A/N – Happy New Year, and happy anniversary to Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman! The pilot aired January 1, 1993, with the first episode, Epidemic, premiering the next day. It's extra special to be able to post a chapter on such an occasion. Though I didn't plan it that way initially - it's just taken me several tries to get this chapter where I wanted it.

We're still on Monday, Andrew's first workday, setting the stage for what happens next…

Chapter 4

Lunch for the staff of Pikes Peak Medical Group consisted of three options: Grace's Café, bringing something from home, or going out. Several fast food and fast casual places dotted a shopping center just five minutes away on foot. Since he wasn't much of a cook (despite his last name, though he was competent enough with a basic stir fry and boiling pasta), Andrew decided to stick with the uniqueness of the café, at least until he'd tried everything on the menu. Once that choice had been made, he faced three additional choices of where to partake of his meal – the small café itself, Michaela Quinn's office (the best option if he desired peace and quiet, or needed to make private phone calls), or the doctor's lounge. Wanting to get to know his fellow physicians, he opted for the lounge.

A familiar face greeted him. "Andrew, won't you join us?" Miriam Tilson beckoned from one of the tables. She made the introductions, and he settled down to eat.

The conversation initially focused on Andrew, the others asking him how he was getting on so far, before it turned to the reason he was there, filling in for Michaela. There was a little bit of ribbing that she'd had the gall to deliver early, ruining people's bets about when the baby would arrive, followed by a cryptic comment that they still couldn't believe Sully had held it together out there after everything he'd been through with Abby. Miriam had then explained to a perplexed Andrew about the loss of Sully's first wife and child, leaving the young doctor stunned. She concluded by stating that Sully was blessed to have been given a second chance at happiness with Michaela, and how fortunate it was that Michaela had taken the leap to come west to practice medicine. She'd given Andrew a sidelong glance at that but made no other comment. Talk then segued to the news that someone's daughter had just broken up with her boyfriend, a week before school let out for the summer, thinking it the end of the world, and the angst of living with teenagers. That led to discussion of end-of-school year activities. Andrew listened politely before everyone began cleaning up and Miriam invited him out to drinks Friday night at a place called the Gold Nugget Saloon, she said it was the local hangout where they had pool tables and line dancing and buffalo wings that were decent, though sometimes they overdid it with the sauce. As the new guy in town, he accepted, always wanting to get a taste of the local lifestyle.

On his second day in the lounge, the conversation was a mix of patient talk (in generalities) and the sharing of family activities, promotions to the next grade level, the end-of-year school concert, signing up for summer sports, etc. Andrew again listened politely but didn't have much to contribute.

Wednesday found him running late to lunch. A mother had brought in her teenage son, saying there was something wrong with his foot, and the young man protesting "it's nothing, Mom." Andrew cast the tie-breaking vote, in favor of the mother, for he diagnosed a fractured toe. He determined X-rays weren't necessary, but he did need to clean and buddy tape the toe. While he worked, Colleen retrieved a walking boot from Orthopedics to ensure the injury healed properly. After instructing Alice to schedule the follow-up for three weeks hence, Andrew went back to the computer to document the patient encounter while it was still fresh in his mind.

Down in the café, he was planning to simply grab a turkey wrap and juice and return to Michaela's office when he spotted Colleen out on the patio, head bent over a book.

This was his chance. He couldn't ask her out, but there was no harm in asking to share a table, was there? After all, she'd said she wouldn't mind bumping into him at the store, right?

"Colleen."

She startled and looked up, her face flushing slightly when she saw who it was. "Dr. Cook."

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"You… you want to sit with me?"

"If you'd rather be alone, I can sit somewhere else."

Recovering from her surprise, Colleen answered, "No, uh, I guess so." She scooted her tray closer to her, so it took up less room on the table.

"Doing a little light reading?" he inquired teasingly, as he could now see that her book was a thick textbook, opened to an early chapter. His attempt to break the ice worked.

"Principles of Nutrition. I'm taking this and a psychology class this summer. I'm getting my bachelor's in health science so I can become a PA."

"That's wonderful, Colleen," he enthused, genuinely happy to hear she had ambition beyond her current duties. Though he was mildly curious at why a PA and not an M.D., he didn't dare ask. Not only would it be rude, but the answer was readily available - medical school was notoriously time consuming and expensive, as he well knew from personal experience. "How long have you wanted to be a PA?" he inquired instead, thinking it a safe enough question.

He was wrong. The light dimmed in her eyes, and she glanced down at her tray before answering him. "I've always wanted to help people," she said carefully, not answering directly. She returned her focus to him. "What about you? When did you know you wanted to become a doctor?"

He took the hint that she didn't want to talk about herself, though it saddened him. She had been candid with him up to now. Maybe if he opened up to her a little, she'd open up to him? "It pretty much fell into my lap," he confessed. "My uncle's a plastic surgeon, and when I was little, I would dress up as a doctor for Halloween. He kept joking that one day I would join his practice, until at some point the joke became the expectation. But once I was in med school and discovered family medicine, those plans fizzled out. I decided to leave Boston and make a fresh start."

"Boston?" Colleen perked back up. "I got to go there once, when Grandma got sick. Matthew hated it because he couldn't bring Ingrid, who was his girlfriend at the time, but I loved it. Part of me wished I could have stayed."

Yes! She was relaxed with him again. "Is Matthew your brother?" he asked, remembering the wedding photo with the young man in it.

"Yeah. He and Ingrid are married now, they got a little boy. Peter. I babysit sometimes."

"If you don't mind my asking, why did you want to stay in Boston?"

She suddenly seemed shy, or perhaps embarrassed. "It was just really nice there. The museums, and the library, and… everything. And Grandma's kinda rich. She's not really our grandma, but she lets us call her that anyway because she's Dr. Mike's mom."

"So, Dr. Mike took you to Boston to visit her mother, whom you call Grandma, but you don't call Dr. Mike 'Mom.'" It was only a summary of what he'd heard thus far, but the moment the words were out Andrew regretted them, for Colleen's downcast expression meant he'd touched another nerve. "Forgive me, Colleen, it's none of my business."

She let out a heavy sigh before meeting his eyes again. "It's… it's just that it's complicated."

He knew he should drop it. It would be best if he dropped it… but he desperately wanted to get to know her better, earn her trust and gain her friendship, to be close to her the only way he could. "I understand, Colleen, if you don't want to share with a stranger, but sometimes that makes it easier to share. I'd be honored if you shared your story with me. We could go inside, talk privately in Dr. Mike's office, if you prefer. It's your choice."

There was an agonizing wait while she considered it. "Okay," she agreed finally. "I'll tell you upstairs." And with that she closed her book and grabbed her tray, Andrew following her lead.

Once in Michaela's office, Andrew felt wrong sitting behind the desk at a moment like this, a position of authority, while Colleen was in the guest seat, so he opted to sit in the other guest chair, placing them on more on equal footing. She looked at him then, curious at his choice, but didn't comment on it.

"I'm only telling you this because you seem nice, and as a doctor, you know about confidentiality. But this doesn't fall under doctor-patient privilege. You've got to promise me you won't tell anyone what I tell you."

He was simultaneously thrilled that she had a favorable opinion of him and dismayed that what whatever she was about to tell him had this mysterious undercurrent of malfeasance. "I promise, Colleen. You can trust me."

She squared her shoulders. "I have two brothers, Matthew and Brian. Brian's the youngest. It was just us and our mom. Our dad left when Brian was a baby. He sent a postcard once, letting us know he was in San Francisco." She paused, and Andrew nodded for her to continue. When she did, her voice was quieter and slightly less self-assured. "Mom… Mom died suddenly. We were on a camping trip, and she got bit by a rattlesnake. We were too far from help. We found out that she had put in her will that she wanted Dr. Mike to become our guardian if anything happened to her, so that we could stay together in Colorado Springs. But to do that… to do that we had to pretend that our dad was dead. There wasn't a death certificate... we just told the judge that we had no living relatives."

Colleen's reluctance to share was now crystal clear. "You lied to the court," Andrew said slowly. "Perjury."

"Yeah. We were scared Dr. Mike might go to jail or lose her medical license if anyone found out. That's why she didn't adopt us officially, we thought they might try to verify that our dad was dead."

Andrew took a breath to form his response. He'd wanted to know more about her, have the pieces fall into place, but he hadn't fathomed anything like this. He fought the urge to place a comforting hand over hers. "Thank you for sharing your story with me, Colleen. I understand now why it was hard for you to share that," he said gently.

"You asked me about becoming a PA," she continued, pressing on. "After we went to live with Dr. Mike, Brian fell out of a tree and needed surgery. She understood everything the doctors were saying about what they needed to do, and what the numbers meant on the monitor. I wished that I could be like her, understanding everything and knowing how to help people. But med school's really expensive, and it'd be seven years* before I could come back home and work with Dr. Mike. I don't want to wait that long. Life's…" Colleen voice caught a little, "life's just too short. PA school is only two years, and I'll be doing a lot of the things I'd be doing as a doctor anyway."

Now with the full story in place, Andrew couldn't help but admire her fortitude. Growing up without a father, losing her mother abruptly… her young life was so far removed from his, and yet by some twist of fate or destiny they were here together now.

He needed to make the most of it.

"I know you'll be an excellent physician assistant, Colleen," he said supportively. "And I want you to know that even though I'm only here for a short time, you can always talk to me. About your family, or things in general… I could even help you with your studies, if you want. It's always nice to have a study partner," he encouraged with a smile.

She hesitated as if wondering if it was a good idea. And maybe he was pressing his luck, coming off as too friendly. Still, the worst that could happen would be that she said no, leaving him no worse off than he was before. But if she agreed…

"Um, sure, that'd be nice, Dr. Cook. The study partner idea. If you really don't mind."

"No. I wouldn't mind at all."

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*medical school in the U.S. is 4 years, plus a residency beyond that before a doctor can become fully licensed. Family medicine requires the minimum 3 years in residency (which is what Michaela and Andrew have done in this AU). There is no residency requirement for a physician assistant.