In A Heartbeat

Chapter Four

Riley had enjoyed her day off. She had gone out to dinner with a very nice

woman she'd met at the health club a few weeks ago. It was amazing how

relaxing a date could be without having to worry about someone stalking your

every move. She'd forced thoughts of Sam McKenna away repeatedly but still

managed to enjoy herself. She knew there was no chance of pursuing a

relationship with Sam and had tried to convinced herself that she accepted that.

She headed for the surgical lounge resisting the urge to check on Sam. Riley

opened the door to the doctor's lounge almost running into Claire Thompson.

"Morning Claire. Thanks for taking care of my patients for me. Any problems I

need to know about?"

"No everyone was fine but next time find someone else to look after that

McKenna woman. You could've warned me she's such a bitch," Claire

complained.

Riley's eyes widened in surprise, Sam had never been anything but friendly and

cooperative. "What happened?" She demanded sharply.

Claire's eyebrows rose at Riley's tone and she looked down her nose at the

shorter woman. "I beg your pardon. I checked on your patient as you asked and

she acted like a spoiled bitch. Next time find someone else." Claire responded

angrily before storming out of the lounge.

Now Riley was worried something was wrong. She had to restrain herself from

rushing down to Sam's room. She finally gave up the fight and was on her way

to check on her when her pager went off summoning her to the ER.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley walked out of the recovery room several hours later having completed the

surgery on a gunshot victim. Her thought immediately turned to Sam and her

earlier conversation with Claire. She headed for her room to find out for herself

just what was going on.

She stepped into Sam's room to find her lying in bed staring into space. Riley's

concern skyrocketed. She quickly approached Sam's bed reaching out to lay her

hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam jumped at her touch and she immediately pulled

back.

"Hi." Sam said listlessly. She missed her sister and Kim. After the doctor's rough treatment of her leg the previous evening it had ached all night even with the

pain med and to top it off the tape and bandage was tight and uncomfortable. All

in all, she felt incredibly sorry for herself.

Riley placed her hand on Sam's forehead checking for fever. She knew the

nurses would have informed Claire if Sam had any problems but now doubted

Sam would've told anyone.

"How're you doing Sam?"

"OK."

"Is something wrong?"

"No."

Riley was getting frustrated. This was so unlike Sam. She racked her brain

thinking of some way to get more than a one-word answer. Sam wasn't even

meeting her eyes.

"I'd like to check your incision. Would that be okay?"

"OK."

Riley sighed and lifted up Sam's blankets. She lifted up her gown and positioned

it carefully only exposing as much of Sam as she needed to. She frowned when

she got a look at the bandage. The tape was poorly applied and wrinkled. Riley

knew it must be very uncomfortable. She wondered why Sam hadn't said

anything to the nurses. She removed it as carefully as she could but winced in

sympathy when Sam grimaced. The skin where the tape was wrinkled appeared

red and sore. Riley silently cursed Claire. Her incisions looked clean and tight.

Most of the swelling was gone and the incision was already showing signs of

healing. It wouldn't be too many more days before she could remove the sutures

completely.

"This looks really good Sam. I'm going to leave it uncovered from now on. It

needs to get some air to complete the healing. I should be able to remove the

sutures in a few days." She hoped Sam would perk up with the good news.

Sam sighed in relief to have the uncomfortable tape and dressing removed. She

glanced up at Riley finally meeting her eyes. "Thanks." She said softly.

Finding no other reason to stay, Riley left to check on her other patients.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley was back on the surgical floor later that afternoon. She hadn't been able to

get thoughts of Sam out of her head all day. Riley peeked into Sam's room and

found her alone and again staring into space. She wondered why Kim and Jess

weren't with Sam. Spotting Sue the young nurse assigned to Sam, Riley

bypassed Sam's room, heading for the nurses desk.

"Hey Sue," she greeted. "How has Sam McKenna been today?"

"Oh Dr. Connolly I'm glad I caught you. I've been worried about her. She's been

really down since her sister left. She had to go back to work. Mary walked with

her in the morning but put in the nursing notes she seemed very listless. I tried

to get her up later in the evening yesterday but she refused and asked for her

pain med."

"Was that after Dr. Thompson was here?"

Sue looked hesitant to answer, finally she just nodded in response to Riley's

question.

"Damn it Claire, what did you do to her?" Riley muttered under her breath.

"Thanks Sue."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley made a detour across the street to a local sub shop before heading to

Sam's room. She approached the bed and placed the bag in her hand on the

over the bed table. Sam glanced over and smiled slightly. She was down but still

glad to see Riley.

Riley knew she needed to do something to bring Sam out of her depressed

mood.

Smiling she asked, "How are you doing?" Sam opened her mouth to reply but

Riley cut her off. "And don't you dare say okay." She warned mock glaring at

Sam.

Sam couldn't help it; she laughed lightly feeling her mood lighten a little. She met

Riley's eyes before replying.

"Good." A long pause, "I'm good."

Riley grabbed her chest and slumped against Sam's bed. "Oh my god...two

words in a row!"

Sam reached out and playfully slapped Riley's arm grinning. "Alright cut it out

smartass."

Riley grinned standing up and picking up the bag she'd set down when she

came in. "How about some dinner? Guaranteed to be better than anything food

service can come up with." She laughed before adding. "Not that just about

anything isn't better than what the food service provides."

Sam's eyes lit up like a kid getting a treat. She pulled the bag toward her and

Riley's stomach growled expectantly. Sam laughed her dark mood lightening

further. She passed Riley one of the sandwiches from the bag. "We should feed

that thing before someone gets hurt," she teased Riley.

Riley scowled and opened her sandwich taking a big bite. She moaned in

pleasure. Sam looked down at her sandwich trying to hide her flushed face. Her

heart had started to hammer when Riley moaned. God I hope Jess and Kim are

right; this woman just HAS to be gay. I have to ask her about Keith, she

promised herself. The smell coming from her sandwich distracted her thoughts.

She unwrapped it to find a Philly cheese steak. She took a big bite of the

sandwich and moaned as Riley had.

Riley felt a flash of arousal when Sam moaned. She hid her face in her dinner

hoping Sam wouldn't notice.

"This is SOO good," Sam enthused. "Good beef and melted cheese, one of my

favorites."

"Ah a woman after my own heart, none of the health food stuff for me either."

Riley laughed.

Sam saw her chance and decided to take it. Riley stirred feelings in her she just

couldn't ignore. Please don't let her be straight. "Yep, if I was going for

someone's heart it would definitely be a woman's." She laughingly told Riley,

closely watching her expression. Riley smiled brightly.

Riley looked Sam right in the eyes. "Yes, I'd have to agree with you there." She

blushed when she realized what she'd blurted out.

YES! Sam shouted silently to herself. Before she could say anything else,

Riley's pager shrilled.

Riley pulled it off her belt and cursed when she read the display. ER 911.

"Damn I'm so sorry, I have to go. It's the ER."

Sam watched in disappointment as Riley hurried out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley berated herself as she rushed toward the ER. Why the hell did you say

that? You're supposed to be distancing yourself from this woman. Not telling her

you're gay! Riley was confused. Sam knew about Keith but had still sought

confirmation that she was gay. How did she know? I've got to talk to

her...soon. She forced all the thoughts swirling in her brain away as she entered

the ER.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam sat finishing the dinner Riley had provided. Her mind went back over their

conversation. She really needed to talk to Riley and ask her about Keith. She

couldn't help grinning at Riley's confirmation. She was never going to hear the

end of it when she told Jess. Guess her gaydar wasn't on the fritz after all, she

laughed to herself. Sam felt the most lighthearted she had since being shot. Just

the thought of having a chance with the beautiful doctor made her heart soar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley leaned against the wall outside the recovery room. It was after 9pm and

she'd just completed the surgery on a motorcycle accident victim. The young

man was very lucky to still have his leg. She shook her head in dismay; he was

just a kid. She walked down the hall mentally debating, should she go to the on-

call room and get some much-needed sleep or stop by and see Sam. She tried

to convince herself her concern was just for the well-being of a patient but in her

heart, she knew it was far more than that. Riley was drawn to the woman and

couldn't seem to stay away. She glanced up to find herself in front of the

elevators. The doors opened and the up button arrow was lit. Well guess that

answers that, Riley thought to herself as she stepped into the elevator and

pushed the button for the sixth floor.

Sam's door was open but the room was dark except for a dim light over the bed.

She sighed in disappointment and started to turn away.

"I'm awake." Sam called out.

Riley made her way into the darkened room. She stood next to Sam's bed; she

could just make out her face in the dim light. "Sorry I woke you."

"You didn't I was just lying here." Sam said then added shyly. "I'd hoped you'd come by when you finished."

Sam reached out and gently took hold of Riley's forearm guiding her to sit on the

side of the bed. Riley resisted knowing it was inappropriate for her to be sitting

on a patient's bed or at least this patient's bed.

"Come on," Sam encouraged. "I can tell you're tired. Just sit for a few

minutes...please."

Riley couldn't resist the plea in her voice and gingerly perched on the side of

Sam's bed. Neither woman spoke for several moments.

Sam finally broke the silence. "What happened in the ER? Did you end up

having to operate on someone?"

"Yeah, a young man, well just a kid really was in a motorcycle accident. He

almost lost his leg but I was able to save it."

"Lucky for him you were around." Sam told Riley squeezing her arm lightly.

"Thanks. Well I should let you get some sleep." Riley said as she started to

stand up.

Sam placed a restraining hand on her arm. "Please don't go." Sam pleaded

softly.

Riley couldn't quite see Sam's eyes in the dim light but she could hear the plea

in her voice

"Okay, just for a little while then you need your rest." She said drawing one leg up onto the bed and settling a little closer to Sam. Her thigh was just touching

Sam's hip.

"Tell me about Keith," Sam requested quietly.

Riley tensed at the mention of Keith. Her mind flashed back to the awful moment

in the trauma room when Sam's body slammed into hers and she realized Keith

had shot her. She glanced down finally noticing that Sam was stroking her leg

softly. She knew what Sam was asking but didn't know where to start. She

decided to start at the beginning. Riley tried to clear the lump in her throat before

speaking.

"I met Keith at a dinner party given by a friend. I didn't realize 'til after I arrived it was a set up. My friend was worried that I spent too much time working and

wasn't dating so decided to 'help' me out. My schedule doesn't leave a lot of time

for a personal life." Riley knew that wasn't totally true but left it at that for the

time being. "He asked me out and we started dating. I knew from the start we'd

never be more than friends. It just seemed... I don't know convenient to have

someone so I could say, 'See I'm dating'." Riley could see Sam's frown and

knew she sounded callous but she wasn't willing to admit she dated him just to

keep her uncle happy. "Keith wanted to escalate our relationship beyond

friendship." Riley started to stutter slightly. "I just couldn't do that again. I'd tried, really tried in the past but it just never worked. My interests lay elsewhere." She

looked trying to see into Sam's eyes. "And they always have." She added in

almost a whisper. Sam gently squeezed her leg in understanding. She wasn't

sure Riley was going to say anything else. Sam lay quietly with one hand on

Riley's leg trying to absorb everything she'd told her.

"I broke it off with Keith after a month. I told him we just weren't right for each

other. He refused to accept that. He tried for a month to get me to go back to

him. I repeatedly refused. I'd finally decided to stop trying to be something I'm

not. I went out on a date with a woman I met at a health club. It was nice and I

finally felt like I was being true to myself. I didn't know then that Keith had taken

up following me. He followed us the second time we went out and saw the

woman kiss me good night. He went ballistic and accused me of making him a

laughingstock dumping him for a woman. He turned my world into a nightmare

from that day forward. There were phone calls at all hours of the night and he

followed me everywhere. Threatening letters were sent to my home and work.

My SUV was vandalized several times. I went to the police but could never

prove it was him. After one of the staff witnessed him breaking my windshield I

was finally able to get a judge to issue a restraining order. He was served with

the order only hours before he showed up in the ER. You know what happened

after that." Riley looked down at the floor. All her guilt over the whole incident

overwhelmed her. The knowledge that she was responsible for Sam being so

badly injured haunted her. She lifted tear-filled eyes to Sam. "I'm so sorry I got

you shot. It's my fault you're in this bed."

Sam sat up and gently pulled Riley into her arms. Riley resisted for a second

then her resolve broke and tears poured down her cheeks. She wrapped her

arms around Sam's waist snuggling into her chest. Riley knew she should pull

away but couldn't force herself out of the comforting embrace. Sam hugged

Riley to her chest, stroking her hair gently.

"Now you listen to me Riley Connolly. It was NOT your fault. Keith was obviously

disturbed. Normal people don't stalk their ex-girlfriends. You didn't get me shot.

Keith shot me. He was going to kill you Riley. I've been in those situations

before. I couldn't let that happen."

Both women were quiet for a while. Sam enjoyed the feel of Riley in her arms

and Riley savored the comfort offered by Sam's warm embrace. Sam inhaled the

sweet scent of Riley's hair and unable to resist leaned down and kissed the

crown of her head. Riley tightened her arms around Sam's waist. Sam nuzzled

Riley's hair then placed a lingering kiss on her forehead. Riley's head came up

and their eyes met in the dim light. What had started out as a simple offer of

comfort was quickly becoming something else. Sam watched for any sign of

resistance as she slowly lowered her lips to meet Riley's. The kiss was gentle

and undemanding. Sam lifted her head and stared into Riley's eyes waiting for

her reaction. Riley was dazed, the feelings racing through her body were

amazing. No one had ever roused such feelings in her with a simple kiss. She

forgot about everything and leaned up wanting to feel those amazing lips again.

Sam grinned before meeting Riley's lips. This kiss quickly became passionate.

Sam lightly licked Riley's lips pressing for entrance. Riley opened her mouth

moaning as Sam's tongue slid in and started to explore. A sudden loud banging

in the hall caused the women to break apart.

The sound snapped Riley out of the sensual haze she'd been in. She stiffened

and pulled back out of Sam's arms. "Oh my god, Oh my god." She muttered as it

sank in just what she'd allowed to happen. She panicked realizing not only had

she been passionately kissing a patient but they were sitting on her hospital bed

where anyone could've walk in.

"We shouldn't be doing this. I can't do this, I'm your doctor." She told Sam

tearfully getting off the side of the bed and backing away. "I have to go."

"Wait Riley, don't go," Sam called. Riley ignored her as she fled the room. Sam

pulled back the blankets intent on going after her. Forgetting her injured leg, she

jumped out of the bed. When her full weight landed on the injured limb, she

gasped as pain shot down her thigh. She leaned against the bed gasping for

breath. Knowing there was no way she could chase after Riley she eased

herself back into the bed. Sam felt tears of pain and frustration roll down her

cheeks. She couldn't believe after the kiss they'd shared Riley had just run out of

the room. So what if I'm her patient, Sam thought defiantly, that's only

temporary. I'll be out of here soon. Sam had so many questions bombarding her

mind. Had Riley ever been with a woman? Had she scared her with the kiss?

Was she seeing someone? Sam pushed all the disturbing questions away

forcing herself to relax. She finally drifted off to sleep with thoughts of how

wonderful it felt to hold Riley in her arms and taste her sweet lips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley made her way to the on-call room keeping her head down hoping no one

would notice her tear streaked face. She locked the door of the on-call room and

threw herself on the bed. The tears started to flow and she sobbed out her

confusion. She didn't understand any of what she was feeling. It had taken all

her willpower to pull out of Sam's embrace. She had for the first time in her life

felt like she belonged. She'd felt safe and cherished in Sam's arms. And her kiss!

That had been the most incredible kiss she'd ever had. She'd never been so

involved with someone that she forgot who she was and where they were. That

scared the hell out of her.

She's a patient, she's a patient, she's a patient, Riley chanted repeatedly. It was totally unethical to get involved with a patient it went against every ethic she'd

been taught in med school. She knew she'd already crossed the line and should

have another doctor take over Sam's case. She was obviously no longer

emotionally unattached. She had to distance herself from Sam it was the only

ethical thing to do. She didn't know how she was going to do it she admitted to

herself. Sam tugged at a place in her heart Riley hadn't known existed. She

rolled onto her side emotionally exhausted. As she drifted off to sleep, she felt

warm strong arms holding her tight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam knew she needed advice and fast. She'd called Kim managing to catch her

before she left for work. She told her the whole story of the previous night's

events. She hadn't been able to keep the elation out of her voice when she

described finally kissing the beautiful doctor. Kim had been amazed at the story.

She told Sam that Riley must indeed have feelings for her. Whether she would

ever admit them was another story. Kim explained to Sam the ethical training

physician's underwent and that one of the most stressed tenets was the

prohibition of getting involved with a patient. It was the same reasoning behind

physicians not treating their own family members; their judgment would be

impaired by their emotional attachment to the patient. Kim had advised Sam to

respect Riley's decision to not get involved with a patient. Sam had argued she

was unwilling to let a chance to be with the little doctor go. Kim had counseled

patience telling Sam; once you're not her patient anymore then you can pursue

her.

Sam had spent the morning contemplating Kim's advice. She decided to bide

her time knowing she would be out of the hospital soon. Once she was, she

wouldn't be Riley's patient and then she would pursue the doctor. Sam couldn't

help reliving that moment last night when Riley had opened to her and she had

slipped her tongue into her mouth. Sam groaned as she felt the familiar tingling

between her legs. She eagerly awaited morning rounds .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley completed her rounds and quickly left the surgical floor. She'd managed to

avoid Sam for the last two days. She'd not seen her since she ran out of her

room after their kiss. Riley knew she was being incredibly immature just avoiding

Sam but her feelings for the woman scared her. She didn't seem to be able to

control herself around Sam so she had chosen to be a coward and hide. Riley

had considered turning Sam's case over to another physician but the thought of

someone else touching her no matter how innocently disturbed her. She tried

very hard not to think about what that meant. Riley knew Sam had been asking

for her but had repeatedly ignored requests via the nurses to see her. She

checked her chart everyday and consoled herself with the fact that Sam was

doing well. Riley longed to see her but knew this was the only way it could be;

she couldn't become involved with a patient.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam was fit to be tied. She had taken up patrolling the halls hoping to spot Riley.

The woman was obviously avoiding her. She'd not seen her since their kiss on

Monday night and it was already Thursday. Sam had made increasingly

adamant requests of the nurses to see the elusive doctor but all she got was

excuses. Damn it! No one can stay in surgery THAT long! Sam growled in

frustration. One side effect of all the walking was her leg was stronger but still

ached when she over did it. She'd been out in the hall for some time and her leg

was hurting. Sam headed back to her room in defeat. She had just reached her

door when the hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood up. Whirling around

as quickly as possible, Sam saw Riley step off the elevators. Sam hurried back

down the hall intent on stopping her before she could disappear again.

Riley heard rapid footsteps and looked up from the chart she'd picked up. Her

body tensed when she saw Sam rapidly approaching. Her first response was to

run but one look at Sam's determined face quelled that idea. She sighed in

defeat putting back the chart and walked slowly toward Sam. Sam slowed her

headlong pace when she realized Riley wasn't going to run. Riley's eyes ran

over Sam as she approached; her expression softened and she forgot all about

trying to avoid her.

"Hi Sam. How are you?" Riley greeted when they met halfway between Sam's

room and the nurses desk.

Sam stared at the doctor in amazement. Riley greeted her as if nothing was

amiss and she hadn't pulled a disappearing act. Sam couldn't stop the anger

that crept into her voice. "Where have you been Riley?" she asked angrily.

That was the wrong tact to take with Riley. She'd felt bad for avoiding Sam but

now her own anger rose at Sam's accusing tone of voice.

"I do have other patients besides you to take care of Officer McKenna." Riley

responded angrily. "Was there something you wanted? I'm very busy." As soon

as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them.

Sam's shoulders slumped in defeat. She had been right all along, Riley only

thought of her as another patient. The kiss had meant nothing to her and that

had been why she was avoiding her. Sam had thought it was because she didn't

want to be involved with a patient, now she knew better.

"No there's nothing Dr. Connolly. I'm sorry I bothered you." Sam turned and

started to slowly make her way back to her room.

Riley watched sadly, as Sam turned and walked way. She felt terrible for what

she'd said to her leading her to believe she was just another patient. It broke

Riley's heart to see the defeated slump of her shoulders but she knew it was for

the best.

Sam was almost back to her room when she stumbled her injured leg giving out,

one of her crutches started to slide out from under her. The rush down the hall to

catch Riley had placed more of a strain on her leg than she'd realized.

Riley saw Sam stumble and heard her gasp of pain. She raced down the hall to

catch her before she hit the ground. Being so much shorter than Sam Riley did

the only thing she could and wrapped her arms around Sam's waist from behind.

She supported as much of her weight as she could until Sam could get the

crutches under her again.

"Are you all right?" Riley questioned. She still had her arms wrapped securely

around Sam's waist her body pressed tightly against hers from behind.

Sam had known the second the arms came around her they belonged to Riley.

She tested her leg gingerly and sighed happily when it held her weight.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just gave out on me there for a minute. Thanks."

Riley reluctantly released her hold on Sam coming around to face her. "Come on

I'll help you get settled back into bed."

Sam still felt the sting from their last conversation. "That's ok; I'm fine I can make it on my own." She said trying to be as polite as possible and not let Riley know

how much she'd hurt her.

Riley could see the hurt in Sam's eyes and cursed herself for being such a

coward. This woman had saved her life the least she could do is have the

courage to tell her the truth.

Riley reached out and lightly touched Sam's arm. "I'd really feel better knowing

you're really okay and settled. I'd like to make sure you didn't damage your

incision." She said softly making eye contact with Sam and hoping she would

read the sincerity in her eyes.

Sam didn't respond but she didn't move either.

"Please Sam," Riley tried again her expression pleading.

Damn it, Sam thought, how am I supposed to stay mad at her when she looks at

me like that!

"OK."

Riley smiled up at Sam moving to her side she placed a hand on her back. She

walked with her back into her room keeping her hand in place in case she

stumbled again.

When they reached the side of the bed, Riley gently took Sam's crutches from

her resting them against the bedside table. She then stepped behind Sam and

started to help her remove her robe. As the robe came off Riley's eyes widened.

Sam's hospital gown had come untied and she had a prime view of Sam's broad

shoulders and muscled back. Her eyes drifted down to her trim waist and tight

gluts. She found herself staring unashamedly at Sam's ass. The compulsion to

reach out and touch was almost overwhelming. She swallowed loudly squirming

slightly at the sudden damp feeling between her legs. Damn this woman is

dangerous, Riley groaned. She'd never reacted to a patient like this before. Hell

she'd never reacted to anyone like this before.

When the robe was removed, Sam realized she felt a decided chill. She glanced

back to see her gown gaping open in the back. She wasn't able to see Riley

because of their height difference and where she was standing. Her face flamed

with embarrassment. This woman always seemed to see her at her most

vulnerable. She dropped her head to her chest. "Just kill me now," she muttered.

Riley grinned when she realized Sam couldn't see her and hadn't known she

was ogling her. She reached up and pulled Sam's gown closed tying it shut.

"Don't worry about it Sam. It's not like I haven't seen you naked before." Riley

immediately slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she'd just

said. This was why she had to avoid Sam, her mouth seem to become

disengaged from her brain every time she was around her. She blushed hotly.

Sam turned in time to see Riley's face flush red. "Oh really?" She purred.

Riley felt like her face was on fire. She'd never been so embarrassed in her life.

"I just meant I'm your um... doctor and um... and I had to take your clothes off in

the ER. I mean, um... the nurses did and..." Riley's stuttering voice trailed off.

She glanced up at Sam. Sam had that little half smirk on her face she'd seen

before. She was learning to be wary of it. Riley growled at Sam. Sam busted up

laughing.

Riley reached out and lightly backhanded Sam in the stomach. "I always knew

you were a troublemaker McKenna. Now get your butt back in that bed so I can

examine your incision." Riley playfully demanded.

Once Sam was settled in, Riley bent to examine her incision. It looked great and

the sutures were ready to come out. "This looks good Sam let me go grab a

suture removal kit and I'll take your sutures out."

While Riley was gone, Sam tried to figure out Riley's changed attitude. She'd

avoided her for several days, and then in the hall told her she was just another

patient. Now she was acting as she had before teasing her and acting friendly. It

all suddenly made sense. Riley did have feeling for her but was fighting against

them. She was so hung up on Sam being a patient she refused to let herself feel

for her. Sam smiled. She just had to bide her time until she wasn't her patient

anymore.

Riley came back into the room with the suture removal kit. Sam pulled back the

blanket and as she'd done before Riley positioned her gown for her. Her back to

Sam she began to gently remove the sutures from the first incision line. That

finished she started on the second suture line that ran down the inside of Sam's

thigh. She removed several stitches her wrist resting on Sam's mound. Sam

tried hard not to think about where Riley's hand was resting.

"Spread your legs for me." Riley requested.

Sam bit her lip as Riley's innocent words caused a flash of arousal to rush

through her body. She spread her legs slightly and tried to keep her hips in place

as Riley gently spread her leg further open and turned it so she could reach the

sutures. The last three sutures where quite a way down the inside of Sam's

thigh. When Riley reached to get them, her hand brushed hard between Sam's

legs. Sam's hips bucked up into the contact. Riley was oblivious to the true

cause of Sam's distress.

"Did I hurt you?" She asked with concern. She was totally focused on removing

the sutures.

"No." Sam assured her in a strained voice. "You didn't hurt me."

Riley glanced up from her work. Sam's voice had sounded strange. Sam refused

to meet her eyes. Riley figured she'd hurt her and she didn't want to admit it.

She gently set about removing the last of the sutures.

Sam fought her growing arousal praying Riley would finish quickly before she

humiliated herself. Sam almost groaned in relief when Riley said she was

finished.

"Everything looks great here. You will have a scar but it shouldn't be too

prominent." Riley assured Sam.

Sam finally regained her composure once Riley removed her hands from

between her legs.

"I'm not surprised, I had a great surgeon." She smiled at Riley.

Riley gathered up her instruments and prepared to leave.

Sam's expression grew serious as she met Riley's smiling eyes. "I missed you

these last few days," she confessed softly.

Riley felt her chest tighten at Sam's honest declaration. She mentally squared

her shoulders vowing silently to herself to tell the truth.

"I missed you too Sam." Sam smiled brilliantly. "But..." Sam's smile faded as quickly as it'd appeared. "You're my patient and I can't get involved with a

patient, it's unethical. It goes against everything I've been taught to believe.

Please understand." Riley was almost pleading.

"I do understand." Sam assured her.

Riley didn't know if she was disappointed or happy. She knew she should be

happy that Sam was so easily accepting they couldn't be involved. But in her

heart of hearts, she felt a piercing sense of disappointment.

"You do?"

"Yes, I understand you can't get involved with me while I'm your patient. I won't

be your patient forever." Sam replied with a smile.

"No then you'll be my ex-patient. It's the same thing Sam. I'm sorry believe me I

am. If we'd met under different circumstances..." Riley was near tears. She

cared for this woman and had for a while no matter how many times she told

herself she shouldn't. It just wasn't fair.

Sam had turned away from Riley not wanting the woman to see her hurt

expression.

"I'm sorry." Riley said softly before quietly making her exit.