Disclaimer : I own nothing, guys at WB and NBC do. I just borrow to have fun…
"Where are Malik and Inez? We said we would meet here after our shift." Haleh turned around to check if they were still on their way in.
"They got caught up in a trauma, but they shouldn't be long." Chuny dropped her purse on the table.
"Okay, let's start anyway. They'll catch up later. So what the latest status, Chuny?"
"I had little talks with nurses in Pedes, OB, Ortho and OR today. Whereas the rumor on Ray and Inez hasn't been discarded, it seems that Frank's intervention about Abby being possibly involved with someone has caused a huge interest in our community." She giggled as she remembered the excitement of her colleagues. "Of course, everyone's guess was that she and Dr. Clemente were a hot item." Haleh rolled her eyes. "But since yesterday's little conversation in Sutures between our favorite Attendings, the rumor mill has run wild. Everyone is trying to figure out what it meant."
"I bet they wonder." Frank chuckled. He took his beer and downed half of it.
"It's clearly not unanimous, which is probably a good thing. We don't want things to go too fast. Where's the fun in that? So as of today, we have Inez and Ray..."
"Still? I thought they were over that! How come?" Inez fell on the chair next to Frank.
"Come on Inez, they are about to have a far better story, you'll be forgotten in no time. You have to be patient." Haleh smiled at her. "Rumors have a life of their own. Once out there, you never know what will happen next." The young nurse pouted. Frank patted her arm, and that gesture brought a faint smile back on her lips. "I have already ordered your favorite fruit cocktail to cheer you up."
"Okay, so Inez and Ray, and Abby with Clemente..."
"So we still have Abby and Clemente as our ER turtledoves?" Malik wondered.
"Yeah, we're currently in the star-crossed lovers story. With Luka trying to separate our love birds, word is that he thinks Clemente is not good enough for our dear Abby, and as a friend, he has decided to take matters into his own hands." As Chuny spoke, Haleh closed her eyes and sighed. Well so much for staying vague.
"As a friend? Why not a big brother? Have they seen those two together lately?" The older nurse took a sip of her soda, clearly not happy with this storyline.
"I think it has been too long since Abby and Luka were a couple." Chuny explained. "They are seen as best friends by the whole hospital and it seems hard for most people to even imagine that there could be a repeat."
"Well, at this point, people still think things are that way." Frank added. "They're 'just friends'."
Haleh rolled her eyes and continued. "Let's not get off topic. Everyone will figure out the truth in due time. So...we have established that yes, Abby and Luka did it on the said night."
"We're completely sure?" Inez's question made Chuny chuckle. The young nurse had always doubted the two doctor's intimacy.
"Abby told Neela, who by the way is aware of what we're doing." Haleh explained. "That girl is too smart. I'm not sure if she is going to spill out the beans, but so far she hasn't." Seeing Frank's eyes light up, she quickly added. "And I don't think she'll help us either."
"So what do we do next? Is Clemente going to help us again?" Malik asked.
"I don't think that we'll be needing Clemente anymore." Frank said. "He has run his course. Let the little alien fly back to his mothership."
"I agree. Now I'm not so sure that it was a good idea to put him in the middle."
"It helped us establish facts. It made Kovac react, and it brought some life into our boring daily routine." The older desk clerk reminded her.
"I think we played our cards. If nothing happens, then we have to accept it." Chuny said. "We can only sit back and see if this goes anywhere. If it doesn't, at least we had our fun."
"Well, I sure hope something will happen." Haleh looked at her friend.
"Okay second subject of the evening: tomorrow is the big announcement." Jerry announced. "So who do you think will become ER Chief? Clemente, Kovac or someone else? Who wants to bet on that?"
"I say it's going to be Kovac. The little squirrel isn't cut for it." Frank took a ten dollar bill out of his wallet.
"I'd say it's going to be Clemente." Malik guessed. "They probably brought him in for that. I think it was settled back then."
"I think it's going to be Kovac..." Chuny grabbed her purse to retrieve her cash.
"Okay just put your money and bets on the table, I'll write everything down..." Jerry wrote everything down in their famous betting book. As soon as they had all made their bets, he checked the results. "Okay so $60 for us, 2 for Clemente and 4 for Kovac... Add to that the $30 from Pratt, Barnett and Morris and we have 5 to 4 for Kovac. Wow, that's narrow... As soon as the name is out, I'll split it between the winners."
"So back to our observation round. Tomorrow I will work with Abby." Haleh announced. "Who takes Kovac?" Malik motioned that he would, " Okay, Malik he is yours. Let's see what tomorrow brings!"
"What happened? Weaver seemed really pissed off." Pratt wondered.
"She's looking for our beloved Attendings." Frank answered. "I think she heard about their difficulty to work together. I am to summon them to Trauma 1 as soon as they show up."
"Maybe she already knows who the new chief is and just wants to tell them." Sam was sorting the charts that had come back from triage.
"No, the search committee meeting is at 2 pm. I doubt anything has been decided yet." The desk clerk shook his head and smiled at Haleh, who had just arrived.
"Has Abby arrived?"
"Yeah, she is changing and is going to get us all coffee." Jerry couldn't help laughing at her eagerness. She was already on mission mode, resolute to follow the young doctor the whole day if necessary.
"Good girl!" She smiled and headed for the changing room.
"Hello everybody!" The loud greeting made everyone turn around. Smiles were soon on all the faces.
"Gallant! What the heck are you doing here?" Pratt took his friend in a bear hug. Frank and Jerry came closer to be able to properly greet the young man.
"I didn't have anything special to do, so I just thought I'll come in and check how my buddies are doing." Michael was all smiles. He had missed County General and the friends he had left behind.
"It's so great to see you." Chuny hugged him. "So how are things with Neela? She looked a little under the weather when she came in."
"Yeah, it's probably my fault." He held his breath a second. "I just asked her to marry me on the way here."
"You did what?" Greg asked.
"You can't be serious?" Ray disbelievingly looked at Michael.
"You asked her to marry you? Really? What did she say?" Chuny clapped her hands excited by the announcement. Things were finally getting interesting.
"That she will have me!" He gave a shy smile and seemed to blush a little.
"Congratulations!" Jerry shook his head and couldn't help smiling at the happy news. Soon everyone was there to congratulate the young man.
"This is so great! I'm so happy for you." Haleh gave him a quick hug.
"What happened?" Abby finally joined the little group. Before she could find out what was happening, she was called by Morris.
"Abby, not time to babble! I have a patient for you!" He was motioning her to come next to him. The young woman sighed and turned to her friends.
"Could someone kill him for me? I'm ready to part with all my savings for that. Morris is really getting on my nerves and I'm not even on yet." She checked her watch and grimaced. "Sorry about the coffee, I guess I won't be able to you get some."
"Don't worry. Let me come with you for support." Haleh winked at Frank and joined the young doctor.
"Thanks Haleh! Let's go before our Chief resident bursts an artery. Did you hear what Gallant just said?" The nurse nodded and told her on their way to the exam room.
"I need to check where Neela is." Michael explained as he made his way to the lounge. "We still have tons of things to discuss. I'll be right back."
"Wow, if that doesn't beat our previous rumor, I don't know. All this excitement is going to be the death of me." Jerry theatrically put his hand on his heart.
"What previous rumor?" Ray wondered as he took his first chart.
"Nothing Barnett. You wouldn't be interested." Frank told him.
"Yeah, it started somewhere in Ortho I think. Nothing but lies..." Chuny confirmed, trying hard to remain serious.