AT THE MALL:

A trip to the mall, in fact two trips to the mall: two small groups of people, a pair walking together and a single man, two purposes for the shopping, all very normal with no other intentions.

Two of them were walking hand in hand. It was a grandmother and her lovely granddaughter. They were talking animatedly and giggling with one another. They had that kind of relationship. It had certainly solidified over the past half year, the bad half year, the tragic half year, the half year when the Grandmother saw the death and burial of her only daughter and her husband, and the little girl saw the death and burial of her mother and father. They dealt with it together; it had always been that way with them. The two of them together. Little Amalia Weston was, in many ways, grandma Katie's girl.

So that, when tragedy came stalking, and they emerged from the fog of the suddenness of the death of Jennie and Ben, they faced all of it together.

It was also their mutual decision that the small town, where they were living, at Grandma's house, had too many 'ghosts' for them. It was then that they decided on the move. And it was also a mutual decision that 'the move' would be an adventure in living for them. That's the way that they took it, looked at it. That's why this trip to the mall was such a lark for the two of them.

Amalia was excited about the move. Her grandma Katie, Katherine Gifford, had assured her that the stay at the motel would only be a temporary thing for them. They were going to go apartment hunting, apartment hunting at least, that very afternoon. While they were at the mall, they even took time to look over some ads.

They'd made a decision, mutual also, to look at apartments first and then deal with furniture that was stored and seek out a house after that.

Grandma Katie, 'the great lawyer', as Amalia usually referred to her, seemed to know what they were doing.

So, this was a lark for them. They were holding hands, giggling and carrying their few purchases. They'd had lunch and were in great moods.

(At this stage in their lives, Amalia was a blossoming and lovely 8 year old; she was sensible and emotional and totally devoted to her lovely Grandma Katie. It had been Grandma Katie who'd seen her through the terrible times after the accident and death of her Mom and Dad. Now they were going to live in a new place and have a new life. It was finally exciting for little Amalia Weston.

Grandma Katie was a tall, 5'10" and lovely 47 year old. She had auburn hair that she wore at her neck, and today, was gorgeous in a pleated skirt and blouse. Her day with Amalia, and all of the 'getting settled' issues was going exceedingly well.)

Walking behind them, really more like strolling behind them was Jerome Cummings, actually Dr Jerome Astin Cummings. He was chief of staff and chief of surgery at the University Hospital. He was a 39 year old bachelor, who'd been an avowed Momma's boy until a few years ago, when his lovely Momma had finally succumbed to her illness and joined the love of her life, Jerome's Dad, in death.

He was having the day off and decided to do some shopping at the Mall. He wanted a few new shirts, having weeded out a pile of things and taken them, earlier that morning, to the GoodWill store.

Jerome was walking along and whistling softly to himself, a habit that he neither noticed nor was ever tempted to break.

He was idly looking at the pair walking ahead of him, across the parking lot. It was a willowy woman in a flouncy skirt and a little girl. They were holding hands and, apparently, having a great time, if he could judge by the giggles that he was hearing.

It made Jerome smile, the loveliness of the scene that they presented.

Then it happened. Almost in slow motion, it happened: The woman caught her heel, the heel of her high heeled shoes, on one of the barriers in the parking lot. As Jerome looked on, his eyes widening and his concern kicking in right away, the woman's ankle turned at a nasty angle and he heard a kind of grinding noise. She fell, immediately. She went down onto the parking lot and was instantly making noises about the pain in her ankle. The little girl, surprised and alarmed, began to cry immediately.

It was just then that Jerome, the only other person around, got to them.

"Ma'am," he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Noooo," she wailed, "My ankle."

"Yes, I can see," he said. "Let me help you!"

"Please, it hurts so much!" she said, trying to be brave for the sake of the little girl, who was crying.

Jerome was kneeling there and turned, almost instinctively to the little girl and put his arms around her. She cried into his shoulder.

He spoke to the little girl but gave the woman a message at the same time: "I'm a doctor," he said, "And I need you to be brave and help me help your Momma."

"Grandma!" Amalia said automatically.

"Yes, your Grandma!" he corrected himself.

"My car is that blue one right over there," he said, pointing to his Jaguar. "Do you see it?"

"Yes," Amalia said, brushing the tears away from her eyes.

"Go to my car and in the back seat bring me the black bag; can you do that for me to help, honey?" he asked kindly.

"Yes, Doctor!" Amalia said, determined to be brave.

As Amalia went off to get the black bag, Jerome turned to the woman on the ground. He reached out and straightened her skirt, which had ridden up and was at that point showing her lovely legs, almost to her panties.

"Thank you," she said, sobbing. "Doctor?"

"Yes," he said, "Doctor Jerome Astin Cummings."

"Here," he said, reaching into his jacket and taking out a card, which told Katie that he was indeed Dr Jerome Astin Cummings, Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery at the University Medical Center.

"Ohh," Katie said, "How fortunate for me to have my collapse in the presence of a doctor!"

"Well planned!" he said with a smile, getting a smile in return.

Then he spoke to her: "I'm not sure if your ankle is broken or if it is only sprained, but I'm going to give you something for the pain. Then we'll see about an ambulance."

"Please no ambulance," Katie said almost urgently, looking at Amalia, who was coming back with the black bag. "Her Mom and Dad were killed in an accident, which she survived and the ambulance will only cause a problem, I fear."

"Fine," he said, "I'll take you in, in my car. We'll be fine."

"Your bag," Amalia said, presenting Jerome with the black bag.

"Thank you, sweetie," he said. "Now we'll give Grandma something to help her out."

"Good," Amalia said, "I'm glad."

Jerome gave Katie a pain shot, which settled her down right away.

"We need to go to the hospital, so that I can have this looked at," he said, and Katie nodded.

Then he turned to Amalia and said: "Here's what we'll do. Please go back to my car and in the trunk, I'll open it for you, you'll find a pillow. Bring it."

Amalia was back with the pillow right away.

"Here's the plan," he said, "I'm going to pick Grandma up and you put the pillow under her ankle and you hold the ankle and the pillow. It'll help her."

"Oh, thank you, Doctor!" Amalia said.

Jerome then picked Katie up, with only one small wrinkle in his plan. As he put his hand under her knees, he had to move it to balance her but he hadn't gotten his hand on the outside of her pleated skirt. As a result, his hand was now firmly planted on Katie's panty covered butt.

Her reaction startled him at first. She grinned, the shot having made her mellower.

"Sorry!" he said in a whisper.

"Don't get fresh!" she said.

"Won't!" he answered.

"Grandma Katie?" Amalia asked, not sure what was happening.

"We're fine, honey," Katie said and together Jerome and Amalia moved Katie to his car. He reached out then, with a free hand and opened the back door and was able to get Katie onto the back seat and slide her into the back of the Jaguar, with Amalia supporting the ankle until her Grandma Katie as all the way in the back seat.

"Good," Jerome said. "Are you okay there?"

"Yes, thank you, Jerome, ... er ... Doctor!" Katie said.

"Jerome please," he said, and she smiled.

When Katie as set, he said: "Okay it's off to the University Hospital with you! Come on, Amalia! Too bad I don't have a siren!"

Amalia giggled at that.

In the back seat of the Jaguar, Katie was resting. Jerome had put a pillow under her head, and made her comfortable.

Before they drove away, he took Amalia's hand in his and said: "Grandma Katie is going to be fine, honey! I'll make sure of that!"

Amalia began to cry at that point, and simply followed her instincts and reached for him. He took her in his arms and kissed the top of her head, as she said a soft 'thank you, Doctor, for taking such good care of my Grandma Katie; she's so special.'

"Yes, she certainly is," Jerome said. "So, we're off now."

Jerome drove in a hurry to the hospital. As a matter of fact, he was stopped by a policeman, who became their escort, once Jerome identified himself and told the officer about the injured woman in the back seat. They made the University Medical Center in about twenty minutes.

Once at the Medical Center, Jerome thanked the policeman, and Amalia thanked the officer too, and Jerome went to get some help.

"Stay with Grandma Katie," he said to Amalia, "I'll be right back."

He was as good as his word, returning quickly with a wheel chair and a nurse attendant.

CARING FOR KATIE, AND AMALIA:

Jerome gave orders to the nurse who had the wheel chair to take Katie in and get her ready, and then get an x-ray of the ankle done right away.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Jerome said.

"Very good, Doctor," the nurse added.

Katie was still a little awake though hazy in her mind. "Amalia?" she asked.

"She's my assistant," Jerome said, "She'll stay with me."

As they took her Grandma Katie away, Jerome turned to go the other way, and, when Amalia looked up at him, not sure about what was going to happen, he took her hand and led her away with him.

He got to his office and said: "Amalia the secret of being treated like a doctor here in the hospital is to look like one. Now watch."

Then he took his long white lab coat down and put it on, and draped a stethoscope around his neck.

"See?" he asked.

She shook her head 'yes' and he went to the closet. He came back with a shorter intern's white coat and had Amalia put it on. He rolled up the sleeves and it looked like a similar long lab coat on her. He went to the desk and got a kind of label and wrote: 'Dr Amalia' on the label, pasting it onto her coat, in the same position that he had his 'Dr Cummings' label on his coat.

Amalia giggled.

"Now one more touch," he said and got a stethoscope from his drawer and put it around Amalia's neck. She was giggling for all she was worth by then.

"Ready, Doctor?" he said to her and Amalia giggled but said: "Yes, Doctor, ready."

They went back down the hallway hand in hand, with people on all sides looking at them. Amalia grinned at everyone and Jerome gave everyone a bright smile also.

When they arrived back at the place where they had her Grandma Katie, the nurse met Jerome and already had the results of the x-ray. She gave Amalia a strange look but then Jerome said: "Traci, Jennie, Anne, this is Dr Amalia from lower Slobovia; she is here to observe and learn our methods. She's my assistant on this particular case, and the lovely lady on the gurney is her Grandma Katie."

All three of the nurses shook Amalia's hand and welcomed 'Dr Amalia'. Then they went into the room.

Katie was more awake now and just gaped at Amalia, noticing the way that she was dressed.

Jerome spoke up: "Ms Gifford, this is Dr Amalia from Lower Slobovia, who will be assisting me and also observing the procedure."

Amalia grinned at her Grandma and went for a hug and a kiss.

"Nice to have such great doctors taking care of me!" Katie said.

Then Jerome spoke up: "The good news is that the ankle itself is not broken. There is a hair-line fracture of the leg just above the ankle."

He turned at that point with the X-ray and showed it to Amalia who simply nodded her head.

"Don't you agree, Doctor?" Jerome said.

"Yes, Doctor, I do!" Amalia said, loving the whole procedure.

"Now that we have the pain under control," Jerome said, "We're going to put the leg in a cast. It'll need to be that way for about 6 weeks."

With great precision, and with Amalia standing and watching everything, Jerome and the nurses put the cast on Katie's leg. They gave her a 'walking cast'. Once the procedure was done, Jerome turned to Amalia and said: "Honey, I need to talk with your Grandma."

Without missing a beat, the nurse Traci said: "Dr Amalia, you come with me, while Dr Cummings talks to your Grandma. We'll go and get a treat."

"Okay," Amalia said, and turned to give Jerome a hug first.

"Thank you, Doctor Cummings!" she said.

"You're welcome, Dr Amalia!" he said to her in response.

Amalia then walked out, hand in hand with Traci to get her treat.

Jerome turned to Katie who by then had a huge smile on her face.

"You are so grand!" she said.

He held up a hand and said: "First, I owe you an apology for the way that I picked you up, after the fall; the way that I placed my hands was an accident."

To his surprise, Katie giggled and said: "I was hoping that it wasn't an accident!" She enjoyed the surprised look on his face, when she said that.

He smiled back at her but she went on then.

(Katie realized that she felt strangely comfortable with this man, this doctor and his caring ways. It's why she went on, as she did.)

She told him about the death of her daughter and son-in-law and the grieving period that she and Amalia had gone through. She went on to tell him that they were only in the city that day, since she was due, the week after next, to begin working for a law firm. She also mentioned that her specialty was corporation law.

"We got a place at a motel and were going to use this time period to get established, apartment and all. This really messes up the plans," Katie explained.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Jerome said. "I suspected as much, from what Amalia told me."

He paused for a few moments and went on: "Here's what I propose. Why don't you come home with me? I have more than enough room for you to have all the privacy that you need. We'll get you over this leg break and then you can go on with your plans."

She was shocked and showed it. He held up his hand so that she'd let him finish what he had to say.

"I know how this sounds, meeting by accident and all but I know that you aren't going to be getting around easily for a bit. I'm going to let you out of here on crutches and they need some managing and I don't want either you or that lovely granddaughter of yours to be worrying about where you're going. I would prefer that you get taken care of for a number of days, that's my only idea here."

"It sounds like such an imposition," she said.

"It's really not!" he replied.

He turned a bit red, and she notice that, and he said: "It's not intended as my seduction thing or anything like that.

"What will your wife say?" she asked softly.

"No wife, never had one," he replied. "I'm a Momma's boy and took time, after I established my practice, to take care of Mom and Dad, when they faded and eventually died on me. Never had time for the wife."

"Ohhhh," Katie said, feeling much better already.

She got tears in her eyes then and said: "Dr Cummings..."

He held up his hand and said: "Jerome, please!"

"Yes, Jerome," she said, "You already had your hand on my panties!"

She giggled and he chuckled along with her then, noticeably coloring again. That trait of his somehow pleased her.

She went back then to what she was going to say:

"You are taking such good care of us, both of us! I can hardly say how much I appreciate it. What can I do?"

"Come and stay at my house!" was his response.

"Yes," Katie said, "It'll help us so much; we will. And I won't be putting you out? Are you really sure?"

"Well," he responded, "It's only me, Mrs Rose and Lauren Bacall there!"

"Who?" she asked, surprised.

"My house keeper, Mrs Rose, and my cat!" he said with a grin.

"Oh," she replied, "I thought that you were hiding a women there!" She giggled as she finished the sentence.

She shook her head then and almost wailed: "Oh, Doctor ... er ... Jerome, you've reduced me to a prattling girl here!"

"Progress, I guess!" he said, "At least it's taken your mind off of your injury!"

"Yes, it has!" She said, "Thanks to the great medical attention that I got from my two doctors.

"Yes," he said, "Let's see if we can find my colleague from Lower Slobovia."

He went out into the hall then and came back, in just a little bit with Amalia, holding his hand.

Her Grandma Katie was already dressed again and sitting on the edge of the bed, one of her feet in the cast.

"Dr Amalia!" Katie said, with open arms, as Amalia went running to her. "Thank you for taking such good care of me, you and Doctor Cummings."

Amalia grinned at her Grandma.

"I love you, Grandma!" she said.

"I love you too, honey," Katie replied and kissed Amalia on the cheek.

"I love Dr Cummings too," Amalia said with some determination.

"Well that's grand," Katie responded, "Because he has some news for you."

HOME:

Jerome spoke up then, with Amalia sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning against her Grandma Katie.

"Your Grandma Katie and I have been talking and we think it's best, since Grandma Katie has had this accident, that the two of you come and stay with me for a number of days, until she gets used to getting around with that big cast, and maybe a pair of crutches. Then you both will have more time to get settled."

"Ohh, Grandma, can we?" Amalia asked, her voice excited and hopeful.

"Well," Katie went on, "It seems like a curtesy from doctor to doctor. Medical people, after all, need to take care of one another."

"Yes, we do," Amalia said, grinning at Jerome, who winked at her.

"So, it's set?" Jerome asked.

"Yes, it is!" Katie said and Amalia shook her head 'yes' also.

"Here's what we need to do," Jerome said. "I'm going to write you a prescription for some pain killers, and we'll drop that off at the pharmacy. Then Amalia and I will make arrangements to pick up your car and bring it home from the mall. We'll get you settled and then give you some privacy so that you can call your law firm and tell them of your situation. Is that okay?"

"Sounds fine," Katie said.

"Then I'll go now and get your papers; I'll have a nurse in here in a moment to get you ready to go. I'll leave you in the able care of Dr Amalia in the meantime."

He left then to get those things done.

"Oh, Grandma," Amalia said, softly, "I really like him!"

"Yes,!" Katie said, smiling, especially to herself at the way that this was turning out.

"He's so handsome!" Amalia said.

"I know," Katie whispered back to Amalia.

Then Jerome came back with her crutches.

"Here are your sticks," he said. "Maybe some oxy-cotton; don't you agree, Dr Amalia?"

Amalia gave Jerome a grave look and shook her head 'yes'. He chuckled and winked at Amalia, who winked back at him.

An aid came in then and Jerome said: "Okay, she'll take you to the door and I'll have my car there ready for you. All set."

"Yes," Katie said, but now with tears in her eyes.

Jerome left then to get his car.

"Are you okay, Grandma?" Amalia asked with great concern.

"Yes," Katie said in return, "It's just that he's taking wonderful care of us."

When they got to the hospital door, Jerome was waiting for them just in front. He helped the aid get Katie into the front seat and Amalia climbed into the back seat behind Jerome.

He took them home, pulling into the curved driveway of the rather large house, and parking in front. He'd already called Mrs Rose on the phone, so that she was ready for them, when they arrived.

Mrs Rose, a short and stoutish woman but extremely cheerful and nice, was out at the car door immediately.

"Welcome home," Mrs Rose said brightly, opening the door.

Jerome joined her, as Katie struggled to get out of the car and onto her crutches. With his help, she made it just fine and went into the house. Both she and Amalia were quite pleasantly surprised at how lovely and large the house was.

"Welcome to my Momma's pride and joy," Jerome said.

Katie turned to him and said a soft: "Thank you for having us."

"Now let's get you seated somewhere," he said.

"Would you like some tea or coffee, Ma'am?" Mrs Rose asked.

Just as Katie was about to accept the offer of tea, a large tabby wandered into the hallway, where they were.

"Well, here's Lauren Bacall!" Jerome said with great affection.

Amalia squealed and went to her knees to deal with Lauren Bacall right away, and the cat was really pleased by the attention.

"I'll just go and put the tea on, and we have some fresh scones," Mrs Rose said.

"I'm so hungry!" Katie said.

They got her seated in the kitchen at a round table in the breakfast nook and Jerome said:

"I have to go to the pharmacy and drop off the prescription, and then make arrangements for your car and your stuff. This might take me a while. Will you be okay here?"

"I'll take good care of her," Mrs Rose promised.

"May I go with you?" Amalia asked.

"Of course, Doctor!" Jerome said. "Love to have you."

Mrs Rose gave him a questioning look and he said: "Katie will explain. We're off."

It took them a number of hours. They went to the motel, where Jerome and Amalia got her stuff and they checked her out. He had the desk clerk call Katie on the phone to give him the permission to take her things along. Then he called a friend and they fetched her car from the mall parking lot.

"How about ice cream for everyone?" Jerome asked.

"Oh, yes!" Amalia said, and they stopped at an ice cream store to get shakes for everyone.

When they returned home, with Katie's car and all, they found her talking with Mrs Rose.

Mrs Rose had helped Katie with a shower and remained available in case she needed any help dressing. (She didn't really) she was wearing a long nightgown and a robe over it, and when Jerome and Amalia got there, she was seated in a comfortable chair in the living room, and had her leg propped up on a stool.

She gave Jerome and Amalia a huge smile, as they entered.

"Hi, grandma!" Amalia said, coming in and going for a hug and a kiss. "We have ice cream shakes for everyone!"

"Oh, goodie!" Katie said, "What a treat."

"How are you feeling?" Jerome asked then.

"Super," Katie said, "Mrs Rose is a life saver; it's so nice to get all cleaned up and all."

"I have your prescription for you too," Jerome said. "How is the pain now?"

"It's fading," Katie said, relief in her voice.

"Good," he said, "You shouldn't take any of these until you need them; maybe to help you get to sleep. But it's medicine only for need."

Katie nodded and thanked him again.

Then she smiled at Jerome and said: "We've been talking about you, Dr Cummings!"

"Not family secrets, Mrs Rose, surely!" Jerome said with a smile.

"No, sir," Mrs Rose said, "At least not big secrets!"

They all laughed at that.

"Well," Jerome said, "We've got all of our errands taken care of now; your car is back and the hotel bill is taken care of and we're all set, and Amalia has these lovely ice cream treats for everyone to pass around.

They each had a shake then, and sat enjoying them. At that point, Mrs Rose excused herself and went to her own apartment, which was on the other side of the sprawling house.

"She keeps the small apartment, a kind of 'mother-in-law's' digs, that on the other side of the house," Jerome explained to Katie and Amalia.

They settled down then, in the family room, a lovely room, flanked by large floor to ceiling windows looking out on an expanse of lawn moving off to some trees, and which had a kind of carpeted sunken floor, to watch a movie. Amalia got to pick it and the three of them watched companionably, with Lauren Bacall snuggled next to Amalia for the duration.

When the movie ran out, Amalia was already nodding. She'd had, with Mrs Rose's help, her bath earlier and was already in her pjs, ready for the night.

"You ready, love?" Jerome asked.

"Yes, tired," the sleepy little girl said, it had, indeed been a long and taxing day for her.

"Well, let's go!" he said, reaching down and picking her up. She grinned at him and put her feet around his waist and her head on his shoulder.

Katie got up also.

"Can you manage?" he asked softly.

She giggled. "Yes, otherwise you'd have to carry us both!" He grinned back at her, as they moved off in the direction of the room that, with Mrs Rose's help, Amalia had claimed as her own.

They got her settled into bed and oversaw her prayers, with prayers for her Momma and Poppa, her Grandma Katie, Dr Cummings and Mrs Rose, and Lauren Bacall. She was already fading into sleep, when they left her, leaving a night light on for her, in the adjoining private bathroom.

Once they were outside the bedroom door, Jerome turned to her and said, in an apologetic voice:

"I'm really sorry but I have some things to do in my den; will you be okay?"

"Yes, of course," she said, "I have some things to read on my iPad and will just settle down in bed to do that."

"Shall I bring you a night cap?" he asked. "Instead of the pills?"

"Oh, that might be nice," she said.

Then she turned, before he left, having made a decision, and pulled him up against her into a hug. It made a huge impression on him immediately. Katie Gifford was fairly large in the breast, 38c, and Jerome could feel it, as she pressed up against him. At that point, she clung to him and he felt her thighs against his and the pushing of her magnificent breasts against him.

The hug broke, just short of a kiss for the two of them, and left him reddening in the face, since he knew that he was then sporting an erection. Katie just smiled and went into the master-bedroom, where, at his direction, Mrs Rose had set her up.

"It's kind of you to let me use your room," she said.

"It's no problem," he answered, "I have everything that I need in my den, and will be fine."

"Don't like putting you out!" she said softly.

"I just want you to get some rest," he said. "The doctor will visit you a bit later."

He went then, with one more slightly less intense hug, to his den to work on some house finances that needed tending. He had a system and time table for doing these kinds of things and it was that night for him.

It was about an hour and a half later that he emerged and went to the kitchen, where he had a liquor cabinet. He fetched a glass of cream sherry for himself and poured one for Katie, and went to 'her' room.

(Katie did do, eventually, some reading on her iPad but she spent a good deal of time just thinking, musing. It began with her simply looking around at his room, and appreciating the tastefulness of it. That led her thoughts along a path that had her taking in all that had happened during the day.

At this point, she viewed it simply as the most fortunate accident that she'd ever had, and she was sure that 'Dr Amalia' would agree with her readily. It made her giggle to think of 'the Doctor Amalia' part of the day's almost frantic activities.

In her reflections, she was surprised, when her mind hit upon what had impressed her the most. She put her hand over her mouth to suppress the loudness of the giggle that accompanied this revelation: it was the feel of his hand on her panty covered butt, when he picked her up!

"Boy was that nice!" she mused out loud to herself.

She had also decided to not discipline herself but rather to let herself just get carried away into an affair, if that was what was coming, with this beautiful younger man.)

That's what was surging through her mind, when she heard the knock on the door.

"Yes?" she said softly and Jerome came into the room bearing two glasses.

"Night cap?" he asked.

He was now dressed in pj bottoms and a silk looking robe and slippers.

"Don't you look cozy!" she said. "The great doctor in his down time!"

His face reddened.

"I love it when you do that!" she said.

"What?" he asked, not sure what she meant.

"It's, I guess, kind of blushing," she said with a soft laugh.

His eyebrows shot up and he went to where she was in the bed and gave her the glass with her cream sherry in it.