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“You haven’t taken any of your vacation time,” I reply evenly. “Take a few of those days to come with me.”
Her brow furrows. “I was planning to use that time for a special rotation in cardio myopathy.”
“You’ve landed your residency, you don’t need anything else to build up your resume.”
“It’s not just a resume builder, it’s practical experience that I can take into my residency.”
“Mads, I’m talking about a few days, five tops. You’ll still have plenty of time to gain more experience.” I shift around to look her in the eyes. “Just put in for a few vacation days. I want you there with me, so I can introduce my amazing fiancée to my family.”
She just stares at me for a moment, I see her sense of defiance warring against her desire to please me. When it really comes down to it, she doesn’t have a valid reason for refusing me now that her surgical residency is a lock.
Her shoulders slump and she sighs in resignation. “I guess I could.”
“I know you like to be in the thick of things in the ER, but I need you there with me. We’ll be back before you know it and you’ll see you haven’t missed a step.”
She sits back against the headboard and stares straight ahead. “Moscow, huh?”
I look askance at her. “Christ, Mads, you act as if I’m taking you to Siberia. Moscow’s a beautiful city filled with great history, rich architecture, performing arts and science.” I shake my head. “I thought you were too smart to buy into all the western propaganda about Russia.”
That gets her ire up. “It has nothing to do with propaganda, it’s the timing of this trip.”
I snort. “The timing couldn’t be more perfect given you just cinched the residency. Admit it, your objection has nothing to do with the timing.”
“You could be whisking me off to the Maldives and I’d have the exact same reaction. So don’t sit there and accuse me of being a victim of western propaganda.”
“So, then what is it?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest. “You think the hospital can’t survive a few days without the great Dr. Graham there? Afraid some other student’s going to be in the limelight for a bit?”
Her mouth drops open, and she can’t formulate a response which tells me I’ve hit the nail on the head.
“Mads, you have your entire career to dazzle your colleagues with your brilliance and you know it,” I say with a warm smile. “I know I come second to your career, I’ve made my peace with that, but I need you to come with me on this trip. Can’t you do this for me?”
She sits back and closes her eyes. “Give me the dates, I’ll have to run them by Emma to make sure it’ll work.”
“You’re not on call yet, it’ll work,” I say removing her last obstacle. “We’ll leave in two weeks, April 7 and return on the 12th.” Moving off the bed, I slip my feet into my slides. “I’m going to make us some breakfast. French toast and eggs.” I know it’s one of her favorites.
I see the smile tugging at the corner of those sensuous lips. “Whatever.”
As I reach the doorway, she calls out, “I’m looking forward to seeing Moscow with you. I know I’ll have a wonderful time because I’ll be with you.”
Her words floor me, and something inside me melts into little puddles. “"Ya lyublyu tebya, Madison Graham."
Her grin spreads wide. “I love you too, babe.”
Chapter 29 – Two Weeks Later, Two Weeks Late
Idon’tknowhowlong I’ve been sitting here, staring at this plastic white stick. The phrase in my head plays on repeat: How did this happen? How did this happen?
I’m still sitting on the sofa when I hear the jingle of keys and the sound of the door opening.
“Mads, what is it?” Comes Sebastian’s anxious words. All I told him was to come home immediately. He hurries to my side, dropping down next to me on the sofa. “Honey, you’re scaring me, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”
Not looking at him, I unfurl my hand from around the stick and hold it out to him.
“What is t…” he’s a second processing the significance. “Wait…the two lines that’s…that’s positive, right?”
I still don’t look at him, but merely nod.
He goes silent. We both sit there contemplating the magnitude of this development. I’ve been faithfully on the patch for years. I’ve never been pregnant, have always been ridiculously careful. Even after Bash and I both took test to ensure we were clean, I still made him use condoms…most of the time.
