Chapter 32: Common Ground

August 16, 1988, McKinley, Ohio

"Thanks for switching days for dinner," I said to Kari when she arrived on Tuesday evening.

"It's no problem. Is this going to be the final overnight?"

"In all likelihood, unless you want to spend Friday night with me after the gig."

"I would!" Kari replied as we sat down to eat. "We won't have band practice on Saturday morning, so we can screw all night!"

"If that's what you want to do, I'll give it my best shot!"

"Rachel will be with your in-laws, right?"

"Yes."

"Cool!" she exclaimed, then added, "Sorry."

"For what? I know you have no animosity towards Rachel, you just prefer not being interrupted and having my complete attention and ensuring I'm focused on giving you orgasms!"

"I wonder how parents manage!"

I chuckled, "Babies come with a built-in defense against siblings which parents have to work to overcome!"

"Too funny, and it's better since Rachel began sleeping through the night. I'm guessing things are getting serious with Nadiya?"

"No. She decided she's not cut out for being the wife of a Resident."

"Whoa! I thought she was going to be the one! Now what? Danika?"

"Maybe. I did call Danijela, but her reception was frosty. Oksana suggested I meet her cousin, so I'm going to do that."

"Perhaps you should give up on your quest," Kari suggested. "And just allow things to develop naturally."

"That is something I've considered, but that creates a different set of challenges. First, I really do think Rachel needs a mom, despite her being seemingly well adjusted. Second, I am not cut out to be single. Third, in order to receive the Eucharist, I'm supposed to be chaste. Father Stephen has cut me a bit of slack, but only because I've made progress in that area."

"Uhm, and if he hadn't? Then what?"

"I'd have had to make a choice between receiving the Eucharist and sex, and given what I know about myself, I'd likely have made the wrong choice."

"Giving up sex?"

I smiled, "Trying to be chaste! I'd have failed, and been in a worse situation spiritually and in my relationship with the Church. Honestly, I do not like sleeping alone, and I know that if I tried, without a specific timeframe, I'd probably fail."

"But isn't thinking you'd fail a recipe for failure?"

"It is, but as I said, I could do it when I had a clear end point. If I simply let things develop naturally, there is no end in sight, so to speak. I know myself well enough to not attempt that."

"So, if you aren't sure, why would Friday be our last night together?"

"Because if I am going to ask Danika, I need to have stopped, and if I'm going to see Danijela again, I need to tell her I'm not seeing anyone."

"Just out of curiosity, what would happen if you chose to live with someone?"

"A hot, sexy redhead, for example?" I asked.

Kari laughed, "Living in a house with a toddler is not compatible with being a college student, at least for me."

"Living with someone, especially if I wasn't planning to marry them, would create problems with dating. If I was planning to marry them, why wait to marry? Not to mention the point I made about the Eucharist."

"It almost seems as if you've trapped yourself."

"I think it's more accurate to say that Elizaveta's intraparenchymal bleed caused by a congenital arteriovenous malformation trapped me. Everything was perfect until then. Well, forgetting the BS with our former bishop, but that was something completely separate from my relationship needs and the demands of my medical training."

"You're in control, Mike, not a random medical problem that had a terrible outcome."

"I don't disagree, but I understand who I am and what is possible, and what is healthy, and it's not a trap, just a difficult nut to crack."

"Maybe talking to the counselor at the hospital again? Or the one you were working with before?"

"Doctor Mercer and I aren't speaking at the moment, and it's better I don't call her, given my stepdad is involved in legal action against Angie's psychiatrist."

"How is that going?"

"It's just a matter of the doctor and his insurance company agreeing to a settlement. There is no way they want to go to court."

"Why?"

"Losing a malpractice suit would damage the doctor and cost the insurance company whatever the jury decided was appropriate. That could be millions."

"That much?"

"A jury is going to see a young woman harmed by a doctor, with witnesses testifying that she was fine until he did something unnecessary and wrong. His license would be at risk at that point, so he'll agree to settle and the insurance company avoids the risk of trial."

"So, what will you do?"

"I don't know," I replied.

We finished our meal, cleaned up, and the three of us went to the great room, where I put Rachel on the rug with her toys. After she played for a bit, I read to her, then the three of us said evening prayers. I put Rachel to bed and then Kari and I went to my bedroom to get ready for bed. Once we were in bed, we fooled around for about thirty minutes, then snuggled close together to sleep.

August 17, 1988, McKinley, Ohio

"Good morning, Rachel!" Marcie exclaimed on Wednesday morning when I brought Rachel to daycare.

Rachel gurgled happily as I handed her to Marcie.

"She's always happy to see you," I said.

"And we're happy to see her!"

I left the daycare and headed to the ED to begin my shift, meeting Clarissa in the corridor. As her shift was ending, I quickly checked in with Doctor Rafiq, then went to the locker room with Clarissa so we could both change.

"Getting your cheap thrill, Petrovich?" Clarissa smirked as I made a point of leaning back so I could see her cute, panty-clad butt.

"Petrovich the Pig at your service!"

"Did you decide what to do?"

"Well..." I said with an evil grin, looking at her sexy butt.

"Not that, you nut!"

"No. I did have a good talk with Kari last night, and you know I'm having dinner with Oksana's cousin tonight."

"Talk about out of left field! Even more than Nadiya!"

"True, though it makes sense that Oksana didn't mention her given she won't turn eighteen until November, and until Oksana and I agreed she's not cut out for a life being married to a Resident, she wasn't going to bring in any competition!"

"I take it you asked Lara?"

"Repeatedly. I'd ask you, but we've had that discussion ad nauseam."

"Did you hear from Danijela?"

"No, but she did say 'later in the week', which I took to mean today or tomorrow."

"And?"

I shrugged, "I'm concerned about the ultimatum, but I want to give her a chance to explain, if she's willing. If she isn't, well, that speaks for itself. If she is, I'll take it from there."

"It sounds as if you don't think she is."

"The frosty nature of the brief conversation gave me pause. Think about what happens if, in the future, she doesn't get her way?"

"Nothing good, and it's bound to happen. Lizochka would make those faces, but she also knew where the lines were with regard to what she could and couldn't control."

"Very true. The fact that she had zero control over medical school or my duties and responsibilities as a deacon made her even more determined to control everything else, but given my situation, that was actually a good thing. That was, in the end, part of the sense I had about Oksana — she was too meek and mild."

"Those are two words nobody would ever have used for Lizochka!"

"No kidding," I chuckled. "And that's kind of what I'm looking for now. I thought Sara had it, but I was mistaken. Certainly, Annette had it."

"Danijela?"

"I think so, but tempered by the fact that she stepped over the line. Sure, Elizaveta raised concerns about things she wanted to control but couldn't, but in the end, she accepted them, dealt with them, and moved on."

We had finished changing — Clarissa into her street clothes and me into scrubs — so we left the locker room.

"See you tomorrow morning?" Clarissa asked.

"Absolutely. You and Tessa should come to dinner one day next week."

"Let me check her schedule tonight and tell you tomorrow, OK?"

"Yes."

We hugged, she left, and I went to the lounge to wait for our surgical consults. I was very much looking forward to the day when, as a trauma surgeon, I would work in the ED full time, but that was still years away.

"Can I ask you about something that was said on Monday at lunch?" Debbie asked. "If I'm not prying."

"Sure."

"I get the impression you're looking for a wife."

"Your diagnosis is accurate, Surgical Clerk Sherman!" I chuckled.

"Not to be indelicate, but it's only been a year, right?"

"Yes, and one thing I am positive of, well, two things, actually — I am not cut out to be single and my daughter needs a mom."

"You're good looking, going to be a doctor, witty, and kind. I see how the nurses look at you, and some of the female med students, so I can't imagine getting laid is a problem for you!"

"No comment!" I replied with a grin. "But it's more than 'getting laid', as you put it. It's about companionship and a life partner. My original plan, when I was in High School, was to wait until after my Intern year to marry, but I discovered in college that I wasn't cut out for being single. Events conspired to lead me to what amounted to an arranged marriage, and it was perfect right up until a few hours after Rachel was born."

"An arranged marriage? Seriously?"

"In the sense that Elizaveta came up to me and basically demanded I marry her, despite the two of us never having dated."

"Hang on! You can't be serious!"

"I am. There was a whole sequence of events that led to it, but that is exactly what happened. One day, after church, she came up to me, declared she would make a good wife, made her argument, and, in effect, demanded I marry her. I did."

"She was eighteen or nineteen, right?"

"Fifteen."

"Holy crap! I didn't know you could marry that young."

"Sixteen in Ohio, with parental consent, which she had, along with the blessing of my pastor and our bishop."

"That's nuts!"

"No kidding! But it worked well, we were very happy, made a great team, and created a beautiful daughter. An intraparenchymal bleed caused by an undetected congenital arteriovenous malformation ended Elizaveta's life when Rachel was just a few hours old."

"I don't even know what to say about that."

"Neither do I, at times. Going back to your comment about nurses and medical students, I think that's a very bad idea."

"Why?"

"Because I might end up supervising them, and that creates all sorts of potential problems, which I prefer to avoid."

"Such as?"

"Accusations of favoritism and of evaluations influenced by the relationship. And that cuts both ways — against me and against the person with whom I'm having a relationship. It's simply not worth the risk to either of us."

And that, in a nutshell, was why I needed to end my relationship with Kylie, even though we were peers. It was less risky, but it was still a risk I shouldn't have taken. That said, it was, in effect, probably over, given my life circumstances.

"I suppose that makes sense, though doctors routinely violate it."

"If it were up to me, I'd forbid relationships between doctors and medical students completely, given the potential for negative outcomes, and given the severe disadvantage in which a medical student would find themselves if things went badly. Think about that for a moment."

"It could ruin your chances of Matching, or possibly even graduating. Or make your training more difficult."

"Exactly. I'd also prohibit having sex in the hospital while on duty as potentially detrimental to patient care."

"Gerald Kirby."

"Exactly. Is it worth risking your medical career?"

"Not a chance."

"And that's how I see the situation with nurses and med students. Remember your request to teach you next year? Think about the problems that might ensue if, and I'm not suggesting this, we had a relationship."

"You've made your point," Debbie agreed. "And I'm sure you're right about that the more I think about it. Nothing personal, but I'd rather have a good teacher."

"That is personal, and frankly, I'd rather be a good teacher!"

Debbie laughed, "I don't believe that for one second!"

"I get what you mean, and yes, but also, no."

"Doctor Rafiq?" Nurse Jenny called from the door to the lounge. "MVA with multiple severe traumas. Paramedics are two minutes out and Doctor Gibbs asked you to join them in the ambulance bay."

Doctor Rafiq got up and Debbie and I followed him out. I helped her put on a gown and gloves, and we went to the ambulance bay where a team of doctors and nurses were waiting.

"Hi, Mike," Doctor Gibbs said. "Mo, we have five victims; paramedics say two with severe internal injuries."

"Mike, call upstairs and let them know we may need two ORs!" Doctor Rafiq ordered.

I stepped back inside, picked up the phone, and dialed the surgery nurses' station.

"This is Mike in the ED," I said. "Doctor Rafiq asked me to notify you we might need two ORs immediately for a pair of MVAs with severe internal injuries. Paramedics are a minute out."

"Thanks, Mike. I'll notify Doctor Roth and get an OR prepped. The other surgeries are in progress, so call before you bring up the patients."

"Got it."

I hung up and stepped back outside and relayed the message to Doctor Rafiq just as the first ambulance turned into the driveway. When it pulled into the ambulance bay, Bobby jumped out of the cab and called out the vitals for the patient, which were poor to say the least. Doctor Gibbs assigned Doctor Casper to the patient, and asked Doctor Rafiq to go with them to evaluate.

"Mike, stay," Doctor Gibbs requested. "Debbie, go with your Resident."

She left, and I did a quick headcount and saw the team was short at least one med student and one Resident given usual assignments. Normally, that would have meant asking Doctor Rafiq to pitch in, and I wondered if Doctor Gibbs wasn't confident in his skills. I ended up assigned to Doctor Foulks and a patient with a fractured humerus, a forehead lac, and multiple contusions. Once we had evaluated the patient, Doctor Foulks instructed me to suture the forehead laceration then get x-rays of the patient's arm. I completed the tasks and when I finished, Doctor Foulks checked the sutures and the x-rays, and asked Nurse Ellie to put a cast on the patient's arm.

I went to check with Doctor Rafiq and let him know I was finished, and he said both patients had gone up to surgery. I decided to get some tea, and Debbie accompanied me to the cafeteria.

"What did you get to do?" Debbie asked.

"Suture," I replied. "It's something you need to be shown, but Doctor Gibbs can't assign you to me, only Doctor Rafiq could."

"That would have been better than standing at the side of the trauma room while he assessed the patients. He didn't say a word to me about what he was doing."

"I'll have a word with Doctor Lindsay," I said.

We got our tea and returned to the ED. The rest of the morning was relatively quiet with a single additional consult who, after evaluation, did not require surgery, which was a good thing, given all the ORs were in use. After that consult, I asked permission to take lunch and Debbie and I headed for the cafeteria. We got our lunch, and I scanned the room but didn't see any of my friends, so Debbie and I sat at a table with other med students.

"Mind if I sit?" Marcie asked, coming up to our table.

"Be my guest," I replied.

She sat down next to me and began eating. She didn't join in the conversation the medical students were having, and I mostly listened, though I answered a few questions from some Third Years. When Debbie and I finished eating, we excused ourselves so we could head back to the ED.

"What's up with the girl who sat with us?" Debbie asked.

"She works in daycare and my daughter really likes her."

"She's cute. Does your rule apply to daycare workers?"

"No, but she and I are pretty far apart on our understanding of Christianity, and I've been down that road once in High School, and it didn't end well."

"I'm Catholic, so I think you and I are pretty close, at least to hear how our priest discusses the Orthodox Church."

"There are some pretty significant differences, but quite a few similarities. Marcie is an evangelical Protestant, and she'd have as much problem with your church as she would mine."

"I heard it from the Bible thumpers in High School and college."

"Do you attend Saint Augustine?"

"Once or twice a month," Debby replied. "That's about how often my parents went, plus Christmas and Easter, of course. You?"

"Saint Michael the Archangel. My usual practice is Wednesday and Saturday Vespers and Sunday Matins and Liturgy, but with medical school that's been tough. I go every Sunday when I'm not on shift."

The afternoon was relatively quiet, with only two consults, one of which was admitted for gall bladder surgery, but not as an emergency procedure. At the end of the day, I collected Rachel from Jackie in daycare and headed home to meet Oksana.

"My uncle suggested I stay as a chaperone," Oksana said after we greeted each other.

"If you feel it's necessary," I replied. "But I think you know me better than that."

"I think that all depends on how you view what happened between us!"

"Point taken," I chuckled.

We went to the kitchen so Oksana could continue preparing the meal and so I could feed Rachel. I put her in her High Chair and began making her bottle.

"I don't want to get off on the wrong foot," I said, "so if you think it's important to stay, then by all means, please do."

"I think you're totally trustworthy, and I don't think there will be a problem. My uncle, that is my dad's brother, didn't insist. He simply suggested it."

"How are your aunt and uncle going to feel about their daughter potentially dating a man who is eight years older than she is?"

"I think they'll be OK. My mom and dad really like you and my uncle and my dad spoke last night."

"So it's a family conspiracy!" I teased.

"Isn't it always?" Oksana asked.

"True. How much have you told her?"

"The basic outline. She's seen you at the Cathedral, of course."