Disclaimer: If I owned anything (which I don't), this would be happening onscreen.

A/N: I decided to update a sequel to this story. It's just too much fun to write to neglect. Hope you enjoy :)

'Beck's triad.'

'Seriously.'

Jess shrugged, holding the textbook in one hand while lifting his beer can with the other. The break room was quiet saved for the rhythmical click of the ceiling fan.

Rory sighed defeatedly and closed her eyes, reciting.

'Hypotension, distended jugular veins and distant heart sounds. You may add Kussmaul's.'

'Cushing's response?'

'Okay, better. Hypertension, bradycardia and...' she narrowed her eyes.

Jess' expression was unreadable as to what the third symptom was saved for an amused sparkle, showing just how much he was enjoying this.

Rory snapped her fingers.

'It's apnea, isn't it?'

'Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't.'

'Come on, my exam is next week.'

'So?'

'So, you're supposed to help me study.'

'Here I thought that's exactly what I was doing.'

She rolled her eyes.

'It must be apnea.'

Jess' smirk widened.

'Standing for?'

'Late sign of rising intracranial pressure.'

He went through another couple of pages before picking the next question.

'Meralgia paraesthetica?'

She frowned. This had to be easy. She knew it. Absolutely. What was it? Algia stood for pain. Simple enough. And then...

'Give up?' Jess looked up from the exam book and drank from his beer.

'I know it,' Rory said quickly, eager to prevent him from telling her the answer.

'Uh-huh,' he rested back, watching her squirm.

'I do!' she insisted.

'Just tell me when you give up.'

He stretched his legs, crossing them at the ankles over the small coffee table.

'Is it... no, wait...' She squeezed her eyes in concentration. Then,

'Oh, I know, it's...' but then deflated, 'No. Or maybe... Hey, aren't you supposed to not be drinking on your shift?'

'Sure.'

'Then why are you?'

'Because my shift is over.'

'Since when?'

'Since two hours ago. So, meralgia?'

'Aargh,' she rubbed her palm against her forehead. 'Was it something hereditary?'

'Mmm,' he cupped his chin, feigning hard thinking, 'I don't know. Was it?'

'God, I hate you.'

'I stay overtime to help you study. You can't hate me, you owe me.'

'You're smug.'

'Like a goat.'

He lifted the textbook a little, giving it an emphatic nod.

'Darn, just tell me already, will you?'

'Ask me again. Naked.'

'Perv.'

Jess lifted his brows, amused.

'Outer thigh pain or numbness due to nerve compression.'

'I so knew this...'

'I'm sure you did.'

'You're enjoying this way too much for your own good,' she narrowed her eyes.

'Always one for the fun,' he shrugged.

She was about to retort when her mobile buzzed, so she had to set for sending him a glare before she took the call.

'Paris?' Jess nodded towards her mobile as she hung up a couple of minutes later.

'Huh.'

'What is it?'

'She wants me to babysit Josh while she and Doyle are on that Laparoscopy conference in Prague this weekend.'

'Doyle is going? I thought he had a strict no-gut-photos policy.'

'I think the key phrase was Paris wants me to babysit.'

'I'll sell the tickets.'

'Why do you automatically assume it's gonna be a disaster?'

'You just did.'

'When I do it it's fun, when you do it it's nasty.'

'Good to know.'

'Plus, if I'm babysitting our godson, you're not getting away, you're helping me out.'

'Only Paris asked you.'

'She meant both.'

Jess narrowed his eyes.

'She said that specifically? She said I want you and Jess to babysit my toddler babyboy?'

'Well, no, but you're my extension since we're a couple.'

'Hundreds of years of fighting for woman's rights and that's where we get, men are enslaved.'

'Poor baby.'

Jess mock pouted.

A pager went off and both looked at the table.

'Mine,' Rory sighed. 'The interns must be here.'

'Go meet your minions,' he chuckled, taking his feet off the table. He downed his beer and aimed the can at the trash bin without bothering to stand up.

'I thought it would be fun,' Rory massaged her temples. 'You know, having interns, teaching them the depths of medicine, revisiting my own academic skills... I thought I wanted this.'

'And now you don't?' he stood up and stretched.

She let out a sigh.

'I didn't think of all the time it would take. I'd rather go home with you and cuddle.'

'Then bail. Come home. We'll study,' he slid both hands around her waist, drawing her close.

'Aargh, I can't,' Rory groaned. His breath tickled her skin as he sighed into her neck. 'Although I wish.'

'I hate interns,' his lips brushed her ear.

A pager beeped again.

'Gotta go.'

'My offer still stands. My couch, you choose the junk and we watch something silly.'

She shook her head with a hardly suppressed grin.

'I may even give you some of my memos.'

Rory's head snapped up.

'You got memos?'

He shrugged, his smile becoming cunning.

'Maybe. I might even be willing to trade them.'

'I hate interns,' Rory groaned.

'Remember that when some Bieberistic kid tries to hit on you.'

'Will do. See ya.'

'This patient was admitted yesterday. These are his papers, will anyone try to report?'

Rory's politely enthusiastic look was met by six blank stares.

'Okaay,' she forced a smile, 'I'm gonna report then - Mr Kasey was admitted with chest pain and dyspnea, also palpitations and nausea. The complaints started abruptly about half an hour before the emergency team was onsite. What would your first differentials be?'

Six pairs of eyes started searching the wall for cracks.

'Here is the first ECG record... Anyone? Anything?'

Nothing.

Rory thought the only sound she heard was the one of the monitor over the patient's head. That, and the sound of the grass in the hospital yard growing.

'The patient was admitted with acute myocardial infarction and emergency PCI was performed finding acute occlusion of LAD.'

This was met by a silent 'O' from the interns.

'Okay, shall we move on to the next patient,' Rory let out an almost inaudible sigh. Almost. It was gonna be a long hour.

'Oh, look, that's him.'

'Gosh, he's so cool.'

'You heard he took a bullet out without anesthesia?'

'No. Really?'

'Yeah.

Rory threw the girls a quick look and then her face composed into determination. With a sly smile on her lips, she straightened up and approached the receptionist's desk.

'Hey.'

'Hey.' Jess turned slightly in her direction while still going through a patient's file.

'Just play along,' she whispered before taking his head between her palms and engaging his mouth in a lascivious kiss.

It took Jess a moment to react, but then he left the papers on the desk and lifted a hand to support her head as he returned the kiss, aligning his body with hers.

When she pulled back, his eyes locked with hers in confused amusement.

'See you later, teddy bear,' she said a tad louder than necessary.

She turned to go before the amazed girls.

'Sure... honey bee,' Jess called after her, also louder than necessary. She could hear the laughter in his voice, but he didn't let it out.

'You knew he had a girlfriend?'

'No, no idea.'

'Well, we should totally check on that neurosurgery guy, I heard he was even hotter and he removed a pineocytoma last month.'

'You're still on about the weekend, right?'

'Hello to you too, Paris,' Rory looked up from the patient's file she had been reading to see a flushed Paris enter the break room.

'Yes or no?' Paris asked on her way to her locker, starting to take her scrubs off on her way.

'Shoot. Actually, don't tell me if it's no. If it's no, I'm disowning you as Joshua's godmother. It's just a three letter word - you simply have to say it, so that I know I can confirm the plane tickets. Three letter word, Rory. It's called yes. I need you to say it. So?'

Paris was facing her in only her underwear and a surgical cap, a new pair of scrubs in her hand.

'Paris, breathe.'

'This is not a three letter word.'

'Listen, sit for a minute and relax.'

'Relax?. I don't have time to relax. I have to balance a toddler kid, a husband and a career. I'm as far from relaxing as a colonostoma is from romance. So? Are you still in for the weekend or no? Don't tell me if it's no.'

'Yes.'

'Yes what?.'

'Yes, Paris, I'm still on for the weekend. I'll have Jess over to help.'

Paris was now standing in the middle of the break room, adjusting her stethoscope.

'Good. Good.'

'What was wrong with the old pair of scrubs?'

'Got baby poop on the left shoulder. I put them on at home to save time, but Joshua's potty training went to shit. Literally.'

'Paris?'

'Eh?' she turned at the door.

'You sure there's no time in your schedule to relax? Even for a day?'

'Yeah. Pretty sure.'

'Okay.'

'Gotta go. There's an Indiana Pouch surgery I'm enlisted to watch. I'm gonna try and take a nap while they're scrubbing. Oh, by the way, how's residency going?'

'The exam is next week.'

'Good luck.'

'Thanks.'

'Paris?'

'Yeah?'

'I think my interns hate me. Or they're dumb. I'm not sure which.'

'Probably both. They don't know you though. Kick some ass and at least they're gonna come more prepared next time.'

'Than...,' Rory started but before she could finish Paris was already gone.

'Hey,' Jess turned the TV off and turned to face her.

'Hey.' she plopped down next to him on the sofa, leaving her keys on the side coffee table.

'Gah, I'm groggy. I'm beginning to think I should've taken up on your stay-on-the-couch-watch-something-silly offer.'

'Oh yeah?' he put an arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.

'Yeah.'

'So that was what today was about?'

She looked up to meet his amused look.

'Eh?'

'Today, receprionist desk, the I'm-so-hot-for-you-teddy-bear thing?'

'Ah, that thing,' Rory chuckled, resting her head back on his shoulder. 'Some bimbo students were fangirling about how awesome you are, so I decided to give them a little something.'

'Huh.'

'You can wipe the smirk off your face,' she said without needing to watch him to know he was gloating.

His smile grew even more smug.

'You're kind of popular these days,' she shrugged in self defense.

'That bothers you?' he narrowed his eyes, getting more serious.

'No,' Rory waved off. 'I mean, why would it? Why would some walking porn personifications who have been drooling all over you be of any significance... right?'

'Right.'

'And you wouldn't just go crazy about some brainless bimbo only because she's having a major intern-resident crush on you and she's willing to have you take her in one of the break rooms?'

'Someone said that specifically?'

She looked up.

'Eh?'

'Some of those girls said she wanted me to take her in one of the break rooms?'

Rory's chin dropped a notch before she realized he was hardly restraining his laughter.

'Jess!'

He was laughing out loud now.

'You're the one throwing random implications around, I'm simply playing along.'

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms stubbornly.

'Yeah. Whatever.'

He wiped his eyes and eyed her more closely. She was actually considering the possibility of him cheating on her with someone younger. Jeez.

'Wanna know why I look so irresistibly attractive these days?' he smirked.

'Do tell.'

'Because I'm happy.'

She looked at him as if he'd just said he was a pink flamingo.

'Don't look at me like that,' he shrugged, then lifted a hand to cup her cheek. 'I am.'

'That's a nice thing to say.'

'I am nice,' he said mock offendedly, 'I was also hoping we could revisit that fantasy about break room sex and do something about it,' he smirked. 'Cause I'm game. Thoroughly.'

She rolled her eyes, trying to suppress her own smirk.

'I'm also all for spontaneous couch sex, just so you know.'

She swatted his shoulder but then snuggled closer, thankful another long day was over and she was finally home.

TBC