Cassandra Reid

My skin is cold, my body is numb and the surface seems more and more distant. I can't swim, the air is exhausted, I'll die alone buried under the sea... Then he appears: my Prince Charming. His face is so beautiful and his arms are so strong that he doesn't seem real. He wraps me around his body and then brings us to the surface. So I can breathe again, I am no longer carried by the waves, but I tremble due to the proximity of my savior. Is there a more handsome man? The answer is clear: no.

I try to thank him, but am interrupted by his smoldering smile.

"I found you", he says before kissing me.

His intoxicating scent mixes with mine as our lips desperately devour each other. Our skins touch and the mere contact shakes every part of my aroused body.

"Sii mia moglie, cara".*

I don't have time to respond, as he returns to the attack with his mouth. I'm about to lose my mind. I crave his warmth, his touch. I want all of him and...

I feel something vibrate in my chest, I can't describe it, but the sensations are gradually disappearing, as well as the figure of my prince charming.

My chest vibrates again and when I feel around the site, I discover reality: my man has disappeared, he was just a dream. My eyes are still closed, but I pick up the phone before bringing it to my ear. "Yes?"

"Move your ass", she orders from the other side of the line. "Your boss has arrived and the round will start in five minutes."

"Okay", I answer in a slow, still sleepy voice. I'm very sleepy. Just one more minute. 

"What are you doing, Cassandra Reid?". The scream wakes me up completely. "Wake up now or you'll be back in San Francisco before it's time"

"I'm awake, I'm awake", I profess before ending the call.

I slip on my slippers, stretch quickly, and wash my face. Then, I run down the hall. I finish making my tail when I arrive at the living room's reception.

"Here are the files", She hands me the numerous folders along with a glass of coffee. "Doctor Rossi will start with the twins's case."

"Okay", I nod. "Thanks, Leah. You're the best."

"I know", he smirks. "Now hurry up."

"I love you!", I exclaim as I make my way to the corresponding room.

"Doctor Reid", my boss is already at the door waiting for me. I don't know how he does it, but the man manages to always get there before me. It doesn't matter how early I get up or how much I hurry up.

"Good morning, Doctor Rossi."

"I hope you have studied this case very well, Dr. Reid or yoy won't get into my operating room. 

Is it forbidden to hate the boss? Because I hate mine. He may be the best Pediatric Surgeon in Florence, but I can't help but see him as a bitter egomaniac. Two years working in his team, proving my worth, excelling even more than surgeons themselves and he continues to exploit me like the first day. 

Could it be because I am American? I've heard rumors from the staff about his former American girlfriend. It is said that since the spectacular break between Miranda Thompson and Dr. Rossi, the man hates American women. So far I have refused to believe it, 'cause it seems ridiculous to me. However, I am beginning to doubt.

"I have, doctor", I answer. 

"I don't want empty promises but demonstrations, Dr. Reid", he warns me before entering the room with my colleagues who have been arriving little by little.

"Easy", Romeo, one of the residents, claps my shoulder. "You'll do it fine. You always do."

"I know", I wink at him and smirk as we enter.

"Dr. Reid, we are waiting for you", my boss says with an impassive attitude. Now I'm the center of attention, but I don't care. By now I'm used to it.

"Giogio and Luigi Bonura", I begin the presentation of the case. I have studied it in detail to earn a position at the O.R. "Nine years old. Conjoined twins thoracoonphalopagus. They have successfully completed the pre-operative treatment and now, they are ready for separation."

Dr. Rossi attacks me with his usual questions on the subject. I am a pediatrician, not a surgeon, and yet I have to pass tests made for specialists every week. It's good to learn, but this man's fixation with me is too much for me.

As expected, I earn my place in the operating room and even get a chance to do some cuts and stitches.

The surgery lasts more than fourteen hours, since the separation of Siamese twins is a fairly complex process. When I go out, it is night again. This is how my last few weeks has been, I hardly have a chance to see the sunlight.

"Good job, Dr. Reid", I think for the first time I hear a compliment from my boss towards me. "In the end, you didn't turn out to be as incompetent as I thought."

"I beg youAsr pardon?", I frown. 

'But what weed does this Italian smoke?'

"I think I'll even miss you when you leave,  he continues, leaving me stunned. "You only have a few days left, so enjoy them to the fullest. At reception you will find the pending cases for tomorrow."

'Lout'

Like if I need someone to remind me of the hours I have left in Florence.

"Good evening, Dr. Rossi", I decide to withdraw before telling him a few truths to his face.

I meet my best friend in the hospital's cafeteria and then, we sit down for having burgers and fries for dinner. It's the best you can eat here. The myth of hospital's food tastes awful is true.

"What's wrong with you?". She asks when she sees my face.

"My boss is a bastard", I murmur so that only her would hear me.

"Tell me something new", she huffs. "Santino Rossi has nothing from Saint. He is like that with everyone, although with you he is worse.*

"He has a thing for you", Romeo intervenes as he sits at our table. "Maybe he demands you more than others because he sees your potential. Have you thought about changing your specialty?"

"No, thanks", I answer before taking a big bite of my burger. I have a ravenous hunger. A doctor's life is very difficult. "I am very good with children."

"You should think about it, maybe that way you would be able to renew your contract", the resident insists, managing to steal me a potato. He has the bad habit of eating other people's food. "Anyway, Rossi's fixation on you is weird."

"Because he likes her", Leah intercedes.

"You're kidding me, right?" I ask. "The guy hates me and he has even just told me that he is looking forward to my departure for the United States in an unsubtle way. Besides, I don't think he wants to mess with an American girl after his dismal failure with Dr. Thompson."

"Maybe it's his fetish", Romeo says, still chewing. "He falls for an American and then pretends he hates her."

"That's ridiculous" I say with a frown.

"But it makes sense", my friend adds. "My shift ends at ten o'clock. So we go together?

I automatically shake my head: "I must work overtime."

"Again?!", she exclaims in dismay. It seems that she is the one who has not slept for days. "You can't keep going on like this, Cassie. You will end up getting sick."

"I need the money, Leah", I argue. "On Friday my contract ends and I will need an income fund in which I get work."

"I don't understand why any health center wants to hire you", the resident expresses his disagreement while my friend stares at me. "Your record is one of the best I have seen and with the postgraduate degree you have completed, you crown your career. They should be fighting each other to have you. I really don't get it."

"I do", I salute.

It's all because of one reason: my family. They are attacking me from all sides until I have no options but return full of regrets. 

"Can you explain it to me?"

"Maybe one day", I stand up to say goodbye to both of them with a kiss on the cheek. "I have to go."

"There is a mystery around you, Cassandra Reid, that turns me on a lot", Romeo adds as I walk away. It is fortunate that at this time the place is not very crowded, otherwise the gossip in the hall would not wait.

"What mystery?", I choose my shoulders while I give him a mischievous smile, still walking backwards towards the exit. "I'm an open book."

"How much open?", He returns the gesture.

"Stop looking for the double meaning of every word I say, Romeo Alfieri!", I warn him before getting lost in the corridors.

Arriving at the Emergencies Room, I find a not very encouraging scene. The place is always in chaos. I hear wailing, yelling and threats from all sides while the staff try to control the situation. 

However, one sound in particular catches my eye. A kid of no more than seven years cries inconsolably and at the same time, a smaller girl looks at him with an alarmed gesture. I have never seen an expression filled with such despair on such a small being.

I don't know what happens, but I walk drawn to them by a strange force. "Hello. What do we have around here?". I speak in Italian. "Where did these beautiful children came from?"

"Fede's stomach hurts", the little girl answers. "My brother is not going to die, is he?"

"Of course not, Stella", the elderly lady who accompanies them intervenes; however, she keeps looking in my direction. What beautiful eyes she has, they remind me of someone...

The scene makes me wanna cry. It's too weird.

"I'll tell you what we are going to do, honey", I try to calm her down to proceed to check on her brother. The sooner I have a diagnosis, the better. "We'll examine Fede and I'll try to take the pain away, okay?" I quickly identify the problem and sigh in relief. "It is an appendicitis, a little thing of nothing that we will fix in a few hours", I add so the little girl could understand me. "We will bring him to O.R immediately. It is a minimal access surgery, nothing serious. I will need authorization from a guardian."

The lady nods understanding my explanation: "The father is on his way."

"Good", I see my friend in the hall and I call her with a simple gesture. "Nurse Falco will take care of the process while I prepare..."

"Federico Di Lauro", the old woman completes. She looks quite nervous. The good news is I trust Leah to control the situation.

That last name sounds familiar to me, although I don't think too much about it due to the urgency.

In a matter of twenty minutes I have everything ready along the signature of the tutor to carry out the operation. Removing the appendix is ​​straightforward, so with a resident,s help I do it. I am a pediatrician, but the postgraduate degree I have done in Pediatric Surgery allows me to perform small

interventions like these one, much more if they are urgent. I finish in less than an hour and I am about to inform the family.

The girl receives me again with a tender and sad face at the same time. Today has been weird since it started.

"Is Fede okay?".

I bend down to stroke her black hair. I can't observe anyone else 'cause she has my full attention. 

" He's fine”, I reply with a warm smile on my face. "You just have to take care of him, love him a lot and in a few days he will be as new."

"I'll take care of him", she says with a temper that manages to surprise me. How is it possible that she talks like that? This child mustn't be more than five years old. "Daddy will help me. Right, daddy?"

"Right, Ella."

I get back on my feet to address my patient's guardian and I stay instantly frozen. However, upon hearing his words, I feel like I am fainting.

"I found you."

***

Sii mia moglie, cara: "Be my wife, darling", translated into Italian language.

 Thoracoonfalopagos: conjoined conjoined twins in the external region (thorax, shoulder, phalanx) located face to face.

Saint: refers to the name, it is the meaning of Santino.