"Dr. Spencer…"
"Paging Dr. Amira Spencer…"
When she heard her name echo through the speaker in the long, white hallway, she automatically dropped everything and ran.
Upon entering the trauma room, the first thing that flashed before her eyes was chaos.
Doctors shouted, nurses ran around, machines beeped continuously, and blood spilled everywhere. It looked like a terrible scene in a horrific thriller movie.
What a mess!
Shaking her head, she said nothing.
Instead, she strode into the private cubicle and quickly assessed the situation.
Then, she started barking orders calmly.
"He's not dead yet. So, don't just stand there." She stared at a nurse, who barely moved in her spot.
"Continue CPR… Charge the defibrillator to 200…"
After grabbing the electrode pads, she shouted. "Clear."
For the next few minutes, she worked on stabilizing the patient.
"Scalpel… Forceps… Clamp… Sponge…"
So on, and so forth.
Then she relentlessly operated on the stabbing victim to stop the bleeding.
In what seemed like forever, she finally eased her hand away from the patient's chest, breathing heavily but looking relieved and satisfied.
After battling against death, she finally won. At least her patient would live another day.
"Good job, everyone." She announced to all present in the room.
After that, she pulled off her bloodied gloves and threw them into the waste bin.
Most patients who came through their doors were either in critical condition or dying. As an ER Trauma Doctor, her main job was to treat patients urgently and try to keep them alive.
"Hey, I heard that you just pulled another one from hell's door."
She had just finished showering and changing into clean clothes when her friend walked into the locker room in her cute pink scrub suit.
"The man was critical, but not beyond saving." She reacted nonchalantly, not particularly agreeing with her friend's assertion.
Of course, she heard what the other hospital staff were saying about her. Many called her the Miracle Doctor because she had saved several patients who were already a lost cause.
However, she disagreed. She was no miracle worker.
She believed her years volunteering with Doctors Without Borders had taught her to approach every case without fear, take risks, and operate under extreme circumstances. A trait that many doctors would take several years, even decades, to develop.
"Still, Amira, you were badass in there." Her friend continued, staring at her as if she had just brought a dead man back to life.
"Honestly, Blair, I think you performed more miracles than me." She slumped back on the bench, closing her eyes shut even for just a minute.
Come to think of it, as an OB-GYN doctor, Dr. Blair Seymour brought more life into this world than she ever did.
"Excuse me, Dr. Spencer…" A nurse appeared by the door, carrying a beautifully arranged bunch of flowers. "This came for you."
"Wow, Amira, these are lovely." Blair snatched the bouquet, cradling the red roses as if they were the most precious thing she had ever seen.
"Thanks." She dismissed the nurse, but said nothing else.
She stared at the card pinned between the petals, already aware of where it came from.
"How long are you going to make Jared wait?" Even Blair knew who sent it.
But it wasn't exactly a secret that the Chief of Surgery had been actively pursuing her.
"He had been courting you for years. Won't you even give him a chance?" Her friend continued, looking at her as if pleading.
"No." She answered definitively, setting the flowers aside.
In fairness, she understood her friend's concern.
Dr. Jared Carter was a successful general surgeon, one of the best in his field. He was good-looking, intelligent, kind, and extremely loaded. More than that, he seemed to be totally smitten with her.
Honestly, Jared was damn near perfect. What was not to like about him? He was a great catch.
But—
"Why?" Her friend asked.
"You know why." She spoke softly, but didn't elaborate.
Blair already knew her reason, but her friend was too stubborn to listen.
Her friend believed that Jared was the perfect man for her.
Unfortunately, not her.
"Anyway, are you still coming over tonight?" She changed the topic, telling her friend that she had already prepared dinner, popcorn, and soda for their sleepover and movie marathon.
Aside from being her personal doctor, Dr. Blair Seymour was also her best friend. She met her back in college. They went through the same rigorous training to become a doctor.
"Well, I wouldn't miss it." Blair giggled excitedly. "But I have to go." Her friend checked her watch, probably remembering she had somewhere else to be.
"Then go." She said casually, glad for a few minutes of silence.
Although she loved Blair like a sister and enjoyed her company, sometimes her friend could be too loud, even too overbearing. So, once in a while, she welcomed her friend's occasional absence.
Nevertheless, since her grandfather's death, Blair was the only person who stayed.
Her parents died when she was young. Then, her grandfather raised her, gave her everything, spoiled her, and treated her like a princess.
Grandpa Leandro loved her and filled the void her parents had left. However, her grandfather had been sick for years. Moreover, his old age didn't help his condition.
"Once I'm a doctor, I'll cure your heart." She promised him. But the night of her graduation, he died.
"I'm so proud of you." Those were his last words before he drew his last breath.
From then on, she was on her own.
Upon her grandfather's death, Conrad Spencer, her grandfather's other son, stole her inheritance and kicked her out of the family, leaving her with nothing but her name.
She had other relatives, but she had never been close to them.
To them, she was just a burden they weren't willing to take.
To make matters worse, she had a long-time boyfriend. She thought he would be her forever. But the dickhead dumped her as soon as he learned that she was left with nothing.
Eventually, she learned that he was just a cheating bastard who had been hooking up with her cousin, Sierra.
From that point on, Blair was her only family.
Until—
***
"Oh my… God."
The scene left her breathless as she walked into the kitchen that looked like it had been turned upside down.
It was complete mayhem. Finding her kitchen was no different from the ER scene this morning.
She had stepped outside of the room for a few minutes to take an urgent call. When she returned, the kitchen was already on fire.
At least the pan had gone ablaze, scorching in flames.
Popcorn kernels spread on the tiled floor.
Drinks spilled on the white marble counter.
Then, the people she left to take charge of cooking ran around in circles, making things worse.
As if that wasn't bad enough, thick smoke climbed to the ceiling and set off the fire alarm.
"What the... F…" She shouted. But she bit her tongue and clamped her mouth shut before she could say another word.
Quickly, she soaked a towel under the sink and blanketed it on the pan. Thankfully, it doused the fire immediately.
Next, she jumped onto the counter, reached the alarm, and turned it off before they bothered the entire neighborhood. The last thing she needed was to receive another complaint.
"Ok… what happened?" She finally asked, turning to the other three people in the room.
"Hey, I tried to stop them." Blair raised her hands as if in surrender. Then, she pointed at the two tiny figures standing behind the counter.
"Myko… Aisla…" She called each one by name, forcing them out of hiding. "Explain."
"Mommy, it was Myko." Her daughter, the youngest of her twins, finally spoke. This time, Aisla pointed her finger at her older brother. "I told him not to mess with the stove, but…"
"Mom, I only set the fire… I just wanted to help cook the popcorn." Myko interrupted his sister, clearly guilty. "But it was Aisla who dumped the popcorn on the floor."
"And then, it was Lynx who knocked down the pitcher." The two pointed at their orange-striped, furry cat, which lay lazily in the middle of the counter. Completely unbothered.
"Ok…" She calmly gathered the kids in her arms, glad nothing bad happened to them. "I'm not mad, but you have to understand that your safety has to come first."
After half an hour of cleaning the kitchen, she and her friend had finally joined her twins in front of the television for their movie marathon.
Another hour later, the kids were finally asleep, leaving her and her friend to enjoy the rest of the night.
With a glass of wine, she sat in front of the television with her friend beside her, watching a classic.
"Don't they ever ask about their father?" Blair asked out of the blue. Her eyes were on the screen, but apparently, her mind wasn't.
"They have." She immediately lowered her eyes to the wine in her hands.
Lately, her twins had been wondering where their father was. They had been asking a lot of questions. But honestly, she had no answer.
"I just told them that he was a soldier on a secret mission. That someday, he would come home." Of course, it was a lie, but she had no choice.
Honestly, she had no clue who he was or what he did.
It happened seven years ago. At that time, she was still assigned overseas, working on a medical mission.
One unforgettable night.
One drunken mistake, she slept with a stranger.
When she woke, the room was empty.
He was gone.
"Do you still think you can find him?" Blair sounded concerned, as if she didn't believe it herself.
Truthfully, she doubted it.
She had hired an investigator, hoping she could at least track his name and whereabouts. But with little information, the search returned nothing. It was like finding a needle in a barn full of haystacks. It was nearly impossible.
"I owe it to my kids to try. They deserve to know their father." She thought it was the right thing to do.
Not because she intended to force him to take responsibility, but because he had the right to know that he had fathered two adorable kids.
"If he didn't want anything to do with my kids, I have no problem raising them on my own." Besides, she had done it successfully so far.
Moreover, she had already decided she didn't need a man in her life. After her ex's betrayal, she believed she was better off alone. Her kids were more than enough.
"But you need help." Blair pointed out, gesturing toward the kitchen. More or less, reminding her of the earlier near-mishap. "You need someone to watch them 24/7."
Now that she thought of it, her friend might be right.
Her twins had turned into a handful. Plus, her schedule. It had become more demanding as more patients had been dumped on her lap.
Temporary nannies and daycares were not enough anymore.
Then Blair suggested.
"Why not hire a live-in nanny?"