Disclaimer: I don't own The Resident. The section that is in italics in this chapter is dialogue from the episode 02x03 that I've built on a little. The reason why I did this is because I wanted to tie the fanfic to the show, since I aim to develop the 'flashback arc' that is shown in this episode. I won't make a habit of this, but it might occur again in order to tie in with bits and pieces of the flashbacks you get to see in 02x03.

I hope you'll like this and if you do, please leave a review!

Chapter 1 - Saturday Pool

Nicolette Nevin took a sip of her beer; she'd just gotten off a shift at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. She was a registered nurse and had been for a little over a year. She loved it at Chastain, and the CEO Randolph Bell had recently granted her the ability to take night classes so that she could obtain her master's degree. Nic was aiming to further her career by becoming a nurse practitioner. People often asked her why she hadn't become a doctor, but Nic loved how her job allowed her to stay close to her patients, supporting them, in a way that doctors didn't seem to have the time to do, and quite frankly didn't always seem to want to do. As a nurse she was the one who sat by her patient's side when they needed someone to talk to as they waited for surgery or other types of procedures. She was the one who spoke at length with worried parents as their child was being examined by a doctor. However, she didn't have much autonomy as a registered nurse and frankly she was sick of certain doctors who treated her as someone who barely knew medicine. Nic had been interested in medicine since was a kid, she knew her stuff. By becoming a nurse practitioner she'd still be able to keep the relationship that the role of a nurse granted her, while also being able to see her own patients and refer them to a physician or specialist if required. She'd also be able to diagnose and treat acute illnesses as well as being able to prescribe medications.

"Nic? Are you listening?"

She was pulled from her thoughts by her co-worker Jessica Moore. The two women were rather close, maybe they weren't really the type to hangout at each other's homes, but as far as Nic was concerned; Jess was family. As nurses they didn't get much time off and seeing as they both were currently single, they both delved into work, happy to take on shifts at the hospital. After particularly long shifts, the two usually came here, to the 404 Tavern. It was a local bar, nothing too special, but the girls liked it. They would order beers and play pool to unwind.

"I'm sorry, Jess, what were you saying?" She said apologetically, giving her friend a smile.

Jess just chuckled. "I said yes to the date," Jess exclaimed excitedly.

"What? You did?" Nic asked surprised, she was happy for her friend though.

A couple of weeks ago Jess had told her in the staff room that she'd joined Tinder, she'd said that she was done dating within the hospital. Nic had just chuckled, she understood where Jess was coming from, Nic however liked having a casual fling with someone from the hospital. A quickie after all did wonders to relieve some stress. Jess had said that she was looking for something slightly more serious and had mentioned how it'd be nice to wake up next to someone. Again, it was something Nic could understand, but she'd had that a while back and let's just say she wasn't jonesing to get back to it.

"Yes! I mean, he looked nice, right? And we stayed up all last night just chatting and sending pictures…"

"Jess? Is that a blush I see?" Nic teased. "Well, I'm glad you're getting yourself back out there. When's the date?"

"Next weekend, we're meeting at Eleanor's Speakeasy!"

Nic smiled, she could tell that Jess was excited.

"That's great, they've got good drinks. Just try to get there early, before the dinner crowd," she advised.

The two continued talking about Jess' date for a while longer before Jess turned her head in the direction of the pool table. The two males were still going at it. Jess sighed. "It's getting late…"

Nic nodded her head. "Let's give them ten more minutes, then we'll break it up," she decided. The two males had played for about two hours already. Jess ordered herself a drink and Nic ordered herself another bottle of beer.

"So," Jess said between sips, "are you ready for the new interns on Monday?"

Nic feigned a groan, but truthfully it was quite exciting whenever a new batch of interns joined the hospital. Even if it sounded cliche, Nic liked to suss out the ones that seemed promising and had potential to make it all the way. There were always a few cocky ones in the batch, however they tended to crash and burn early on. The first day was always difficult, med school didn't prepare you for the quick pace of a real-life hospital! The ebbs and flows were insane and could throw even a seasoned doctor. You won some, you lost some, even if it sounded crass, that was the job. As a new intern the faster you accepted that, the better. That's not to say that you shouldn't have empathy, on the contrary! Nic believed that empathy was key to making it as a nurse or a doctor, but sometimes you still had to learn to shake things off and move on.

"It'll be fun," she said with a nod.

"You always do great with the interns," Jess complimented. "I sometimes get so nervous and just end up blabbering," she chuckled.

"Hey, c'mon! You're a great nurse, Jess."

"Thanks," Jess took another sip of her drink. "What do you say," she nodded toward the pool table. "Should we break it up?"

"Yeah," Nic agreed.

The two walked toward the pool table as Don't Go Looking by The Mighty Hannibal was playing in the background. Even before they reached the table, Nic could hear the telltale, macho male dialogue. They seemed to have been drinking quite a bit and the blond one, who was currently perched at the edge of the pool table, failing to have both his legs on the ground, was about to take a corner shot. Before his ball hit, Nic lifted the one he was aiming at off the table. The two exchanged a look, but she wasn't backing down. She'd take the risk that the blond would throw a fit, though he seemed quite harmless.

"That's not cool," the blond one said. He didn't seem pissed though, merely stating his feelings.

"No, what's not cool is you guys hogging the table for two hours," she retorted.

"Yeah, people are waiting," Jess chimed in from behind her.

"And if you've been shooting like that, you're cheating. The rule is, one foot on the ground at all times," she continued. Nic was tired after her shift and her and Jess had waited for the pool table quite a while. She wasn't about to let these guys ruin her chance at winding down, especially not ones who couldn't really play pool to begin with.

"I'm pretty sure I did," the blond stated.

"I'm positive you didn't," she said adamantly.

The blond one gave her an amused smile, but before he could say anything else, his buddy joined in the conversation.

"Why don't you show us how it's done…whoever you are?" He said as he handed her a cue." He too with an amused smile on his lips.

"Oh, what a gentleman, giving me the cue that's loose in the middle, chipped on the top," she said with irony in her voice. "Every bar has a crooked cue, and I'm looking at it," she continued.

Nic could feel the stare of the blond, who was still perched up on the edge of the table. The brunette male looked defeated as though he didn't know what else to say.

"You're not slick," Jess said to the male.

"I don't…like you," he mumbled back.

Nic walked up to the blond, a hand on her hip.

"You make the shot, you get the table," he said, and she noticed he had a kind of raspy voice. When he'd walked past her, he turned around giving her yet another look.

Nic leaned against the side of the table, both feet on the ground mind you, and made the shot without losing a beat. This elicited an "oh" from the brunette male and Jess giggled as she took another sip of her drink. Jess knew how good Nic was at pool.

The blond male looked up at her with a smile. It was quite endearing.

"A deal's a deal," she said as she walked toward him. She then turned to look at the brunette who seemed to concede as he shot his buddy a glance.

The blond chuckled as he said, "have a good night."

"You too," she replied.

Before the blond walked off, he turned to face her, beer in hand. "See you at Chastain. We start as interns on Monday."

For a split second she was confused as to how he'd figured out where she worked but she realized he must have seen her ID-badge as it hung from her bag.

"Great, just what we need. A new batch of arrogant, know-it-all interns," she said rolling her eyes, her voice hinting at playfulness.

Jess laughed and the last thing Nic saw of the blond male before he left the 404 Tavern was a smile.

So, what did you guys think? Let me know!