Kissed By Christmas. Jamie Pope

all the way through medical school and quit in my intern year.”

      “Oh, that must have killed your mother.”

      He laughed. “It did. I think she’s still in mourning. But she forgot about me when my twin sister became a painter.”

      “A painter. Code for starving artist. What was she supposed to be?”

      “A college professor, but she ended up being an interior designer.”

      “That’s funny. My dream was to get my doctorate and become a college professor. It’s not for everyone. Is your sister happy?”

      “She’s very happy.”

      “Oh, I love to hear that. You’re happy too, right? That’s all that matters. That you’re happy. Happiness is the most important thing on the planet.” Hallie wasn’t sure why she couldn’t stop talking or what was making her say the things she was saying, but she couldn’t stop herself. This man was a stranger. He probably thought she was insane and maybe she was, but there was just something about him that made her comfortable.

      His name had been well chosen. Just his calm manner soothed her. She should have been scared out of her mind, going to the hospital in a city she still didn’t know well, about missing work, and not having proper sub plans, but none of that mattered to her at the moment.

      “I like my job very much.”

      “But are you happy, Asa?”

      He was quiet for a long as he looked down at her. “We’re here,” he told her. “They are probably going to do some neurological tests and a CAT scan. Give you something for the pain if you need it. You remember where you live, right?”

      She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was still the same beautiful man that had been there since she had first opened her eyes. “In a fifth floor walkup in the Village that is smaller than my childhood bedroom.”

      “Oh.” He nodded, a strange expression on his face. “Is there anyone for you to call?”

      “No. I’m here all by myself. My family is South.”

      “What about friends from work? Can you call someone to get you home?”

      “I can call a cab.”

      He looked hesitant and for the first time since she had hit her head, Hallie started to worry. “Is something wrong? Do you think I won’t be able to get home without help?”

      He shook his head. “I’m sure you will. I just don’t like the idea of leaving you here all alone.”

      “I have to get used to being alone. I’ll be okay,” she said as the door opened. “Thank you.”

      “For what?” he asked as they rolled her out.

      “For being kind to me.”

      “I wasn’t. I was just doing my job.”

      “You’re very good at it. Thank you for that.”

      * * *

      “What the hell was that?” Miguel asked him as they drove away fifteen minutes later.

      “What?” Asa asked, still distracted by the woman they had just left behind.

      “I’m used to women mooning over you. It makes me feel like I look like dog food, but it is what it is. This time I sensed something weird going on between you two. Granted, the lady was out of it from knocking her head, but you were weird, too.”

      “I’m not weird. She lives in my building. She’s three doors down from me.”

      “And she didn’t recognize you?”

      “I haven’t lived there for that long. Just a few months and you know we work crazy hours. I couldn’t place her at first but I knew I knew her from somewhere and it was bugging me.”

      “And you think she’s cute.”

      “She is cute,” he admitted. She was more than cute. He found himself truly attracted to a patient, which had never happened to him. “A lot of women in New York are cute.”

      “I like the way she handled those kids. She said go and they scattered like roaches.”

      He nodded, smiling at the memory. “She made me think of my sister. I’m glad she’s married now. Before, she moved all around the world alone. Anything could have happened to her. But Hallie said she was all alone in the city. If she’d landed the wrong way or just hit her head a little harder, it would have been another story and her family wouldn’t even be near her.”

      “This kind of stuff never bothered you before. You’ve been a little bit off since the crane collapse.”

      “And you haven’t?” He had taken this job because he loved the excitement, the rush he got when the lights and sirens were going, knowing that he was going to use his skills to save lives. And this one had started out that way, but when they got there it had turned out different. It had been one of the worst scenes he had ever been to. He had been on the scene for fires, helped rescue a man out of an iced-over river, but it looked like a bomb had gone off in the middle of New York City. Dust and debris and pandemonium everywhere. Ten people injured, one died on the scene from massive chest injuries and the other man had died at the hospital later from a heart attack.

      “I try not to think about.” Miguel shrugged. “The nature of a job. There might be something worse just around the corner.”

      Asa had thought about those words all the way home that day. Hallie had asked him if he was happy. He had never thought about it before. He loved his job. He was having fun in New York dating some interesting women. But was he happy? Lately he had been feeling like something was missing in his life. Maybe Miguel was right, maybe the crane collapse had just put him in a weird head space.

      He went home, made himself something to eat and tried to get some rest. He should be exhausted after working back-to-back shifts, but his mind kept going back to Hallie, wondering how she was. If she’d gotten home okay. Part of him wondered if he would have put her out of his mind had he not known she was his neighbor, but a bigger part of him thought that she was just the kind of person that would stay with him.

      He got up and left his apartment. It would be easy enough to check. Then he could just go back to his life.

      He knocked on her door, listening for sounds inside. If she wasn’t home he could check with the hospital. Most of the time they never knew what happened to the people they transported, but Asa could find out, see if she needed help. Perhaps contact a family member for her. It was what he would have wanted someone to do for his sister.

      He knocked again and this time he heard rustling from inside of the apartment. He waited for a moment and then she opened the door. She wore sweats and fuzzy pink socks on her feet. Her springy curls stood out in every direction. Her eyes widened when she saw him and a guarded look crossed her face immediately.

      “What are you doing here?” It certainly wasn’t the same greeting he had gotten when he’d first approached her that day.

      “I came to see if you got home okay.”

      “I did. How do you know where I live? Did you follow me home? I may have hit my head, but if you think you can abuse your position and try to take advantage of me, you have another think coming.”

      “Whoa.” Asa put his hands up in defense. “Why the hell would you think I would try to take advantage of you?”

      “You showed up at my door. You knew I lived alone. How many women have you followed home before? I bet they let you in because you’re charming and good-looking. But it’s not happening this time. I should call and report you to your supervisor.”

      Asa felt his anger rising, but he tried to tamp it down. What was she supposed to think? It must have been scary for her to see a strange man show up at her door. “I’m your neighbor. I live at the end of the hall in 4D. I