Chapter 10
Plot Summary - AU - Dick Grayson, MD falls hard for Kori Anders, RN when she comes to work temporarily at the ER where he is an attending physician. Has the notorious playboy finally met someone he could be happy with? Will Kori want to have anything to do with him?
Richard Grayson - ER doc/playboy
Kori Anders - Nurse practitioner/working temporarily as an ER nurse
Victor Stone - ER doctor
Karen Beecher - ER Nurse/Victor's Fiancé
Tara Markov - ER Nurse
Rachael Roth - ER doctor
Gar Logan - ER Nurse
Wally West – Paramedic/ER Nurse
Roy 'Speedy' Harper - ER Nurse
Katrina "Kitten" Moth - Registration Clerk
Barbara 'Babs' Gordon – socialites, former flame of Dick
Galfore – Kori's uncle and the Ambassador to the US from Tamaranian
Bruce Wayne – Dick Grayson's adopted father, diplomat and former US Ambassador to Tamaran
Alfred – Bruce's and Dick's butler, friend and confident
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Dick was lying on his bed, half-heartedly tossing throwing stars at the dartboard on his closet door. Currently there were three stuck in the mahogany paneling and four on the Berber carpet. He had been awake for over an hour and had been thinking about Kori. He kept thinking about how incredibly attracted he was toward her. He had worked through most of his anger and was now working on being scared, of all things. Yeah, she could be the one. Why do I keep thinking that? I just met her. I better run. Although it wasn't her fault that she had come into his life now, he just wished she had come along.... later? Earlier? Never? He wasn't sure.
There was a knock at the door, "Master Dick"
"Yes, Alfred."
"It is 6:45 PM. Master Bruce is ready to leave for the Cricket Club."
"Thanks Al, I'll be ready in 5 minutes."
His fate was inevitable. Another boring Washington cocktail party. Dick got up with a grunt, shaved and dressed in a navy pin striped suit with thin magenta tie. He grabbed his house keys, wallet and sunglasses from his dresser and headed down to the foyer.
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Dick sat silently in the limousine with Bruce, who he had barely acknowledged him with a nod when he climbed in the back, taking a seat on the bench across from Bruce and close to the back of the vehicle.
After Bruce reviewed some State Department memos, he placed them back in his briefcase and sat back.
"What has you in such a great mood, Dick?" Bruce asked sarcastically.
"Nothing."
"You didn't have to come."
"Yeah, I did."
"Girl troubles?" Was it that obvious?
"None of your business. How 'bout you?"
"Actually I am good on that front. I'll be meeting Selena Kyle there, we are having dinner afterwards, so you'll have to fend for yourself."
"I'll manage."
"You usually do," Bruce said with a smirk before the gentlemen rode the rest of the way to the party in silence.
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Kori was tired. Luckily, the ER was busy so she was able to ignore the fact that she had not slept enough. It also meant she could not dwell on Dick.
Not that he had expected him to actual call yet, but it would have been nice.
She met Roy Harper, or 'Speedy' as his friends and coworkers call him. Like Gar and Wally the two night nurses Kori had met the day before, this guy had a lot of energy. He was a little too friendly, but respectful. She felt as though she was handling things tactfully and professionally when he dropped hints about 'getting together'.
"I'm still settling in and have so much to do." She offered. "Perhaps next Saturday at Denny's? That is where you guys always go, is it not?" If Roy hadn't heard that she was at Denny's that morning with Dick, Gar and Wally, he'd surely know now.
"Sure, sounds good. Just cause I gave up the night shift, doesn't mean I can't have breakfast with the guys."
Kori smiled. He was competent, pleasant, attractive and trying. But Kori was funny about certain things and as long as she could remember, she was completely incapable of thinking about more than one man at once. Even if it was a casual interest or tiny crush, it was one man and one man only.
Dick Grayson was not just a casual interest or tiny crush, she already knew that for certain. She also knew enough to realize that as certain as she was becoming about him, she knew things barely ever worked out easily. Being from a very different culture with very different social rules along with her own moral code, she had seen more than a few budding romances die quickly.
Kori wanted to hold out hope for Dick due to the connection she was sure they had. The question remained that if he was interested in the way she thought he was, and even if he was looking for something serious, was he patient enough for how things to progress the way they had to go for her?
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Dick took another sip of his vodka tonic, which was another double. He was bored beyond belief and was propped up against the wall half-listening to Selena talk about the importance of global warming awareness.
"What are your thoughts Dick?"
Dick really hated this kind of discussion. He was compassionate, but definitely conservative if not Libertarian, which made him quite unpopular at most Washington parties. "Global warming? Its a crock of shit, Selena. Its a conspiracy among the alleged intellectual cognoscente. Al Gore's an idiot...."
"And a Nobel Laureate."
"He's an attorney and a politician, not a scientist."
"Oh look who's here!" Selena said with suspiciously forced enthusiasm.
Dick turned to where Selena was looking and got a glimpse of long red hair and his heart skipped a beat. Could she be here?
"Babs, Babs come over here!" Selena called out. Dick tried to hide his disappointment when the redhead turned out to be Barbara Gordon and not Kori Anders.
Barbara, or Babs Gordon was the police commissioner's daughter and a very well known socialite. She and Dick were friends since their days in prep school and had dated fairly seriously for almost two years when Dick was first in medical school.
When Dick's clinical training started and he realized that he was struggling a bit and they broke up. They remained friends however, even occasionally crossing over into the 'friends with benefits' column, and only when Babs was single. She never had a shortage of men interested in her but she tended to be pretty needy when alone.
At first Dick was happy to help Babs with her needs, especially when he was an intern and resident and just needed to feel something on that level. Between the inhumane hours, the horrors of the training, and the cut throat competition, he like so many in his chosen profession needed the human touch whenever possible, and fell victim easily at that point in their careers.
Finally when Dick took his job at Lincoln's ER and his life stabilized, he and Babs had a heart to heart and realized they were hurting each other more than they were helping each other and more than they were truly comforting each other. They remained good friends, and Dick would often escort Babs to various events in DC. Sometimes they'd kiss and fool around if they had been drinking too much, but had at least stopped sleeping together.
Bruce had covertly made sure Babs was at the cocktail party that night. The society pages would be filled with pictures of the rich and famous at the Cricket Club the next day, and Bruce knew that Dick being pictured with Babs would help to rehabilitate Dick's reputation. The photographer was more than happy to shoot multiple picture of Dick and Babs who always photographed beautifully and who the editors knew would draw readership.
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Dick and Babs fell into easy conversation as they always did, and shared memories, laughing about the 'good ole days' of prep school and college, of fraternity parties and inaugural balls, of sailing weekends and beach parties.
And Dick had a bit too much to drink. As Bruce had mentioned to Dick earlier, he went off with Selena, and Dick relied on Babs to get home. Eventually.
Babs was needy that night. She would never say no to Bruce but had reluctantly agreed to attend the party knowing that her most recent ex-boyfriend, a high caste Indian national and member of the Cricket Club, would be there. Just her luck, Babs ran into her ex Monsieur basically upon entering the club. He who was cool but civil. Unsolicitiously, he had again made it perfectly clear clear he was no longer interested in her. To add insult to injury, Monsieur had a beautiful blond named Betsy close by, another socialite and an acquaintance of Bab's and Dick's.
Between Babs' deflated ego and Dick's rush of emotions and lack of sobriety, it was the perfect storm for the "with benefits" part of the relationship to kick in for the first time in a few years. Dick had sent Alfred home after he and Babs were left off stumbling into her Georgetown brownstone.
But Dick's mind was not with the redhead he was actually with. It was with the redhead that by that hour was long since home from her shift at the ER.
Their kisses were feverish, their hands all over each other on top of their clothing. It was a dance they had practiced and performed on and off for years.
Dick repositioned himself, laying on top of Barbara on the sofa, kissing her deeply.
He mumbled through his passion, "Oh, Kori"
Barbara froze. "What did you say?"
"Huh? I didn't say anything." Did I?
"Who's Kori?
Dick paused. "I.... I said that?"
"Yes."
"Its nothing."
"Nothing?" Babs demanded, her already wounded ego did not need this and Dick knew it. He did not want to hurt his friend. Luckily for Dick, Babs had never met nor even heard of Kori Anders. And luckily for Dick, he was quick witted in spite his drunken state.
"Oh, I was thinking of calling you 'Coral', cause.... cause of your red hair." Yeah, that might work. "Guess I'm pretty drunk."
"Yes, you are and pretty color blind." Babs laughed and smiled at him and took a deep breath, trying not to hide her disappointment.
"Dick, we can't do this. I'm calling you a cab and getting you out of here."
Dick was very relieved that Babs had been able to make that decision for them before either of them did anything they regretted.
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soon, or maybe not so soon my lovelies, Dick and Kori will find their way to each other.
Please review. Now am I sounding needy?
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Please pray for Iran and her people.