How to Save a Life
by: kudasai
Warnings: AU, yaoi, lemon, angst here and there, drama, romance
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5x…you'll see
Disclaimer: Well. I'm not gaining anything from this other than amusement. (In other words, no $$) And no, they're not mine. -- The title of this fanfiction is taken from a song by the Fray; the name is solely the artists for profit, I gain nothing. Also, many situations are presented in a series called Grey's Anatomy; I claim no gains as a result, merely enjoyment.
Chapter Two: It's Only a Scratch
Quatre tried very hard to stick with Duo for the rest of the morning, but after Duo was assigned to sutures in the ER, Quatre was sent to retrieve a patient for a series of x-rays for ortho.
It was good for him to have time to think at this point, however. His mind was reeling with the questions he wanted to ask Duo as he distractedly wheeled his patient into the scanning room. A few of the very pressing questions were: How did this happen? Did you even know his name? and Just because he was good-looking?! …Ever present in his mind was poor Duo's predicament. Half of Quatre was saying What the hell were you thinking, and accusing the braided man of being loose, while the other half wanted to jump to his aid and try to right the mess. Granted, Quatre had only met Duo that day, but he felt an undeniable air of friendliness about the guy, and Quatre was naturally good at judging others.
He walked to the cafeteria after finishing his job; it was nearly 1:00.
After momentarily panicking in line about where to sit, he saw a lengthy braid facing his direction. Quatre scurried over.
"Hey," Quatre said gently as he dropped into the next chair.
"Hey," Duo replied, managing a somewhat cheerier tone than before.
"Feeling better?"
"Um…yes and no…" He paused. "The good thing is that I haven't seen him at all since this morning, but the bad thing is that that doesn't keep me from ducking behind wheelchairs and checking out the closets when I see some dark-haired guy-"
"Oh, Duo, that's awful…It wasn't that bad…was it?"
"I think that's the part that I find confusing…You see-"
"Hey group!"
Duo jumped and Quatre spun around only to see Cairo Arnold, standing next to a sullen-looking Wufei.
Quatre began to wonder if the Chinese man always looked like that when Arnold spoke.
"So where did you guys go to college?" Arnold asked pleasantly. "I went to the University of Pennsylvania."
"I went to Stanford," Duo said casually.
"Interesting…Wouldn't have dubbed you a Stanford man, but whatev," Arnold replied appreciatively. "What about you Wufei?"
"Princeton-"
"I bet top of the class too…"
"Correct," he said simply, some sort of a manic glint in his eye. "What about you, Winner?"
Blinking out of his reverie, he replied, "Yale."
"Ahh. Impressive," Chang said as if thinking aloud.
"I attended Dartmouth," said a woman's voice from behind Duo. Upon turning, Quatre saw Lauren and Sachiko joining them at the table. "And Sachiko here went to Rice-"
"Yep; I'm an owl," she confirmed pleasantly. "But, moving on—have you seen some of the people in this hospital? Some of them might as well be famous for all of the advancements they've made in medicine-"
"Or on the cover of a magazine…Some of the men I've seen here are drop dead gorgeous!" Lauren exclaimed as Sachiko rolled her eyes, but continued to listen intently. "There's our own resident, and one of the anesthesiologists; I saw an absolute green-eyed god earlier, and don't forget about the smoldering Dr. Yuy-"
Quatre could have sworn he heard a rather interesting noise come from Duo's throat…
"I was talking to some woman upstairs about him and she said that he's something of a mystery around here. He'll talk to everyone sure, but there's nothing really behind the words, she says. He's all business-"
Lauren continued talking, but Quatre was still considering her last comment. What he'd witnessed and learned earlier and what Lauren had just said seemed completely contradictory. He tried to meet Duo's eyes with a questioning glance, but the violet pair was purposefully avoiding Quatre's, staring blankly into his unfinished mashed potatoes.
Hmph thought Quatre. I'm not that easy to ignore! We'll just finish this later.
And with that thought, the blonde happily turned back to his food and tuned back in to the table talk.
The day passed relatively quickly. Before Quatre knew it, it was already 5:00 p.m., but he still had hours to go. He had just finished checking up on his patients, so he was making his way to the gallery; apparently a Dr. Everett was going to perform a needle biopsy, which should be interesting. Besides, he needed a break.
One quick stop at the snack machine later and he was ducking into the gallery. To his great surprise, Duo was lurking in a corner.
"Duo!" he said as he walked over, truly relieved to see his friend. "What are you doing, I mean, how long have you been here?"
"Not long, got here a couple of minutes before you did."
"Oh, okay, well, um, are we going to finish talking about what we were talking about earlier? You know, before we were interrupted…I wanted to know what you found confusing about last night-"
"Well scoot closer! And keep your voice down for god's sake!"
Quatre grabbed his chair and scooted as close as humanly possible to Duo.
"Okay," he said, "Well, earlier you asked me if last night was 'that bad', right?"
Quatre nodded.
"And I'm assuming you're talking about the sex, right?"
Quatre felt his face heat at Duo's direct mention of the subject.
"Well, I suppose."
Duo sighed.
"It was the most mind-blowingly best sex I've ever had-"
"You're sure?"
"What are you talking about Quat, of course I'm sure, how can a person not be sure of their best sexual experience? ...Ohh, I see…You're still a virgin aren't you?"
"Keep your voice down asshole! I don't have to prove myself to you, we've barely met, but I've done stuff, I just, um, haven't found the right one yet, you know…But I suppose you think you have-"
"I'm not saying that you're dumb or that I've found the one," his voice was now sincere, and he spoke to Quatre like a close relation, with great care. "I'm just saying that it was the best…I don't know how to explain or what to explain, it's just…" His voice lowered, and he leaned closer to Quatre. "The feeling of his body against mine, and you have to admit, he's sexy…Smoldering, as Lauren called it…" Quatre felt him shudder next to him, staring into space as he recalled the prior night's events.
If Quatre was correct, his time at Conrad-Irving would certainly be interesting…Interesting, indeed…
Quatre did not arrive home until very late that night, only mustering up enough strength to shower before falling into bed. It was always said that the first few weeks of an internship were the hardest; then you'd adjust to the schedule.
This was the reassuring mantra that blazoned itself across Quatre's mind as he woke up at nine the next morning. Lying there in his bed, in his quiet house, he realized that it was very lonely in this place that he rented. Picked out by his father, who was known for his grandeur, there were six bedrooms in the two-story home, four upstairs and two downstairs. The first floor also housed the laundry room, living area, kitchen and dining room, and a smaller lounging room. It was definitely far too big for just himself…
And so he thus resolved to find himself some housemates as he groggily pulled his clothes on.
"This is Mr. Raymond Claude, age 34, admitted last night with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fever, and rapid pulse," Dr. Merquise's eyes roved over his interns. "What is your plan of action, Dr. Winner?"
"Well, sir, the symptoms combined make me believe that his condition is most likely pancreatitis-"
"Acute or chronic, Dr. Chang?"
"I would say acute, but we can't be certain until we run a blood test, and then a CAT scan and ultrasound as needed. He'll have to stay in the hospital so that we can monitor his fluids; if the case is acute, it should resolve itself within a couple of days. If more serious, we'll replace fluids intravenously and look at more options."
"Excellent, Dr. Chang. Dr. Parker, if you could take Mr. Claude to run that blood test. Bring the results to me as soon as they're in your hands." Lauren nodded, and the rest of the group followed Dr. Merquise into the hall to the nurse's station.
"Okay everyone," he said, turning to face them. "Arnold, you're in the pit this morning; Ueda, Dr. Po requested an intern on a pregnancy case on floor three, I think you can do the job. Dr. Maxwell, you seem the popular one, you've been requested by Dr. Yuy; Chang, scut; Winner come with me-Can I help you Chang? Maxwell?"
Chang would have been burning two very painful holes in Merquise's chest if it was possible. Even so, he surprised Quatre by just gritting out an obviously ill-willed "no, sir" before moving away. Duo, however, was still standing there, a look of disbelief etched on his face.
"Sir, you're sure I've been requested?"
Merquise narrowed his eyes. "Quite."
"Why don't I just-"
"Go, Maxwell?" Merquise interjected. "I am not at all clear on why you don't just do what I tell you to do, because you are an intern, the lowest of the low on the surgeon totem pole, but I think that it would do well for you Maxwell to remember that that is precisely what you're here to do. So just bloody get on with it!"
"Yes sir, I'll remember that sir!" And Duo moved quickly away without giving the blonde pair a second glance.
"Come, Winner," Dr. Merquise said, perfectly calm and controlled, as he strode away in the opposite direction.
"Um, sir," Quatre began, as he walked behind. "What do I get to do, sir?"
Merquise turned his piercing ice blue eyes to look at the younger man. "You, Winner?" The stare dissolved at once into a surprisingly gentle smile. "You're scrubbing in."
Quatre could hardly stop himself from dancing as he followed Merquise down the hall.