Page 18 of Dr. Grump's Surprise Baby

“What did you do this time?”

“I hung back to talk to the Wilsons about Daniel.”

“Are you serious?” Sara said.

“What, you think that was a mistake too?”

“A big one,” Sara said, frowning. “You’re not his doctor, Emily.”

“Dr. Berger isn’t his doctor either,” Emily pointed out. “Somewhere along the way, they must have decided that it was find for people other than the primary care doctor to speak to the family.”

“Dr. Nash is on vacation,” Sara said. “That’s what I heard. He asked Dr. Berger to break the news because he didn’t think the family should have to wait until he got back to hear about it.”

“I mean, that makes sense,” Emily admitted. “Still, they deserve more than what Dr. Berger gave them. Didn’t you think that was cold, Sara? He just laid out the facts and then left the room. He didn’t even try to comfort them.”

“Dr. Berger isn’t a very comforting person,” Sara mused.

“No, he sure isn’t,” Emily agreed. “And I guess I think doctors should be.”

She thought again of her family’s experience when Ruth had died. It had been the most difficult time of her life, but even now, when she thought back on it, what stayed with her was the kindness she had been shown by the doctors and nurses, who had all seemed to really care about what she and her family were going through. It had been a nightmare, but it would have been so much worse if those people hadn’t been so caring.

That was the reason Emily wanted to be a doctor. She wanted to help other families who were going through the same thing. If that wasn’t going to be a part of it, there was simply no reason for her to pursue this career.

She had to wonder whether Dr. Berger had ever felt the same way. When he had first become a doctor, what had motivated him? There was no clue to that in any of the research papers he had written. She had never gotten to know the more personal side of him that she was wondering about now.

Was it even possible to get to know that side of him, or was that something he didn’t allow people to see?

She had come to this hospital specifically because of her desire to learn from the great Dr. Berger, a man she’d always admired. Even now that she was getting to know more about him, it didn’t change the fact that she wanted to learn from him. She wanted to see what he might have to teach her. But she wasn’t going to let him change who she was, and she wasn’t going to let him affect the reasons she’d gotten into medicine in the first place.

He had told her to go work on her paperwork. She would do that.

But he had said something else interesting as well.

He had told her that he didn’t want to cut her from the program. That he saw potential in her.

Something had happened to change the way Dr. Berger saw her, and even if he was critical of the way she dealt with patients on a personal level, he thought she could succeed here.

She was determined to prove him right.

CHAPTER 8

DOMINIC

The best time to be at the hospital was late at night.

The people who voluntarily worked night shifts were a different sort. They were quieter, more willing to go about their business without trying to socialize. It was impossible not to appreciate that about them. Of course, there were also the regular day shift workers who were stuck on call for the evening, but they were few and far between, and most of them preferred to spend their nights in the on-call room getting sleep unless they were actively needed for something.

Dominic would have expected it to be easy to relax. It usually was at night. But something — something he couldn’t put his finger on — was on his mind, keeping him from letting himself unwind.

He didn’t realize what it was until he walked into the break room and saw her sitting there.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, stopping short. “You’re not on call tonight.”

Emily looked up. “I’m getting caught up on paperwork,” she said. “And I’m reviewing the cases from the last couple of weeks.”

“You’re making a habit of this. Staying here when it isn’t your shift,” he said.

“I could say the same thing about you.” She closed the file she had been reading. “You’re not on call tonight either, unless I’m mistaken?”

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