His Army Doctor

For Now

Delilah woke up to the morning sunshine gleaming in from behind the blinds. Unexpectedly, Tobias was still sleeping beside her with his arm holding her to his chest. She still wasn’t sure what to think about last night, but waking up together like this and discussing it was just too embarrassing to think about. She quietly got up and tiptoed into the kitchen. The sun had just barely come up over the ocean creating a beautiful scenery of rays of light reflecting on the calm blue water. She had always been a morning person. She liked to be up by sunrise. She didn’t want to miss anything. Plus, she was someone who appreciated the quiet and stillness of early morning before everyone else got busy about their day. She was still wearing her tank top and jogging pants. She didn’t want to wake Tobias by being loud getting dressed. 

She curiously familiarized herself with the kitchen to see what supplies were available for breakfast. She found some eggs and peppers along with pancake mix. She fried up some omelets and fluffy pancakes. She wasn’t much of a coffee drinker as she found her energy each day in her motivation to find Daniel, but she put on a pot of coffee as she had noticed Tobias drank it every morning. She had finished up the last pancake when Tobias came walking into the kitchen. He was still shirtless. Good heavens, his chest looked even better in the daylight. His dark hair was messy which was a rare sight for the normally well composed, clean cut general. This man just rolled out of bed and he looks like he just walked out of a bowflex commercial. She nearly dropped the skillet with the pancake. 

“You made breakfast?” Tobias asked clearly not noticing her intense staring. Thank goodness.

“Uh, yeah. Pancakes and omelets. Oh and coffee,” mumbled Delilah trying to focus back on the food.  

Tobias nodded as he sat down on the bar stool as she put his plate in front of him. Delilah sat down beside him at the bar with her food and began to eat. They ate quietly for most of the meal. Maybe Tobias felt just as awkward about sleeping in the same bed as she had. 

“What did you put in the pancakes?” asked Tobias.

Delilah was caught a little off guard, “Uhm, other than the mix I just added cinnamon and vanilla. Sorry I forget that some people don’t like that.” 

Tobias licked a drop of syrup off his thumb. “No, I like it. They’re the best pancakes I’ve ever had.” 

Delilah grinned a little bit under her napkin as she wiped her mouth. She didn’t get to cook for people often. It was nice to be complimented on something that was actually womanly and not her skills as a doctor. 

“Thanks,” she muttered as she blushed in embarrassment. “When are we leaving?” she asked, changing the subject.

Tobias took his last bite and continued to look down at his plate. “I’ll be leaving in just a minute. Chloe and Dr. Aldridge will be here soon to watch after you. I’ll leave my direct number at the camp. You can call me if you need anything.”

Delilah dropped her fork loudly. “What? We had a deal! I have to go with you!” 

Tobias stood up and carried his plate to the sink ignoring her protests. 

“Tobias! Are you deaf? We had a deal! Answer me!” Delilah yelled as she followed him into the kitchen blocking him from leaving.

Tobias turned around to face her with a heavy sigh. “Delilah, you just woke up yesterday. You can barely yell at me because you’re still so hoarse. You coughed your head off half the night. And I still don’t know what color your skin is because you're still covered in bruises.” Delilah looked down at her arms and chest and realized he was right. She still looked terrible. She made a mental note to keep a jacket on from now on. 

“You can go with me when you’ve recovered, Delilah. I’m not arguing about this.”

Tobias left the kitchen and went and got dressed quickly. While Tobias was getting dressed Dr. Aldridge and Chloe had arrived. Delilah offered them breakfast which Dr. Aldridge politely declined. Chloe on the other hand was eager to try Delilah’s cooking. Dr. Aldridge examined her from head to toe and carefully listened to her lungs while Chloe ate away.

“You sound much better today. Keep taking the antibiotics and those lungs should clear up soon. You should probably take it easy today and just rest.” Not that she had any say so in the matter.

Delilah nodded as she then noticed Tobias shadow leaning against the wall in the corner. He looked a little pleased to hear someone other than himself tell Delilah that she needed to stay home. 

Tobias cleared his throat as he stepped forward. “Thank you, Dr. Aldridge. Chloe will be accompanying you today Delilah. Stay here. Don’t leave the house.” said Tobias with a stern voice. Chloe cowered with fear after hearing that warning. However, Delilah had begun to see another side of Tobias. He wasn’t as cold and menacing as he wanted people to think. He really didn’t scare her anymore. However, she didn’t have the energy to protest so she simply nodded and crossed her arms as she slumped on the couch avoiding his stare. It was obvious that if she wanted any chance of continuing her investigation at the army camp, she would have to play by his rules, at least for now.