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"Alright!" Adam clapped as Mateo finished running on the treadmill for an hour straight at a very impressive speed.

"Are you sure you felt absolutely no pain?" The physiotherapist asked him, taking down the data on to her clipboard.

"Yes. I felt like my old self." Mateo flashed her his brightest smile. He normally never smiled like that. He normally never smiled, but today he was feeling extremely optimistic, excited and like his old self so he decided to grace everyone with his million-dollar worthy smile.

The doctor felt her heart skip a beat but she kept her professional front, congratulating him and informing him that he would be discharged that day evening.

Mateo felt like he was reborn as he walked out of the gym and towards his room. His last few weeks had been dry. He couldn't meet River except for a couple run-ins at the cafeteria, garden or corridor and he couldn't call her without any particular reason as well. He wasn't that desperate. Maybe he was. Maybe it did take his entire willpower to stop himself from making a fool of himself. It helped that Adam stationed him in his hospital room with his laptop.

Mateo would die before he gave his best friend a reason to make fun of him.

As he walked through the corridors, his eyes scanned the garden downstairs and the park benches that were placed there, for a certain curly-haired brunette who ate her croissant with black coffee on one of the benches from time to time. She hadn't seen her anywhere in the last two days and he was starting to get restless.

But then he realized that he didn't have to stop himself anymore. He was completely alright now, and completely capable of looking after her if Mona Petrov was to do anything, and he didn't have to worry about Dr. River Johnson's reputation either. It would have been a problem if he was seeing her while he was a patient at the hospital because patient-doctor relationships were prohibited, for reasons he did not understand. But he was no longer going to be a patient at the hospital that evening and then he would be free to ask her out. And he really really hoped she would agree to go out with him.

"So what do we do till evening?" Adam asked as soon as they entered the room, taking out a pack of cigarettes.

Mateo smirked as he took one himself before Adam could stop him.

"I am not hospitalized anymore, remember?" Mateo pointed out before Adam could protest.

"Ugh!" Adam whined as Mateo smirked, taking the lighter from him.

He took a few puffs and said, "Well, you sit here and rot for all I care. I have some things to do."

He moved to the cabinets to get him a suit. He was done with the hospital clothes. He had to dress up because he had a certain hot-headed surgeon to charm, and a date to make her agree to.

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It was the summer holidays.

River's darling twins were at their grandmother's while she rotted away in the hospital. Even Mrs. Marley had went away to spend her holidays with her daughter and grandchildren so the whole house was empty and dead on the rare occasions that she did go home.

As for River, she spent the days and nights like a zombie in a daze, either performing surgeries or convincing stubborn patients to undergo surgery as she was doing at that exact moment. It was fifteen minutes into her lunch break and she was still in her cabin, busy trying to convince a stubborn old man that he had to get his knee caps replaced.

And he was busy trying to convince her that prayer is the answer to everything. And that he just had to pray on his knees for Jesus to fix it.

'Jesus, if you really are going to fix him, fix his brain first.' River thought to herself, fed up though she did put on a sweet understanding smile as she continued to drone and drone about the same things that she had been telling him for the past one hour. She had learnt very early into her practice that she really didn't need to add in new arguments to convince the patients and only need to repeat the same thing over and over again like a fucking parrot until the patient got over their internal dilemma and fear and agreed to the surgery.

River gave her intern a side-glare when he snorted quite preposterously at something that the old colonel had said. Thankfully, the man had hearing trouble as well and didn't catch on.

Ten minutes later, she waved grumpy old Mr. Sanders good bye as he walked out the door, leaning on his cane.

Eric let out his laughs as soon as the door closed behind him.

River turned fully to face her stupid childish intern. Why did she always end up with the idiots? Oh wait, she knew why – because others would have murdered them if they had to spend even an hour with them, that's why!

She gave him a full-blown senior doctor glare.

"You gotta admit some of them are just hilarious." He threw his hands up in surrender.

River rolled her eyes. There was no use arguing with him nor advising him. He was going to do as he pleased. Just like she used to when she was an intern.

There was a knock on the door.

What now? River internally whined. She was not feeling well. She was feeling lazy and restless and irritated and all things unhappy. She wanted to go home and eat Pringles dipped in chocolate ice cream. But before that, she wanted lunch because she hadn't had anything since yesterday's McDonald's take-out dinner because she had quite effectively burnt her French toast.

"I thought he was the last of the patients." She muttered to Eric who just shrugged.

Dr. Johnson sighed knowing that there was no way out of this and said loudly, "Come in."

The door was pushed open and entered none other than the Italian work of art, Mateo Adesso.

River blinked. What the fuck!

The man in his hospital gown was already a work of art. Him in the sweats he wore for his physiotherapy had made him quite irresistible. But the motherfucker in a black Armani suit had her heart going 'cuckoo-cuckoo' inside her chest.

"Dr. Johnson." He smiled, or smirked. She really didn't know what to call it. It was like he had complete makeover, though it was mostly on his character. He had a complete glow-up.

"I think I am questioning my sexuality." Eric leaned in and whispered in her ear, not taking his eyes off of him.

River elbowed him in the side and smiled at Mateo, clearing her throat. "Mr. Adesso."

"I hope I am not disturbing you." He smiled seductively. River's eyes widened and Eric too was showing similar reactions. How was this even possible? Can an Italian wearing a suit and hair gel make such a drastic difference?

"No, we are done with the OP for the day." Eric said. "Um, excuse me. I will be off to get some lunch." He bailed out as he quickly grabbed his phone and wallet from the side table. Son of a traitor!

As soon as Eric closed the door behind him, Mr. Adesso's smile turned into a full-blown smirk.

Okay. River narrowed her eyes at him. What the fuck was he playing at? And whatever it was, she knew she could play it better!

"I haven't seen you much in the past month, doc." He said, emphasizing 'doc'.

Why the fuck did my heart just flutter? River scolded herself. This was not one of those times to go completely heart-eyed on the good-looking dude. He was playing at something and she was supposed to resist whatever his advances were.

Damn it, neurons! This is not the time to release all those chemicals!

River decided this was all due to her pent-up sexual frustration. She hadn't been sexually active over two months because how hectic her work had been, not to forget the kids were having the summer holidays so whenever she had the energy for anything, she was making it up top her little babies.

"Well, my job with you was finished and I handed the case over to the Physiotherapist." She said, keeping her voice low and even and unbothered.

He nodded, leaning back on the seat.

"I see. So you are not my doctor anymore." He nodded, as if lost in his thoughts.

"Not anymore Mr. Adesso." She said. She was almost getting annoyed by this new behavior.

"Call me Mateo." He said huskily.

Jeez, that sound so sexy!

Knock it off River, what's with the behavior? She mentally scolded herself as soon as the thought came into her mind.

Ugh.

"Mateo." She gave him her politest smile. "You have been discharged?"

"Yes, I leave in the evening." He said, his voice serious for a second. He took an envelope from his coat pocket and placed it on the table, pushing it towards her.

River smiled at it and then at him. "You know I am not going to take it."

"I know." He said lowly. "I was told by one of my men that you had sent the money back."

She nodded, letting out a deep breath.

"I don't need it." She smiled professionally.

"How about I buy you dinner then?" He asked, leaning forward.

Ohoho, you aren't that unpredictable after all, Mr. Adesso. River rolled her eyes as she chuckled.

"I don't think I have the time." She sassed.

"You are single and done for the day, aren't you?" He asked in the same sing-song tone she used on him.

"Yes, I am single but I don't think a surgeon have that kind of luxury to assume that I am done for the day. They can call me back anytime." She laughed. It really was the truth

"You know, we could-"

"Mr. Adesso, stop." She said firmly, letting out a sigh. He looked at her quizzically but attraction, sexual frustration and jokes aside, she really did not have the time for any of this. "I don't have time for any of this. You have seen how hectic my work can be, right?"

He nodded, pursing his lips.

"So when I get the rest of my day off, I am not thinking I should go have dinner with my patient or colleague or some random guy. I am thinking, let's give my children a surprise!"

He looked at me confused. "Children?"

She nodded.

"You have children?"

Mateo felt his whole world stop. But didn't she say she was single? Maybe she had children from a previous marriage? Out of wedlock and the father just abandoned her and their children?

"Yeah I do. They are twins, actually." She smiled at the mere thought of them and the look on his face told her that whatever idea he had brewed up in his mind has gone down the drain with that single statement. And she didn't blame him for it. This Italian masterpiece really had a life ahead of him and it was only normal for him to not even try to be in a relationship with a single mother.

"That's nice." He said, looking unfocused. "And the father?"

"Not in the picture." Dr. River Johnson said the same line she had been saying for the past four years. It was enough to convey that she didn't want to talk about it. Because, she honestly had nothing to talk about. River didn't know who their father was.

"Must be difficult. Being a single mother." His smile was back.

River mentally face-palmed. The man had something else brewing in his mind. And she knew exactly what it was.

Men being men.

"Let's have dinner." She rolled her eyes. Now, River wasn't a prude nor did she think of herself as some kind of an unworthy being. It was just that she knew for sure that Mateo did not want a relationship, especially now that he had been told about the two darlings her life revolved around. So she knew that he only wanted to sleep with her, a release for all the sexual tension between them. And she was up for it. Because why not? It was not like she was a virgin saving herself for the love of her life. She had slept with plenty of men and he was just going to be another one night stand, like she was going to be for him.

He rose an eyebrow and smirked at her.

"Whoa, that was easy." Why does this man think that I, Dr. River Johnson out of all people, am easy?

"Well, you were going to sweet-talk and empathize with me until you got your way so I decided not to waste our time." She smiled sweetly, too sweetly. She felt an unfamiliar ache in her heart. An ache she did not want to feel, because in the back of her mind she knew why she felt it. And she also knew she did not have the right to feel it.

He saw her as a catch. A sexually attractive woman. Just like the previous men. It was only right to see him the same way. That way, everybody got what they wanted and nobody got hurt. Life was simple that way. She had once lived with her heart on her sleeve and she and everyone close to her knew where that had got her.

"I will pick you up at seven." He stood up, placing his business card on the table. "Text me your address."

And he was out.

River suddenly felt like she had made a huge mistake.

This was not good.

The excitement at first. Not good.

The ache in the chest when his face changed as soon as he heard about the twins. Not good.

Deciding to just go with the flow even if it's for one night. That must top the list of pathetic things she had done in her life.

She didn't think she could even look in her own eyes right now. This really wasn't the Dr. River Johnson, she knew herself to be.

"Ugh!!" She groaned into her palm.

She had counted the number of days that man was in the hospital.

She had eaten in the garden – something that she rarely did – and took more frequent rounds especially in the corridors he frequented, only to catch glimpses of him. And that was when he looked pale and tired and like a typical patient.

But now, with him having regained his previous glory, she really didn't know how she was going to deal with everything or resist his charms. She always knew there were some sparks between them but she had thought it was just her imagination, but now he had approached her.

But it wasn't good. Because nothing good could ever come out of any of these feelings. That man was dangerous. She was supposed to stay far away from her. Her old habits to get attracted to danger was going to be the death of her. And this time, she had two four-year old to care for as well, two kids completely dependent on her.

"Maybe I should chicken out?" She asked out loud.

And then after an internal battle, she came to the conclusion. "Maybe I should chillax and get a chicken sandwich. And get this 'dinner' over with."

With that resolve, she pocketed her wallet and phone and put on her shoes which lay next to her feet. Running her fingers through her high ponytail, she walked out of her cabin, heading straight towards the cafeteria for the lunch.

Now that she had plans for the night, she needed to quickly finish her rounds so that she could go to her mother's house to spend some time with the twins. They were going camping with their grandmother in the evening and would only be back next week so she really wanted to have some quality mommy-babies time with them before they left. Also, she had promised her grandmother that she would drive her to her old friend Nancy's house while the rest of the family were away.

Everyone were having fun. It was only her who was working and got herself in such a stressful situation to top it all.

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