Mason Ch. 13

Toni moved away and turned to look at him, "Yes it was but I'm alright now and thanks for bringing Dr. Hanover in to apologize." she said.

Dr. Ellis looked at her thoughtfully for a few seconds as if he was making a decision and then made it.

"I hear that you're back into the social scene, any truth to that?" he asked.

Toni wasn't sure of how to respond but said yes.

"Good to know, I was hoping to take you out to dinner sometime soon." Dr. Ellis said.

"Oh, I.... I'm kind of seeing someone and..."

"Dr. Donahue, so that's true as well." Dr. Ellis said. "Is it a monogamous kind of thing or a casual thing?" he asked.

Toni didn't know how to respond because she didn't know.

"I... we haven't..."

"Mom?" Jamie called.

"I'm here baby, how do you feel?" Toni asked thankful for the interruption.

"My stomach still hurts."

"Ok, I'll see if you can have something for pain." Toni replied.

"About that dinner?" Dr. Ellis asked.

"I can't think about that right now, thanks for stopping by." Toni said hoping that he would take the hint.

She pushed the call light and told whoever answered what she needed, when she looked up, Dr. Ellis was still there.

"What?" she asked.

"Can I get you a cup of coffee or something to eat?" he asked.

"No thanks, my parents are coming in a few minutes." Toni replied.

Dr. Ellis left after a few more minutes of chitchat, Toni knew what he was doing, he was trying to figure out her and Mason's status. Toni breathed a sigh of relief when he left; he was a little too intense for her liking.

********

Mason lay on his bed wishing that he could be at the hospital with Toni and Jamie but it just wasn't possible, phone calls would have to do until this evening. It still tore at him when he thought about how frightened Toni had been and how relieved he was when they found out that Jamie would be alright. He picked up his phone and called Toni.

"How's Jamie?" he asked.

"Sleeping, they just gave him something for pain." Toni replied.

"And how are you?" Mason asked.

"Tired but glad that Jamie's alright. What are you doing still up?" Toni asked as she realized what time it was.

"Thinking about you and Jamie." Mason replied honestly. "Do you need me to bring anything tonight?"

"No but you don't have to come." Toni said, "There's no need for you to spend your evening off in a hospital room." she added.

"I was going to spend the evening with the two of you anyway, where that happens doesn't matter. So what would you like me to bring?" Mason asked again.

"Ummm, some of your really good coffee?" Toni asked.

"Done, what else?"

"That's it. Mom and dad are bringing Jamie's laptop although he'll probably be discharged tomorrow." Toni replied.

"Alright, I'll see you this evening and try to get some rest." Mason said before hanging up.

******

The day passed slowly for both Toni and Mason. James' parents stayed with Jamie so that she could run to one of the doctor's sleeping rooms and grab a shower and a set of clean scrubs. She wasn't about to leave the hospital under any circumstances. Feeling better after her shower and a hot cup of coffee Jamie made her way back to Jamie's room. He was awake and making faces at his breakfast.

"I don't like red jello." he was telling Gina.

"Well maybe it'll taste good this time." she replied.

Toni slipped back out and found Jamie's nurse.

"I have a very picky little boy that doesn't like red jello; do you have any other flavors?"

"I think we do, let's go check. By the way, I think that the doctor is going to let him have a regular diet for lunch if he does ok with the clear liquid breakfast." the nurse said.

"Great! Jamie will be happy to hear that." Toni said as he took the containers of yellow and green jello from the nurse, "and thanks for these." she added as she walked away.

Toni got back to Jamie's room and heard him crying. "What the hell?" she muttered.

Gina was sitting on the side of the bed holding Jamie's hand but Robert was nowhere to be seen.

"Baby? What's wrong, are you hurting again?" Toni asked setting the jello down.

"I was just telling him about his father." Gina said as she smoothed Jamie's hair back.

Alarm bells went off in Toni's head but she asked calmly, "what were you telling him?"

Jamie and Toni had talked about James many times, even watching the discs together and he had never cried so what had Gina said to him that had upset him so much? Surely she hadn't told him that he was adopted?

"Gina, what did you say to him?" Toni demanded as she sat on the other side of the bed and took a still crying Jamie into her arms.

"Mom? Am I going to die?" Jamie asked tearfully.

Toni understood now. Gina had told Jamie that James had died in this hospital, what was wrong with the woman? Toni wondered but she no longer cared.

"Get out." Toni hissed softly.

"What? But we just got here!" Gina protested.

"Get out!" Toni repeated.

Robert passed Gina as she left the room, "Toni?" he asked.

"Later." she said. She wasn't going to tell Gina that she could no longer be alone with Jamie with him listening, it would upset him too much.

Robert nodded and left the room. A few minutes later Jamie was calm and eating his jello. Toni assured him that he wasn't going to die and that he would more than likely be at home by the next day.

"And... guess whose coming to see you tonight?" she asked knowing that he would be thrilled.

"Dr. Mason?" Jamie asked forgetting about his fear and upset.

"Yep, Dr. Mason." Toni confirmed.

It made her happy to see him happy but now it was time to deal with gramma Gina.

"Sweetie, will you be alright for a few minutes? I need to go talk with gramma and grampa Jacobson."

"Ok." Jamie said as he ate his breakfast and looked at the television.

Toni found them in the family waiting area; apparently Robert was less happy with Gina than she was.

"What in the hell is wrong with you scaring him like that?" Robert was asking.

"I was just....."

"Just what?" Toni asked. "He's a little boy for god's sake! It's up to me to explain to him how and where his father died not you!"

"Toni, I was...."

"Gina, I don't care about what you were trying to do, the only thing I know is that you hurt and frightened Jamie." Toni said.

"Is he alright?" Robert asked.

"He's fine but Gina, you can't be alone with him anymore." Toni said firmly.

"What? Toni I would never hurt him!" Gina protested.

"You just did." Toni said. "The only way you get to see Jamie is if someone is with you. I don't trust you not to tell him that he's adopted. Now, you can go in, say goodbye and come back later." Toni said and walked away.

Jamie had finished his breakfast and was watching television when she went back to the room; he looked none the worse for wear and apparently he had already forgotten about being upset. Robert and Gina came in a few minutes later to say good bye and to promise that they'd be back later. Toni looked at Gina who refused to meet her gaze; the woman was in need of some serious help.

Barbara and Ben came thirty minutes later bringing fresh coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Ben brought the latest issue of sports illustrated and sat on the bed with Jamie looking at it while Toni ate her breakfast. Toni told Barbara about the incident with Gina.

"She's still having a hard time." Barbara said, "That doesn't excuse what she did, I'm just saying that it's a contributing factor."

"Be that as it may, she isn't allowed to be alone with Jamie anymore. It was for me to tell him about James' death not her." Toni replied.

The rest of the morning passed quietly with Toni napping when Jamie did bringing back memories of when he was a baby. Gina and Robert came back just before supper bearing gifts for Jamie which made him very happy. One of the gifts was a video game that he had been wanting for his laptop and the other was a stack of books. Of the two of them, Robert was the only one who spoke to Toni.

"We're going back tonight but we'll be back in a couple of weeks, Toni I'm sorry about this morning." he said.

"Thanks but it wasn't your fault and I know that she's still struggling but I won't have her hurting Jamie even if it's unintentionally."

"I know and I understand, I'll say goodbye to Jamie and we'll be on our way." Robert said as he hugged Toni.

They had no longer left when Dr. Ellis came in.

"How's the patient?" he asked giving Jamie a fake smile.

"Good." Jamie replied not smiling back.

"Good! Hey Toni, I thought that I could bring us some dinner tonight during my break." Dr. Ellis said.

"That won't be necessary." A voice from behind them said.

"Dr. Mason!" Jamie exclaimed with excitement.

"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?" Mason asked.

"Better, did you bring a book?" Jamie asked.

"I sure did and I'll show it to you in a moment." Mason said and then turned his attention to Toni and Dr. Ellis. "As I was saying, it's very kind of you to offer to bring Toni dinner but it's taken care of."

"I see. I don't believe that we've officially met, I'm Dr...."

"I know who you are and what you want." Mason said interrupting him.

Toni looked from one man to the other, she was in the middle of a passing contest and she was the prize. But it was Ellis who put his dick away first.

"If you'll excuse me, I have rounds to make." he said and left the room closing the door behind him.

Mason watched him leave confident that he would spread the word that Toni was off limits; it struck him as ironic that he was using the rumor mill, the one thing that he hated about institutions to his own advantage. As soon as the door closed, Mason bent down and kissed Toni on the cheek fully aware that Jamie was watching. It was something that he would have to become accustomed to Mason decided.

"I brought the requested coffee and some sandwiches." Mason said assuming that Jamie could eat normally. "Peanut butter and Jelly for Jamie and Chicken salad for us."

"Wow, thanks. " Toni said and then asked, "Did you sleep?"

"I don't need much sleep." Mason replied as he set out the food. "I forgot, I have something else for you but it's in the car, start without me, I'll be right back."

Toni watched Mason leave and felt a stirring that she hadn't felt since James and along with it came a feeling of guilt. She suspected that with each step she took in her relationship with Mason a feeling of guilt would come with it and she would have to deal with it as it came. It dawned on her that she had just admitted to being in a relationship with Mason. "Am I ready for this?" she asked herself.

"Mom?" Jamie called.

"Yeah baby?"

"Are you ok? You were talking to yourself." he said.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking out loud." Toni replied.

On the way to his car, Mason ran into Dr. Ellis who stopped him.

"She's quite the woman isn't she?" he asked.

When Mason didn't reply, he continued.

"I wasn't aware that your relationship was monogamous, when did that happen?"

"Now you know and when it happened is none of your business." Mason replied.

"You said you knew me, I don't ever recall meeting you before tonight." Ellis said.

"Let me clarify what I meant, I don't know you personally nor do I care to." Mason said. "What I meant is I know what type of man you are, you are like a vulture who takes advantage of women who you think are vulnerable, you pretend to care about their needs and the needs of their children if there are any and then when you tire of them you leave."

"Now you just...."

"Listen to me and listen well, stay away from Toni, she isn't available." Mason said his dark eyes flashing and walked away leaving Ellis staring at his back.

Jamie and Toni were waiting for him when he got back to the room.

"Why didn't you start eating?" Mason asked as he sat a bag on the floor.

"Mom said that we had to wait for you." Jamie said.

"Well I'm here so eat up." Mason said as he picked up a sandwich.

After they ate, Mason gave Jamie the book he brought with him. While Jamie looked at the book, he picked up the sack and told Toni to sit down.

"Put your feet up here." he said patting his lap.

Toni looked at him but didn't move.

"Come on, you'll be glad that you did." he urged teasing her.

Toni looked over at Jamie who was engrossed in the book that apparently had pictures. She slowly put her feet up not knowing what to expect. Mason removed the hospital issue slipper socks from her feet and began to massage them. Toni closed her eyes and sighed, she was always a sucker for a good foot rub, a few minutes later she felt something warm and fuzzy being slipped onto her feet. She opened her eyes to see what it was, looking back at her were a pair of purple bunny slippers complete with the big floppy ears, plastic eyes and silly grin. At first she just stared at her feet and then began to laugh. Jamie looked up from his book to see what was so funny and laughed when he saw the slippers.

"Those are really cool!" he exclaimed.

"You like those?" Mason asked as he pulled out another pair for Jamie but only they were blue.

"Look mom!"

"I see." Toni said smiling at him. "I think that we both owe Dr. Mason a big thanks ." she added.

"Thank you Dr. Mason, can I put them on?" Jamie asked.

A few minutes later, Jamie was sporting his new slippers as the three of them took a walk around the unit. By the time they got back to the room, the entire floor was whispering about the scene.

Jamie was released the next afternoon and was more than ready to go. Even though he didn't say anything to Toni, he was still afraid that he would die at the hospital like his dad. The only thing that made it easier was that Mason and Toni both stayed with him during the night. Toni slept on the cot while Mason sat in the chair next to the bed playing with Jamie's laptop. When Jamie woke up, it was light and Mason was already gone.

"Where's Dr. Mason?" Jamie asked.

"He went home already, he said to tell you to check out your laptop." Toni said stretching. She was as ready to go home as Jamie was.

Jamie turned on his laptop and squealed with delight.

"Look mom!"

Toni got up and went to see what the excitement was about, she gasped when she saw Mason's face on the screen.

"Morning!" he said cheerfully.

"Morning Dr. Mason! This is so cool!" Jamie said.

Toni was suddenly conscious of her bed head and tried to put it in some semblance of order. Mason watched her as she tried to fix her hair; he couldn't wait to wake up to that look every night.

*******

Toni returned to work the following week since Jamie was on the mend. In some ways she dreaded going back, except for Jamie's surgery, she had really enjoyed her time off and talking to Mason via 'skype' had become a routine thing when he was at work. If he wasn't busy, he and Jamie read together that way and if he was, he tried to call to talk to Jamie for a few minutes before it got too late and then he would call her later during the night.

On her first night back, Toni got an unexpected but pleasant surprise. She was rounding on the floor where Kim worked and overheard her defending Tom.

"You know what?" she was saying, "He was having a really hard time, he lost his best friend and probably thought that it was his fault so back off and leave him alone!"

Toni believed in giving credit where credit was due and pulled Kim aside. Kim stood stiffly waiting for a tongue lashing.

"Relax Kim; I'm not going to yell at you." Toni said. "I wanted to thank you for coming to me about Tom. Because you did, he's getting the help that he needs and I also heard what you said. Tom's going to need all of the support that he can get when he gets back so maybe between you, me and whoever else we can stir up, we can make his coming back a little bit easier."

Kim was speechless; she now had a whole new respect for Toni.

"Thank you for that." Kim said softly.

Toni smiled at her and walked away, she had just changed her opinion about Kim; she really was a good person at heart in spite of her personal agenda and the way that she had defended Tom made her wonder.

After making rounds, she went to the dictation room and began her dictation; she was so engrossed that she didn't realize that she was no longer alone until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Oh hi Mike." she said to Dr. Ellis.

"How's the little man doing?" he asked.

"Good and glad to be back home. Thanks for asking." Toni replied.

"So you and Donahue are a couple." he stated.

Toni didn't say anything, if she did, this would be the first time that she publicly admitted it, and she hadn't even said anything to her parents or Jamie for that matter.

"He says that you are but I would like to hear it from you." Mike said when Toni didn't answer.

"Why?" Toni asked. She knew about Mike's reputation for his frequent and varied bed partners and really didn't care as long as he kept their relationship professional and didn't try to add her to his list of conquests.

"I want to know if I stand a chance. I've always liked you and I've always thought that James was one lucky son of a bitch." he replied.

"The answer to your question is yes, Dr. Donahue and I are seeing each other." Toni said hoping that it would end the conversation.

"Is it monogamous or are you each able to see other people?"

That was something that they hadn't discussed but then, they hadn't talked about their relationship either. But if Mason's reaction to Mike's offer to bring her dinner when Jamie was a patient was any indication, she would go with monogamous.

"Mike, I'm flattered, I really am but Mason and I are in a monogamous relationship. I'm sure you'll know if that changes" Toni said.

"Well then," Mike said standing up, "so much for that." and walked out.

Toni finished her dictation and headed toward the sleeping room, she opened the door to see a vase of flowers sitting on the table alone with a note.

Toni, We're having a busy night up here and I probably won't get lunch but I left it in the fridge in your room. I'll talk to you soon. Mason

Toni looked at the flowers and then at the purple bunny slippers that she had packed to walk around in.

She was in love with Mason Donahue.