"Hey, Frigid Bitch, want in on an MVC?" Carter asked as stuck his head into the lounge.
"One of these times you are going to slip up and forget to call me my pet name or Dr. Stefani," Melina replied as she finished scrawling notes on a chart, "Of course, I want in on the MVC. I might just have to come up with a pet name for you. I've grown weary of calling you Carter or Dr. Carter."
"Good luck with that. Let's go get gowned up," Carter replied as she followed him to the cart outside the trauma room.
Melina frustrated the hell out of Carter. He wouldn't dare admit it aloud, but he enjoyed the banter with her. Carter enjoyed the clinical precision she had. Most of all, he enjoyed the sexual tension. Melina wasn't about to roll over and just give it up as did so many others. She made the tension palpable. She cryptically flirted with him, then pulled away at the precise moment she could see the desire in his eyes.
"Get your intubation equipment ready and have pharmacy pull up some rocuronium and versed," Carter said as he waved her off.
"Carter," she said as she placed a hand on his arm and stared deep into his eyes, "I'll make you say my name."
"You're very confident."
"Because I'm usually right," Melina said as she disappeared into the trauma room and began to set up all her equipment where she wanted it.
She nearly made him growl. Melina had tapped into the innate male desire to hunt the ones that play the game better than the player. She knew she had all the power in the relationship. Melina would go from presenting a case to him to whispering "say my name" in the blink of an eye. She sure as hell knew exactly what buttons to push. Carter wished that she was ugly. He even tried to pretend she was ugly, but she was a tall, svelte brunette with smoldering eyes and that damn husky whisper. It took physical restraint for him not to go to her apartment and throw her back down on her bed.
"I like her," Abby said as they waited in the ambulance bay.
"Good," Carter replied.
"I like that she knows exactly how to make you suffer. I'm considering asking for lessons," Abby replied with a straight face, "Don't think I don't see how she is able to reel you in then push you away. It's about time someone taught you a lesson."
"Thanks. I didn't know that I was lacking knowledge."
"No, just lacking insight. She has two years on her contract. I'm looking forward to watching her torture you every second of it," Abby replied snickering at the thought.
"Hey, Abby," Melina said as she joined us in the ambulance bay. She stood on the side of Carter, so he was sandwiched between her and Abby. It made him sway uncomfortably.
"Mel, I was just wondering if you would like to go get a drink after your shift?" Abby asked.
"I'd like that," Melina replied as she stared at the road awaiting the ambulance.
"If you plan on unionizing, let me know," Carter replied.
Melina pulled off her white coat and placed it in her locker. She mentally crossed off another shift in her brain. Ten down, many more to come. She was curious if Carter would continue to schedule himself for the same shifts as she was working. Melina reasoned that as chief resident, Carter would be more than capable of avoiding her if he wanted to.
She smoothed her long hair back into a ponytail and pulled the body spray out of her locker. At this time of night and after a night of unpleasing olfactory sensations, Melina hoped the lavender mask her day. She carefully fixed her makeup.
"Has anyone ever told you that you are a fucking tease?" Carter said as he walked up behind her.
"No more often than I've been told I'm a frigid bitch."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Aside from the satisfaction that I get every time I make you blush, I want to hear you say my name."
"What is your obsession with that?"
"Same as your obsession with not saying my name. You could make it easy on yourself and say my name, or I could keep playing the cat and mouse game."
"I can be just as stubborn as you," Carter replied as he pushed her up against the lockers, wedging her body between the locker and him.
"Try me because all signs point to you going home and thinking about me," Melina replied.
"I cannot stand you."
"Say that again, so your entire body gets the picture."
"I really cannot stand you. What I hate the most is how I don't want to move," Carter said as he pushed up against her harder.
"Not here and not without saying my name," Melina whispered in his ear as she managed to push him away, "We aren't so different, Carter. Broken beyond belief. Keeping everyone an arm's length away."
"What?"
"You have physical scars that give you away, Carter. You play the game to keep people away. I play so people won't know how broken I am," Melina said as she gathered her satchel.
"That's the first honest thing you have ever said to me."
"Well, it's easier than telling you all the gory details about how utterly fucked up I am."
"Probably no worse than I am. You hide it well in your cold as ice, semi-well-adjusted package," Carter said as he stood uncomfortably leaning against the lockers. He knew that sitting at this point would be far more uncomfortable than standing awkwardly near her.
"You play it out on your face. I can see it every time you talk to Abby," Melina replied. She wasn't sure why she was still standing in the lounge, when she knew Abby was down the street at a bar waiting for her.
"Aren't you supposed to be meeting Abby for drinks?"
"Well played, Carter. Good luck with that," Melina said as she motioned to his crotch before leaving the lounge.
"Fine, I'll take Andy tomorrow. God knows, my personal time never meant much to you," Melina said into the phone as she tried to catch up on her charting.
Carter watched curiously from across the table. He pretended that he wasn't eavesdropping, but he was fairly sure that Melina was well aware that he hadn't written anything on the chart for fifteen minutes. It had been two weeks since their discussion in the lounge. Melina had pulled back; she hadn't asked him to say her name, and he went back to calling her only Dr. Stefani.
"I came here to support you. I've helped fund all your residency applications, forced you to accept interviews, and watched Andy. You'd think maybe you could take your meds, so I can stand to be in the same room with you," Melina said following a short period of silence.
"No, fuck you, Dave. Why don't you just runaway, so I'm left to pick up all the pieces again," Melina cursed following another period of silence. She hung up the phone and placed it back into her pocket. She hung her head, so Carter wouldn't see the tears burning her skin.
"Boyfriend?" Carter asked.
"Brother. Brother who won't rest until he's made my life one huge misery. Brother that won't take his meds. Brother than won't try to make his life any better, but blames me everyday for making it miserable," Melina replied as she wiped the tears from her face.
"Can't be too messed up if he's applying to residency programs."
"I wouldn't bet on that. He makes me look well-adjusted," Melina quipped.
"He's not applying for emergency medicine, is he?"
"Internal medicine. He's taking a new career path. We'll see if it sticks this time."
"Do you want to go get something to eat?"
"You like this soul-bearing crap, don't you?"
"I like you when you're honest."
"You wouldn't if you knew me."
"I think I might want to know what makes you a frigid bitch."
"Wow, there's a commitment if I've heard one. You think you might."
"What if I said I liked you three minutes ago when you were cursing at your brother? It almost made you seem human."
"What you want me to be your little project? Do you think you can fix me?" Melina hissed as she stood up. She wanted something to throw. She paced back and forth.
"No, I don't need a project to work on. I spent a year trying to fix Abby and that was the longest year of my life. I tried to let Susan fix me and that went absolutely fucking dandy," Carter swore at her. He pushed her up against the lockers again pinning her hard causing her to yelp in surprise.
"You need to stop doing this to me and yourself," Melina whispered in Carter's ear.
"Stop playing with me, and I'll stop playing with you."
"Say my name, Carter," Melina said with that smoldering stare.
"Follow me," Carter said as he roughly pulled her away from the lockers and damn near dragged her down the hall and down the stairs to the basement. He maneuvered around the old dark hallways, until he pulled her into the storage room Doug Ross told him about so many years ago.
"We're both still on the clock," Melina said amused as Carter pinned her up against the door.
"You are such a frigid bitch. You piss me off to no end. You try to psychoanalyze me at every turn. When you begin to open up for a second, you push me away even further. Say my name, Dr. Stefani," Carter growled as he leaned into her further, pinning her arms back. He could almost swear heard her gasp.
"I'm not playing this game."
"What you can't take what you dish out? Say my name, Dr. Stefani. Say my name, you frigid bitch," Carter swore as he ground himself more deeply against her. He claimed her lips with his. He was surprised that she reciprocated. He was even more surprised that he was able to illicit a soft moan from her. Carter released one of her arms and ran his hand along her profile while simultaneously deepening the urgency of the kisses. He was dizzy from the intensity. Carter nearly had to bite his tongue to stop from saying her name when she pushed him back against the wall and began to untie the drawstring on his scrub pants.
"I'll make you scream my name," Melina growled.