radiology buddies with a sinister smirk on his face. He really is an asshole, I'm beginning to understand why Jamie punched him in the face.

"I will be back." I tell Dean and he nods before throwing Jamie a smile and a wave. "What's going on?" I whisper as she grips my arm when I get closer to her and pulls me out the cafeteria.

"We have a problem." She says as she looks around to see if anyone is listening to our conversation. "James called yesterday and told me that if I don't hand in my resignation letter then he's going to the Chief with information on Lucas Parker." My eyes widen in shock and she crosses her arms against her chest. "Madison, we could get fired for that." She stresses her last words and she didn't have to because I know how terrible this all sounds.

"I'm going to fix it. Go home and come back tomorrow for this retreat, I will find a way to clear this up." I am making empty promises to Jamie because I know that if James takes this to the Chief then there is no way out for the two of us. He's father can get him out of anything and he makes sure that the two of us know that.

"Madison, I'm scared." I've never seen Jamie like this before. She's not one to break easily, so for her to be in this state it means that she really is terrified.

"Calm down. I will make sure nothing happens to you." I wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her into my embrace. She wraps her arms around me and her tears fall onto my shoulder as she shakes in my hold. I need to find a way to fix this because to see Jamie like this isn't a good sight.

"James." I call out as I walk over to his table. His buddies give me a weird look as I stand over their table with my balled up fists. Jamie left over five minutes ago and I've been pacing the hallway thinking of ways to help Jamie out. "I need to talk to you." He stands to his feet, he doesn't argue or question me and I'm glad because I can't afford another suspension.

He follows me down the hall to the residents locker room and I take a step to the side to allow him to walk in. When I step inside I shut the door behind me and make a point of locking it. He takes a seat on the bench and gives me a confused look. "How's Jamie?" The sarcasm is evident in his tone. He knows exactly how she is, he's taunting me with his words.

"She's fine." I keep my answers short and my anger at bay. "I don't think you know this but Craig Peterson is my uncle." His eyes widen in shock and I didn't expect him to know. The only reason why Jamie knows is because she was around when Peterson was talking about me coming over to visit. Other than that the other residents know nothing about Peterson and I being related and I like to keep it that way. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. "You need to quit bulling Jamie, this isn't elementary school and if you don't, I'll be talking to my uncle about you black mailing Jamie and forcing her to not come back to work." He rolls his eyes at my words.

"You forget that I know that you and Jamie helped that criminal Lucas Parker escape. Imagine Peterson's surprise when he finds out that his own niece was involved in helping a criminal escape." I walk over to him and crouch down as I place my hands on his knees.

"I don't know what you're talking about but if you don't stop harassing Jamie Black, I will personally go to the Chief myself and tell him that on Saturday morning I saw you walking out of the General ward with Lucas Parker and seeing that I'm sleeping with him he won't have a problem with confirming that with the Chief. See you might have seen me but you didn't see me doing anything illegal and I know for a fact that you weren't working that Saturday, you were lurking the halls of this hospital like someone who's up to something and I'm sure CCTV will confirm that." His eyes widen in shock and I give him a pat on the knee. "Now it's none of my business as to why you were here or not but I'm sure that if I spin this story to the Chief, not even your father will be able to bail you out. Considering the fact that I am Peterson's niece and he holds a spot on the board, who's more likely between the two of us to be kicked out." I stand to my feet and he grips my wrist in his hand as he stands to his feet. His hold on me is tight and it hurts but I'm not going to show him that I am in pain, because I've been told one too many times how stubborn I can be.

"You're a real bitch." He says through gritted teeth and I spin around to face him, we're practically nose to nose.

"You have no idea what type of a s**t storm I can throw your way if you ever mess with Jamie Black again." I throw my best glare at him. "Now get your hands off me before I take you down to HR and have your ass kicked out of here for harassment." I rip my wrist from his hold and spin around.

"You don't know who you're messing with." He says as I unlock the door and I turn around to give him a smile.

"No, you don't know who you're messing with." I pull open the door as I step out and slam it shut behind me. The last thing I see is James Lawson standing in the middle of the residents locker room with a dumbstruck look on his face. I walk down the hall and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, this better work for mine and Jamie’s sake.

"You weren't answering my texts." That's the first thing Lucas says when I call him back. Today was a hectic day, between James and the number of patients we had, I barely had time to even look at my phone. I push open the door to the apartment with my phone pressed in between my shoulder and ear.

"I was busy." I walk in and shut the door behind me with a smile on my face. My smile instantly drops when I see Lucas sitting on the couch with his feet crossed on the coffee table and his phone pressed to his ear. He offers me a smirk as he cuts the call and throws his phone onto the couch before standing to his feet.

"What are you doing here?" I ask as I throw my keys and watch onto the table beside the door.

"I came to see you." He walks over to me with a charming smile and snakes his arm around him waist before pulling me to him.

"You could have called or texted first." I roll my eyes as he brushes his lips against mine.

"I did, but you were busy." He teases. "Zak came over to help Drake out with his suit for his dinner tonight, so I tagged along." He's wearing a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt, his hair is pulled back and he looks like he didn't go to work today. I guess that's how it is when you're the boss.

"Oh s**t, his dinner is tonight?" It's less of a dinner and more of a celebration because Drake made Captain a few weeks back, it's more of a prize giving dinner.

"Yeah, Zak is going with him." He did say his friend was going with him when I offered. Luckily, he didn't agree for me to go with him because I am dead tired and I have to pack for my three day holiday at the hospital. I pull away from him with a smile and take his hand in mine as I lead him down the hall to my bedroom. He's been here before but it feels weird have him in my bedroom.

He shuts the door behind him and I throw my purse onto my desk before turning around to face him. "So you're just going to hang around here until then?" He strides over to my bed and makes himself quite comfortable as he rearranges the pillows and throws his feet up.

"That's the plan. Unless you have other ideas." He throws me a boyish grin and I roll my eyes.

"I may have a few ideas." I say as I walk over to the bed and climb onto his lap. His hands find my waist and he leans his head back with a raised brow. I find it hard to believe that him and I just met two weeks ago, we seem too comfortable for people who met two weeks ago.

"I do like this idea." He says with a smirk and rolls me over so that I am on my back and he is on top of me, in between my legs. "But, I like this one better." His lips cover mine.

His lips brush against mine as my hands move to his shoulders and he moans against my lips when I bite his lip. His phone buzzes in his pocket and he let's out a groan before completely ignoring it and moving his mouth back to mine. I laugh against his lips as my fingers reach into the back pocket of his jeans and I pull out his buzzing phone. I pull away from him and he gives me a questioning look.

"Answer your phone." I thrust it between us and he takes it from me as I shove him off me and roll off the bed.

"Luke." Zak yells from outside of my door and I give him a wide eyed look as he presses his phone to his ear. "Man, Madison isn’t here. Quit looking through her underwear." Lucas rolls his eyes and I make my way over to the door before pulling it open.

Both Drake and Zak stand out there laughing, they are both dressed in their suits and look amazing. Their expressions drop when their eyes meet mine and I give them a smile. "Hello boys."

"Madison, hey." Zak sheepishly greets and Drake gives me a confused look.

"When did you get home?" He asks and before I can answer him he speaks again. "Where's Luke?" I pull open the door to give them a better view of Lucas, who's sitting on my bed with his phone to his ear. Drake gives me his older brother look and I know exactly what's coming next. "Keep this door open." He says and I roll my eyes at his words.

"You're headed to your dinner?" I ignore his orders and he nods.

"Brooke is not home, she will probably be back later." I can see the anger in his eyes when he mentions Brooke, he really dislikes Ethan. I don't blame him though, he barely knows anything about him and he is Brooke's brother. It's his job to worry.

"Have fun." I give him a smile and Zak eyes Lucas before moving his eyes back to me.

"Luke, we need the keys." Zak shouts as Lucas cuts the call before throwing his phone onto my bed. He grabs his keys from his pocket and throws it to Zak at the doorway, he catches it in one swift movement and gives Drake an excited grin.

"One scratch on my baby and I will kill the two of you with my bare hands. No eating in my car, she doesn't like dirt." He warns and I can't help but let out a soft laugh.

"We won't." Zak says and Drake nods. "We're going, don't do anything I wouldn't do." Zak throws a wink in my direction and Drake gives me a warning look. Lucas flashes him the finger as I close the door behind me and turn around to give him a questioning look.

"Your baby?" I tease and he rolls his eyes as I walk over to him.

"She is, she's very special to me." He whispers as he pulls me over to him and rolls us over so that I'm back onto my back and he is hovering over me. "Where were we?" He whispers before he crashes his mouth against mine.