Jarod dropped the last box on the floor, and looked around with a sighof satisfaction. This place was great--wide open rooms and plenty of windows.Best of all, it was just blocks from the hospital. Parker pushed throughthe door behind him and tossed down his duffel bag. "I'm so glad you boughtthis place. A few coats of paint on the walls, and you'll have a picture-perfectapartment."

He grinned at the thought of Parker working with paint. This was gonnabe fun.

~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, the apartment was completely transformed. Paper had beenspread out to protect the hardwood floors, and the smell of wet paint wasin the air despite the open windows. On stepladders, Jarod and Parker workedtheir brushes in time to the music playing from the stereo. He paused tolook over at her paint job, and chuckled. Donning an old t-shirt of hisand a pair of baggy overalls now splattered with white paint, she was asight. And her ponytail had become somewhat loose, with little strandsof hair dangling in her face, which -as she tried impatiently to brushthem away- resulted in streaks of paint across her face.

"What's so funny?"

"There's more paint on your face than the walls," Jarod laughed.

She raised an eyebrow, then stepped off her ladder and over to a mirrorwaiting to be hung, and laughed. He joined in, then she turned to him mischievously."So you think that's funny, do you?"

"Uh, what're you doing with that brush?" he asked, still laughing butsomewhat wary. "Parker..." She dipped it in the pail, then advanced towardhim. "Parker, come on." Flick. Little white spots appeared on his face."Oh, you are so in for it now!" Jumping off his ladder, he began to chaseher around the living room.

Both were covered in quite a bit of paint when a light knock came fromthe door. Still laughing, Jarod went to answer it. In the doorway was asmall elderly woman, holding a plate of cookies. She smiled sweetly atJarod, held up the plate and said, "I wanted to welcome you to the building.I'm Mrs. Miller, I live just down the hall."

"How nice. Hey Parker, come over here." She appeared, and said helloto the woman.

"I didn't know you were married, Mr. Russell."

"Oh, I'm not." Mrs. Miller seemed a bit startled. "Er, this is MissParker, a good friend of mine. She was just helping me get settled."

Mrs. Miller visibly relaxed. "I see. Well, how nice of you, dear. Anyhow,I won't keep you long, just wanted to give you a batch of chocolate chipcookies. They're my specialty."

She was clearly proud, and Jarod didn't want to seem rude, but the truthwas that whatever those black lumps on the plate were, the one thing theydefinitely were not was cookies. After a slightly reluctant glance to Parker,he took one from the plate and took a bite. She had to bite her lip fromlaughing; his face contorted into something between polite appreciate andabsolute nausea, and the crunching sound as he attempted to chew the cookiewas comical.

He managed to swallow the bite with a bit of force, then smiled at theolder woman. "Delicious. Thank you so much."

"Oh, my pleasure," Mrs. Miller beamed. "Well now, I'll just let youto get back to work. See you around, Mr. Russell." She leaned close andadded confidentially, "And if you aren't with the little lady there, Ihave a granddaughter just your age."

He gave an uncomfortable laugh, waved, and shut the door. "I think I'mgonna be sick."

"Oh, come on," Parker chided, "they couldn't have been that bad."

He held out the plate. "Care to try one?"

She backed up a step. "Thanks, but I'll pass." He shrugged, then carriedthe plate into the kitchen and dumped the cookies into the trash. She couldhear them all the way in the living room, landing in the garbage can likesmall rocks.

Relaxing on the sofa, Catherine and Kyle breathed a sigh of relief."Thank god," Catherine said. "We get them to survive motorcycle incidents,college parties and medical school mid-terms. If it was a batch of cookiesthat did one of them in, I'd have gone batty."

Jarod reappeared. "I probably should've saved a couple. Never know whenwe'll need an extra paperweight or two around the offices."

Parker just dabbed his nose with the paintbrush and laughed.

~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Parker was in her office signing some papers beforerounds, when a knock at the door caught her attention. She looked up tosee Jarod, with two large cups of coffee in his hands.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I needed this."

"Bad morning already?"

"Bad music is more like it," she grimaced. "Whoever's moved into thatoffice next to mine has somehow come to the decision that Hank Williamsblasted at 80 decibels is perfectly fine for 6:30 in the morning."

Jarod laughed, and walking in, sat down on the edge of her desk. "Well,they can't all be prince charmings."

"Speaking of prince charmings, I spotted this really cute guy in theelevator this morning."

Jarod nearly choked on his coffee, but kept himself in check. "Really?"He tried to appear nonchalant. "Get his number?"

She laughed. "Yeah, right. You know I never just approach people likethat. Besides, the last thing I'm looking for right now is a date. Betweenthe hospital during the week, and weekends keeping up with you, who hastime for anything else?"

He grinned, relieved. "Yeah, you're booked pretty tight."

Parker straightened in her chair as someone else knocked on her opendoor and walked in. Somewhat handsome, maybe a year or two older than them,wearing a doctor's lab coat and walking in a self confident stride. Hegave Parker a playboy grin, and Jarod suddenly felt as territorial as abulldog.

"Hey there," he grinned.

"Hi," Parker smiled back. She got up and walked around her desk to shakehands with him. "I'm Dr. Parker, this is Dr. Russell."

He shook her hand, pointedly ignored Jarod's. "Dr. Doug Winston. It'sa pleasure. You're both residents here, I presume."

"Yep, have been for over a year now. We're in charge of the pediatricsunit for the OR and ER. And what about you?"

"I just arrived. I'm the new cardiac surgeon. In fact, I just movedinto the office next to you." Parker's smile faltered momentarily, andJarod saw a ray of hope.

"Oh, how...nice." Parker composed herself again. "Well, allow us tobe the first to say, welcome."

"Thanks."

His lab coat opened a bit, revealing the clothes underneath, and Jarodcouldn't help but smirk and say, "Nice bow tie. The red really brings outyour eyes."

"You like it? My mother picked it out for me."

"The polka-dot suspenders, too?" he asked politely, trying his damnedestnot to laugh.

"Yeah, in fact we went shopping just last night and got them in twomore colors. We'd gone out for more cat litter," he informed Parker. "Youcan imagine how much we go through, with the six cats mother keeps in our apartment."

"Yeah, I bet," she said weakly.

Sensing that she had obviously lost all interest in this man, Jarodcame to her rescue, stepping next to her and putting an arm around herwaist. "Better get going, honey," he said brightly, giving her a long kisson the cheek. "If I don't get through that paperwork this morning, we'llbe late for dinner with your parents." A quick squeeze and he saunteredout, leaving a grateful Parker and a put-down Dr. Winston behind him. Themoment the elevator doors slid shut, Jarod burst out laughing.

And back in the office, Catherine and Kyle had to lean on each otherfor support, weak from laughter.
 
 
 
 

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Part 4