Chapter 2
Chloe was in the kitchen preparing her dinner. A simple meal consisting of salad and baked chicken. This was like her most nights since she lived alone in the two story home, a very generous wedding gift from her parents. She didn't like to go out much during her off and was fine with her movie marathon nights. Sometimes Aubrey would come when they days off would coincide but this rarely happened since they needed either of the two to be present in the ER most of the time.
She was currently mixing the ingredients of her salad in a bowl after putting the chicken inside the oven to cook when the doorbell rang. Startled, she stopped her preparation and went to the sink to wash her hands before wiping them on the apron she was wearing. She wasn't expecting anyone to come over. She thought about who it could be as she made her way over to the front door. Her parents were currently in Seattle on a gala and her brother was on a tour. They were the only ones who would visit her from time to time but now, seemed a little bit odd. Aubrey and Stacy both have duties and other than that she had acquaintances at best. She did just move back after so long, and she hasn't been back long to reconnect with her childhood friends yet. Shrugging maybe it was just her neighbor who wanted to say hi.
Putting up her thousand-watt smile, she looked at the peephole only to look at a man in a white suit, clearly from the navy and in an instant her smile faded. She rushed to open the door and was greeted by the said man who was holding a folded white suit in front of him and on top were a few medals and a dog chain. What caught her eye was the other item looped on the chain along with the tag. It was the identical band that rested on her own necklace that was attached to her neck. Unconsciously her hand went to look for the ring which she grasped upon feeling it through her shirt.
"Good evening ma'am," the man greeted getting Chloe's attention form the items he was currently holding. Seeing that he caught his attention he continued. "I'm Lieutenant Aaron Saunders, and I'm looking for Dr. Chloe Beale. I was informed that she lives here."
"I-I'm Dr. Beale," for a moment Chloe forgot her voice. "Why?"
Upon hearing her answer the marine straightened up as if preparing himself for what was going to happen next. He then stretched out his hands forward to give Chloe the items before answering. "On behalf of the whole military navy, please accept our deepest condolences. Your wife passed away with honor and integrity…"
The rest of his words fell to her deaf ears as her tears now pooled under her eyes before flowing freely on her cheeks the rest of her body becoming numb by the second. Like on clockwork, she received the items handed out to her and mumbling a thanks she returned inside shutting the door not caring if the man outside was still talking when she did so. The moment she closed the door she broke down on the floor sobbing heavily. She looked at the things in her hands and got the chain with her right hand letting the others fall to the ground. She held it above her head letting the contents of the chain dangle in front of her face.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. She thought. She wanted Beca to come back alive. There were many things she wanted to say and now she couldn't. She closed her eyes letting her hand fall to the ground along with the chain she was holding. She continued to sob and totally forgot about the chicken she was baking in the kitchen when she suddenly heard the bell ring.
xxx
Chloe woke up to the ringing of her alarm all sweaty and breathing heavily. Realizing that it was only just a dream she quickly opened the lamp on the bedside table looking at the necklace that was shining under the lamplight. She let out the breath she was unconsciously holding and sat up.
It was just a dream. She thought calming her nerves. She looked at the clock beside it and read 4:34am. Running a hand through her auburn locks she grabbed the necklace and put it on then stood up and went to the bathroom to prepare for her day.
xxx
Chloe arrived at the hospital twenty minutes before the start of her scheduled shift for the day. Aubrey was at the resident's quarters fixing her stuff when she arrived.
"Rough night?" Chloe asked.
"Try uneventful," Aubrey supplied. "Just woke up half an hour ago."
Chloe raised a brow at this. "You look like you had and all nighter."
"Slept on a chair all night," Aubrey explained. "Some idiot intern accidentally locked up the room and the key inside. Dr. Brandon came in earlier with the spare."
"Hey what's with the look?" Aubrey asked seeing that Chloe rolled her eyes at the mention of the other doctor's name.
"Nothing," she replied.
"Come on, you don't normally roll your eyes for 'nothing'," the blonde said.
"It just sucks that I'm stuck for my 72 hour shift with him," the red head explained. "You know he keeps on hitting on me when clearly I'm not interested. He's really persistent."
Before Aubrey can say something, the door of the quarters opened and came Dr. Thomas Brandon.
"Hey Chloe," he greeted her first. "Hi Aubrey."
"Dr. Brandon." Chloe greeted back. "What brings you by?"
"You know I told you to call me Tom," he said suggestively, smiling before answering her. "There's a burn patient on F and I've got a close monitoring on D. I know your shift doesn't start in 10 minutes but I was hoping you could take F."
Dr. Thomas Brandon, or Tom for short, is the assistant chief resident of the emergency department. He was a pretty tall and well-built guy with a very handsome face. He was popular with the staff with his pretty boy look. His short styled light brown hair and blue eyes adding to his character. He is like every woman's dream guy. Even Aubrey has a bit of a crush on him. He has a little bit of a cocky attitude, but he's well-mannered and mostly polite. He's also one of the best senior residents in the hospital.
"Let me just grab my coat," Chloe said putting her bag inside one of the lockers and pulling out the coat that hanged inside. She turned to Aubrey before leaving. "See you tomorrow Bree."
The day dragged on for Chloe who had a couple of patients coming in throughout the day. There was an old lady who slipped and fell on the stairs and broke her femur. A teen who got bit by a dog. An infant with a high grade fever and some minor accidents. By the time when the sun set she was now lounging at the station with nothing to do but wait. With the inactivity her mind wandered off to her dream earlier. She wondered how Beca was and if she really was alright. She hoped that nothing had happened to her and the dream was just her mind playing with her. Before she could delve more into her thoughts, it was this time that Tom decided to sit down beside her to open up a conversation.
"Finished with all the admissions?" He asked starting lightly.
"Just endorsed Mrs. Atkins to Dr. Renner," she answered. She knew where this conversation was going but with nothing to do, she couldn't get up and just leave even if she did want to. He was still her superior and she definitely didn't want to be rude to him.
"Want to grab an early dinner at the canteen?" Chloe raised a brow at this. "I promise this won't be one of my ploys to ask you out. I'm just hungry and I want to take advantage of the dead time right now."
She was skeptical but seeing his logic, she should grab a bite so she agreed. "Alright."
xxx
"So Chloe, how are you liking the hospital so far?" Tom asked as they sat on one of the tables.
"Pretty great actually," she answered.
"So I guess Trauma is working out for you?"
"It's alright," she said taking a bite of her sandwich. "Why'd you ask?"
"Don't get mad, but I kinda heard you the other day when you were talking with Aubrey, about wanting to become a Pediatrician," he explained which earned a look from the red head. He stopped, gauging her before continuing. "There's a program offered by the hospital for those doctors who want to take a second specialty. It's like a scholarship of sorts offered only for doctors who had a minimum of 1 year employment here."
"Oh, really?" Chloe asked now interested in what he was saying.
"Yeah, they take two or three doctors every year under the program."
"I'll look out for that," she said. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." He smiled at her.
After that they talked about a few more things before going back to the ER. Chloe had to admit that it was easy to talk to Dr. Brandon, whom she now called Tom, much to the other doctor's insistence as he said that they were now friends. Chloe didn't mind it, she was kinda glad since their small talk dissolve the awkwardness between them. And Tom was true to his word that he'll stop asking her out and even voiced out that he'll settle for just friends.