"Dr. Jones?"
I turned and then smiled. "Hey, Jean, are you and everyone else okay?"
"Oh, yeah, we're fine. I'm more worried about you."
"Oh, I'm fine, Jean." I stood. I was so ready to get out of there. "The emergency room is closed until further notice. You can go on home for the rest of the evening."
"Yes, sir," Jean replied. "Can I offer you a ride home, sir?"
"Oh, no, I—"
"Dr. Jones already has a ride home."
I swear my mouth did not drop open when I turned to look at David. If anyone tried to say it did, I'd deny it until my dying day.
"Oh, I can do it," Jean said quickly. "Really, it's no problem. His place is on my way home anyway."
Now, that surprised me. I turned to look at Jean, wondering how in the hell he even knew where my house was. I know for a fact he'd never been there. I didn't mix socially with those I worked with, not even the doctors on staff. It tended to create problems.
David's arms bulged when he crossed them over his muscular chest. "I'll be giving Dr. Jones a ride home."
"You two know I can just grab the subway from here, right?"
I was a fully grown adult after all.
Besides, the subway was right down on the street and took me within two blocks of my place. It was one of the reasons I took it instead of driving a car to work every day. It was way cheaper.
"You shouldn't be riding the subway after what you've been through tonight," David said. "At some point, your adrenaline is going to crash. No telling what would happen if it did it while you were riding the subway."
I knew that part. It was one of the reasons I wanted to go home so badly. "Look, I can just—"
"It's not up for debate," David said firmly.
I blinked at the guy.
Was he serious?
"Why don't you go get your stuff so we can go?"
I didn't realize I had gotten up and started moving until I was already walking down the hallway. Maybe I was already starting to crash. It could be the only explanation for following David's orders without question.
I didn't usually do that.
In fact, I tended to disdain authority figures. I simply wasn't a fan of people telling me what to do. I'd had enough of that growing up and then in medical school. My residency had been a nightmare of biting my lip and not telling my residential supervisor to go screw himself.
I suspected this was a downfall of all medical doctors. While I didn't subscribe to the idea that I was god, with control over life and death, I wasn't immune to having a bit of an ego and liking things done my way.
It was kind of at odds with people telling me what to do.
I was still pondering how easily I'd given into David's command when I reached the doctor's changing room. Since I was getting a ride home, I wasn't too worried about changing out of my scrubs. They needed to be taken home and washed anyway.
I just grabbed my small duffel bag with my change of clothes, my jacket, wallet, and keys, and then started back.
"Dr. Jones," Jean said as he walked down the corridor toward me. He smiled as he held up his keys. "I guess I'm driving you home after all."
"But, I thought—"
"Office Wu got detained so I said I'd give you a lift."
