Elphaba felt like a new person as she entered the hospital the next day. It was her first shift as Chief Resident, and she was fully prepared for the pile of paperwork that was surely awaiting her on her desk. But when she entered her new office, instead of paperwork, she found her four interns standing behind her desk, and a chocolate cake on her desk.
"Surprise!" they cheered much too loudly for that early hour.
"It's not my birthday," Elphaba blinked, her brain still figuring out how she felt about this.
"We know. But we got here early for pre-rounds, and thought we'd… have cake," ShenShen said with a small grin.
"Cake? You're doctors, and you want to eat cake at six-thirty in the morning?"
"It's your celebratory Chief Resident cake," Shem smiled, cutting and plating a corner piece and holding it out to her.
"Happy first day as Chief Resident, Thropp! Ooh, cake!" Crope said from the doorway, entering and taking Shem's plate. "Tib, Thropp's got cake in her office!"
"Cake?" Tibbett smiled, coming in. "I'll have some!" He grabbed a plastic fork and took a bite of Crope's cake. "What's the occasion?"
"My promotion," Elphaba said, gesturing to her interns. "Apparently, they care about it."
"This isn't gonna make her go easier on you," Crope said to the interns through another bite.
"Is it so hard to believe that, perhaps, they just wanted to do something nice for me?" Elphaba huffed.
"Yes."
"I was nice to my surgical interns, and they never even got me a keychain, much less a cake," Tibbett said, taking another bite of cake.
"Thropp's got suck-ups, and we get to reap the benefits now," Crope grinned, helping himself to another slice. "So I'm not complaining."
"Alright," Elphaba gave in, accepting a piece of cake from her cheeky interns. Cake for breakfast wasn't her ideal go-to, but chocolate was her favorite.
"Ready for your first day as Chief Resident?" Tibbett asked, playfully nudging her shoulder.
"Think of it this way, Elphaba; you're one step closer to joining us in the big leagues!" Crope said, pulling Tibbett closer and clapping him on the shoulder. "We attendings have way more fun than you think we do."
"I think she's secretly working her way up to becoming an attending, with tenure, because the snacks in the attending break room are 'decent'."
Elphaba finished her cake. "That would mean having to spend even more time with you two. And I don't think I could handle that."
"You handle them," Tibbett pointed out, gesturing to the interns.
"They're not clowns."
"We're smart cookies," Shem grinned boyishly.
"You're suck-ups," Elphaba corrected with an eye roll, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "But you're my suck-ups. And I need you four down in the clinic today."
"You're getting rid of us already?" Pfannee frowned.
"I told you we should've gotten the chocolate cake with the strawberries on top!" ShenShen hissed, smacking Shem's arm.
Elphaba shook her head. "No, you got the correct cake. But I need your help in the clinic today. Too many residents called out, and it's part of my job to juggle schedules, keep all the residents in line, and make sure they're doing their jobs. And I'm starting with you four. I'll join you this afternoon." Her gaze lingered on Fiyero longer than the others, but she turned to her paperwork before anyone noticed.
"I've got a surgery this morning. Thanks for the extra energy boost!" Crope said, giving the group a wave. "And good luck today, Thropp!"
"Good luck!" Tibbett smiled, also taking his leave.
Elphaba was left with her interns staring at her. She stared back. "So… clinic?"
"Right. Clinic," Fiyero nodded, and the four scurried out of her office.
When they got to the clinic, it was in complete disarray. The waiting area was full, as were most of the beds. It was a loud cacophony of people talking, crying, yelling, and vomiting.
"Oh, come on," Shem groaned.
"Who's supposed to be in charge?" ShenShen asked, looking around for a resident or attending.
"Dr. Ashti-mai was scheduled to be here, but she called out last minute," a frazzled nurse said from the front desk, trying to grab a bunch of files, and dropping all of them. "I've been trying to do crowd control by myself, but I can't get to everyone fast enough."
"No one else is here?" Fiyero asked as he and Pfannee hurried to help her.
"No. No one."
"Should we page Dr. Thropp?" Shem asked. "We can't do all this by ourselves." He took out his pager before anyone answered his question.
Twenty minutes and five pages later, the four were still without their resident.
"Looks like we're on our own," Pfannee said.
"Maybe… one of us could be in charge," Fiyero shrugged.
"Great. Thanks for volunteering, Fiyero," ShenShen said, shoving him forward.
"What? I never said –"
"What do we do first?"
The Vinkun looked around, quickly analyzing the scene like they did in triage training. "Alright. Shem, can you help the patients in beds one through seven? Pfannee, take eight through thirteen. Try to free up beds as quickly as possible. ShenShen, can you help me check the waiting room for serious cases? We'll send serious cases to Shem once he clears some beds, and non-serious ones to Pfannee."
"On it!" Shem saluted.
"Yes, sir!" Pfannee nodded.
ShenShen was already in the waiting room, evaluating and dividing the crowd.
Fiyero nodded. "Thanks. And Seguwa, can you update the patient board?"
"Yes, Dr. Tigulaar," the nurse nodded, holding up the tablet and started furiously tapping.
"Great. Let's get to work."
The team split up, implementing their divide-and-conquer technique. They administered pain meds, birth control, diagnosed cases of flu and stomach bugs, and did some blood work. They were running back and forth, non-stop all morning, but beds never seemed to free up for more than a few seconds at a time. As soon as one patient was discharged, another was immediately in their place.
"What time is it?" Fiyero asked as he helped clean a teenage boy's bloody nose.
"One-thirty," ShenShen called from the bedside of a young woman vomiting into the bin. "Dr. Thropp should be here soon."
Soon never came, and it wasn't until the end of their shift that they saw Elphaba come down. The clinic was closed, and they were cleaning up, eyelids dropping and feet shuffling.
"How was it?" Elphaba asked, surveying the scene in front of her.
The interns exchanged a glance, silently asking each other if they should lie.
"No, you don't lie to me," she continued, recognizing the looks on their faces.
"It was fine," Shem finally said.
"Dude, she said 'don't lie'," Fiyero frowned.
"Shem only cried once," Pfannee added, and Shem pinched her arm.
"Enough," Elphaba breathed, holding up her hand. She turned to the nurse. "Seguwa, what happened?"
"It was chaotic all day, but your interns handled it well, Dr. Thropp," the nurse said with a slight smile to the young doctors.
"Where's Dr. Ashti-mai?"
"She called out last minute."
Her eyes widened. "Who was in charge down here?"
"Fiyero was," Pfannee said, giving Fiyero an encouraging nudge forward.
"We had an intern take-over," Fiyero shrugged sheepishly, but with a hopeful smile.
Elphaba met his gaze. She looked at him the same way she did when they first met, seemingly analyzing him.
"We were all on our feet all day, and your interns kept their composure. Except for when Dr. Ottokos cried in the supply closet," Seguwa said with a slight chuckle.
"You'd cry, too, if two patients vomited on you at the same time, and you felt it seep into your shoes," Shem grumbled with a shiver. "I'm so glad we had that cake this morning, 'cause I've lost my appetite for the rest of the day."
"But Dr. Tigulaar led the team well."
Something in Elphaba's face changed, and no one could tell if it was positive or negative. "Why didn't you page me?"
"We tried, as soon as we entered the war zone without a general," Shem said.
Elphaba pulled her pager out of her pocket, seeing the missed pages from Shem. "I'm sorry I missed your pages, Dr. Ottokos. It was… hectic upstairs, too. But… I'm proud you all were able to handle things down here. And thank you, Dr. Tigulaar, for stepping up and taking charge and responsibility."
"Was this a test? Did we pass? I hope we passed," Fiyero blurted.
"If this were a test, you would've passed," Elphaba confirmed.
He smiled at her and they all left the clinic together. Once the interns were alone in the locker room, all the frustration of the day came out at once. There was sporadic laughter, tears, moans, therapeutic yells, and dirty scrub throwing.
Fiyero gathered the rest of his things and closed his locker, bidding farewell to his friends before running to catch the approaching bus. He barely made it, and slumped in the back, grateful the bus wasn't very crowded, and began his trek back to his apartment. He knew tougher days were ahead, but at least he was able to put this one behind him.
Elphaba was enjoying her Saturday off. She loved sleeping in, staying nice and toasty under multiple blankets. She did the dishes and her laundry before settling on the sofa and flipping through the TV channels. She was finishing an episode of a law drama when her phone vibrated. She looked at the screen to see a text from Glinda.
'Hey. You free right now?'
She sighed, unlocking her phone. 'Today's the only day off I've had in three weeks.'
'I'll take that as a 'yes'.'
Incoming OzTime call from Glinda.
"Oz, this girl," Elphaba sighed, but accepted the call. "Glinda, I'm very – OH MY OZ!"
Glinda giggled in the background, since the phone was pointed at a tiny, smooshy, pink face.
"You… you had your baby?"
"Hi, Auntie Elphie," she cooed in a baby voice, and the baby yawned.
"… I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
…...
"I leave you alone for twelve hours, twelve hours, and you go and have a baby."
The blonde giggled, carefully pushing herself up more. "Elphie, you know you can't leave me unsupervised."
She peered down at the tiny bundle in the bassinet. "Apparently not. I turn my back, and you become a mom."
"Finally. I was pregnant for way too long."
"Isn't your due date technically tomorrow? You always said that early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable."
She waved her hand. "Don't be nit-picky. Do you wanna hold him?"
She nodded, washing her hands in the sink, and carefully lifting the sleeping bundle into her arms. The baby fussed, but didn't wake, and settled when Elphaba gently rocked him. "What's his name?"
"Vil. Vil Brinton Chuffrey. He was born at three-fifty-five this morning."
She sat in the chair next to the bed, looking at the tiny-squishy face. He had little whisps of dark blonde hair peeking out from under his little hat, a cute, little button nose, and the cutest, fattest cheeks. "He's darling. Where's Khynel?"
"Signing discharge papers at the nurses' station. We're both doing fine, so we can go home this evening."
"So soon?"
"I work here. I don't wanna be here if I'm not getting paid."
"So why am I here on my one short day off?"
She grinned slyly. "'Cause you love me?"
Elphaba rolled her eyes, but had to agree. Someone knocked at the door, and Elphaba, figuring it was Khynel, turned to greet him, but it wasn't the blonde nurse's husband in the doorway.
"Oh, Dr. Thropp," Milla said, her surprise evident at seeing the verdant doctor. "I thought you were off today."
"I thought so, too, but someone decided to have a baby today," she said, giving her friend a playful side-eye. "I'm here as a visitor."
"Oh. W-Well, I was just stopping by to see if Nurse Upland-Chuffrey needed anything." She looked at the blonde. "Do you need anything?"
Glinda smiled kindly. "I'm fine, Milla. Thanks."
"Oh. That's… good. That's great. Wonderful."
"Glinda, you need to tell your husband to be nicer to me," Sarima said as she came in, Glinda's husband trailing right after her. "He forgets that I've seen things."
"You see dead people?" Khynel asked with a smirk.
"I've seen your wife's poom-poom, so you don't have as much leverage as you think. Glin, you'd better get him before I do. If I get him, it's gonna hurt."
"This," Glinda said, gesturing between her husband and friend. "This is why I need to be discharged today."
"Hi, Khy," Elphaba said, handing Vil back to his mother so she could greet her friend. "Congratulations."
"Hi, Elphaba," Khynel smiled, ignoring Sarima and accepting the hug. "And thanks."
"Milla, can you check on Mrs. Mukij?" Sarima asked, turning to the younger doctor. "If she's by the window, page me. Then tell her she had ten seconds to get back into bed."
"Of course, Dr. Thetial," the redhead nodded, giving the room a shy wave before hurrying out.
"She's adorabubble, Sarima. Don't break her," Glinda playfully pleaded.
"I must admit, she's improving. She cut Glinda's umbilical cord and didn't look like she was gonna faint," Sarima reported, making notes in Glinda's chart.
"She was so nervous, probably because I work here. But she knew I didn't want any special treatment, and she stayed very professional. Overall, I'm very happy with this year's batch of interns."
"She no longer cowers, and completes her charts in a timely fashion. She's getting to know me and my preferences, and knows what to do before I ask. I like having an intern." Her pager beeped and she looked down. "Of course Mrs. Mukij is out of bed," she groaned. "I gotta go. I'll stop by again before you leave, Glin."
"Thanks, Sarima. Oh, Khy, could you give Elphie and me a moment, please?"
"Of course, love," he said, kissing her forehead and giving Elphaba another hug before leaving, closing the door behind him.
"This is it," she said, looking down at her son before placing him back in the bassinet. She shifted so she was sitting on the edge of the bed and invitingly patted the spot next to her. "Dear Oz, I'm a mom."
"And you'll be a fabulous mother," Elphaba said, sitting next to her friend and squeezing her hand.
"We're both in new stages of our lives. I'm a new mom, and you're the new Chief Resident. I'm gonna be changing diapers, and you're gonna be making sure the residents don't need diapers." She rested her head on her friend's shoulder. "I'm so proud of us."
"Me, too. But Glin, I need to tell you something. And when I tell you, I don't want you to make a big fuss."
"Something tells me I'm gonna want to make a big fuss," Glinda said, but motioned for her friend to continue.
"I kissed Dr. Tigulaar."
She tilted her head. "Cute intern, Vinkun, looks like a deer in headlights a lot? That Dr. Tigulaar?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"A few days ago, at Dr. Dillamond's retirement party."
"You kissed Fiyero and you're just now telling me?!" Glinda gasped, then winced at the pain in the lower half of her body. She shifted and sighed. "Was it a good kiss?"
"First, he kissed me. Then… I kissed him. I wasn't expecting the first kiss, but it was nice. And now we're seeing a movie together tonight and I –"
"What movie?"
"'A Thousand Yesterdays'. It's at an outdoor movie event in the park. He invited me because I confessed I like old movies."
"Aww. A romantic movie as a first date? That's adorabubble!"
"I wouldn't exactly call it a 'date', but –"
"Shut up. It's a date."
"It's weird, isn't it? I'm technically his boss. And I don't even know where his attraction to me came from."
Glinda thought for a moment. "Well, when did you two start getting to know each other?"
"When he was my doctor, then again at the bar, and I…" The realization hit her. "I've revealed more than I should've about myself."
"I doubt you did. You reveal as much about yourself as anyone else would."
"He knows about my water allergy."
"I honestly think more people here should. And to answer your question, no, it's not weird. You're both adults and I'm sure you'll be able to find a comfortable balance."
"What if the other interns find out and they think I'll start playing favorites with him?"
"Elphie, the interns have relationship drama of their own. And as Head Nurse, I know all about it."
"They do? And you know?"
"Yes. The last thing they're concerned about is what, or who, their friends are doing. They have their own hospital favors to think about cashing in. Hospital romances happen so often here that no one bats an eye… unless it turns into a problem that turns heads." She looked at her friend. "How do you feel about this?"
"Dr. Tigulaar's… nice…"
"You can call him by his first name, y'know."
"… Fiyero… is nice. But at the end of the day, he's my intern and I don't think –"
"Forget about being a doctor for one tick-tock. How do you feel? Do you want to go see the movie with him?"
"… Yes."
"Do you plan on telling him how you feel about him?"
She made a face. "I'd rather have open heart surgery than wear my heart on my sleeve."
"I'm not asking you to do either; I'm just saying it wouldn't kill you to not bury your emotions. No one's expecting a confession of deep attraction tonight. You're not star-crossed lovers."
"We're not lovers at all."
She gave Elphaba's hand a soft squeeze. "Have fun tonight. You deserve it. There's no rule that says you can't be on good terms with your interns."
Elphaba knew her friend was right. Glinda had a special way of always being right about these types of things.
I won't update on Christmas, so the next chapter will be up on the 27th! In the meantime, let me know your thoughts!
Happy holidays, everyone!