"You said your name was Alexandria when I asked you back then.", Oliver said, breaking the silence between them.
If she didn't give him a wrong name he would have tracked her down. When he checked the guest list there was no person with that name and he lost the chance to track her as there was no other means to track her down.
"It's the name my maternal grandmother used to call me. Not many know that and no one calls me that anymore. And, it is still my name.
Well, my middle name.", Kyra told him.
She used to like that name but after her grandmother died, she prefered not to use that name anymore. It makes her remember her grandmother.
"You said your name was Thomas!", Kyra said after a while, looking at him.
"This looks like a coincidence.", Oliver chuckled.
"My parents used to call me that and it's my middle name too. Not many people know that and no one uses that name anymore.", he added.
Kyra looked at him, a little suspicious.
Oliver laughed at her expression. "Hey! I am not lying. You can verify it with the president if you want!" he said and they both laughed.
When Oliver told she was able to make him feel comfortable, he was not lying. He never had such a refreshing and casual conversation with anyone for years. He subconsciously let himself open up for her.
"You are not like what people have described you. In the hospital they call you aloof and cold. They say that you are hard on the residents, fellows and interns"
"They say you barely smile and never strike a casual conversation with others. They say that you only maintain professional relationships and never bother to talk about anything personal", Kyra said.
"It is who I am, Kyra.", Oliver answered.
Kyra was stunned for a moment as it was just now she realized he had been calling her Kyra today. Not Dr. Lopez or Ms. Miller.
"But you are different towards me." she muttered.
He smiled with her very often and they had plenty of casual conversations. They also talked about things that are personal.
He is not cold and aloof towards her but quite the contrary. He is warm, protective and caring towards her. He never went hard on her and everytime she asked him a question or a doubt, he answered her with patience.
She could never forget how he took care of her today. His warmth, consideration and patience towards her were off the charts.
"Yes. I am different towards you. Honestly, I don't know the reason. When we had our *cough* first meeting at hospital, I decided to treat you like others but I couldn't", he answered her, his ears turned red when he recalled how awkward it was for him when they first met in hospital.
Kyra chuckled a bit when she saw his red ears but controlled it.
After that, they didn't speak for a few minutes. They just sat there, looking at the beautiful sky enjoying their time together.
Their shoulders brushed against each other's and the back of their hands were touching but neither of them made attempts to retrieve unlike before.
"It's almost time. If I don't get you home your brother's will kill me." Oliver said, glancing at the time after a few minutes. He had a pleasing smile on his face and he felt refreshed after their conversation.
Kyra glanced at her watch and nodded her head. "Let's go then. I don't want my brother to kill my boss either" she chuckled.
Oliver let out a small laugh and then, they walked out of the park.
Though both of them felt a temptation to hold hands as their hands are now brushing with each other and are creating some kind of spark, they didn't cave in. Neither of them wanted to freak each other out…
----------------------------------
"I have anxiety problems. But I promise that I won't let it affect my work in the hospital." Kyra said all of a sudden as they drove to her house.
"How bad is your anxiety on a scale of ten.", Oliver asked, his doctor instincts kicked in.
"Uhmm...it's hard to scale down. When… when my truma hits, it could be around seven to eight. Otherwise, I got it totally controlled." Kyra said. As she is a fellow under his monitoring, she must come clean or it might someday endanger the patient's life.
Till today, she thought she could control her trauma even if she encountered the monsters of her past. But it seems to be just wishful thinking.
She has to work hard to put these in check but she knows it might take some time. But it's a safe sail as her trauma triggers only when she comes across those people. But, her biological mother and her family won't appear at surgery right?
Well, only if they are patients they might come to a surgery but if Oliver could stop her from going into OR she will be fine.
"I am telling you this so one day if I show the similar reactions, stop me from going to OR okay. I know anxiety makes us a bad surgeon but I have been controlling them for years. I can do it again but I need time. My anxiety shows up only in specific situations and those situations don't appear during surgeries, " Kyra honestly said.
"I realize that we are talking about work now." Oliver said, looking at her.
"Not entirely. I am asking you for a favor outside of work." Kyra answered with a smile.
Oliver looked at her for a few seconds and nodded his head. He somehow believed her. Deep down, he always trusted her and it is no different this time.
All he could wish is that she will keep these trauma episodes in check. It totally freaked him out when he saw her like that and it made him extremely sad and shattered.
"Leave these to me, Kyra. I got scared looking at you like that so, please work on getting well.", Oliver said.
"I am sorry. I didn't mean to" Kyra apologized.
"I will try my best to not let this happen again." she added. Now, she is determined to end this chapter of her pathetic, horrible past forever. And for that, fighting trauma is not the cure but getting her revenge is.
"It's fine, Kyra. Just work with controlling those episodes. See you." Oliver said as they alighted the car.
"See you the day after tomorrow. And, thanks again for today.", Kyra said as they stood in front of each other, just a few inches apart.
"Don't thank me. And, I think this is fate we met again." Oliver told her.