Learning To Fall
By Allison E.L. Cleckler
Author's Notes: Thanks to Dubenko Junkie for the read-through, as always.
Eight-thirty the next evening found Morris taking the stairs up to Allison Chapman's apartment. But soon, mine mine mine, he thought with satisfaction, mentally rubbing his hands together in glee. When he'd smugly told Todd, after getting off the phone with Allison, that he would shortly be bereft a roommate, the slob had simply shrugged and said, "Okay."
He'd done some sniffing around on his new roommate while at work that day. Apparently she was a technologist in the oncology lab, and still fairly young as he had guessed by her voice. The nurses' gossip mill also reported vague rumors that she had a fancy for one of the doctors on her floor. That suited Morris just fine. Getting involved with a roommate would end up being too awkward.
Then she met him at the door, and he immediately decided that he ought to reconsider that point of view.
Allison Chapman proved to be a slender young woman in her early twenties, with long red hair and a smattering of freckles across her face. The civil smile she gave him and her decidedly reserved demeanor didn't stop him from instantly developing a lustful crush on her.
Whoa, boy, down. Hold that phone for a while. You're not even in the damn door yet.
She stuck out her hand for him to shake, which he thought was an oddly formal gesture considering they would be living together soon, and said, "So you're Dr. Morris."
"At your service," he replied with a grin. She had a good handshake. Hopefully that meant she wasn't the wishy-washy girly type. He didn't think he'd be able to handle having that inflicted on him.
"Well, come on in," she said, stepping back to let him inside. "Don't mind the mess, Joey's still getting the rest of her stuff packed up."
Morris looked around and nodded approvingly to himself as Allison pointed out the details of the apartment. It was definitely kept in better condition than his current apartment; Todd tended to create messes and leave them to molder until they began evolving into their own miniature ecosystems, and Morris was seldom around long enough to successfully prod him into cleaning up. Plus, Joey was leaving Allison a few pieces of furniture that weren't already hers, so the place wouldn't be completely barren even after he moved in. Morris owned few things outside of what he kept in his own room.
The décor's not so bad, either, he thought to himself, once again looking Allison over as he followed her back out into the living room from the bathroom. He wouldn't exactly label her as 'hot', though he was willing to wager that she could turn some heads if she put some effort into her appearance. At the moment she was wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, her hair in a ponytail, with no makeup.
"…and that's pretty much it," she finished, looking around the living room. The expression on her face seemed to indicate that she knew she ought to be polite, but didn't quite want to be. She hadn't been outright hostile, but her attitude was still beginning to make Morris vaguely chafe because he couldn't think of a single reason why she should already dislike him. He'd surpassed his own record—it usually took at least a day for people to decide they hated him, and it'd taken her all of five minutes. Over the phone, no less.
"So what's up with the skittish act?" he asked bluntly.
She blinked at him. "What?"
"You've been acting freaky ever since I introduced myself last night on the phone. What gives?"
For a moment she had the grace to look faintly sheepish, but then she smirked. "Your reputation precedes you."
He gave her a weird look. "Okay…"
She shrugged, and said, "You're tank boy."
The word 'tank' made the skin on the small of his back crawl. "What?"
Allison shrugged again, the smirk playing maddeningly across her lips. "Tank boy. You're that idiot who screwed up with a patient by not calling a psych consult and almost got yourself—and the hospital—blown up by a tank."
Morris stared at her in disbelief. He didn't know whether he wanted to wipe the smirk off her face by throwing an insult back at her or get his ass kicked for trying to kiss it off. Damn his pride and his libido. "That was two years ago!"
The smirk turned into an amused grin that he found even more insulting. "I'd only been working at County for a few months, and it was kind of a big deal. I mean, how bad of a doctor do you have to be to make a patient so mad they want to obliterate you from the face of the earth?"
He had fervently hoped that that particular incident had faded from County's collective memory. Stung, Morris opted for the insult toss and retaliated by sniping, "You were working at County two years ago? And you're a lab technologist? You're how old, twenty?"
"I'm twenty-three," she replied evenly. "I graduated from college when I was twenty."
"That early, huh? Bet you've never been laid," he muttered.
The smile vanished. "Still want to move in?" she asked, a hair sarcastically, raising her eyebrows.
Again, Morris didn't have to think twice. "Are you kidding me? Hell yes… anything's better than where I am right now. Why, are you backing out?" As slightly off as he was finding her, he hoped she wasn't, in fact, going to back out on her offer. The apartment was a nice one, and it wasn't like he'd have to spend a lot of time with her anyway. Plus, she was still rather good-looking, which in his opinion canceled out some of the bitchiness.
Her lips in a thin line, Allison shook her head. Apparently she was just as stung by his jab as he had been by hers, which made Morris feel comfortably smug. Nothing like getting a little of his own back. "Nope. I can't afford to live here by myself, and you're the only person who answered my roommate ads."
"Well, it's nice to know where we stand with each other," Morris replied dryly. He could live with being a roommate of convenience. All his roommates had been like that. All except for Coop. But Coop was long gone, probably shacked up with some gorgeous girl who adored him, and his colleagues probably all loved him too. No, Morris wasn't bitter. Not one bit.
So much for a good second impression.
Stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jeans, Allison began walking towards the door. It was a clear indication that their little meet-and-greet was over. "So I guess I'll see you on Saturday," she said neutrally. "We can get all the paperwork done then, too."
"Don't get yourself too worked up." He planned on getting gloriously drunk to celebrate his new digs. By the looks of things, she was probably going to count down the days like an inmate headed for the gallows. He told himself he ought to be immune to that kind of reception. The other doctors in the emergency room had reacted in much the same manner when they'd found out that he had been made chief resident.
She smiled tightly at him, and again offered her hand to shake. "Oh, don't worry about that, Dr. Morris. See you later."
He left feeling vaguely ambivalent about his new roommate, but determined to make the best of things. Allison already didn't like him, but then, no one else liked him either. She was cute, though. And smart, too, if she'd finished college when she was only twenty. That implied she was independent and could take care of herself and hopefully wouldn't pull stunts like ask him to buy tampons for her.
He had to admit, though, that it would've been nice for a change to have her like him.
To have anyone like him.