Maggie smiled back at Dr. Katz as she made the 'obstetrics isn't for babies' joke. The woman had a sense of humor after all, who would've thought?
When she first entered the on-call room a couple of minutes ago, Maggie was ready for a full-on argument with her new boss but was pleasantly surprised when the doctor complimented her work and eventually acknowledged she overreacted with the e-mail thing.
Working with the young, brilliant doctor might turn out to be quite a good experience after all, Maggie thought, suddenly realizing that the person in question was still staring at her with a curious look in her eyes and dangerously occupying her personal space.
Trying her best to ignore the unexpected tension hanging in the air, Maggie said:
"It was a good day. "
The attempt of small talk was immediately shut down by the other doctor's dive for a kiss. Despite being surprised at the action, Maggie's first instinct was to welcome the soft lips, but the second she touched Dr. Katz's face, she was left with her hand hanging in the air.
What? - Maggie crossed her arms.
She stood there alone with a confused look on her face.
Where the hell did that come from?
The young doctor bit her lip, still leaning against the bunk bed's structure with her eyebrows knitted.
Maggie found herself replaying the kiss in her head countless times that day.
Dr. Sydney Katz was in big trouble.
She hadn't planned to kiss Dr. Lin, but there she was, feeling drawn towards the taller doctor and interrupting her mid-sentence. She couldn't help it; Hershel never got her jokes. His smile never made her feel the way Maggie's did just a few seconds ago.
The reckless action was compensated by Maggie's soft hand cradling Sydney's face.
That tender gesture was even more unexpected than the kiss itself; Sydney backed off before losing the little control she still had over her actions and dashed away without a word, not quite believing in what had just happened.
Holy crap, did she kiss me back?
Dr. Sydney Katz was in big, deep trouble.
She was also practically engaged.
"I saved the date." Maggie stated, her voice charged with irony.
She had spotted Katz getting ready to leave and decided to ambush her in the Hospital's main staircase before she left for the day.
After the initial shock of knowing about the engagement, Maggie decided there was a certain thing that still needed to be addressed and hell if she'd just let Sydney get away with it.
The Jewish doctor cursed mentally.
Of all the people working in the hospital, she had to end up kissing the very one who wouldn't let the damn thing go.
She started blabbering as she met the taller doctor at the staircase platform.
"Kissed me? The kiss. We kissed." Maggie interrupted her, cutting right through the chase.
The blunt interruption messed with Sydney's perfectly rehearsed excuse, leaving her merciless under Maggie's scrutiny.
"It was nothing!" She said, knowing perfectly well that wouldn't be enough to close the discussion.
Maggie was prepared for that reaction; after all, Sydney had practically shoved her engagement down her throat in full heterosexual mode.
Trying her best to keep the tone casual, Maggie asked:
"I'm not saying it was something…but…it wasn't nothing. Why did you do it?"
Okay Syd, cool it. You're an accomplished doctor; you can give a perfectly constructed response.
"Maybe…I was…bored…" She lamely answered instead.
"So I should be flattered?" Teased Maggie, suddenly finding her boss's nervousness amusing and somewhat adorable.
"Oh Dr. Lin get over yourself. Just forget it ever happened." Sydney snapped back, partially thankful for Maggie's cocky attitude; it gave her enough fuel to fight back and an excuse out of the conversation. She resumed her walk down the stairs.
"Is that what you're doing?" Insisted Maggie, definitely not wanting to let the subject drop now that she had fully realized the kiss actually meant something – why else would the usually no-nonsense doctor get so flustered? - "You're marrying a guy you hardly know!".
That caused a sudden reaction on the shorter woman. Ignoring all the passers-by that could very well be listening to the conversation, she came back up and poured out all the reasons on why she was getting married the way she was. From Maggie's point of view, those reasons screamed: I'm stuck and I have no better option. And it seemed that Katz had sadly surrendered to that.
"But do you love him?" Maggie couldn't help but ask, trying to remind Sydney that there was a way more relevant reason that she seemed to be ignoring.
Dr. Katz, however, didn't answer this time, not even stopping in her tracks - only further proving Maggie's point. The brunette let out a small laugh and made her way back upstairs.
Maggie couldn't believe it; Katz really was serious about getting married even though it was clear she was forcibly trying to convince herself it was a good thing when it really wasn't.
She could only assume that maybe, coming out as a lesbian in her community or just not marrying at all could make Sydney's life miserable as an Orthodox Jew. The doctor didn't know much about their values and traditions but judging from Sydney's small speech, it seemed like marriage played one of the most important roles in the community.
Katz was an independent, intelligent woman – but could she be happy by not doing what was expected of her? Apparently not.
Maggie sighed, feeling sorry for Dr. Katz's situation.
Maybe she had pushed it too far. She'd have to dial it down from now on; even if it'd mean she'd have to ignore the obvious attraction they seemed to share.
How did it come to that though?
Maybe it was the spontaneity of the kiss that had pleased Maggie. Apparently she liked that kind of 'in the spur of the moment' stuff.
That, and also Sydney's adamant personality and passion for her job; and the way she looked back at Maggie with a no-nonsense professional stare every time she said something silly during their rounds. Boy, did she enjoy provoking that expression on Dr. Katz's face whenever she got the chance.
The hospital's busy noises were muted down by the amount of conflicting thoughts Maggie was having. She walked through the crowded corridors in automatic mode, analyzing the situation she found herself in.
She'd never imagined she'd get hung up on a woman, but that wasn't the fact that was bothering her. What bothered her was that Sydney preferred to marry a man she barely knew instead of admitting she was attracted to women, and therefore surrendering to a personal life based up on lies.
There was nothing Maggie could do now though, besides trying her best to respect Sydney's choice and, apparently, do something about her hair.
There.
Getting over it.
Are you happy now, Dr. Katz?