Saturday, 27 July, 19:20 PDT, present day
She looked at her mobile as it buzzed in her hand. She had just exited the locker rooms after completing a successful surgery in the O.R. She hesitated as she looked at the number. She leaned against the hallway wall as she answered the call.
"Hello?" she said slowly.
"Hey, did I catch you at a bad time?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Uh, no," she said, taking a breath, "I just got out of surgery. I was about to take my meal break."
"Do you want to catch dinner? We could meet at Aston's pub."
"You're in town?" she asked, surprised.
"Yeah."
"Em, okay," she said. "Meet you at Pub808 in ten minutes."
"See you then," the Squib said before hanging up.
Drew blew out a breath as she headed to the hospital exit.
o-o-o
Saturday, 27 July, 19:30 PDT, present day
Drew opened the door to the Muggle Pub808, Aston's pub and bakery café. The greeter nodded at the medical-scrubs clad doctor.
"Good evening, ma'am," the female greeter said. "Do you have a reservation tonight?"
"Em, I'm waiting for friend," Drew said as she pulled out her mobile. She looked up as she heard her name. She nodded at the tall black man as he stood up. "He's right there."
"Go right in, ma'am," the greeter smiled.
She reached the table near the bar. She hugged her old classmate before he helped pull out her seat.
"Is everything alright back at home?" she asked as she sat down. "Are Neve and the kids okay?"
"Yeah, they're good," he said as he took his seat. "I'm here on business."
"Why didn't you call earlier, Dean?"
"I was an extra," the Half-blood Squib smiled. "London PD added me to the travel roster to this year's Muggle and Wizarding Law Enforcement Conference. The sessions were non-stop for the past three days. I didn't think they'd let us out early. It was supposed to end tomorrow morning, but I guess not.
"Neve suggested to check if you were free for dinner. I thought it was a great suggestion. I ordered some pupus and drinks."
"Iced tea?" she asked as she sipped from her glass.
"Well, I figured you're still breastfeeding," he said as he took a gulp of his beer.
"Touché," she said.
"So, how's Andy?"
"He's good. He's growing so fast," she said as both she and Dean started to pile some food on their appetizer plates. "Mum's watching him while I'm on duty."
"Cool," he said. "You're going to make it to the wedding festivities, aren't you?"
"Of course," Drew said before taking a bite of her sashimi. "I'm arriving in London, late night Thursday, just to be able to make it to Ronda's bachelorette party on Friday."
Dean laughed, "Family friendly party."
"Well, most of us girls have either just given birth or are expecting, so," she said, shrugging.
Dean nodded. "Well, while you girls are going the rated G route, we boys will probably go R?"
"Behave," Drew said as they continued to eat.
"Alright," Dean put his hands up good-naturedly, "PG-13."
They both laughed. There was a pause to the conversation as they continued to eat the different appetizers that Dean had ordered.
"So," Dean began, "Is Marco coming as your plus one?"
"He's stuck manning the ER this weekend," Drew said.
"Ah," Dean nodded. "So, did you finally break down and ask him out?"
Drew knew to whom he was eluding. She rolled her eyes. "He's been texting and leaving voicemails, usually just to say, 'hi'."
Dean canted an eyebrow at her. "You should answer when he rings again," Dean said, taking a sip from his beer bottle. He shrugged as Drew raised an eyebrow. "You should ask him what he wants from you."
Drew laughed nervously. She took in a breath. "You're such a prat," she said as she took a sip of her iced tea.
"Drew," Dean shook his head, smiling, "I remember looking at you when he first walked into Kaiser's biology class. Your ears started to flush as he glanced at you.
"You've been pining for him since then," Dean said as she blew out a breath. He reached for her hand. "Don't you want to know how he feels, too?"
"I'm not so sure if I want to know," Drew said softly.
"Are you afraid he'll say he doesn't feel the same way? Or that he'll say he loves you?"
She hesitated. "All of the above," she said looking at him. She gulped. "When he finds out about Andy… I don't want him to hate me for the rest of my life."
"Phil could never hate you, Drew," Dean said, squeezing her hand.
"We've known him for half of our lives," the Muggle doctor said. She looked at Dean, "I feel like I've loved him for longer. I don't think he sees me as anything more than a friend."
"Drew," Dean studied her face. "If there's anyone in the world that deserves to be happy, it's you. If Phillip can't recognize the gem that was in front of him all these years, then he doesn't deserve you.
"What's the saying? There are plenty more fish in the sea," he smiled at his old friend. She nodded, trying to return his smile. "I didn't scare you away from Ronda's and Harlin's wedding, did I?"
"Don't be silly," Drew said smiling, welcoming the change in subject. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Well, then," Dean said as he raised his beer, "To Phil, may he finally figure out that you're his soulmate."
"You're incorrigible," Drew said laughing.
"Cheers, Drew," Dean said as he clinked his bottleneck with her glass. She nodded at him as they continued their dinner.
o-o-o
Sunday, 28 July, 23:00 PDT, present day
"Next basket wins," Phil said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. Drew gulped as she concentrated on his sternum.
"You've basically made our team the biggest joke of the league," he said as he took a jab step into her defensive area. She retreated a little.
"Yeah, well, if you started to concentrate more on your academics, we wouldn't be in this predicament, now, would we?" she said as she swiped at the ball.
"Nerds like you should stay outside of the baselines, if you know what I mean," he said as he backed up.
"You're incorrigible," she shot back.
"Yeah, well, you're insufferable," he spat back. He dribbled the ball at her crossing over in hopes of changing directions. She stood her ground ready to take the charge. He ran her over, attempting to shoot over her.
They ended up on the floor, both slightly dazed. She was underneath him, chest to chest. He propped himself up off her torso. He took in a deep breath as he looked down at her.
She trembled slightly. She looked into his eyes before finally getting a hold of her faculties.
"Foul on you," she said, a little shakily. Then she shoved her hands on his sweat-covered chest. "Get off of me!"
She gasped as he grabbed a hold of her wrists and gently pinned them against the wooden floor above her head. He looked into her eyes as if searching for something. She took in a deep breath as his arms noticeably trembled.
"What do you," she paused as her breath hitched, "what do you want from me, Phil?"
She watched his chest heave. He inched closer to her face keeping her eye contact. "I want you," he said as he pressed himself against her. She could feel his erection through his jersey shorts.
He captured her lips. She fought for a moment until she gave into the kiss.
o-o-o
Sunday, 28 July, 23:05 PDT, present day
She almost jumped off of her stool behind the nurse's station as she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up at Marco who was tapping the face of his wristwatch.
"Hey, five minutes over," he said as he canted an eyebrow. "You looked like you were daydreaming."
"What?" Drew said as she stood up. She could feel herself flush.
"Was it at least a good dream?" he smirked at her.
"I was dreaming about dinner," she lied as she picked up her coffee cup and took a gulp.
"Oh, well, the cafeteria has sausage on sale," he said as she almost choked on her coffee.
"Yeah," she said. "I think I'm going to head home now."
"Alright," Marco said, calling after her, "See you in a couple of days."
Drew blew out a breath as she headed to her car in the parking structure. She turned the ignition on and then looked to the ceiling of her Buick.
"What the hell was that all about?" she said under her breath as she thought of his lips on hers. 'Damn it, Dean!' she thought to herself as she drove home.