Drifting Apart
       
 

 
"Michelle groaned as she awoke to the annoying sound of her pager. "I just got to sleep," she grumbled as she rose and walked to the telephone on the other side of the on-call room. She looked at the number on the pager display and realized it wasn't an emergency page. She tapped her foot lightly as she dialed the number. She didn't even let him get out a hello before saying, "Danny, this had better be good. I had just gone to sleep for the first time this shift. This snow storm has flooded the ER with wreck victims."

"My aren't you the grumpy one this evening. I guess I'll have to forget about the little surprise I have for you," Danny answered in a teasing tone.

"I'm sorry sweetie. Thirty-six hour shifts like this one tend to make a person grumpy."

"I understand completely. I'm sorry that I woke you up. You go on and grab your nap and call me when you have a free minute."

Michelle quickly replied, "Hold it, you're not getting off that easy! You mentioned a surprise. I'll never get back to sleep until you tell me what it is."

"If I told you now, I'd miss seeing that beautiful face of yours light up when I give it to you." Danny smiled as he thought about how Michelle was going crazy with curiosity.

"Danny."

"Don't even try to pry it from me. You'll find out in due time. I just called to see if you were going to get off on time for once."

Michelle softened her tone, "I think so. Danny, you have to at least give me a hint about that surprise."

"Well, I guess I could be persuaded to drop a hint."

"Hmm. What will it take to get you to talk? Too bad you're not here, I know I could get more than that hint from you."

"Who says I'm not there," Danny replied as he opened the door to the on call room, cell phone in hand. "What type of persuasion do you have in mind?"

Before Michelle could walk to the doorway, her pager went off again. "Damn! This thing always goes off at the worst moments."

Danny nodded and watched as his wife went back to the phone and answered what he knew was an emergency page. Michelle rushed across the room and grabbed her lab coat after hanging up the phone. "I'm sorry sweetie, they're bringing victims from a ten car pile up into ER. I have to get down there," she said before giving Danny a quick kiss and darting out the door.

A half-hour later, Danny left the hospital dejectedly and headed to Company. He went over to the bar and had a seat. "Buzz, I'll take a beer please."

Buzz walked over to him and placed the beer on the bar. "Danny, you look like you just lost your best friend."

"Seems that way, lately."

"Why don't you tell me about it?"

"Buzz, I'm not sure talking is going to solve this problem."

"You can't know that until you try. Besides, everyone needs to enjoy my pearls of wisdom from time to time."

Danny smiled at Buzz's attempt to lighten his somber mood. "It's Michelle."

Buzz replied, "Trouble in paradise, huh?"

"You could say that," Danny answered as he grabbed a handful of nuts from the bowl on the bar.

"Well, enlighten me."

"I'm just tired of not seeing my wife. Ever since she started her residency at the Cedars, she works non-stop. Her shifts usually begin when I'm getting home from work and end two days later when I'm on my way out the door to the office. We both knew that this was going to be tough, I just didn't realize how tough."

"Doesn't Michelle get a few days off between each of those long shifts?"

"Yeah, but lately Josh and Matt have been sending me out of town a lot to meet with clients. During the last month, Michelle and I have been lucky to have one night a week where we've both been home."

"What happened before you came here?"

"How did you know something happened, Buzz?"

"I'm psychic." Buzz paused while Danny smiled. "Actually, it was the look on your face when you walked in."

"Buzz, you are an expert at reading people. I just came from the hospital. I went over there to surprise Michelle and have dinner with her. Rick loaned me the key to his office."

"That explains why Selena dropped what she was doing and took that basket of food over to the hospital earlier. You were the one who called her."

"Yeah."

"What went wrong?"

"Michelle got paged to ER. There was a ten-car pile up. It will be hours before she gets another free moment. When that happens, she'll need to grab a nap. She's worked most of this shift without sleep."

"I see. When does this shift end?" Buzz asked.

"Eight o'clock Saturday morning."

"Why don't the two of you take off to the Bauer cabin when she gets off? A weekend away might help."

"I thought about that, but Michelle will be dead on her feet when she finally gets home. Sleep will be the only thing on her mind when she walks in the door."

"Well, I don't know what else to tell you. You'll just have to trust that everything will work out."

"That's getting hard to do. I've always tried to support Michelle and her dream of being a doctor. I guess I didn't realize our marriage would take second place to medicine."

It was nearly midnight when Michelle made it back down to the on-call room. She walked over to her locker to change into a fresh set of scrubs. She opened the door to find a note from Danny taped to the shelf.

Hi!

I guess you finally got out of the ER. That little surprise I had for you is in the fridge. Enjoy!

All my love,
Danny

"I wonder what kind of surprise goes in the fridge?" Michelle asked herself as she changed clothes. Michelle looked in the refrigerator and found a takeout box from Company with her name scrawled across the top in Danny's familiar handwriting. Michelle opened the top and saw that Danny had gotten her one of Buzz's famous chicken salads.

As she took the box and walked over to the table, Michelle looked up as she heard the door open. Rick walked in and headed for the coffee pot.

"Hey! You have a meal that's not mystery meat from the cafeteria. I hope you're going to share. I really don't want to see what Cedar's version of the Soup Nazi has mutilated tonight."

"I don't know, I'm hungry enough to eat a horse. You really can't expect me to share this."

"Come on. I know you had dinner with Danny a few hours ago. You can't be that hungry."

"Rick, what are you talking about? Danny and I didn't have dinner together. You and I have both been tied up in ER for hours. Wait, that's why Danny was here earlier."

"Yes, I loaned Danny the key to my office so he could surprise you and have dinner together."

"Well, my pager went off right after he got here. He must have left this in the fridge for me after I left."

Michelle swatted at Rick's hand as he snatched the pack of crackers that came with her salad. "Hey! Those are mine."

Rick gave Michelle a dramatically sad puppy dog look, "Come on, you have to share with your favorite brother."

"As I recall, you're my only brother." Michelle grabbed the pack from Rick's hand. "Besides your shift is over and you can go home and raid your own fridge."

"Michelle, with all of Abby's trips to talk about her implant, the only things in my fridge are attempts to grow our own penicillin."

"Lonely, brother dear."

"Yeah. From what I could tell when I spoke with Danny, I'm not the only one."

"What are you talking about?" Michelle asked as she ate.

"Well, he told me he was bringing dinner here to you because the two of you haven't had much time together lately."

"I know. You remember what residency is like, never a free moment between hours at the hospital, papers and reports to write, and trying to grab some shut eye."

"Yeah, but I didn't volunteer for extra shifts or offer to do extra case studies."

"How did you know about that?"

"I asked one of the supervising doctors how you were doing. He started going on and on about what a go-getter you were. Whenever they needed an extra resident on duty, you were the first to volunteer. Michelle, it's one thing to go all out. It's different story when you take on all this extra stuff. I'm worried that you're burning the candle at both ends and it looks like Danny's the one suffering for it."

"Rick, I can handle it. I wouldn't take on so much if I couldn't."

"Michelle, when was the last time you took your day off and did nothing associated with the hospital or med school."

"Okay. I get the point, maybe I am taking on too much."

"Maybe? Try definitely. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"I don't know."

"Michelle-"

"Okay, I guess I do know. Sometimes I just feel like I have to go above and beyond to meet the expectations of everyone here at the hospital. I feel like I have to be on top of everything because I'm Ed Bauer's daughter and your sister."

"Michelle, I remember trying to live up to those expectations because of Dad. I did the same thing you are; I volunteered for all kinds of extra duties. It was a big mistake. Dad managed to keep this quiet after he found out, but I ended up hooked on speed during that time."

Michelle's eyes shot up, "You what? I had no idea."

"Sweetheart, I don't want to see you repeat my mistakes. Would you just slow down; stop taking on all this extra stuff. You'll get a lot more respect if you take just what your required to do and do an excellent job with it than you would if you just did an adequate job on a bunch of extra stuff. I also think your husband would appreciate
having more time with you."

"I surrender, you're right. I talk with my supervisor before my shift starts Tuesday."

"Good. I expect you to start taking my advice when this shift ends. Go home on time for once and stay away from those report and papers until Danny goes to work Monday."

Michelle nodded as she took another bite of her dinner.

"I guess I'll get going. Sure you won't share that salad."

"Rick, get out of here and find your own dinner."

Danny was startled awake by the ringing phone. He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the receiver. "Hello," he answered with a groan.

"Morning sexy," Michelle replied. "Guess it's my turn to disturb your sleep."

"You could never disturb me, baby. I hope your calling to tell me you're on the way home."

"Well, not exactly."

"What does not exactly mean?" Danny inquired.

"I was on the way home. I got out of the parking garage and made it as far as Company. I realized I was about to fall asleep driving and I wondered if you would come get me?"

"Of course, I be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks sweetie, I love you."

"I love you too," Danny replied before hanging up.

Michelle walked over to the bar at Company. "Morning Buzz. Can I get a cup of coffee?"

"I've got a new pot brewing right now. It'll be about five minutes, if that's okay?"

"That will be great."

"Michelle, I probably shouldn't butt in."

"That's never stopped you before, Buzz."

"That's why I think you should know Danny was in here last night."

"I know. He left me a take out box in the on call lounge. That chicken salad was terrific as usual."

"Thanks. Anyway, I'm talking about after he left the hospital. He was pretty down in the dumps."

"I know. Rick told me that Danny was feeling neglected."

"Michelle, he's feeling more than neglected. Danny feels like he's playing second fiddle to your work."

"Danny knows he's my first priority."

"Well, your schedule lately apparently didn't make it seem like that."

"I have been working way too many hours. Rick and I talked about that, too. I'm going to talk with my supervisor before my next shift to see about adjusting my work load."

"Good. That coffee should be ready, I'll be right back."

Michelle rested her elbows on the counter and held her head with her hands. She nodded off before Buzz could get back with her coffee. A few minutes later the door opened and Buzz nodded at Danny as he walked in the door. He walked up beside Michelle and looked over at Buzz. "How long has she been asleep?"

"About five minutes. I see what you mean about how beat she is after a shift."

"Yeah. How much do I owe you for her coffee?"

"It's on the house."

"Thanks, Buzz." Danny stroked the side of Michelle's face as he awakened her.

"Danny," she sleepily said. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, you did. Let's get you home." Danny grabbed Michelle's coat and purse off the neighboring stool and helped her into her coat.

"Buzz, I'll get someone to bring me by later to pick up Michelle's car."

Danny helped his wife out to the car and took her home. She was sound asleep in the front seat when they got there. Danny went and opened the front door. Then he came back and carried his exhausted wife up to bed.

Late that afternoon, Michelle awoke. She got up and went downstairs. "Danny, where are you?" When she entered the kitchen, Michelle saw the note on the counter.

Hi sleepyhead!

Bill came by to take me to pick up your car. I'll be back soon.

Love,
Danny

Michelle stood at the counter for a few minutes and thought about her conversations with Buzz and Rick. It occurred to her that little notes like this one and brief phone calls had been the only form of communication between her and Danny for weeks. Her most recent days off had coincided with a business trip Danny had gone on. She couldn't remember the last time they had eaten a meal together. "We really have been drifting apart lately," she said to herself. "I'll just have to do something about that." Then she headed up the stairs to grab a shower.

Danny took his time heading home. He was sure Michelle would be asleep for a few more hours. He stopped and picked up the dry cleaning and ran a few other minor errands. He looked at his watch and decided he had time to stop by the office and do a little work. Even if Michelle was awake, she was probably sitting the computer typing away on some case study.

It was dusk when he finally arrived home. When he got to the door, a dark house greeted Danny. "I guess you're still sleeping," he mumbled to himself. He wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator after deciding to watch the Bulls game. Michelle heard Danny turn the TV on. She went to the bottom of the stairs and spotted him stretched out on the sofa. She picked up the remote to the stereo that was sitting on the table behind the sofa and then walked over to the switch on the wall and dimmed the lights. Danny looked over and saw his wife walking towards him wearing only a towel. He heard the stereo click on as she stood between him and the TV. As the CD they had played when they danced at the Laurel Falls wedding started, Danny turned the game off.

"I hear a certain husband of mine has been feeling a little neglected. I think I know the cure for that," Michelle murmured as she sat down on his lap.

"Well, what exactly does the doctor prescribe?" Danny asked as he began kissing Michelle's neck.

"Hmm. For starters, your wife is wearing your favorite outfit."

"What is this thing you have about covering this outfit up with that pesky towel?" Danny tugged at the edge of the towel and tried to pull it away from her.

"Not so fast, Mr. Santos." Michelle replied as she grasped the towel. "First things first. I can't remember the last time we had dinner together. Why don't you join me in the dining room?" she said, more as a command than a request.

"I think I would like to skip dinner and head straight for dessert."

"Hey, I actually cooked a meal for you and we are going to eat it. Besides, you're going to need your strength later, babe."

"Hmm. I guess you're right. I do have one request," Danny whispered into her ear.

"And what would that be?"

"The towel stays here," he remarked with a sly smile as he yanked it off her body.

"Well, you are the neglected husband. Your wish is my command."

"I like the sound of that."

Danny wasn't sure if he would be able to eat a bite of dinner as he eyed his wife's nude body on the way into the dining room. He went to pull her chair out, but she stopped him and told him to sit. Michelle went into the kitchen and returned with a steak prepared just the way he liked it. She sat down on his lap and began to feed him."

"I think I like your idea of making up for neglecting me," Danny remarked between bites.

"Well, I've decided it's time to do something about not spending enough time with you. I realized we have been drifting apart lately," Michelle said.

"What made you realize that?"

"Rick and I had a long talk about the extra shifts and duties I've taken on. He gave me some pretty good advice."

"What was it?"

"To just do what was required of me and to do it well. He told me I'd get a lot more respect for that than I would for taking on so many extra things and only doing them adequately. I'm going to talk to my supervisor about it before my shift Tuesday. Plus, he said something about cutting back so I could pay more attention to my husband."

"I think I like that last piece of advice." Danny replied as he began tugging her ear lobe with his teeth. "I think I've had enough dinner. Let's go upstairs and have dessert."

"That sounds like a fine idea, Mr. Santos," Michelle answered as he gathered her in his arms and carried her upstairs.

THE END