Someone knocked at the door of the cubicle that passed as her office, but Susan didn't even bother to look up from the stack of files on her desk "Come in".
Abby managed to open the door with her elbow while she juggled two coffees on her own stack of paper "I heard you weren't in, but I saw your car parked outside".
Susan wasn't on shift but she was so behind in her admin duties that she'd decided to use her day off to catch up on her paperwork. She had instructed Frank to bother the attendings and apparently, for once, he'd listened to her.
Susan leaned back on her chair and smiled warmly "To what do I owe the pleasure?".
The brunette gestured at the coffee "I thought you might prefer decent coffee over that nasty stale water from the lounge".
Susan tilted her head and gave her an amused look "Oh, you're an OB intern for five minutes and it's already your crappy coffee... I'm hurt!".
Abby chuckled and came round her desk "You know I'm an ER girl at heart…".
Susan wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her to her lap "Come here…". Abby curled her arms around her neck and kissed her gently "Hi...". She whispered against her lips "Did you lock the door?" and Abby cocked a brow at her "No. But you're not here, remember?".
The blonde smiled and kissed her again "Yeah, but someone could still come in…". She nuzzled Abby's neck, inhaling the enticing scent of her perfume on her skin. They'd had opposed shifts in the last week, so they hadn't seen each other that much. "Are you on break?".
Abby nodded and begrudgingly broke the contact between them. She returned to her chair "Sort of. Just wanted to bring you these. Nurses and aids' schedule for next month and full performance reviews. You might want to hire another RN or two".
She handed the files to Susan who just sighed "Wanna see my budget?... So, I take it you're not taking any more nursing shifts?".
"God knows I could use the money... I can moonlight once in a while but you know how demanding internships are...".
The other woman laughed "That's one thing I don't miss - resident hours!". Susan tapped her fingers on the files "I asked Haleh if she wanted to be nurse manager but she just blew me off".
Abby rolled her eyes "I can imagine. Try Chuny or maybe Yosh?".
Susan made a note to remember asking them and she lowered her voice "I was gonna ask you to have dinner with me tonight, but you look exhausted".
Abby was tired. She'd be off at five and nothing tempted her more than a hot date with her bed. But she missed Susan too. "Come by later, we can order in".
She checked her watch and stood up from the chair "I gotta go, we have a c-section in thirty minutes". She blew her a kiss before reaching the door handle.
Feeling all fluttery inside, Susan just smiled into space.
It was simply how things were and there was no point in arguing: junior doctors always got the worst hours or as Abby had put it "the shitty shifts nobody wants". That meant that when Susan was working, Abby was sleeping and so on. They would see each other on their day offs but it wasn't enough anymore. They started wanting all the odd hours in between when their shifts didn't collide.
And for that simple reason, they'd exchanged keys.
Abby put her coat away on the coat hanger and dropped her purse on the coffee table by the couch. It was late, or early, depending on how one looked at it, and she tried to be as quiet as possible as she padded towards Susan's room. She was asleep and Abby went to the adjoined bathroom to take a shower - she would never get used to the smell of antiseptic on her skin.
When she finished toweling herself dry, she went back to the bedroom, noticed the first sun rays peeking out and how peaceful Susan looked with the fluffy comforter snuggled around her. She would have to get up in a couple of hours and they wouldn't get to be together for another two days when they would finally have a shared day off.
Abby had spent most of the night in the OR with a really difficult delivery and she was drained. She slipped under the covers and spooned behind Susan, her lips peppering the back of her neck with gentle kisses. Susan stirred and mumbled sleepily "Oh, it's you..." and Abby sank her teeth playfully on her shoulder "Were you expecting someone else?".
Susan chuckled and tried to stretch her limbs, all entangled in Abby's arms - she loved having her so close. Her top rolled up and Abby's hands mapped the soft skin of her stomach. She whispered contently "Mmm... love waking up like this...".
The way she almost purred the words stirred something inside Abby and desire overcame her exhaustion. She didn't respond, her lips teasing all the sensitive spots on her neck and her hands pushing down Susan's panties past her hips. She moaned in her ear "I want you...".
There was no way she would get back to sleep at this point, so Susan tilted her face just slightly and accepted her kiss "You have me...".
Susan gasped when Abby's fingers easily found her arousal. Abby whispered, in awe at the concrete evidence of their passion "You're so wet already...". She loved how willing Susan was, it made her feel wanted and powerful. She thought about going down on Susan and really taking her time with her but she so was exhausted from work. And she knew that touching her like that would get her off in just a few minutes.
On cue, Susan pleaded "Fingers, please?". She loved that Susan was so uninhibited in bed and wasn't afraid to say what she wanted. She rolled Susan on her back so that she could have decent access and entered her a little roughly with more fingers than she expected.
"Yesss...".
Abby looked down as Susan moaned and ground her hips against her hand, it was a view she wouldn't forget so soon. She wrapped her lips against a pebbled nipple and let her teeth scrape on the sensitive skin. She alternated those moves with her thrusts, using her hip to dig her fingers deeper. She used her free hand to stroke and stimulate the breasts in front of her, their firm weight always a luxuriating experience.
Now that she spent her days performing breast exams, Abby could be unbiased - Susan did have a really nice rack. She chuckled at her own crass conclusion and Susan noticed her amused disposition "What is it?". "Nothing, I just love all... this...", she squeezed her breast, rolled her nipple between her fingers and Susan moaned once more. She was close and her vision was blurring so she couldn't really think of a witty comeback. She just let herself fall in a cliff of wanton desire and convulsed under Abby's touch.
Abby rolled to the side, dropped her head on her pillow and smiled smugly "That was almost too easy...".
Susan smiled lazily and draped an arm around Abby's middle as she tried to catch her breath "How was work?".
"Breech baby and the mom had eclampsia".
"Oh, those are never fun".
"Both pulled through so it was a good day", Abby whispered sleepily.
She felt Susan's hair sweeping down her side and moaned when she felt Susan's mouth on her. She took her time nuzzling at her rib cage while her hands stroked her breasts and played with her nipples "That feels great...", she smiled and Susan just hummed something against her skin. Her fatigue and the headiness from Susan's stimulation made her feel like she was floating. She ran her hands through Susan's luscious thick hair and let her pleasure her.
The blonde stopped for a second to throw back the comforter "It's getting hot in here...". Abby's heated skin resented the action and responded with a stir of goose flesh that made Susan smile ominously. She kneeled next to her and took her right foot in her hand, kissed her heel, let her tongue trace the inside of her ankle, the curve of her calf.
From her pillow, Abby was fully alert again and she asked "You're not letting me fall asleep, are you?".
Susan's eyes were mischievous and she shook her head slowly, her lips and tongue trailing their way from her knee to her thigh. Abby shook in excitement and moaned when Susan's head disappeared between her legs, pleasure building up dangerously in her loins.
She couldn't really complain because most of the men she had been with didn't hesitate to go down on her, but it always felt like a starter, a warm-up to the main plate. With Susan, she never felt it was rushed and they could spend hours in bed like this, with Susan building up her arousal until she couldn't handle the feeling of her mouth on her anymore. It was delicious and she wished she'd never stop.
It occurred to her that she had a voice and she whispered out loud "Don't stop, you make me feel so good...".
Susan liked when she was responsive like this and she rewarded her with a squeeze on her breast. Abby was close, Susan could feel it. She noticed how her hips pushed against her mouth, how hot her skin was. She added two fingers and pressed them against her pelvic muscles, thrusting in counterpoint with her mouth sucking on her clitoris.
Abby gritted her teeth as the orgasm swept violently through her.
Susan smiled appreciatively "Good job with the board, Jing-Mei". The smaller woman nodded "Turns out the newbies aren't that bad".
"I plan to turn this ER into a Trauma 1 Excellence Center", Susan smiled decidedly and Chen watched her closely "You're awfully chirpy today...".
Susan rambled on as she co-signed Chen's charts "We have great potential - the urban setting, a great teaching program, good physicians...".
"You got laid last night, didn't you?", Jing-Mei deadpanned and Susan shook her head at her, her cheeks flushing a little "What?".
"You have this... glow about you! You're back with Chuck?", she gauged.
Susan almost gagged at the thought "No! I'm just full of... ideas and excited about them...", she tried her best to sound casual.
The other doctor didn't buy any of it "Sure, Susan... See you later".
Susan shook her head as she watched Chen's retreating back and picked up a new chart. Chuny appeared from nowhere and cornered her by the board, smiling slyly "Is it that new ortho attending? He was all over you the other day in trauma 2...".
She just couldn't believe this place.
"Chuny, don't even start. I'm gonna need you to be my wingman here...".
The nurse looked oblivious and Susan nodded enthusiastically "Congratulations, you're the new nurse manager!" and with that, she made her way down the hall.
Chuny scurried after her "What?! No, no, no... I didn't apply for any of that!".
Susan smirked "Oh, yes. You're the only senior nurse that never had management duties".
"You can't make me!", the latina huffed and Susan stopped on her tracks "Look, I know I can't force you! But I trust you and need you to take one for the team. Please?".
She batted her eyelashes and Chuny rolled her eyes "I have a feeling I'm gonna regret this...".
Susan smiled before entering the suture room "You'll be great!".
The nurse looked on from the hall, hand on her hip "Hey, I wanna know everything about your new man later...".
She did a double take when she saw Eric waving at her in chairs. She excused herself and crossed the hallway in what felt like a single stride. He stood up and Abby couldn't hide her surprise "Eric?".
"Hey sis...", he smiled goofily and Abby threw her arms around him "What are you doing here? Are you okay?". She pulled back to look at him properly.
He looked fine and he nodded "I'm great. I'm here on a work thing so I stopped by, hoping to buy you lunch. I have a lot of apologizing to do...".
Abby shook her head, a little breathless from having him right there after almost a year of silence "Don't. I'm glad you're doing better. There's this patient I have to check on, just give me ten minutes...".
They sat at Ike's and Abby clasped his hand "I can't believe you're here". He smiled gently "I missed you too... I'm sorry about all that crap I put you through... I've been meaning to call you but...".
She smiled at him "Oh, stop it. I'm so happy you're here! How long are you staying?".
Eric sipped at his glass "A while, I guess... You know I got kicked out of the Air Force, right? So, as a consolation prize, they got me this job at O'Hare...".
Abby jerked in her chair, elated "You're moving here?! Maggie didn't say anything! I talked to her a few days ago!".
"I wanted to tell you in person... She's having a bit of a hard time dealing with it, but I really need to move on with my life...". He smiled at her and nodded at the name tag "Congratulations on your MD, by the way... Dr Lockhart... has a certain ring to it", he smirked.
She rolled her eyes playfully, Eric had always been against her decision to keep her married name.
He was teasing her like he always did. Her baby brother was back.
"How's John? I want to apologize to him too... for that mess at the funeral", he said sheepishly.
"Uh, somewhere in Africa... it didn't work out...", she shrugged timidly.
"Oh, shit. Was it because of me?".
She shook her head "No, it wasn't because of you. It sure didn't help but there were a lot of issues... on both parts".
He stroked her hand "I'm sorry about that. So, are you seeing someone now?".
She contemplated a white lie but he was her brother and she didn't want to lie to him. She smiled "Actually, I am".
He waited for her to elaborate but she wasn't going to have this conversation with him on her lunch break at Ike's. Abby added gently "It's still early days...".
"Well, you look great. I want to meet him sometime", he winked.
Abby stroked his cheek and whispered lovingly "I missed you so much...".
The elevator reached ground floor and Abby stopped as the chaos immediately engulfed her - it was weird to not be part of that mess anymore. Frank smiled genuinely at her "Look who's back!".
Abby smiled at him "Someone needs a consult?".
"Trauma 1".
She ran down the hallway and saw Susan hovering over a newborn baby, watching this new guy aspiring his nose.
"Dr. Lockhart, how nice of you to show up. We just kind of winged it", Susan smirked.
Abby could hear the playfulness in her tone and she replied evenly "We have patients upstairs too. What's the Apgar?".
Eyeliner guy gave her the baby and mom status and he extended his hand "Ray Barnett. Are you new here?".
She shook his hand and chuckled "Hardly. Abby Lockhart".
"Nice to meet you, Abby", he gave her his best boyish grin and Susan looked on from the other side of the room. The mom was stable and she smiled gently "We're going to move you upstairs now...".
"Dr. Barnett, can you take Mrs Aguila upstairs?". Abby couldn't help noticing the glare Susan threw at him as he came to push the patient's gurney. Abby was finishing her check up on the baby and she smiled at the mother "We'll bring him right up...".
When he was out of earshot, Abby deadpanned "Is that guy really wearing eyeliner?". Susan rolled her eyes "Apparently, he's a rock star on his own time". They walked out of the trauma room together and Abby gestured at Susan to follow her to a quieter corner "We were supposed to have dinner tonight...".
"But?".
She knew Susan had made reservations for them at a new restaurant she wanted to try out. "My brother showed up earlier", she started meekly.
"Really?! How is he?".
"He's great, actually. He got a job at O'Hare!", Abby couldn't hide her enthusiasm.
Susan smiled sincerely "That's great, Abby. Just... go and be with your brother. It's okay".
Abby knew she would understand, she loved how unselfish Susan was. "I really wanted to go out tonight...", she whispered.
Her green eyes watched her with unmistakable affection "We can go another time. I have tons of paperwork to do anyway...".
"I'll make it up to you, I promise", she spoke softly.
Susan pretended to be writing down on her chart but she looked up into warm hazel eyes "I'm sure you will...".