Mine!

Prologue

"Hey Dad. Good morning"

Kimberly greeted her dad while making pancakes for breakfast, as he walked into the kitchen.

"Morning sweetie." her dad replied, giving her a kiss on her cheek before sitting on one of the breakfast stools.

"Here you go." Kimberly said, placing a plate of pancakes, bacon and fried eggs with a cup of coffee before him.

"Thanks love." he thanked her then began eating.

Minutes later, she joined him with her own breakfast.

Kimberly stole glances at her dad while they ate in silence. Her dad was her world, he was her everything and the only family she has after the death of her mom. Actually, she never had the opportunity to meet her mom in person because she died after giving birth to her, so the only memory she has of her mom and the only way she knew what her mom looked like were through the photo albums her dad gave to her.

Kimberly always wondered how her dad has managed to live these twenty six years without remarrying or even dating once, even after she had tried hooking him up with someone on several occasions. She ought to be grateful but she couldn't be, she feels sad that her dad dedicated his time and years taking care of her without thinking about himself even once, and to make matters worse, she was the spitting image of her mom. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing because she knows how heartbroken her dad is from seeing her face every single day and being reminded of the love of his life.

She sometimes wished she had her dad's strength, because just being away from her fiancé, Ian Gareth who joined the Navy and spends almost the whole year at sea makes her miserable, so she could only imagine what her dad was going through deep inside while trying to conceal his hurt on the outside, and to think she was the reason behind his pain. If only she wasn't brought into this world, then her dad wouldn't be this lonely.

"Honey, aren't you going to the hospital today?" Mr. Wright asked, bringing his daughter out of her train of thoughts.

"I'm on a night shift today." she replied and he nodded in understanding.

Kimberly just then remembered that she hadn't mentioned anything about Ian's return.

"Um... Dad?"

"Yes sweetie."

Her heart flutters whenever her dad calls her by any of her pet names, she never seems to grow up in his eyes and she won't deny that she loves being treated like a little girl, it helps her sometimes to forget about the real world and the fact that she was an adult. She feels so lucky to have a father like him.

"Um... Ian would be coming back home tomorrow. I know I should've told you about it earlier but I totally forgot about it. I'm sorry." she hurriedly explained, making her dad chuckle at how fast she spoke.

"It's okay. I'm actually happy to hear that, at least you won't have that worried look on your face anymore." her dad replied, causing her to smile timidly.

How did her dad know she was worried about Ian? She thought she was hiding her emotions pretty well. Oh well, she guess she was an open book.

"I better leave now or else I'll be late." Mr. Wright said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Oh, okay." she replied, standing up from her stool to give her dad a goodbye hug.

"See you later, honey."

"Bye dad." she said as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Kimberly saw her dad to the door and watched as he got into his black Acura MDX crossover and drove off.

She couldn't help but feel bad for him because for a professor, he was over working himself. She knows he is using his work as a distraction from the hurt he was feeling inside.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she walked back into the house. All she needed to do now was rest and then later make dinner for her dad before leaving for the hospital.

Chapter 1

Kimberly was walking through the hallway of the hospital, heading for the director's office when she heard someone call her name.

"Dr. Wright, Dr. Wright!" Kimberly turned around and saw a nurse running towards her.

"I'm so sorry to bother you." The nurse said, panting heavily making Kimberly wonder how long she had been running.

"Hold on, take a deep breath and tell me what's wrong." Kimberly said to the nurse, who nodded and did as she was told before speaking up once more.

"I only wanted to give you the medical report of the patient in room 406, you asked me to prepare."

"Oh that, thanks." Kimberly replied when the nurse was done with her explanation. The nurse handed her the medical report before Kimberly resumed on her way to the director's office.

Chapter 1

Kimberly was walking through the hallway of the hospital, heading for the director's office when she heard someone call her name.

"Dr. Wright, Dr. Wright!" Kimberly turned around and saw a nurse running towards her.

"I'm so sorry to bother you." The nurse said, panting heavily making Kimberly wonder how long she had been running.

"Hold on, take a deep breath and tell me what's wrong." Kimberly said to the nurse, who nodded and did as she was told before speaking up once more.

"I only wanted to give you the medical report of the patient in room 406, you asked me to prepare."

"Oh that, thanks." Kimberly replied when the nurse was done with her explanation. The nurse handed her the medical report before Kimberly resumed on her way to the director's office.

She arrived her destination, which was the director's office, but stood at the door staring blankly at the name tag on the door. She internally hoped her request be granted.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door and reached for the door knob, when she heard a muffled 'come in'.

"Dr. Wright, what brings you here?" Dr. Cullen, the hospital's director asked as he was surprised by her presence in his office.

"I'm sorry I came to your office unannounced. Your secretary wasn't at her desk, hope I'm not a bother?" Kimberly quietly asked.

"You know you're never a bother to me. Have a seat." Dr. Cullen said, gesturing for Kimberly to sit down on one of the chairs across his desk.

She gave a polite smile and did as she was told.

Kimberly knew Dr. Cullen gave her such special attention because she was one of the best neurosurgeon they heard, even though she was young.

She felt terrible for what she was about to ask as she saw the way Dr. Cullen looked interested in what she wanted to say.

Kimberly knew Dr. Cullen thought she was here because she had suggestions to give regarding the hospital like she always did. But, that isn't the case, because today she came for personal reasons.

Saving lives was her priority as a doctor, but being with her fiancé was also important to her, considering the fact that she rarely get to spend time with him due to his nature of work. This was her only chance to be close to him this year.

"Dr. Wright, are you okay?" Dr. Cullen said bringing Kimberly back to reality.

She didn't even know she had been lost in her thoughts.

"Um.. I'm sorry, I- I was wondering if can get a leave of absence for a period of two weeks?" she nervously asked, her palms already sweaty.

The reason Kimberly was this nervous asking was because, Dr. Cullen can be friendly sometimes but was a very strict and dedicated doctor especially when it comes to work and he expected the same with the other doctors.

She hoped he wasn't already disappointed with her because of her request as he was dead silent. The only thing she could hear in the room was the pounding of her heart beat.

God! she hated the way he was staring intensely at her, like she was some kind of puzzle he wanted to solve. It made her feel so small.

"Is everything alright at home? Because I know you. You've never asked for this sort of favor before." He suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

This brought a wave of relief to Kimberly who thought he wasn't going to say a word to her.

"Yeah, everything is fine." she replied with a nervous chuckle.

"So, why then would you want a leave of absence? You know you can talk to me."

Kimberly could see the concern in his blue eyes as he was honestly worried about her.

Should she open up and tell him the reason why she needed the leave of absence?

That would be so embarrassing. Just the thought of telling him made blush rise to her cheeks.

"If you're stressed out from working for almost a year without one, then.."

"No, no. That's not it. I know I requested for it to be that way and I don't regret it, it's just... My fiancé is returning tomorrow and we barely have time for each other due to the nature of our jobs." She said letting out a heavy sigh before she continued to speak.

"He's in the Navy and spends almost the year round at sea but only gets to spend two weeks at home... This year unfortunately didn't correspond with the time I usually get my leave, so I was wondering if you could excuse me just this once.. please?" She pleaded in a small voice.

"Hmmn.." Dr. Cullen sighed while Kimberly waited, eager to know his reply.

"It's alright, you have my permission. You'll receive you letter of leave in the morning."

"Thank you so much, sir." She said with so much excitement as she stood from her seat and walked towards Dr. Cullen, giving him a hug to his surprise.

Her action made him chuckle as he returned the hug.

"But don't get too excited, Dr. Wright cos you might get a call when there's an emergency that requires your presence." He said to Kimberly after the hug.

"That won't be a problem. Thank you once again." She said as she exited his office.

Chapter 2

Kimberly was literally exhausted by the time her shift was over but what kept her going was the fact that Ian was returning that day and she was the one to go pick him up from the Naval Base which was an hour and a half's drive from the hospital.

Staring at the letter of leave of absence in her hands, she couldn't help but smile to herself. She would have her fiancé all to herself for the next two weeks, without having to worry about anything as regards to her work. Just the thought of having her fiancé back after more than half a year of being apart made her smile grow wider. She felt like squealing like a teenager but held herself back so she doesn't attract some unwanted attention to herself.

She decided not to waste any more time daydreaming about Ian and tidy her desk since her shift was already over and she had a long drive ahead of her. Once she was done tidying her desk, she left her office.

"Hey Kim!" a colleague of hers called her attention.

It was Dr. Kingston, a fellow neurosurgeon like herself but a more experienced one since he was eight years older than her and has worked in the hospital longer than she has.

"Hey Blake"

"I heard you were given a leave of absence. Is something wrong?"

Kimberly wondered how he found out about that. How fast news spreads, it's not even 24 hours yet and they're already aware of her leave.

"No, nothing at all... I just kinda need a break." she replied, not wanting to go into personal details.

Kimberly noticed Blake suddenly became nervous as he was now rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um... Are you sure it's just a break? You know I can help if something is wrong."

Oh, so that's why he suddenly became nervous, she couldn't help but smile at his politeness and willingness to help her if she had a problem. She wasn't surprised though since she sensed it months back that he had a thing for her, although, she had tried sending the message that she was already taken on several occasions when they talked, but Blake didn't seem to get the message, or, maybe he did but was still hanging on, just in case something goes wrong at some point which she doubts would ever happen.

Kimberly sometimes feels pity for him while other times, she feels like yelling at him to leave her alone but that would hurt his feelings and she wasn't taught to behave in such a manner. Her dad would be disappointed in her if he ever gets to find out that she was rude to anyone.

"Believe me Blake, it's nothing." she replied with a polite smile.

"But two weeks is quite long for nothing, considering the kind of person you are... No offense though." Blake said, sounding confused and concerned at the same time.

"I'm glad to know I can count on you if something goes wrong... but believe me, I really need this break. I'll be back before you know it."

"I doubt that, since your presence is highly noticeable and needed here."

"So is yours... I have to go now cos I need to run some errands before I head home and I'm really sleepy right now." Kimberly said, trying to end the discussion so she could leave the hospital and arrive on time to get Ian.

"O-okay. I'm sorry I took some of your time." he apologized.

"It's okay. Take care of yourself."

She gave him a peck on his cheek, causing him to blush a little. She had no idea her little action could do that.

"Goodbye!" he said loud enough for her to hear as she walked away from him and headed for the elevator, waving goodbye before the elevator closed.

Kimberly exited the hospital and headed for the parking lot. She spotted her white Toyota Camry sedan and unlocked it, letting out a heavy sigh as she got into the car.

She was really excited about seeing Ian but at the same time anxious. Was he going to be as excited as she is when he sees her? Would their relationship still have the same spark as it used to? Why was she even having these stupid thoughts? She wondered. Ian is her fiancé who is madly in love with her, so why is she suddenly feeling insecure?

She brushed off the feeling and decided to go grab something to eat before going to the Naval Base.

Chapter 3

Kimberly felt goosebumps all over her body as she drove into the Naval Base. She was really nervous about seeing Ian after such a long time. She couldn't help but wonder if he has lost weight, she prays he's well and okay.

After spending twenty minutes looking for a spot to park her car in an already full parking lot, Kimberly luckily found a spot and parked her car.