January 19th, 2015

"Stellaaah... Stellah... Stella," it was Dr. Herzberg's voice repeating my name in a dream state like morning when I woke up slowly questioning why the hell it got stuck in my mind. Was I crushing on Dr. Herzberg? No, I couldn't be, I mean sure he was kind of handsome from a specific stand point but I kinda thought he was too serious, with zero ability of enjoyment with his typical British fish cold like eyes. So no I was not crushing on the brilliant neurosurgeon, I liked livelier people, someone who actually knew how to smile for a change in the midst of this winter.

The weather raged on blowing a couple of flurries while I drove my Ford Thunderbird to work. The phone plugged in to my new stereo system to listen to a new audio book from Astronaut Wives Club, I had to fit in some reading somewhere on my schedule.

I'd finally been able to eat my lunches without it getting stolen but of course I had earned another nickname, doctor's pet. Harlan constantly taunted me for being too friendly with Dr. Fitzgibbons and Dr. Herzberg so nasty rumors had started getting around. Looking back CC wasn't so bad but I also wouldn't have let the opportunity of getting Harlan in trouble pass me by.

Then my concentration was broken when a huge bump and noise came from the wheel of my car so it coasted off to the side of the road.

"Ugh just what I needed," I stepped out of the car in the middle of nowhere and saw the back right tire had blown when it hit a sharp thing in the middle of the road.

"Great now how do I change a tire?" I complained then remembered one could google just about anything these days.

The car jack was ready and as I was about to change the tire someone honked at me, it was his unmistakable black car who backed up and stopped right in front of mine. Harlan would've had a field day if he saw this; but it was kinda odd how every time I turned around Dr. Herzberg was always there.

Once again he came out of nowhere and for the second time to my rescue. He'd still been bumping into me "accidentally" in the lab though I did my best to not ever get in his way. Though honestly I was downright trying to avoid him because every time he said my name or smiled I had the most puzzling sensations running back and forth in my mind.

"Stella? It is you."

"Uh yeah it's me, the nurse from the hospital." I watched his black coat sway with the winter wind as he got out of his car.

"What happened here?"

"I..." I touched my head as it whirled into a hurricane like sensation and let the wrench fall from my hand.

"Feeling alright?" He asked and I leaned on the car seeing double.

"Um I'm..."

My heart beat out of my chest when I looked into his eyes and saw the calmest color of the sea. In the moment I wasn't myself and he wasn't him I was transported to a different setting than this road. It was a vision where him and I collided, his hair slicked back dressed in black standing on a cemetery and I was dressed in red from head to toe holding on to his arm exactly like I was doing now wholly taken in by him.

"What?"

"Nothing," I let go of his arm and the vision disappeared like a plug had been pulled out.

"Are you sure?" He pressed on but I refused the crazy trying to find my way back to normal.

"Yes," I regained my posture, "I was just about to replace my tire. It blew out when it hit something on the road," I looked for the sharp piece and then it wasn't there anymore but how?

"How unfortunate," he said looking at the tire.

"Right so see you at work?" I asked waiting for him to go away.

"What? No, give me the tools, I'll do it," he bent down and got the wrench.

"Oh no, uh I can do it," I tried getting the wrench from him.

"With all due respect I will not leave you here all alone to replace your tire," his manners were old school like Dr. Fitzgibbons and unlike the other men in the hospital who seemed to drop all the dirty work on the hardworking female nurses.

"But..." I tried to argue him out of his manners but he was already on the floor using the wrench.

"It's a quick fix, and you don't have to keep calling me Dr. Herzberg you can just call me the scientist."

The scientist? It was a pleasant nickname I scratched the back of my neck waiting for him to finish it since he did the whole thing by himself.

"It didn't hurt to let me help did it?" He said putting the bad tire in the trunk so I can later dispose of it to a mechanic.

"Well I didn't want to impose, cause you any trouble."

"What trouble? You are never any trouble for me Stella," everything he said sounded like it was filled with double meanings specially since he gave a glimpse of a smirk on his face. And I liked it how he did it, it wasn't forced, and maybe I was wrong about him, maybe he wasn't half bad to talk to or maybe it was entirely unacceptable I was thinking this.

"Okay well thanks then, I'll see you soon," I was ready to go drive my car and he asked.

"Not yet, first I need you to look at me so I can make sure it's safe for you to be driving."

"What? I'm fine, nothing happened to me only to my tire." I knew the routine and had done this to many people and found it absurd he was doing it to me.

"Stella amuse me won't you?"

I sighed with his insistence trying to get it over with quick.

"Fine but this is ridiculous, I am fine."

Dr. Herzberg lifted my chin and made me follow his finger and then it was like I was a magnet pulling him closer to me.

"Your eyes look perfect," he said intimidating me with his direct stare, "now do you feel a little unbalanced?"

"No I feel fine," I broke the eye contact and cleared my throat.

"Are you certain of this?"

"Yes, I'm not usually in the habit of drinking in the morning you know," I became sarcastic with his insistence.

"That's not what I meant."

"Okay so what's your diagnosis scientist? Or should we wait for the lab results to get back?" I rolled my eyes because there was no way I was leaving my baby out here on the road alone.

"You may drive to the facility where I'll keep an eye on you and if I see anything strange there will be lab tests, are we understood?"

"Certainly not, there's absolutely no need," I nodded and got inside my car as he followed closely behind.

Arriving at the safety of the parking lot we walked in together which I knew wasn't going to do wonders for my declining reputation with the staff. Dr. Fitzgibbons was the unaware soul and he welcomed me with goggles on his eyes and a smile.

"Miss Estella you will not believe it!" He exclaimed as I walked in surprising me with so much joy.

"Oh aren't we happy today Dr. Fitzgibbons?"

"Yes we are."

"So what's the news?"

"I will be able to lower significantly one of my patient's dosages today; the tests you ran on her came out better than she has ever been her entire life, it's a miracle, a scientific miracle."

"Good but which girl are we talking about?"

"You know the one's that in high school, her mother won't let anyone put her under the knife, they wanted to exhaust all other venues...."

"Before accepting the surgery yeah I remember her, the girl reminded me of someone I can't seem to put my finger on." I talked of the curly brown haired fifteen year old who lived in Pennsylvania and was coming in for her routine check up when I insisted she'd be seen by Dr. Fitzgibbons once again in case there were any news.

"And how are we doing here?" Dr. Herzberg passed by and peeked his head inside to check on us.

"Great," I remarked getting up to go somewhere else.

"Splendid," Dr. Fitzgibbons smiled, "come in I have something to show you I think it will help us narrow down our course of action," so Dr. Herzberg walked in and I walked out to go check on the next patient.

It was Ricky, apparently he was one of the most difficult patients they had in Neuro. A few years back he accidentally pressed down the fire alarms and the whole building went into a panic over nothing. Ricky had come in for a blood sample and the visit soon escalated to comedic levels to keep him entertained.

"I will put that needle on your back!" Ricky yelled at me when he saw the needle.

"Well you know my back isn't the best place to get blood from."

"I will put it in your head!"

"Still not the right place Ricky, so I need to get a little bit of your blood and you know why..."

"I do? I do, so you know about them too?"

"Yes I do, I know."

"Tell me then what you know."

"I know about the mutated gene population, the X-men."

"Shhh someone might hear you, the other doctors might get curious and take me in, take us in..." He settled into the bed, I was relieved to see my superhero movie knowledge was up to date in order to trick him into giving me his blood.

"True but Dr. Fitz is on our side and he suspects you might be one of them so he needs to see your blood at the lab to find the X before anyone else does."

"No, it's not safe here," he pulled his arm away.

"Ricky if you don't give me your blood I can't put you under protection, you'll be vulnerable and someone else might try to take you in once they figure out how special you are," I calmed him by rubbing his cheeks.

"No! No one else! I trust Dr. Fitz only him, only he gets my blood."

"Alright only he gets it I promise," Ricky nodded allowing me to do it but I knew I had to be quick or else he'd change his mood.

At the end of the day I was exhausted, a tense headache had my back in knots as I walked out of the main entrance of the hospital to home and relax though the scientist, I mean Dr. Herzberg, tried to say goodbye.

"I heard you two came in together this morning," Jess asked going to her car next to mine.

"Uh... me and who?"

"Dr. Iceberg over there."

"Not together, just at the same time. Mere coincidence."

"Good cause I expect you to be better than that," Jess said.

"I am, I wouldn't dream of it," I scoffed and she got in her car and I sighed, if Jess was questioning me then the rumor was getting stronger.

This race had to be won fair and square so I did what any employee who cherished their job would do in my place I waited in my car until Dr. Herzberg had left the parking lot to not run into him. It was harsh after he'd spent the entire day checking up on me but this was a balancing act where he needed to be cut off from so I could continue the pursuit of this trial without losing my credibility in my place of work.

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No part, character, names, plot, setting, conflict or resolution, point of view, theme or symbolism of this story may be replicated.

Copyright: All Rights Reserved to A. Sena Gomes.