Nathan Parker sat in his office, reviewing Diane Watson’s chart. He had known her for most of his life. She had taken care of him when he was at his most vulnerable and he refused to allow anything to happen to her. He needed to cure her, no matter the cost.

He was so absorbed in work that he didn’t realize that William Evans was watching him from the doorway.

“That’s what I call focus.” William chuckled as he watched his oldest friend work.

“What do you want, Bill?” Nathan asked, annoyed at the interruption. William usually lightened his mood, but at that moment he was an aggravation.

“How is Diane doing?” William’s expression turned thoughtful.

“The cancer has spread. She has an uphill battle ahead of her. It’s all going to be all right, though. I’m going to get her through this.” Nathan’s eyes were locked on her chart as though the answer to her cure might just materialize there.

“Don’t you think that you’re too emotionally involved with the family to be in charge of this case?” William suggested cautiously, knowing the entire Watson family was a touchy subject for Nathan.

“We have no current ties,” Nathan snapped. “Besides, who’s going to take better care of her than me? I’ve dedicated my life to being the best and I am. What good is any of that if I can’t use it to help Liz’s mom?” He realized only after the words had slipped out that he had mentioned Elizabeth. He avoided to talk about her. He didn’t want to give anyone, especially William, the impression that he still thought about her.

“Speaking of Liz, Baby Bird told me that she’s coming to town today.” William watched Nathan closely.

“Yes, I know. Diane mentioned it a few days ago.” The thought of coming face to face with Elizabeth at any moment had him on edge. Since he heard that she was coming home, he had spent many sleepless hours, imagining their encounter. He attempted to convince himself that it was a natural reaction to the fact that they hadn’t seen each other in eight years. He did his best to keep his emotions in check. This entire situation had forced him to face a wide array of feelings that he had worked for years to avoid.

“Kate and I have talked a lot lately. She’ll feel better once she has Liz by her side again.”

“I’m glad she has somebody to talk to.” Nathan sighed at the thought of the time when Kate had been like a kid sister to him. In fact, he still felt a great deal of affection for her. The problem, of course, was that she currently hated him. Since he had taken over their mother’s care, she hadn’t called him anything but Dr. Parker and she refused to speak to him about anything but her mother’s cancer treatment. It cut him deeply that the girl who shared her secrets with him and ran to him for advice as a teenager now stared at him like he was a monster.

“You know Kate cares about you. You were like a brother to her. Brothers and sisters fight,” William said with a shrug, trying to make his best friend feel better. Nathan was not a bad man. He had dedicated his life to healing the sick. The mistake he had made was thinking that he couldn’t have both love and his career. William knew that Nathan had caused himself as much pain as he had caused Elizabeth.

“I do love her like a kid sister. I didn’t realize just how much I missed her until I started taking care of her mom.” Nathan hated to admit the truth but he couldn’t hide it from someone who knew him as well as William. It had gutted him to leave Elizabeth and the fact that he had lost her family when he lost her had only added to the pain of it all.

Still, it was the right thing to do. Eight years ago, he needed to choose between Elizabeth and his career. Following her to who knows where was not the way to get ahead. His father was a very powerful and successful man and the night before the wedding he helped him see that there were no shortcuts to success. If he wanted to be the best in his field, he had to make sacrifices. If she had loved him, she would have understood. But she left. He hadn’t seen her since she ran away from him without a word, wearing her mother’s wedding dress. 

“And Liz? Do you miss Liz?” William asked, as if reading his mind.

“Anyone who had ever had her in their life would miss her.” Nathan looked out the window, wondering if her plane had landed yet. He thought of her often, every day if he was being honest. She was the purest soul and the most amazing woman that he had ever known. He had felt the loss of her every moment since their separation, although he rarely acknowledged the feeling. Instead, he focused on his work and that drive had served him well.

Once he saw her, though, he knew that it would be impossible to deny what she meant to him. He had done such a good job of pushing those feelings away that he had almost married Simone, a lawyer that he had dated for over two years. She was everything that he should want, career-driven and beautiful. Her ambition rivaled his own. But when he asked her to marry him and she accepted, he felt nothing but hollow. It made him long for the way he felt when Elizabeth had agreed to marry him, wrapping her arms around him in the parking lot of this very hospital. His heart had soared.

For a few months, Nathan had tried to make it work with Simone. After all, if he couldn’t be with Elizabeth there was no reason not to love Simone. They looked like the perfect couple but every time he had imagined a life with her, his heart had grown colder. That was why he had broken off the engagement six months ago. He knew that he should feel sad about it, but instead he felt relief. Perhaps it was because he knew that he had never really loved Simone and that she was more in love with his position at the hospital and the bright future he had ahead of him than with him.

“Liz is remarkable. She always has been. Do you think she’s seeing anybody?” William ignored the glare Nathan shot in his direction.

“I have no idea. You know we haven’t spoken,” Nathan said, eager for William to leave him in peace.

“There’s no way a woman like that is still on the market. I wonder if some dashing doctor swept her off her feet in the jungle,” William pressed, trying to get a rise out of Nathan.

“I would be happy for her,” Nathan snapped, aware of the tightening feeling in his chest as he told the lie.

“Well, you’re a true romantic these days. You broke up with Simone because you wanted to find love and you wanted her free to find the same. Now you say that you hope Liz has found her true love.” William smirked, not at all convinced by his friend’s words.

“I guess I’m a romantic after all. I need to go see my patient now.” Nathan stood up and charged out of the room, leaving William chuckling to himself.