Walls came crumbling down

Caroline woke up to a throbbing headache and an overwhelming sense of embarrassment the next day. She sat upright on the bed, holding her head between her palms. Even the faintest stream of daylight that passed through the narrow curtain gap made her wince.

Remembering her snarly comments and trademark obligation - speech, she couldn't help but reassess her relationship with the staff of Seattle High, but most importantly with Dr. Van.

'That glorifying drunken conversation.'

"Argghhh…." she groaned and pulled her hair between her fingers before leaping out of bed. She wanted to head straight to her washroom but stopped mid-path as her feet landed on a fabric.

Lifting the neon-colored jacket in her hand, she wondered, 'What is Dr. Van's jacket doing here? Did he put me to sleep?'

And everything came flashing back, not in a slow progression, but in a rapid burst that nearly assaulted her thought process.

"No, No, No," and dropping the jacket, she slumped on the bed. The only way to escape this embarrassment was to resign from Seattle high or have Dr. Van resign. There was no way on earth that she could face him in hospital tomorrow.

'How could you pull him down on the bed with you?'

'How could you ask him not to leave you?'

'What if he thinks that I have a thing for him?'

In her entire life, she had never felt this embarrassed. Mortified, she wanted to bury herself in the bed.  She knew she had to do something to distract herself, or else her whole day would go cursing. Wanting to pop a pill for her headache, she moved to her side table only to see a hangover syrup.

'Ah, Dr. Van! You didn't have to do all this!'

Sunday was giving her ample time to dwell on her misery.

She winced yet chugged the entire content and decided to have a bath and cook something to distract her mind. But neither cooking nor Netflix could prevent her from burying her head in shame. So she decided to go to the hospital instead.

She snapped off her clothes and took a bath in a world record. She slipped into a crisp white shirt that she tucked inside her high-waist skinny blue jeans.

"Dr. Caroline!"

She heard someone call as soon as she arrived on the tenth floor and turned to find Dr. Rosie walking toward her. "What are you doing here today? Any emergency case?"

"Oh no, no. I just wanted to be a bit engaged today. I was feeling restless at home. Let me know if I can assist you in any way."

Dr. Rosie chuckled. "Looks like your entire department wants to assist us today."

"Entire department?"

"Yeah, this morning, your assistant came in and asked if he could help in any way."

"You mean Morpheous? He is working today?"

"Oh, he has been working here since last night, dear. And let me tell you, he is such amazing energy to be around. I was short on nurses, so I took him with me to chart out patient details, and boy! The way he checked upon every single patient, talked and empathized with them. Just amazing! I haven't seen such a warm person in my entire life.

"And to top it off, he is totally an eye candy, Carol. I must say, I am jealous!"

"Eye candy?"

"Haven't you seen him? God, I can write poems for his arms. So beefed up ... So ..."

"Uh Huh…" Caroline shrugged her shoulder. She did not like the route taken by this conversation at all. "So he is still in the general ward?" she asked.

"He probably has gone to the children's ward now. Well, I am in a rush. See you later, Carol."

"See you!" she replied and walked towards the children's ward, wanting to discover his real intentions.  She was checking one cabin after the other to find out where he was when she noticed a woman crying, standing outside the door. Worried, she paced towards her.

"What happened? Is everything all right?" she asked, halting next to her.

She nodded and wiped the tears from her face.

"Then why are you crying?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." She wiped her tears with the backside of her palm.

"Tell me; I am a doctor. How can I help you? Your child needs help with something or anyone else?"

"No ... It's ..."

Impatient with her half-answers, she pushed the door open and saw Morpheous trying to braid a girl's hair. She must be barely ten, and from the look of it, she knew that it was terminal carcinoma. That girl's  face had been so badly crusted that a normal person could get scared just by looking at her.

But she was happily holding a mirror and looking at herself as Morpheous struggled with her hair. She was giggling and instructing him how to twist and turn. Several barrettes were strewn on the bed. 

She looked happy.

Hearing the creak of the door opening, Morpheous's gaze flicked from that girl to Caroline. It stayed on her for a fleeting second---a surprise evident on his face---but she closed the door back, not wanting to destroy the moment that little girl was having. She saw him wearing her father's white linen shirt but could see the pale yellow blotches which had stayed probably from the blood stains from that accident night.

Somehow that made her deeply uncomfortable.

The woman who stood next to Caroline wiped her tears and said,

"My daughter hadn't dared to look at herself in the mirror. Not even once in the last year. She hadn't laughed this way since ages."

And Caroline didn't realize it when a stray tear trickled down her own cheek. She patted the back of that woman and gave her a comforting smile before walking towards the large window by the corridor.

She finally felt a calmness in the storm inside her head. That man wasn't rouge. Instead, he possessed a genuine soul, probably more genuine than her own. He was strange for sure; there was no denying that. But she felt a familiarity with his strangeness.

Resting her shoulder on the wall, she kept looking outside, waiting for him to come out, wanting to have a fresh start with him.

"Dr. Caroline!"

"Hello, Morpheous!" she said and wiped the corner of her eye before casting a smile.

"Erm…were you waiting for me here?" he asked, holding an orange juice box in his hand.

"Precisely!"

"Oh! You could have just called me then. Anything to be done?"

And she could tell just from his voice and the look on his face that he would have run miles to fetch something if she had told him to. Maybe helping people was grained in his blood. Maybe that's what he was actually good at. 

She looked to her side briefly, her face looking content, and asked, "Why did you come here today?"

"Huh…"

And she could read a surprised expression on his face. Probably he was expecting her to say something else.

"I just needed some distraction, so I came. But why are you here?" she asked again.

"Same reason as yours!" His eyes crinkled as he smiled. "I mean, there is nothing for me to do in the dorm room. So I thought ..."

Caroline looked at him again and wondered if people like him really existed. He was smart, not book smart kind, the sharp kind of smart. She could bet that he knew that, yet she couldn't see even an ounce of pride in him for that. 

"Can we have a fresh start?" she asked, tilting her head a bit as she extended her hand.

He hesitated for a moment but then locked his palm with hers, giving her hand a soft but warm shake. "I thought we already did!" 

Standing close to him, she could see his pupil dilate as he held her hand in his. Her eyes drifted to his lips which had curved just a bit around the corner. The faintest possible smile, but it clicked something inside her. She couldn't help but smile in return. Something about him---the way he spoke and looked at her was indeed magical.

"Erm… If it's OK for you, then can I join you for outdoor rounds? I will get to learn a bit more. Not that I am saying no to desk work. I will do all the desk work as…"

"You can join for morning rounds. Sharp at 10 am. But only if I get that juice box." She pointed her index finger at it. "Or is it for someone special?"

He let out a short breath as he placed it on the still of the window frame. "Someone special!" 

"Who?" she asked, her eyes curious, her brain throwing possible images of all the pretty doctors and nurses in a slideshow.

"You!" 

And just like that, Caroline could feel the wall between them crumble down.