Page 8 of Her Braun
"Doctor?"
"Well, I want to give you an update."
He managed to change his expression. Not a smile but one that wasn't so severe as he usually had.
"How is he?"
She smiled and he felt his heart swell in his chest.
"He's good. Strong." She looked around the room at his crew. "Like all of you, but I suspect that he's the one with the most bravado as evidenced by his shameless flirting with my nurse."
The whole group chuckled at that.
"Well, he's going to need some rest. Physical therapy. And he's going to probably be a little grumpier than usual."
Mats and Webb groaned in unison.
Gibson almost managed to fight off the laughter he was trying to hold back.
Kay knew something was up and smiled at him. "What?"
Shaking his head, Gibson smiled back. "He's always been a grouch, Doctor. If he's going to be worse than normal, heaven help us all."
"You folks can stay around, but Hank has a request for all of you."
That brought the others in close.
Webb leaned in and waved a little. "Hey, Kay."
"Russell! Nice to see you again."
Gibson knew that Russell's dad was a doctor here. A bigwig surgeon if he remembered correctly. He saw the smile dim a little on Russell's face.
Webb didn't let it affect Kay which Gibson appreciated.
"Always good to see you, Kay. Sorry about Grumpy."
"He wanted me to tell you all," she laughed softly and then lifted her gaze to meet his, "that you all stink. He wants you to go back to the station and," she cleared her throat, "do something important... like shower."
Theo laughed out loud. "He's going to be alright."
Kay nodded. "Yes, he is."
"All right," Gibson looked at his men. "Let's take his advice because I know I could use a hose down." He looked at Kay. "Please let us know if you need anything."
She lifted her hands in a surrendering gesture. "We'll take care of him, no worries."
He looked at her and hesitated. "Uh, okay. Well, you know how to find us if you need... anything."
"Doctor Hata? A moment please?"
Kay looked away and Gibson saw that it was a nurse he recognized but didn't know the name of. She was on the other end of the ER and not anywhere near Pits' exam area.
"Excuse me," Kay gave him a half smile and moved on quickly toward the other nurse.
Gibson stood there for another moment before he headed outside to the truck.
Chief Campanelli would put them back on the rotation if they could find a floater to join them at Twenty-Nine. It might be easier if they did. The last thing he wanted to do at the moment was mull over the feelings that Doctor Kay Hata brought out in him.
