Not Expecting Anything

"You kissed who?" Donald almost stood up from his seat. "The soldier you met just a week ago?"

"Is it so shocking?" she smiled wryly and tapped the table in contemplation. "It was so dreamy and sweet and warm. Everything I've looked forward to."

"Now that's bullshit!" he banged the table.

"Are you jealous?"

"I'm not but it hurts me to know that you can go around giving strangers kisses while I can't even get one. I've known you for a better part of 15 years!" Donald sounded cheated. He felt cheated. Who wouldn't be? Fifteen years together yet he still couldn't get her.

Priscilla studied his expression. That was the very effect she wanted to achieve. She smiled bashfully though not at Donald but at her own silly thoughts. She was re-living the kiss all over again in her head.

She didn't regret it. She wanted more but she knew it wasn't right. She had a mission to do.

"But…?" she asked feeling that the play boy had more to say.

Donald sighed and took the file again. "I'm comforted because even if he gets the first kiss, I'll get to taste you first."

Priscilla scoffed. "Maybe I did have sex with him."

Donald glared at her. "Even if you did can you not rub it in? I have a surgery in a few days' time!"

"Donald, can I ask you a very personal question?" she asked seriously.

The doctor nodded hoping to hear something related to his desires for her. Maybe something along the lines of, 'what if I slept with you, will you take responsibility afterwards?'

Priscilla put the paper down. "How do you cope operating on naked female patients?"

Donald choked on his saliva. This time he gave her a chilling look that almost froze her. She raised her arms in resignation.

"I don't grope my patients!" he raised his voice feeling offended. "Basic ethics teach to focus on the major tasks. That's why I'm the best."

"Only second to me." Priscilla added.

"Right. I sleep with willing women not helpless ones so don't even think that again. Besides, you've worked with me on multiple surgeries before."

"I thought you were afraid of me."

"Please. I can sleep with a woman in front of you without flinching." He rolled his eyes.

"That just sends your reputation in my eyes below negative."

"We're the same sister," he smiled. "Your fetish for naked muscular men almost rivals my desire for pretty ladies."

"About Walsh," she interrupted his train of thought. "What do you need my help with?"

Donald returned to his professional attitude. "We did a urine test and a computerized tomography and diagnosed the kidney stones. The situation worsened despite being placed on tamsulosin so we're at this point."

Priscilla shrugged. She thought deep about the case then she came to a realisation. Why would Donald only do a urine test and not a blood test?

"Does the patient have any unique case?" she asked.

"That's when you're catching on," he gave her thumbs up. "Walsh has haemophilia and as such we need to be careful."

Priscilla thought for a while and came to basic preliminary. "With the ESWL not working we need to do a Percutoneous Nephrolithotomy to remove the stones."

"Agreed," Donald nodded. "That's why I needed you. Your brain works miracles. With the patient being haemophiliac we can't just rush into the surgery."

Priscilla nodded tersely then fell into deep thought. "What else do I need to know?"

Donald handed the file to her and she read through it silently. "He is suspected to be prone to shocks. This raises the chances for a postoperative shock. We need to tackle this by preventing blood loss, haemorrhage…"

"You see how hard this thing can be?" Donald asked.

"Let me think," she shot him a look. "it isn't hard if we have a team of experts each playing their roles during the surgery to manage his conditions.

"We can deal with the postoperative shock later but the first thing is to manage the haemophilia. We can do a clotting factor replacement and then place him on plasma for the procedure.

"Has he had any episodes in the past year?"

"His record shows very severe." Donald replied.

"Then we can start the surgery soon. When's it?" she asked seeming interested.

"In three days."

"Keep him on tamsulosin till the surgery."

"Perfect!"

"But," Priscilla raised her index finger and waved it in front of his face. "You pay me double of what I used to earn while I worked here. I suddenly feel like you were over using me."

"I treated you well, Priscilla." Donald gave him a dark look and she broke into soft laughter.

"You can go now; I will contact you for the details in the evening."

"Good, my patient is doing well and I think she'll go home in another two weeks." She was referring to the patient with the cerebral atrophy. She was making progress.

Donald nodded. "Thanks for the help. You're amazing."

"That's why I graduated top of my class with honours."

Donald wanted to retort that he also did graduate with honours but decided that it was no use to argue with her. he put the file away and stood up with a sore back. He had been sitting a lot these days.

Priscilla followed his cue and stood as well.

"I heard the police bothered you." he said finally walking behind her as they left the office.

"It wasn't much," she smiled. "They assumed I was covering for you because we dated in college."

"They don't know how badly I wish that was true." Donald sighed under his breath.

Priscilla chuckled. "Have you spoken to her yet?"

"Who? Clair?" he wiped his face with a sigh. "She'd rather die than see my face right now."

"They always hate you, Donald."

"I know," he exhaled. "Yet they're sweet creatures."

"You're hopeless."

"I plan on helping her dig a bit to find out who really killed Bobby."

Priscilla turned to face him with a satisfied grin. "The first step is to start helping a woman without expecting something in return."

"If that's it then I've earned a degree. I've been helping you for ages!"

"Don't you expect something?"

"No."

"Too bad," Priscilla walked ahead again. "I was thinking of accepting your request and sleep with you."

Donald froze momentarily before recovering. "You're kidding right?"

"Nope. But you said you don't want it so it won't happen."

"I will still get you into my bed one day." He said after a short pause.