I hope someone out there is still reading…Anyway, the beginning is light hearted fun, but later on it gets a lil more serious. Hope yal like it.
Ooo, BTW, I'm concerned that Megumi is a bit (a lot) OOC in this chapter. So, tell me what you think and I'll try to edit it accordingly.
Disclaimer: I don't own RK
I must be insane, Megumi thought to herself as she sat in her car. It was 7:55 and Megumi couldn't find the will power to step out of her car and into the parking lot. In her mind she kept hearing a little voice say, 'You can't go in there!' While another voice retorted, 'Don't be such a coward!' It wouldn't be so bad if he had picked any other restaurant, but he didn't pick any other restaurant. He picked their restaurant. The restaurant where they had their first date, the restaurant where he proposed… the restaurant where he told her he wanted a divorce.
In need of a definite pick-me-up, Megumi grabbed her cell phone and called Kaoru's house.
"Ello?" Misao chirped over the phone
"Hi!" Megumi said, trying to sound extra cheerful.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Something IS wrong."
"Why do people keep saying that to me?" Megumi asked exasperatedly, remembering Mindy's identical comment earlier that day.
"Because you won't fess up?"
"Misao, trust me, there's nothing to confess."
"Then why the hell do you sound that way?"
"What way!"
"As if something's wrong."
"But nothing's wrong!"
"Doesn't sound that way to me." Misao mumbled.
"MISAO! NOTHING IS WRONG!" Megumi yelled.
"OK OK! YOU DON'T GOTTA DEAFEN ME!"
"Sorry." Megumi immediately quieted. She couldn't believe she just yelled at Misao. She normally wasn't this tense. In fact, she usually considered herself to be a very calm person, but all of a sudden it was like everything annoyed her. 'Breathe, Megumi. Breathe,' She told herself.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. What do you want anyway?"
"What?"
"What did you call for?"
"Uh…" What did she call for? "I just wanted to thank Kaoru for the pizza... So, can I speak to Kaoru… to… thank her…?" Megumi mumbled.
"Sure!"
In the background Megumi distinctly heard Misao say "Something's wrong, but Megumi won't say what. Maybe you can talk to her."
Megumi put Misao on her "top 5 people to kill when within reach" list.
"Hey, Megumi." Kaoru said, trying to hide her concern.
"Hey Kaoru." Megumi said, now thoroughly pissed off. "Sorry, I've got to go."
"What?" Kaoru said surprised.
In the background, Megumi heard Misao say "What? What happened!"
"I'm late to a… meeting." Megumi said, since it wasn't exactly a lie.
"With who?" Kaoru asked.
"A colleague. It's really important actually, so I really have to go."
"Then, why did you call?"
"To say thanks for the pizza."
"Oh."
"Bye Kao-chan."
Before hanging up, Megumi clearly heard Kaoru say "Something is definitely wrong."
"You're late!" Nick exclaimed from his seat.
"Sorry." Megumi apologized, quickly claiming the chair across from him. "I got caught up in something."
"Well, at least you made it. I ordered you a dry martini. That's still your favorite drink, right?" He motioned to where the drink sat.
"Yes." Megumi said quietly. She sipped at the drink, praying it would give her courage.
"You seem nervous." Nick smiled.
The smile of a bastard.
"I must admit that I am nervous, I mean, of all the restaurants to pick…"
"I know, but I thought dinning here might be a sign of friendship. Me and you being on the same side, I guess."
"Look, Nick…"
"You can't call me that anymore."
"Why are you here?" Megumi said, completely ignoring his comment.
"What do you mean?"
"You moved to England, you said you loved it there. I even remember you telling me you hated Japan. So, why come back?"
"Meg, we just got here, do we have to do this now?."
"Please, Nick…"
"You can't call me that anymore."
"I wanted that job and I worked really hard for it. If you had any decency in you you'd go work somewhere else." Inside Megumi was cheering for herself. She had stuck to the plan: Ignore everything he says, lay it all out on the line, stay calm, and most importantly, don't cry.
"It's not that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal! You stole my job! You have no idea what I went through for that job! One moment I'm working hard, barely getting enough sleep, and then all of a sudden you show up, and I'm sitting in the doctor's lounge doing nothing! I'm the most qualified person there, and I'm sitting on the side lines watching you help people! Nick…"
"For the last time, you can't call me that." Nick's brown eyes were glaring at Megumi at this point. It had only been a mere minute and all ready both were completely angry at each other.
"Then what the fuck do you want me to call you!" Megumi nearly yelled in frustration.
"Are you ready to order…?" A young waiter asked. Megumi felt her entire body flush red. How long had he been standing there, listening to her rant on and on? Her head swung around the room and realized that they had a lot of eyes focused on them.
"I'll have the lobster, and the lady will have a steak with a small salad on the side, rather than the potatoes." Nick told the waiter.
"Who gave you permission to order for me?" Megumi said, very much angry.
"It's what you always order." He said simply.
"Give me the potatoes, forget the salad." Megumi said to the waiter. He wasn't her husband, hell, he wasn't her anything! He had no right to order for her!
"Yes miss."
"Meg, maybe you should calm down." Nick said, placing his hand on hers.
"Maybe you should be less of a jackass." Megumi snatched her hand back violently.
"How are we going to have a nice dinner if you keep being so negative?"
"I just want an answer, that's all." Megumi took a deep breathe to calm herself down and regain her poise. "Just tell me why you'rehere."
Nick took a sip of his drink and began buttering a bread roll in silence.
Megumi could feel her impatience pooling in her stomach, making her ill. Let's just say that patience may be a virtue, but it wasn't one of her virtues.
"Jesus Christ! Are you here to piss me off? To try and get me back? To prove something? What! What do you want! Why are you in Japan!" Megumi said, waving her arms around frantically, unable to mask how completely upset she felt.
Nick looked at her blankly.
"Nick…" Megumi murmured, pleading.
"Doctor Takani." He corrected. Megumi visibly twitched.
"I care about all my patients, and I know how to treat them properly. I was just a student when we were together, but now I'm a doctor, and I'm a damn good one too! I deserve that job. I've worked tirelessly for it. If you still cared about me, even a little, you'd let me have your position. It's not right that you just swooped in and took it from me. It's not fair!"
"Life isn't fair, Meg."
"Will you stop calling me Meg? If I can't call you Nick, then there is no way in hell you can call me Meg!" Megumi all but shouted, now the entire restaurant really was looking at her.
"Megumi, I see where you're coming from, but it's not my fault I was chosen over you." Nick said in a quietly patronizing tone.
"Screw this. It's like talking to a wall." Megumi threw down her napkin, chugged down her martini, and stormed out of the restaurant. It wasn't until she reached her car that she noticed Nick was following her.
"Megumi, stop it! Stop for a second!"
"What?" She said haughtily, turning to look at him.
"I'll quit if you do one thing."
"…" Megumi stared at him for a full minute, and against her common sense, felt hope.
He had been listening!He's willing toquit for me!
While there were still doubts lurking in the back of her mind, Megumi couldn't help but be excited. After all,he said there was a possibility that she could have her dream jobback.
Before she could speak Nick's lips were pressed to hers, his body pushing her against her car door. He was kissing her hard and fast, and Megumi was too dazed to stop him. She heard herself moan into his mouth, and kissed him back fiercely. She couldsee him in her mind's eye: his brown eyes, his tall, thin, relaxed body, his standard smirk on his face. She pushed herself harder against him and he groaned deeply. Her hands instinctively went up to comb through his long messy brown hair, but, to her surprise,it wasn'tthe messy mass of hair she had envisioned.
Nick's body jerked back immediately, "Jeez, Meg. You're going to mess up my hair cut."
Megumi blushed heavily. Why did she think Nick was Sano?
"You never kissed me like that before." Nick smiled, despite frantically trying to fix his mussed hair.
"It was a mistake." Megumi choked out. Why wouldn't Sano get out of her head, out of her system… out of her heart? He was a rooster that she barely knew! It didn't make any sense.
"One night is all I ask. After that, you can have the ER." Nick whispered seductively. Megumi was so engrossed in her thoughts about Sano that she nearly missed what Nick had said. She looked at him for a while, making sure that she had heard correctly. Nick flashed a smile and began to move closer to her. Megumi held up her hand to stop him.
"I'd rather have a root canal in hell." Megumi said clearly, each word laced with pure bitchiness. In anger, she yanked her car door open, and sat herself inside.
"I'm still your boss, Meg!" Nick caught the door as she was about to slam it closed.
"Don't call me that." She ground out.
"One night, and I'm gone, for good. I'll give you till next week to decide."
"And what if I don't say yes?"
"Like I said, I'm still your boss. I'm sure there are other hospitals out there that would love to have you." Nick smiled maliciously. He watched her with cold, dark eyes, making sure the statement hit home. When a tear rolled down Megumi's pale cheek Nick laughed and turned to leave.
Safely locked inside her car, Megumi thought, One night... The possibility didn't seem too bad. However, even as she thought the situation through rationally, even as she drove in silence, even as she lightly sang alongwith the radio, tears slipped out of her eyes.
Everything hurts.
Life's never fair.
Sometimes it's easier
To pretend nothing's there.
Ignore the problem,
Make it fade away.
Just smile and nod,
Watch everything change.