Three

Two weeks later, Bella consciously straightened her shoulders to keep them from sagging. She'd worked her eleven-to-seven shift in the emergency room, and started in pediatrics on the seven-to-three shift. Ideally, back-to back shifts rarely occurred, Her transfer necessitated this exception.

She'd barely had time to change from her white uniform into apple green slacks with a matching overblouse. Informal attire was permitted on the pediatric ward. The pleasant, professional smile she'd worn all day felt as stiff as the starched nurse's cap adorning her short, dark curly hair.

The first day on a new floor is never easy, she reminded herself, lengthening her stride as she headed toward the elevator on her way home.

Having trained in pediatric nursing, Bella hadn't been surprised to find that she never really liked the hustle and bustle in the emergency room. But when she'd first come to St. Michael's that had been the only available position, Pediatric nurses tended to hold on to their jobs longer than nurses in other wards.

Openings were rare. When Bella had heard a pediatric nurse was quitting to get married, she'd eagerly filled out a transfer application. Another six months of working in ER and she'd have become a nursing burnout statistic.

Changing wards was preferable to changing hospitals. She'd applied for a transfer and within days had been notified that she was accepted.

At first she'd jumped for joy. But during the weeks she'd spent familiarizing the new ER nurse with procedures and the monitoring equipment, she'd fluctuated between anticipation and dread.

Her off hours were spent blindly completing her routine chores while debating the wisdom of making another change in her life. Whether fixing meals, cooking, washing, ironing or cleaning house, she was preoccupied with a bad case of indecision.

Maybe she was taking on more than she could handle. Maybe she couldn't play the role she was hired to play. Maybe she should have moved on to another hospital rather than moving within the hospital. Although she detested not knowing what happened to

the patients who left ER, maybe she wouldn't be able to handle working on the pediatric floor either. Maybe caring for severely ill children would demand what remained of her emotional reservoir.

Recalling her doubts, Bella shook her head.

Physical, mental and emotional exhaustion had to be better than being on the receiving end of sympathetic

smiles from her co-workers in the emergency room.

Five months had passed since Jason Malone had

completed his internship and left St. Michael's Hospital and Bella behind.

The all too familiar story had tugged at the heart-

strings of the other nurses. Even nurses who'd initially been standoffish toward Bella had been

distressed. Everyone had treated her as though she'd been suffering from an incurable, terminal illness.

She'd made the right decision. Her legs ached from being on her feet fourteen hours, but her inner satisfaction dulled the ache. She loved her new job.

By noon, the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach caused by meeting the nursing staff and doctors had diminished. If any of them knew about

her relationship with Jason Malone, they were tactful enough not to comment on it.

Oh, she'd seen a few of the young nurses eye her up and down like a potential competitor for the doctors' personal attention. Years ago, she'd probably have done the same thing. In an occupation filled with attractive women, jealousy wasn't uncommon, but age

and experience and an advanced degree from the school of hard knocks had changed Bella's perspective. Involvement with any man, especially a doctor, was not on her priority list.

Her main task for the day had been to familiarize herself with the ward. Mentally she constructed a map.

The head nurse's office was on the left, across from the family sitting room.

Private and semiprivate rooms lined both sides of the corridor with the nurses' station squarely in the center. Behind the reception desk were four computers where information regarding each patient's illness and medical treatment was constantly updated. A circular stand held patients' charts. A door led to the conference room that also served as the nurses' lounge. Another door led to the drug room. Familiarizing herself with the placement of the emergency equipment, and medicines stored in the cabinets and refrigerator was essential and time consuming. She'd briefly checked out the clean utility room for sheets and pillowcases, and the dirty utility room for soiled linens.

Time was her worst enemy. She'd vaguely familiarized herself with everything, placed names with faces, found out who did what, performed her routine duties with the patients, recorded her observations for

the nurses on the next shift, when she'd been reminded that three o'clock had arrived. Tired though she was, she'd made one last tour through the nurses station. She had to be as familiar with the station as she was with her apartment. Nurses didn't have time to fumble around, looking for equipment. Everything had to be at their fingertips.

Bella pressed the elevator's down button. Lost in thought, she barely noticed the man in green scrubs waiting for the elevator. An inane thought, born from fatigue, brought on a wan smile. She'd come up in the world. The emergency room was on the first floor,pediatrics on the third.

The elevator's bell rang. Bella glanced above

the stainless-steel door at the red lit arrow that pointed downward. She shifted her bulky coat, and impatiently waited for the doors to open.

Both Bella and the doctor started into the elevator at the same time.

"Excuse me," she muttered, halting midstep when the color of the scrub uniform caught her attention.

Hospital etiquette dictated who had the right of way: the doctor. As in the military world she'd been brought up in, rank had privileges.

Once inside, she recognized the hawklike profile of Dr. Jeremy, pediatric surgeon, and moved to the panel of buttons.

She asked politely, "Which floor? Sixth?"

The doors closed before she could exit and wait for the other elevator. Great, Bella thought, arching one foot to relieve the aching muscle in her leg. Tempted to point out the original direction of the elevator, she let her hand hover over the button marked G. Hard as she tried, she couldn't keep her professional smile from slipping into a grimace as she touched the six.

"You were on the wrong floor, weren't you?"

Bella turned sideways to face Dr.Mark. He isn't exactly handsome, she mused, wondering what feminine instinct made her want to step closer.