Christmas Miracle: A Family by Dianne Drake

you in room three. Get me an oxygen set-up and an IV.”
    “Fallon,” Neil yelled, from the other end of the hall, “get respiratory therapy in here, stat.”
    “Fallon, we need bandages down here in exam two,and can you check the vitals on the patient in exam one…he claims he has high blood pressure, and I’m afraid the stress of all this might be too much for him.” That from Gabby.
    And so went the next two hours, with Fallon running from place to place, being all things to everyone. In a spare moment James watched her. Simply leaned against the hall wall for ten seconds and observed—his first time ever to see what she did so well—and it took only a moment to understand why everybody in the hospital praised her so highly. Fallon was amazing. Absolutely everybody here on every medical level depended on Fallon to do, well, pretty much everything. And she did, without ever missing a beat. She responded to the doctors, took time to comfort the patients, directed the volunteers and nursing staff. Yes, she was truly amazing. And if he hadn’t fallen in love with her all those months ago, he’d have fallen head over heels in love tonight.
    Damn, he wanted to make things right with her. He wasn’t sure how, wasn’t even sure what, but there had to be a way. But he had to make things right for Tyler, too. And that thought overwhelmed him. Fallon…Tyler… How was he going to do it? How was he going to be everything both of them needed?
    “I think you’re good to go see Tyler,” she said as she rushed by him. “No more burns coming in, and word from the scene is that there are no more casualties. So I’d say now is as good a time as any to get out of here.”
    He reached out and caught her arm. Stopped her and, surprisingly, she didn’t yank away from him, as he’d expected her to do. In fact, she looked grateful for the momentary break. “You need to slow down,” he said.
    “I will.”
    “Now. You look…exhausted.”
    “And I feel exhausted, but it’s almost over. All the serious injuries have been treated, and as soon as we get the barrage of minor injures taken care of, I’m going to take a break.”
    “How about I go check on Tyler for a minute then come back and take over Triage for you while you go put your feet up for a while? It’s showing on you, Fallon. It’s been months since you’ve worked this hard physically, and I’m worried.”
    “I appreciate that. And you’re right. I am out of shape.”
    “Then for once you’ll listen to someone else?”
    Stubborn was what Edith had called her. She wore that with some amount of pride but sometimes it did get in the way. “I’ll listen. But just this once, and don’t get used to it.”
    James chuckled. “You do have your red-headed ways, don’t you? I think one of the first things I liked about you was that stubborn streak. At least, some of it.”
    “I prefer to think of it as independent, not stubborn.”
    He chuckled again. “Like I said…” This was the old Fallon, and it was so nice to have her back. Even if only for a moment. “Look, let me get out of your way, go see Tyler. Then I’ll be right back. OK? You’re not going to go back on your word, are you?”
    “No. Unless someone needs me.”
    No one needs you like I do , he thought. Then he spun away before he said the words aloud. But Fallon reached out, grabbed hold of his hand, and pulled him back to her.
    “I know it’s not the way you want it to be between us, James. And I know this is hard on you. But someday you’ll realize that what we’re doing now is the way it has to be. And in the meantime…” She stood on tiptoe andbrushed a light kiss on his cheek. “Thank you. Thank you for caring about me, thank you for helping me and, most of all thank you for letting me be part of Tyler’s life. He’s an amazing little boy. So go. If he’s awake, tell him I’m anxious for my first lesson.”
    “Lesson?”
    “Video game. He’s going to teach me how to