Title: DISTRACTING_THE_DOCTOR.txt Author: Sherry DISTRACTING THE DOCTOR - Chapter One Disclaimer: The beautiful words, story and characters of Christy, by Catherine Marshall, are owned by the LeSourds. This is not for money or profit. Comments are welcome at my aol address. The Story: Have you ever wondered how Margaret and Neil met and married? Did Neil ever really love his wife? This story is for Rodolph Edmond, my little library patron who could never get enough to read... now he is off to medical school and he is one of my daughter's beaux. ************************* The young doctor put his head down on his desk. He was exhausted from his first year of postgraduate training at Jefferson Hospital. Each morning he came to the hospital as the sun was coming up. Nothing in medical school had prepared him for working with real, flesh and blood patients. Neil considered himself unprepared for the worry, the agony, the grief. He experienced the joy of delivering a much loved and wanted baby - and the sadness of the death of a well loved husband or daughter - sometimes in the same day. His first year of bedside training left him exhausted. Would he ever be ready to return to the cove to practice mountain medicine? For the first time in Neil MacNeill's life, he was responsible for someone else's - many someone elses' - lives. And right now, on this warm July night, he needed a nap, a haircut, and a shave. Neil rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. He leaned back in his chair and allowed himself the luxury of a yawn. After each tiring shift in the hospital, the young doctor had to write notes about each patient. Neil still held his pen in his left hand. He put his head down on his desk, promising himself that he would be wide eyed and awake in a few seconds. The young doctor dozed for a few seconds. Then he felt a firm touch on his shoulder. He was startled. Neil turned to see who was disturbing his sleep. "Slacking off, MacNeill?" asked a tall, slender young man. "Rod, what time is it? I must have dozed off." Neil explained, looking up at one of the young surgeons. "Take a break, MacNeill, you're no good to your patients if you're too tired to keep your head up." answered Rod. "Come down to the pub with me. I'm going to meet Amy there. Have dinner with us. You deserve a little break." "I don't know." Neil replied. "Maybe I should just stay here and finish my surgical notes. I observed kidney surgery today. If I wait to write the notes I might forget something. They say people can survive with just one kidney! The research is so exciting!" "Don't worry. I'll review everything with you." offered Rod, looking at his watch. "Amy's waiting. Some other doc will flirt with her if I'm late. Come on, Neil, join the living. There's entertainment tonight, a singer, I think." Neil gathered his books and put them in his large leather saddle bag that he had brought from his mountain home to his city medical school. "Okay, you talked me into it." said Neil. "I do need a break. Is Amy the pretty blonde nurse from pediatrics?" "Amy is the brunette ophthalmologist... you've met her." asked Rod. "I've talked to her at length about trachoma, an eye disease that plagues the mountain people. Remember when I told you about my home in Tennessee?" asked Neil. "I do remember every word. You think trachoma is caused by dirty utensils. Someday you want to return to Cutter Gap to practice medicine. See? I listen. Let's go. I'm hungry." said Rod. DISTRACTING THE DOCTOR CHAPTER TWO - "Doctor Trachoma?" "Here's the speakeasy, MacNeill." said Rod, as he and Neil walked down the busy Philadelphia street. They could feel the gentle breeze from the Schuylkill River. Rod opened the door and Neil went in first. It was a crowded, noisy saloon. Medical students, city workers and others filled the room. Rod scanned the room until he spotted Amy, who was sitting at a table not far from the bar. She was writing in a black notebook, her head down. Rod rushed to the table. He put his hand gently on Amy's sleek, black hair. "Dr. Lee?" he teased. "This is a nice surprise. Keep me company?" Amy asked, quickly putting her pen and notebook away. She looked up at Rod. "Amy, this is Doctor MacNeill. Neil, meet Doctor Amy Lee, ophthalmologist." Rod said, introducing the two. Neil and Amy nodded at each other. The two men sat down with Amy. Someone from the waitstaff arrived and they ordered hot coffee and sandwiches. "You look exhausted, doctors. " Amy said. "A doctor's life is not an easy one." "I am exhausted. But I have to do this so that I can go back to my mountain and practice medicine." Neil replied. "Where are you from?" Amy asked, looking into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. She always thought that blue eyes were cold, but this young doctor's eyes reminded her of a lake. "Cutter Gap. I'm a hillbilly man. Born in the same mountain cabin as my parents and my grandparents before them." Neil said. "In Tennessee." "It's a charming story, isn't it?" Rod asked, looking at Amy. "He's a hillbilly man." "Oh... now I remember you! Doctor Trachoma! We've spoken about the causes and cures of trachoma. You said it was the scourge of your people." Amy said. "Doctor Trachoma." "Are you mocking me, Dr. Lee?" Neil asked angrily. "Not at all, Doctor MacNeill. Sometimes I make associations so that I can remember people, that's all. And I remember that we have spoken about the etiology and the treatment for trachoma." Amy explained patiently. "I would like to hear more about your mountain medicine." Neil looked at her intelligent, sweet face and he felt embarrassed. But Dr. Lee looked him straight in the eye and Neil knew that he was dealing with a very strong woman. "Forgive me. I am exhausted. I'm in need of some food and a good night's sleep." Neil said. "And I think trachoma is caused by dirty utensils and other items that are found in the homes of the poor people in my area. I love my people and I want to help them." "My residency is almost over, Doctor MacNeill, and then I will study for a year at Will's Eye Institute. I will recommend you for an internship there, if you would like. And when I open my private practice, I will send you ophthalmic supplies so that you can help your people." Amy promised. "Why would you do this for me?" Neil asked. He had been rude to this woman and now she was offering to help him. The young doctor was confused. "It's a romantic idea, returning to your home to practice medicine. I admire you." Amy explained in a quiet voice. "My family came here from China for the gold rush. I'm a first generation Chinese American. I wonder what it would be like to go to China and practice medicine there. Would they accept a woman physician?" "But I was rude to you... ." Neil started. Amy smiled at the tired young doctor. Then she looked at her sweetheart. "You're working the young doctor too hard, Rod. " she chided him gently, then she squeezed Rod's hand. A waitstaffer arrived with their food and the three doctors ate in silence. As they ate, someone started playing the piano and a pretty young woman walked to the bar. One of the bartenders helped her up and she sat on the bar, her long legs swinging back and forth. The young woman took a deep breath and she brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I'm going to sing for everyone tonight!" said the woman. "My name is Margaret Henderson and my song is called, 'Always Take Your Mother's Advice', and it's perfect for me, because my mother gives advice all the time." "I bet." Rod said, as he looked up. Neil, too, stopped eating so that he could look and listen to the pretty young woman. Another woman who isn't shy, he thought. "Shush!" Amy admonished. "I want to listen." Margaret looked around the room. She started to sing. "Always take your mother's advice! Give to the poor! Bring someone flowers. Always listen to your mother." Neil looked at the woman. She was tall, with large blue eyes and dark blonde hair. He noticed that a table of young people in the back of the speakeasy cheered her on as she sang. This Margaret was dressed in expensive clothes; she was lovely. Amy turned and looked at Neil. "Doctor, she's singing right to you. She's staring at you." said Amy. "It's true, MacNeill." added Rod. "She hasn't taken her eyes off you. Can't account for taste." Neil looked at the singer. She had finished her song and she was smiling into his eyes. He smiled back at her and then he started eating... until he heard a musical voice. "Doctor? Do you mind if I join the party?" came the voice. DISTRACTING THE DOCTOR CHAPTER THREE Neil looked up into large, expressive blue eyes. "And how do you know I'm a doctor, miss?" he asked, smiling at the young woman. Margaret laughed. She had a musical laugh and a big smile. She looked Neil in the eye in a pert, feminine way before she spoke. The young doctor was intrigued. He nervously tried to tame his unruly reddish blond hair; he wanted this young woman to like him! He touched the stubble on his cheeks and chin, wishing he had taken the time to shave. Neil looked up into clear, merry blue eyes and hoped that he would say something witty when it was his turn to speak. "For one thing, you are wearing a stethoscope around your neck! That was my first clue." she replied, smiling at Neil. "And I'm Margaret.. .Margaret Henderson." She watched as he nervously touched his face and she knew she would enjoy teasing this intense, interesting man. Neil touched the stethoscope that was around his neck. He was suddenly flustered by the charming songstress. He took the stethoscope off and held it in his hands. Then he pretended to examine it while he tried to think of a witty repartee for the lady. "Ah, that would give it away." he said sheepishly. "You said that was your first clue. Were there others? By the way, I'm Neil MacNeill, Doctor Neil MacNeill." Margaret looked at Neil. She held out an elegant hand to him. He took her hand and held it for a few minutes. He wanted to hold her hand, but he let her go. "You look exhausted. Does that make a good clue?" she asked, looking at him closely. "Your eyes are tired. I don't want to keep you past your bedtime, Doctor." Neil looked at her. He didn't say anything. He had never met such a charmer and he was completely flustered. He quickly introduced Amy and Rod to Margaret. "MacNeill, where are your manners?" teased Rod. "Ask the young lady if she would like to join us for coffee and dessert." Neil looked at Margaret. She met his glance and looked right into his eyes. "Would you like to sit with us for coffee and dessert?" Neil asked nervously. He squeezed his hair in his fingertips, while he anxiously awaited her response. Would it be too much to hope that she liked him, he wondered. "I'd be delighted, doctors." came Margaret's reply. Rod gently punched Neil 's shoulder, hoping to give Neil a hint. But when Neil did not respond, Rod rose and held out a chair for Margaret, who nodded to him and sat down next to Neil. More than an hour later, the four dinner companions were still talking and laughing. Rod yawned and put his arm around Amy, who looked up at him. "Dr. Lee, I have an early morning appendectomy that I mustn't keep waiting. I'll walk you home." Rod said. Amy looked at Neil and Margaret. What a lovely couple they made! She had never seen Neil MacNeill so relaxed; he was obviously smitten with the lovely Margaret. Then her doctor self took over and she hoped that Margaret wouldn't be a distraction for the promising young doctor. "Doctor MacNeill, don't stay out too late. You said you would assist Doctor Kinnegan and me in that strabismus surgery. Kinnegan won't tolerate a moment's lateness." Amy warned. "Yes, the strabismus." Neil answered, turning to look at Margaret. "We are going to correct a squint very early tomorrow morning. "Don't worry, mom." Margaret joked, looking at Amy Lee. "I won't keep the doctor out too late." Amy smiled at Margaret. "Thanks... and it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope we will meet again." Amy said. "I am sure that we will." Margaret replied. Amy and Rod left the speakeasy hand-in-hand. Neil and Margaret continued to talk and drink coffee. Another hour passed. Neil yawned again and he took Margaret's hand. "I do have an early morning surgery... and I've been warned about tardiness." Neil said, not wanting to leave Margaret. "Will I have a chance to see you again?" Margaret took his hand. She tickled the red-gold hairs and the doctor laughed at her flirtation. "Yes, doctor. We will meet again. My friends are waving for me to join them. I must go." Margaret said. She got up and started walking to their table. Neil watched her as she walked away. Then he stood up and walked out of the speakeasy, making his way back to his room. As Neil strolled back, he noticed that the sky was full of stars and the city air smelled like the trees and rivers of his hillbilly home in Tennessee. DISTRACTING THE DOCTOR CHAPTER FOUR Four weeks had come and gone since the night Neil and Margaret met at the speakeasy. Doctor Neil MacNeill was very busy with his postgraduate training. If he wasn't visiting patients or performing surgery, he was sitting at his desk writing notes about his patients. Eventually, exhausted, he allowed himself the luxury of sleep. In his dreams he was in Cutter Gap, fishing in the river, sitting on the porch of his cabin , or riding his horse, sometimes with a tall, pretty woman sitting behind him as the horse rode like the wind. Neil couldn't see the young woman's face, but he was always happy to be with her; in the dreams he was smiling and relaxed. Very early one morning at the end of August , Neil stood at the head of the operating table. He gently examined his patient's eyes, opening the left eye while he thought about the cataract surgery he was about to start. He caught Doctor Amy Lee's eye and he remembered what she said about this operation. With one cautious movement, Neil extended his left index finger to massage the patient's left eyeball. Doctor Lee had explained that an ocular massage made the eyeball softer and that if reduced the risk that some of the vitreous humor, that jellylike substance within the eye, might come out during the surgery. Neil knew that if the substance came out, the patient might have serious complications such as retinal detachment, inflammation or even loss of the eye. Neil took a deep breath as he finished the eye massage and started planning his next move. He proceeded to the rest of the operation, grateful that several accomplished ophthalmic surgeons were there to supervise and teach him. Doctor James Kinnigan watched silently as Neil closed the incision in the patient's cornea with a zigzag stitch using thread finer than a human hair. Kinnegan was impressed with the young doctor's quiet diligence. The patient was a forty year old teacher who was afraid that the cataract would end her career. Neil took a deep breath as he completed the last stitch. Then he tied the suture and pulled the knots into the tissue. Neil gently touched the woman's head as he finished his work. Doctor Amy Lee handed Neil a sterile gauze pad and Neil placed it over the patient's eye. A few minutes later he taped the pad in place. Satisfied that his patient was ready to go back to her room to recover, Neil took a deep breath and nodded to the other doctors. He noticed that Doctor Starr Gatlin, the renowned brain surgeon, was standing next to Dr. Kinnigan. "You have a gift, Doctor MacNeill." said Dr. Kinnigan in a quiet voice. "Did you practice with the fine thread?" "Yes, sir. Doctor Lee showed me how to work the thread a few days ago. I've been practicing ever since." Neil replied. "Practice makes perfect. Good thinking, Doctor Lee." said Dr. Kinnigan. "Gifted hands and honesty." Doctor Gatlin nodded to Neil. With a wave, the esteemed ophthalmologist hurried out of the operating theater on his way to visit yet another patient, followed by Doctor Gatlin. Neil smiled at Doctor Lee. "You did very well, Doctor Trachoma." joked Amy. "Practice makes perfect." "Thanks to your showing me how to work the thread." Neil said. He smiled at his generous friend. "You're the one who practiced for hours, Neil. You wouldn't even take a break to walk with me. I saw Margaret Henderson in the park. She gave me a message for you." said Amy, smiling at her colleague. "Margaret Henderson? The songstress from the speakeasy?" Neil said, pretending to be suave and nonchalant. Neil knew that Doctor Lee was not fooled for a moment. Amy Lee couldn't resist this chance to tease her colleague. "Now do you remember her? Big blue eyes? Blonde hair? Margaret is going to sing tonight at the speakeasy. She said that she hoped you'd be in the audience." Amy said. Neil reached to the long hairs on his neck. He squeezed the hairs as he smiled nervously at his colleague. As usual, he was in need of a haircut. He looked at Amy Lee, admiring her straight, shiny black hair. Neil chided himself; if he had taken a break for a walk in the park, he would have seen Margaret. "Thanks for being the messenger." Neil said quietly. He thought about Margaret and the way she had tickled the hairs on his hand; the thought made him smile. He had hoped he would find a way to see Margaret again. "Would you and Doc Rod like to accompany me to the speakeasy?" Neil asked. "No thanks, Neil, I got the distinct impression that Miss Margaret Henderson wanted to see you and you alone. Rod and I have other plans." she answered. A few minutes later both doctors went on their way. Back in his small room, Neil tried to concentrate on writing surgical notes. He closed his eyes and he pictured Margaret smiling up at him. Neil took a deep breath, then he allowed himself a brief daydream before he got back to work. Neil pulled at his long hair while he thought about Margaret. What can I do about this hair, he wondered. Neil impulsively grabbed a pair of scissors with his left hand. With his right hand, he held a hank of his thick reddish gold hair. He used the scissors to cut his hair, then he examined the hair in his hand before he dumped it in the wastepaper pail. While he considered making another cut, there was a knock on the door. Doctor Rod entered the room. The tall, dark and handsome surgeon looked at Neil, who had a pair of scissors in his left hand and a bewildered expression on his face. "Cutting your hair, MacNeill?" Rod asked, as he looked at the back of the young doctor's head. He laughed at the uneven result. "Let me help you with this. Even you can't see the back of your head." Rod offered. "Can you cut hair?" Neil asked nervously. "I'm a surgeon, MacNeill, I can cut anything." came Rod's answer. Neil laughed and he surrendered the scissors to his friend. Rod took a comb from Neil's desk and he combed the thick, messy curls down so he could cut them straight across. He cut and combed for a few minutes, then he was satisfied with his work. "Much better, MacNeill. Let me guess; you're going to see Margaret tonight." Rod said, smiling at the young doctor. He handed the comb to Neil. Neil took a deep breath. His fingers nervously patted his curls down. He gave Rod a slight smile. "Good guess." Neil said. "Don't forget you manners! Doctor's orders!" Rod added, as he started out the door. " Margaret doesn't seem like a hillbilly woman." Neil laughed at the image of the classy Miss Henderson as a mountain woman. He thanked his friend for the haircut. A few minutes after Rod left, Neil shaved and took a bath. He wanted to make a good impression tonight. Neil finally strode into the speakeasy. He looked around until he spied an empty table. He gingerly made his way through the crowded pub, taking a seat at the table. He scanned the room for Margaret and he finally found her, perched on the bar, smiling at the crowd. He looked right at the attractive young lady, hoping to catch her eye. Margaret waited for the crowd to quiet down. She looked from right to left, hoping to see a certain young doctor. Soon the crowd was waiting for her to start singing. Although Margaret hadn't spotted the doctor; she couldn't keep her audience waiting, so she started to sing. After the first song, the crowd applauded and Margaret smiled at her fans. Suddenly she saw the big, burly doctor, sitting alone at a table, looking like a hillbilly man in the midst of the city sophisticates. Margaret caught Neil's eye, she smiled at him and gave him a little wave. Neil smiled gratefully at her and he waved back. As soon as Margaret finished her song, she weaved her way through the tables until she reached Neil. She stood before him, waiting to see if he would stand and pull out a chair for her. He didn't, but he did seem happy to see her. Margaret laughed to herself; she guessed that courtesy was a little different for a hillbilly man. All that mattered to Margaret was that Doctor Lee had given Neil the message... and Neil was here, his blue eyes happy, his hair neatly cut, his face cleanly shaven. Margaret liked what she saw. They sat, ate and talked about everything for a few hours. Neil told Margaret about his experiences in the hospital, Margaret told Neil that her mother's family was in the business of manufacturing cook stoves. Margaret finally told her friends that she was going to take a walk with the young doctor and that she'd be back so she could ride home with them. As they left the pub, Neil took Margaret's soft hand in his. Again, the pretty young woman tickled the red gold hairs on Neil's hand. Neil laughed as he led the lass toward the Schuylkill River. It was sultry and verdant, not unlike a late summer's night in Cutter Gap. Neil and Margaret stopped to look at the river. Suddenly, Neil started humming a song Margaret had never heard. "May I have this dance?" the young doctor asked gallantly. Margaret nodded and Neil pulled her close. She rested her head on the doctor's broad chest while he hummed and waltzed her quite expertly. " Why, Doctor MacNeill, you're a wonderful dancer!" Margaret said, surprised that the large, muscular man was so light on his feet. Neil MacNeill danced as naturally as a fish swam! Margaret went happily into Neil's embrace as he suddenly pulled her closer yet. "You haven't seen my slow dance, Miss Henderson!" Neil said as he inhaled her flowery fragrance. He took a deep breath and the scent of lilacs reached down into his soul. "My pretty little pink, I once did think..." Neil sang softly to the lass. Margaret listened to the words of the song as she and Neil swayed to the mountain music of Neil's hillbilly home. Part 5 coming soon!