It wasn't surprising, considering the hospital's rumour mill, that she heard about him before she saw him. Not one for gossip, Jo hadn't really paid them much attention. She'd decided long before she got here she wasn't going to get involved with any of her colleagues. Things like that nearly always got...messy, especially when her past was taken into consideration. She came here to be a surgeon, and she wasn't going to be stupid enough to let herself get dragged down by being the hospital manwhore's skank of the week. Plus, she figured it was kind of gross to even think about sleeping with him. He'd already been through half of her friends, and Jo was pretty sure there was some sort of girl code that prevented her from going anywhere near Alex Karev.

Not that she wanted to.

Her turn to be on his service came around pretty quickly. Unsurprisingly, he didn't seem to want to spend more time than he had to with his one night stands. Another reason, she assured herself, that she was doing the right thing. She liked peds. Even though she was only an intern, like the rest she was already seriously considering her specialty options, and at the moment peds was one of the top runners. She couldn't afford to get barred from his service over some sleazy encounter that would only serve to get her a reputation for sleeping her way into surgeries. She'd worked too hard and too long to get here to allow that to happen.

So, there was only one thing for it. She had to let him know there was no way in hell she was interested in him. It sounded so simple in her head. In theory, all she had to do was shoot him a couple glares and push him away if he came too close for her liking. Theory didn't take into account his smile.

Oh god, his smile.

"Pull yourself together, idiot," she muttered under her breath, earning her a strange glance from him. Well, better he thought her a little strange than avoid her at all costs. She was being strong, and not giving in, and- and it kind of pissed her off a little he hadn't made any sort of move yet. Who the hell did he think he was, putting a central lines into some little kid instead of hitting on her? She was Jo Wilson, for God's sake, and she'd been mentally preparing herself all afternoon to resist his advance. Was she really so insufferable she wouldn't even suffice for a one night stand?

She tried to ignore it. He was funny and hot and she could easily understand how all her friends had been taken in so easily, but why- why- wasn't he even giving her the opportunity to turn him down? Because she would. Oh, she would. She'd stand there condescendingly and shoot him down with a killer line she hadn't thought of yet.

Oh well, she had plenty of time, considering even he didn't want her.

Did she have some sort of sign on her head, alerting people to stay away? "Warning: emotional baggage. For your health and safety, back away. Slowly."

"Wilson. Wilson." The sound of her name brought her back to earth, startling her. She blinked, and suddenly his gorgeous brown eyes came into focus. His face was close to hers, too close, and she sucked in a breath.

This was the moment. She could do it, it would take all her self-restraint but she cou-

He was turning away. Turning away. And before she knew it, she was tapping him on the back to get his attention, looking him indignantly right in the eye, hands planted on her hips. She was pissed off, and maybe she had no right to be, but she had to know.

"What's wrong with me, then? What is so repugnant about me that I'm not even good enough for one of your cheap one night stands? I'm hot, I know I'm hot, so there must be something about me you absolutely can't stand."

She stared him down, feeling terribly self-conscious but also weirdly proud. He seemed surprised, and also surprised at his surprise. She bet it was something he hadn't felt in a while, and that was down to her.

But she was getting distracted, and he was also a sarcastic jerk, who'd screwed over too many of her friends to count.

And not her.

"Well?" she started again, before he clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Wilson, shut up." She wanted to tell him to go to hell, but he had a big hand. "Yes, you're hot. I'm not trying to sleep with you because you're one of the more tolerable interns, stupid. And because you're not entirely crap at peds, which is more than I can say for the majority of your class. And you and I both know that if we slept together, it'd be fun, sure, but it would also make working together awkward. So, stop whining, and get your ass back to work."

He left her there nodding dumbly.

He'd called her hot.