Happy New Year! I know I'm a bit late (and so is this chapter), but I'm back now!
Fiyero mustered all his strength as he lifted his suitcase into the overhead bin, followed by Elphaba's. He had two red-eye coffees that morning and knew he probably wasn't going to sleep the entire weekend. He had the strength of one hundred men, and was going to take full advantage of it before he crashed.
"How did we manage to score a private compartment on an Oztrak train?" he asked, sitting down on the plush, leather seat. "I thought we didn't have private practice doctor paychecks."
"We don't. The leeches over at Pharmaceutic comped these tickets, and our hotel rooms, for us," Elphaba answered, sitting down next to him.
"The biggest pharmaceutical company in the Vinkus? Wow."
She nodded. "They do this every year. It's attempted bribery. They shower the doctors with gifts and perks like this to try and get us to prescribe their overpriced medications to our patients."
The doors closed and the train jolted forward with a loud, creaking groan, slowly picking up speed.
"Do you end up prescribing the medication?"
"Sometimes, but not because of this. I do my research. Sometimes, it's the patient's best option, but I always make sure they know the whole picture. Sometimes, the patients opt for it, and sometimes they don't."
"Hmm. How often have you been going?"
"Dr. Dillamond took me to my first symposium when I was an intern. I won the competition." She smiled at the memory. "His was more of a race than a test. It was the most athletic I've ever been in my entire life."
"But you pushed through."
"I did. My body didn't give out, surprisingly, and I won. The symposium was a fun experience. It was a lot of information, but there's a decent buffet."
Fiyero's caffeine crash came sooner than expected, and he slept for the rest of the train ride. Elphaba buried her nose in a book, occasionally glancing up at her sleeping partner. Her attraction to him was growing faster than she thought or planned, and she had a feeling they'd make more than medical advances this weekend.
"You snore," was the first thing out of Elphaba's mouth after roughly nudging Fiyero awake. "We'll be in Tenniken in ten minutes. Start getting yourself together."
The younger doctor grunted as he pushed himself up. "Oz, my shoulder."
"I have no idea how you were comfortable curled up in that position."
"I ran out of energy from my morning coffees, so that might've helped."
"Hmm. Don't make a habit of doing that for early mornings at the hospital."
"What makes you think I already haven't?"
"I'm just saying that a coffee addiction is very hard to wean off of."
"Decaf doesn't help me."
"Apples are more effective in waking you up than coffee. Natural sugars and -"
"Will you be providing these apples? Because I like mine in pie form."
She gave him a noncommittal grunt.
The train slowly pulled into the station and they disembarked. A car was waiting to take them to their hotel. Elphaba knew this was part of the bribe, but Fiyero looked so excited, she didn't want to ruin it for him. Checking in was relatively hassle-less, and they found their rooms on the fifteenth floor, right across from each other.
"The convention center is right down the street from the hotel. You have twenty minutes to freshen up and relax before we go down there," Elphaba instructed.
"Full day," Fiyero smiled.
She rolled her eyes, disappearing into her room. They both freshened up and walked to the convention center together.
"Wow," Fiyero whispered when the automatic double doors slid open.
"Try not to look too eager," Elphaba said, gently nudging him forward.
The convention center was flooded with doctors from hospitals all across Oz. Colorful banners and tablecloths covered the tables of doctors and hospitals showing off their cutting-edge research and facilities.
"Yes, that's right! Our clinical trial has had successful rates of reducing the effects of osteoporosis!" Fiyero heard a vendor exclaim as they walked by.
"Our clinical trial has seen a significant decrease in the number of oxygen treatments in patients with Pompe disease!" another called, seemingly into a megaphone.
"That would be good for Imie," Fiyero noted.
"Our booth is this way," Elphaba said, nudging Fiyero with her arm that wasn't pulling the large suitcase.
The two settled at a booth by the window overlooking the large fountain. He helped set up and studied the notes on the display board Elphaba had set up. It was covered in multicolored graphs and charts with little captions that summarized the numbers.
"Wow. You did all this research?" Fiyero asked, studying the binder on the table. "Finding a cure for autoimmune diseases."
"Specifically Autoimmune Cytopenia, but overall, yes. It involves using stem cells to try and create new T-cells for people with weakened immune systems. Dr. Dillamond did the initial notes and hypothesis, and it was his idea, but I did the lab work. Anytime you couldn't find me, I was in the research lab."
"Where's the research lab?"
"I can't tell you. If I did, I'd never get any quiet time."
"You did all this work by yourself?"
"I did."
He returned the binder to its proper place. "This is amazing."
She tried to hide her blush. "Thanks."
"I'm glad I get to experience this firsthand, instead of watching doctor vlogs on OzTube. I binge-watched videos from previous years to get ready."
"The cutting-edge research and medical breakthroughs are the best parts, as well as the lectures and workshops," Elphaba said, smoothing out the tablecloth. "But that's not what most people come here for."
"What do they come here for?"
She nodded towards a larger table across the center. "The big medical moneymakers; tech, supplies, and new drugs."
He followed her gaze. "It does seem really flashy over there."
"There's nothing wrong with flashy. It brings attention and awareness. But at the end of the day, it should be about helping people, and not just about maximizing profits through overcharging."
"They're not all like that."
"Most are. They're big pharmaceutical companies, Fiyero. They don't have time to care about each individual person and their specific needs."
"But that's why we're here. We help the people."
"St. Aelphaba's is a non-profit hospital, but we have to get our meds and tech from someplace. And the costs must go to someone. We absorb what we can, but it's still a lot for some people."
There was a catch in Elphaba's voice that he couldn't fully identify. Her words were professional, but her tone was personal.
"Yero!"
The two doctors turned as a middle-aged couple in matching burgundy sweaters hurried over to them. Elphaba looked over at Fiyero, who grinned at the two newcomers. "Uncle Leul! Aunt Kytheria!"
The two wrapped Fiyero in a sandwich hug, squishing him in between them. Fiyero made a noise, but it only resulted in him being squished harder.
"Yero, we've missed you so much! How are you doing? Do you like working at the hospital? Have you made any friends?" the couple hounded him.
Fiyero finally broke free with a huffed laugh. "I'm fine, I do, and I have."
His aunt pinched his cheeks. "Look at our little Yero, such a handsome doctor!"
"Aunt Kytheria!" Fiyero protested.
"Of course. You're a big, hot-shot doctor now. I didn't know you'd be here."
"I'm here to help." He turned to her. "Dr. Thropp, this is my aunt and uncle, Leul and Kytheria Aoko, co-CEOs of Over Pharmacle. This is my boss, Dr. Elphaba Thropp."
"Dr. Thropp," Leul nodded, extending his hand.
"Mr. Aoko, Mrs. Aoko," Elphaba nodded, shaking Leul's hand.
Kytheria didn't shake her hand, but nodded politely. "You two should stop by the booth when you have a chance. We're having a bulk sale on Glucobicin. We've improved our formula to work for five hours instead of three."
"We're always looking for new hospitals to partner with, and St. Aelphaba's is near the top of our list," Leul said, noticing the logo on Elphaba's board. "Fiyero, you assisted with this new research? It's very innovative."
"I helped by staying out of Dr. Thropp's way and making sure I didn't accidentally kill any of her patients," Fiyero said with a light chuckle. "Dr. Thropp's kept very busy being Chief Resident, her research, and her work on the diagnostic team, so I -"
"You're on the St. Aelphaba diagnostic team?" Kytheria asked in surprise.
Fiyero smiled at Elphaba, but he could tell that her smile was forced. "Yes. I'm the leader," Elphaba confirmed. "It's me and three attendings -"
"And Fiyero is also on the team?"
"Oh, he's –"
"Working on it," Fiyero interrupted. "Dr. Thropp is testing me very hard to prove myself. She only excepts the best."
"You are the best," Kytheria said, pinching his cheeks again.
"I know, but –"
"You would make a marvelous asset to the St. Aelphaba diagnostic team, Yero," Leul said. "It would be wonderful for the family legacy."
"Yes, sir," Fiyero nodded, shooting Elphaba an apologetic glance.
The glance seemed to remind the couple of the other doctor present. "Dr. Thropp, you should give us a call. We'd be happy to be your official pharmaceutical dealer for your diagnostic team cases," Leul said, fishing a business card out of his pocket.
Elphaba took it with a respectful smile. "Thank you, Mr. Aoko."
"Come see us when you get a chance, Yero," Kytheria said, giving her nephew a hug before walking back with Leul.
"I'm sorry," Fiyero apologized once they were out of earshot. "I know they're… they mean well, even my aunt. They're just…"
"I understand, Fiyero," Elphaba said. She had professional and personal experiences with fickle families and their "good intentions".
"They couldn't have children of their own, so they treated me like I was their son. But since I have my parents, they were also able to put their business first, so that's always the first thing on their minds. But they still expect a lot from me. They're not bad people."
"I never said, or thought, they were."
"You don't have to consider it just because of me."
"What makes you think you have that much influence over me?" Elphaba asked, curiously cocking her head.
It took him a moment to realize she was attempting a sarcastic joke. "I can be very persuasive," he replied slyly.
Elphaba rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Go walk around the convention center. This is your first time here, and I don't want you tethered to my side. I'll text if I need you to come back."
"Really?"
Elphaba nodded. "Go."
Fiyero grinned like a little boy as he ran off, walking around to all the stalls and taking the free merchandise the booths were offering. He occasionally checked his phone for Elphaba's return text, and it came an hour later.
"Hey. I got you a pen!" he grinned upon his return, handing her a sparkly pen covered in tiny stethoscopes.
She took it with an amused chuckle. "Thanks. Did you fill your goodie bag?"
"Yeah. There's some pretty good stuff here, all very medical."
"That's nice. Can you man the table for a bit? I'm obligated to have a decent conversation with Pharmaceutic, since they paid for our train tickets and hotel rooms."
"But I don't know anything about –"
"It's been pretty quiet, since people are spending most of their time at the flashier booths, but study this summary." She handed him a small pamphlet. "I'll be back as quickly as I can."
Fiyero read through the pamphlet and skimmed through the numbers in the binder. Overall, it looked like the experiments were progressing very well, but the stem cells weren't multiplying as quickly as the time frame needed them to.
"Alright, I'm back," Elphaba announced herself after twenty minutes. "How was it here?"
"Pretty quiet. A few people came by, and I gave them the pamphlet version of your work, and they seemed very impressed. I told them to come back in a bit if they wanted to get more information from you."
"Thank you."
"How did Pharmaceutic go?"
Elphaba groaned. "They sent their most long-winded representative, who, of course, had to give the company's entire history before answering any specific questions. I went to do the civil thing and thank them and pretend to be interested in a partnership because they paid for our travel expenses, but I feel like I was roped into a secret timeshare."
They stayed at their booth for the rest of the afternoon, Fiyero learning about Elphaba's experiment as she explained it to everyone who asked. It made him smile, seeing the passion in her eyes for her hard work. He wondered if he would ever have a project that lit up his face like that.
"There are some very interesting lectures tomorrow. I put a check next to the ones I want to attend. You do the same," Elphaba said, handing Fiyero a brochure.
He looked at the ones Elphaba had selected; genome mapping, transplants, and disproving medical myths. "I like the medical myths one."
"I have a feeling we'll know most of them and the reasons why they're not true, but I thought we should go to at least one fun one."
"Can we go to the brain mapping one?"
"Interested in neurosurgery?"
"Not really. Dr. Miluyse is scary when he's hyper-focused. But the brain's pretty cool." He made his selections and handed the brochure back to Elphaba.
After a few more hours and lots more conversations, Elphaba and Fiyero packed up their booth.
"Do you have dinner plans for tonight?" Elphaba asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"I do. My aunt and uncle invited me to Betta's. They wanted to catch up and see how I'm doing."
"That's nice. Have fun."
He glanced at her. "If you wanted to have dinner together, I can –"
"Don't even finish that thought. You go eat with your family at that very classy, expensive restaurant. This isn't even a discussion. I'll be fine by myself, ordering room service that I won't have to pay for out of my own pocket. Just make sure to get a good night's sleep. The first lecture is at eight-thirty."
"Can we have breakfast together tomorrow?"
"If you can be ready by seven. I want to get a good seat in the lecture hall."
"I think that's doable."
Elphaba nodded and they walked to the door together, only parting ways when they had to go to their separate hotel rooms.
"Night, Fiyero. Enjoy dinner with your family."
"Night. Thanks, Elphaba." He watched her go into her room, closing the door behind her. He stayed outside for a few more moments before going into his own room to change for dinner with his aunt and uncle.