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CeCe felt the ambulance stop then change direction. The doors opened and the kind paramedic began saying words that CeCe couldn’t keep up with or quite comprehend.

They rolled her into the hospital and she closed her eyes at the bright lights. Suddenly they stopped and she opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a small room and people were busy hooking her up to things and examining her. CeCe reached out and grabbed one of their arms until they looked her in the eye.

“I need you to get Dr. Alexis Reed,” CeCe said.

“Uh, we’ll get Dr. Reed if it’s necessary, but we need to finish examining you first,” the woman said.

“She’s my girlfriend,” CeCe said, struggling to get the words out.

“Did you hear that?” the woman said to another person on the other side of CeCe. “She said she’s Dr. Reed’s girlfriend.”

CeCe took a breath as a wave of pain washed over her. She opened her eyes and looked into a familiar face.

“CeCe,” Erin said. “They’re going to take good care of you. I’ll get Alexis.”

CeCe smiled. “Thank you.” She closed her eyes and felt Erin grasp her hand.

“Page Dr. Reed and bring her to me,” Erin said in a commanding voice. “You’re going to be okay, CeCe,” she said softly.

CeCe believed her. “I just want Alexis.”

“We’ll find her.”

Suddenly the pain began to subside. CeCe opened her eyes and Erin was still there. “I feel better.”

Erin smiled. “They gave you something for the pain.”

“The baskets?” CeCe said, suddenly remembering why she was coming to the hospital. “The nurses' baskets were in the back of my car.”

“We’ll get the baskets. Don’t worry about them.”

CeCe nodded.

“I’m going to wait for Alexis while they get you ready to take upstairs. We need a CT scan of your head,” Erin said. She bent down a little closer to CeCe and said softly, “I’m in the way, but I’ll be right over there. I won’t leave you.”

“Thank you,” CeCe said, not daring to move her head. “I want Lex,” she said softly with tears in her eyes.

“I know.” Erin smiled and backed away.

* * *

Alexis got off on the oncology floor still dressed in her scrubs. Her surgery had taken a little longer than she planned, but it went well and her patient should make a full recovery. The waiting area was full of activity as she looked for CeCe. Her beautiful red hair was easy to spot, but she wasn’t anywhere in sight. She saw Cory mixing drinks at a little bar and Cat, Lana, and Tonya were passing them out.

There was a buffet line set up, ready for lunch to start. Alexis recognized a couple of nurses and continued to scan the room when the elevator opened. She turned around to find one of her co-workers smiling.

“Hi, Dawn,” Alexis said. “I saw your wife over there.”

“Hi, Alexis. I thought I’d come by and see how things were going and maybe help out.”

Alexis saw Cory wave at her and started that way. “See you later, Dawn.”

“Hey,” Cory said. “Can I get you a mocktail? They are very tasty if I do say so myself.”

Alexis chuckled. “I’m sure they are. Wow, y’all have really transformed this place. It looks great. You can’t tell it’s a hospital. Well, almost.”

Cory laughed. “Yeah, it does look nice though. The patients and nurses are having a great time.”

“Hey, Alexis,” Cat said, walking over to them.