April Showers, by potionsmaster
Rating: T for language
For Mareel and MissAnnaRaven, who need some smiles and sweetness just for being wonderful.
Summary: Spring in the Midwest US is notorious for strong storms. Sometimes you have to seek refuge. Fluffy little one-shot set in my doctor AU, Normandy Orthopedics.
A/N: It's nice to revisit these boys again ^_^ Happens about 2 weeks after 'Art Appreciation', just before 'Cancelled Office'
Shepard sighed and peered past his computer monitor to the dark clouds outside, rain pelting the windows to the phone room on the business floor of Normandy Orthopedics. It had been threatening storms all day, but now it was finally here and was rather impressive. The more the day wore on, the more calls they received from patients wanting to cancel or reschedule their appointments. Days like these were always mixed, he surmised as a flash of lightning crackled through the air and thunder boomed around them. They were busy with a fairly easy task of cancelling the appointments and notifying the front desk, but he knew they would pay for it the next day with all the patients calling back and clamoring to get back into the office.
"Yes, we can see it rolling in from the west. I've been watching the radar...Storm sirens' been going off the last ten minutes. I'd call it, Kahlee...at least until the warning is over. Then reevaluate the rest of the afternoon." Samara was talking quietly over her headset to the clinical coordinator. "What does Anoleis say? Oh? And Dr. Lawson agrees?"
The trees lining the driveway to the main parking lot bent crazily in the wind, a few leaves ripping off and gusting away. Cars slowed to a crawl on the freeway in the distance. Shepard flinched as another sharp crack of thunder reverberated through the building at the same time his cell phone buzzed.
Kaidan 15:12: you guys haven't blown away up there, have you? (:-/
Shepard 15:13: not yet...and what the hell is that supposed to be?
Kaidan 15:13: ...i don't know how to make a 'concerned smiley-frowny-whatsit-emoji-face-thing' on here. don't judge me
Shepard 15:14: I would never. Except your butt. Totally judging that.
Kaidan 15:16: …
Shepard 15:17: Blue ribbon. Every time.
Kaidan 15:18: . i hate you right now
Shepard 15:19: Not what you said the last time we spent the night together. And I already told you everyone's opinion up here on it
Samara was still talking quietly over her headset, standing up and gazing out her windows as well. He leaned over his desk, trying to hide his phone.
Kaidan 15:19: still hate you right now
Shepard 15:20: I'd tap that. That's all I'm saying :D
Shepard 15:25: babe? I was joking. I'm sorry…
"John, did you hear me?" He jumped, banging his knee on his desk. "We have to go down to the first floor. Just in case." Khalisah tittered at him as she put her headset on her desk and gathered her purse.
"Off in la-la land again...do you even answer the phone at all? Or do you just work Dr. Alenko's wait list and call it a day?"
He scowled at her and logged off his computer, tucking his chair under his desk.
"Enough, Khalisah. Come on, everyone, take the east stairs." Samara shooed them out of the room and shut off the lights, the gloom contrasting sharply with the bright florescent lights out in the bullpen. The staircase down to the first floor was crowded with anxious faces and hushed whispers discussing the potential for being sent home early and if it was even safe to leave the building. Shepard sneaked a peek at his phone when he reached the bottom and they were herded through the doors to the exam room pods.
Kaidan 15:33: sorry. jack was asking what was so fascinating on my phone and tried to grab it. that would be bad
Shepard pursed his lips. Kaidan's nurse was starting to ask some questions and they still were trying to keep it quiet at the practice. Talking to Pressly in HR a few days ago had been a slightly nerve-wracking experience and he wasn't quite sure what he would do if it got out he was dating one of the doctors.
He looked around for some place he could stand relatively out of the way and found a spot. Patients and employees alike were all crammed together as he made his way to a small space along the wall of pod 7, exam room 15 and hovered his thumbs over the haptic keyboard on his phone; he debated internally if he should even try to text him back. What if someone saw the text log over his shoulder?
Someone jostled him and he turned towards it, getting ready to snap at them. Amused brown eyes met his as the person they belonged to leaned against the wall next to him, sleeves brushing.
"Apologies, John; it's a little, uh...tight...in here."
The tips of his ears flushed and he tucked his phone in his pocket again, leaning back on the wall again himself. Kaidan only moved an inch to the side, forcing their arms and legs to be in full contact.
"It's alright, Dr. Alenko. Kind of the nature of the beast right now."
"You said it," the other man chuckled, glancing over his shoulder at the throng of people. Shepard's heart skipped a beat when he felt Kaidan's pinkie slip around his and squeezed gently. He shifted his leg to cover their linked hands and coughed lightly.
"You alright, Shepard? You look like you're overheating," Khalisa said from the opposite wall. His cheeks burned.
"Fine. Just...not a fan of being so packed in."
"Claustrophobic?" Kaidan asked sympathetically, turning back to him and giving his pinkie another squeeze.
"No, I...no." Shepard rolled his lips inwards for a brief moment and shook his head. He fought not to blush harder when Kaidan slid his foot between his own, locking their ankles together like he had done to the older man in the bar so many times before in the previous weeks.
"There you are!" Jack called out over the crowd, elbowing some people out of the way. "You're six feet tall and you're standing next another six footer, and I still couldn't find you." She stood in front of them, clutching a clipboard to her chest. "Doesn't help that you're both fuckin' slouching. Almost like you don't want to be seen. You hiding from anything, Doc?"
"Watch your language, please," Kaidan reprimanded half-heartedly. "I'm in scrubs; kinda hard for me to hide. Especially here."
"Yeah, yeah...So, jellybean. What'll it take to convince you to get a drink with me after work sometime?"
His face positively flamed at that. Kaidan chuckled next to him.
"Inter-office romances never work out, Jack, we already discussed this." Shepard glanced at him surreptitiously and hoped to hell Kaidan was wrong about that. He couldn't afford for this to blow up in his face.
"Party pooper. Jacob and Dr. Cole are solid," she retorted, snapping her gum, "And it's not like we're in a conflict of interest."
"Yeah, well, the last thing I need is for you to get into a snit with someone you're involved with and it bleeds over into the workplace. You throw things when you're mad."
"So do you!"
Kaidan lifted a disdainful eyebrow at that.
"Ok, so you don't. But still!"
"Pride of the debate team in school growing up, I can tell," he snorted. Jack rolled her eyes.
"I let my fists do my debating. And hey! What d'you know. I won." She punched Shepard lightly on the shoulder. "I'm serious. You and me should hit the town sometime. You seem like you know how to kick back a few."
"I...I dunno, Jack, I'm really more of a homebody. Not really interested in going out, or meeting anybody at the moment…" He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, wishing the floor would swallow him up right about then. Kaidan stroked his thumb along the inside of his wrist just then, warm and reassuring.
"Lame, both of you…" she tsked, looking over the crowd.
"Yep. Can't beat 'em, so might as well join 'em," the doctor replied with a smirk. Just then the overhead page rang out:
All employees should report back to their work stations; the extreme weather watch has officially ended. Once again, the extreme weather watch has officially ended. Thank you.
Kaidan sighed and stood up off the wall, giving one last squeeze to Shepard's hand before letting go. Jack rolled her eyes and shoved her way through the crowd back towards the stairwell.
"Back to the grind," he said, "Something tells me we're not going to go running today."
Shepard grinned.
"Probably not. I'll catch up with you later, though, right? Find some other way of getting cardio in?"
His ears tinged pink once more as a smirk grew on Dr. Alenko's face.
"Count on it."