"Ronobir?" she asks, her voice weak and barely audible. Truth be told, she looks like she's miserable.

"You two know each other?" Ayesha asks, looking at Mishti and then at me.

"We used to," I add.

Making eye contact, I robotically continue, "I'll be your attending doctor tonight, Mishti. Do you need anything right now? I see you're due for pain medication in another hour. Put the call light on if you need me."

"I will," she whispers, looking at me for a few more seconds before curling up on her side and closing her eyes. I give her one last look before Ayesha and I walk out of her room.

"The air seemed pretty heavy in there, Ronobir. Are you okay with being her doctor?"

Feeling affronted, I round on her. "Ayesha, I am a professional. Of course, I can be her doctor for the night."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you," she apologizes.

"No harm done," I add, knowing I need to let it go because we work together. Once I'm done receiving the report, I look up when I hear Nisha calling my name, telling me that my new admission is here. By the time I'm done with all the paperwork, Nisha pops to tell me that the patient in room 834 is asking for some pain medication. After telling Nisha that I'll be with Mishti shortly, I finish up with Mrs. Meghwani. By the time I get into Mishti's room, she's retching and looking acutely ill. Almost as if by instinct, I dash over and pull her hair out of the way.

"I'm going to bring you some nausea medicine too," I tell her when she's done vomiting. I take a moment to flush her emesis, hand her back the basin, and walk out to get her medication.

Walking swiftly into the medication room, I get the Morphine and Zofran out of the machine and walk back towards her room. Taking a deep breath, I walk back over to her bedside. She looks very sick, her knees are pulled to her chest her head resting on them. Despite everything that happened between us, I don't want to see her in pain. Feeling the gut twist, I swallow down my nerves. I know I need to maintain a professional atmosphere between us if I'm going to take care of her properly.

After scanning the barcode on her ID bracelet, I then scan the medication. Wiping the port of her IV tubing with alcohol, I screw the luer-lock syringe onto the port so I can inject it. When she looks at me with those big brown, endless, tear-filled eyes, my gut twists even more.

"Thank you," she says softly, laying back down and turning away from me.

"I'll be back to check on you in a little while, Mishti. I'll need to listen to your heart and lungs," I explain, walking out of her room only after I see her nod in understanding.

Immediately after leaving the room, I go to the nurse's desk so I can call her doctor and get some orders for Mrs. Meghwani. I put all of the orders into the computer and then gathered my supplies so I could start an IV and get her fluids running. Walking into her room, I raise her bed to the right height so I don't have to bend over. Opening up the IV start kit, I pick out the tourniquet, tying it on her arm with a slip knot. As her veins start to bulge, I smile at the garden hoses she has for veins.

"What?" Mrs. Meghwani asks smiling.

"If you know any night physician, you know we tend to stare at big veins. We call them nurse porn," I explain, causing her to laugh out loud. Grabbing some alcohol wipes out of my pocket, I tear one open to clean the vein. I choose an eighteen gauge IV needle and hold the skin taut before inserting it bevel up. When I get a blood return, I know the needle is in the vein. I pull the metal out and quickly hook the IV tubing to it. After securing her IV, I turned to her IV pump and set the right rate before lowering her bed.

"Do you need anything right now, Mrs. Meghwani?"

"Not now but I'll need my Ambien before I go to sleep," she informs me.

"I do believe Dr. Dhawan ordered that for you but if not, I'll give him another call. Just put your call light on when you want me to bring it in." She nods and then turns her eyes back to the TV.

"Niti, I'm going to go downstairs to get something to eat before the cafeteria closes. I'll be back shortly. All of my patients should be fine for a few minutes," I tell her then step into the stairwell, trotting down the stairs two at a time.

Of all the hospitals in the world, she has to come to mine, I think to myself as I sit down to take a breather. One day we were incredibly happy and blissfully in love, the next she was gone, leaving only a 'Dear Ramesh' letter behind.

"Mishtu, I'm home," I call aloud. Setting my things down, I pick up the mail to thumb through it.

"Hi," she whispers, wrapping her arms around my neck, and lifting a deep, smoldering kiss from my lips. "I love you, Rony."

"And I love you," I tell her, setting the mail down, encircling her waist with my arms. When she raises her eyebrows at me demurely, I pick her up and carry her into our bedroom. In no time, our clothes are lying haphazardly on the floor, our bodies already joined together. For some reason, she can't seem to get enough of me tonight so not only do I fuck her hard from behind just the way she likes it, but I also make love to her, trying to convey my feelings for her with each thrust inside of her. Not long after the two of us fall asleep encased in each other's arms. The next day, I kiss her sweetly and tell her I love her more than life itself before walking out of the door.

Not even seventy-two hours later she would be gone. Little did I know that moment would be the last time I ever made love to her.

On that day, I found her letter after I got home from work, I collapsed, the pain, unlike anything I'd ever felt before. Vowing then and there never to lose myself in a woman ever again, I picked myself up and threw myself into my job. I worked all the extra hours I could because it allowed me to put aside my pain for those few hours.

"Ronobir?" I hear, snapping me out of the memory.

"Hi, Diksha. How are things in pediatrics tonight?" I ask, taking a swallow of my soda.

"Busy," she says, sitting down beside me in the cafeteria.

"My floor is pretty full too so I need to get back upstairs. Say hi to Aman for me," I tell her, standing up to go back to my floor.

"I will. Hope the rest of your shift goes well."

"You too," I reply just as I step into the stairwell.

"There you are, Ronobir. The lady in room 834 has shaking chills and a fever of 103.8. Poor girl, she's sick," Nisha tells me as soon as I walk back onto my ward.

"I need to assess her so I can call the Dr. about her fever. He'll probably want blood and urine cultures. You might as well go ahead and take a specimen container in there. Tell her that I'll be right in."

"Sure thing," Nisha replies, grabbing a container to collect some urine next time Mishti has to go. I take a moment to wash my hands then walk towards her room, taking a deep cleansing breath before walking in.

"Mishti, I need to listen to your heart and lungs. I know you feel lousy but I need to call the doctor about your fever. I have to know before I call him. She's so lethargic, barely nodding before her eyes drop shut.

"Roll on your side for me and take some deep breaths," I instruct her. Her eyes open to a slit but she complies with my instructions.

"In through your nose, out through your mouth," I instruct her.

"Now lay on your back so I can listen to your heart and belly. Does your whole side hurt?" I ask.

"Yes," she replies, her voice so soft I can hardly hear it. She complies, rolling onto her back. I pull her covers back, careful to keep her lady parts covered while I start to pull her gown up so I can listen for her bowel tones. Not wanting to cooperate, she holds her gown down.

"Mishti, I just need you to pull it off your abdomen, okay?" Her eyes are cloudy with fever when she stares at me before lowering them and pulling her hospital gown up just far enough for me to place my stethoscope on the four quadrants of her abdomen. When done, I then put my stethoscope at the apex of her chest to listen to her heart as it thrums along at a fast clip, no doubt from her fever.

"I brought you some Tylenol. Take them and then I'm going to give your Dr. a call. Don't get up by yourself. I don't want you to fall and get hurt okay?"

"I won't," she replies, again rolling over so her back is facing me.

"I'll come back in to let you know what the Dr. says."

"Thank you, Ronobir," she says, her voice very soft.

"Get some rest," I tell her, wanting so badly to touch her and to comfort her. I can't allow myself to go there. Not after what devastation she left in her wake when she walked out on me, on us. I think to myself before walking out of her room.

Once I get orders from her physician, I hang the new antibiotic he ordered plus increase the rate of her IV fluid after which I quietly walk out of her room, pulling her door ajar. The lab also shows up to draw some blood cultures. After Nisha helps her into the bathroom, she obtains the urine specimen and sends it to the lab through the pneumatic tube system.

I go about my other duties, check in on my other patients, and finish hanging my midnight medications before I finally have time to sit down to start some charting. By the time I finish with my last chart check, I see the 'her' call light go on. Sucking in a breath, I get up, rapping on her door softly before walking into her room. My breath catches when I see the tears leaking from her eyes and down the slope of her cheeks.

"What's the matter, Mishti?" I ask, walking quickly to her bedside. She shows that her hand is swollen up, her IV having infiltrated. I quickly turn the IV pump off. I'm going to get some supplies so I can put a new one in. You need the fluids." When she looks at me with her doe eyes, the lashes wet from her tears, I nearly melt but I have to keep a stiff upper lip. I won't give her the chance to rip my heart out through my throat a second time. Maintaining my mask of indifference, I walk out of her room to get some supplies, bringing Nisha along with me to hold her hand. I know her well enough to know she's terrified of needles.

Raising her bed, I walk to her left side. When I open my IV start kit and start to put the tourniquet on, she pulls her arm away. "Not my left arm," she says firmly but not elaborating any further than that. I must admit that I'm curious as to why she won't let me use that arm. Just going by appearance sake, it looks fine. But if that's what she wants, I won't use it. Setting my stuff on her right side, I give Nisha a look and trade places with her. She takes Mishti's left hand, talking softly to distract her while I work.

"I'll take your hand IV out after I get the new one in," I tell her. When I see a good vein, I grab another eighteen gauge needle and easily get it the vein. After securing it, I hooked up the fluid to her new IV site. She grimaces when I pull the tape off of her hand when I remove the bad IV and replace it with a two by two and some Coban.

"You can take this dressing off later if you want to," I tell her, lowering her bed.

"Thank you Ronobir," she whispers, her eyes bloodshot and still glossy from her tears. The look on her face almost fills me in. I smile tersely and walk out of her room. Nearly collapsing once I'm a safe distance from her. Closing my eyes, I steel my emotions, putting them back in the locked box that resides safely within my heart. I won't let her see any weakness. Once my shift is over, I have a few days off. Hopefully, she'll be discharged before I have to come back to work.

As the hours pass, I continue to check in on her during the night along with my other patients. I practically drop to my knees in thanks when my shift finally ends so I can get the hell out of here and erase her from my thoughts. After giving a report, even though I want to be rid of her, I still can't resist peaking in on her one more time. She's sleeping quietly so I don't disturb her. With any luck, this is the last time I'll have to lay eyes on one Mishti Khanna.

"Rony, are you home?" Isha's voice awakens me when I hear her bellow out my name.

"What do you want?" I ask when she knocks on my door, entering before I can say no.

"Did you work last night?"

"Really Isha di? If me being in bed this time of day doesn't give you a clue nothing will," I utter, rolling on my side and pulling my pillow over my head.

"Don't be mean, little brother. I can still beat you up," she threatens, pulling the covers off of me.

"What the hell?" I glare at her, reaching for the covers.

"Oh stop acting like a baby," she chastises me, pulling them from my body again.

"What on earth could be so important that you just had to wake me?" I snap, sitting up at the side of the bed.

"You're going to take me out for supper. You owe me, remember?"

"Oh come on. I don't want to go anywhere. I had a hellish night," I utter, dropping my head.

"Nope, you're not getting out of it that easily. Get dressed, I'll wait for you in the dining room," she says, raising her eyebrows at me. Rolling my eyes, I stand up and stumble into the bathroom to shower and get dressed. Without bothering to shave, I throw on a tee shirt and a pair of cargo shorts then walk downstairs.

"You owe me for this one Ishu," I utter, dropping beside her on the couch so I can put my sneakers on. When they're on, I stare at her with my mean face.

"Where are we going anyway?" I ask, turning to face her again once I have my shoes tied.

"To that new Italian restaurant we wanted to try," she answered, smiling from ear to ear.

"Where's Sikander and why doesn't he take you out so I can go back to bed?"

"He's meeting a couple about their wedding venues," she explains as she stands up.

"Let's go." I follow her outside, locking my door and pulling it closed.

"You're driving," I tell her in no uncertain terms.

"Fine," she says, unlocking the door so I can crawl into the passenger seat. We have to wait about a half hour but we finally get a table. Once the waiter takes our drink orders, we relax with some breadsticks and marinara sauce brought over to our table. Shortly after, a male server places our sparkling water with lemon in front of us and takes our order. I ordered the chicken Alfredo pasta, while Isha opted for the seafood linguine. Taking a sip of my drink, I savor the taste as it goes down.

"This is good," I remark, taking another sip.

"I agree," she says, stuffing a bit of her seafood linguine in her mouth.

"So Isha, you seem pretty giddy today?" I mention, raising my eyebrows.

"I hired a new literary agent," she begins. "She's also a published author of children's books."

"Children's books?"

"Yes, I've wanted to get into that field for quite some time. The kid's books she's written have all been best sellers. There are three of them and she's working on another one but unfortunately, she got sick and is in the hospital. I'm going to go to see her tomorrow."

"Really? What's her name?" I ask, taking a bigger swallow of my sparkling water.

I start coughing and sputtering, having inhaled my drink when she casually mentions the name, 'Mishti Khanna.'

"Ronobir, are you okay?" she asks, jumping out of her chair to slap me on the back. Once I can breathe again, I stare at her.

Wanting to believe my ears are deceiving me, I ask, "What did you say her name was?"

"Mishti Khanna. Why?"

"Just kill me now," I utter, dropping my chin onto my chest.