A/N: I'm really sorry to those of you that were expecting Steve in this update. We won't see him again until Ch 5. And I don't think the meeting is going to be like some of you hoped. Tony will find out though, and the reaction will be epic. But I have some major stuff that happens first. We get to see Mia at work, and her meeting the rest of the Avengers in the next chapter. That's sure to be fun :) Bear with me!
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney or the Avengers. Just Mia.
I woke up the next morning at 3am, ready to face my day.
My first day, as Chief of Neuro.
After a quick jog on the treadmill on my floor, I quickly made myself a cup of coffee and settled down on my couch to do a crossword puzzle. Reading over scans and charts from new patients that had been delivered late afternoon yesterday, I wanted to run a few different tests. Showering, and twisting my hair into a chignon, I set out to find a suitable outfit to wear to the hospital.
"Something sexy, but doesn't say that I bought my education," I mumbled to myself. Digging through my closet I found a bag that I know I didn't pack. There was also a dress I didn't remember buying.
"Ooooh," I awed as I saw the full dress. Snatching the note attached to the price tag, I read:
Hope this helps you kick ass on your first day.
If not, the shoes will!
Pepper
I laughed as I noticed the swirling handwriting that was in essence, Pepper. Quickly slipping on the dress, I found the shoes in the bag.
"Oh Jimmy Choo's I missed you," I whispered, slipping them on. Taking a look at myself in the full-length mirror, I nodded.
"You only get one chance at a first impression." I said to myself, "So knock 'em off their feet."
"Mia?" I heard from outside the bedroom door.
"What are you doing up Tony? I'm supposed to be up at this ungodly hour, you should be asleep."
"Still having troubles. You know I don't sleep well." He said, handing me a jewelry box. Opening it up, I saw a ballerina twirling slowly, as a hauntingly beautiful song played.
"Pull out the drawer," Tony prompted. Doing as he said, I was shocked to find a large teardrop, Taaffeite diamond, nestled in the satin lined drawer.
"That was Mom's. I found it; when I went through their things, back when you were about 8. I was going to give it to you when you turned 21. But then I had been kidnapped, and we all know how I got afterwards. So think of it as a "Good luck on your first day" present."
"I forgave you already Tony," I said picking it up.
"This isn't about forgiveness. This is about birthright. Pepper knows this and she wants it as well. I would like to see Stark Industries used for something more than World Security." Holding out the thick silver chain, Tony took it gently to clasp it around my neck.
"Okay…"
"Stark Industries will go to you or my heir. I don't really know if I'll ever have a child, but I know that you've been toying around with brain mapping."
"Every Neurosurgeon has. I've just got more to show than they do."
"My point is," Tony said, walking me to the elevator, and pressing the down button for the lobby, "You can do more good with Stark Industries than I ever did. I'm not saying give up your career, but work with SI on brain mapping, and hopefully something good comes out of it."
"I've wanted to create prosthetics that work with a sensor that been implanted in the brain. No chemicals like Extremis, but mechanics, computers." I said, voicing my ideas.
"Prosthetics powered by computers is what I do."
"No, I mean the sensors that are surgically planted in your brain, are what power the prosthetics. You think it, the prosthetic does it."
"Interesting," Tony said, getting a look on his face.
"I'm still in research mode. Don't build prototypes yet," I joked.
"How on earth do people not understand you are the smarter Stark?" Tony said, giving me a hug.
"I'm not that smart Tony."
"You finished high school early, got a full ride to medical school, studied at Oxford for crying out loud. I only went to MIT. And you are a talented pianist to boot." Tony said, giving me a look of disbelief at my statement.
"You said Mom played, and Dad loved to listen." I said quietly. Tony gave me a sad look, saying, "You never had to do it just because Mom did. I would have hoped you'd be your own person. And then one day, you came to me and said you were going to medical school. No option for me to argue."
"I remember. It was after my high school graduation, and you were drinking a bottle of scotch saying, Mom and Dad should've been there. I walked you back to the car and told you what I wanted."
"I think you actually said that you'd been accepted, and that you started early the next day. At 15 you sure were bossy," he joked.
"Well, I needed to be. Like you said, I had to decide my life, and be my own person." I smiled at him. The elevator slowed as we reached the bottom floor, and Tony walked me down to the garage.
"I was going to walk." I said, watching as Tony moved to cover my eyes.
"This is my surprise for you though. A welcome home gift, or should I say gifts…" Tony said walking me slowly, all while not uncovering my eyes.
"It better be small," I joked. As soon as the words left my mouth, Tony lifted his hands from my face. In front of us, were two vehicles, with pretty white bows on them. One was a cherry red Lexus, and the other was a motorcycle.
"An RC 300h and a Ducati Panigale R? I am lost for words," I said, shocked at Tony's gifts.
"Take the car today, you'll love it. Both have a full tank of gas," Tony said, dangling both sets of keys in front of me. Quickly snatching both, I squealed in glee.
"Today is going to be awesome!"
3 hours into my shift, I met my staff. I had been busy fixing up my office when a timid young woman knocked at my door.
"Excuse me, Dr. Stark?" She asked.
"Yes, come in," I smiled warmly at her.
"My name is Gabby. I am your new assistant," she said holding out her hand shyly.
"Pleasure to meet you Gabby. If it's just the two of us, you can call me Mia," I said, shaking her hand.
"I have a couple basic questions for you, just to make this transition smoother of course."
"Alright, fire away!" I joked, motioning for her to sit in the chair opposite mine at the desk.
"First, how do you like your coffee?" She said, looking very serious.
"I won't pretend to not be slightly spoiled, but I won't degrade you to serving me coffee. I'll make my own, as I'm bringing a machine into my office tomorrow. You will be more than welcome to use it, of course."
"It would have been no problem, but if you insist. My next question, is what time of day do you prefer to have consultations with patients?"
"I don't like body clocking. Make me a schedule, and unless there is an emergency surgery, I will stick to that schedule."
"And lastly, how much do you hate surprises?"
"I'm okay with surprises." I asked, very confused as to where this was going.
"Okay, now I would like to introduce you to your staff." She said motioning to the door. Smiling, I stood up, straightened out my dress and followed her. She led me down a long hallway to, what some would consider a doctor's lounge.
"Surprise!"
"Welcome!" I was thrown for a loop as I entered the decorated room with over 50 people in it.
"Dr. Stark, this is your department. Dr. Harrison, Dr. Kellan, Dr. Niles are your attending Neurosurgeon's, while Dr. Woods, Dr. Baker, and Dr. Carter are their respective fellows. You have over 25 specialized nurses, a surgery team of 15, and our radiology staff, who have also specialized in Neuro." Gabby said, pointing out the groups of people.
"Hello to all of you. I look forward to getting to know each one of you personally during my time as head of Neuro." I said, before looking at Gabby. She just gave me a small hand wave that meant I was to continue.
"I'm not the best at speeches. My high school valedictorian speech is proof of that, and I'm sure it's still floating around in cyberspace." I said, which got a laugh.
"I want to impress something upon all of you. I've always wanted to be a doctor, but I never wanted to simply fix a problem. I wanted to help people. I'm not concerned with production goals, as this is not a factory. This is a hospital, and a teaching hospital at that. I want to teach; but I want research and the pursuit of knowledge to come second to patient care. We can research surgical techniques all we want, but our patients will not have the same level of care if learning comes first. When we put learning first, we lose that opportunity to care as empathetic doctors, rather than factual scientists." To this, quite a few nurses nodded their heads.
"We are scientists, but we are care givers first. Patient care is my number one priority for our patients, for this department, and for this hospital." I said, standing a little taller, as the doctors all nodded their heads.
"I'm going to ruffle a couple feathers with some of the protocols and things I'm going to change, and some of you aren't going to like it. But I'm not here to be liked, I'm here to care for people," I ended, giving everyone a light nod, "Thank you."
A round of applause deafened my ears for a few seconds, as quite a few more doctors and nurses wandered in from doors at the back of the room.
"This woman, this talented young doctor," A tall African American man said, "Will lead this hospital. She has vision and drive, and values what we should be instilling in our interns, and residents."
"Dr. Amelia "Mia" Stark is my successor, as I will be stepping down at the end of this year. Make her feel welcome," he said, before turning to me and smiling.
"Dr. Fisher, pleasure to finally meet you," I said holding out a hand towards him.
"Dr. Stark," He said, chuckling as he shook my hand, as everyone started clapping again.
A/N: What did you think?