Monday, 18 June, 22:45 PDT, present day
Drew signed the patient's release papers. The young man nodded his thanks.
"Hey," the thirty-five-year-old Emergency Room doctor pointed to his watch.
Drew rolled her eyes and laughed. "Alright, then," she said.
"You know, even the Head of the ER needs some rest," the Latino doctor said as he nodded for their exit. Drew followed him out of the ER towards the employee parking lot.
o-o-o
Monday, 11 June, 07:45 PDT, present day
Drew had officially given her notice to her employer at Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu on the afternoon of the 28th of May. She had accepted the job opportunity from San Agustin General Hospital in downtown Los Angeles, California from her hospital bed in England three days before. Her employer and co-workers in Hawai'i had thrown her a Mahalo and Aloha farewell party the Saturday before she was about to start her new venture in L.A.
Drew looked around the office of the Director of San Agustin General Hospital. She breathed out through her mouth, trying to calm down. She almost jumped when the door swung open.
She smiled as Director Wilhelm Johansson, the sixty-three year old veteran doctor and a tall, dark haired, goateed young man in a white doctor's coat walked in. Drew smiled and shook hands with the older gentleman who had interviewed her five months ago.
"Nice to see you again, Dr. Johansson," she said.
"Welcome to our home, Drew," the older doctor said. He pointed to the other man, "I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Marco Esteban. He's been a part of our ER staff for the past five years. He'll help you get oriented to our protocols and the rest of our staff."
"Nice to meet you," she said as she shook the younger doctor's hand.
"Well, we should probably get a move on," Marco said as he nodded toward the door.
"Good luck, Drew," Dr. Johansson said as the two young doctors made their exit.
o-o-o
"Drew, this is the rest of the morning shift," Marco said. He proceeded to introduce each person who had gathered for the morning briefing. Drew shook the hands of each doctor and nurse to whom she was introduced.
Marco had stepped in as interim Head of ER since the vacancy occurred. Today, Drew was going to shadow the doctor to get the operational protocols down and to step in with ER surgical duties when appropriate, and for that day, she put her skills into practice more times than she would have anticipated that she would on a first day of work.
o-o-o
Monday, 11 June, 22:45 PDT, present day
The early shift had finally ended. Marco, Dr. Guillermo Sacude, Dr. Nancy Monroe, Nurse José Dela Cruz, and Nurse Tania Chan all invited the new doctor out for a late night drink at the sports bar three blocks from the hospital. None of them were scheduled to work the next day. So, she went with the flow and joined in. She even bought two rounds of drinks.
o-o-o
While the others played pool or darts, Drew and Marco sat talking. She had a diet soda and he had a bottle of Corona.
"You jumped right into the fray this morning. Good work," he said nodding at her.
"It's pretty fast paced here," she said as she took a sip of her soda.
He shrugged. "So, how long have you been in the trenches?"
"Six years," she said.
"You don't look any older than thirty," he said, studying her face.
"I turned thirty in January," she said.
"What are you, like Doogie Howser or something?" he laughed.
She shrugged, not understanding. "I, uh, graduated early," she said as she ate some shelled peanuts from the bowl in front of them.
He nodded. "So, where did you get your start?"
"Queen's Medical Center in Hawai'i," she said.
"Good hospital," Marco said. "I've got a couple of cousins who work there.
"So, what brings you to the home of gang violence, road rage and tinsel town?"
She laughed. "I guess I needed a change and a challenge."
"You don't sound like you're from the Islands," he said, popping a handful of peanuts into his mouth.
"No," she laughed. "I'm originally from Chiswick, England. I went to university in Hawai'i and stayed for medical school and work."
"Interesting," he smiled. "That's some travel."
"Yeah," she smiled back.
"Empty ring finger," he raised an eyebrow. "Not married? Boyfriend or girlfriend moved here with you?"
"Um, neither," she said, before taking a drink. "Too busy with work."
"All work and no play make you a dull woman," he smiled.
She laughed. "Are you flirting with me, Dr. Esteban?" she joked.
He laughed. "Of course not, Dr. Granger. That might make things weird during rounds. Besides, you're not my type," he snickered. "Although, if you play your cards right, you could make me swing the other way."
They both laughed. She raised her drink. The pair clinked their glass vessels.
o-o-o
Friday, 15 June, 20:30 PDT, present day
The pair quickly became fast friends. Marco, three inches taller than Drew, completed his studies at U.C. Berkeley. He was five years older than she was, but didn't mind that Drew had been hired for the coveted position.
After their forty-eight hour shift, Drew had invited Marco over to her house for dinner for the first time. The six-bedroom, three full baths, two story home in the Los Angeles suburb was affordable, in her price range, and a twenty minute drive to work.
Her family had helped to move her into the home. Junior had asked why a single woman would need a house with six bedrooms. Drew narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. 'It was for family get-togethers,' was her response. Junior thought for a moment before nodding.
It was equipped with a backyard and patio. The interior had wooden floors and a kitchen with an island. But, most importantly a working fireplace, for unusually cold California winters and of course for Flooing.
o-o-o
"That hit the spot," Marco said as he took a drink of his fountain drink before placing it back down on the coffee table. He got more comfortable as he sat back into the sofa cushion.
"We don't have an In-and-Out in Hawai'i. I can see what we've been missing," Drew said as she finished off her fries.
"This is a pretty nice crib you got here," Marco said as he looked around the living room. "Is that a regular fireplace?"
"Do you mean, if it's wood burning or electric?" she asked.
"No, I mean, do you use it to Floo?" he said matter-of-factly.
Drew's breath hitched for a moment, not knowing what to say. He smiled at her. She smiled back, understanding that he somehow had a connection to the Wizarding world.
o-o-o
Saturday, 16 June, 11:30 PDT, present day
Marco Esteban was a Pureblood Squib. Both of his parents, Martín and Luisa, worked at the same Wizarding hospital as doctors. Marco's oldest sibling, Luis, who was five years older, worked as an Auror in the Los Angeles Department of Magical Law Enforcement. His sister, Marilú, who was two years older, worked as an attorney at the Ministry. Marco was the youngest of three siblings. While they attended the Wizarding boarding school in northern California, Marco went through the Muggle public school system.
Marco's family was very supportive, not unlike Drew's family. But like Drew, Marco was always finding himself walking the fine line between two worlds. He had two Squib friends, Mateo Enriquez and Angela Evans, who attended the same Muggle schools he had, so they were able to help each other through everything.
Mat was now a Muggle elementary school teacher and Angela was a Muggle social worker. The three had a standing Saturday lunch when all of them had the day off. Marco had invited Drew to the usual Saturday lunch reservation to meet his two Squib friends the Saturday of her first week of work.
They ate Italian food at a Wizarding establishment. Drew hit it off with Marco's childhood friends rather well. They compared the Wizarding and Squib experience both in England and in California. They had many shared experiences. Drew opened up about many Wizarding things that afternoon, except her friendship with the NBA player.
Marco smiled at her as they drove home in her old Buick. She dropped him off at his apartment complex. He walked around to her door and nodded at her.
"What?" she smiled.
"You're a hard nut to crack, you know that," he smiled. "I'll catch you at work on Monday."
She watched him walk to the entrance of his building. She was a little unsure as to what he had meant by that. She drove off.
o-o-o
Monday, 18 June, 23:05 PDT, present day
The two ER doctors sat around the kitchen island at Drew's house. They sipped on their bottles of Corona as they unwound for the night. They ate their late-night dinner.
"So, how badly did he break your heart?" Marco asked out of the blue.
"I don't know what you're talking about?" Drew said as she bit into her carnitas taco.
He smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Was he a Muggle or wizard?"
"He was a Muggle, at first," she said smiling. "Turned out, he was a Pureblood Squib."
"Okay, continue," Marco said as he took a bite of his shredded pork taco.
"His father moved them back to England when he was fourteen. That's when we first met. He was an athlete, I was a geek. I'm not quite sure how we became friends," she said. "He's never seen me as nothing more than that.
"We went to the same Muggle university. He stayed all four years and graduated before moving on to play in the N.B.A."
"He plays basketball?"
"For the Celtics," she said.
"You're crushing on which guy?"
"Phillip Martinez," she said.
"He is kinda dreamy," he said, smiling as Drew rolled her eyes.
"He's back with his former girlfriend," she said as she took another sip.
He studied her for a moment. "So, how did he find out about his Wizarding past?"
"Long story," she said.
"We're not scheduled to go in tomorrow," he smiled.
She studied him. "Swear you to secrecy?"
"Well, you know just as well as I do. That's one good thing we Squibs are good at, keeping secrets," he said, holding out his bottle.
She nodded as she tapped her bottleneck against his. She started her tale.