By Didi
Disclaimer: Though the show has been cancelled, (damn those executives) I still cannot claim them as mine. And anyone that even thinks so would be laughed out of the courts. Don't sue; I'm not making any money out of this.
Timeline: Let's just assume this is after the last aired episode. But assume that Nick Kokoris and Rae Brennan are not together. I could not stand the two on the show so I refuse to write anything where they are together. Don't worry; I won't ignore their history already established as the back-story from the show.
Author's Note: I didn't get to see the last two episodes cause CBS didn't air it where I am so I don't really know what happened. Also, I'm not good with details so if there are any inconsistencies, you have my apologies now. To answer Nicky's question: the last episode that aired in my time zone was "Breathless."
Rating: Still at PG-13 for now.
Summary: What would you do in the name of love?
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Chapter Two~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A small buzzing seemed to have deafened her for a moment. Harriet blinked her eyes several times and stared at the anxious freckled face. "Let me get this straight," pressing her fingers tightly together before her. "You want to defrost one of your embryos and be impregnate with it."
"Yes." Jules felt some relief in having done the hard part… making the actual request. "I know what you're thinking…"
"I highly doubt it."
"You think I've gone off my rockers and that I should think about this some more and that this is an impulsive and rather reckless move on my part considering my life is hardly the staple of stability; what with my work schedule so crazy and all. I mean how is someone with my kind of crazy life going to be able to provide of a home for a child. But I can assure you Harriet, that I am totally prepared to…"
"Your abilities as a parent is not in question here, Jules." The sigh was accompanied by eyeglasses hitting the desk. She was silently wondering why none of Julia Keating's problem could be simple. "I'm well aware that you have always wanted a child of your own. I'm merely a little surprised by your sudden decision. Until today, I was still under the impression that the frozen embryos were a last resort plan."
Jules nodded her head slowly and closed her eyes. Letting out the breath she didn't even realize she had been holding out slowly, "Well, last resort has come."
The frown settled on Harriet's brows. Alarm had her sitting up straighter, "Would you like to explain that to me?"
Nodding her head but getting up, "What are you doing tonight?"
"Having dinner with you, I assume."
"Good," she laughed and grabbed her coat. "I've got patients until six and I'm on call for NICU tonight. Why I don't I meet you here at six-thirty?"
"Sounds fine," Harriet's eyes were watching the young doctor with the maternal expression that Jules knew only too well. It worried her even as it warmed her heart to know that Dr. Lenning cared so much. "Jules…"
"I'm fine, really," she reassured her with a reassuring smile. "But have I got a story for you."
~~~~
"Dr. Keating!" Kokoris and Slingerland partly ran to catch up with the hurried pediatrician.
She eyed the two of them with a great deal of wariness. "What do you two want?"
Matt feigned hurt. "My dear Jules, how can you think that we would be in need of anything but your lovely company?"
Jules reluctantly cracked a smile and rolled her eyes. She had been so preoccupied lately and has missed the opportunities to be charmed by the ever honey-tongued Brit. "All right gentleman, plead your case."
Rubbing his hand over his mouth to keep the smile from appearing, Nick cleared his throat and guided Jules Keating toward a nearby empty waiting room. Shutting the door, "Matt and I have a new patient."
"I'm fresh out of suicidal teens, guys. Sorry."
Both men were a little taken aback by the harshness of her tone. That certainly answered their earlier question of whether Dr. Keating was still angry with them for pushing for the organ donation on grieving parents. The girl obviously does not forgive and forget… very quickly. But then again, doctors are notorious for protecting their patients and Jules Keating cared more than most.
Matt cleared his throat, thoughts of apologies and maybe even a little begging fluttered through is mind. But before he could speak, Jules glanced at her watch. "Look whatever it is you guys are after: just spit it out quickly. I have lots of patients and very little time for games."
"We need stem cells," Nick blurted out.
Slingerland nearly smacked the surgeon for his less than graceful approach.
Blinking several times and trying to mentally come up with something other than what she just heard, "Come again?"
"Sixteen year old congestive heart failure. Preexisting condition aggravated by a brief episode of experimenting with drugs. "
Keating's eyes narrowed. "Sixteen? Why aren't they on my rotation?"
"Emancipated minor," Slingerland explained with a shrug. "Former social worker brought him to me."
Jules shook her head. "You need to be talking to Harriet about this."
"Dr. Lenning said to talk to you since most parents bring their newborns to you for care," Nick sighed and rubbed his eyes. He's getting more cases that he could handle in the last week. And the pace doesn't appear to be lightening up anytime soon. "Storage unit said that you've got a good or three dozen parents that have stored stem cells here in the hospital."
Nodding her head slowly, her green eyes darkening to a shade that would have been mesmerizing if it weren't so killing, "I see. So you did all the research, including asking the techs in storage private information, and now you'd like me to approach someone about donating their frozen stem cells; the cells they were saving for some emergency use because they have high risk babies."
Both men were wise enough not to answer that.
Yanking the door open, she gave them both a vicious glare. "If you'll excuse me gentlemen, I've got patients."
The door slammed loudly shut.
After a moment of silence, Nick sighed. "Well, that went better than expected."
~~~~
"Hey, any luck?" Jackie asked as she came to stop next to Slingerland.
"Not a chance," Matt replied snapping a chart closed and handing it to a waiting nurse, whom he noticed had been hanging around the station a lot more of late. "Jules walks in the opposite direction every time she sees me. Nick says she does the same thing when he's around."
"Want me to talk to her for you?" Jackie offered with a sympathetic sigh.
"Not unless you want to be sent back to your office in a body bag," he warned with a more admiration then irritation. "She's quite the firecracker when she's angry."
The plastic surgeon nodded her head. "Talk to Harriet. Get her to talk to Jules. You know how everyone is around here when Harriet takes an interest."
"I'd rather not involve her if necessary. There's no need to alienate Jules any more than I already have. She probably thinks her kids are all going to be cold-hearted monsters now."
Confusion clouded Jackie's eyes. "What?"
It took a moment for Dr. Slingerland to realize that she had no idea what he was referring to, and he'd rather not have it known around the hospital that he had done Jules a favor, they may get the wrong idea…. Whatever idea there was to be gotten. "Nothing."
"I sense a story here," her face positively aglow to interest at the thought of ripe gossip in the air. "Come on, come on; share with me."
"Hell no," he replied with a laugh. "Especially not when you look like you're about to announce something juicy over the PA system."
"I would never…"
"Dr. Slingerland," Norman, the ever-diligent desk assistant, called out from reception. He held the receiver end of the phone over his head. "Telephone."
Matt sighed; he really hated phone calls. They were so unbelievably impersonal. And if one more patient ask him to do an over-the-phone diagnosis, he's likely to throw the handy-dandy contraption in to the wall.
Jackie made a face. "Save by the phone call."
Okay, he took everything nasty he's ever said about Mr. Bell back. Phones are good for some things. Grinning, he placed the receiver to his ear. "Slingerland."
"Good afternoon, Matthew."
Cringing, Slingerland wished he were in his office so he could put his head on the desk and bang it a couple of times---hard. This would teach him to answer a call without looking at the caller ID first. Glaring at Norman for not warning him first, he reluctantly greeted his caller. "Hello Mother. How are you?"
"Fine, fine, Matthew. Just visited Madam Saglorhor's, got myself a nice new bottle of Tu Vie." Dr. Slingerland could almost smell the overwhelming spray of scent his mother insists on wearing dispute the dozen bottles of less fragrant perfumes Matt has given his mother over the years.
"You're in New York, Mum?"
"Yes dear, didn't you read the email your father and I sent you? What handy little devices we have these days."
Emails? Slingerland frowned, he hadn't checked his emails in… oh much too long. Who has time to check emails when he's working nearly sixty hours a week? "No, Mum, I didn't get the email. It's simply easier to reach me through my answering service."
"Oh dear, you really must get out more often. How are you to meet any women if you don't make it a point to leave that sterile hospital of yours?"
Choking on his laugher, he just reframed from informing his mother of his rather active social life. Well… it was active until of late. The workload was simply killing his nights.
"No, no, Bert, put the little one on the bottom, it's much heavier."
Matt could almost see the little man with his heavy cockney accent making a face as he does what his mistress requests. Bert, no matter how disgruntle he was, would never think of leaving the Slingerlands' services. The servant was too fond of complaining about his employers. "What did you purchase, Mother?"
"Oh a lovely Ming vase. Your father would simply die when he sees this."
That brought a grin of amusement to Dr. Slingerland's face. His father would simply die all right, when he sees the price tag on the 'lovely vase.' Shifting the phone and ignoring Norman pointing at his watch, "Is there something you needed, Mum?"
"What was that, Matthew?"
"You called me, Mother. Did you need to talk to be about something in particular?"
"Can't a mother call her son simply to say hello?"
"Oh course you can, Mum. It's simply that I'm a bit busy with patients and all," he shooed Norman away when the man tried to take the phone from him and pointing to the three occupied curtained areas.
"Oh yes, dear. I forgot."
Matt was tempted to ask his mother if she meant that she forgot he was a doctor or that she forgot the purpose of her call, which she had done in the past. "Was there something important, Mum?"
"I wanted to remind you to pick us up dear."
"Pick you up?" nearly dropping the three charts he had been juggling.
"Yes, Matthew. Did you really expect your mother to ride in one of those horrid trolleys?"
"You're coming in tomorrow?" putting the charts down in a hurry and snatched the pen from Norman's hand. "When? Where?"
"Tomorrow at six… oh what was that airport's name? San Francisco International I believe is the right one. Really, Matthew, you need to learn to use one of those emailing things. It's much easier than it looks."
"Yes, Mother." Jotting down the information quickly and handing it to a passing nurse, pointing to his office door. She nodded, smiled and sashayed her way to his office to place the note on his desk. "I'll be there to pick you up."
"Why don't you get a chauffer like a normal person?"
Oddly, it still amuses him to hear his mother make strange little comments like that. "Well one can hardly call me normal, Mother. Besides which, I enjoy driving."
"Well that's just silly."
Because it was a long conversation that involved too many childhood issues and why he chose to put an ocean and a continent between himself and his parents, Dr. Slingerland bit his tongue. "Yes Mother."
"Pick a nice place for dinner, Matthew. You know how your father is about food. French or Italian please; you know how he feel about the Spanish since that blotched deal with Senor Montento."
Matt chose not to mention that his mother was the one that always complain about the restaurants, no matter what garment cuisine was served. He was much more like his father in eating habits; he'll eat anything that doesn't bit him first. "I will pick something that will have your mouth melting, Mother. Fear not."
"Good, good. Now, I must be off. Must visit Monsieur Dupone before we get on the plane tonight. My Fifi needs a new collar."
Her Fifi needs a new diet regime. A more grotesquely fatter pug Matt has yet to see. "Don't bring Fifi, Mother. He doesn't like my apartment very much." Plus it took weeks to remove the smell last time dear Fifi came to visit.
"Oh no Matthew, Fifi is back in London. Billings is watching over him while we visit the colonies. Wouldn't want to upset the poor dear's delicate stomach. Fifi doesn't much take to flying and those horrible people at the airports won't let him stay with me. Besides which, Billings would miss my little Fifi so."
Matt imaged that their old butler would have locked the spoiled mutt in the basement by now. Somewhat cheered by the thought, "Shall I have them book a hotel room for the two of you as well? The usual place?"
"Yes, yes. Your father needs to be in Liverpool by Thursday so we'll be in town for at least two day."
"I'll call the Hilton then."
"Thank you, Matthew." There was a bit of muffling and a rather loud static sound from the other end. "Tunnel and tall buildings make these mobile phone very difficult to use."
"I'm sure the city planners didn't mean to inconvenient you Mother, when they designed New York City." Glancing at the irritated Norman. He was way behind schedule now. "Mother, I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow night."
"All right then. Oh and don't forget to bring your lady friend to dinner."
That stopped the good bye he was about to issue to his mother. "My what?"
"Oh it's Chanel! What a coincidence, I needed to get your father that lovely cologne he likes so much. Stop here, Bert!"
"Mother," he was probably yelling into the receiver as the patients in the waiting room all suddenly turned at the commotion. "Mother, what are you…"
"I'll let you go now, Matthew. Saves some lives but don't get any blood on those lovely shirts I sent you from Bath, frightfully difficult to get out. See you tomorrow." Then the phone went dead before Matt had a chance to utter another word.
~~~~
Rae eyed the pair of whispering doctors with some interest. It wasn't the first time Jules and Harriet dined together in the hospital dining hall, nothing out of the ordinary. But the intensity and concern on head OB's face caught and held Rae's attention. If something wasn't wrong, she'd eat her new $200.00 shoes.
Approaching from behind Dr. Keating, Dr. Brennan managed to catch the last half of a sentence. "…cause I certainly cannot think of anything better. At this point, I'm pretty desperate."
"Desperate for what?" Rae asked as she pulled up a chair and felt not the least bit abashed over interrupting what would appear to be a private conversation. "What's going on?" Jules's last health crisis still fresh on her mind.
Harriet said nothing, shaking her head and taking another sip of the stone cold tea that had been nursing all evening, her appetite having fled half an hour ago when Jules began her story.
Flashing an overly bright smile that she didn't feel, Jules turned to her friend. "Hey, Rae. What are you still doing here?"
"I have a new patient that just got settled in this afternoon. And don't you change the subject. What's going on?"
"Nothing that you need to be worried about," the young redhead replied reassuringly while patting Dr. Brennan's hand.
It only made Rae even more suspicious until Harriet held up a finger. "Relax Rae, Jules is not having a relapse."
Relief flooded through. "Thank god." Collapsing into a chair, "So what is going on then?"
"A personal matter involving my family," Dr. Keating replied, glancing at her beeping pager. "What the hell?" A number flashed on the screen. "Excuse me," before getting up to reach for the house phone.
Rae watched Jules for a moment, concern still on her family. "What's wrong with her family?"
"A matter that you'll need to ask Jules about," Harriet replied quietly, her face seeming to age year in the short time she's been sitting there. "This is a personal manner but still confidential. If she chooses to share, that's her prerogative."
"Why don't I like the way that sounds?" the oncologist predicted ominously.
"Trust me, I'm not liking it one bit," Harriet shook her head, set her cup down and watched at Jules came back to the table at a run. "What is it?"
"I've got a Code Pink." Grabbing her charts, "They need me up in NICU. We'll continue this tomorrow?"
"My office at nine," Harriet replied with nod.
"Nine it is," Jules nodded her goodbye and took off.
Rae sat there for a moment. "This is serious isn't it?"
"Not something to be taken lightly, that's for us." Glancing at her watch, she nodded to herself. "Mrs. Summers and Mrs. Brodrick have been waiting long enough. Time to help them bring the newest addition to their family into the world." She paused as she got up, "I'll recommend that Jules talk to you a bit. I know that you care and I know that she wants to share but…"
The doe eyed doctor nodded her head. "It's personal and therefore ten times harder."
"Yeah. That sums it up."
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TBC…. Okay, the next chapter will have the whole basis of this story behind it. I hope…