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“Come on. Lighten up, Wexler. Get out. Have some fun,” The young arrogant doctor said as he moved in closer to her.
Karen slowly turned her face towards him, placed her hand in his chest and smiled coolly, “If I wanted to have fun, Ken, I’d find someone classier and smarter to do it with.”
“Oh…. Crash and burn, MacNeil,” Melissa Grant smiled as she stepped up to the nurses stations beside Karen, “I think you should quit hitting on her. It has been a year and a half, you know.”
“But…” Ken said looking over to Melissa, “She hasn’t outright told me no, though. That’s a step in the right direction,” He grinned.
“Well,” Karen said crossing her
arms, “Let me settle this for you. Once and for all. No. No
way. Not going to happen in your lifetime.” She said turning back
to the chart in front of her, “Feeling better?”
“No,” He said then grinned slyly,
“I could use a doctor to help fix this broken heart of mine.”
“Oh get over yourself,” Melissa said smacking his arm as she pushed him down the hallway. Ken laughed softly before winking and blowing kisses in the direction of the ladies. Melissa looked back to Karen and rolled her eyes, “What a moron.”
“He should know by now that kissing up isn’t going to help him,” Karen said then smiled, “Still, it’s fun to watch him try so hard.”
“Have you ever entertained the thought of going out with him?” Melissa asked while shuffling the files in her hands.
“Melissa, I don’t think it would be appropriate.”
“And just why not?”
“Oh gee,” Karen said putting down her pen, “For one, he’s a first year resident and I’m the chief of emergency services. I don’t think the two go together.”
“Karen, come on. He’s a nice looking guy. Besides, maybe what you really need is some hot young stud to come and spin your world upside down.”
“Melissa,” Karen said in shock, “That is not even close to being funny.”
“No, it’s not, and do you want to know why? It’s because you and I both know that what you really need to do is find a man, have one really hot night of passion, and then you can go back to your mundane bubble little existence,” Melissa responded with a smile, “Don’t you think?”
“What I think is that you’re crazy. I’ve got this conference tonight and here you are trying to tell me about picking up stray young doctors to take home for the night,” Karen laughed, “You are too funny.”
“Come on. You and I both know that it would actually do you some good. And besides, this conference is three days long. You could find you a nice young stud tonight, and there would be no commitment.”
“Melissa!” Karen said in amused shock, “No, no, no. I’m too old to be chasing after men that much younger than me.”
“Then how about a man your own age, Karen. I don’t think I’ve seen you date one guy while we’ve known each other. Maybe it’s time you broke down and looked for that certain someone.”
“Melissa, I met that certain someone a long time ago,” Karen half shrugged, “And there will never be anyone to compare with him. I won’t settle for anything less that what he was and even still is to me.”
“You’re hung up on someone?” Melissa said in awe, “That explains a lot. Who is he? Do I know him?”
“No, you don’t know him, and you’ll probably never meet him,” Karen stated as she returned to the reading before her.
“Why not? Don’t want to share him with us? What’s wrong? Is he hideous?”
“No,” Karen shook her head, “He and I just…well, we’re not together and that’s all there is to it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish my notes before the banquet tonight.”
Karen walked down the all towards her office and frowned. She hadn’t thought about Chris like that in months. Why had she thought about him now? She knew why but didn’t want to dwell on it. Tomorrow was their wedding anniversary, the day she’d promised to always be with him and the day she’d told the biggest lie in her life.
She did still love him. There had been so many nights when all she wanted to do was pick up the phone and hear his voice, to talk to him about everything and nothing at all. There had been times when she’d wanted to race back to Port Charles and take her life back, fight for it and fight for the family they’d always promised each other.
But here she was. Working at Manhattan Medical Center as the chief of emergency services. She’d never quite gotten up the courage to make that telephone call to Chris. She’d never quite made it outside New York on her way home. She just couldn’t take that kind of step backwards.
She often wondered if it would truly be a step backwards for her. She also wondered if she could ever live in the same town with Chris again. Who was she kidding? She wondered what she would do if she were ever in the same room with him again.
Looking back on it now, she had left in a very bad way. Their one perfect night together with no next beautiful day to contribute to it. How on earth could she have walked out like that?
Then the answers came pounding into her head. She hadn’t really been in control at the time. The nervous breakdown and stay at the institution proved that much. But why had she stayed away? Why hadn’t she returned home? Why hadn’t she spoken with Chris? Why hadn’t she…she stopped herself. There were way too many why hadn’t she questions to ask and much too few answers to go with them.
Karen walked into her office and looked at the computer screen. She hated this computer. She hated this office. Oh, who was she kidding? She hated this town. While Manhattan seemed glamorous enough in pictures, it was actually a cesspool waiting for someone to clean it up.
She frowned. She was getting cynical in her old age. That was all it had to be. If she took the time to walk outside now, she could still see the beauty in the town, but she never took the time. She never had the time.
Karen switched off the computer and sighed. Melissa was halfway right. She did need some fun in her life, but a man? No, there would never be another man for her after Chris. He was still the owner of her heart, and she didn’t ever want him to give it back.
She grabbed her purse and walked out of her office. She walked down the hall of the large hospital and smiled as she watched the personnel running here and there, racing to get medications here, bandages over there. She loved this job. It was much more fulfilling than sitting in a lab all day testing specimens for what seemed like hours and hours and hours on end. She needed people and in a way, she realized that she always had. Locking herself away in the lab had never helped her, even when she thought it was her only answer.
Karen left the hospital and went out to meet the limousine that the hospital had acquired for the conference. It seemed so strange to be riding in a stretch limousine for the same distance she normally walked or bicycled. It seemed extravagant. It seemed senseless. But at the same time, it felt like an accomplishment. It felt like she had finally been placed a step up in the world and after living a life of always feeling pushing back or down, it was wonderful.
Karen stepped into her apartment and kicked off her flats while she tossed her notebooks and purse onto the sofa. It looked like a train wreck, but she didn’t care. No one would see it because her compulsive tendencies would probably take over after the conference tonight and she’d spend the wee morning hours on a whirlwind cleaning frenzy.
She walked into the bedroom and pulled her cocktail dress from the closet. It wasn’t exactly what she normally wore, but it was the appropriate attire for the night. She slipped into the dress while tossing her bland everyday hospital clothes to the side. Yes, a cleaning frenzy would definitely be called for later.
She walked into the bathroom and swept her hair from her shoulders into a simple French twist. She applied only a basic touch up to her make up before finding her high heels with matching bag and slipped out the door.
The ride to the Forsythia Hotel was short and pleasant all in all. Karen only had about a hundred butterflies playing Ping-Pong in her stomach over this conference, and the quiet ride helped to calm them a bit. She didn’t really want to be here. She didn’t really want to speak in front of all these other doctors tomorrow, especially not since tomorrow was her wedding anniversary.
She stepped out of the limousine and walked into the hotel lobby, smiling as she saw Melissa speaking with a few colleagues. She walked over to her friend and smiled, “Hi there.”
“Karen,” Melissa smiled brightly, “Hi there. I was just talking about you.”
“Only good things I hope,” Karen smiled as she shook the hand of the gentleman Melissa had been conversing with, “I’m Dr. Karen Wexler.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Wexler. I’m Dr. Brian Ellis.”
Karen smiled, “You know, I get the feeling doctor is going to be a title that gets tossed around quite a bit over the next three days.”
“Probably,” Brian smiled, “I hear you’re doing great things at Manhattan Medical.”
“I’d like to think so,” She smiled, “I see that Dr. Grant has been sharing information with you,” Karen hinted.
“Just a tad,” Melissa grinned “Dr. Ellis is here to listen to another panel actually.”
“Really?” Karen asked, “You’re not here to listen to emergency room management strategy?” She teasingly smiled.
“No, actually, I’m here to listen to a panel on surgery. The chief of surgery at Port Charles General Hospital is speaking.”
Karen paused as soon as she’d heard the hospital mentioned. GH….her home. She smiled, “General Hospital is one of the finest hospitals in the Northeast. I’m sure the panel will be excellent.”
“Actually so am I,” Brian said, “Dr. Ramsey seemed like a very knowledgeable individual when I met with him at GH last month.”
“Dr. Ramsey?” Karen went still, “Chris Ramsey?”
“That’s right. You know his work?”
Karen nodded, “I know his work,” She smiled, trying to cover her shock that he was here…invading her territory, “I was an intern with him at GH.”
“Oh well,” Brian grinned, “You know how he can be.”
“Better than most,” She forced a smile, “He’s a very good surgeon. Arrogant, but good.”
“I bet you could tell us some stories about him,” He said with a smile.
“Yes, I could,” She said trying to get past it.
“Maybe you two will run into one another during the conference.”
“I sincerely hope not,” Karen said as she looked around, “I’m going to go mingle some more. It was nice meeting you, Brian,” She said as she walked away trying to deal with the fact that Chris was here…..so close to her. Damn him. It was just like him to catch her off guard this way.
She took a deep calming breath knowing that she would have to face him eventually. It might as well be on their wedding anniversary. It would be oddly fitting. She saw the chief of staff of Manhattan Medical Center, Andrew Parker, walking towards her and she smiled her best to her friend and boss.
"Karen, it's good to see you...and my," He said as he looked her over, "You are looking lovely tonight."
"Thank you," She smiled, "Where's Lisa?" She asked inquiring about his wife.
"She just went to grab us each a cocktail. Would you like one?"
"No," She replied, "I'm not much of a drinker."
Andrew immediately proceeded to the next point of conversation, "Have you seen the itinerary yet?"
"No, I haven't. It's been sitting on my desk all week and I just haven't made time," She confessed, but wished she had taken the moment to look. She wish she had known Chris was going to be here.....and then again, she was glad she hadn't known. It would only have given her more time to worry about what they would say to one another when they came face to face. She certainly was spending a good amount of energy on it now.
"Well, it looks like some real powerhouse players. You've finally made it to the big leagues, kid," Andrew smiled as Lisa returned with their drinks.
"Karen," Lisa beamed, "How are you?"
"I'm fine, Lisa," Karen smiled at her friend, "How are you tonight?"
"Great. They really went all out for this conference," She said taking a sip of her drink, "It's just amazing here."
"Yes it is," Karen nodded.
"Oh wait," Lisa said as she waved for someone to join them.
Andrew smiled, "Here he is. The star of the show, Chris Ramsey," He smiled, "I want you to meet our chief of emergency services."
As soon as she heard the name, Karen felt her body tighten. What was she going to say to him? What would he say to her? Would they even get as far as words? She swallowed hard.
"Chris, this is Dr. Karen Wexler," Andrew said proudly, totally unaware of their connection.
Karen turned slowly to see him. Chris never made any familiar movement. Damn him, he'd known she would be here. He'd known and he had been expecting this. Oh god...what was he planning to do to her?
Chris smiled his usually charming and handsome smile as he extended his hand, "It's very nice to meet you, Dr. Wexler."
Karen watched him as she focused on his hand for a moment. He was trying to make this easier. Or was it just another plot to draw her in and then rip her heart out? Had she always been this cynical?
She looked back up to his eyes as what seemed like days on end passed by her. She slowly met his eyes, and she could see the calculation behind his eyes. He was scaring her now.....what in the world was he planning to do?
She forced a smile as she met his eyes, "It's nice to meet you, Dr. Ramsey."
Chris smiled at her before he reached out to touch her cheek and drew her into a passionate kiss.
Karen was shocked by his action, but the feel of his lips to hers was way beyond shock. It was amazing and it was surprising and it was.....just heavenly. Two years was way too long to be away from him, from his touch, from his kiss. She wrapped her arms around him as he continued to kiss her. He held her to him as he kissed her.
So many memories came rushing back to her, but this kiss....it wasn't like what they'd had in the past. It was different. It was tempting, it was reckless, and it was dangerous. And it felt perfect.
As their lips parted, Karen looked into his eyes and had to catch her breath. She had forgotten that they were in public, that two whole years had passed, that they were no longer actually together.
"You two know each other?" Andrew asked, looking between them shocked by the show they'd just performed for the entire room.
Karen looked back to Chris, not quite sure what she was going to say. Chris smiled as he continued gazing into Karen's eyes, "I think we should," He replied, "Karen is my wife."
Karen watched his eyes, feeling her stomach clench as she knew she had more explaining to do than she possibly had time for before Armageddon.