Twelve hours later she and Jason emerged from the ER, both were exhausted
and down trodden. He walked her to her car and she stood staring at it.
Romano's car was wedged up against hers so closely that their bumpers were
touching.
"Son of a bitch." She said out loud. Jason looked at her and grinned.
"Whose car is that?"
She looked at him and shook her head. "Romano."
He looked at her confused. "How did know which car was yours?"
She shook her head again. "Long story."
They stood there in an uncomfortable silence.
"You know what Jason, I am gonna be fine. Go ahead and go."
He nodded. "You sure?" He asked and she nodded back.
She walked over to Robert's car and resisted the urge to kick in a headlight or key the car. Instead she walked over and sat down on the hood and lit a cigarette. He would have to come out sooner or later. Robert walked out of the hospital and headed for the parking garage. Today had been hell. He hated new med students. They were cocky and clueless and the only joy he got out of it was breaking their spirit. He could read them both like a book. He would have Jason in tears before the week was out. Lexie on the other hand was another story. He felt himself drawn to her and thought that it was to bad that she was his med student because under any other circumstance he would have gotten her into bed but as it stood he would just have to stop himself from killing her. He got off of the elevator and grinned as he saw her sitting on his car. He should have known she wouldn't have just given in and taken the subway.
"Get off of my car." He yelled across the garage.
She looked at him and threw out her cigarette.
"Move it and I will." She yelled back.
He walked over and crossed his arms.
"Carter, get off of my car."
She slid off and stood facing him. "Now move it," she said standing her ground. He walked over to the door, opened it and got in. She walked over to her car and waited for him to move. He started the engine and sat there. She glared at him and he grinned and sped off. This had been a day from hell. He was evil. No evil didn't describe it. She couldn't believe that she had to spend the next year with him. She knew his kind. Cocky and arrogant, with no other joy in his life but making people feel like shit. She was sure he would like nothing more than to make her quit but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. No matter how hard he was on her she wouldn't let him win. Something was nagging at her though. To her amazement she found a small part of herself attracted to him. Maybe the cockiness and arrogant side of him was appealing to her need to rebel. She shook the thought out of her head. She would rather quit and work at the hospital gift shop before she ever acted on those feelings. She drove home in silence and fell into bed in her clothes.
She woke to her phone ringing and she rubbed her eyes as she picked it up.
"Barbara?" John said and she smiled at the phone.
"Hey sibling. What's up?" She said and yawned.
"How did it go?" He asked and she laughed.
"Not well. I hate my chief resident."
John laughed.
"That sucks. But how was everything else? And remember that I am impressionable and looking for a major." She laughed.
"You still want to be a surgeon?" She said trying to stifle a yawn. He sighed into the phone.
"I don't know." She smiled.
"John would it be alright if I called you tomorrow? I am beat." They said their goodbyes and she hung up, falling asleep before her head hit the pillow.
She made sure that she took the early train the next morning and got to the hospital early. He walked in late and walked past her without acknowledging her but stopped a few feet past her and turned around.
"Are you waiting for an invitation?" He asked and she sighed and followed him into the lounge. Jason was already waiting for them and Robert opened his locker and put on his lab coat.
"Ok children. Let's try not to kill anyone today." He said and walked out the door; sticking his head back in. "I had hoped that by now you would have figured out that when I walk you follow. Next time, I assign you both to the bum sickle baths." He said and they followed him out.
This is how it went. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. They clashed on a daily basis usually more than once but even though she wouldn't admit it she was learning a lot. His gruff personality was something she could do without but it helped her to push away any feelings that might be brewing between them. Of course the rumors had stared almost immediately but Lexie didn't care. She just hoped that he would never hear them; all she needed was him to think that she was attracted to him. He would make her life even more of a living hell then. Jason was starting to get his confidence with the patience. It had taken him a while to finally be able to trust his own diagnosis and present it to Romano without running it by Lexie first. Lexie and Jason were sitting in the lounge going over the notes from the lecture they had attended when Robert pushed open the door.
"Hanzel, Grettel, you ready for your first trauma?" They looked at each other and jumped up and ran after him. The EMTs were wheeling the patient in and yelling out vitals.
"42 year old male, car-v- tree, tree won." Lexie and Jason followed them into the trauma room with Robert trailing behind them.
"Hubert, run the trauma. Carter, stand back and watch." Lexie opened her mouth and glared at him and he grinned at her. Robert walked over and he and Jason started yelling out orders to the trauma team. Lexie could see that Jason was shaking and starting to look a little pale.
"Hubert? So help me God if you pass out." Robert yelled and Jason just stared at him.
"Damn it, ok, Hubert step back, Carter step in." Lexie stood next to Jason and took the ultrasound wand out of his hand. They exchanged glances and he turned and walked out of the room.
"How necessary was that?" She said under her breath. Robert looked at her and she looked back.
"Excuse me Miss. Carter?" He said and looked back at the procedure he was doing.
"I said, how necessary was that? He was really trying and you made him feel like shit. Ten blade please." She said and Robert shook his head.
"More suction and push another amp of epi." He said to the nurse. "Carter, he is a big boy and if he can't handle the heat he should stay out of the kitchen." Lexie looked at him and he look back at her.
"Vaseline gauze please. I know, but he is still learning and it doesn't help to make him feel like shit." Robert slammed the scalpel down on the tray and everyone but Lexie jumped.
"Carter," She looked up at him. "Shut up." She glared back and sighed.
"Whatever." She mumbled and they proceeded with the trauma.
"Carter, look at this." She looked but the rib spreader was in the way.
"I can't see anything." She said and he looked up at her.
"Well come over here then." She walked around the table and stood next to him.
"You see the perforation in the small intestine?" He asked and she nodded. "Take your finger and plug the hole to stop the bleeding while I clamp off the artery." She slowly put her hand into the man's body and tried to do what he had asked. He looked at her as she hesitated and grabbed her hand to show her what to do. In the few months they had worked together they had never dared touch each other, not even bump into each other, so as his hand touched hers both felt the invisible spark that shot through them. Their eyes locked and both knew the other had felt it although everyone else in the room was clueless. It took her a second to gain her composure and slow down her breathing and she could tell he was going through the same thing. The both pulled themselves together and stabilized the patient. As they wheeled him to surgery Lexie pulled off her gown and gloves and started to leave the room.
"Lexie," He said and she stopped and turned around. "Well done." He said quietly. She was in shock.
"Thank you." She said in almost a whisper and turned and walked out of the room.
She decided she had better find Jason because she could only imagine what he was going through. After asking around she found him on the roof. He was standing at the edge looking out.
"If you are going to jump, aim for Romano's car." She said and walked over to him. He smiled at her and looked out again. "You ok?" She asked and he nodded.
"I can't believe I froze. My first real trauma and I lost it." Lexie touched his shoulder.
"Hey, it happens. And Romano was wrong to yell at you like that." Jason looked at her and grinned.
"How did it go?" She smiled.
"It went well." They both grinned at each other. "I kicked ass." She said and they laughed. "Don't give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to you. He is just a miserable little man who gets off on making people feel like crap." Jason smiled at her and looked into her eyes. She felt the panic start to rise as he started to lean in to kiss her and as his mouth was about to touch hers they heard someone clear their throat. They both jumped apart and looked at Robert standing with arms folded and looking annoyed.
"Hubert, I think it would be wise if you spent a little more time working on growing some balls and a little less time trying to get laid." Lexie's mouth dropped open and Jason looked down. "They are expecting you in the lab. I figured you might need a refresher in the human anatomy but I see that you were taking care of that yourself." Jason looked at him. "They are waiting." He said not moving to leave. Jason looked at Lexie and smiled at her.
"I will see you later." He said and she smiled at him. He walked past Robert and left. Lexie started to leave also and he stopped her.
"Miss. Carter, a word of advice. The last thing you need right now is to get involved with someone who is going to drag you down."
Lexie glared at him. "Excuse me?"
He crossed his arms again and looked at her. "You would hate to loose the respect of your peers for a quickie in the elevator wouldn't you?" She walked over to him and stood right in his face.
"Dr. Romano, I appreciate your concern for my well being but if I want your opinion I will be sure to ask for it. What I do in my personal life is none of your business. If I want to sleep with someone I will do it and as long as it isn't on your time than you have nothing to say about it. And if your life is so sad that the only joy you get is intimidating people into fearing you than you have failed with me. Because you don't scare me. So fail me if you want if not than back off." She said and walked past him.
"Lexie!" He yelled and she turned around expecting him to tell her to go home but instead she turned to find him grinning at her. "Point taken." He simply said and she turned and walked away.
"Son of a bitch." She said out loud. Jason looked at her and grinned.
"Whose car is that?"
She looked at him and shook her head. "Romano."
He looked at her confused. "How did know which car was yours?"
She shook her head again. "Long story."
They stood there in an uncomfortable silence.
"You know what Jason, I am gonna be fine. Go ahead and go."
He nodded. "You sure?" He asked and she nodded back.
She walked over to Robert's car and resisted the urge to kick in a headlight or key the car. Instead she walked over and sat down on the hood and lit a cigarette. He would have to come out sooner or later. Robert walked out of the hospital and headed for the parking garage. Today had been hell. He hated new med students. They were cocky and clueless and the only joy he got out of it was breaking their spirit. He could read them both like a book. He would have Jason in tears before the week was out. Lexie on the other hand was another story. He felt himself drawn to her and thought that it was to bad that she was his med student because under any other circumstance he would have gotten her into bed but as it stood he would just have to stop himself from killing her. He got off of the elevator and grinned as he saw her sitting on his car. He should have known she wouldn't have just given in and taken the subway.
"Get off of my car." He yelled across the garage.
She looked at him and threw out her cigarette.
"Move it and I will." She yelled back.
He walked over and crossed his arms.
"Carter, get off of my car."
She slid off and stood facing him. "Now move it," she said standing her ground. He walked over to the door, opened it and got in. She walked over to her car and waited for him to move. He started the engine and sat there. She glared at him and he grinned and sped off. This had been a day from hell. He was evil. No evil didn't describe it. She couldn't believe that she had to spend the next year with him. She knew his kind. Cocky and arrogant, with no other joy in his life but making people feel like shit. She was sure he would like nothing more than to make her quit but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. No matter how hard he was on her she wouldn't let him win. Something was nagging at her though. To her amazement she found a small part of herself attracted to him. Maybe the cockiness and arrogant side of him was appealing to her need to rebel. She shook the thought out of her head. She would rather quit and work at the hospital gift shop before she ever acted on those feelings. She drove home in silence and fell into bed in her clothes.
She woke to her phone ringing and she rubbed her eyes as she picked it up.
"Barbara?" John said and she smiled at the phone.
"Hey sibling. What's up?" She said and yawned.
"How did it go?" He asked and she laughed.
"Not well. I hate my chief resident."
John laughed.
"That sucks. But how was everything else? And remember that I am impressionable and looking for a major." She laughed.
"You still want to be a surgeon?" She said trying to stifle a yawn. He sighed into the phone.
"I don't know." She smiled.
"John would it be alright if I called you tomorrow? I am beat." They said their goodbyes and she hung up, falling asleep before her head hit the pillow.
She made sure that she took the early train the next morning and got to the hospital early. He walked in late and walked past her without acknowledging her but stopped a few feet past her and turned around.
"Are you waiting for an invitation?" He asked and she sighed and followed him into the lounge. Jason was already waiting for them and Robert opened his locker and put on his lab coat.
"Ok children. Let's try not to kill anyone today." He said and walked out the door; sticking his head back in. "I had hoped that by now you would have figured out that when I walk you follow. Next time, I assign you both to the bum sickle baths." He said and they followed him out.
This is how it went. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. They clashed on a daily basis usually more than once but even though she wouldn't admit it she was learning a lot. His gruff personality was something she could do without but it helped her to push away any feelings that might be brewing between them. Of course the rumors had stared almost immediately but Lexie didn't care. She just hoped that he would never hear them; all she needed was him to think that she was attracted to him. He would make her life even more of a living hell then. Jason was starting to get his confidence with the patience. It had taken him a while to finally be able to trust his own diagnosis and present it to Romano without running it by Lexie first. Lexie and Jason were sitting in the lounge going over the notes from the lecture they had attended when Robert pushed open the door.
"Hanzel, Grettel, you ready for your first trauma?" They looked at each other and jumped up and ran after him. The EMTs were wheeling the patient in and yelling out vitals.
"42 year old male, car-v- tree, tree won." Lexie and Jason followed them into the trauma room with Robert trailing behind them.
"Hubert, run the trauma. Carter, stand back and watch." Lexie opened her mouth and glared at him and he grinned at her. Robert walked over and he and Jason started yelling out orders to the trauma team. Lexie could see that Jason was shaking and starting to look a little pale.
"Hubert? So help me God if you pass out." Robert yelled and Jason just stared at him.
"Damn it, ok, Hubert step back, Carter step in." Lexie stood next to Jason and took the ultrasound wand out of his hand. They exchanged glances and he turned and walked out of the room.
"How necessary was that?" She said under her breath. Robert looked at her and she looked back.
"Excuse me Miss. Carter?" He said and looked back at the procedure he was doing.
"I said, how necessary was that? He was really trying and you made him feel like shit. Ten blade please." She said and Robert shook his head.
"More suction and push another amp of epi." He said to the nurse. "Carter, he is a big boy and if he can't handle the heat he should stay out of the kitchen." Lexie looked at him and he look back at her.
"Vaseline gauze please. I know, but he is still learning and it doesn't help to make him feel like shit." Robert slammed the scalpel down on the tray and everyone but Lexie jumped.
"Carter," She looked up at him. "Shut up." She glared back and sighed.
"Whatever." She mumbled and they proceeded with the trauma.
"Carter, look at this." She looked but the rib spreader was in the way.
"I can't see anything." She said and he looked up at her.
"Well come over here then." She walked around the table and stood next to him.
"You see the perforation in the small intestine?" He asked and she nodded. "Take your finger and plug the hole to stop the bleeding while I clamp off the artery." She slowly put her hand into the man's body and tried to do what he had asked. He looked at her as she hesitated and grabbed her hand to show her what to do. In the few months they had worked together they had never dared touch each other, not even bump into each other, so as his hand touched hers both felt the invisible spark that shot through them. Their eyes locked and both knew the other had felt it although everyone else in the room was clueless. It took her a second to gain her composure and slow down her breathing and she could tell he was going through the same thing. The both pulled themselves together and stabilized the patient. As they wheeled him to surgery Lexie pulled off her gown and gloves and started to leave the room.
"Lexie," He said and she stopped and turned around. "Well done." He said quietly. She was in shock.
"Thank you." She said in almost a whisper and turned and walked out of the room.
She decided she had better find Jason because she could only imagine what he was going through. After asking around she found him on the roof. He was standing at the edge looking out.
"If you are going to jump, aim for Romano's car." She said and walked over to him. He smiled at her and looked out again. "You ok?" She asked and he nodded.
"I can't believe I froze. My first real trauma and I lost it." Lexie touched his shoulder.
"Hey, it happens. And Romano was wrong to yell at you like that." Jason looked at her and grinned.
"How did it go?" She smiled.
"It went well." They both grinned at each other. "I kicked ass." She said and they laughed. "Don't give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to you. He is just a miserable little man who gets off on making people feel like crap." Jason smiled at her and looked into her eyes. She felt the panic start to rise as he started to lean in to kiss her and as his mouth was about to touch hers they heard someone clear their throat. They both jumped apart and looked at Robert standing with arms folded and looking annoyed.
"Hubert, I think it would be wise if you spent a little more time working on growing some balls and a little less time trying to get laid." Lexie's mouth dropped open and Jason looked down. "They are expecting you in the lab. I figured you might need a refresher in the human anatomy but I see that you were taking care of that yourself." Jason looked at him. "They are waiting." He said not moving to leave. Jason looked at Lexie and smiled at her.
"I will see you later." He said and she smiled at him. He walked past Robert and left. Lexie started to leave also and he stopped her.
"Miss. Carter, a word of advice. The last thing you need right now is to get involved with someone who is going to drag you down."
Lexie glared at him. "Excuse me?"
He crossed his arms again and looked at her. "You would hate to loose the respect of your peers for a quickie in the elevator wouldn't you?" She walked over to him and stood right in his face.
"Dr. Romano, I appreciate your concern for my well being but if I want your opinion I will be sure to ask for it. What I do in my personal life is none of your business. If I want to sleep with someone I will do it and as long as it isn't on your time than you have nothing to say about it. And if your life is so sad that the only joy you get is intimidating people into fearing you than you have failed with me. Because you don't scare me. So fail me if you want if not than back off." She said and walked past him.
"Lexie!" He yelled and she turned around expecting him to tell her to go home but instead she turned to find him grinning at her. "Point taken." He simply said and she turned and walked away.
