Mated To An Enemy

After making up for their lost time and agreeing about the direction they wanted to see their future going, Peter and Myka made another critical decision.

They needed to make time for each other.

Peter made an effort to delegate some of his tasks at the hospital that didn't need his personal attention. He kept Axel as his patient, but for many of the others that needed less intensive care or monitoring, he assigned them to other doctors who were more than happy to take them on.

Through clearing his schedule, Peter realized that he had been taking on more than necessary for a long time, and the people around him had noticed.

“This must be Myka's doing,” Bell said brightly.

“What are you talking about?” Peter asked while focusing on the chart where he was making notes.

“You, giving away your patients and letting others handle things for a change,” she replied.

Peter sighed.

“I am just trying to make sure that my patients are getting the treatment and attention they deserve,” he said. “If I have too many patients or tasks around the hospital, I can't do that.”

“Mmhmm,” Bell grinned. “But it never seemed to bother you before.”

“I've never had a workload like this before,” Peter said, finishing the chart and placing it on the pile before grabbing the next one.

“I disagree,” Bell said. “You might not have had the kinds of injuries and treatments that you have been handling the past few weeks, but you have always had an overwhelming workload.”

“I do just as much as anyone else,” Peter sighed, finishing the second chart and moving to a third.

Bell stood up from where she sat on the desk and called out to one of the nurses walking by.

“Ellie,” she said. “Which doctor takes on the most patients?”

“Peter,” Ellie replied without a thought.

“And which doctor works the most hours?” Bell asked.

Peter let out an annoyed sigh.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Hush, I am talking to Ellie,” Bell replied, waving a hand as though she were shooing him away.

Ellie gave her a confused look but replied.

“Peter...”

“Which doctor takes the least number of days off?” Bell asked, smiling at Peter, who rolled his eyes.

“...Peter...”

“And... which doctor refuses help the most?”

Ellie hesitated.

“It's okay,” Bell whispered. Leaning toward Ellie. “I won't let him get mad at you.”

Ellie chuckled and nodded.

“Peter.”

“Thank you, dear. You have been a great help,” Bell said with a cheerful smile.

Ellie nodded and walked away.

“See?” Bell said, looking back at Peter with a wide grin. “You have always overworked yourself.”

Peter looked annoyed at Bell but couldn't deny what she was saying.

“Fine,” he sighed. “You're right. I have always tried to keep myself busy.”

“And.... What's changed....?” Bell asked teasingly.

Peter didn't respond.

“Peter...” Bell called to him, but he remained quiet, looking only at his charts.

Bell pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. She stared at him for a long time, but still, he didn't even look at her.

“Peter.... Peter....” She called again.

When he did not react, she crossed her arms and raised a brow.

“All right,” she said with an exasperated sigh, “you forced me to do this.”

Peter furrowed his brows, wondering what she could possibly mean.

Bell took a deep breath.

“Peter! Peter! Peter! Peter! Peter! Peter! Peter! Peter! Pete--!" Bell shouted his name in rapid succession until he finally cut her off.

“All right!” Peter shouted, looking up at her with more than a small amount of annoyance. “What are you, five?”

Bell stuck her tongue out before replying to him.

“Spill,” she said.

Peter took a deep breath and turned his attention to her.

“If you must know,” he sighed. “Myka and I have agreed that we need to make more time for each other in our days. Especially now.”

Bell smiled.

“Why now?” she asked. “I mean, it's great either way, but Myka has been here for a few months, and you didn't change your ways. So, what finally got you to wake up?”

Peter smiled and looked up at her.

“Myka and I talked about it, and we decided to adopt Sadie and Stefan,” he said.

Bell gasped excitedly.

“Are you serious!” she shouted.

Peter laughed and nodded. Bell jumped at him, hugging him tightly with a delighted laugh. Then she gasped and pulled away.

“Is that why you wanted my house?” she asked. “For the extra room?”

Peter nodded.

“Oh! That is so great! Oh, Peter... I am so happy for you and for Sadie and Stefan.”

They smiled happily together for a moment when Bell had another thought.

“Wait,” she said, “but if you need my house before you can all be together, why are you hurrying to clear your schedule? You know I still have a few more weeks at least before I leave....”

Peter looked away, and Bell saw a blush creeping onto the tops of his ears. She bit her bottom lip to keep from giggling as she understood the reason for the rush.

“Because we... want to...” he whispered. Then quickly added. “Once we move back home, Sadie will be coming to live with us, so we just wanted to take a little time...for ourselves... first.”

Inside, Bell giggled and squealed like a schoolgirl. She hopped and jumped and danced around Peter as she poked fun at him until he was beet red and fuming with embarrassment. But externally, she took a breath and smiled at him.

“That's an excellent plan,” she said.

Peter furrowed his brow and looked up at her. He expected her to mock him and poke at him until he was so embarrassed he would need to run off to hide until he could calm down.

“I'm really happy for you, Peter,” Bell said with a genuine and kind smile. “You and Myka deserve your time together. Your life with Sadie and Stefan will be great, but the precious moments that the two of you get to share now are important too.”

Peter was both touched and dumbfounded by her words. He stood up and put the back of his hand to her forehead, feeling for a temperature.

“Are you all right?” he asked. “Are you sick? Did you hit your head?”

“Shut up!” she laughed, pushing his hand away. “I am just saying that I am glad that you are happy. It's really great to see you like this.”

Peter laughed and then smiled at her.

“Thank you,” he said. “I really am, and I appreciate you saying that.”