Title- Medical Drama
Author- Victoria
Rating- PG-13
Summary- A Senator's brother working as a lowly paramedic is always a source for gossip. But when that same Senator's brother is also pining away for the reticent file clerk? Office gossip gold. Pemma.
A/N- I thought it would be fun to write how the developing Pemma would be seen from the perspective of random people around the hospital. So here's Vanessa, a front desk medical secretary whose coworker is taking a keen interest in Peter Petrelli's love life. And just FYI, I picked out the name BEFORE Samuel's stalkee was introduced, and I refuse to change it.
"Hey, did you hear?" Melanie said, hurrying over to where Vanessa was attempting to get the records of one Hudgeons, Michael P. updated.
"Hear what?" her blonde college asked.
Melanie smirked. "Guess who's finally come back to work!"
Vanessa was all ears, record-making forgotten. "Who?"
"Peter Petrelli!"
"Senator Petrelli's little brother?"
"Yes."
"No way! I thought he was fired after he disappeared for all those weeks!"
Melanie grinned. "Uh, guess not, 'cause he's going out on his first shift right now."
"Well, thank god!" Vanessa said. "That raises the collective attractiveness level of this hospital about thirty points."
"Tell me about it," Melanie agreed. "I wouldn't mind getting a better look at that tight little butt of his!"
Vanessa hit Melanie over the head with a manilla folder and returned to work.
--
"Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat!!" Melanie squealed, skipping behind their joint desk.
Vanessa grinned. "Did Mrs. Cartman give birth to those triplets?" she asked.
Melanie shook her head. "No, silly! Somebody's getting sued!"
Vanessa's happy smile faded. It was never good when one of the caregivers was slapped with a malpractice suit. "Who?" she asked.
Melanie shrugged. "Peter Petrelli," she said off-handedly. "Some guy from that bus accident last week says Peter wrenched his shoulder."
"Bummer," Vanessa said.
At that moment, the handsome paramedic in question walked past, looking concerned. Melanie glanced at her coworker in excitement. "Wanna follow him?"
"Um... why?"
"Because he's an extremely attractive EMT who's about to get his hopes and dreams crushed and will definitely need somebody to "comfort" him?" Melanie said, as if it were obvious.
Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware we'd reverted back to being teenagers," she said.
Melanie shrugged. "Your loss. I'm gonna track him down."
--
Melanie slumped back into her chair. "No good," she sighed. "He went to get the records for the guy who's suing him."
"Isn't that what people tend to do when they're sued?" Vanessa pointed out.
The other woman shrugged. "Sure, I guess. It wouldn't have been a problem if he hadn't been making moon eyes at Emma Coolidge."
Vanessa raised her hands in an unsympathetic gesture. "That's what you get when you turn into a stalker," she said.
--
"I need coffee so bad!" Melanie exclaimed. "Like, I seriously think I might pass out if I don't get some caffeine right now."
Vanessa nodded. "Definitely. Hey, I heard a rumor somebody put a fresh pot out in the rec room. For the people who go to see the children's choir sing."
Melanie hopped up out of her seat. "I'll even take crappy office coffee!" she exclaimed. "You coming?"
"Sure."
The two of them hurried down the hall, but Vanessa pulled Melanie to a stop as they neared the door of the rec room. Emma was sitting at the piano next to none other than Peter Petrelli himself, and together they were playing a beautiful melody. Every so often, one of them would look at the other and then turn their eyes away hastily before the other noticed. Vanessa briefly wondered how the deaf woman could possibly be doing that, with her disability, but at that moment, Peter glanced over his shoulder and the two of them hurried away to avoid being seen as the voyeurs they really were.
"Well, that was..." Vanessa began.
"Weird," Melanie stated.
Vanessa shrugged. "I was going to say "sweet" but I guess weird works too."
--
Vanessa shook her head as she caught sight of her coworker out of the corner of her eye- Melanie was filing her nails. "Mel?" she prodded. The redheaded woman continued to grate at her fingernails with the emery board. "Mel!"
"What?"
"I'm just a little overwhelmed here, in case you hadn't noticed. Trying to get everyone checked in when there's a major emergency going down isn't a one-woman job!"
Melanie shrugged. "Whatever. Fine. Not my fault the stupid L jumped the tracks."
"Yeah, but it is your fault you're not doing your job," Vanessa said peevishly. "Now c'mon, get the EMT reports entered, alright?"
Her coworker looked ready to protest again, when Peter Petrelli approached the desk with a stack of papers clutched in his hands. Immediately, Melanie's expression changed from mulish to coy, and she hurried to take the papers from Peter. "Just need you to sign this one," she said in a tone that suggested a second meaning behind the innocuous words. Vanessa blushed for her, knowing Melanie would certainly feel no shame.
Distractedly, Peter threw a signature down on the paper, even as he stared over his shoulder. A curious Melanie followed his gaze and spotted Emma Coolidge standing over a patient, stitching up a gash in the woman's leg. Even seen in profile, it was clear that Peter's tensely exhausted expression relaxed as his eyes fell on Emma.
Turning around, he gave Melanie a cursory nod and hurried away.
"I just can't win!" Melanie exclaimed. "Every time I'm just on the verge of making some headway with this guy, there she is, distracting him! And she's not really all that beautiful!"
Vanessa gave a distracted shrug. "Yeah, well, there's no accounting for taste," she said to humor her.
--
"They are sickening!" Melanie groaned.
"Who?"
"Peter and that file clerk!"
Vanessa sighed. Her quasi-friend and gossip companion's fixation on this one paramedic was starting to get a little pathetic. "I thought they weren't together?"
"Yeah, well, the way they look at each other, you'd think they were. And "you saved me"? What does that even mean?"
"Everybody relates in different ways," Vanessa pointed out rationally. "Get over it, honey. You're fighting a losing battle, here. You've been trying for months, and it's just not gonna happen. He's too far gone."
Melanie looked at her stupidly. "What do you mean?"
Vanessa snorted. "Weren't you the one who was just complaining about him and Emma? I've seen the two of them, too. Trust me, there's no way you're going to get your claws in him now."
--
When the phone rang, Melanie answered. "Mercy Heights Hospital, check-in desk. How may I help you?"
"Yeah, it's Peter Petrelli. Uh, yeah, is Emma Coolidge there today? Have you seen her?"
Her eyes widened. "Um... no," she nearly stuttered.
"If you see her, give me a call, okay?"
She gave a shell-shocked reply, then glanced at Vanessa. The blonde was buried in work. "Guess who that was?" Melanie exclaimed.
"Bob Dole?"
"No, it was Peter!"
"As in your unofficial stalkee?"
"I'm not stalking him! He was after her again."
"Emma?"
"Of course," Melanie responded bitterly. "Don't see why. Can't he just drop in on her or whatever?"
Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Maybe they had an argument and split up."
Melanie sighed. "That would make sense, if they had ever actually been together in the first place?"
This managed to startle the blonde. "I-- really? Jeez. He's been dancing around her for like two months. He hasn't made a move yet?"
"Nope," Melanie said. "It's a bit ridiculous. And the worst of it is, he's taking a couple days to deal with "personal issues.""
"Well, his brother just died. He's grieving," Vanessa pointed out. "Is it so weird that he might need some time off?"
Melanie shrugged, looking irritated.
Three weeks later...
Melanie was perusing the newspaper. It would have never been an activity she would have engaged in even two weeks prior, but since the revelation of people with superpowers had come to light, she was a lot more interested in the news. The whole thing was so cool! She especially liked Gabriel "Sylar" Gray- that guy who'd saved all those people in Central Park. He was hot!
At that moment, Vanessa sauntered in, a huge smirk plastered on her face. "Guess what?" she said teasingly.
"Hm?" Melanie asked.
Vanessa's smirk widened. "Guess who I just saw come in to work together?"
"Who?"
"Peter Petrelli and Emma Coolidge. They walked to work together, from the looks of it."
Always eager for gossip, Melanie leaned forward. "No!" she gasped delightedly.
"Yep!" Vanessa said. "And that's not even the best part. Before she went into the file room, he laid one on her."
"No!" Melanie repeated.
"Yes!"
"Oh. My. God."
"It's about time, isn't it?"
Tell Kring & Co: It's about time Peter and Emma got together! Season Five better be their season!