Title: "Challenge"
Author: Jen Zoromski
All info is in the first chapter.
Author's Note: Loosely around the time of season 10's "The Student." Thanks for all the feedback. Enjoy the next chapter!
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April 1, 2004
County General Hospital
4:14 p.m.
"I can't believe that Weaver said you were too abrasive in the trauma room," Abby says to Ethan stretching out on the couch as Neela and Ethan sit opposite of her in the lounge taking a breather.
"At least you didn't have Carter coming after you to be more proactive," Neela counters.
Ethan smirks, "Did it work?"
"Not really," Neela replies sheepishly.
"You're doing just fine Neela. I think we'll all be fine," he finishes.
It had been two weeks since 'the kiss' and Dr. Corday had been avoiding him like the plague. He figured she would. Although she seemed to try and avoid him, they would end up in the strangest places together and alone. After hurried 'hellos' or an attempt at a normal conversation she would become flustered and claim that she was needed somewhere else in the hospital.
"I heard Corday was even in there giving her opinions on all the med students," Abby continues.
"What was she doing in there?" Ethan questions trying not to seem too interested.
"I'm figuring since you took her on as one of your 'advisors' or mentors or whatever that she was in there commenting on your performance," Abby explains.
"My performance, eh?"
"Ethan that is dangerous territory that you tread on – besides doesn't she have a few men she's been dating?" Neela asks.
"I wouldn't know, she's been avoiding me lately –"
"What did you do to her?" Abby inquires.
Ethan stands up abruptly, "This chat was great – hope we have gossip hour again, real soon."
"Hold on just a minute! I tell you all my secrets," Neela pouts like a five year old.
"You liar – you never told me how much you liked the enigmatic Dr. Gallant."
Neela stares at him a little flustered, "How –"
"Body language – it's all in the body language. Maybe you should be a bit more proactive in that department.
He smirks and disappears out the door as Abby stifles a giggle.
Neela glares at her with a piercing look that could cut through just about anyone.
"What – He's right, you know."
Surgical Floor
4:25 p.m.
"Jacy, would you happen to know where Dr. Corday is?" Ethan questions looking around the nearly deserted floor.
"I believe she is in surgery."
"Do you happen to know when she'll be out?"
"Probably another half an hour or so."
"Thanks," he responds, disappointed and starts to walk away.
"You should go watch – it is a quite fascinating procedure that she's performing."
He grins at the nurse and heads for the observation room. Once inside he is surprised to see a few stray surgeons studying paperwork and glancing down every once in awhile at what is going on in the surgery. No one seems at all fascinated by what is being performed. They've probably seen this done many times in their lives, but to Ethan it is all extremely interesting.
Leaning in to get a better look, he sees Elizabeth's delicate hands dance over the patient as she makes the surgery look almost effortless.
"Wow," he breathes, not sure if he was memorized by Elizabeth or by the patient's exposed chest cavity.
"You'll never understand, son," Robert Romano bites as his 20 year old son glares at him with an identical look athat he too has possessed.
"What won't I understand?"
"The draw of surgery and the absolute adrenaline that accompanies the idea of knowing that you have the power to save someone's life – you'll never understand it. Not studying history."
This is the moment he's been waiting for. He swallows and then looks into the angry eyes of his father. Just minutes earlier Ethan had more or less berated him for the profession of saving lives. It was a slip up – a barb that he hadn't meant to throw at his father, but he did.
And it unnerved Robert that his own son could get him this angry. Not only that, but it scared Ethan that he possessed that immense kind of power.
Robert puts his head down in defeat and mutters, "I'm sorry – I know how much you enjoy history. I shouldn't tell you what to do – you're an adult." He pauses looking up at his son, "It's been a long day and my ego hurts – bruised by none other than my favorite colleague."
"Dad, I'm changing my major," Ethan counters, quietly.
He studies his son, intently trying to figure out what exactly his only son was trying to tell him.
"Biology."
"Are you trying to tell me something, Ethan? Is this one of those moments in a father's life where I get to swell with pride and know that my eldest and only son is going to follow in my footsteps?"
"When you put it like that it makes me want to reconsider."
Robert pulls his son in for an embrace – shocking both Ethan and himself.
"I know I don't tell you enough – but I'm proud of you – whatever you decide to do."
"You could have fooled me," retorts Ethan.
"I fool a lot of people, but it's oh so much fun," he answers swallowing a lump in his throat. Perhaps, he was alluding to his emotions for a certain colleague of his and his uncanny way of pushing people away.
"Ethan what are you doing up here?" a British voice breaks his reverie.
"Are you done avoiding me?" he bites without looking at her. He instead looks down at the now empty and dark operating room. Wrapped up in his thoughts, he completely blocked out the fact that the surgery is over and anyone who was in the observation room is now gone.
"I wasn't avoiding you," Elizabeth says weakly as she sits down next to him, still wearing her soiled scrubs and in desperate need of a shower. Curly locks are flat from hours pressed beneath a scrub hat and her eyes look tired and unready to deal with the situation at hand.
Ethan laughs under his breath and finally looks at her, "Tell me another – you're quite good."
"I've had a lot to think about and that just threw a huge monkey wrench into my plans."
"Since when did you plan out your entire life?"
"When my husband died and I was left to care for our child – anything I get myself involved in will affect my daughter," she bites her lip trying to keep from crying. Even though her marriage to Mark was something of a complex and unraveling mess towards the end, she did love him at one point and they did have Ella. Out of the blue some days, she would be struck with a sadness that made her realize just how hopeless a woman approaching her 41st birthday with a nearly three year old daughter was in the dating world. She didn't like to be alone – she never did.
Staring at the intelligent man in front of her with his dark and brooding eyes, holding onto the same fear of being alone startles her. At his age, how could he fear such a fate? But she didn't realize that in Ethan's life he never reached for those relationships because he feared the same fate as his own parents: unwilling to give up something for the other and regretting it for the rest of his life.
"Look, Elizabeth – I'm sorry –"
"Don't – I don't need any more sympathy."
"What do you need?"
After pondering it for a moment she looks at him guiltily, "I don't know," she lies.
"Everyone knows what they need."
Looking at her now bowed head, a strange pang constricts his chest and makes him take in a deep breath. Trying to cover for the brief moment of weakness, he smirks and asks darkly, "Better yet, what do you want?"
Glancingat Ethan she is struck with a sudden urge to capture his lips with her own and share the same passionate kiss they experienced two weeks ago, but another part of her is telling her to run like hell.
Ethan starts to lean in, nearly in a trance by Elizabeth. She closes her eyes and leans her head slightly to the right waiting for his lips to land on hers. They brush ever so slightly against one another before an annoying beeping sound interrupts.
"Don't look at it – maybe if we don't see it then we can claim that we didn't get it."
Elizabeth shakes her head and looks down at the beeper "ER 911"
"Looks bad."
"I haven't gotten one yet – can't be too bad."
As if on cue, his pager goes off. Groaning he looks at his pager and then back to Elizabeth, "Damn ER urchins."
"Aren't you one of them?" Elizabeth inquires already standing up and straightening out her already disheveled appearance from 6 hours of surgery.
"Not for long if I can help it."
She laughs and heads for the door.
But impulsively stops with Ethan running into her due to his close proximity of following her out the door.
Contact makes them both catch their breath and Elizabeth plants her lips firmly on his, deepening the kiss into a passionate one filled with all the desire, pain, and angst of the past and present.
Too quickly she is pulling away with a glint in her eye.
"Don't want the ER to send a search party out for us," Elizabeth says as she walks out the door leaving Ethan completely awe-struck.
A small glimmer of a smirk appears on his face as he watches her go out the door. She confused him immensely, but he liked a challenge.
And against his better judgment this challenge was starting to consume his thoughts.
And fill his loneliness.
TBC
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More to come!
Please R&R
Jen