"You're looking a bit more chipper than I expected. And yes, I would like one. Black." Wally smiled back and headed into the house. "How's Mia?"

"She's been sleeping for about an hour. She had a rough night, but we got through it." I poured him a cup of joe and handed it across the counter. He grabbed the cup and looked at me strangely.

"I've got to say, Mr. Tomlinson..." I quickly held up my hand and interrupted.

"Please... Call me Dale." I'd never done that before. It just seemed the right thing to do, and it made me feel good.

"Well Dale, I have a really good idea of what happened in the last 24 hours." He was examining my face as I took another sip of coffee. "I expected you to be a bit more frazzled. In fact I was surprised when I didn't get a phone call last night." I smiled. I didn't think I could explain it to him.

"I don't know how to explain it. We kind of got into a rhythm." I took another sip of coffee. For some reason, it tasted better than usual. "I think I actually helped make it

less horrible." I smiled at the thought. That is exactly what I did.

"You'd make a hell of a nurse." He nodded his head to me as he took another sip. I wondered if he thought the coffee was good. "Not many people are built to handle a detox." I smiled inwardly at the compliment. He chuckled a bit, "I think that Monica thought it was going to be a bit tougher on you." Now, that made me smile outwardly!

"Who knew? Yesterday, I would have agreed with her." No need to hide the fact that this was new to me also. I actually enjoyed surprising the doctor as much as myself. I hoped secretly that he would convey his thoughts to Monica as well. Wally pulled a pill bottle out of his pocket and laid it on the counter.

"Some time today or tomorrow, the violent symptoms will cease." His voice slipped into a clinical tone. "As soon as Mia can hold down food, she needs to start taking these vitamins." he was gesturing to the bottle. "They should help rebuild her a bit quicker. The detox tends to zap the body pretty hard." His expression became more serious, and he made sure he had my attention. "Dale, the next part is a bit harder." I didn't like the sound of that.

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"Detox will lower her tolerance for heroin. It is extremely important that she not begin using again." He again made sure he had my attention. "Mia could easily overdose if she went back to her old patterns." Fuck! That wasn't at all

a pleasant thought. I didn't even think someone would consider reuse after what I saw yesterday.

"You are going to have to find out why she started using and ended up driving that boat into the rocks." He was very serious, and I didn't like what he was implying.

"She was just stoned and lost control of the boat." I was trying to defend Mia. There is no way she meant to hit the rocks. His face became more sympathetic.

"Heroin doesn't remove all your inhibitions. It doesn't suddenly make you stupid. It removes the pain of life." He was having trouble explaining. "She meant to hit those rocks, and she didn't expect to survive it." Oh God! I didn't want to hear this. Somehow I envisioned the heroin was some kind of accident that got out of hand. It was a much better history than what he was proposing.

"We have to find out why she did it." I was looking down at my coffee cup. I wasn't sure I wanted him to continue. "She is not going to want to tell you." I remembered the pain when she told me to "get the fuck out!" I would take the puking any day over that. "If she doesn't face her demons, her future is not good. We have to heal both her body and her mind." I looked up from my cup, and I knew my eyes were watering and my hands were shaking. His expression quickly changed.

"Oh shit! I didn't realize," Wally continued in a softer tone. "I can bring in a professional to get her through this. This

can get pretty painful, and feelings get hurt during the process." He looked at me with a sorrowful expression. "Normally, you would feel a bond with your patient, but it's rarely healthy if you let it go too far." Suddenly I was pissed. That he would insinuate that my concern was some kind of normal bonding process that should be ignored. Mia wasn't just my patient. She was as much my nurse as I was hers.

"Mia and I are two sorry fucked-up individuals." I didn't care how it sounded. Wally looked shocked at my statement. "We will get through this together and we don't need any psychiatrist screwing things up." I was looking him straight in the face. In the past, I would have left the room instead of entering into a confrontation. Not now, not with Mia at stake.

"Dale, I don't think..." Wally was interrupted by a weak voice from the hallway.

"You heard him, Doc." It was Mia, dressed in my robe and pale as ever, leaning against the wall. She was looking at me. "I'm not going through this with anyone but Dale." Her smile was weak, but it felt like an ocean of waves. Wally looked between Mia and me a couple of times and sighed.

"Okay. If you two are still friends after this, I will eat my hat." He realized he couldn't stop it. "I would still like to drop in and monitor your physical recovery, Mia." I still couldn't believe she backed me up. In public. I answered for her.

"That would be great, Doc. I would hate for her to be sick any longer than necessary." I realized I was still staring at Mia's smile and quickly returned to looking at Wally. He was shaking his head, wearing a smile.

"Not what I expected at all." He chuckled and held his hand out to me. I shook it and winked at Mia. "I'll be back in two days to give you a physical, Mia." She gave him a weak wave. I showed him out the door. I gathered Mia in my arms.

"I was hoping you would sleep a bit longer." I whispered to her. She still looked weak.

"I got your back, baby." I know she tried to sound strong, but it just kind of trickled out. So adorable. I brought her back to bed. She surprised me by dropping the robe before climbing naked into the bed. I felt guilty admiring her curves as I pulled the covers over her naked form. "I am so tired... Just can't seem to stay asleep." She yawned as she said it.

"Be right back." I said and for some reason I kissed her forehead. It was cold and clammy but very soft.