One Shot ~ Rated R (for suggestive sexual innuendo & language)
Pairing: Steve Webber and Olivia Falconari
Style: Alternate History, picks up right after Steve comes out of surgery and catches Olivia when she faints.
Disclaimer: Characters in this fanfic and storylines are 100% the property of Disney, ABC and General Hospital. Some of the dialogue is actual dialogue written by Guza and his writing team for General Hospital on 07/22, 07/23, 07/26, 08/02 and 08/03/2010 scenes. I give complete and total credit for those words. This is just a little twist on the story that I developed.
Olive Branch
Lisa Niles finally showed up and took over staunching the flow of blood oozing from the young man's neck as Steven Lars Webber, Chief of Staff of the hospital his family helped found, consistently and evenly pumped the victim's chest. Olivia Falconari, an innocent caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, quickly moved out of the professionals way as chaos happened around her.
It's a good thing we Falconari girls know how to handle a crisis, she thought to herself as she watched the two doctors put a boy nearly her son's age on a yellow stretch board and shout medical jargon. She looked over at the young intern, Maya. The girl froze solid. Apparently, the girl should NOT apply for the Trauma Unit. God help her if Dante ever came in injured and this girl stood around like a freakin' stiff. She'd snatch her bald!
"I'll meet you there." The chief of staff said as he brushed past the gathered crowd, prepared to go into surgery to save the young aussie's life.
Olivia stood off to the side. She couldn't get past seeing her own son shot on the floor a few months back. As she held onto Ethan's neck, trying like hell to concentrate on what she was doing and following the doctors instructions, all she could see was the blood pouring from her own son at the hands of his father. To this day, the thoughts made her sick.
Olivia was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the doctor's comment and quickly ran up behind him, her four inch stilettos clicking on the hospital tile. "Is Ethan going to be all right?"
Steve turned and his eyes softened as he took in the brunette beauty in front of him. He didn't understand the sudden feelings of pride and admiration he felt when he looked into the most soulful brown eyes he'd ever seen. He stopped his forward motion to give attention to the beautiful woman before him. "Yeah, he made it to the O.R. without bleeding out. Thanks to you."
The last words a caress across her body. She felt a shiver go through her as his full attention focused in on only her.
"I'm…I'm just happy I could help." She responded, mentally chastising herself for suddenly becoming like a junior high girl getting attention from a boy.
Whether it was the realization of what she'd just done, the too close to home memories of her son's own brutal and senseless shooting or the way the room seemed to suck the air out and everyone melted away as the heat rose fifty degrees when Doctor Steven Webber spoke to her; she wasn't sure but all of a sudden, her legs were jello and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
Steve, knowing all too well the signs of someone losing consciousness, quickly reached out to keep her from hitting the floor, "Whoa! Oh...Easy there. Take a deep breath. You alright? You okay?"
"Yeah...Sorry...Sorry, I just got a little bit...lightheaded."
"Yeah well poking your finger around in someone's artery will do that to you."
"This is getting to be a bit of a habit, me winding up in your arms. I guess I'd be flattered if, uh, I didn't know that surgeons had a hero complex, always looking for someone to save."
Steve didn't want to let go of her. His arms around her shoulder and her waist felt so right. She fit him perfectly. And she smelled...INCREDIBLE! Absently his thumb started moving in soothing circles on her stomach in a caress.
Olivia, feeling the tingles coming from her waist where the hot looking doctor was touching her, she felt lightheaded all over again. Guess that answers that question. Fainting from the hot doctor was the winner, She thought to herself. Then remembering where she was and the fact that he wasn't Johnny, she moved from his arms, immediately feeling the loss.
Steve stammered a bit but quickly recovered and stood straight, remembering what she'd just said his look and tone turned serious. "Ethan's next on my list."
For some odd reason, Olivia just didn't want it to end there but knew he had to go so she simply replied, "Good luck in there."
Steve quickly walked off toward the operating wing and Olivia watched. The man had a nice hard body and a tight ass you could bounce a quarter off. Nana Falconari always said, it doesn't hurt to look. Nana was right, it sure didn't hurt.
Soon Steve had turned a corner and she looked over her shoulder when Maya, the young intern who froze, started talking to her. Poor girl, she didn't have the experience of growing up in Bensonhurst where bullets whizzed by her as often as the ice cream truck. This girl seemed like she grew up on Sesame Street. She needed to toughen up if she's going to work at the main hospital in a town where murder seemed to be a pastime. Mob related or not, there was an abnormally high percentage of violence and crime in Port Charles. The fact that they were under a lock down due to a baby knapping was proof of it.
She just hoped the sicko that stole a baby from her mama suffered the same fate as the man who shot Ethan and Commissioner Scorpio.
.~*~*~*~*~*~.
If someone didn't let her out of this DAMN hospital she was going to don some gloves and start scrubbing the walls, toilets or sick people. Anything to keep her from going stir crazy.
As a woman who prided herself on always having the cleanest home, she had to admit...a hospital was pretty tough to find dirt in. Yet she knew that her Bensonhurst nose could sniff out the neglected areas of this twelve story antiseptic tower.
But she needed to do something. She and Connie grew up under the rule of idle hands are the Devil's playground. That's why she loved her job at Metrocourt. Running that hotel kept her on her toes. Never was there down time. Especially since the owners always had their personal lives interrupting their professional one. Sitting and doing nothing was not natural for Olivia Falconari.
Since she was bored, maybe she could help file for that hot doctor Steve. Doc Hottie...that should be his name, she thought. She picked up a magazine trying to rid the impure thoughts that Father Carlucci would have made her say twenty Hail Mary's over. She absently flipped through the pages. She was bored, she needed something to occupy her hands and her mind or else it was going to go the way of those trashy romance novels she loved to read but denied she did. One where she was a naughty little patient and Doctor Steve Webber was the cure for what ailed her.
She gave up trying to focus on the magazine and slapped it hard onto the end table. Wiping at her brow, she looked over her shoulder. As if her imagination conjured him up, the doctor who seemed to be invading her every thought walked up to her.
"Hey, how is Ethan?" She stood and smoothed out her blood stained dress then pulled her hand up to rub at her neck. A move she would do when she was nervous.
"I repaired his carotid artery but he never would have lasted long enough for us to get him to the O.R. Without you."
"I was just doing what you told me"
Guilt set in. As a physician and as Chief of Staff at this hospital, he had no business asking a civilian to step in and hold someone's life in their hands.
"It wasn't right of me to ask you." He said absently as he watched her rub at her neck.
"Well somebody had to."
More was said and Steve was sure he'd replied to her but he was too enamored with her lips as they moved. He wanted to taste them. She had beautiful lips.
Beautiful everything in fact.
She was easy to talk to, easy on the eyes and seemed like the type of woman where what you see is what you get. She was intelligent and didn't hold her tongue. Something that always turned him on. He'd met her a few times and even played a game of darts with her one night. She was relaxed and easygoing. Qualities he appreciated in a woman.
Realizing the lull in the conversation, he motioned to the chair. He wanted to keep talking to her. He knew there were a zillion things he SHOULD be doing but a nice conversation with a beautiful woman who wasn't out to use him to make a guy from her past jealous or an estranged husband jealous was just what he needed.
"You're still looking kind of green. Water might help." he cringed realizing that probably wasn't the best way to describe a woman he wanted to take notice of him. Most women prefer a compliment rather than being told they look ill. But he noticed she didn't flinch or frown at his comment so he held out the bottle of water he had.
"Thank you" Olivia sat and accepted the bottled water he gave her.
She took a long pull from the bottle as he watched a drop of the condensation fall to the center of her chest and roll down, down, down between her cleavage until it disappeared beneath her dress. She had a fabulous chest. For a woman in her mid forties who had a twenty five year old son, she still filled out a blouse really well. He moaned a little at the thought of a red lace bra covering her breasts.
Thankfully he was pulled from his thoughts before his body betrayed him and he embarrassed himself and her.
"Any idea when we might be getting out of here?" she asked and it was like a bucket of cold water splashing down on him.
"Yeah, as soon as they find my nephew." He slumped back in his chair. He could not believe he had been thinking about wrapping his lips around this woman's tits while his little sister was terrified and his nephew was God only knew where, hopefully alive but not where he should be. In Elizabeth's arms.
Olivia reached a hand out and cupped his forearm in comfort. "Oh Steve, I'm so sorry. I forgot that you're Elizabeth's brother. This must be pure hell for you."
"I just hope I called the lockdown in time. Lockdown's are so disruptive, I didn't want to put the patients at risk but if anything happens to Aiden..." he left the thought to hang there. He didn't want to actually verbalize what could be the situation with his newest nephew.
Olivia squeezed his arm and started the same soothing motion of her thumb as he'd done to her earlier, "Hey, hey...you made the best call that you could at the time."
He looked up into her deep soulful eyes and knew she meant what she was saying. This wasn't just some empty sympathy. At that moment, for some reason he knew it would be okay. "That's what I always tell my interns. Thank you for reminding me to listen to myself."
"Anytime"
Because she made him feel so much better and more confident about himself, he decided to pay back the favor. "Not to lay it on too thick but you really did save a life today. I could have never pulled Ethan through without you."
He winked. Olivia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Doc Hottie winked at her. If she didn't know any better and Sister Mary Theresa always told her she didn't, the Chief of Staff was flirting with her. Well never let it be said that Olivia Falconari backed down from a challenge.
"Well I'll tell you what. If we ever get out of here, I'll let you buy me a drink"
Taking that as her acceptance of this mutual flirting session, he smiled and cupped the hand she still held onto his forearm. "You're on!"
In more ways than one, Both thought.
.~*~*~*~*~*~.
It had been a few days. He still hadn't found Aiden, he'd lifted the lockdown and was accused by his sister that he didn't do enough. Sadly, he knew she was just lashing out because she was scared and hurt. She'd been like that since she was little. Yet, in the back of his mind, he truly FELT like he hadn't really done enough. It was HIS hospital, HIS staff. HE allowed a woman who would go so far as to kidnap a baby for a psycho serial killing artist to be hired into his neonatal unit. HE had a hospital with such lax security that a grieving man with a gun was able to shoot two people after terrifying a little girl who had already lived enough torture for a lifetime at the hands of the man's son.
And HE was the one who had slept with one of his doctors putting him in the position that he could do nothing but sit back and watch as she wreaked havoc on two of his best doctors. He stood on the sidelines of an affair that embroiled Lisa, Patrick and Robin in a triangle of such disastrous proportions that he could only liken it to the old Glenn Close movie Fatal Attraction. Doctor Lisa Niles would be playing the part Glenn Close played as the bunny boiling psychotic bitch.
Steve smiled at the greeting he received when walking into Jake's, a place for which his middle nephew was named. Coleman, the owner and bartender had quickly become a friend and confidant. However his happiness was short lived and he outwardly groaned when the man who caused all the problems with his doctors was there. Not one to mince words with Patrick once the man opened his mouth and not really caring if the ego maniac didn't like what he had to say, he ordered a pitcher of margaritas and sat down in front of his best neurosurgeon and told him that HE was one of two huge pains in his ass right now.
Once the other doctor took his advice for what it was and left to go home and be with his wife, Steve savored the cool tangy liquid as it hit his tongue.
Suddenly, like a hurricane, the beautiful brunette who had been occupying his dreams for the past two nights suddenly sat down next to him and pulled his drink from his hands.
"Uh, Coleman, I think I need another margarita glass." Steve said to the best bartender in town.
"Why are people so freakin' stupid?" Olivia queried and took another sip, slumping over and resting her hand on her forehead.
"Any person in particular?" Steve asked, not sure what had her all riled up.
"Self destructive people in general" Olivia announced sliding some of the salt off the rim of the glass onto the tip of her finger and then sucking it into her mouth.
Steve nearly came on the spot seeing the action, wishing there was a part of his anatomy replacing that finger. However, now was not the time to hit on the beautiful woman in front of him.
Picking up on her last comment and remembering his jackass co-worker, "I know the type. I can't seem to stop tripping over them."
Watching him take a full swig from his OWN glass, she smiled. "I take it that you are not expected back at the hospital anytime soon."
She crossed her legs and leaned forward towards him a little. She had worked hard to shove him out of her mind. Her past few days being something out of The Soprano's. Johnny wanting revenge no matter what, Sonny trying to get his hands up the skirt of the very Federal Prosecutor who was in town to toss his sorry butt in jail and throw away the key. Her son was chasing a killer who moved even further down the lowlife chart and stole a baby, her bosses were still on the outs and one of them was out of town with his ex wife who his current wife hates. And to top it off, even though she was trying her hardest to work things out with Johnny because she truly loves him, the dream she had last night was all about the doctor sitting in front of her. And she woke from that dream tingling from head to toe.
She listened as Steve spoke about the troubles he was dealing with. She felt special that he trusted her with a secret that could blow up in his face were it to come out. She loved how easy it was to hold a conversation with him and she relished in the fact that the guy had absolutely NOTHING to do with the mob in this town.
"You want my opinion?" She finally asked after hearing the drama of his cheating doctors.
"Yeah"
"I think this Lisa Niles is a fool. She's chasing after some man that she can't have when she's got a perfectly good man right in her face."
"Then what does that make me?" Steve asked, seriously wanting her opinion.
"That makes you better off. I mean somebody's gonna get VERY lucky with a nice guy like you."
And there it was. She gave him the kiss of death. His hopes shattered. No woman like Olivia would ever go for a guy like him. A nice guy like him.
"Ugh" he groaned out loud.
"What? Oh, nice guy. Sorry...sorry." she thought about trying to back track but there was no getting out of that comment. Sometimes she should just keep her big trap shut.
"Yeah" Steve said sullenly, his eyes cast down into his glass.
"Sorry"
"Kiss . Of . Death" He repeated out loud the words replying in his head.
Trying to find something to get out of her faux pas, "Maybe you're kicking yourself for playing doctor with one of your doctors, but at least you didn't fall in love with a guy with a pathological reckless streak?"
"Johnny Zacchara?" He had hoped that was over with but apparently it wasn't.
"Steve, I gotta tell ya...I keep trying and trying to save that man from himself but he's just hell bent on taking down Sonny Corinthos."
"Well that's a habit that will surely lower your life expectancy." If he's going to lose out to a loser mobster, he might as well put his opinion out there. Nothing to lose anyway.
"I just keep telling myself that I got to get him out of my life."
Steve perked up at that. Maybe she loved the guy but knew she couldn't be with the guy. Maybe finding a guy, a nice guy who had his shit together and didn't have a death wish was exactly what she needed.
Suddenly Olivia was standing and pulling money out of a pair of jeans that looked painted on and showed off all the curves that he dreamed about running his hands and tongue over.
"Wait. No, no no no no. I've got this. I promised you a drink when I pressed you into service to help save Ethan. And even better I'm going to put both of these pitchers of margaritas on Mr. Lovett's hospital bill." He smiled up at her letting her know how appreciative he was all the while imagining showing her that in the bedroom, she would call him anything but NICE.
"I like the way you think"
Steve choked on that comment. Had she been reading his mind?
Noticing her leaving he suddenly asked, "Where are you going?"
"Against my better judgment, I'm gonna go throw some good money after bad. I'm gonna give John one last chance to see the error of his ways." With that she nodded her head, telling herself this truly was the last time. Afterwards, she would swear off bad boys for all time and replace them with nice doctors. "Okay, wish me luck."
Steve nodded but didn't say anything. He didn't want to wish her luck. Honestly, he hoped she lost. He hoped Johnny Zacharra was the idiot he figured him for and insisted he wanted to continue this twisted revenge game.
He hoped that Olivia would fall flat on her face. Because if not, there was no chance in hell that he'd ever have a shot with her.
And the more interaction he had with the beautiful woman walking away from him now, the more he craved having a shot with her.
.~*~*~*~*~*~.
Two weeks later, Steve was working at the hub on the tenth floor. The hospital had gone back to normal. He'd implemented new security measures at all entrances except the ambulance entrance which for the most part was already secured because only EMT's, emergency patients coming in via ambulance and hospital trauma and ER staff utilized it but also it couldn't be secured any further. Security was placed at all doors and at least one guard on each floor. Steve hoped that would keep someone like Warren Bauer from getting into HIS hospital again.
Aiden, his precious little nephew, was found by Lucky. He'd never been so happy. The little guy was perfectly healthy and happy and was now in his mother's arms where he belonged. She and the boys had moved temporarily into Wyndemere, much to Steve's chagrin, but his sister and nephews were all doing fine. What more could he ask? Besides, aside from Helena, that was a safe place for her and the boys. Nik would take care of her and his staff would dote on her and the kids. She deserved a little peace and quiet in her life right now and Wyndemere had the potential to be just that.
The secret about Patrick and Lisa's affair, so far, hadn't come out. Yet, as he suspected, Lisa Niles was a loose cannon. The antic that couldn't be proved were becoming more and more intense. She'd destroyed pictures in Robin's locker, only scratching out Robin's face. She'd apparently stripped to her lingerie and called Patrick to a hospital room. But none of it could be proved. He knew it was only a matter of time for her to get caught or Robin to find out the truth. However, as the Chief and someone who slept with her, his hands were somewhat tied at this point. Until he had concrete proof to take to the board, Lisa Niles would remain a doctor on his staff and if Robin found out, he'd just have to deal with the tension when that day came.
The only thing that wasn't working out was his infatuation with the sexy woman from Bensonhurst. He hadn't seen her since their night at Jakes. He couldn't get over the fact that she called him nice. And he couldn't get over the fact that he wanted to prove to her how naughty he could be.
But apparently her wish had come true.
Suddenly pulling him out of his thoughts a tree branch was thrust in his face, the leaves of the maple branch having little sticky notes attached to them.
"What's..."
"An olive branch." Olivia spoke up, rolling her eyes at her own cheesiness. "I know, I know...it looks like a maple tree branch. Well, you gotta use your imagination Doctor Webber. You know...forget all that science and fact in that noggin of yours and pretend."
He walked around the hub and grabbed the branch in one hand while his other hand went to her elbow to lead her over to the chairs in the waiting area. As Steve led her over, he took a deep breath and smiled at the familiar tantalizing scent that had evaded him for the past two weeks.
"Okay..." he said looking at the branch and sitting down on the table in front of the chair he'd guided Olivia to. "So let's pretend this is an olive branch. Why?"
"Well, I gave you the impression the other day that nice guys finish last. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Sometimes it's just that dumb gals from Bensonhurst have to dig through all the wrong bozos before they get hit over the head by their cousin Connie, who happens to date a certain bar owner that told her about the chemistry he saw between this really nice really HOT doctor and her too stubborn for her own good cousin. That same dumb gal that felt this electricity humming all around her when a certain guy was around but was too stupid to capitalize on it when she had the chance. And in the end, inadvertently insulted the man. I never meant to do that."
Steve had a hard time keeping his jaw from hitting the floor. She had just said that she...she thought he was hot and that she felt the pull between the two of them too. Was he dreaming again? He looked around and rubbed his hand over his face, opening his eyes to see the same beautiful woman staring back at him with a hint of fear and nervousness.
Well there was NO WAY he was rejecting her but he could have a little fun.
"Okay so you're putting out the olive branch for calling me nice and then shooting down all of my attempts to woo you."
"Woo me?"
They both laughed. "Yes, woo you."
Steve turned a hint of pink and ducked his head then looked up to pierce her beautiful brown eyes with his deep blue ones, "So what's with the sticky notes with numbers and letters all over them?"
"Well, we Falconaris aren't easy women. Each number or letter is a part of my phone number, my address or my email address. Put it together, figure out any or all of the three and then you'll know where to find me to ask me out properly."
Quickly, she stood up, planted a chaste kiss to his cheek and walked off.
Steve watched the sway of her hips in the flowing summer dress she was wearing. Suddenly he had a thought, Carly Jacks owed him a favor for using him to make her husband jealous. And Carly Jacks was Olivia Falconari's boss.
He'd be calling her within the hour and hopefully by the end of this very night, he could show her how very good a nice guy could be.
