Love on Chesapeake Bay (BWWM)

16. OR

"4-0 Vicryl, please," Jack said, extending his arm. A surgical nurse placed the absorbable suture in his gloved palm. As Jack quickly finished up the sutures, the entire OR burst into a round of applause. So far they'd been in surgery for 6 hours, experiencing complication after complication with the small bowel resection Jack was performing on a five year-old patient with Crohn's disease.

"Impressive," Dr. Garcia mused, smiling up at him. Alexis Garcia was a second year resident. She was a long-legged, raven-haired beauty with beautiful chocolate skin and she had been not-so-subtly dropping hints, expressing her interest in Jack over the summer. Jack, still hung up on Kayla, hadn't given her the time of day. Alexis was a pretty girl, he acknowledged that - but she wasn't the girl.

"I wouldn't be impressed just yet. Let's wait and see how Lily feels when she wakes up from anesthesia," he said, leaving the OR to scrub out.

"Always so modest," Dr. Garcia sighed, following him out.

"Did you have a fun night, Holland?" Dr. Stewart, the anesthesiologist, asked while scrubbing his forearms and hands at the sink.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, as Alexis removed his gloves for him. He took off his surgical gown, mask, and visor glasses before walking over to the sink.

"Last night... I saw you at the Cask. You left with that girl you were talking to," Dr. Stewart said with a boyish grin.

"How'd she look? Was she hot?" Dr. Martell chimed in. He was also at the sink, scrubbing in for the next surgery.

"Smoking," Stewart said with a low whistle. "Looked pretty young too," he added.

"My man.. I'd high five you but, you know," Martell nodded his head towards his hands which were covered in soap.

Jack scoffed, annoyed at the crass locker-room style banter. Jack had always thought Martell was a pig - he was married but he was notorious for flirting and sleeping with other women - nurses, residents, you name it, but especially students.

"I thought you weren't dating," Dr. Garcia frowned, quoting what Jack had told her when she had wanted to pursue things with him.

"Ha! You don't have to date a girl to get in her pants," Dr. Martell said to Alexis. "Hell, one mention of the fact that you're a doctor and you damn near don't even need to buy her a drink before she's begging you to-"

"Oh shut up, Martell," Jack said, anger building inside him as he furiously scrubbed. It took everything in him not to turn around and punch the man, sudsy fist and all.

"I'm just saying," Martell shrugged, as his scrub nurse pulled gloves over his hands. He winked at her.

Jack angrily pushed open the OR doors and stepped out into the hall. He took a couple deep breaths, rubbing his temples and pacing back and forth. When he was finally calm he headed for the elevators. He was done with work for the day and he wanted nothing more than to get out of there - preferably before he punched someone - and see Kayla.

As the elevator doors were closing a feminine arm slid between the doors which immediately reopened. Alexis stepped inside.

"Dr. Garcia," Jack said, acknowledging her with a slight head nod.

"Dr. Holland," Alexis said.

The two stood there facing forward in awkward silence.

"Can I ask you something?" Alexis said, breaking the silence.

"Sure," Jack said, facing her.

"It seems like you're starting to move on from your ex... seeing girls now and all... so I just wondered..."

"Wondered...?" Jack asked, not liking where this was going.

"I wondered if you'd like to take me as your date to the charity gala?"

Every year the hospital hosted a charity gala where the attending surgeons raised money to donate to a charity of their choice. This year's beneficence was pediatric leukemia. Jack had already planned on asking Kayla to be his date.

"Alexis I-" Jack started, about to turn her down when she interrupted.

"Don't answer now, just sleep on it," she said, flashing him a confident smile before striding out of the elevator.

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head, trying hard not to get annoyed all over again. When Alexis had asked him out this past summer he'd told her he was recently divorced and wasn't dating - which was technically true. Then she'd insinuated that she'd be okay with a purely sexual relationship, at which point he told her he wasn't over his ex in an effort to let her down easy. This had been a lie of course, he had no lingering feelings for Maren, his ex-wife, and it would hardly be the truth to say he hadn't had sex with other women since their marriage ended. His excuses had worked like a charm because, at the time, Alexis had respectfully backed off. But today, when Stewart had called him, out it was as if Alexis took that as a green light to resume her pursuit of Jack with a renewed vigor.

Jack dialed Kayla's number. She picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kayla," Jack smiled. The sound of her soft voice was very calming. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing much. I was just finishing up some homework. You?"

"I'm leaving the hospital now. And if I'm not mistaken I think a certain someone owes a certain other someone a home-cooked meal."

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I'm a woman of my word."

"Your place or mine?"

"Well seeing as my roommate is currently having sex at my place..."

"Ah," Jack chuckled, "my place it is. I can come get you."

"I can get there. I just need your address."

"Alright, sending it now."

"Okay, see you soon."

"See you, Kayla."

When Jack hung up the phone it was as though all the anger and annoyance he'd felt previously just faded away. Now all he felt was excitement - and hunger; he'd really worked up an appetite during that 6 hour-long surgery.

Jack waved goodbye to the clerk at the front desk as he exited the hospital. He headed towards the parking lot and climbed into his car. He turned the key in the ignition and plugged his phone into the aux, pressing play on TLC's 'Waterfalls'. He sat for a moment just listening eyes closed, head leaned back back contentedly against the headrest. When he opened his eyes he shifted his car into reverse, backed out of the lot and began the drive home. Even though less than 24 hours had passed since he'd last seen her, Jack couldn't wait to see Kayla again.