Like a growing addiction that I can't deny...

RP Log with undercoverdoc | We Meet Again

2010-02-02T08:12:14Z

[Follows THIS]

It had been one hell of a week at Princeton Plainsboro. Left and right people were coming crashing down with the horrible flu bug that was going around. Alex had actually been the one to blatantly tell the new Peds resident, Dr Mitchell, to go home because he looked like crap. And the poor kid did. He looked like he had been dragged along behind a double decker bus for a few days, only just living to tell the tale. Alex wasn't at all surprised when the guy called in the day after and said he needed to take the next few days off because it had turned from just plain flu to the stomach flu. It was also what had Patrick Preston hooked up to an IV in one of the medical wards. Alex was just fucking glad that he had managed to dodge the bullet so far. He had always had a pretty good immune system, probably built up from years working two jobs.

Right now, though, he was putting in some extra hours at the hospital to try and pick up the pace on the kids' ward. All wards were short-staffed, and all wards were fill to the brim with patients coming down all over the place with it when they were already in for other things. He now found himself on the surgical ward, waiting at the Nurses' Station for someone in authority to come speak to him. Some young receptionist had gone off to apparently find someone to help him, but she was taking her fucking time about it. They had a kid who was in surgery at that present time, along with the kid's mother. A car accident meant they both needed emergency surgery and would both be admitted in the wake of it. Alex wanted to try and get the Surgical ward to agree to take the kid into the same room as the mother, if he would continue to consult as the kid's doctor. It wouldn't be the first time, but bed management was mental at the moment. It might be a small miracle if it could be pulled off, but at the same time, the kid had no father and it would be some comfort to be close by to her mother. He was writing down a few brief notes in the file while he waited following a phone call from nursing staff to update on the kid's progress. She would be okay, but it was a pretty nasty accident, leaving her with a collapsed lung and two broken legs. It was never easy seeing a kid so banged up like that.

George came out of a patient's room and looked down at her soiled scrubs as she scrunched up her nose and tried to wipe off the remnants of vomit with a cloth. There were definitely times when she was reminded forcefully that this was not a glamourous job, and Pat's pink shoes were still no easier to fill when her staff were dropping like flies. Matt had only just come back to work, and George hadn't really had time to feel awkward about it, when there was too much to worry about just trying to keep the ward running.

She had come to one realisation though: she'd fucked up because she hadn't wanted something secret. If she was going to be with someone, she would be with them. She didn't want to be a dirty secret, or hidden under the covers because it was taboo. Yes, she was technically his boss, so yes, it could have been a much bigger fuck up than it was. And there in lied the rub. The sex had been great, but there was no enjoying it.

She huffed out a breath as she slumped against the station, barely registering the fact it wasn't a doctor she knew standing there. "Fuck me, I wish just for once I could go through a day without needing to change my clothes about ten times. It's gotten to the point I even have to carry spare bras."

Alex actually took a small step back as he glanced around to see if anyone was in hearing distance, like patients or visitors. He wasn't sure swearing like a trooper was actually the image of nurses the hospital wanted to convey, and he also didn't want to technically come into contact with the vomit if she hadn't scrubbed up after it. "That's what they pay you for," he returned, still looking around and waiting for someone to actually come and help him. He didn't have all bloody day to wait for the nurses to get their fingers out. Where the hell had the receptionist gone? Alaska?

"I'm sorry did I offend you? Sometimes it just slips out. I do keep it away from patients, though. And it might be what they pay me for, but I don't have to enjoy every aspect. I can think of better bodily fluids to be covered in." George arched her eyebrow, looking at the doctor finally. She took in the colourful scrubs and smirked. He really wasn't that bad looking, and the Toy Story thing really shouldn't have been sexy. "Peds, huh? You lost?"

Alex smirked at her and closed the patient file over. "No, you didn't offend me, love. Takes a lot more than that to offend me." He tucked his pen away in the pocket of his scrubs, but remained a safe distance away from her. "Oh yes, I'm lost. I make a habit of getting lost in the hospital on a weekly basis because my navigational skills are up the shit. Much like the person running this ward, apparently. They seem to have gone AWOL along with the deaf receptionist."

"Oh, so now it's 'love', now? Didn't realise we were so intimately acquainted, Doctor." George smirked back at him, her eyes sparkling with challenge. She couldn't help it, she always did like teasing someone. She figured it came from having a younger brother. "And which person would that be? You can't possibly be blaming the nurse in charge, can you? He's knocked out with the flu going around. Which means you're talking about his second-in-charge, right? I hear she's a real ball buster. You should be careful about badmouthing her."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "I hate to break it to you, but I even call my kid patients 'love', but if you've got tickets on yourself, fair enough. We can't all be perfect," he threw back, watching her in amusement. He tilted his head a little. "No, no. See, if Nurse Preston was here, I wouldn't have been kept waiting for close to ten minutes to liaise about a patient. I'll badmouth anyone who doesn't do their job efficiently. And if this is ball buster right here, you need to do something about your receptionist, because next time she might get House, who'll tear her a new one."

George stopped wiping her shirt down to really look at the doctor this time, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Oh, you're questioning my effectiveness when you just pointed out not two minutes ago that I'm the one who gets paid to deal with vomit? I'm sorry my patients can't follow your schedule and hold in their bodily fluids so I can just drop everything and meet with you. Apparently they're unfamiliar with you being the most important man in this hospital, Doctor." She spat out his title like she had wanted to curse instead, but knew she'd never get away with it. "If you haven't noticed, we're all a little understaffed. I can't be here to answer a doctor's every whim when it's the patients that come first. Speaking of, which patient are you here to see me about? Wouldn't want to keep you waiting any longer. I'm sure you have very important doctoring to get back to."

Alex remained stoic through her whole outburst, and then glanced at a nearby elderly couple who would have heard the whole thing. "I'm surprised you stick in the 2IC position with a temper like that." He held up the patient file. "I'm going to take this to Cuddy. I'm sure she'll be a lot more sympathetic about a six year old girl currently undergoing massive surgery while her mother's life hangs in the balance in the OR next door, making it vital for me to actually be in the OR in case the kid takes a turn. But, no no..." He held up his other hand. "You go deal with your vomit, because I'm sure no other nurse in the whole ward can possibly handle that like you can."

George held her hand up as she looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. Normally I can deal with the stress, but I've just been run ragged lately. I've done God knows how many double shifts, and I'm just getting frayed around the edges. Of course I have sympathy for the girl. I also did have to finish dealing with my patient. There is another nurse in there now. I had to wait for her to get back off break. At least if my staff aren't as worn out as I am, stuff will get done." She was about to raise her hand to push her fingers through her hair, but thought better of it. "Just give me two minutes to at least get into clean scrubs. Please."

"We've all been run ragged. That's no excuse to let your professionalism fly out the window. It's lucky mine wasn't an emergency." Alex pointed to the vacant reception seat. "She's still not back. My patient could have been dead by now. Luckily, she isn't and is being moved to Recovery. Go, get changed. I'll wait here," he said with a small sigh. "Is it just Peds you have an issue with?" he couldn't help but adding.

George glanced at the empty receptionist seat, and let out a sigh of her own. "She's new, and I've been having a lot of issues with her. She really is on my list of things to do. I need to fire her as soon as I can line up a replacement. I'm not running without an ass in that seat. I do apologise profusely, Doctor." She gave a small shake of her head. "No, just doctors that assume I'm not doing a good job. Yes, we're all run ragged, but there is still only one of us. We can only do so much. I'll be right back, I promise."

George disappeared straight into the staff lounge where the locker rooms were, and was already pulling off her scrubs shirt as soon as she was in the safety of the women's side. She took no more than two minutes as promised, the act of putting on fresh scrubs nothing new. She just wished it was that easy to shake her sudden attitude. She rolled her shoulders and tried to pull herself together as she headed back towards the Peds doctor she now wished she could just start over with. Especially when she realised he wasn't at all uneasy on the eyes. She held out her hands that she'd also given a wash, and gave him a smile. "Hi, I'm Nurse Georgina Morrison. I apologise about the unprofessional woman you encountered earlier, and I will do anything in my power to get you what you want."

Before Alex could stop it, he started to laugh in realisation and glanced at her with a nod. "Well, well, at least I know not everyone hides behind a false personality on the internet now," he commented, finding the whole thing highly amusing. "This is very refreshing indeed." And he was also highly aware how much she had spilled her guts to him online, while he had managed to get away with revealing little more than his name and the fact he was a Pediatrician. He took her hand, smirking. "Dr Alex Carter."

"I'm sorry, do I--Oh..." George's eyes went wide as it all clicked into place when she heard his name. She was about to curse again, but was aware of the elderly couple still sitting there, and the fact that he probably really did think she was an idiot. "I wish I could say it was a fake personality, but sadly it's all me. Nice to meet you finally, Dr Carter. I believe I still owe you coffee."

"I won't hold you to that, on account of the fact I'm scared you'll dump it in my lap if they get the order wrong," Alex joked, not doing a very good job of stifling the smirk. This was definitely interesting and he was intrigued to know if she would remember what they spoke about. He didn't think she was an idiot, just maybe had a minor screw loose. "Stress isn't your friend," he had to add teasingly.

George tried remain straight-faced but failed. She had to laugh, and let go of his hand as she realised she was still holding it. "I promise I won't. I'll behave myself from now on. And if you remember, I've lost my personal stress-reliever. I can't actually think of anything to help me out other than maybe getting a punching bag. I still can't believe it's you. This hospital is just... it's like its own city."

Alex wet his lips and nodded his head in the direction of the ward. "Have you lost him, or is he actually around here somewhere? I'm sure the last thing you want is a sexual harrassment suit on your hands, though. Shame that," he commented and handed her the patient file. "I need my patient in a double room with her mother, rather than admitting her to the Peds ward. I'll still be her doctor, but she doesn't have a father and grandparents are en route from England. She should be with her mother. A city? It's a lot smaller than that when the walls have eyes and ears."

"Are you implying that you wish to sexually harass me, or that you wish I would sexually harass you?" George asked as she tilted her head. "And yes, he's here. Somewhere. He's doing a very good job at staying out of my way." She took the file and started to read over it as she nodded. "I'm sure it can be arranged. I do actually care about the patients regardless of my behaviour earlier. The kids always make my heart hurt, though. Alright then, a small town. America doesn't exactly do villages."

"Take it how you like," Alex returned, his eyes shining cheekily. "Can't say I blame the guy with your temper. He's obviously a very smart cookie. She's in a bad way, and I need to know she'll be in good hands. We'll need to get some peds equipment down here for her, and I can maybe pull some strings to get a ped nurse rostered on around the clock for a few days. Would help out your staffing issues, and she'd have someone there if something went wrong. You've been the brunt of the grapevine then, I assume."

George ran her tongue over her lips as she let out a soft laugh. "Careful there, Dr Carter. You might find me in your lap rather than coffee. And no, I don't suppose you can. I honestly didn't mean to come across as such a... bitch," she said as she dropped her tone a little lower. "And he is smart, but now he'll be someone else's smart. Not mine. She'll be in good hands. I can assure you of that. I'll make sure she's well looked after, although if you can get a Peds nurse up here I'd appreciate it. The brunt, and then some. It's never been particularly kind to me, and certainly not right now. But I guess I deserved it."

"Are you offering?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Have you even spoken to him since the whole blow up? It might help to clear the air, you know. You do still need to work together? You don't want to be avoiding each other. I'll speak to Cuddy about the nurse. It was a big accident, had the ER on their toes when it came in. You know, I'm actually not all that surprised. You don't seem to do yourself any grapevine favours."

"Would you accept?" George asked in turn. "Not exactly. Not anything that wasn't work related any any rate. And yes, thank you, Dr Not a Shrink, I do know it would help clear the air. I'm more than aware of it. Thank you. I'm surprised we haven't seen more patients on this floor, then. ER are actually pretty good at their job." George snorted. "Well, thanks very much."

Alex's pager beeped where it was clipped onto the pocket of his scrubs pants. He unclipped it, throwing her another smirk. "You won't know until you ask. Just saying, you let things go too long, and the harder it'll be to clear up the shit. The kid and her mother were the only casualties. Everyone in the other car escaped uninjured. One of those fucked up things. Anytime. You know, without the sordid grapevine rumours and the bitchy temper, you might not have as much trouble getting laid."

George stared at him for a moment, not sure if she was insulted or turned out. Right then it could have gone either way. "Well, keeping in mind the sordid grapevine rumours, and bitchy temper, how would you feel about hooking up with me?" She looked down at the file again, and shook her head. "I hate those kinds of fucked up things. It's like there's no justice. Do you need to go?"

"What's your definition of 'hooking up'?" Alex asked her and gestured with his hand across the wall. "I don't fuck at work. No, especially when the accident was the other crew's fault running a red light for a laugh. Hopefully the justice system manages to do some of it's job. No, not yet. Another one of my doctors just bit the dust. As if losing my new guy wasn't enough," he said, rubbing his head.

"Neither do I. And I guess I mean a tumble for stress relief, and see what happens. I'm not committing myself to anything yet. Not after last time." George frowned, and bit the inside of her cheek to stop her anger rising. "Hopefully, but we'll see, I guess. I'm so sorry. I know what it's like to lose staff. Hopefully you'll get them back soon."

Alex hooked the pager back onto his pocket. At this rate, they were going to need to call in doctors from other hospitals to step in. "Are you sure you want to fuck another colleague? Committing or not, which I would rather not right off the bat, anyway. We might both be shit lays," he joked. "Bugs like this hit kids harder than adults. We're turning kids away in the clinic and ER because we don't have enough beds. I'm glad it's technically not my job to figure out which kid is sicker than the other. We just take what the ER pass on to us."

George shrugged. "Well, I'm not your boss, so it's a step in the right direction. And we may well be shit lays, but we won't know until we try." She sighed. "I can't believe it. I can't even remember the last time the hospital got hit with something like this. Especially something that takes the staff down as quickly as the patients. And you do have a point. We take on the referrals as well. Thankfully no one here really has to decide about turning patients away, plus it's usually pretty serious by the time it reaches us."

"How much of a rebound am I?" Alex didn't mean to technically interrogate her. Okay, so maybe he did, but it was in his blood. He wasn't sure he could be bothered dealing with being someone's rebound, and the fact she worked here, along with her ex, could get messy if he was. He liked sex as much as the next guy, but messy sex, in the emotional sex, was a bit of a turn off. He'd been there, done that, still got the odd random bitchy email from chicks wanting his balls on a platter. He threw her another smirk. "Pretty serious by the time it reaches us, too. That's why we're a hospital."

George fell quiet as she actually gave his question some thought. How much of a rebound was he? She had been hurt when Matt initially ended things with her, and she'd been angry at herself when she'd realised she had betrayed his confidence, but she was getting past it. She didn't spend as much time thinking about Matt in that way, and she'd even gotten over her initial panic about throwing out everything in her place that he'd touched. "Hardly any. It's impossible not to move on without there being a tiny amount of rebound, but I'm not asking to try and force myself over him. I'm past it. I've done a lot of naval contemplating since our online chat." George pointed her finger at him. "Point taken."

Alex's pager went again and he scrunched his nose up in annoyance. He checked the screen with a small nod. "Okay, this time I do have to go. But I'll make you a deal. We'll go out and get a drink together, see what happens, if you talk to your ex and clear the air," he bargained and tucked the patient file under his arm.

George's eyebrows went up. "You drive a hard bargain, don't you? Alright, then. Deal." She held her hand out. "Pleasure doing business with you, Dr Carter. Now go save lives."

Alex took her hand, shaking it and then pulled her closer to him so he could whisper into her ear. "No fantasising about tearing my scrubs off now," he said lowly and then smirked as he stepped away from her, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he disappeared around the corner.

George fell back against the nurses station and huffed out a breath. How was she supposed to not think about tearing his scrubs off after feeling his hot breath on her ear, and now watching him walk away, her gaze firmly on his ass. Now she just had to try and get her focus back onto her work otherwise her professionalism really was going to fly out the window.

musebysentence | 50.6 Jilted

2010-02-01T00:34:50Z

If nothing else, it helped her realise that she wanted someone she didn't have to keep a secret.

musebysentence | 46.3 Forget

2010-01-17T08:23:08Z

How am I supposed to forget anything without throwing out all my sheets, pillow cases, kitchen table, clothes, underwear, or shower?

surgicalrisk @ 2009-12-27T10:31:00

2009-12-27T00:01:37Z

It wasn't technically asking him over for Christmas since it was the day after the day after, but George just needed to wake up to him just once during the break with his arms wrapped tightly around her as they kept each other warm.

RP log with need2bebusy | Surprises

2009-11-25T10:21:44Z

[Follows THIS]

It was late afternoon, and Chris had curled himself into a strange position on the bed during his sleep, the pillow barely retaining gravity to stay on the mattress from where the corner of it was tucked under his cheek. He was hovering somewhere in the realm of not quite asleep but not quite awake either, and when he abruptly sneezed loudly, the pillow fell to the floor and he woke up suddenly, shooting into a sitting position in the bed. There were a few groggy moments before he even realised where he was, blinking blearily and scratching at an itch on the side of his chest as he yawned widely. He sniffled, rubbing at his nose and as he did so, his eyes finally landed on his sister who was standing beside her bed with her arms folded, giving him an expectant look.

Chris had the decency to at least look sheepish. He had broken into her house and invaded her bed, after all. Especially with her thinking he was on the West Coast, and all. Obviously he wasn't on the West Coast. He was here, in Princeton, with her, and had accidentally fallen asleep when that really hadn't been in his plan of surprise attack at all. He really would make a shit burglar. He might know how to pick locks or hot wire a car, just because he wanted to know how it all worked, but he had too much of a conscience to ever be able to pull of crime without getting caught. He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Hey Big Sis. Your pansies out the back need watering," he offered with a sheepish grin.

There had been a moment during the early hours of the morning where George had been pleased to find a body beside her. She'd curled up against it in her sleep thinking it was Matt, only to find out it was her brother. The shock to her system had been huge, but thankfully she hadn't tried to molest her younger sibling in any way. Matt hadn't been spending the night lately, so in amongst the shock of finding Chris in her bed was a disappointment at him not being Matt that she wasn't going to admit to. They weren't in a relationship. They were just having some fun. She shouldn't have felt disappointed.

She arched an eyebrow, trying to hide the amusement she suddenly felt at seeing him there all crumpled with sleep and looking like butter would melt in his mouth despite the deviant streak she knew Chris possessed. "Wonder why they need that, little brother. So you don't call, you don't write, then just show up here without a word? You deserve a wet willy for that." She knelt on the bed and started to move closer to him as she smirked. "And I have every intention of following through on the punishment," she said as she sucked her finger in preparation.

Chris shrieked and scooted back in the bed, shoving the covers off the end with his feet in his haste to escape her clutched. "I didn't just show up!" he protested, his voice rising in a panic, even if he was laughing. "I'll fart on you!" he warned as a preventative tactic. It didn't matter that they were now both technically adults. Or one adult and one teenager. This sort of thing would probably never stop between them. They were always driving their parents up the wall when they were kids, chasing each other around the house and getting into loud and boistrous mischief. He pushed up against the head of the bed as far as he could get, holding his hands out in surrender.

George stopped, but not because he'd threatened to fart on her. Her finger still hovered in the air but her eyes were narrowed as she looked at him. "What do you mean you didn't just show up? I think I wouldn't have noticed if you'd been living in my house and sleeping in my bed." She leaned forward, the finger moving towards his face. "I think you better spill your guts right now, Christopher."

"I've been here for three weeks!" Chris admitted in a rush, his breath coming out in small pants as he still tried to squirm out of her way. "Well, not here, in your bed. Here, in Princeton. Three weeks." He held up three fingers in front of her face with a smile that anyone would think was complete innocence on the outside. "Nice town, Princeton. Lots of trees and... doctors."

George was climbing on top of him now, pinning her brother in place as she glowered down at him. "THREE WEEKS?!" Despite being right on top of him, her voice still rose to almost shouting level as her anger sparked. George was a great nurse, but her one downfall would always be a quick temper. The moment someone truly pissed her off, they more than knew about it. "Three fucking weeks, and you didn't fucking say? Who gives a shit about trees and doctors when you don't even tell your own goddamn sister that you're in town! Three weeks ago you were supposed to be starting college. You better not have ditched college for some bimbo with double Ds!"

Chris winced and then cringed underneath her. It wasn't really supposed to go like this, and it definitely wasn't how he planned it. In fact, he floundered now he was actually faced with her and it all suddenly seemed like a stupid idea. But being a teenager, his mind travelled certain routes first and it took him a couple of moments for him to realise that double Ds were referring to boobs and he made a horrified noise of protest. "What?!" he cried, nudging at her leg with his foot to try and get some leverage. "Why would I do that?! Since when have you just assumed I was like every other guy?! You knew I hadn't... didn't..." He waved his hand for emphasis. It wasn't easy to verbalise that he had still been a virgin last time he spoke to her. He couldn't help being offended by her comment.

George sat back a little. He was right. He hadn't. "But you have? When were you going to tell me? You used to tell me everything! You couldn't even tell me you were here." George ran a hand over her face, trying to shake the anger that had taken root. Her little brother had tried to surprise her, and she was realising that she was very much sticking a giant pin in his bubble. "Shit, 'topher, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a raging bitch. I really am glad to see you, you know that, right? You're welcome to sneak in anytime... within reason. I just can't believe you've been here three weeks and you never said." She moved, this time pulling him into a hug. "I've missed you."

Chris hugged her back with a small huff. He couldn't help being a bit irked. Nothing he planned had actually worked out in the end. "I wanted to surprise you, so I thought waiting would make it even more awesome. I didn't expect you to get your bitch on with me. Is this something to do with the dude?" he couldn't help but ask. "And I was going to tell you! That's my point! I had it all planned out, only it didn't work out how it was supposed to! I'm here now. Princeton. I didn't get into the California University. I got in here, to Princeton University! I'm living on campus, and doing Engineering, not the other thing I told you, which I can't even remember what it was now. I need to start making notes in my evil genius plans."

George stayed tangled up with her brother as she was the one looking sheepish now. "I'm sorry, okay? You can fart on me for being a bitch. I won't even fight it. What dude?" Her eyes went wide briefly. She hadn't even told Christ yet about Matt. There hadn't really been much to tell. She was fucking her trainee nurse. It sounded bad considering she was his boss at the moment. Even if it did feel so right when they were in bed together. Well, when they did make it to the bed. "You got into Princeton? Oh my god, Chris! That's amazing, I'm so proud of you. I just wish you had told me! We could have been celebrating by now at that new bar near there." George started to laugh as she laid a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "Evil genius or not, I'm definitely proud of you."

Chris pretended to try and wriggle away from the sloppy kisses, but he really loved them. Any attention he got from his big sister, he loved. It probably explained why he used to inevitably get into trouble a lot when he was younger trying to get her attention at the most inopportune times. He lost count of the amount of times he ended up in the naughty corner for getting into mischief when he should have been doing something else... like being quiet and not tracking mud into the house. "It was my first choice! First acceptance letter, too! I got into Harvard, but I didn't want to go there. Who do I know anywhere near there? I wanted to come here. It's been hard not telling you! I wanted to! And I nearly let slip every time I spoke to you! Mom got all shitty with me because I was keeping secrets from you, but I wanted to surprise you!"

George wrinkled her nose a little at the mention of their mother. It wasn't like she didn't love their Mom. She did, she just loved their Dad more. The divorce had been hard on the kids, especially when their Mom hadn't really made any effort when their Dad had had his heart attack. George was a nurse because she had been the one to watch their Dad in hospital, and the staff that had taken care of him. She gave Chris another kiss before ruffling his hair. "I can't believe you had all this planned and I didn't know a thing! I know I should be sending you off to Harvard, but I'm just so happy you're here. I've missed you so much, kiddo. Mom knew?"

"Well, you were busy being the boss person, so it was a bit easier that way. And yeah, I told Mom. If you spoke to her, she would have told you I was at Princeton if she didn't know, wouldn't she?" Chris reasoned, flopping back against the pillows. "Dad knew, too, but he thought it was cool. He helped me last few times he spoke to you, remember? Telling you I was loving California and all that. He said he would do that. I've just been trying to get used to being on campus and find my way around the place. It's huge, and everyone seems so studenty. I feel like I'm crashing a private party, and there are some really snooty kids in this place. They need to get the bugs out of their butts."

George opened her mouth before she shut it again. "I do talk to Mom. I talk to her most days... Maybe not as much as Dad, but still. She just changed the subject when I tried to talk about you. Dad's the reason we're both sneaky as all hell. He's such a deviant himself. Heart attack never stopped him once. I can't believe everyone knew but me." George rolled away to flop next to her brother and turned her head to watch him quietly for a moment. "College is always weird to start off with. You'll find your groove, 'topher. Just need to find at least one friend to start with. Can't believe you haven't got anyone to chill with. What about girls? You must have them crawling over themselves for you."

Chris shrugged. "I don't mind it. I get along with most people. I just don't let on that I think they're stuck up snots, and smile charmingly. The girls are nice, too, but some of them need to invest in some clothes that actually fit and not give us views of their assets every time they bend over," he decided thoughtfully and then turned to look at her with a smirk. "So, who is he? That's Paco Rabanne I can smell. I know, because I bought it once. Men's fragrance. I think it's on your sheets, and I don't think Paco Rabanne has moved into laundry liquid."

"Fuck me, if I see one more girl's pussy that I'm not needing to tend to in a professional manner, I'm just going to start covering my eyes with duct tape." George had gotten so used to the smell of Matt on her bed she had barely noticed it. Until Chris pointed it out. She just laughed it off, but realised it was his turn to interrogate her now, and cleared her throat. "Um, he's... ah, it's someone I work with. We're not--there's nothing serious going on. Just fucking."

Chris pulled a face, his nose scrunching up. "Why? Why aren't you dating him?" he asked immediately. "The leather jacket and t-shirt out in the living room, too. Did you boot him out naked or something? Is he a nurse? A doctor? What's he like? Nice jacket, too. How long have you known him? What's his name?"

George held her hand up. "Take a breath, little brother. I'm not dating him because it's never come up. We're... well, I'm technically still his boss. Pat's been away for a while because he had a really bad MS attack. I stepped in the same time Matt came to us after graduating. Matt Murray. I've known him for a few months now. I didn't boot him out. He went. He nearly always goes after. He's never stayed." George managed not to let the disappointment show through, shrugging it off. "He's a nurse just in case the me being his boss part wasn't clear."

Chris' mouth dropped open and he gaped at her. "You're his boss?!" he cried. "Is that even allowed? Can't you get in trouble for that? Why don't you ask him to stay? Do you want him to stay? Do I get to meet him? Months? Why don't you want to date him?"

"I wasn't sleeping with him that whole time," George felt the need to clarify. "I did admire his ass the whole time, though. He has a fucking fantastic ass. I just want to lick it all the time. And I don't think I can get in trouble... I mean, shit happens. If we all got in trouble for dating colleagues then no one would work at a hospital. I think it's only a problem if it's affecting work. I'm not harassing him. I'm not forcing him to do things because I'm having sex with him. Dating him would be... I don't know. I just haven't thought about it. But I guess it would be nice if he stayed. Staying means dating, though." George blinked, her eyes going wide briefly. "Do you want to meet him?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? But it kinda sounds like he's just your booty call. Meeting the family probably isn't on the agenda. Shame, considering I'm going to be a permanent fixture around here. If I ever accidentally bump into a nurse called Matt, I might need to be a slight pain in the ass. Might have to check myself into the ER for research purposes," Chris said with a mischievous smirk. He was already planning on hinting to their Dad that George had a boyfriend.

George quirked an eyebrow before she nudged her brother with her elbow. "Don't think I don't know that look. How about you come meet me for lunch one day. Accidental meeting of the family doesn't count. You can meet him without meeting him if you get what I mean. And without finding reason to land yourself in the ER. I'll be even more of a bitch if you hurt yourself on purpose."

"It might be an accident," Chris said, not committing himself to any promises that he would be good. Whenever he did that, he always seemed to end up in trouble anyway. He had a tendency of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. "See, you are hiding him. Or hiding from yourself. You want your brother to accidentally meet your booty call? Stop for a moment and think about that."

George made a face before she started to pull away and get out of the bed. She wasn't stopping to think about anything if she could help it. "Just don't want you in the ER, that's all. Not if I can help it. Now, are you hungry? How about I make you breakfast. You actually managed to catch me on my day off, so take advantage while you can. Do you have classes?"

Chris snorted, put out. He sniffed as he climbed off the bed. "Yeah, I'm hungry, but I'm not telling you my secrets until you tell me yours, and I can be a huge pain in the ass like that," he reminded her as he stretched his arms up over his head and then brought them back down to rest on his head. "And I don't have class until Monday, so I'm going to haunt you until then."

George smiled at him like the idea of his haunting her brother haunting her wasn't a problem. "Doesn't bother me. I've been able to ghost bust you for years. I know all your tricks, remember. I taught you half of them. And I don't have secrets! He's a booty call. That's it."

"You're lying. I've known you for years too, remember," Chris said smugly as he walked past her to head for the door. If the guy was just a booy call, then Chris was going to be the Oprah.

George reached out to push him lightly before moving past him to try and take the lead again. "I'm not lying! He can't be more if he doesn't want to be more. It's a two-way thing. I'm not into crushes and obsessions and being around when I'm not wanted."

"I don't give a toss about what he thinks, I'm talking about what you're thinking. And you want him. You want him for more than a booty call, so you're ly-ing," Chris said in an infuriating sing-song voice as he once again came up behind her and slipped past her to get in front. Then he stopped, throwing her a look over his shoulder as she came up behind him and waited for the perfect point to fart right in front of her.

George gave a laugh of disbelief as she waved her hand in front of her face. "Jesus Christ, 'topher! For someone's who's hungry you have a lot of fuel in your stomach." She moved up next to him and pressed her ass against him as she let out a fart of his own.

Chris nudged her away. "Like you can talk! See, if you had your boyfriend, you would be farting like that on him and not me!" He patted his stomach. "I was saving that one up. There might be an encore," he warned.

George snorted as she hooked her arm around Chris and raised herself up to lick the side of his face. "I wouldn't fart on him! Just what kind of girlfriend do you think I would be?" George giggled as she pushed Chris away. "Go encore on someone else. I pity the girl that winds up with you and your stomach."

"Hey, girls loves me. I'm just not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do with them all yet. And doesn't dating someone give you free fart range, or is that marriage?" Chris asked when they finally go into the kitchen. "I'm serious. I don't know much about girls at all, just that some have really nice boobs and butts."

"I think you'll find that's marriage," George answered, but her head was tilted as she tried to work out in her mind if it was marriage or dating. George had moved to the fridge to fish out eggs and bacon, but she turned to look over her shoulder at her brother as she smiled. "And that's what I want, kiddo. You don't need to get tangled up with girls just yet. They'll make your life complicated."

Chris sat down at the table, dropping his head into his hands as he thought. "Hmm. That's what Dad said. Told me to never get married," he admitted, glancing up at her. "Is that why you don't want to get tangled up with the nurse?"

"Well, for starts he's a boys, and boys are different. But they do make life just as complicated when they feel like it. And marriage is... a long way off. It's not like I don't want it. I don't really not want it. Or not not want it?" She scrunched her face up as she elbowed the fridge shut, keeping a careful hold of the eggs. "I think it's just about knowing it's right. Mom and Dad weren't right. Not deep down. Dad also did say making us with Mom was the best thing he ever did. So he can't regret it that much."

"Do you have any married friends? How do they feel about it?" Chris asked curiously. It wasn't like he was old enough to have married friends. All the married people he knew were middle-aged or divorced and bitter. He nodded. "That's what he said. He said it was nice once but it changed, they grew apart. How can you know that won't happen when you decide to get married? Because it sucked when they got divorced. I hated it."

"I know, 'topher. Me too." George pressed her lips together at the memory. She and Chris had spent a lot of time in her room when their parents had been splitting up. She'd lost count of the amount of times she's had to crank the TV up to try and cover their fighting. There was also one time while Chris had been at a friend's house that she'd screamed at them for putting him through all their shit. They had managed to keep the fighting to a minimum after that. "Just Pat. He's married now to a publicist. Dude's super hot. Makes me wish I was a gay man to get in the middle of that action. Pat loves being married, but it took him a while to even start dating Aiden. He was worried because of his MS. Didn't want to lump Aiden with it when he figured the guy could do better."

Chris was chewing on his thumb nail as he listened. "That's your boss, right? I've heard you talk about him before. It would just make things different if you loved somebody, though. It makes it worth it, and then kids. Kids make things awesome. Look at us. Not that we saved Mom and Dad's marriage, but they still said we changed their lives. Do you want kids?" he asked.

George had forgotten how much Chris could be full of questions sometimes. She had pulled out a pan to start on breakfast, working on scrambling the eggs before she put the bacon on to fry. "Yes, my boss. The one who's pink shoes I had to step into recently. He and Aiden aren't looking to have kids, though. He doesn't want to risk it with his disease. Kids? I--Chris, I can't even manage to date someone. How am I going to have kids? But maybe one day. I don't know. It depends."

"I'd be an awesome uncle," Chris decided with a nod and plucked a couple of grapes from her fruit bowl, dropping them in his mouth. "But that sucks. He shouldn't not get to have kids because he's sick. If they love each other, kids could be fun. You could manage to date someone. You could date your nurse, but you gotta stop thinking he's just your booty call. There's got to be other people at your work who date each other and work together, right?"

"Riley and Evie got married. Oh shit, they're another married couple I know... Keep forgetting Riley's taken. He would have been a great booty call. He's got that quiet geek thing happening, but you just know he's a demon in the sack. He's actually expecting twins. They weren't in the same department, though. Riley's a doctor, and Evie's a nurse." George wet her lips. "I'm not sure he'd agree to dating me because I'm his boss. As for Aiden and Pat I think they need to work the kids out for themselves... I'd love to see Pat as a dad, though. He'd be great."

Chris sniggered. "You have a thing for geeks? So, he just sort of looks like it, but isn't? Shame he's married, when he's the marrying kind. You could have had a go at him. Twins? Fuck. Imagine getting two in one? You'd never sleep again, and all those dirty diapers." He pulled a face, working his way through more of the grapes. "It can't hurt to ask. And technically, if this Pat is your boss, how do you think he would feel if you dated the nurse? Would he care? Hey, you should rent your uterus out. They'd need a chick to have a kid."

"I have a thing for sexy geeks. There's a difference. Riley really would have been a great lay... And he's bisexual. Imagine the fun I could have had." George gave a slight sigh, but then she grinned. She really was happy for Riley and Evie. "Yeah, twins. It'd be insane, but they're always so close. Like built in BFFs. Pat's an identical twin. I don't know how he'd feel... Maybe I'd be overstepping a line he doesn't want crossed? I don't know, what if they don't want my uterus?"

"Is the nurse a sexy geek? Are you friends with the Riley person? Shame the other nurse got in before you, but hey, you have your nurse." Chris really had no intention of letting this one drop, and he had all plans of meeting the guy as soon as he could wing it. "I don't know any twins. It'd be cool, though. Can't they read each other's minds? You should talk to Pat, he's your friend too, right? Get his advice. Or Riley's advice. Means spilling the secret, though. It wouldn't hurt to offer, would it? Maybe they don't have any uteruses on offer?"

George thought about Matt, a smile tugging at her lips. "Um, well, kind of. He's got this curly hair that's so sexy. And he's a little quiet, but he's definitely used to sleeping around. Riley was never obvious about it. And yeah, I'm friends with Riley. It is a shame, but they're happy together. I think they're a hot couple. Just meant to be." The bacon and eggs was starting to really sizzle, and George quickly pulled out some bread to pop into the toaster. "I think they have a definite link. It's stronger when they're identical. They can know when each other is hurting, or sick. And yes, Pat is my friend, too. Secret spilling might be... necessary if I want advice. I don't know. I'm not sure I want to bring it up in case it's still a touchy subject."

"Got any pictures?" Chris asked, leaning forward eagerly on the table. "No sex photos, though. I don't want to be scarred for life." He held his hands up like scales. "Riley or Pat, I say you need to spill. Riley's done the work love thing, Pat's your boss and your friend, but sounds like a cool guy. Knows his love. Well, don't just throw it at them. They might have uteruses being flung at them from all angles. Chicks like gay guys, right? They'd want to help. But if it ever comes up, just offer your services. Would you do that? Would you have someone else's kid? I guess it would depend on who you were having it for."

"Yeah, it would depend on who I was having it for," George murmured. The toast was ready, and George threw everything onto a couple of plates and slid one in front of Chris while she went to fetch a couple photo frames from her lounge room. One had George with Riley at a work thing, and the other had her with Pat and Aiden. "Guess maybe I could talk to them both... It wouldn't hurt. I can't believe it. You're back for one night and already have my head all turned upside down. You're such a pain."

Chris started to dig into his breakfast as he looked back and forth between the photos. He pointed to the first one. "This isn't the nurse, is it? He's bloody hot! Not that I'm gay or anything, I'm not, but he is hot." He moved onto the next photo with a grin. "Now, this is your boss and his husband. I can tell. The pink scrubs. Jesus, how much would they give girls wet dreams? There are all these chicks in my classes, they like watching gay guys together. They look happy. You should talk to them. They'd know the nurse, right? Hey, it's my job as your brother to be a pain in the ass. It's law."

George smirked at the photo of her and Riley. "No, that's not the nurse. That's Riley. He's the doctor with the very pregnant wife. And he really is hot. And now my head's filled with images of him and Matt, and it's not making for an easy morning." George laughed. "Well, gay guys are hot together. The right gay guys... They are happy. Really happy. I'm glad Pat let himself fall in love, and I'm glad Aiden never gave him a choice. And I'm still not sure Matt's had much of a chance to meet Pat. Law? We'll see about that."

"So, you have no pictures of the nurse? Jeez. He's not some serial killer, is he? Drug addict? Crack dealer?" Chris conveniently didn't add he was still trying to plot his way into the ER. He thought plotting it into the surgical ward was maybe a bit extreme. "Oh yeah, he's been sick. Poor dude. He doesn't look sick. He's the twin, right? See, I'm following. Gotta know all this if you're going to be stuck with me for four years."

George took a bite of eggs as she watched Chris quietly. "I want to be stuck with you for longer than four years." She looked down at her plate before she moved again, this time rummaging through one of the drawers in her kitchen. Matt didn't stay over, so she assumed using a kitchen drawer was safer than hiding it anywhere else in the house. She pulled out a photograph without a frame, a polaroid that had been taken one night after they'd had a couple of drinks. She couldn't even remember whose idea it had been. She handed it to Chris. "Yes, Pat's the twin. His twin's a football player. Soccer... He injured his knee."

Chris took the photo and looked at it, tilting his head as he analysed the guy closely. They were both looking pretty happy together. And there was the leather jacket. He was actually probably as good looking as the curly-haired doctor, but Chris wouldn't have picked him as a nurse if he had to. He had a ruffled, casual look. Definitely George's type. "Why don't you just ask him out?" he asked her with a small shrug. "Girls can do that, can't they?"

"Girls can ask guys out? Yeah, sure. Of course they can. I just... I don't know if he wants to go out with me. Saying no might mean no sex, either. And what if it does get awkward after that?" George frowned. "I need to talk to Riley. Or Pat. Or both... Fuck it all to hell."

Chris shrugged as he picked up his toast, eyeing it hungrily. "How are you going to know if you don't ask? It's a risk you gotta take or you're just always going to be his bit on the side. You deserve better than that, Georgie. Or I might be forced to belt him in the face if he doesn't treat you right," he warned, taking a huge bite out of the bit of toast.

Words: 5451

musesandlyrics | 2.25 Shihad/Pacifier lyrics

2009-09-16T07:14:47Z

2.25. what have we become
could you comfort me, comfort me
the whole world's come undone
could you comfort me, comfort me
Comfort Me - Shihad/Pacifier

Despite it being a warm night, Matt felt a chill in his body and he hugged his jacket tightly around himself when he got off his bike and hooked his helmet over the handlebars. It had been a really bad day, and in hindsight, taking a second shift when someone had called in sick after his 5am start probably wasn't a good idea. It had just been a really, really bad day. It had only been about three hours into his shift when he started his observation rounds and discovered one of his patients deceased. She was only in her early thirties and it looked like a post-operative aneurysm took her life suddenly. Matt was only fresh in his nursing career and to this day, had been fortunate not to directly have a death on his ward during any shifts. She was his first, and it was more than a shock for him.

But he had no choice but to try and keep his professionalism; alerting the doctors and staying present while her death was declared and he completed the paperwork indicating he found her. It was then his job to bathe her and prepare for her to be moved to the Morgue and still he kept his professionalism, treating her like he would any other patient. It was only when she was moved and he changed the bed and cleared the room that he let his emotions slip, and it gave way by him being sick in the staff bathroom. But no one was aware how affected he had been. He went back to continue his shift, and then in a wave of delusion as to how much it hit him, accepted the second afternoon shift, which would take him right up to 9pm. Fourteen hours on the job.

George had tried to page him to her office to debrief once she would have been alerted to the patient death. She was ward's nursing manager, so she would have heard pretty soon after it happened. Matt had politely declined the offer, though, rejecting the notion he would need to talk about it. At that point, he didn't need to. He needed to throw up and pretend none of it happened, apparently. But now he had finished his shift, exhausted, the sick feeling still lingered in his stomach and he kept getting images in his head of the patient lying cold and unmoving in the hospital bed. He knew he needed help. He needed to at least not be alone for the moment. He probably should have gone home to his family, and probably still would. Still, he didn't go there immediately and instead found himself out the front of George's home. He hesitated before ringing her doorbell. He was still in his scrubs, his jacket just pulled over the top of it. He didn't even know what he was going to say, but he knew it couldn't hurt to attempt the debrief. He couldn't let this destroy his nursing career, and he was already teetering on the edge of uncertainty.

George had been worried about Matt the moment she'd heard. The fact that she wanted to have a debrief with him was part of the job, but she respected his need for denial. She had plans to beat it out of him tomorrow if she had to, though. Taking the second shift had been lunacy, but he was doing what most staff did. In fact, it's what she herself had done when she'd experienced her first death - he was working it off. Or trying to. She'd stared at her phone for a long time, tempted to call him and try and talk to him, but she was still getting to know Matt, even as his boss.

She didn't know his trigger points yet, and for all she knew, contacting him at home and trying to talk about it would push him too far over the edge. He had family, for all she knew he would break down with them, and he wouldn't really need her.

George had still been lost in thought when the doorbell sounded, moving slowly from the sofa as she went to open the door. Surprise at seeing Matt there showed, her eyes raking over him to see if he was okay. He was still in scrubs, and George reached out to pull him inside without saying anything yet. She shut the door behind them, her gaze now locked on his face as she watched him. "You okay? And please don't bullshit me."

Matt just shook his head slowly, not saying anything at first. He didn't take his jacket off because he was still shivering and tucked his arms around himself in response to it. He wet his lips and glanced around the room, but wasn't really absorbing what he was looking at. "I'm sorry to bother you at home," he murmured when he finally found his voice. "I know it's late."

George gave a shake of her head, and took him by the hand. She was going to sit him on the sofa, but at the last moment she bypassed that and led him to the bedroom. George pulled back the covers, and peeled Matt's jacket off. "Take your shoes off," she directed. She waited patiently, before she pushed him back onto the bed and climbed in beside him. George wrapped herself around Matt, trying to keep him warm as she also tugged the covers up and over them. "You don't have to be sorry. I'm glad you came. I was thinking about you all day. I know it's... it had to have been a hard day. I'm sorry, Matt. I'm so sorry."

Matt didn't relax at first. All his muscles felt tense and wound-up, and it was pooling in his neck and head, which were both aching. "I think I'm just tired," he mumbled. "Been a long day, all that. I don't know what I'm supposed to do to try and clear all this out of my head. It feels like it's pounding. I just didn't expect it. I didn't expect my first to be so... young."

George stayed wrapped around him, and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. "I know. It's never how we expect. I don't know if I was any better off having an old man. He was so sweet to me. Always made me laugh when I did his Obs. You're not supposed to do anything. People deal with it differently. Some get pissed, some need to cry. Others are sick.. Others just need comfort. You do whatever's best for you. Do you want me to get you something for the headache?"

"Do others contemplate chucking it all in?" Matt asked quietly, looking at books piled up near the wall across from the bed. "Because I think I fall into all of those you just listed and I don't even know how I managed to finish the shift now that it's over. I don't think I'm cut out for this side of it all. When the going gets tough, I clearly suck. Maybe I just need to let my head hurt until it stops churning all the thoughts over and over again. She was just cold. She had been like that for awhile."

George shifted under the covers, and started to tug up his scrubs top to get him out of it. "Yes. Even I thought about quitting. It's hard. No one's going to think any less of you for taking it hard. As bad as it sounds, it does get easier the more you deal with death. Not everyone's going to get saved." George slipped her arms back around him, her chin resting on his shoulder. "Adrenaline, probably. And denial. It's a powerful thing when you need to fight through something. You don't suck, it's just another part of the job you need to get some practice in. You think everyone just instantly takes it all in their stride? It's a fucking dead person. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to feel the loss." George rubbed her hand against his chest, trying to build up the heat. "There wouldn't have been anything you could have done."

Matt drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I just feel sick. But again, it's probably just a need to sleep. I just keep seeing the images in my head, though. Finding her, cleaning her up, packing her things up for her family. She's only just been recently married. She was in for some routine surgery. I just keep trying to figure out how any nurse gets beyond it, but they must some way. Everyone kept asking if I was alright, and I kept telling them I was when I don't really think I was. I still don't think I am."

"You don't have to be. You know that, right? You don't have to be okay. Not until you've processed this." George wanted so much just for Matt to be instantly okay, but it wasn't going to happen. "You do need sleep. You've just done an insane shift on top of losing your first patient. You're probably exhausted, but you're now also probably overtired. It might be a while until you can sleep." George wasn't going to ask him to stay, mostly because she'd already made up her mind that he was staying.

Matt had a sad frown that had become set in his features since the start of the day. He didn't even realise he was doing it by this point and he let his eyes fall closed tiredly as he listen to George talk. But she was right, despite his eyes being closed, the thoughts were still swirling in his mind, not feeling like they would ever switch off. "I might need a couple of days off," he conceded. "I'm supposed to be back at work at seven tomorrow morning. I can take leave, if it's okay. I understand if it's not. Short notice, and I'm not even sick or anything..." Though he probably would end up making himself sick if he didn't process this and lock it away in his box of career experiences.

George bit down on her lip, not agreeing to the time off straight away. She could understand it, she really could. She just wasn't sure it was the best thing for Matt. Most times it helped just to get back to work, and to realise it was just a part of the routine. It was a shit part of the routine, but it wasn't going to change any time soon. No amount of time off would make it any easier. "Take it, but just be aware it might not fix anything. I know this is hard, Matt. I know it sucks, and I'm here for anything you need, but it's not just going to go away."

"I know. I just... I might just go stay with my family for a couple of days. They keep me sane, probably because they're nuts themselves." Matt chewed on his lip. "Not seriously. They're just pretty much one of a kind in the family stakes. Today was just my ninth day straight without a break. I was heading into my tenth. Had that training thing last week that sucked my days off away from me. I'm... tired."

George pulled her mouth to the side. "You should have said so something. I can get distracted about who's doing what when I don't have it in front of me. You should take the time off, definitely. Go cool off, and take strength from your family."

"I didn't want to leave you high and dry. I know some of the wards have been short, and I had a couple of ER shifts in the middle of that. It's not your fault. I accepted them. It will give me a chance to catch up with my sisters and stuff. I'm not running away. I know it seems like I am. I just think I'll be able to get my head around it better if I'm not so exhausted. I'm usually pretty good with dealing with stuff like this. It just took me by surprise. And the whole body thing, I thought I was okay with it. Until it's actually there, you know?" Matt mumbled, feeling a little annoyed at himself for letting his self control slip.

"Yeah, I know," George said. She kissed his shoulder, her fingers brushing against his chest. "There are times where you just have to say enough is enough. You've reached your limit for now, and there's no shame in that. You're still new to the job, and you're still learning. I'm not a slave driver, and I'm not here to break you." She let out a sigh. Truth was, she just wanted to protect him. It should have been a warning sign.

Matt nodded against the pillow. "I think I reached my limit. For now. I'm okay. I know I look like shit, but I am okay. Just wondering why nursing seemed so shiney, more than anything. My sister is studying Psychology, and I'm glad for the fact she won't have to see deceased patients. I know it'll get better, and at the same time, she's not going to be the worst I see. To think I was actually contemplating becoming a resus nurse."

"It probably feels like you got every reason to question your choices, and the truth is--you do. You're allowed to have doubts, it's what makes you human." George moved her hand, threading her fingers between Matt's. "Believe it or not, you'll be a better nurse because of this. You see the patients as people, and not bodies. There's only so much objectivity we can have. We're hear to care for the patients. Even if it means they die."

Matt squeezed her hand back. "It's funny, you know. One of the reasons I did choose nursing was so I could make people comfortable, even if they weren't going to make it. I had grandioso ambition. I never even contemplated being a doctor, I just always wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to help people." He exhaled slowly, trying to let some of the tension fall from his muscles. "Thanks for this. I really appreciate it. More than you could know."

George smiled, kissing the back of his shoulder again. "There's nothing wrong with that particular ambition. In fact it's admirable. You just need to ease yourself into this part. It's hard, and it's confronting. You'll be okay, I have faith." She sat up a little to look at his face. "You're welcome. More than you could know."

Words: 2425

musesandlyrics | 2.6 Mignon McLaughlin quote

2009-09-13T02:26:22Z

2.6. "We welcome passion, for the mind is briefly let off duty."
Mignon McLaughlin

Co-written with scrubbedup | Follows THIS

George stood in the main part of Matt's apartment, eyes taking in her surroundings as she held onto the thickshakes, and donuts. He'd left her after letting her in, apparently forgetting something or other in the bathroom. George couldn't help but wonder if he was brushing his teeth, or something. She supposed when it was the first pseudo-booty call between colleagues there did need to be some ettiquette in place. After all, she'd had another shower before coming over in an attempt to wash off the smell of the hospital.

Finally she set the junk food down on the coffee table, and took it upon herself to get comfortable as she peeled off her cardigan, and dropped down onto the sofa. George wasn't wearing anything special, but she had gone for the neater side of casual. She'd even managed to find a skirt that wasn't crumpled in her wardrobe. George leaned forward to pick up one of the chocolate thickshakes, and took a large sip as she turned her head to glance at the photos Matt had dotted around. For a moment she did a double take as she thought she saw a mirror image, but it had to be his twin sisters. Especially given one was blonde, and the other brunette.

"You still alive?" she called out.

The teeth brushing and showering had actually been taken care of well before she arrived. It was just the fact he had drunk three cups of coffee from the pot to give him a boost of energy that had him needing to pee like a horse. He hadn't anticipated his bladder in the psuedo-booty call. Plus, there was still the fact she was his boss, and no matter how Matt tried to look at it, it still felt a little on the weird side. He had the odd random job when he was a teen and during college, but this was his first actual job and he assumed sleeping with your boss wasn't supposed to be on the agenda. In fact, things had been left up in the air after their chat that it still might not even happen. Matt actually had a worse job of it than her finding something decent to wear. When he had a string of nightshifts on his roster, he tended to get lax in his home stuff, and he had honed the good ol' 'floordrobe' down to perfection. Everything was wrinkled, dirty, or maybe half-way between. He had even contemplated for a moment remaining in his pyjamas, but that didn't seem like the ettiquette needed. In the end, he pull on some jeans that had been slung over one of his arm chairs and mostly escaped wrinkling and a white wifebeater that didn't matter if it was creased or not because it stretched out when you put it on. He tended to sleep in those anyway (or naked) so with the jeans, it actually wasn't too bad. Better than Finding Nemo pyjama pants.

He brushed his fingers through his curly hair to try and tame it a little before heading back out into the main apartment. It was only a small place, in a block of four other apartments that was once a large manor house before someone got creative and transformed it into four small apartments. One bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen with a laundry attached. It did him just fine and he still spent some nights at home with his family. "It was touch and go, but I managed to pluck my life back from the brink at the last minute," he joked.

George laughed as she raised her thickshake in a toast. "Good for you. It'd definitely be a shame to lose such a good nurse early on." Her gaze dragged down his body, and she managed to stifle the sigh of longing at seeing him in jeans, and a wifebeater. Damn him for being her underling, and so damn hot at the same time. She was sorely tempted to send an SOS message to Riley, begging him to try and talk her out of it, or something. She bit down on her straw, giving him another smile as she tried to contain herself.

"Even if that is the topic of debate right now?" Matt asked with a hint of skepticism in his voice. He took one of the seats beside her and put one of his bare feet up on the edge of the coffee table. The thing that niggled at him more than anything was the fact she was technically his acting boss while Nurse Preston was out of action. It was what Nurse Preston would think if he got wind of Matt bedding down with his stand-in not even a month into the job. Especially if every second patient hated him. He might not have a job by the time Halloween came.

George's eyebrows went up, and she set down the cup to focus on him. "You still think one patient hating you is really going to get you fired? Did you abuse the guy? Antagonise him? Do anything to actually set him off besides have a penis?" She knew he was her responsibility, and Pat probably would have a thing or two to say if he found out, but George couldn't see anything wrong with the situation when they were both consenting adults. Of course, if the afterwards part was incredibly awkward, then there might be problems. She still thought it was worth the risk.

Matt shrugged. "No, I didn't. I just answered his call for a bed pan and he got his back up about me wanting to look at his dick and feel him up. I just backed off and got someone else to answer the call, then I didn't think anything on it. I never expected him to put a formal complaint in about me, and I didn't stop to consider some patients might get complexes over male nurses, but I guess it makes sense. I just thought it would be females, for some reason," he admitted wryly, picking at a loose strand on his jeans.

"Yeah, but it's not a reflection on you. Don't you get it? It's nothing to do with how you performed, or something you missed. It's him with his own hang-ups, and clearly he doesn't have enough things to occupy him if he's making complaints. It's nothing personal even if it feels like it." George reached out to cover his hand with hers. "Trust me, Matt. You're a great nurse, so don't lose heart, okay? It was just a bad day."

Matt looked down at their hands and then his blue eyes shifted up to meet hers. "Have you ever had something like this happen? Some complaint or weird situation with a patient?" he asked her.

"Sure, plenty of times," George said with a slight sigh. "You can't be a nurse without having stuff happen. I mean, I had one patient convinced he was in love with me. It was really head trauma. Or he was a psycho... Then I had a complain against me because I apparently looked at some lady with 'shifty eyes', and she was sure I was poisoning her."

Matt looked at her uncertainly. "Isn't that stalker material?" he asked, wondering slightly now why the hell he picked nursing and not law. "Is that why you wanted to do the boss thing? More paperwork, less potential stalkers?"

George shrugged. "Sure, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as Lachlan's stalker thing. I mean, I didn't get shot. I just got longing looks, and he saved me his jello cup." She smirked a little, and shook her head. "No, it's because I didn't want Pat coming back to shit. If we got some sub in, I guarantee they would've turned it into a mess, and I figured I'd do a better job keeping his seat warm. Plus I wanted a chance to prove it to myself that I could do it."

"That's creepy in a I really love jello kind of way," Matt said with a smirk. "You wouldn't pick Lachlan to have been a victim of that. At least, I didn't. I felt like a right dick when he told me who he was, and I think he only told me because I probably looked like I was stalking his best mate, and then gave him the nose-scrunched look. You know the one where you recognise someone or something, but can't quite place it and you end up standing there with this stupid look on your face trying to figure out what the fuck it is until you realise you have an audience?" He pointed. "That was me. I'm not foreign to making a dick of myself. I just prefer not to."

"Oh, Nurse Murray, what are we going to do with you? You're just lucky he's Yodalan. He probably just took it in his stride, and tried to find out if you were really a dick, or just had a dick moment," George laughed. She gave his hand another squeeze before leaning forward to flick open the top of the donut box and getting one out. "You'll be fine. I know you will."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, he was kind of giving me the dick analysis look. Which I totally get. I was hovering in his unconscious best friend's hospital room doorway. I would give me the dick analysis look, too. I think the scrubs and ID helped me not get my ass kicked, luckily. He gave me the benefit of the doubt. The whole PPTH initiation has been daunting, really. I've lived here my whole life and was even brought to the ER as a kid, but working here feels like a whole different song book."

George tilted her head. "So you're intimidated? Isn't there anything that'll help you feel more settled, or feel like you deserve to be a part of PPTH?"

Matt held up his hands. "No, no. It's not that, I promise. I'm not intimidated, per se. I guess I just have the same cold feet as all new professionals have fresh out of college. I've always wanted to be a nurse and I worked hard to get into Yale and get good grades with my degree. I'm not a wimp. I don't heave at the sight of pee or vomit... anymore," he added with a laugh. "In the early days of my practical, I definitely did. But I had awesome mentors. I was just lucky to be able to tolerate blood. I just really want to do a good job, and I want my patients to think they're maybe just that tiny bit more comfortable because they have a nurse who cares, you know? I've been a patient, and I know what having ass nurses can be like. That's all it is really. I just want to do a good job, that I just happen to love."

George gave him a smile and moved closer to Matt. She let go of his hand, and cupped his cheek as she held his gaze. "I think you'll find you have that already with patients. You're not an ass nurse. No one ever called you a wimp, either. The patients love you. You have to remember for this one complaint, there have been so many compliments for you, and how you make patients comfortable."

"Compliments are so much easier to take at face value than insults," Matt murmured and then leaned in, breaching the gap between them to kiss her, his lips meeting hers with ease as his tongue sought out hers to deepen the kiss.

George pushed her fingers up into his hair, her tongue meeting his as she matched him in the kiss. A shudder rolled through her body, and all her attempts at keeping herself under control flew out the window. She at least managed to refrain from climbing into his lap and dry humping him. As it eased off, George caught his bottom lip between her teeth and tugged on it as she smiled and slowly opened her eyes again. "Mm... what were we talking about?"

Matt trailed the tip of his finger over her collarbone and a little lower to hook it in the top button of her shirt, which he proceeded to flick open slowly. "Compliments... being comfortable..." he murmured, holding her gaze. "Come on, Nurse Morrison. This is your booty call and you are my boss... are you going to call the shots?" he added with a mischievous smirk.

George's lips curved into a sinful smile, and she nudged him back as she hiked up her skirt to make it easier to straddle him. She tugged up the wifebeater, exposing the fit torso beneath. She'd had a feeling he worked out since she saw him that first day in scrubs. Now she knew for sure. She ran her hands greedily over his chest, and leaned in to kiss him again. She was definitely willing to call the shots. She just hoped he wouldn't come to regret anything they did later, not when she had a feeling she'd be wanting to do this again, and again.

Words: 2203 | All muses referred to with permission and come from the princeton2nyc verse

just_muse_me | 8.7.6 Lady Boss

2009-08-17T10:42:09Z

Co-written with scrubbedup

It was 2am and time for Matt's nightshift dinner break. He had started work at 9pm, so he really was starving. He remembered nights from when he was a student nurse, but not that he was fully qualified, it was a little more hard going. PPTH was the biggest hospital he had worked in, with the more extensive range of medical services offered. He loved both the ER and the Surgical Department, and had met some great people. He was still a little thrown that his Nursing boss was in hospital, in the ICU, no less. He did look really sick, too, and his family and friends were clearly worried. Matt had subsequently learnt that Patrick could even end up in a wheelchair once we woke up, and it wouldn't be the first time. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like for his husband, who apparently was some massively successful sports car driving executive from New York with his own company, but had begun nursing Patrick back to health after he got sick each time. That was huge. Matt wanted to be that in love one day, if he met the right chick, of course.

He came into the staff room, arms laden with everything from a couple of sandwiches from the vending machine, a packet of chips, a coffee, a can of Coke, a Mars Bar, a packet of peanuts, chocolate milk, and some cold pizza he brought from home. He was trying to stifle a yawn as he dumped it all on one of the tables, making sure none of it spilled over to the floor and became inedible. He always had a healthy appetite. His scrubs pants got caught on the edge of the table in the process and inevitably got tugged down over his hips, exposing his butt. He squeaked in surprise and quickly tugged them up, spinning around to make sure no one else was in the room.

Of course, that meant his acting boss was standing there, didn't it?

Georgina had been sucking down on her large juice, her bundle of supplies healthier than Matt's. She used to eat the way he did, nothing but junk at 2am in the morning, but slowly the sugar had stopped giving her a rush, and she'd wound up just more tired and lacking in energy. She still had a coffee in hand, the one addiction she was not giving up. George's eyebrows had gone up at the sight of his incredibly sexy ass, and she cursed Riley Browne for ever pointing out that she was Matt's superior and therefore bedding him was a no-no.

She released the straw slowly from her mouth, and ran her tongue over her lips as she continued to stare at where his exposed bottom had been. "Is that how you greet everyone, or am I special?" she asked, smirking.

Matt did have the decency to blush, but only slightly, and only because she was his boss and it really wasn't the image he was trying to project. Man, who's ass fell out the first time they worked with their boss, really? He had a firm grip on the elastic of his pants, lips pressed together as he rapidly tried to inwardly regain his composure. He cleared his throat and took a tentative step away from the table so it didn't tear his pants off completely. "I, um... sorry," he offered with an embarrassed laugh. "They just got caught, and I... they..." He gestured with his hand in lieu of more words that would probably make him look like an even bigger dick. Oh thank fuck his dick hadn't dropped out!

George continued to smirk, moving forward to place her things on the table to free up her hands. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail that had seen better days, or at least better hours, and she pushed some of the loose locks back from her face as she turned around. Without thinking too much about it, Georgina pulled her own scrub pants down to show him her butt, and winked at him from over her shoulder. Her olive skin was smooth and flawless, after a moment, her ass once again covered as she pulled her scrubs back into place. "There, now you don't have to feel so awkward. While I would say you haven't got anything I haven't seen before, I don't think that would exactly make you feel anymore at ease, would it? It's fucking embarrassing having something like that happen, and I'm probably never going to let you forget. However, now we've seen each other's asses, we can just try and move on."

"Or I start to feel doubly awkward that my boss just showed me her butt," Matt pointed out with a laugh having tried to avert his eyes from the sight but come on... he was a twenty four year old bloke and really liked the female butt. Especially one looking like that. Oh hell, no way could he be perving on his boss! He flopped down heavily into the nearest chair and fumbled with his chicken and mayo sandwich. "If it's any consolation, you have a very, uh... bossly butt." He snapped his mouth shut after that. It was officially the most stupid thing to ever come out of his mouth. Ever.

George started to laugh as she sat across from him. "I like to think of myself as a harsh but fair mistress, so a bossly butt makes sense. You have a very sexy subordinate ass," she returned with a smile. "I'm sorry if I did just make you feel more awkard. I was just trying to help."

Matt held his sandwich in both hands. "You didn't really," he assured her with a smirk. "I'm just not going to verbally admit to your face I was perving on you. That can be an elusive mystery of all time." He took a large bite of his sandwich, watching her across the table as he chewed, still smirking a little.

"Alright, well, I was definitely openly perving on you," George admitted, returning his smirk as she took another large sip of her juice. She swallowed, wetting her lips as she worked on opening up her chicken salad. "Which apparently I shouldn't be doing since I'm your boss and all, but it's incredibly hard not perving at someone with an ass like yours. Even when it's not all exposed." She pointed at him with her plastic fork. "And your not admitting is an admittance. You're saying that you weren't to cover your bases, but I didn't say anything about perving."

Matt licked some mayonnaise of the corner of his lips and took a sip of his chocolate milk. "Well, thank you, and I can be very clever like that." He tugged a piece of lettuce from between the bread and gestured to her with it. "Don't you wonder if you're going to be next in the curse line?" he asked out of the blue. If they kept talking about butts and perving, he was going to get in trouble and he was coming to really like his job here.

Georgina frowned as she tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"The Surgery Boss Curse. It's apparently a thing. I mean, there was the guy before Dr Chase who had a heart attack and couldn't come back to work. Then Nurse Preston, who is in here again as a patient, and Dr Chase, who had cancer? Apparently? Has cancer. I haven't met him, of course, but I've heard a lot about it. It was a real shock. Dr Cameron in the ER said everyone was stunned about it. It came out the blue," Matt explained and then held up his hand. "I'm working on hearsay here with everything but what Dr Cameron said, and I realise I'm a newbie and people could just be telling me shit to wind me up, but I was just saying.

George pressed her lips together, and nodded. "It's all true. It all sucks, but it's all true. Only Pat being a patient is hardly a curse. It's just his sickness. And he's the head nurse, he's not in charge of surgical, so he's an exception to the curse. As I hope I am, because I really don't want cancer, or a heart attack."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, I think they were just being shit heads. Something about Surgical management having bad luck and finding it amusing to call it a curse. But then, apparently the gossip mill around here is really questionable to start with and it makes me wonder why people don't have better hobbies. I, um, went up to the ICU, just because I was curious. I didn't realise at that point you were taking Nurse Preston's place. Do you do that when he can't be here?"

"Part of being his second in charge," George told him with a smile. "They used to ship in someone else when I was still being trained up, but lately the hospital powers that be trust me to keep things ticking over. Actually, the idea of you starting freaked me out a bit. Pat's much better at the whole mentoring thing. I wish I had half the skill he did at it, so I'm sorry if you don't feel like I'm giving you anything. It might just take me a little while to find a rhythm. As for the rumour mill, it's a hospital and we all spend a lot of time here. It keeps us entertained, I guess. Actually, Dr Riley Browne's wife is the best at corrupting the grape vine. She's made it a personal hobby to see how insane she can make the rumours, and still have people believe them. How did you feel seeing Nurse Preston in his hospital bed?"

Matt shrugged and poured out a handful of peanuts into his palm, offering some to her. "I just need you to train me, you don't need to mentor me. I've learnt pretty well to ask for help if I need it, but otherwise I'm pretty proud of what I've achieved and seem to have good feedback about my work. I don't want to be a zit on your butt and be the annoying new kid on the block when you have a load of other stuff going on." He nodded. "Yeah, I met Riley, and I met Lachlan too..." He trailed off a little, remembering how weird the whole encounter was and it sent a small shiver up his spine. "Doesn't she worry she'll hurt people? Yeah, I felt really strange. He looks really sick, everyone seems worried and there was this dude who looked so much like him, I bumped into the watercooler because I rudely staring on my way out."

"Evie? Nah, she just does it to stop the original rumours hurting people. Like, if the rumour's that you and me were caught in some tryst in a janitor closet, she'd turn it into something completely insane so that people just didn't take it seriously. She actually helps, believe it, or not. It's just been hard since her husband's been a subject of the rumour mill a lot." Georgina leaned forward to take a couple of peanuts, smiling in thanks. "Oh, so you met the Kilted One? He's something, huh? He's a great guy. And you're not annoying, or a pimple. I just don't want you to not feel welcome, or whatever. Pat's always good at making people feel like part of the team straight away, and not just another worker." George chewed on the peanuts before she broke into a grin. "That's Cameron. He's Pat's identical twin."

"He has?" Matt asked. "Why has he been part of the rumour mill? Maybe it's died down because I didn't hear any rumours, but I did hear one that the Head of Oncology was sleeping with Dr Cuddy, only that really does seem like something way out of the left field. I've met both, and they were real nice." He moved onto the Mars Bar after eating a whole mouthful of peanuts. "I did, and he was... well, he was extremely nice. Didn't think it was weird I showed up there or anything. Said something about singing ABBA and then, well, I realised who he was," he admitted.

He pointed with a laugh. "Yeah, I figured that one out a little too late. They look so similar, only different as well. My parents are English, but moved here before I was even born. I've subsequently connected all the dots. My Dad likes following Liverpool. I wouldn't know English football if it bit me on the butt, but it's a small world."

George looked away, checking to see if any other staff were about to enter. She wasn't sure about sharing Riley's secret completely, but Matt seemed trustworthy enough. Still, she better play it safe. "He was involved in an incident in the ER, and for a long time after, the rumour mill wouldn't stop turning. Oh yeah, that one... it's old. I swear it comes out ever couple of months. If you believe what people say, Cuddy and Wilson haven't stopped having sex for years now." She gave Matt a wink. "Yeah, well, disco is Pat's life blood. It was worth a shot trying to sing. Ah, so you remember the shooting? Still manages to come back and haunt him. Poor guy."

"English, huh? Very cute. I'm part Russian, English, and Irish. Figure that one out," George said with a grin.

Matt's forehead creased. "An incident, huh?" But he just left it at that. He wasn't going to pry and he could tell she was being purposefully evasive. "Maybe they should just do it and shock the shit out of everyone. That's probably what I would do, but I'm not as innocent as I look." He nodded. "He did sing, and he's damn good, too. I was in Princeton for Christmas that year, and we live just a few blocks away, so we were watching it on TV as it happened, as they were working on him. It was scary. Everyone expected him to die, every ticker that came across the screen we expected to say he had died. Then he was just there and talking to me. I must have looked like I saw a ghost."

"You're a bitsa. I won't hold it against you," he said, smirking.

"Needlestick. Some asshole patient decided to get agressive while Riley was looking after them. Or at least trying to." George snorted. "I'd almost pay to see that. And you really shouldn't mention the fact that you're not innocent when I'm still wondering what it would be like to jump you. He's got a band. They play The London a lot. Actually, Riley's sister co-owns the place with her husband and she's in the band with Lachlan. She's a crazy good singer, too." George combed her fingers through her hair, and leaned back in her seat, her appetite gone as she remembered that Christmas. "It was scary, and intense, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. It was hard on his fiancee at the time. She's now his wife. Lachlan's been through a lot. All because of some psycho bitch."

"Good to know. I want hold being British against you. Or at least first generation American," she replied.

Matt looked at her seriously, not saying anything at first. Had to have been aggravating issues with the whole thing because healthcare workers got needlestick injuries all the time. "Did the patient have Hep C or something? Not to dilute the needlestick thing, but unless there is evidence the sharps were infected, it's generally no big deal if an accident happens," he pointed out. He raised his eyebrows. "Are you allowed to jump your peons? Are you trying to sell the band to me, or something else?" he laughed. "He did mention that, that she was his wife now. I had no clue what went down after the main hype. My parents were a friend of a friend of his wife's parents at the time, but that's about it. It was some chick who was stalking him because he was a relative's doctor or something. That just freaks me out, but I guess every job has it's downside."

He smirked at her again. "I can be anything I need to be."

George shifted in her seat. "Patient had HIV, and a stomach virus." She stifled a yawn as she reached for her coffee, the drink thankfully still warm. "Every job definitely has a downside. Just ours can sometimes seem to have serveral. There's the long days, the shitty patients, the occasional violent incident, bodily fluids covering our scrubs..."

"You're really not helping me follow that whole good girl thing and not sleeping with my peons. One of them, anyway. I have no idea, I think it's only something we have to follow if it will interfere with our work. Still, clear lines and all that..." George shrugged as she took another sip of coffee. "We're all adults. I'm not about to exploit you."

Matt paused, his Mars Bar a few inches from his mouth and he watched her over it. He averted his eyes just a little to a pot plant in the corner as he thought. Riley was wearing a MedicAlert bracelet. Matt remembered noticing it during his first shift, but hadn't thought much on it. Figured the guy must be diabetic or something. Only now, maybe it wasn't as straight forward. "Oh," he finally said as he met her eyes again. "That must have been a scary thing for him to go through, the wait and everything..."

He shrugged a little. "Shame we only have fifteen minutes of our break left, and patients probably needing a ruptured appendix removed."

"He had a lot of time off work," George told him softly. "It was agonising for him." She poked at her salad before finally pushing it away. Eating this early in the morning was still hard for her. She licked her lips, and waggled her eyebrows. "Hey, fifteen minutes can be plenty when it's just about being hard and fast. I don't think we're shooting for epic."

Matt moved onto his second sandwich, ham and tomato this time. "I saw the MedicAlert bracelet," he told her. "Whatever's behind it is his prerogative to tell. I didn't see any evidence that it impeded him being a great doctor." He started to pick the tomato off. He hated it, and there had been no plain ham sandwiches in the machine. He glanced up at her again. "Oh, I don't know. I really think I need to be a good boy right now."

"It is, but you did ask about the rumour mill. Oh, and there was the time everyone thought he'd been secretly fucking Dr Chase. So just be prepared to listen to most stuff with a pinch of salt." George gave a nod as she watched him. "Which I am fully planning on respecting. I'm not into pressuring anyone. If a tumble's on the cards, it is. If it's not, then I at least have memories of your ass to keep me warm for the rest of the shift."

"It wasn't really in relation to Riley, but I appreciate the ample warning in case I start hearing he caught cancer off Dr Chase or some crap," Matt said in slight amusement. He couldn't be sure if his boss was trying to come onto him or not, but he chose to play it cool just in case. It wasn't like this had happened to him before, and he really wasn't sure if he could lose his job over something like that or not. "Likewise," was all he added, but he was watching her with curiosity.

Georgina held her hands up, palms facing him. "I'm sorry, I feel like I've fucked up. I wasn't trying to harrass you. Just you're cute, and I wouldn't mind some strings free fun. I should have maybe kept my mouth shut, but now that I have seen your ass, I just can't stop thinking about it."

Matt swallowed his mouthful of sandwich and licked his lips. "It does feel a little weird," he admitted honestly. "I don't really want to lose my job and I've only been here a few days, so I don't all know what strings are where. Not that I don't think you're hot, because I do, but I just really don't want my training to fuck up. I hope to be here for a very long time. I mean, this is my first qualified nursing job, and I really like it. I feel like I could fart in the wrong place and fuck up right now, so it's no offense, I promise."

"Hey, it's cool. Totally get it. Even if I think you don't need to try that hard. This place isn't about causing you stress." George gave him a reassuring smile. "I promise you don't have to be that scared. You're doing great. You're already gaining the respect of the doctors which is a huge deal. And the patients like you."

Matt smiled. "Cheers for that. It's not something I can be opposed to hearing right now. I know I'm probably coming across as all that consistent a personality right now, but nerves and curiosity aren't a great mix. Still, once I find my feet, who knows what might happen," he added, raising his eyebrows as he took another bite of his sandwich.

"Like I said, I get it. I remember what it was like to be new. And again, I'm sorry for coming across as strong. Don't be scared though, I'm not go all Fatal Attraction on you." She laughed a little, and raised her coffee cup in a toast. "Here's to finding your feet."

Matt held up his can of Diet Coke. "Cheers," he returned with a smile. If anything, at least his boss wasn't a sixty year old Hitler-type.

Words: 3672 | All muses referred to with permission and come from the princeton2nyc verse

Pfft, whatever.

2009-08-14T11:32:06Z

You Are 77% Feminist

You are certainly a feminist - whether you know it or not.

You believe in gender equality, at least most of the time. You also believe there are a few exceptions.

Are You a Feminist?

You say feminism, I say logical thinking! I'm not part of the hairy armpit brigade.

musebysentence | 2.2 Work

2009-08-14T11:18:06Z

Got some seriously pink shoes to fill.