Nerds on Fire (41 page)

Trixi trailed upstairs to shower and
change into sleeping clothes then sat in the chair by the window.
She left the light on so Mark would see it the minute he got
home.

Moments later, exhaustion came to
whisk her away.

Mark wasn’t surprised when he tapped
on the partially open door and didn’t get a response. The only
reason he had come upstairs was because he saw Trixi’s light was
on. It cast gentle shadows across the soft features of the most
beautiful woman in the world.

She looked warm and sweet and
everything a woman should be.

Smiling at the lovely picture, he
gently scooped her into his arms. She snuggled close and murmured
something. It sounded like his name.

“
Hey, I’m home,” he
whispered into her hair.

Her response was to sigh happily and
settle more comfortably against him. He laughed, and the rumble
must have woken her.

Those gorgeous silvery-blue eyes
opened and stared into his. He stopped on his way to the
bed.

“
Hi.” His voice sounded
husky.

Trixi’s lips curled up. “Hi. What are
you doing?”

“
Carrying you to your bed.
It looks like you fell asleep in the chair.”

“
I did. I meant to stay
awake until you got home.” She swallowed, and it looked
painful.

“
You didn’t have
to.”

“
No.” Her eyes were bright
and steady. There was a glow there he recognized because he was
feeling it too. Mark hesitated to pin the word “love” to it, but
love seemed like the most appropriate description.

“
I wanted to though.” She
ran a hand through her hair. It tumbled down her back. “It’s been a
really long day.”

He resumed his journey to her bed. “It
was weird to have a Saturday without you here.”

“
I dislike working
weekends. Fortunately it won’t happen often.”

“
Do you work
tomorrow?”

She nodded. “Seven a.m. to seven p.m.
again. This flu has made us short staffed.”

Arriving at her bed, he carefully
placed her on it and watched as she scrambled under the covers. “So
you have to be up early again?”

“
Yes, unfortunately.” Her
hand shaped his face and he could see the regret in her
eyes.

“
I’ll take care of Gran, so
no worries there.”

“
Thank you.” Her eyes
smiled at him, but her weariness was evident.

“
You need
sleep.”

Her smile increased even as her
eyelids drifted shut. “Yes.”

Mark leaned forward to kiss her
goodnight and while he got a response, it was evident she was
already well on her way to visit the Sandman.

He watched her for a few moments. It
was amazing to him this small, quiet woman had swathed herself so
tightly around his life. Now he couldn’t imagine her not being
there. In fact, he didn’t want to imagine a world without her in
it.

Mark snapped out the light and then
meandered across the room to the door. He left it propped open and
made his way down the stairs to his own room.

He was already missing her.

“
I’m done here Steph. Do
you need anything else?” Trixi’s hands were raw from all the
washings. She didn’t feel bad, but she didn’t feel all that good
either, so if she was coming down with something, she didn’t want
to infect her small patients. On the same vein, she, Stephanie, and
the other staff had all worn masks so as not to transfer germs.
Little Brandon was holding his own, barely.

“
No, I have to finish this
paperwork and then I’m right behind you.” The nurse flapped a hand
but kept her attention on the screen in front of her.

Trixi waved back and turned to speak
with the physician assistant in charge of second shift. He was
everything Louisa said he was, excellent with the babies, staff,
and parents. She was happy to hand things over to him, who was also
filling in because of the flu.

“
You look terrible,” he
said. Not unkindly, just stating the facts as he saw
them.

“
That’s pretty much how I’m
feeling.”

“
Are you off
tomorrow?”

“
Yes, and
Tuesday.”

“
I suggest you stay in
bed.”

“
That’s my plan.
Goodnight.” She finally left the unit.

It was nice to think of home and her
bed. The headache that had bothered her yesterday persisted, her
throat scratchy. All she wanted was to see Mark and Gran and then
go to bed.

Mark would understand. It was then she
remembered he had another family function tonight and wouldn’t be
home until late. She had missed him all day. Silly and romantic,
but true nonetheless.

Turning her phone on once she hit the
parking lot, there was a message from Gran. She needed more tissues
and cough drops. Trixi thought those items might come in handy, so
she stopped by a store on her way home. She was heading toward the
checkout counter with a loaded basket when Chrissy stepped into her
path.

Suppressing a groan was
hard.

“
That man is your
boyfriend?”

It was sad how mushy her brain felt.
Maybe it was because of her long shift. “What man?”

“
The doctor you were
holding hands with last week.”

“
Yes, Mark and I are
dating.” Mushy brain or not, she was still effervescent about their
relationship.

“
You already have the
perfect home, now you need the perfect man?” There was a trace of
venom in Chrissy’s voice and more than a little
accusation.

“
Actually, I also have the
perfect job.” Trixi smiled, although another wave of weariness
washed over her.

“
He’s far too good for
you.”

Trixi almost didn’t hear her, but she
tilted her head to the side, and asked, “How do you
figure?”

“
He only wants you because
of your house.”

Thinking about it, Trixi eventually
shrugged. “I don’t particularly care why he’s with me. I’m just
super happy he’s in my life.” This time the wave crashing over her
was compassion for Chrissy. “Maybe if you appreciated the people in
your life, you wouldn’t be so unhappy. I hope you find happiness
like I have.”

Chrissy’s cheeks stained with red,
whether from embarrassment or anger there was no telling. Either
way, it was uncomfortable, so with a faint nod, Trixi hefted her
basket and headed for an open line.

The threatening tiredness from before
added another serious warning so she hurried through the checkout
process and then home. After a quick check on Gran, she handed over
some of her bounty before hurrying upstairs, and then changed her
mind. She wrote Mark a quick note and left it taped to his
door.

One quick but thorough shower later
and she was on her way to bed. Her throat wasn’t on fire, but it
did hurt, so she took the nighttime flu pills she had bought and
they added the final element to her weariness.

Chapter 40

When Trixi awoke the next morning, it
was to find Mark sitting on her bed. He counted her respiration and
then checked her glands.

“
What are you doing?” Her
question came out raspy.

“
I’m guessing you have the
flu.” He leaned forward to kiss her nose.

She groaned. “Headache, sore throat,
and tired.”

“
My advice is for you to
stay in bed today.”

Trixi wrinkled her nose. “I don’t have
time to stay in bed.”

“
Yes, you do. You’re off
work, since you just worked seven days in a row, right?”

“
Yes.”

Mark traced a pattern across her nose.
“If you stay in bed today, you should be able for more
tomorrow.”

He rose. Trixi shoved the covers aside
and made to follow him.

“
What are you
doing?”

“
Bathroom and then I need
some liquids,” she replied.

“
I’ll wait.”

She didn’t waste time in the bathroom.
Orange juice sounded amazingly good to her. Not that she felt
rotten. She didn’t. However, spending the day in bed wasn’t going
to be a hardship.

When she joined Mark at the door, she
was a little unsteady. He wrapped an arm around her and she was
grateful.

“
How did you suspect I have
the flu?”

“
I came in to say goodbye
and your breathing was off.”

“
Oh. Makes sense.” Her
chest was tight, like her lungs were constricted. She had a new
appreciation for her tiny patients.

“
You’re feeling
congested?”

She nodded. “Yes. It goes along with
the flu.” Then she sneezed and nearly knocked herself off her feet.
Only Mark’s arm around her kept her upright as they descended the
stairs, very slowly.

Gran was in the kitchen when they
arrived. “You’re sick too,” she said flatly.

Trixi dropped into the chair beside
her to catch her breath. “Yes. I wasn’t feeling well yesterday or
Saturday. I’m planning to stay in bed today.” She visually examined
her grandmother. “You’re looking better.”

“
I’m feeling a little more
human now.” Gran spoiled this statement by sneezing. It started a
coughing fit.

Shoving to her feet, Trixi headed for
the fridge. She found orange juice and poured generous glasses for
all three of them.

Mark dispersed them. They drank those
before he sent them both back to bed. Trixi spent the day there
with a few trips to check on Gran.

When Mark got home later, she tucked a
pizza into the oven for him, despite his protests. It was something
easy and he liked pizza.

With a generous salad, he enjoyed the
fare while she and Gran tried chicken soup and crackers. Her
stomach wasn’t even certain it wanted soup.

Everyone went to bed early that
night.

When she awoke the next morning, Trixi
was feeling much better. She got up, showered, and then made her
way downstairs. Hoping to see Mark, she frowned when she didn’t
hear the distant sound of water running through the pipes or the
faint creak of wooden floors.

He should be up and about by now.
Otherwise he’d be late for work. She strolled to his door and
tapped on it. This room led into his sitting room. It was dark. She
passed through to his bedroom door. Knocking, she thought she heard
something but then wasn’t certain. She cracked the door and called
softly, “Mark?”

A faint rustling of the covers
indicated there was life there, but it was also all she heard. She
eased around the door and hurried to his bed. In the meager beam of
the bathroom light she snapped on, his eyes looked bright and a
little glazed.

“
You have the flu,” she
stated, and reached out to check his temperature. Sure enough, he
was overheated, but shivering and he looked like death.

“
Trixi?” His voice was as
raspy as hers had been yesterday.

“
Yes, sweetheart. You’re
sick. I’m going to call in to work for you today.” When he didn’t
argue, it told her all too well how miserable he felt.

She quickly made the call from his
study. There were a few patients out with the same virus and their
appointments already needed rescheduled. His colleagues, with the
aid of his team, could handle those who were still on.

Relieved, she hung up and then hurried
into the kitchen where she made a fresh batch of orange juice from
the tree in the conservatory. Once finished, she poured him a
glass. She also filled a pitcher with water and carried both in to
him. He drank all the juice, but didn’t want the water. Leaving it
for later, she repeated the process with Gran.

“
Baby girl, I’m much
better.” Gran no sooner finished speaking than she started
coughing. Trixi observed for a moment and then made a phone call.
It was evident Gran did feel better except for the
cough.

There were meds available to help with
that. “Gran, I called your doctor about a medicine to help with
your cough.”

“
I don’t...” but then she
started coughing again, and Trixi raised an eyebrow.

“
I need to go pick it
up.”

“
Did Mark get to
work?”

“
No, he’s home with the
flu.”

“
I didn’t think I heard him
up making coffee.”

“
He’s in bed.”

Gran nodded weakly, the coughing fit
having taken a lot out of her. “Without this cough, I would feel
nearly back to normal.”

“
I’m leaving soon to pick
up your prescription. It should help a lot.”

“
You only had this a couple
of days, why did I get it so bad?”

“
Normally we in the health
care professions don’t get sick at all. Since many of us have
gotten this, it’s a doozy.”

“
So Mark wouldn’t normally
have gotten sick?”