Hey everyone! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this short chapter, and very young story. I'm excited to see where this story goes. I have a few other chapters planned out, and plan on uploading as much as I can as fast as I can. It's been a few years (or 7) since I've written, so bear with me while I find my groove back. Right now this story is PG, but I plan on taking it M fairly soon ;) . This will follow canon for the most part up to present day (the story takes place in the future), though some minor details may evade me. Feel free to leave a review with your impressions and any advice you might have!
I had barely slept the night before. Falling asleep took forever as I let my thoughts roam, and I woke up far too long before my alarm was set for. Thoughts of my new position here in Seattle, of my family back home, and of the cute, dark-haired guy who kissed me the night before.
By the time Deluca pulled up outside of my apartment in the same spot he had dropped me off at the night before, I had already been awake for hours. I smiled sweetly as I slipped into the passenger seat, coffee in-hand. "Morning," I greeted, looking over at the sunrise starting in front of us.
"Hey," he smiled back, one elbow resting on the console between us. He pulled into the road, driving a few moments in silence before he spoke up again. "Uh, about last night. I'm sorry if I overstepped. I don't want to cross any boundaries."
I shook my head and shrugged, "I didn't... I don't mind, promise. I let you cross that boundary." He grinned playfully as I said this and laughed lightly, nodding in understanding. "Agree to be professional friends from now on?" I asked, defaulting to my usual of putting distance between myself and anyone who gets remotely close to me.
"Professional friends? Damn, that's brutal," he joked, winking and bumping my arm with his elbow. I giggled along with him as I blushed, looking out the side window so he wouldn't notice. "I can respect that. Professional friends."
"Well when you say it like that, it sounds weird," I protested, taking a sip of my coffee to prevent the stupid smile that was trying to come out.
"Okay, how about we agree to just friends? At work, outside of work. Friends feels less weird," he compromised, giving me a wink and a dopey grin.
"Okay, okay. Just friends," I smiled, allowing myself to steal an extra second of staring at him as he drove closer to the hospital. "So tell me about yourself, Dr. Deluca," I said with a teasing tone, crossing my legs as he turned onto the highway.
"Uh.. Well what do you want to know?" he chuckled before continuing. "I was born in Italy, but moved here with my mom when I was a kid. Most of my childhood memories are here, so this feels more of home than Italy does. And yes, I can speak Italian before you ask. Everyone always asks."
I giggled and nodded, "Glad I don't have to ask you that one then. You mentioned you have a sister?"
"Yeah, I do. She's an OBGYN. She's currently travelling around; she's done some research here too."
"Research? That's interesting, what's her topic?" I asked, taking another sip of coffee.
He sighed and shook his head, chuckling darkly as he looked out the window. "You know... as her little brother it's my least favorite topic," he started and I looked at him as we reached a stop light. He looked over, seeing my raised eyebrow before continuing after a long pause. "Female orgasms."
I choked out a laugh, my face turning a few shades of pink darker than I would have liked. "Oh.." I stumbled out as he nodded with a tense 'yeah' in response. "Well.. That is interesting."
"It would be far more interesting to me if it wasn't my sister I would have to discuss it with." I giggled and tried to hide my amused smile behind my hand.
"Alright, fair enough. Change of topic?" I asked and he nodded in relief. "What made you want to be a doctor?"
He pulled into the hospital parking lot, finding a spot easily. "I was an EMT right out of high school. It didn't take long of that before I decided I wanted to save lives, but in a different way. I haven't regretted my choice since."
I smiled thoughtfully, opening my car door. "I can respect that. EMT is a hard job. I'm sure you saw a lot of things out there."
He pursed his lips in a tight line, looking me in the eye as he nodded. "Yeah, you could say that."
We walked in together, and not long after we walked in the door, someone called his name so he stepped off to talk with them and I continued on to the resident locker room.
Once all of the residents were gathered for rounds, I had been assigned to an attending I had not met the day before— . Deluca had been assigned to Dr. Pierce's service again, and I saw the slight disappointment flicker in his eyes that I had not been paired with him for the day. I spent a large portion of my day learning the patients on Dr. Shepherd's service, running labs, and updating charts.
I found myself posted up at a nurse's station by the OR board, when Deluca and Dr. Pierce walked up to check the board. I looked up and smiled politely at them, trying to avoid making eye contact with Deluca for longer than a brief second. I had work to do, and I couldn't spend my afternoon day dreaming about the hazel eyes I spent my night thinking about. 'Just friends' I reminded myself as I redirected my attention to the computer screen in front of me.
"How's your day going?" I heard him say and looked up, seeing him leaning against the counter of the desk in front of me with a grin on his face.
I shot him a look and then smiled sweetly. "Good! I've been busy catching with scut work from Dr. Shepherd. I should have assumed that the brand-new resident transfer wouldn't see the inside of an OR in her first few days," I said, ending quieter so no one else behind me would hear my complaining.
He smiled sympathetically and reached down, patting me on the shoulder. "There's always tomorrow, right?" he asked, winking before grabbing his chart and walking off. I sighed, watching him walk away before I caught myself and turned back to my computer, trying to return to my charting.
"He's cute," I heard someone say behind me, and I looked up for a moment before I turned around, giving them a tense smile. It was Dr. Schmitt, the intern I had met the day before.
"Oh, you think so?" I asked, trying to play off that I, too, felt the same.
He chuckled and shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "Come on, anyone would have to be insane not to think so." I laughed a little and shook my head.
"I've heard that everyone has dated everyone here, so I'm going to do my best to stay out of that," I said, looking down at my phone.
Dr. Schmitt gave me a look of slight disbelief. "Yeah.. Everyone says that. Good luck," he smirked with a quick wink, getting up and walking down the hospital hallway. I sat there for a moment, a little off-put by his comment before I decided to dismiss it and get back to work.
