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i.
“You should really see a doctor.”
Colin turned around to find John looking expectantly at him, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against a closed locker.
“See a doctor for what?” He asked, feigning innocence, hoping John would drop it.
“Your shoulder.”
Ah. Guess it wouldn’t be the case then. Colin tried not to grimace at the reminder. He was a firm believer of mind over matter and he had almost forgotten about the pain (mostly, at least while he was cleaning the appliance floor earlier and doing some admin work) but there were those moments too that reminded him of the dull ache - when he grabbed the salt from the cupboard, being asked to carry the empty SBDAs towards the storage room. It started hurting after they got back from that call where he literally had to rescue a kitten from a tree. The little bugger didn’t make it easy and he must have pulled a muscles as he made attempts to capture the kitten all while trying not to fall off the ladder. He had hoped nobody noticed it but of course John did. His best mate always seemed to notice everything, which was a good thing when they were in burning buildings. He had saved Colin’s more times than the latter could count and sometimes, Colin thought that maybe he had used up the nine he was allotted.
The bad thing though about John noticing was that he would insist that Colin see a doctor soon or he would end up telling his own wife (Colin’s sister) about it and it would inevitably get to his mother and she’d fret and fuss, ask why he even decided to become a firefighter and probably send over the 8o year old family doctor to his flat. Seriously, that man should retire.
“I’m fine,” Colin said, trying not to wince as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder.
“I saw you with the hose earlier,” John pointed out. “It took you twice as long to roll that up after the incident. You’re usually so quick with it and you asked that newbie for help.”
“Maybe I’m just getting old,” Colin quipped, raising an eyebrow in challenge at John.
John rolled his eyes. “Seriously, mate. Get that shoulder checked out before it turns into something worse.”
It was an ominous warning to be sure but John and Colin had seen so much on the job, witnessed fellow firefighters who had to retire early because they were injured while in the line of duty. Some of it could have been avoided had they went to the doctor and Colin made a mental note to set up an appointment soon. He loved firefighting and didn’t want one stubborn shoulder pain to take that away.
In all honesty, he really meant to make that appointment except he completely forgot. He was so tired after shift that he popped a pain killer and passed out on the sofa while watching an old Doctor Who episode. By the time morning rolled by, he was feeling much better and making an appointment would have been a waste of time, both his and the doctor’s.
Besides, he was used to the pain. Sometimes that included getting minor cuts and bruises, first degree burns several times when he was new and missed to put on his gear properly. He was used to aching muscles growing more frequent after long shifts, especially when they had long calls or had to wash the appliance. He wasn’t lying when he told John he was getting older.
But as usual, John eyed him like a hawk during their next shift and immediately noticed how he was carrying his duffel bag on his other shoulder and possibly how he tried to hide the pain when his nephews dropped by to see appliance and he had to hoist them into the driver’s seat.
“I am taking you to the hospital myself,” John said, grabbing Colin by the back of his shirt after their shift had ended.
“I’m fine. I’m fine,” he whined, making attempts to get out of his brother-in-law’s death grip.
“Nope. I almost told Frannie about it last night,” John told him. “I don’t want this on my conscience any longer.”
“I’m fine,” he bit out once more time but it was no use. With a semi busted shoulder, he was no match for John.
And that was how Colin found himself in a bay at the A&E near the station. He glared at John as they waited for the doctor to make an appearance. A nurse had been by to get his blood pressure and ask him some basic questions but every minute that passed since then made him feel more agitated.
He hated hospitals, loathed needing to get a check up. It was rooted perhaps in the fact that when he was younger, he had to sit back and watch as his dad wilted away in a hospital bad, helpless.
He sighed. “That doctor isn’t going to make an appearance since this isn’t a medical emergency anyway. Let’s just go.”
“No,” John replied firmly. “We are not going anywhere until we’re sure that it’s nothing serious. It could be broken.”
“It’s not broken.”
“Let the doctor be the judge of that,” John said, crossing his arms over his chest, frowning at Colin. “You don’t have a medical degree.”
“Fine but -”
He was about to say that if the doctor didn’t make an appearance in ten seconds, he was going to run out of the emergency room and John could try to stop him but they both knew he was a faster runner.
The curtain parted to reveal a petite, auburn haired woman in light blue scrubs. She was followed by another woman of the same height with jet black hair tied in a low bun. This one was wearing pink scrubs and Colin thought she might be a nurse.
His eyes focused on the auburn haired woman. She had her hair in a plait, some loose pieces framing the side of her soft, round face. Her complexion was fair, cheeks tinged pink. She had a cute button nose. Colin decided right then that she was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He teased Benedict still whenever his brother waxed poetic about meeting his girlfriend and instantly knowing that she was the one but maybe his brother had been onto something, maybe love was like a thunderbolt - sudden, powerful, overwhelming.
She smiled softly in greeting and as they locked eyes, he felt it. That strike of lightning.
Wham.
“Hello,” she said, smiling even wider at him and by God, did she have the prettiest eyes he’d ever seen. “Sorry to keep you waiting. That last patient took a little longer than expected.”
“Oh, it was no trouble at all,” Colin said, grinning back at her. Did he mention her eyes were really pretty? Her smile was too. Like sunshine and lemonade, his favorite summer drink.
John snorted beside him, whispering lowly, “aren’t you glad I forced you to come here?”
Colin wanted to tell him to sod off or to go buy a coffee. Colin would pay so much money just so he could spend time alone with the lovely doctor. Well, okay, they wouldn’t be alone because there was that nurse trailing behind her but maybe he could ask the nurse if she wanted a cup of coffee too.
The doctor took the iPad from the nurse, reviewing her notes carefully. “It says here that you’re having some shoulder pain. Can you describe the pain for me? Is it frequent? More like pins and needles? A stabbing pain?”
“I, well, it’s mostly gone,” Colin said. It was in the moment. It was as if seeing her healed him but if he ever admitted that, everyone else in the room might think he was mad. John certainly wouldn’t ever let him live it down.
The doctor chuckled. “Yes, well, I think we should still have a look just to be sure.”
He nodded slowly. She could inspect him with her stethoscope all she wanted.
“I’ll wait for you in the waiting room, then?”
Colin nearly forgot that John was still in the room. He glanced dumbly at his friend.
John clucked his tongue. “I’ll take that as a yes, honey bunch.”
Colin rolled his eyes at the nickname. It was something from years ago, a misheard greeting at a loud pub and simply stuck over the years. He grumbled back a response and watched as John made his exit, smirking as he disappeared. He glanced back at the doctor and noticed how her cheeks had a dust of freckles and how her lips were full.
Great for kissing, he mused.
Someone cleared their throat and he jerked back, trying to find the source of the noise. It turned out to the nurse, who looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh.
“Sorry, were you saying something?” Colin asked.
The doctor smiled at him once more. “I was asking where you got your injury.”
“I, er, I was trying to get a tabby cat out of a tree.”
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’m a firefighter,” he explained. “We got a call the other day about a kitten being stuck up in a tree. The ruddy little bugger wouldn’t budge so I had to lean further and I must have tweaked my shoulder as I was grabbing it from the branch. It is honestly so much better now.”
Thanks to you, he wanted to add.
“My goodness, I didn’t think those cat stuck in tree stories were true,” she teased, eyes twinkling with mirth.
“It doesn’t happen as often as you’d think, not like in cartoons. Usually, we get more calls of people being stuck in the elevator or their smoke alarms going off by accident,” he told her, finding himself so at ease with her so quickly, which should be strange since they just met. “Er, what about you? Do you see a lot of patients?”
She let out a tinkling bit of laugher that he could only describe as musical and he wanted so much to get to know her already. He had never felt this way about anyone before, never felt such strong of a connection instantly and he didn’t even know her name.
“Yes, lots of them today. The most random emergencies, some you might not even believe,” she said.
“We should trade stories sometime,” he offered, grinning widely at her.
Another round of throat clearing by the nurse.
“Right, well, we should get you checked out Mr. Bridgerton,” the doctor said as she stepped closer to him.
“Call me Colin, please.”
She eyed him curiously. “Would it be okay for you to remove your shirt? Just so I can see if there’s any bruising in the area.”
He nodded, pulling his shirt off his head in one swoop. He saw her eyes trail down to the scar on his upper abdomen. It was a souvenir from a house fire three years ago. She glanced back up at his face, smiling softly before she walked behind him. She put on a pair of gloves, fingers lightly pressing on his back, right by his left shoulder.
“Does it hurt?”
“No.”
“How about here?”
He winced. “A little.”
“Can you lift your arm for me?” She requested. “As high up you can without it hurting.”
He did as he was told, raising his left arm just about his ear, right before he felt some sharp pain.
“Does it hurt often?” The doctor inquired.
Colin shook his head before admitting, “only when I exert myself. The pain’s like on a level of seven out of ten but otherwise, it’s been manageable.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s broken. You might have just pulled a muscle and will probably need a few days of rest - no exercise or other strenuous activities -”
Colin opened his mouth and she chucked again.
“Yes, I recall you’re a firefighter, Mr. Bridgerton. Maybe no running into burning buildings for a few days, just until the pain subsided. I also recommend that you get an x-ray to be sure. Nurse Li will help you schedule one. I’ll prescribe something for the pain for now. ”
Colin glanced at her. “Will you call me for the results? I can leave you my number.”
She shook her head as she took off her gloves. “The radiologist will take care of that but in the meantime, if you feel like the pain is increasing, you can come by again.”
“Will you be here?”
Her eyes widened and he could see a blush blooming on her cheeks. “Oh, I-”
“Dr. Featherington?” A nurse called out, popping her head through the curtain. “Dr. Sharma is requesting for your assistance in bay four if you’re done.”
“Right, of course. Mr. Bridgerton, Nurse Li will have your prescription prepared and you can get it from the pharmacy in 30 minutes. Have a good day.”
He blinked, wondering what had just happened. One moment they were talking and the next, she had another emergency to attend to. Well, at least he got a part of her name.
Dr. Featherington.
He smiled to himself as he pulled his shirt back on, already thinking of ways to show up at A&E again one of these days. What would they consider enough of a a medical emergency for them to entertain him again, he wondered.
ii.
“Ugh. Men on Tinder suck,” Edwina said as she showed Penelope and Posy the last message she received from a man she was chatting with.
Posy wretched. “Send nudes? What the fuck.”
“That’s not all,” Edwina told them as she scrolled up.
Posy let out a shriek and Penelope averted her eyes. The guy had sent Edwina several dick pics and to be honest, it left a lot to be desired.
“Horrible,” Penelope said as they grabbed their coffees from a cart outside the hospital. It was a nice day. The sun was shining and surprisingly, it hadn’t rained in London in three days.
“What happened to that guy you were seeing, Pen?” Posy asked as she stabbed the top of her coffee cup with a plastic straw, taking a long sip of her iced vanilla almond latte/
“Which one?” Penelope asked, letting out a hollow laugh. There had been a lot of guys but none of them ever stuck around long enough to introduce to her friends.
“The research scientist or something?”
“Oh, he took a three year fully funded grant to Antarctica,” Penelope replied as she took a sip of her coffee, enjoying the sweet taste from the cream top. “He sent me a text telling me all this and I guess that was a goodbye text too? He wished me well so maybe it was also a break up text? You know that passive aggressive type bullshit like oh, it’s not you, it’s me and it’s this job I love and I don’t want to do long distance now. Have a good life. If you can wait three years for me, happy to pick up where we left off. No thank you. I’d rather be single.”
“Ugh. Men,” Edwina said. “Where are all the good ones?”
“Not on Tinder,” Posy replied. “I told you we should go clubbing on our day off!”
Penelope would rather sleep than go clubbing. She needed to clean her flat, do laundry, buy groceries, catch up on reading and all that. Going out to a noisy club where sweaty bodies rubbed against each other like some ritualistic mating call was not her thing. She preferred cozy coffee shop or public libraries.
“Posy, just because your sister met her boyfriend at some random club on Halloween, doesn’t mean it happens all the time,” Edwina pointed out. “Sophie’s probably the 0.0001%. A clear exception to the rule.”
Posy looked down at her drink glumly. “I know that. I was just thinking it would be fun to blow off some steam.”
“The club’s not the best place to find love,” Penelope said.
“Maybe for you the hospital would be more apt,” Posy replied, grinning cheekily at Penelope. “That cute firefighter looked so smitten with you. He barely remembered I was there too and he tried getting your number.”
She felt her cheeks begin to redden at that chance encounter with the handsome firefighter. He was younger than most firefighters she encountered at the hospital. Typically, they came in after incidents that involved fires and had minor smoke inhalation. He must work at a station nearby but she had never seen him before. Posy was making something out of nothing though. He was just trying to be nice.
“He didn’t try to get my number,” Penelope corrected. “He simply wanted to leave his number for the x-ray results.”
“Pen, for someone so smart, you can be so dense. He was looking at you like you were the sun,” Posy told her.
“What is this?” Edwina questioned loudly. “When was this?”
Penelope shrugged, taking another sip of her coffee. “Three days ago?”
“What? You mean while I was treating those university students who had alcohol poisoning and puked on my new trainers, you were treating a hot firefighter? That is so unfair. Why did I have to get saddled with the vomiters?” Edwina whined, pouting for good measure.
“Probably because Agatha hates you,” Posy joked.
“Nurse Danbury hates everyone,” Edwina reasoned. “I bought her coffee last shift and all she did was stare blankly back at me.”
“She doesn’t drink coffee. Her weakness is regency romance books,” Penelope let slip. She had forged a bond with the old head nurse, enough that she didn’t send vomiters and patients with terrible rashes Penelope’s way anymore. She also made sure to buy the old nurse paperback copies of the most torrid, outrageous romances she could find at the second hand bookshop she frequented after she caught the nurse reading once in the break room. “Besides, nothing happened with the firefighter. He was sweet and made small talk but I think he has a partner. He came in with another man. They were both handsome, weren’t they, Posy?”
Penelope wasn’t sure but she did hear the other man refer to Colin as ‘honey bunch’. That was a pet name, wasn’t it?
Edwina deflated at that. “Ugh. Why do all the handsome ones play for the same team?”
“Mercury retrograde,” Posy said sagely, draining her coffee cup. “I’m going to need one more to get me through this grueling shift. That and the promise of future clubbing with sustain me.”
Penelope and Edwina both groaned. Clearly, Posy wasn’t going to let this go.
“Posy, how about Ed buy you one more coffee and I’ll host a girls night in this Saturday when we’re all off? We’ll order pizza, watch romcoms, paint our nails. It’ll be great. I’ll even make you a playlist filled with club hits,” Penelope offered, grinning widely as she placed an arm over Posy’s shoulder.
Posy tilted her head to the side, considering it. “Throw in a back-to-back showing of The Notebook and La La Land and you have a deal. Ryan Gosling is so fit.”
“He is and hey, at least this shift will be over in five hours. Let’s hope it’ll be a quiet one,” Edwina remarked, eyebrows furrowing at the looks of horror on Penelope and Posy’s faces. “What?”
“You jinxed it.” Penelope groaned, placing her head in her hands. “We never, ever, ever say it’s going to be a quiet one.”
“Because it ends up being the absolute worst shift ever,” Posy added.
“Nightmare,” Penelope supplemented. “A huge fucking nightmare.”
Edwina scoffed. “That can’t be true.”
“Trust me, Ed,” Penelope muttered darkly. “It’s a curse.”
Penelope had made that same mistake only last year when she uttered those same words of having a quiet shift, only to have a bus load of tourists end up in the emergency room due to food poisoning (she never looked at oysters the same again.) Once, the other resident announced proudly that in exactly an hour his shift was about to end and it had been the most peaceful one. The resident was met with five back to back to back cases of children with high fevers that turned out to be something viral that was going around at a nearby playground. The resident got sick too, caught the same virus as the kids two days later.
And as if to demonstrate her point, siren wails began to permeate the air, loud and jarring. Penelope’s pager went off and beside her, so did Edwina’s. Posy was getting several text messages in rapid succession, causing her to groan.
“Massive car accident involving multiple vehicles and victims,” she read.
“Let’s go then,” Penelope said, finishing the last of her coffee and wishing she had ordered a triple shot.
Car accidents were infrequent, thankfully, but when they came in it was always chaotic and slightly disorienting. It took her some time to get used to it - to all the blood, the yelling, triage was the worst. The first time she saw someone pass away in front of her, it took her days and an appointment with the hospital psychiatrist to get over it. Death was a difficult thing to witness but as a doctor, she knew she signed up for all aspects of medicine - the good, the bad and the ugly.
And she was right. It was a grueling two hours of jumping from patient to patient, making sure they were being treated properly based on their injuries and any symptoms they were presenting. A truck had plowed into several cars, including a few innocent bystanders and Penelope had spent a lot of her time treating minor wounds and making sure the patients didn’t have a concussion. She also had to assess which ones could be discharged and the ones that needed to be admitted for further observation.
By the time the last one had gone, all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and take a nap in the break room, chug a liter of pure, bitter black coffee or take a long, shot shower. Being a resident was hard, especially the 24 hour shifts but most days, it was worth it, worth living the dream she had been dreaming of since she was seven and got a doctor’s kit for Christmas from her aunt.
“Hey,” Posy greeted, smiling mysteriously at her. “Can you do one more?”
“You know I can never say no to you,” Penelope said, wrapping an arm around her friend’s shoulder. Posy was her favorite nurse at the hospital and over the last two years that they had become really good friends.
Posy handed her the iPad before ushering her into the bay, closing the curtains behind her. Penelope began to read the notes, frowning when she noticed how Posy missed to type in the patient’s name. It was odd. Posy was one of the best emergency department nurses and it was uncommon for her to forget something like this.
She glanced up, nearly dropping the iPad when she saw who was in front of her.
“We meet again, Dr. Featherington,” he said cheerfully. He was still in his turnout coat. It was unzipped so she could see the dark blue shirt underneath, matted with sweat like his hair, which was damp. He had soot on his face that she imagined might have came from entering a burning building.
He smiled at her, opening his mouth before wheezing then coughing loudly.
She immediately sprang into action, grabbing the near by oxygen mask and handing it to him. She twisted the valve of the oxygen tank, allowing it to flow through the tube.
“Take as many sips of air as you need,” she instructed, watching him carefully.
He nodded, inhaling deeply. He coughed again, lightly this time, she noted. And once he was fine, he took the mask off. She pulled her stethoscope from around around her neck and placed the buds in her ears and the chest piece against Colin’s chest.
“Take a deep breath,” she instructed, listening carefully for any signs that his lungs might be in distress.
He wheezed once more, taking a very deep, deliberate breath.
“One more time.”
Just to be sure.
He did it again and she sighed in relief.
“Lungs are clear. Can you tell me what happened?”
“House fire,” he began slowly, like he was still getting his bearings, “took me awhile to clear out the second floor - was looking for the youngest child. He’s only three. I found him hiding under the bed but my SDBA ran out as we were making our way out the front door. I handed him off to another firefighter in time but I guess I got a little bit unlucky. It happens.”
Penelope typed her notes onto the iPad. She could hardly look at him, terrified by what he had just described. She didn’t know what it was with the man but she felt close to him already. It made her think that maybe soul mates did exist because how else was she meant to describe something like this? It was as if the universe was telling her (or maybe her heart was) that this man could be the one she had been searching for.
Also, for some reason, whenever she asked him a question, he not only answered but he also described everything in vivid detail.
“You’re quite the storyteller,” she mentioned quietly, quickly shutting her mouth, lest she tell him that he was still handsome even if soot covered his face. She wondered if they made firefighter calendars in real life. She’d certainly buy one if he was in it.
She cleared her throat in an attempt to stop that particular train of thought from veering into sexual territory. It really didn’t help that she had already seen his bare chest, his bulging biceps and all.
“Thank you,” he said. “That’s nice of you to say.”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, changing the subject. “luckily for you, we just have to give you some more oxygen then you’re good to go.”
“I am very lucky indeed, Dr. Featherington because I get to see you again,” he told her, grinning widely that it made Penelope’s heart hammer in her chest. His green eyes had a hint of mischievousness in them, like he was enjoying making her blush and swoon, like he had mastered the art of flirting and was keen to show her all his previously acquired skills.
“I’ll have the nurse hook up another oxygen tank for you, Mr. Bridgerton. I think this one’s about empty.” she said.
“Call me Colin, please,” he requested again, “and maybe you can tell me your name?”
There was a certain hopefulness in his tone that made her want to get to know him more and it wasn’t a feeling that she felt so often. She had always been guarded around new people. She chalked that up to her childhood and upbringing, living in a house that wasn’t really filled with a lot of love. Hell, it took her five dates with the research scientist before she allowed him in her flat for a night cap and she had kept her distance from him so that he wouldn’t get any ideas.
“Let’s get you sorted out first, shall we?” She said, biting the inside of her cheek in a bad attempt not to smile when he pouted at her. A little more air of mystery didn’t hurt anyone.
“Come on now, Doc,” he drawled. “Put a man out of his mystery.”
She laughed when he pouted again, biting down on her lower lip. She’d had patients flirt with her before but he was different. It was like he genuinely was interested to know her name.
Before she could answer, the curtain was drawn open by another nurse and in came a woman, who was very much pregnant. She waddled into the bay, frowning when she laid eyes on him.
“Colin!”
Colin groaned, hanging his head. “Did John call you?’
“No, your sub-officer did. I am listed as your emergency contact,” the woman said, sighing as she reached him. She turned towards Penelope. “How is he, doctor?”
She smiled calmly at the other woman, hoping to help ease her nerves. She did look a bit frazzled, which couldn’t be good for the baby. “He just needs some oxygen. Maybe thirty minutes then we can discharge him and you can be on your way.”
“Oh, good,” the woman said, resting a hand on her belly. “I was really looking forward to a quiet, uneventful night.”
Penelope smiled again before turning around and walking out of the bay. She heard Colin whine, calling the other woman ‘Daff’. She wondered as she headed back to the nurse’s station if she had misread his cues. First, there was the man who had accompanied him that he thought was Colin’s partner but this time around, a pregnant woman showed up.
Was he married?
Was he simply talking to her and looking for a friend?
Was all the flirting only in her head?
iii.
When Colin said he was thinking of ways to see the doctor again - namely, figuring out what was an emergency that would allow him to sit in one of those bays (and twice he had), he didn’t mean for it to happen this way.
It was the usual Friday night dinner at Daphne’s. He was helping prepare the said dinner his very pregnant sister, who had cravings every five minutes, requested - green lasagna with garlic bread (like, loaded with garlic type of garlic bread), arugula and mushroom salad, potatoes au gratin and a well done steak.
He loved spending time with Daphne, catching up with his sister and her husband, getting to see the kids too. He wondered if he’d ever have something like this one day. The life of a bachelor wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
He was distracted by Amelia and Belinda, who ran into the kitchen in their princess outfits, asking him whether he liked them and thought they were pretty.
“Very lovely, Mia,” he said, grinning as Amelia twirled in her yellow, Belle inspired dress
“What about me?” Belinda demanded, hands settling on her hips as she glared at him.
Jesus. She was becoming more and more like his sister on a daily basis. A truly terrifying notion.
“You are the most beautiful Ariel I have ever seen,” Colin said, smiling at his niece.
She giggled, curtsying. “Thank you Uncle, Colin.”
He laughed loudly, blowing both his nieces kisses before going back to slicing the potatoes. In his haste, he had forgotten the guard and by the time he realized it, it was too late. He glanced down at the mandoline, at the red seeping through the blade.
“Mia,” he called out. “Mia, I’m going to need you to call your mum.”
Colin really didn’t do well with blood.
Thankfully, Simon had just gotten home and Daphne had determined by just taking one look at Colin that he needed to go to the emergency room. Colin agreed despite that earlier statement about hating hospitals. He didn’t bother to even look at his finger. He knew instantly that that cut was deep enough to warrant yet another visit to A&E.
He felt woozy, head spinning. He knew he was likely pale. He felt clammy and even if Daphne had wrapped his finger in a kitchen towel, he could still see a little blood staining the towel. He closed his eyes as his sister drove him to the hospital. His only request was to be driven to the St. James emergency room.
“Colin, that’s twenty minutes away!” Daphne said loudly. “You could bleed to death by then.”
“I am not going to bleed to death,” he replied weakly. “It’s not a gunshot or stab wound, Daff."
At least not before he managed to wheedle out Dr. Featherington’s name.
Oh that sweet, sweet silver lining.
He googled her but only came up with an obituary about one Archibald Featherington - not helpful at all. He thought about asking Hyacinth for some assistance. His youngest sister was freakishly good at finding information about people, especially the ones they wanted hidden (hello, 2013 university Christmas party photos - the same ones he thought he had erased every trace of.) But then Hyacinth might ask about who the doctor to him or worse, tell his mother about it and become the gossip for the remainder of the week or month. His family had that one bad habit. Okay, maybe two if he included meddling.
“Why do you want to go to that hospital?” Daphne wondered as she began to drive.
“Unfinished business.” He muttered, looking out the window to take his mind off his banged up finger. If he saw her, he was sure he’d forget about almost sacrificing his poor index finger to the gods of potatoes au gratin.
But when they got to the hospital and after several minutes of waiting in the bay (as the head nurse had determined Colin would live), the doctor that greeted them was not Dr. Featherington at all. Colin’s heart sank. Maybe tonight she was off duty?
“Colin? Daphne?”
Colin glanced up to find Edwina Sharma smiling at them. He didn’t know that Kate’s younger sister was a resident now. Last he saw her, she was still elbows deep in medical textbooks.
“Edwina?” Daphne said, walking over to the doctor and hugging her quickly. “I was about to ask what you’re doing here but I guess you’re rotating in A&E?”
“Yep. Been here for two months and you won’t believe the things I’ve seen,” Edwna replied.
“Does that include a mandoline related accident?” Colin asked mildly, holding up his finger wrapped in the kitchen towel.
He tried not to be disappointed. Edwina was nice but he had hoped that third time would be a charm and he didn’t fancy trying to get himself injured again via a mandoline - he was sure to avoid them for the foreseeable future.
Edwina chuckled. “Happens more often than you think. First step to avoiding it would be to use the guard.”
He rolled his eyes. “Haha. Yes, I’ll try to remember that.”
“Colin’s been getting into all sorts of trouble recently,” Daphne mentioned, glancing his way worriedly. “So much that he seems to have a penchant for this particular emergency room.”
“Really now? Not all kitchen related accidents, I hope?” Edwina teased.
Colin grumbled, wincing as Edwina removed the kitchen towel and began to examine the wound carefully with her gloved hands.
“Hazards of the job,” Colin muttered.
“Ah, yes, you’re a firefighter, aren’t you?”
He nodded, flinching when Edwina pinched a little too hard. She glanced up at him, looking rather excited, all big brown eyes and broad smile.
“Oh my God!”
Colin’s eyebrows furrowed. He wanted to ask her what had happened to require summoning the almighty. Was he about to lose his finger?
“Oh my God,” she repeated, comprehension dawning on her face, “you’re the hot firefighter?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Er, I beg your pardon?”
Edwina merely beamed at him before addressing the nurse that had slipped into the room with an iPad. “Nurse Cho, would you mind getting Penelope? I think this requires stitches and I might require her particular assistance.”
The nurse nodded. If he found her request odd, he didn’t let it show. He simply slipped back out of the room. A few minutes later, the curtain parted once more and she stepped in, reading something on the iPad.
“Hello,” she greeted as she looked up and it was as if he was meeting her that first time again. She had the same smile, except it faltered a little bit this time around when shock overtook her face.
He smiled goofily. Third time was indeed the charm. “It’s nice to meet you, Penelope.”
She blushed and Colin thought about how much he liked it when she did, hoping he’d get a chance to make her blush some more - you know, once he had the chance to ask her out on a proper date, preferably when he wasn’t bleeding and nearly passing out at the sight of blood.
Before the lovely doctor could speak, Edwina cleared her throat. “Oh, I think I just got a page from Nurse Danbury.”
She made a show of checking her pager, nodding seriously. “Yes, I see that I did. Dr. Livingston needs help in bay 5. Can you help to stitch him up, Dr. Featherington?”
“Of course,” Penelope said but Colin didn’t miss how she narrowed her eyes shrewdly at Edwina.
“Daphne, I think you should wait outside. There’s a vending machine in case you’re hungry and chairs of course - you shouldn’t be on your feet for long,” Edwina said and Colin could kiss her for it. Okay, that was perhaps the wrong thing to say. He didn’t want to kiss Edwina, maybe send her a lifetime supply of chocolates or coffee instead.
He did, however, find himself wanting to kiss one Dr. Penelope Featherington.
Pe-ne-lo-pe, he thought. It was a truly lovely name.
“So, that’s the reason why you wanted to come here?” Daphne asked, laughing softly as she shook her head.
He shrugged. “I think they take care of their patients very well.”
“Right, Col,” she replied as she rubbed her belly.
The doctor smiled as Daphne and Edwina exited the room. She put on a pair of gloves and examined his wound. “Just a few stitches I think.”
“The next time my pregnant sister asks for potatoes au gratin, I am not using a mandoline again. I don’t care if it doesn’t look perfect,” he told her.
She glanced up at him curiously. “Your sister?”
“Yes, my sister, Daphne. She’s expecting her third child. She drove me here.” He pointed towards the drawn curtains. ‘She has a lot of food cravings - last week it was cottage pie except she wanted it with that vegan meat substitute. When I made it two days ago, using the same recipe mind you, she absolutely hated it.”
“Oh, I thought, well, never mind what I thought,” she said before chuckling dryly to herself.
He angled his face so that he could get a better view of her own and it looked as if she was blushing again. It sent a thrill up his spine. He was itching to touch her cheek (maybe with the uninjured hand), to ask her whether she was free for coffee or breakfast or lunch or dinner. It didn’t matter anymore about the (literal) bloody finger.
He wasn’t all that picky.
He opened his mouth, about to ask what time she got off and whether he could buy her some coffee or tea when the nurse returned.
“Thank you, Nurse Cho,” she said as he handed her a syringe. “If you can also help to prepare a suture kit please prepare to assist?”
The nurse nodded once more before making his exit.
“I’m going to need to apply some anesthesia onto the area before I stitch you up,” she explained. “You should be in and out in less than an hour. The aftercare should be easy - just don’t get the area wet then in about a week’s time, you can come back to have the stitches removed.”
He couldn’t comprehend a word she was saying because he was solely focused on the way her lips moved - every curve, that lovely o shape as she spoke, how pink and plump they were. He wondered if her lip balm tasted like cherries or strawberries or something more exotic like figs or mangoes.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Penelope said, gazing intently at him.
No, he did not.
“Your eyes - they have flecks of gold in them,” he replied.
She jerked back in surprise, cheeks reddening. Perhaps it wasn’t the best time to say such things since she was holding a syringe with a very long, pointy needle and said long, pointy needle could end up jabbed into body parts it wasn’t meant to be jabbed into.
“Oh, I, er - never noticed,” she said, biting down on her bottom lip.
“Can I have your number?” He asked loudly.
“I - what?” She blinked at him, looked at him as if he grew an extra head. “You want my number?”
“Yeah.”
She gaped at him, eyes wide.
“What for?” She inquired.
“So I can call you, text you, send you funny cat memes and puns,” he told her, grinning.
“Oh, I do love a good meme.”
He grinned even wider, leaning in. He really, really had that strong urge to kiss her but instead, he waited patiently for her answer.
A beat later.
“Just give him your number already,” one voice yelled and Colin recognized it as Edwina.
“I’ll give you her number if you want,” another offered, popping her head in, grinning widely. Colin recognized her as the nurse assisting Penelope the first time they met. Her hair was in a plait this time around.
Penelope groaned. “How long have the two of you been there?”
“It’s not just us,” Edwina singsonged, pulling at the curtain to reveal Daphne, Nurse Cho (holding a tray and looking slightly bewildered) and the older head nurse from the reception area with the shaved head.
“Hmp.” The older nurse let out. “He’s not as smooth as he looks, is he?”
Colin blinked, wondering briefly if she was complimenting him on his looks but was also saying he was sort of dim at the same time.
“Why don’t we give them some privacy?” Daphne suggested, winking at Colin as she shut the curtains.
He immediately flushed, glancing at Penelope as his sister’s words filtered into his brain.
“That’s not - it’s not - she’s not - I’m not -” he attempted to sputter out.
That’s not what it sounded like.
It’s not meant to be taken wrongly. Privacy could mean a lot of things.
She’s not trying to play cupid. Meddling is simply an inherent Bridgerton trait.
Penelope smiled at him. “How about we get you stitched up first then we can talk about exchanging numbers, yeah?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”
In his head, he was already plotting out the perfect first date - just enough to woo and romance her.
iv.
It had been a very, very long shift and Penelope was glad she could finally check another 24 hour shift off her list. She grabbed her bag and for a minute thought about changing into the blouse and jeans she packed but thought against it. She needed to take a shower anyway, maybe get a nap in before her date with the cute firefighter.
He wasted no time in texting her once she gave him her number. It was like he was barely discharged, one finger wrapped in gauze and medical tape, and couldn’t wait.
She took it as a good sign of things to come.
Alos, to be fair, neither could she. She previously made attempts to find him on Instagram. She had his full name after all but all that returned was a locked account. She saw that Edwina and Colin were following each other but it sounded intrusive to ask her friend, especially since Edwina was still new at the hospital and she didn’t want the latter to think she was being taken advantage of or that Penelope was using her to get closer to one of her friends.
Maybe they were only casual acquaintances?
It turned out that Edwina’s sister was married to Colin’s brother and they had been on many holidays to Kent over the years. She told Penelope a lot about the family, how they were all sweet and nice, very kind and loving but extremely competitive when it came to games (yes, even chess.) Penelope wanted to know more but at the same time didn’t. She wanted to get to know Colin from her perspective, not from stories told by others. She had a feeling that experience would be once in a lifetime.
Who knew that after all those failed Tinder dates, that one weird blind date that Posy set up once with a surgeon she knew back at school (with a massive foot fetish, yikes), a handful of meetings at random pubs and bars that led nowhere, she’d end up getting asked out on the date while patching someone up in the emergency room. It was odd but definitely a good meet cute story if they went the distance.
She shook her head. No, she was getting way, way ahead of herself. One date did not equate years or even a lifetime together. It was one date - a test of their chemistry perhaps. The banter was nice but it was in short bursts. Would they run out of things to talk about if they had to sit together in a restaurant for hours? Would he be bored about her stories about med school? Was he still keen to trade weird stories about their jobs and the weed things they’v seen?
And maybe part of the reason why she didn’t want Edwina to tell her more about him was because she might build him up so much in her head that she’d end up disappointed if he didn’t live up to her expectations of her fantasy man (in all honesty, nobody could be Mr. Darcy.)
She sighed. She was getting ahead of herself again. One date was a chance to get to know him more and she was surely excited for that. She looked down at her watch. She had time to grab a cinnamon roll and coffee from the bakery near her flat. It would be a nice start to her day.
She paused when she reached the exit, blinking as the door swung open and she saw a familiar figure standing nearby.
“Colin?”
He smiled softly at her. His hair was somewhat ruffled and she thought about running her fingers through the thick waves, wondering if his hair was as soft as it looked. He was in a white t-shirt and joggers, rocking back on his heels somewhat nervously. It seemed like he had been waiting for a while but one he saw her, he simply smiled.
“Hi.”
“Please don’t tell me there’s been another accident? Did you hit or head or another brush with the mandoline perhaps?” She asked, slightly worried.
He laughed, shaking his head. “No. No more fingers were damaged by the bloody mandoline. Yes, pun absolutely intended.”
She snorted at the joke that leaned towards corny dad. God, she was glad he was not only cute but had a sense of humor. Laugher was of high priority to Penelope.
“I, er, well, I couldn’t wait until tonight so I was hoping we could have breakfast together? I brought a basket of goodies. Well, if I had more time, I would have made the bread myself but I’m slightly indisposed.” He lifted his left hand as if to prove his point. “But it’s a nice day out and I thought a picnic in the park would be the perfect first date.”
She felt her heart stutter in her chest. He wanted to make her bread? Baking bread in itself was it’s own love language, at least to Penelope. The fact that he was willing to do something like that made Penelope think that he was serious, that this wasn’t just some silly whim for him.
Perfect, she thought. This man was perfect. She didn’t need to worry that he might have a foot fetish too or that he might be one of those charismatic men that turned out to be psychotic serial killers. Less than 12 hours since they last saw each other, he showed up at the hospital and brought her breakfast.
Could she love someone already? So soon?
“A picnic sounds perfect,” she said, smiling at him, resisting the urge to kiss his cheek in thanks.
He walked over to her, offering her his arm as if he was some gallant knight in shining armor or a prince escorting her to the ball. “I know the perfect spot.”
Under a massive willow tree, Penelope watched as Colin produced a floral picnic blanket, explaining how he nicked it from his sister Francesca’s home earlier.
“I texted John to see if he had anything. They live the closest to me,” he further explained. “John was the one who came with me to the emergency room the first time. He’s already saying he’s going to take credit for this.”
“Take credit for what?” She asked as she helped him lay the blanket down. He handed her a thermos and two ceramic mugs. She opened the thermos to find hot coffee inside, the smell heavenly.
He smiled almost shyly. “For us meeting.”
“Oh.”
“Then Daphne’s probably going to take part credit for me finally getting enough courage to ask you out. Or Edwina might,” he said as he opened a box of freshly baked cinnamon buns, handing it to her. “She’s almost as competitive as Kate.”
She gingerly took a piece, barely keeping up with all the names. “How many siblings do you have?”
“Seven.”
“Seven?”
He nodded. “Named alphabetically naturally - Anthony, Benedict, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory and Hyacinth.”
“Wow. That is - wow.”
“How about you?”
“Three sisters - Prudence, Philippa and Felicity,” Penelope enumerated before taking a bite of the cinnamon bun. She nearly moaned because it tasted so good - the bread was fluffy, filled with sticky and sweet cinnamon sugar and topped with tangy cream cheese icing. She could probably spend the rest of the day under the tree eating cinnamon buns and taking to Colin and she’d feel that it still wasn’t enough time.
She had a feeling though that they had all the time in the world to get to know each other.
“Tell me more about yourself,” he said as he poured them each a mug of coffee.
“What do you want to know?”
“Anything. Everything,” he told her with so much sincerity that it nearly knocked the wind out of her.
She cocked her head to the side, eyeing him seriously. “Even the sad bits?”
He mustered her, nodding slowly. There was a spark of understanding behind his green eyes. He reached out, hand close to hers before meeting her eye once more, as if looking for permission. She nodded and he finally clasped his hand over hers. His palm was calloused, no doubt because of his job but she didn’t mind. She felt immense warmth spread through her entire body, this tingling, wonderful feeling, as if she was holding onto the good things, looking forward to spending more days and nights with him, simply holding hands.
“Even the sad bits,” he said softly. “Especially the sad bits.”
And so she spoke about her family, her mum who was the wanderer, her dad who died just months after Felicity was born, about growing up in her house, that drive to become a doctor because she wanted to feel less helpless. He listened, held her hand and listened intently as she talked and she just knew he was absorbing her words, understanding them, storing them and memorizing how her voice softened as she talked about loving her job, her sisters and nieces, how it grew sadder at the mention of losing patients.
He told her things in return too and she realized their jobs were not so different - they both helped people, saw devastation on a regular basis but they also got up every day and went to work with the very best of intentions always.
When he leaned in and asked if he could kiss her, she smiled and nodded.
The kiss tasted like gooey cinnamon rolls, bitter coffee and a hint of a bright future. She felt that jolt, that zap like a lightning strike hit her straight in the heart, shocked her. She wondered if this was how being shocked by a defibrillator felt like. When they parted and she opened her eyes, he still had his closed, like he was still savoring the kiss or committing it to memory. Once he opened his eyes, he grinned boyishly at him.
“Can I have another kiss?” He asked.
She laughed. “You can kiss me anytime you want."
She had a very, very good feeling about him.
And she was right because a year and a half later, they were married at the same park, underneath the same willow tree where they had their first date and their first kiss, in front of family and a few close friends.
One had to wonder what would have happened had John not forced Colin to make that trip to A&E, that one trip that changed the trajectory of both of their lives.