Where it all started

 *•Eight (8) Months Ago•*

A stretcher was rushed out of an ambulance into the city hospital building, a few nurses were pushing the stretcher as it was escorted into a ward —a VIP ward.

A man in his mid-twenties was laid on the stretcher, he was barely breathing —he's visibly in a coma. Although, he was putting on a new (clothes) but there were still traces of blood on his clothes, mostly around his left arm.

He had a bandage on his head and some other part of his body —his left arm precisely, without being told, no one would know he had a bandage around his stomach too. He was given a first aid in the ambulance, which resulted in the bandages on his body.

The gentleman was involved in a ghastly accident, but luckily for him, he managed to survive, falling into a nearby pond at the last minute. 

Well, of course, he was badly injured and lost so much blood. Before he was being rescued by a passerby, he was already in a coma and might have drowned if he wasn't rescued on time.

The rescue scene was surely a scene as an ambulance rushed in the scene, taking him on immediate effect —there, he was given a first aid to stop his continuous bleeding at least.

Coupled with the few nurses who escorted him into his ward, a doctor also followed suit almost immediately. With the tension in the air, anyone would easily guess the man in a coma was not just an ordinary or random person…

 *****

“How is he, doctor?” A distressed woman, who was richly dressed, asked the supposed doctor, urgency laced in her voice. They were in his office, and she was seated before him. “How is my son's health?”

The doctor let out a small assuring smile, probably to calm the troubled woman down. “We managed to save him from the coma, ma'am.” The doctor explained to her. “Since the injury on his arm is very deep, he will be spending some time here in the hospital —and he's having some internal injury too.”

The news was supposed to calm the woman down —at least a bit, hearing that her son was out of coma, but it didn't. Instead, it went the other way on her.

“And you sounded like he's totally fine, doc?” She muttered in complaint, her voice was far from calm. “How am I certain that he will be fine with those kinds of injuries on him, did you not say he sustained internal injuries too?”

“Don't worry, ma'am…" The doctor reassured her again, trying to sound cajoling enough. “—he will be fine soon enough. That's the nature of our job, and we will make sure of it. You should trust us on this, ma'am.”

She wasn't convinced enough, which resulted in her continuous shaking of her head in denial. “That doesn't answer my question enough, doctor.” She told him. “You should know how much Ryan means to me, I need more assurance to ease my tension.”

The doctor smiled at her, he knows what the woman needed to hear, these words wouldn't ease her enough. They've known each other for years, and he should know her —if not much, then a bit.

“I already assigned a private nurse for him, she will be responsible for his health as from today. I can assure that she's already with him.” He told her, staring keenly at her to see her reaction —he got what he wanted from her.

A small yet coy smile formed at the left corner of her lips, but it disappeared the same moment as it wasn't on her face seconds ago.

“How good is she…?” She questioned him, her demanding eyes fixated on him. “Can I trust Ryan with her?”

He smiled, returning the same vibes as hers. “I would not have assigned her with Ryan's health if she wasn't good enough, you know.” The doctor uttered in response to her question. “I promise you, she's one of the best among my nurses —if not overall of them all.”

The coy smile which seemed to have disappeared with no traces on her face suddenly reappeared, her eyes mixed with unexplained emotion in them.

She felt like she just got what she wanted, does she still need anything else from him? Of course not!

“Let me see her myself…" She sounded like it was an order. “I need to make sure she's what I want first before dropping any comment whatsoever. You know what I mean, doc…"

“Sure, sure, ma'am.” He uttered, rushing his words as he struggled lightly to get on his feet as fast as he can. “I'll just show you the way then.”

“Well, I got no time to waste…"

The woman, who seemed anxious and was begging for her son's life to be saved, has returned to her usual bossy self. The doctor could not help but wondered how she always managed to change in a split second.

 •••••

They both stepped out of the elevator, and he led her through the passage way to the heart of the hospital. Ryan's ward was on the far end of the passageway, he's been transferred to a new ward on his mother's order.

“Here…" The doctor mumbled, but audibly to her hearing as he laid his hand on the door knob. He was about turning it to open the door, but her voice stopped him abruptly.

“I don't need to go in.” She told him, her gaze was elsewhere and not on the doctor.

He frowned his face confused, unable to comprehend her words. “Uh —why, ma'am…?” He muttered in questioning. “I thought you wanted...”

She cut him off lightly, waving his talk off. “Not to worry, I'll just watch from here.” That was her response as she watched from the open space on the door.

Ryan was smiling. Her son was smiling at his assigned private nurse as she talked to him, this is rare. The son she had breed finds hard to laugh or smile so carelessly, but he just did?

Just as the doctor has said, she's excellent at her work. She smirked, her eyes darkened with emotions. She just got what she wanted. The nurse fit perfectly in to fill in the gap for her.

Ryan's mother turns towards the doctor, still wearing her smirk. “How do I meet her privately…?” She asked all of a sudden, stunning the doctor…