Chapter One
I know I suck at starting stories and never finishing them. I probably won't even finish this one, but will write as long as my brain functions. Started watching House, and am a bit obssessed. Kept wondering what if Killian and Emma were in a weird House and Cameron situation. Decided it would be super hot. I did borrow some ideas from House, and probably will have other similarities, but I plan to develop a lot more, so I definitely do NOT own any House ideas or these wonderful characters. Enjoy!
When someone's been a doctor for as long as Killian Jones has, it's easy to see how they got there in the first place. He had only been a doctor for eight years, but his years in training before that were spent as a consultant for the most brilliant minds. Jones himself was now considered a brilliant mind. He knew his way around any diagnosis like the back of his hand. Actually, it was much better than he knew the back of his hand.
Once the hospital had the funding, Jones was given three spot to fill for his team of diagnostics, and he had two days to fill them. Of course, any good team would consist of a neurologist, an immunologist, and a surgeon. The whole trick was finding the right people who would not only be willing to work together on a daily basis, but also would be driven enough to diagnose patients correctly, damn the consequences.
Dr. Jones found David Nolan, magnificent surgeon who had done all sorts of surgeries and has been doing them for over ten years. Perhaps not as experienced as Jones would have liked, but the man's success rate was near perfect.
Neal Cassidy was a neurologist, another brilliant mind who was nearly as arrogant as Jones could be when he was right. But Cassidy was also skilled enough to perform any necessary brain surgeries, and he was a team player and a people person.
Finally, there was Emma Swan, a beautiful brunette immunologist who shouldn't even be in the medical business at all. She was far too pretty for it, and frankly, no patient would take her too seriously for her brain. Luckily, Jones found that having a gorgeous team member would have its perks, and it did help that every time she opened her mouth to speak, only good things came out of it.
None of the team members had ever met each other, and neither had Jones met any. He'd seen what they look like, and quite frankly, they were all too pretty to be on such a prestigious team. But they were useful. Jones knew that and he needed that.
"Hello. I am Dr. Jones and I am your boss. I hired you for your specialties, and why you individually, well, that's my business. I need you all to be able to work together and frugally, because the patients we deal with don't usually have a lot of time. Can't handle the pressure, I've got a waiting list a mile long of people who would kill to be in your positions." After walking around them, Jones finally sat down in his chair. "Now, I've got a patient in Room 708. I want you three to take a look at him and tell me what he has. Report back to me after you've got the diagnosis."
And like that, Jones moved his eyes to his computer and began typing away. Everything was silent for a moment, as no one had dared to ask any questions, and then the sound of the door opening and closing was heard. Not too long after, however, there was a clearing of the throat, and Jones looked up.
"Dr. Swan, I thought I said I had a patient in"-
"Room 708, I know, I heard you."
She was just standing there, looking perfect in her white lab coat. Jones had to force his eyes to not wander below her neck. "Oh, good. I was really hoping I hadn't hired a deaf doctor."
"I didn't join this team to be given orders. I joined this team to be a team player."
Jones could only raise his eyebrows at this comment. "You didn't join anything, Swan, I hired you."
"But I wanted the position and said yes to you. Therefore, I joined. And I am an excellent doctor. I had great marks in medical school"-
"But not the best," Jones interrupted immediately as if pointing out a fact.
She narrowed her eyes at him, making it clear that she didn't like him at all. "Then why did you hire me, Dr. Jones?"
Oh, he had been waiting for this question, and really had hoped she would ask it this soon. He leaned back in his seat and finally let his eyes sweep her body. "For the same reason anyone gives you any time of day. You're pretty to look at."
And that seemed like the most insulting answer anyone could have ever given Swan, seeing as how she opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it, her eyes flashing with frustration and anger. Jones loved seeing her angry, but unable to do anything about it, since he was her superior.
"Dr. Jones," she began calmly. "If I'm here only because of my…looks, then I don't want to be here."
"A little too late for that, love. You signed a contract. Can't get out of it unless I sign you off or fire you. You can quit, but that would require moving to a different hospital, and you're a safe player. Don't like living life on the edge." Jones picked up the folder from his desk and handed it to her. "Bonus points for being courageous enough to step up to me. You get to do the patient's history. Talk to the family. You're so likeable, they can't not like you," he said with a bit of a sarcastic tone.
Swan looked at the folder for a moment, still angry that she couldn't express her anger, but she then grabbed the folder. He was right. She played it safe. It kept her in school and at this amazing hospital. What she didn't know when she signed up for this team was that she was going to be getting out of her comfort zone. A lot.
On her way out, Jones called out, "Try not to walk like that. When your ass moves like that, it's difficult to concentrate on anything else."
"Asshole," she muttered to herself, walking out, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about her looks.
She couldn't help it if she was born with good genes. She never bragged about it or enhanced her looks in any way. She was just normal Emma Swan. Her boss was being stupid. No one had ever said anything like that to her before, and it was because it wasn't true. People didn't give her the time of day just because she was easy on the eyes. She didn't make it through medical school because she was pretty. Emma Swan refused to believe that. It would have been way too easy, and she worked her ass off.
And here was this…person who thought he knew everything about her. This boss she was convinced would be amazing and she would learn so much from him. He was this asshole she began to regret saying yes to. It didn't help that he was Irish and had gorgeous eyes. He should have looked in the mirror before sizing her up. He didn't know anything about her.
Swan decided a cup of tea would help soothe her for a bit before getting ready to take the patient's history. This was going to be a very long week, and she didn't even know what she was signing herself up for. What had she done? Given her life over to this man who said he hired her for her looks? Any other female would have been flattered, but not Swan. She took great pride in her smarts, never her looks. Who was Killian Jones to tell her she couldn't be taken seriously?
Once the cup was ready, Swan sat down at the table for a moment before taking a deep breath. Of course it didn't matter. He was just yet another pompous doctor who figured he deserved to miss with his employee's head. What he said didn't mean a thing to her, nor did it define her.
So why the hell did it bother her so much? She couldn't get his words out of her head, no matter how hard she tried to.
"Oh, dear. Seems I've hired not only a deaf doctor, but also a blind one. This is the break room, love. I said"-
"Room 708," she growled at him.
He watched her for a moment, realizing she hadn't quite taken to his words from earlier. "I need that history in ten minutes, Dr. Swan," was all Jones said.
"Or else…"
Yet, she was the first person to ever question him and try his authority like this Dr. Swan dared. It was intriguing, and she fascinated him. Like a puzzle he was going to solve. A Rubik's Cube just waiting to be set straight. She was a team player, yet didn't seem to appreciate authority. She didn't like the dangerous duties, yet wanted to be treated like any other doctor here. What was her angle?
"Or else you should have picked a career that involved poles and sad single men stuffing singles into your G-string."
Swan's jaw dropped at his answer, not sure whether to yell at him or to feel even more offended at his comment. What was it with him picking on her? She had just wanted to get a few things straightened out with him. She never insulted him in any way. He didn't seem to pick on Nolan or Cassidy.
Right. She was a pretty doctor. His logic obviously made sense.
Swan stood up from her seat, and wordlessly walked out of the room with her tea, and towards the patient's room, leaving her cup on a table along the way. He wanted her to do her job? She was going to do her job. Better than any other damn doctor in the entire hospital could. And he was going to see that she deserved to be treated with respect.
"Dr. Jones?"
Jones looked up from his computer screen, rolling his eyes, and then looked right back. "Yes, Mills?"
Regina Mills was the hospital's Dean of Medicine, and usually answered for any of Dr. Jones' mistakes and complaints made against him. She was a serious, demanding woman who never let Jones have his way, which in turn, caused him to act out like a little child. It was their game, and somehow, he was still working for the hospital.
"You harassed one of your employees?"
"Let me guess – medium, brunette, looks like she should be getting calls from lonely men rather than practicing medicine?"
Mills was appalled at his unconcern. "Dr. Swan. She said you only hired her for her looks?"
Jones looked at Mills again. "Oh, she needs to relax and grow up a little. I may bend rules, but hiring a doctor who plays god with patients' lives just for their looks? I'm not that stupid. I hope you dismissed her claim."
"Jones, you cannot be telling these doctors anything like this! The hospital looks bad. And because of you, Dr. Swan refuses to work with you anymore."
Jones sighed. "Baby. She clearly can't handle the pressure. Why is she even working in a hospital if she can't take a few flattering remarks about her looks?" When he received a look from Mills, he gave her the same look in return. "I wasn't harassing her, I was testing her. And she failed. I don't need doctors like her working for me if she can't handle being called pretty."
"You need to straighten this out with her, Killian, I mean it. Call her into your office and apologize."
"Oh, you're just angry that I'm being sexist and discriminating against female doctors," he responded cutely.
"I mean it, Jones."
"So do I."
"If you don't fix it by the end of the day, I'm going to allow her to file the complaint against you."
"You're no fun. Fine, I'll talk to her. But you're the sexist one for sticking up for her. If she were a man, you would ignore it."
Mills turned to talk away. "Use your glowing charm on her. I'm sure she'll love that," she said sarcastically before exiting his office.
Jones ran his fingers through his hair. Fantastic. He now had an employee who filed a harassment complaint against him on her first day on the team. He was going to just love working with Dr. Swan. All women were the same, really. Didn't do it her way, he clearly was being sexist. Called her pretty, he was harassing her. Called her a stripped…well, maybe he didn't have to call her that, but it certainly made her loathe him even more, which was always fun.
Yes. He could definitely work with Dr. Swan. She was going to be his guinea pig.
