"I will." I hugged her goodbye. Our hug felt different this time. More intimate, no longer just a hug between friends. "I'll be back as soon as I can." I kissed her on the cheek. Rosetti took my face into her strong, capable hands and kissed me gently on the lips. Fireworks exploded in my head and heart. The kiss was slow and sweet, and I knew that nothing between us would ever be the same again.

"Is that okay?" Rosetti whispered as her gaze met mine. Her dark brown eyes were gentle and contemplative.

"It's more than okay," I said, stroking her soft cheek. "It's great."

CHAPTER NINE.

I stepped off the elevator onto the second floor of Children's Hospital and found Regan sitting alone on one of the vinyl green waiting room couches. Her once shiny hair now hung in dull clumps around her pale face. It looked like she hadn't slept in days.

Regan stood when she saw me. "Oh, Mina, thank you for coming." Regan hugged me hello. It felt strange to have her so close to me again. Almost like a dream.

"How long has Tess been in surgery?" I asked as I broke our embrace.

"About two hours now."

"What happened? I thought they were just going to do an echocardiogram."

"They did the echo, then an angiogram and found that Tess has a hole in her heart. He said it's not uncommon in premature births, but they needed to surgically close it. "

"Yes, that's right. I know it sounds scary, but she should be fine."

"I hope so. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to Tess."

"Where's your husband?"

"He left. He couldn't stand the waiting. He doesn't like hospitals anyway. His dad had a big heart attack a few years ago and died in the emergency room. That was his only experience with hospitals, up until now."

I sat next to Regan on the waiting room couch. "I really appreciate you coming here," she said.

"No problem. You sounded so upset on the phone. I know this is a hard thing to go through."

Regan nodded. "You know, I always knew I could count on you." She paused for a minute. "Even when I treated you so badly. I am so sorry." Regan reached out and took my hand into hers. Suddenly, the last five years slowly started to melt away. It felt good to be close to Regan. It felt good to be here for her. But most of all, it felt good to hear her apologize for leaving like she did. Her apology validated what I thought we'd had together.

As time ticked by, I was beginning to wonder if they had run into a complication during Tess's surgery. I couldn't shake the feeling that although I wanted to be here for Regan, it felt like a big inconvenience having to leave Rosetti to come here. I thought about Rosetti and what she might be doing since I left. I wondered what she might be thinking, and I hoped that she wasn't worried about me being here with Regan. After all, I was here as Regan's friend and nothing more. I needed to be realistic about this. Regan had her life, and I needed to move on with mine. And after tonight, I hoped it included being much more intimate with Rosetti.

I looked over at Regan. Although she looked exhausted, she showed no signs of giving up this vigil until she got word that Tess was okay. I'm sure she was running on pure adrenaline from fear that her child would not be all right. I on the other hand was finding it hard to stay awake. It was getting late and my eyelids were getting heavy. I needed some caffeine.

"I'm going to get some coffee. Do you want anything?" I yawned.

"A cup of hot tea would be nice."

"Wait here, I'll be right back." I headed down the hallway to the vending machine area.

I returned a few minutes later with my coffee, Regan's tea, a package of Ho Hos, and a PayDay candy bar.

"Here, it's not the best nutrition-wise, but it's something." I handed Regan the tea, the Ho Hos, and the candy bar.

"Thank you." She offered a weak smile. She set the Ho Hos aside and fingered the orange and white wrapper on the candy bar.

"Do you remember the weekend when we existed on these alone?" Regan asked.

"Yes. PayDay candy bars and Seagram's Citrus Wine Coolers. It was the weekend we snuck down to Charleston. I told Sean we were going to a bridal shower for your cousin."

"That was some weekend. I don't think we ever left that room."

"Only long enough to buy more candy bars and wine coolers."

The automatic glass doors of the surgery suite swooshed open. A young man dressed in surgical greens and a white lab coat emerged.

"Mrs. Douglass?" the man asked.

Regan stood. "Yes."

"Mrs. Douglass, I'm Dr. Wright. I'm one of the surgeons who operated on your daughter."

"How is she? Is she going to be all right?" Regan asked.

"The surgery went well. We were able to repair her heart valve and close the foramen. We did experience a few problems getting her blood pressure back up after the surgery, so we need to monitor her closely. She's going to be in intensive care for a few days, then once she's stable, we'll move her to the regular floor."

"When can I see her?" Regan asked.

"Give us about thirty minutes to get her settled. I'll send one of the nurses out to get you once she's ready."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"It sounds like Tess is going to be okay," I said.

Regan started to cry. I put my arms around her and she sobbed into my neck. The closeness of her sent a shiver through my insides.

"I was so scared that there was something wrong with her that couldn't be fixed."

"I know. I bet you were. But it looks like she's going to be just fine." I stroked Regan's hair.

"Get your hands off my wife!" came from the elevator bank.

Regan and I turned and saw Jim walking toward us. We broke our embrace. The fear I saw in Regan's eyes told me this could get ugly.

"What do you think you're doing here with my wife?"

"Jim...Don't. I called her. I didn't know who else to call. Mom's home taking care of Dad...you left...remember you said you couldn't take it anymore?"

Jim stepped closer. So close I could smell the Jack Daniels on his breath. His eyes were bloodshot. His entire body trembled when he spoke.

"Well, we don't need no lesbian doctor here, so I suggest you git," Jim said in his slow Southern drawl.

The lump in my throat made it impossible for me to speak. Jim looked me up and down as if sizing me up like he was going to hit me. Slowly, I stepped back.

Regan broke the deadly silence. "Jim, the doctor said Tess is going to be fine." She was trying to divert his attention.

"My little girl is going to be...fine?" Jim repeated.

"Yes. The doctor was just here. He said we could see her in half an hour."

"Praise the Lord," Jim said, hands folded across his heart and eyes gazing skyward. Regan took Jim by the arm and led him to one of the waiting room chairs.

"Honey, sit here a minute. I know this has been hard on you," Regan said.

Jim complied like an obedient child. Tears streamed down his unshaven face.

Glad that the attention was diverted from me, I slipped into the ICU to see what progress they were making with Tess. They had her in a cubicle with wires hooked to monitors and tubes coming out of everywhere. You couldn't tell what Tess looked like for all the medical hardware covering her tiny body. Relief swept over me as I watched her heart monitor flashing a normal rhythm.

"Can I help you?" One of the nurses approached me when she found me standing next to Tess's crib.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Caselli from CityHospital," I said. "Tess's mother is a good friend of mine, and I told her I'd check on her. So how's she doing?"

"She's stable right now. They had some problems with her blood pressure in surgery. It dropped dangerously low, but Dr. Wright was able to get it back up. She'll be with us a couple of days, but by the looks of things, I think she'll do fine."

"That's good news. Thank you. Do you know when her mom can see her?"

"In about ten minutes. I have to get one more set of vital signs."

"Do you mind if I hang out a while? I just want to keep an eye on her until her parents have seen her."

"No, not at all. There's a chair in the monitor room behind the glass partition." She then went about checking Tess's vital signs.

It was past midnight before Regan and Jim were brought in to see Tess. I stood behind the partition and watched as the nurse led them to Tess's bedside. Jim stood next to Regan, obviously very drunk. I could tell by the look on Regan's face she was trying to be brave about the whole thing, listening intently as the nurse went over Tess's care and condition. It doesn't matter how much medical education you have, when it comes to your own child, you're just as vulnerable as any other parent; sometimes it's worse because you know what can go wrong.

The nurse cradled Tess in her arms and offered her to Regan. Regan held her daughter as tightly as the wires and tubes would allow. Jim stood at the bedside and looked on. Without warning, Jim fainted and crashed to the floor. Regan leapt out of his way, protecting Tess from her drunken father's fall.

Three scrub-clad nurses rushed into the cubicle to see what had happened. One nurse checked his pulse, another checked his blood pressure, while yet another waved a pledget of smelling salts under his nose. Once he regained consciousness, they hoisted his one hundred eighty-pound carcass into a wheelchair and wheeled him out into the hall to give him some air.

Once Jim was gone, I stepped out from behind the glass partition.

"How's she doin'?" I asked Regan.

"Mina, where have you been?"

"I slipped into the ICU while you were trying to talk Jim down."

"I was afraid he was going to hurt you."

"Does he get that bent out of shape all the time?"

Regan shook her head and looked down at Tess. I didn't believe her.

"Mina, she looks so helpless," Regan said as she stroked Tess's forehead, the only part that wasn't attached to wires or electrodes.

"The nurses say she's doing fine. The surgery went well, except for the blood pressure drop, but by the look of her monitors, that's under control."

"Do you think they'll let me stay with her tonight?"

"I'm sure they will. I'll ask one of the nurses to get you a recliner or something brought in here."

I turned to leave, but Regan grabbed my arm. "Thank you...thank you for everything. I know this isn't easy for you and I know..."

"It's okay. You've got a little girl to worry about. She needs you more than anybody right now."

Regan's red swollen eyes welled up with tears again.

"It's going to be all right," I said.

I went to the nurse's station to arrange for Regan's overnight stay at her daughter's bedside. They brought in a recliner and placed it next to Tess's crib. Regan sat down, still cradling her new baby daughter.

"I better be gone by the time Jim feels well enough to get back in here. Will you be okay?"

"Yes, I think so." Regan forced a smile.

"All right then. You know you can call me anytime. I'm back on duty tomorrow afternoon at the hospital, but please call me and let me know how she's doing."

"I will."

I left the ICU and took the stairs to the first floor. The regular entrance was closed and wouldn't reopen again until six the next morning. I slipped into the back of the emergency room and exited through the physician's entrance. Out in the cool night air, I remembered that Rosetti was waiting for me in my apartment, asleep on my couch. I pressed the pedal to the metal and made it home in record time.

I was so caught up in fantasizing about what would happen when Rosetti and I would finally be alone together that I didn't notice that her car was gone when I pulled in. I went up the stairs as quietly as I could and gingerly unlocked the apartment door. The couch was empty, the afghan folded neatly and put back in its place. My heart sank.

I flipped on the kitchen light and found a note propped up against the microwave: Got called out to work. I'll call you when I'm done. Love, RR.

Sad and disappointed, I folded it up and held it in my hand as I curled up on the couch and pulled the afghan to my chin. The scent of Rosetti's Nautica cologne lingered on the afghan. I breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent for as long as I could, then drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER TEN.

The late morning sun streamed through the front window. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock. It was almost eleven. I got up and stretched, and headed to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. I clicked on the TV for some company.

As the coffee brewed, a local news bulletin interrupted Hollywood Squares: Three police officers have been shot, one fatally, in a drug bust gone bad early this morning on the west side. The officers are being treated at CityHospital. Their identities are being held pending notification of their families. Two suspects are still at large and are considered to be armed and dangerous.

My body froze and my mouth went cotton dry. In my heart, I knew one of those officers was Rosetti. I picked up the phone and dialed Rosetti's number. After four rings, I got the machine.