“Whatever you need, brother. We’ve got your back.”
With the women entertaining Cami, it doesn’t take long to pack up my stuff and break down Cami’s bedroom setup and soon, we’re heading to Phoebe’s to put it all together once again. As we pull in, I see that Phoebe’s finally back from her appointment and wonder how she made out. I get Cami out of her carseat and walk toward the house, eager to put my gaze and lips on my woman.
“Are you putting Cami’s stuff in the room she was in before?” Rebel asks.
“Yeah, brother,” I reply.
“Then we’ll get started moving it all inside,” he says as I breach the door that Phoebe is standing in.
I lean down and kiss her before I move us to the side. “They’re putting her stuff back in her room,” I say to her unasked question. “How did it go at the hospital?”
Once we’re sitting down, I put Cami between us and listen to my daughter babble while Phoebe talks to her as though she understands everything being said. She finally looks at me and replies, “Should have the results tomorrow, but there are no indicators that I’ve got an infection, so I’ll probably lose thePICC line in the next day or so.” I chuckle when she adds, “Whoo hoo!”
“Then all you’ll have is Wanda for a little while longer,” I say.
“Yeah, I’m kind of tired of it and it’s going to keep me from working for a few more months,” she grumbles.
“Just gives you time to get your ducks in a row is all,” I tease. “Get yourself enrolled in your degree program so you can hit the ground running once you’re ready to do the clinical part. Do you know which specialty you’ll choose?”
“Probably general family medicine,” she replies. “It makes the most sense considering the departments I work in at the hospital.”
“Would it help you if you were out on a contract assignment for Thelma?” I ask.
“It would give her someone else she could utilize who was able to write prescriptions as well as actually diagnose the patient’s problem,” she says.
The door opening again has me looking up to see Holly and Marnie walk through, their arms ladened down with bags. “We’ve got clothes!” Holly squeals. “I went through some totes I had of the girls’ things out at my grandparents’ house and decided it was time to pass them on.”
“We already washed them,” Marnie adds. “They just need to be put away.”
I chuckle because the sheer number of bags they’re carrying means that my daughter will be covered for quite some time. “The guys might be done putting the furniture together again, so feel free to head to her room,” I tell the pair.
Once they’re out of sight, I grin at Phoebe. “We’ve got one helluva family, don’t we?” I ask.
“Yeah, we do,” she replies. “Guess I need to rustle up some grub to feed all these hungry people.”
I shake my head. “No, I’ll order takeout, sweetheart. Let’s go help our family.”
Esther and Paul ended up showing up with Holly and Rebel’s crew, as well as Becca, so dinner was a bit eclectic. Pizza, wings, Chinese, breadsticks, plus one of those giant cookie cakes to celebrate the fact that we were all home once again. As I help Phoebe get the kitchen cleaned up, I announce, “Rebel and I were talking earlier today.”
“Oh, yeah? Everything’s okay, isn’t it?” she asks.
“He has an idea for our future,” I tell her, “and I kind of like the idea but want to see what you think.”
“Hit me with it, hotshot,” she teases as she wipes down the last counter.
Cami’s been asleep for about an hour so once I put the last few things in the fridge, I check the house and make sure it’s secure for the night. I’m still amazed that outside of a few odds and ends, we’re completely moved into Phoebe’s house. Now it’s time to make it into our home.
“So, he was paying attention while they were with us in the mountains, and he feels that being a travel nurse is your calling, Phoebe.” When she starts to protest, I put up my hand to stopher and add, “I agree with him. I know you enjoy what you do at the hospital, sweetheart, but at the same time, you’re hampered by the politics and shit that are part of being in that environment. Seeing you having to take charge while out in the field, making assessments based on your experience, and how you kept calm, cool, and collected even when you got hurt showed me that you need to be challenged. If you took a longer leave of absence from the hospital, once you’re cleared to go back, that is, you could explore the travel nurse thing again while you work on getting your degree and certifications. Cami and I can come with you since she’s so young, and then once we start having kids or she gets old enough to start school, we can re-evaluate.”
“But what about your shop? The new place you’re trying to start up? The club?” she asks, peppering me with questions.
“The businesses practically run themselves these days. As far as clients, I mostly pick and choose who I want to work on, especially since finding out about Cami. My perspective has shifted, sweetheart. Everything I was doing before you walked into the clubhouse that day was marking time, and Rebel recognized that fact. The new business can be overseen by some of my friends who were in the circuit with me. Fuck knows I may still be in good shape, but I can’t go back to fighting and sparring regularly. My body already aches most days thanks to all the injuries I sustained over the years.”
“And the club?” she probes. “They’ve been your family for a long time now, Eli, and no matter how exciting the thought is to me of getting to go back to being a travel nurse, I won’t let you sacrifice your own happiness for mine.”
“The club will always be here for me, for us,” I promise. “Here’s what I see happening, at least in the immediate future. You’regoing to buckle down and get your master’s degree so you can get into a nurse practitioner program. Since you’re on leave until your arm fully heals, you’ll be able to focus without your attention being split between school, work, and everything else. When you’re released to work again, take a leave of absence and start working with Thelma’s company. If it’s a situation like you had in the mountains, we’ll take the RV. Hell, we can still take the RV and hook up a travel trailer to haul my bike and your car so you can drive back and forth to your assignment. I’ve got enough friends who own tattoo shops so I can take my guns and be available to them while you’re busy helping patients.”
“What about Cami?” she asks.
