Brian Haner Jr

Nicole took the stairs down to the basement. Once there she headed for the cafeteria. The delivery had gone smoothly, and mother and child were doing well. As soon as she had something to eat she would head over to Brian's. After all, as the grumbling in her stomach reminded her, her page had come before she'd had a chance to eat any of the bagels she'd brought this morning.

The cafeteria was mostly empty. Nicole collected a tray then filled it with a bowl of fruit, a small salad and a roast beef sandwich. After paying, she looked around and saw a farmiliar doctor sitting at a table by the wall. She smiled at the sight of her friend, Dr. Alexandra Moore, and walked over.

"Hi. Are you on call?" Nicole asked as she set her tray on the table.

Alex glanced up. Her normally bright brown eyes were shadowed from lack of sleep and there wasn't a scrap of makeup on her face. She smiled wearily. "This is my weekend and I was called in just after midnight. A car accident. A van hit a small pick-up. Everyone survived, but I had a couple of difficult breaks to fix." Alex was an orthopedic surgeon. She picked up a cup of coffee and took a sip. "What's your excuse for being here on a Saturday?"

Nicole took a seat. "The usual." she said. "A six-pound eight-ounce baby boy. He's about as cute as can be. His parents are so happy they're floating."

Alex rested her elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her hand. Her hair, a short wedge of auburn tinted brown, swayed with the movement. "Must be nice to get instant gratification from your paitents. Mine stay asleep while I work to repair whatever the problem is. Afterwards, they're often groggy and in pain. No one ever floats. I'd lie floating. Or even an applause."

Nicole laughed. "I confess, I've never had an applause. It would be nice. Maybe a gallery of impressed bystanders."

"Fans," Alex said firmly. "Just like rock stars." She stared at Nicole. "You look happy about something and it's not just work."

Nicole was surprised. "I do? What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure. There's this glow." Her brown eyes narrowed. "Either there's a new man in your life, or you just had a make-over. If it's the latter, I want to know where you went. Maybe they can do something for me. I need to change from my wash-and-wear life."

"You love your life and you don't want to change a thin." Nicole took a bite of her sandwich and chewed. There wasn't a man in her life, she thought, even as a blush crept its way up her cheeks. Brian wasn't really in her life. She was just helping him out with a difficult situation. The fact that he was good-looking and had amazing tattoo's was interesting, but not important. She swallowed.

"Things are going well for me," Nicole said. "I love my work, I've settled into living here in Huntington. I guess that's what you're seeing. Contentment. Now speaking of men, how's your favorite guy?"

Alex's expression softened and her full lips curved up in a tender smile. "Tyler is perfect in every way." She laughed. "Okay, he can make me crazy in about thirty seconds, but other than that, he's wonderful. I thought three was a great age, but four is even better. He's so smart." She paused than laughed again. "I'm gushing."

"You always gush about Tyler. It's charming. It proves you're a great mother."

Alex sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I try. Time is always a problem. I'm so busy with work. But he's my world."

Nicole thought about that statement. Tyler was his mother's world. Alex had never married and Nicole didn't know much about Tyler's father. She wanted to ask if Alex ever thought about having a man in her life-a grown up, in addition to her charming son. Did she ever get lonely? Most of the time Nicole didn't allow herself to think those kind of questions, but lately they'd been popping up more and more frequently. She'd come to realize that sometimes she needed more than just her work.

Except if she asked Alex those questions, Alex would also ask them of her and she wasn't ready to answer them. So instead she asked about Alex's houseguest.

"Are things still going well with Sam?"

"Sure. She's a sweetheart. And huge," Alex added. "I swear that baby's going to pop out any second."

"I'm guessing in the next week or so."

"She's staying with me until the baby is about six weeks old," Alex said.

"Thanks for taking her in." Nicole smiled at her friend. "ou were a real life saver."

Alex shrugged. "That's what spare rooms are for."

Not for most people, Nicole thought. Alex was someone special. Her friend's guest room had a revolving door. As soon as one person in need left, another one showed up. Alex didn't turn anyone away. When Nicole had realized Sam, all of seventeen years old and eight months pregnant, had been thrown out and was living on the streets, she'd instantly called Alex. And Alex had taken her in.

"I owe you," Nicole said. "And I mean that. I would have taken her home myself, but not only do I not have a spare room, my apartment is too close to Sam's mom's place. She wouldn't have been safe there."

"Oh, stop," Alex told her. "I can read that look in your eyes. Don't you dare start talking about what a bleeding heart I am. This is where I remind you that you're the one who volunteers at that clinic, giving away your very valuable time for free. The way I see it, we're both doing what's right. End of story."

"Okay. I won't grovel in thanks, but I do appreciate what you've done."

Alex dismissed her with a wave, then pressed her fingers to her mouth to smother a yawn. "I'm going to head home and see if I can get a couple of hours of sleep before Tyler comes home from the sitter. What are you doing with the rest of your weekend?"

"Helping a friend," Nicole said casually, ignoring the flare of excitement Alex's question had stirred. Brian was just a friend, and there was nothing between them. Nothing except her imagination and too much time between men.