Edible Delectables (6 page)

~*~

It had been two weeks since Kara's surgery, and she was finally getting back into the groove of her regular routine.  She had closed her bakery down for the first week, with a note posted on the door about a medical emergency in the family.  She gave her current clients references to other local bakeries, knowing it was risky, but also knowing it would be worse if she left her clients high and dry.  However, by the end of the week, she couldn't sit at home any longer and headed in to the shop just to get out of the house.

Kara checked her messages first and found fifteen calls for specialty orders, and immediately set to calling each back.  By noon, she had returned all her calls and had a full schedule set through the following week.  She even agreed to a simple cake request for a little girl’s third birthday, which was needed by the end of the day.  Kara smiled as she grabbed her apron, turned the oven on to preheat and began collecting the ingredients she would need.  She was back in her zone.  While mixing up the cake batter, Kara decided to follow through on her plans to bake thank you cupcakes for Dr. Dietrich.

She mixed up a marble swirl, prepped the pan, and baked the cupcakes while the commissioned birthday cake cooled.  After the cake was finished, and she had called her client, Kara went back to the cupcakes.  At first she was going to do a simple frosting with sprinkles, but then she decided to be creative and made little stethoscope designs on top.  It was six o'clock by the time she had finished them, cleaned everything up and closed up shop.

She hesitated momentarily in her car, finding the courage to head toward the hospital.  Kara had no idea whether Jason was working, but thought an offhanded approach would come off less awkward if she had misinterpreted his actions.

She parked her car in the visitor lot of the hospital, and took a few minutes to pull her nerves together.  “This is ridiculous,” she quickly chastised herself as she got out of the car.

At first Kara wasn't sure which entrance to go thru.  She could go through the ER, as he had said he was on rotation there, or she could go to the main help desk and have him paged.  She quickly decided to head for the main desk, mostly hoping to avoid Laura, the delightful ER front desk attendant from her last visit.

Those hopes were quickly dashed as she realized it was inching close to seven in the evening and the main desk was vacant.  With a sigh, Kara followed the signs leading back to the emergency room.

Of course as Kara’s luck would have it Laura was manning the desk, and when Kara asked if Dr. Dietrich was working, she was given a scrutinizing once-over.  "Do you have an appointment?" Laura asked her in a patronizing tone, sounding like she couldn’t care less if she did or not.

"No," Kara answered simply. 
Did she really just ask if I had an appointment?  For the ER?
Kara couldn't help but slightly roll her eyes.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Laura seemed to be waiting for Kara to say something.  "Is he available?" Kara asked again.

"Just a moment," Laura snipped.  Unbelievably it took another five minutes before she finally had Jason paged over the intercom. 
What.  The.  Hell?

Another five minutes passed before Kara saw Jason walk up to reception.  He looked tired and was once again wearing scrubs, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he'd had another unfortunate vomiting episode.  Kara felt her stomach drop when the nurse standing behind the counter pointed back toward the waiting room and Jason looked over and caught her eye.  At first he looked shocked, but then he a slow smile stretched across his face until he let out a small laugh, then pointed to the doors and walked to open them.

"Hi."  He looked genuinely pleased to see her, which made Kara blush.

"Hi."  They stood, not really knowing what to say to each other.

"Oh, I brought you these as a thank you, you know, for taking such great care of me."  Kara held up the cupcake carrier, her face aflame now, as she began to feel stupid about the whole thing.

"Really?"  He looked surprised, taking the carrier from her hand, their fingers brushing lightly before he took the handle and walked over to the reception desk to open it.  His mouth dropped at the sight of six cupcakes with the delicate and detailed medical decorations.  "Thank you," he breathed out.  He looked up at her, surprise and awe in his eyes.

Kara glanced around and noticed the small audience of front desk workers currently watching her talk to Jason.  Could her face get redder?  She wouldn't have thought so, but with Jason looking at her so intently, and the woman at the front desk scrutinizing her every move, it felt as though she would reach new blazing levels.

Jason looked up at the same time and scowled at the nosy women until they looked away.  He closed up the cupcakes and motioned for Kara to follow him.  He made his way to the doctors’ lounge and held the door open for her, motioning for her to enter.  As soon as he set the carrier down, he re-opened it and grabbed a cupcake.  Peeling back the paper cup, he took a large bite, moaning in delight.

"Thank you, really...thank you," he said again, closing his eyes and enjoying the swirled treasure in his mouth.

"You didn't have to you know, I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did," he laughed, “but as a doctor I was sort of required to treat you," he teased.

Kara grinned and nodded her head, "I know, Hippocratic oath and all.  And I'm glad you like them."

"I do."

They stood looking at each other for a minute, when suddenly Jason's pager began to beep.  Sighing in frustration, he grabbed it off his hip and read the message.  "I'm sorry, there's a peds patient coming in..." he trailed off.

"Oh, no, I understand. I'll let you get back to work."  Kara looked around the room and spotted a paper plate, "do you mind if I unload these and take the carrier back?"  She felt a little bad about that the request, but she used the carrier frequently.

"Oh, of course."  Jason helped her place the cupcakes on the plate then re-secured the top.  They stood together in silence, unsure of what to do next.

"Well it was good…"

"I'm really glad you came by…"

They both started at the same time and laughed.

Jason swallowed and began again, "I'm glad you came by. I was wondering how you were doing."

Kara looked up shyly through her eyelashes and smiled.  "I'm okay, just a little sore today.  I need to head home to get some rest."

"Yes, take care of yourself," he agreed and then once again they were left in silence, not knowing what else to say, yet neither wanting to leave.

"I really do have to go."  He frowned and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder at the door.

Kara nodded again and grabbed the cupcake carrier from the table, turning to head out.

"Can...can I get your number?" Jason asked hesitantly.

"Yeah."  Kara breathed out, grinning, "Can I see your cell phone?"  She held out her hand expectantly.

"Uh, sure."  Jason reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone, then handed it to her.  She quickly dialed her own, letting it ring once before disconnecting and saving the number to his address book.  She handed him his phone back, smiling, a little smugly, that she now had his number also.

"Thanks."  His eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement.  As they left the lounge, Kara could feel the heat of his palm on her lower back, as he gently guided her from the room.

There was something about the way he did it, so offhanded and gentlemanly and
familiar
, that surprised her.  But what surprised her more was that it felt
so right
.

~*~

Jason watched as Kara left the building, before returning to the front desk to look through the charts for his new patient.

"Dating a patient, Jason?" Laura asked, turning toward him in her chair and crossing her legs, allowing her skirt to rise slightly up her thighs.

"Laura, I don't know what you’re talking about," he said, trying to hide his annoyance at the interruption.  Laura was always snooping into Jason's private life.  She'd made no secret of her desires for him, which he had politely declined since his first day.  He tried to be subtle, not wanting to hurt her feelings, but Laura didn’t seem to notice.  She was persistent.

"The sickly looking one with red hair? The one who brought you the baked goods? She was a patient here, wasn't she?" Laura persisted, slowly turning back and forth in her chair, watching him.

Jason sighed in irritation, "Yes, she was, and no, I'm not dating a patient."  He hoped the lack of pronoun wouldn't be obvious.  Of course it was semantics; it could, in fact, be construed that he was dating a patient.  Jason didn't agree. It's not as though he could control who came through the doors of the hospital, and as it was, he was
not
currently treating Kara.  He decided to keep it vague, go with a denial and hope that Laura dropped the whole thing.  He was sure legally he was doing nothing wrong, but scrutiny at work was a hassle he didn’t need.  Jason was a professional and didn't need that challenged by some hormonally driven coworker with boundary issues.

"You know, any time you want to get out, or,” she raised her eyebrows, “relieve stress, I'm here.  We could go for drinks," Laura pressed.

Jason gave a fake smile, "Thanks, but that's probably not a good idea.  I'm not dating a patient and it would be a bad idea to date a coworker."  He tried to be polite.

"Well, let me know if you change your mind."  She was trying for seductive but mostly came off as desperate as she ran her finger down his arm from his bicep to his hand.  He fought the urge to cringe at the contact.

"I will," he replied, nodding his head and grabbing the file he needed as he left the reception area.

Chapter Six

Jason finished his shift in the best mood he'd been in – what?  Weeks?  Months?  Hell, in the best mood he'd
ever
been in.  He couldn't remember the last time he had been this giddy over a girl.  Kara had brought him cupcakes; delicious, adorable, doctor-themed cupcakes.  And then she gave him her phone number.  Not only did she give him her number, but by using his own cell to do it, she now had his too.  Would she call him? No, he would make sure to call her first; he wanted to be clear with his intentions.  He glanced at his watch to check the time.  It was after eleven, and he briefly considered calling her, but just as quickly decided against it.  Surely it was too late - or was it? Jason let out an exasperated sigh; he was so bad at this.  He didn't want to look desperate by calling too soon, but neither did he want to play games.

He looked at his watch again and determined it was too late, calling was out.  Instead, he decided to send her a text message.  He quickly typed out another thank you for the cupcakes, letting her know his co-workers had been extremely jealous, and admitted he finally relented and had generously given two away - but only two.  He hit send and then briefly wondered if she would reply in the morning, and whether she would call or text him back.

Less than two minutes later his phone chimed with a message.

Then I'll bake you more.  ;)
Kara replied. 
That means she's awake...

Jason immediately dialed her number without hesitation, not really knowing what he would say when, or even if, she answered.

"Hello?" Kara's voice softly answered, sending tingles throughout his body.  Jason wondered briefly if she had been asleep, and if his text had awoken her.

"Hi, did I wake you?"

"No, I was actually just settling down for the night."  He heard her giggle while clearly trying to stifle a yawn.

Jason chuckled when he yawned in return, "I was just about to turn in myself."

"Long day?"

"Yes and no."  Jason pulled his shirt off and grabbed pajama pants from his dresser drawer.  "This flu season is kicking our asses, but some of the residents who've been out sick are back, so at least the shifts are beginning to ease up a little.  Plus, somebody brought me these delectable cupcakes today, so right there my day ranks higher than any of the others I’ve had lately."

“I’m glad you liked them.  I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure if it would be inappropriate.” Kara’s voice was trailed off and Jason had to strain to hear her.  They were both quiet for a minute.  It was now or never - he had to take a chance.

“Not at all,” he answered, almost in a whisper.  “I’m glad you came by.  I ... I wanted to see you, but I wasn’t sure if you’d think
that
was inappropriate, considering the doctor-patient thing.  To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to do.”  Jason chuckled nervously, stopping as he realized he was pacing in his living room.  She didn’t say anything but he could hear her breathing.

“Kara?”  He was almost afraid she had fallen asleep.  As nervous as he was feeling, considering his strong desire to ask her out, he wondered if maybe her falling asleep wouldn’t be a good thing, postponing his anxiety a little longer.

“I’m here,” she replied softly.

Jason sighed, “I’m glad you came by tonight.  And the cupcakes were really good; in fact, good is not the right word, maybe I should say fantastic, delicious, when I ate them I’m pretty sure I saw God.”  He heard her chuckle, followed by another yawn on her end, and he smiled.

“You should get some sleep; your body needs it to heal.”  He immediately wanted to take back his words, fearing she’d see him as a doctor, or worse,
her
doctor.  That was the last thing he wanted.  As far as he was concerned, that aspect of their relationship ended as soon as she left the emergency room.

“Yes, sir, Doctor Dietrich.”  Jason grimaced slightly at his correct assumption, but hearing her quiet laugh and the smile in her voice he relaxed, silence once again settling between them.

“Can I call you tomorrow?” he asked hesitantly.

“I’d like that.”

“Goodnight, Kara.”

“Goodnight, Jason.”  He waited a few seconds until he heard her disconnect, then looked at the display.  They’d been talking for ten minutes.  He smiled and put the phone down, then practically skipped to the bathroom for a quick shower before bed.