Chapter Text
Chris paced back and forth in the waiting room, biting at his cuticles, convinced he was going to wear a permanent groove into the white linoleum floor. A woman sitting nearby with a white cockatiel on her shoulder looked at him like he had tentacles for ears. It was Thanksgiving evening, and the last place Chris wanted to be was at a vet’s office, but sometime after the family dinner, his dog Dodger had started whining and acting very lethargic and sick. His brother Scott said he knew of a vet nearby in Framingham that might be able to take him in as an emergency, and five minutes later, Chris was flying down Route 126 at 9:30 at night. Dodger felt like he was Chris’s own flesh and blood, and he was terrified wondering what was going on with him as he wandered back and forth by the reception desk. Suddenly, his phone rang and he saw it was Scott calling him.
“Hey man,” Chris answered.
“Hey,” Scott said, sounding concerned. “Any word on Dodge yet?”
“No, I’m still waiting - they said they’d come out as soon as they had an update. I’m worried, Scott….I mean, Dodge is like...he’s my….” Chris choked out, feeling tears coming to the surface.
“I know, man. I know,” Scott said soothingly, knowing Chris had a history of anxiety attacks. “Listen there’s no reason to panic until there’s a reason to panic, right? I’m sure he’s fine and that Dr. Grant is doing everything possible. Mark says she’s the best vet outside of Boston.”
“Yeah, well if he isn’t okay, you better believe I’m going to have some questions for her,” Chris replied, grumpily. “The receptionist just took him back so I haven’t even spoken to her yet.”
At that moment, Chris turned towards the hallway by the reception desk and felt his mouth go dry. He saw a woman walking toward him, dressed in purple scrubs with a white doctor’s jacket over them, her front pocket filled with at least ten different pens and pencils, one of which had a Wonder Woman eraser on top of it. Her dark brown hair was piled on top of her head in a mess of curls and tendrils, and he noticed there was an extra red pencil sticking out of top of the makeshift bun as well. As she got closer, he could see the color of her eyes, which were magnificent, and looked like amber-colored honey warmed by the sun. She was the most exquisite woman he had ever seen.
“Chris? Chris??? Are you there!?” he could vaguely hear Scott yelling at him through the phone as his mind went blank.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m here,” he said, distractedly as he kept his eyes locked on the woman that was walking towards him. “The doctor’s just coming out now, I’ll call you right back.”
He hung up on Scott as she came up, stopping in front of him and giving him a warm smile that instantly made his insides go all melty.
“Mr. Evans?”
“Uh- yeah, that’s me,” he stammered. “Please call me Chris.”
She smiled wider. “Chris. Nice to meet you, I’m Doctor Grant - I’ve been taking care of Dodger for you.”
“How is he?”
“He’s going to be fine. Looking at Dodgers symptoms, I think he likely ingested something that didn’t agree with him. Was he with you at Thanksgiving dinner tonight?”
“Yeah, he was with me at my parents house in Sudbury and about an hour or so after dinner I noticed he was acting really lethargic and sick.”
Dr. Grant nodded knowingly, flicking an errant tendril back behind her ear. Chris swallowed.
“Not surprising,” she said warmly, like she could sense his heightened anxiety. “All that food around is too much temptation for dogs, so they like to go back into the kitchens or dining rooms after everyone has left to see what everyone left on the floor.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“He’s going to be fine,” she said, looking at a chart on the clipboard she pulled out from under her arm. “I ran an abdominal x-ray to look for any solid foreign bodies like bones or other indigestible objects and it was clear. I also ran a barium test to see if there are any intestinal blockages that would require surgical intervention and that was clear as well. I’m guessing it’s likely just some leftover food that was in the area that he got into. Was there anything with chocolate in it?”
“No, we just had apple and pumpkin pie for dessert - no chocolate.”
“Well, pumpkin is okay for dogs and apples generally are as well in moderation, but some dogs are allergic to apples and it’s possible that could be the case of Dodger, especially if he’s never had this happen to him before.”
“No, he’s always been very healthy - I’ve never had him sick like this.”
She smiled again. “Well, I think that’s the likely cause then. He should be fine. I’m going to give you some medication to give him - think of it like Benadryl for dogs. I’ve already given him some tonight, but you can give it to him tomorrow if he needs it, though he should be fine once he actually passes the offending food. He may vomit it up eventually, but I don’t want you to worry if that happens - just keep an eye on him if he does, and ensure he doesn’t get worse after it happens. Make sure to give him plenty of water because he’ll need to replenish his electrolyte imbalance after.”
Chris let out a heaving sigh. “Thank you so much, Dr. Grant - I was so scared.”
“Roxanne. And it’s no trouble - I’m just glad Dodger is okay. And speaking of -”
One of the vet assistants came out with Dodger, looking a little subdued, but still shaking his tail as soon as he saw Chris.
Chris ran over to him, squatting down and kissing his fur and petting him.
“Hey bubba, hey bud - how ya doin? Huh? You scared me, yes, you did,” he said, peppering Dodger’s soft head with kisses.
He stood back up, taking the leash from the assistant and turning to face the beautiful vet.
“Again, I can’t begin to thank you for helping Dodger out, especially on Thanksgiving Day - I’m sure you’d rather be spending the day with your family or husband.” He couldn’t resist throwing that out to test the waters, even though he already scoped out her ring finger and didn’t see any wedding band.
She laughed, a gorgeous lilting sound that seemed to come from deep within her and Chris knew that he’d do anything to make her make that sound again.
“Well, no husband and really not much family - I was just having Thanksgiving with close friends and they know how important being a vet is to me, so they granted me a pass for tonight.”
Chris inwardly fist-bumped himself when she confirmed she wasn’t married.
“Well, then I won’t keep you any longer - I wish it had been under better circumstances, but, Roxanne, it was a pleasure,” he said, taking her hand in his and shaking it. He gave it just enough of a squeeze, flashing her a bit of a flirtatious smile. He felt encouraged when he saw her cheeks bloom under his gaze, and press her lips together to suppress a smile.
“Same here, Mr. Evans.”
“Please, call me Chris.”
“Okay - Chris.”
“May I call you to let you know how Dodger is doing?” Chris asked hesitantly. He didn’t want to come on too strong but he also was extremely intrigued by this beautiful, intelligent woman and would do anything to see or talk to her again.
She examined him for a minute, those incredible, honey-colored eyes seeming to read him intently, almost like she was looking for chinks in the armor or red flags that would give her a reason to shut him down right then and there. But then suddenly, she smiled the sweetest smile he thought he had ever seen and his heart leaped.
“Sure, I’d like that.”
Chris had to stop himself from bouncing on his feet in joy, and he knew he had the biggest, dopiest grin on his face right now, but he didn’t care.
“Great - I’ll be in touch,” he said, giving her a wink for good measure. She smirked and waved goodbye as he led Dodger out of the front door, who looked up at him with his head cocked.
“Don’t judge me, bud - I’m a weak, weak, man.”
Dodger huffed in agreement as they made their way out into the chilly night air, climbing into Chris’s car to head home.