Chapter 6: The Library
As the afternoon sun lazily drifted through Charlotte Greene's windows, it framed the world in a golden daze. The calming of Charlie's anxiety was more than a lull of a storm, it was a rallying cry. The ethics hearing was her chance to prove something Charlie allowed herself to forget in the whirlwind of scandal and betrayal – she was a good doctor. She didn't join Edenbrook's staff for prestige and ego. She joined to become a competent doctor and deliver the best care for her patients. Her patients deserved a doctor that would fight for them, and Charlie damn well deserved to fight for herself, too.
It was as if this revelation electrified the world around her. Boston was energized with a new sense of optimism that made Charlie feel like she could take on the world, not just Declan Nash and Big Pharma. The birds chirped with a new sense of approval, and her upcoming fight uphill no longer felt like a death march.
Brunch may have invigorated Charlie, but hours of alcohol and carbs lulled everyone else to sleep. At least four people were asleep back in her apartment, including Elijah, Sienna, and Kyra, as they slept off their food-comas. The fourth was a very drunk Bryce passed out on the sofa after one too many celebratory toasts to Charlie's weekend escapades. Jackie, the only remaining occupant to resist a nap, relied on her inherent badassery to stay energized to research for Charlie's ethics hearing.
Armed with copious amounts of caffeine and her trusty library card, Charlie easily crept out of her apartment without waking a soul and even made it to the subway station in time to take the next train. Already cueing up a new Raleigh Carrera album for her study session, Charlie caught a glimpse at the time.
1:02 pm.
Enough time to research at the library and still swing by Ethan's apartment.
Ethan Ramsey. She's going to see Ethan Ramsey.
The thought alone was jarring, and the name now formed a complex image in her mind. He was the man who spent a year pushing her away, the mentor who challenged her, and the man whose kiss still marked her skin.
By now, it should have felt real, yet the two nights in his apartment still felt like a world of its own, one where dreams shattered reality. Instinctively, her optimism was limited by a healthy dose of skepticism, but it was becoming increasingly hard to contain. Despite her best efforts, Charlie couldn't shed the rose-tinted glasses now shading her world in hues of excitement and hope. Charlie was dangerously close to falling over the edge into something she'd always considered an abyss, but now at the edge, it seemed like a paradise.
The enigmatic man consumed her thoughts for the rest of her commute to the library, rendering her a smiling fool as she strolled through the bookshelves. Collecting every book she could find on medical malpractice and ethics, Charlie had amassed a significant pile by the time she settled at a long desk in a more secluded part of the library. Already deep into Raleigh Carrera's album, Charlie had worked up quite a beat and was already slipping into a state of academic focus.
For a moment, everything was perfect – she had supportive friends, a future with Ethan Ramsey, and a chance at redemption.
And then it all went to hell.
Weeks later, Charlie would recognize this as the moment where everything changed. She would find humor in how naïve she'd been on that sunny afternoon, unaware that a world-altering event would rewrite her future.
But now, Charlie wouldn't know that.
Now, Charlie knew just one thing – that she was looking at Landry Olsen and that she wanted to punch him.
The sight of her former friend knocked the air out of her chest, and Charlie nearly stumbled back out of pure shock. Only a few days ago, the man in front of her had been a trusted confidant and daily companion, but his presence no longer brought the reassuring familiarity of friendship. After confessing to his betrayal, Landry at least had the decency to retreat to the shadows of Charlie's life, vacating their apartment and straying from their daily rituals to avoid an encounter. Over the weekend, he'd morphed into a villainous monster hiding in the dark alleys of Charlie's mind. He morphed the face of treachery and disloyalty, so much so that Charlie nearly forgot that he was more than just a monster in her bad dreams.
Landry Olsen, for better or worse, existed, and he was sitting right in front of her.
Instinctively, Charlie wanted to avoid him at all costs. Without any conscious effort, she was already devising an exit strategy that involved stealthily collecting her books and retreating to the deepest, darkest part of the library. And she might have followed through on that plan had it not outraged some deep part of her still bitter about his behavior.
Landry Olsen had taken enough away from her – her trust, her friendship, and potentially her career— and Charlie was not about to hand him the library, too.
With a defiant glint in her eyes, Charlie marched through the rows of books to the desk where Landry obliviously skimmed a medical textbook. Each step she took towards him was emboldening and powerful, and by the time she reached the little traitor, she felt like a walking hurricane ready to wreak havoc on her former friend.
"Olsen."
Charlie's chilling greeting was accompanied by the thud of her medical law textbook on the table, both of which left jolted the young doctor who had unknowingly encountered her wrath. Landry jumped, looking up at her with absolute terror before trying to settle into the appearance of a cold, angry opponent.
"Charlie, I was just-" Landry stammered, but Charlie cut him off when she peered over his shoulder to the computer screen in front of him. An email draft was still lingering on the screen, addressed to his former roommates and warning them that he would be moving out while they were all at work the next morning.
"Email… Wow," Charlie scoffed, crossing her shoulders across her chest as she levied a menacing glare in his direction, "What's it like to be such a coward that you have to hide behind a computer screen just to talk to your former friends? Are you merely wallowing in shame for betraying the people who cared about you, or do you fear Jackie's superior strength?"
"I'm not a coward!" Landry insisted, his voice peaking at a boyish high that made him seem more like a middle schooler than a grown adult, "You're the one who brainwashed the entire apartment into excommunicating me. I'm merely diagnosing the situation – that's what makes me a good doctor."
"Only the seventh-best," Charlie didn't hesitate to remind him of his insecurity regarding his ranking, but when she saw him flinch at the mention, she felt a momentary wave of guilt.
"One of us is being investigated for ethics violations, and it's not me," Landry sneered, "Who's the best now?"
Charlie's face twisted into that of horror and outrage at his statement, and her blood boiled until she could feel the rushing heat to her cheeks. How dare he? That little shit.
"Do you want to know the difference between the two of us?" Charlie leaned in, placing her hands on the edge of the table.
"I have a job, and you don't," Landry quipped.
Charlie slowly shook her head, "I don't hide like you do, Landry. When a patient made a decision about her body and her life, I fought for her. I didn't shrug my shoulders and put my career over her right to choose. When everyone turned on me, I worked harder to gain their respect. When confronted with my actions, I turned myself in and faced the hearing, even if it meant losing my career."
Charlie surveyed Landry, shaking her head before saying, "And what did you do? You got jealous of someone who cared about you, so you put your own ego over the lives of patients. Do you know how irresponsible it was to turn off my pager and lie to the staff? Those weren't merely inconvenient pranks. Real patients suffered because of my inability to treat them in the fasted way possible. You're just a rat, Landry Olsen, and no amount of studying can compensate for how morally bankrupt and selfish you are."
Every word felt like a small weight being lifted off her chest, but once they were all out, Charlotte found that she was still not fully liberated. She still carried the shame and the self-doubt carved into her heart by the shards of their shattered trust. When she found Landry Olsen on her first day at Edenbrook, she thought she found a friend, and every day after that, she'd lived a lie by his side. And yelling at him didn't fix that.
Landry was visibly fuming, anger boiling up as he stared at the woman he'd deemed his opponent for months, but there was an element of self-hatred and self-doubt in his flaming rage. No matter his assertion that he was the morally superior actor in this power struggle, guilt nagged at him.
"How could you do it?" Charlie struggled not to choke on her words, fighting off the sob that had been building all weekend, "How could you do this to your friend?"
"I could say the same to you, Charlie," Landry leaned in, his soft voice breaking the serene barrier of the library silence, "You knew how much it meant to me to work with Dr. Ramsey, and if it wasn't bad enough that you were getting special treatment from him, you didn't even think to bring me in to the fold. Did you ever give me a recommendation, Charlie? Even once?"
"No, because we're grown adults. I don't need to tell my boss that you're a fan, Landry," Charlie rolled her eyes, "If you wanted to talk to him, be a grown-up and talk to him."
"How could I when he was always with you? You were always his favorite. No wonder he made you number one."
"Don't you dare project that on me!" Charlie huffed, "You couldn't even ask him for his autograph, so don't pretend I'm the reason you were too afraid to make the impression you desperately seek. And even if he did know me better than he knew you, he treated us all equally, and deep down, you know that."
Landry looked away, shaking his head as if deep in thought. After pausing, he returned to their conversation to admit, "For months, I thought Aurora was my competition when I should have always known it would come down to the two of us."
Charlie raised her eyebrows, "You peaked at fifth, and I was first. This whole narrative you've created is merely a scapegoat for your jealous behavior. I didn't even want to join the competition, Landry. I wanted to put our friend group first, but the people I loved encouraged me to better myself. Can you imagine what we could have achieved if we'd worked together?"
"One of us was always going to win, Charlie. There was one spot on the diagnostics team, and there are two of us."
Charlie took a deep breath, releasing her grip on the table and standing up straight to consider the implications of what he said. There was sad truth in what he said, and part of her wanted to find pity and understanding of his actions. But instead, she just saw inevitable this all was.
Landry Olsen was always going to betray her, and she was always going to be blindsided.
"Until one of us won, it was always going to turn out like this. It was always going to tear everything apart," Landry had come to the same conclusion, but as he mirrored her thoughts, she just wished he could have shared it months ago.
Until one of us won…
Charlie paused, suddenly very far away from their fight and taken back to months of work and tests and emotional labor.
Tear everything apart…
The idea worked its way through her thoughts, working its way towards something important until –
"Oh my God."
Charlie's eyes lit up with her revelation, adrenaline and excitement coursing through her veins as she devoted her mind to the fulfillment of her new understanding. Every clue had been leading her to this, and now, she watched as it all fell into place.
"I know, it's painful to hear, Charlie –"
"Landry, shut the fuck up," Charlie cut him off, "You're a fucking genius. I can't believe I didn't think of it before…" Charlie took his laptop out of his hands, typing urgently in his search bar to confirm her theory.
"I-I am? I mean, I like to think I am… Wait, what's happening? What are you searching for?"
"I know what's killing Dr. Banerji," Charlie admitted and, with a disappointed pause, added, "And I think I need your help."
And thus, hours passed under the harsh fluorescent light of the Boston Public Library – every moment eaten by strained eyes and hurried yet deep studying. Piles of medical textbooks formed over the passing moments until they became mountains of their own, all opened to various important passages. Notes were scribbled on every piece of available paper, and in the center of it all sat two unlikely allies.
Or rather, seven unlikely allies.
When Charlie texted an "SOS – come to the library ASAP" message in her group chat, her friends all found their way to the library as soon as they woke from their respective naps. After the obvious outrage from coming face-to-face with Landry, they were soon just as engrossed in the medical mystery before them.
With an army of intelligent medical interns deep in research, it was only a matter of time before the clues finally lead to a completed puzzle – even if their intellectual debates were interrupted by several perturbed librarians demanding they lower their voices.
Still, as they worked through their conclusions, they hardly heeded the warnings.
"Listen, Dr. Banerji is dying of septic shock, which is the immune system's overreaction to an infection. There has to be an infection attacking him, Charlie," Bryce insisted, propped up on one arm as he sprawled across the library floor – oblivious to a group of teenage girls ogling him.
"I'm not saying there's not an infection. I'm just saying it's not attacking him," Charlie insisted, making her case for what felt like the millionth time since her friends had arrived. Deep in her gut, Charlie knew that her diagnosis was correct, even if it was outlandish enough to make her fellow interns pause.
"Charlie, I know you had a similar case, but on this scale? A man dying of collateral damage is hard to swallow," Sienna admitted, wanting to support her friend but feeling responsible to acknowledge the unlikelihood.
"Being uncommon doesn't make it impossible," Charlie reminded them, "The halls of Edenbrook have seen much stranger cases than the one I'm suggesting."
"Just walk us through it one more time," Elijah rubbed his eyes, urging them to forget how tired they were and focus on the task at hand. It didn't help any of them that they were still bottles of champagne deep into the afternoon after their celebratory brunch.
"So, we know that Dr. Banerji's immune system is responding to an infection, but every test came back negative. What I'm saying is that there is a bacterial infection, but it's fighting against a bacteriophage, not Dr. Banerji himself –"
"Which is a virus that infects and replicates bacterial cells," Kira chimed in, excited with her new medical understanding that had been ingrained in her mind after hours of back and forth. She nursed her hot coffee in victory, fighting off the first signs of a hangover from brunch. Bryce, the most affected by the champagne, raised his coffee in congratulations.
"But why hasn't one won yet?" Elijah inquired, "It's been almost a year."
"Theoretically, if both had strong defenses and large enough populations…" Landry interjected, his voice soft with concern that he still didn't belong in this conversation. As if in agreement, Jackie's eyes narrowed at him.
"The fight could stay even," Charlie confirmed.
"If this is true, then the phage could have gotten past the blood-brain barrier," Jackie leaned forward, a light in her eyes of sudden inspiration. She's starting to get it.
"Which would explain his headaches… It's encephalitis," Elijah's ears perked up, his face mirroring that of his Jackie's.
"And a bacterial infection could have caused his chest pains and his bloody cough," Sienna chimed in.
"The reason we haven't been able to identify it is that these symptoms are secondary to the virus and the phage's war against each other," Landry admitted, "Charlie... I think this is it."
Charlie took a deep breath, balancing on world-shattering fear and exhilaration at having solved it.
"We have to get to Banerji and test him. We're running out of time to wipe out the phage and infection before his immune system kills him," Charlie chewed on her lower lip, raking her fingers through her hair as the reality of the grave situation set in.
"But Charlie, you're suspended. How are you supposed to get that kind of equipment?"
"And your ethics hearing is tomorrow," Jackie's didn't hesitate to remind Landry of what he'd done, forcing Landry to avert his gaze and hang his head in shame.
The hearing…
Though the hearing had changed her life and consumed her thoughts all morning, it had all but disappeared from her mind. In the fervor of trying to solve an impossible case, she'd forgotten about her own problems, and now that they'd returned, there was a nagging self-protectionist instinct urging her to just let it lie and put her preparations first.
But then she remembered her day on the lake. She remembered the wonderful old man who welcomed her into his home and heart. She thought of the way he'd designated himself "Grandmentor" and cared for all those around him, particularly Ethan Ramsey. She considered the way he'd begged her to take care of him once he was gone, and suddenly, she knew there was no other option.
"I have to see this through," Charlie stood quickly, dusting off her jeans and fumbling for her bag, "If I'm right and I never tried, I'll never forgive myself. I'll find a way to get my hands on that equipment."
Charlie's thoughts were a panicked, jumbled mess as she realized that she'd figured it out too late. Given the responsibility to save the diagnostician of a generation, she'd failed. She failed Ethan. She failed herself. She failed Naveen. And now, staring down the barrel of a ticking clock, it was too late…
"I'll get it," Landry's voice cut through Charlie's panicked thoughts about how to break into a hospital and steal expensive equipment, and it startled everyone, creating an unexpected silence.
"So you can just throw Charlie under the bus again?" Jackie cocked an eyebrow, daring him to admit the truth, "Frame her for theft and announce your brilliant diagnosis as they put her in the back of a cruiser?"
"How dare you? I would never endanger Dr. Banerji's life through such an unnecessary escapade!" Landry's chest puffed up with fury and pride, urging Jackie to jump up and step up to him, tapping on his chest as if to deflate his ridiculous self-importance.
"Oh, but it's perfectly fine to lie and hurt someone else just to further your own ambitions? You little, brown-nosing fuc-" Jackie raged, forcing Charlie to put her arm between them.
"Jackie," Charlie put her arm around Jackie, gently pushing her away from Landry, and as she did, she felt a swell of pride that this badass cared about her with such intensity that she required physical removal from their ex-friend.
"You can't actually be considering this, Charlie!" Jackie only paused her death glare to give Charlie an imploring glance, "You can't trust him. He's already sold you out once. What would stop him from doing it again to impress his hero?"
"Jackie, I don't trust him. I need him," Charlie conceded, acknowledging a fact she'd hoped to forget the whole time they'd been assembled in the library, "None of you could ever get away with borrowing that equipment, and without it, Naveen could die."
"There's one other person," Sienna's voice was tentative, almost afraid to mention Ethan, especially in front of Landry. Still, everyone stared at Charlotte with quiet understanding.
Charlie hesitated, thinking about the enigmatic man she'd gotten to know over the last year. Dr. Ramsey was the obvious choice for any medical concern regarding Naveen. He was the most familiar with his case and arguably the best diagnostician in the country, even if he'd lost his confidence. But Ethan… Ethan had faced the devastating, monumental task of accepting that the father figure he'd confided in for over a decade was dying. Charlie couldn't give him that sliver of hope just for it to be ripped away.
"It's just Landry," Charlie breathed, knowing she couldn't call Ethan yet.
Jackie huffed, "Then I'm going with you!"
"I don't need a murder on my hands, but thank you," Charlie chuckled softly, shaking her head as she tried to bury any reservations about leaving Jackie behind. Maybe she would need a little ass-kicking if she was going to trust Landry today… "But I need you here. I'll never survive that trial without research, and you're the best."
"I'll help, too," Sienna declared before Jackie could respond.
"Me, too!" Elijah piped up.
"If med school taught me anything, it's how to study with a hangover. It'll suck, but you're worth it, Charlie," Bryce took a long gulp of his coffee as he flashed his unapologetically handsome smile, an old trick that used to make Charlie's knees go weak, but as she stared at him now, she was overcome with friendly affection. Her favorite hungover playboy.
"I'm staying, too. I don't know much I can help, but at my worst, I can get coffee with the best of them," Kyra interjected, unafraid of the hangover looming over her.
As Charlie looked around the people surrounding her, she was overwhelmed with how much she loved each of them. Even in the wake of Landry's betrayal, she was bolstered by supportive friends she was lucky to call her family. Fighting off the tears threatening to slip down her cheeks, Charlie nodded her thanks.
"I love you guys."
"We know! Now go save Dr. Banerji's life," Elijah shooed her away, forcing a small laugh from Charlie despite her best attempts to keep it together.
At that moment, it was clear what she had to do, but in that split second before she took the next step, she was terrified. What if she was wrong? What if she was right but too late?
But then she made herself take the next step.
Reluctantly turning to Landry, she prepared to give him orders but was started by the that, pained regret on his face as she stared at the mutual affection he was now excluded from. Tempted to offer him pity, Charlie reminded herself that his betrayal wasn't an eventuality. If she and her friends could love each other this unapologetically, Landry and Charlie could have worked through competing dreams.
"Go pick up the equipment from the hospital and meet me back at the apartment. I'll take you to Dr. Banerji from there," Charlie shouldered her bag, moving through the library to the door without a passing warning to her new sidekick.
Surprised, he initially struggled to keep up but managed to ask, "You know where he is? How?"
"Just meet me at the apartment," Charlie ignored his question and opened the door for Landry, watching as he momentarily hesitated but eventually stepped out in the direction of the nearest parking garage.
Charlie booked it to the nearest subway station, desperate to make the next train. The entire walk, she couldn't stop thinking about what she was doing – what she was about to test and the capability of those results in saving a dear man's life. She easily could have been crushed under the gravity of it all, but rather, she was confident. As much as it killed her to admit, Ethan had been a pretty good teacher…
Charlie had hardly made it to her front door when she felt a buzz in her pocket. Dropping her bag at the door, she fished out her phone to give her newest notification a sliver of her attention as she ran around collecting her necessities.
One new text from Ethan Ramsey.
The alert stopped Charlie in her tracks, guilt forcing blood to her cheeks she fumbled for the text.
Charlie's fingers hesitated over the keyboard. She considered lying and telling him that she was safely locked away in the library, but even if she managed to get away with it, she didn't want to lie to him. She considered telling him everything, but then she imagined the fallout… She couldn't involve him until she knew.
Finally, she just pressed the "call" button and waited to hear his voice.
"Well, this is a surprise," Ethan's voice was smooth on the other end, instantly filling her with endorphins. Without realizing it, she had conjured up a whole scene of him on the couch with Jenner, likely nursing his hangover and perusing medical journals like most skimmed a newspaper.
"I know you hate texting," Charlie smirked, leaning against her kitchen counter, "Must have really missed me to stoop to a text."
"It's a low point in my life," Ethan conceded with a chuckle, and after a pause, he asked, "You're not in the library, are you?"
Even if she had wanted to lie, his tone told her that he already knew the answer.
"I'm not…" Charlie admitted, chewing on her lower lip, "Something came up."
"Tomorrow is serious, Charlie," Ethan's voice morphed into that of concern, making it even more clear than it was Ethan on the other line, not Dr. Ramsey, "If you lose…" Ethan trailed off, taking a deep breath before finally saying, "I assume that this 'something' is just as important as tomorrow if you're willing to take it on today."
"It's more important."
"And you're not going to tell me?"
Charlie didn't need to see Ethan to know that his eyebrows were raised in disbelief.
"I will… Later."
"Ah, so you're willing to miss studying but still intend to come over tonight?" Ethan was laughing now – a deep, real laugh that made Charlie's body warm.
"I can multitask," Charlie smirked, "Besides, I don't put it past you to hand me a textbook the second I walk in the door."
Ethan was smiling now, and he knew she could tell, even miles away. Instinctively, he was overcome with one thought, That's my girl.
"We'll see, Rookie," Ethan's affection felt so warm that it might catch fire and burn down the walls he'd painstakingly built, but at least right now, he was okay with it.
"Goodbye, Ethan," Charlie enjoyed saying his name, especially to his face. It felt like a novelty still, as if she were still bound by strict professionalism and damning power dynamics. For a moment, there was an urge to say something else, three very unfamiliar words, but she swallowed them and hung up the phone.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Landry.
Charlie grabbed her coat and her last-minute supplies, and with one step out the door, she was on the race to the cure.