Peso

Peso was rushing around his apartment, hurriedly getting dressed and ready for work. He had woken up to the discovery that he had not plugged in his phone all the way, so it hadn't charged overnight and had instead died. Meaning there was no alarm to wake him this morning, meaning he was very, very late.

He quickly pulled on a long-sleeved shirt and then his scrub top over it. It was his go-to look for the hospital, with it always being cold. It also helped to hide the unpigmented sections of his skin on his arms and the scar on his left arm. Not that any of those bothered him anymore but some patients loved to point things like that out and his face and hands were enough to advertise his vitiligo.

He grabbed his watch and fumbled for a moment putting it on. He preferred the larger style watches because they were better able to hide the tail end of his scar. Out of sight, out of any prying eyes mind.

He rushed into his small kitchen grabbing at his keys on the counter and instead knocking over a pile of unopened mail. The top letter caught his attention, Federal Student Aid. His student loans. He made a face at the sealed letter before reaching past it and grabbing his keys. He would deal with it later. Right now, he was late, and it was never good for a doctor to be late when they worked in a trauma center or the ER, wherever he was going to be today, honestly probably both.

He quickly gathered the rest of his things and left his apartment, locking the door behind him. Turning quickly down the hall, headed for the elevator, only to stop short when he saw the posted notice.

Elevator closed for repairs

Sorry for the inconvenience.

What? I just used it last night!

Of course, it was out, Peso let out a groan. The elevator in his building seemed to always be in some state of repair, much like the rest of the building. With what he was paying for rent though and how close it was to the hospital he put up with all the unsavory parts of his building.

He dropped his head back and let out a short sigh, this morning was shaping up to be one of those days. He quickly turned toward the stairs when he heard someone call out his name.

"Peso?"

Turning again he saw his next-door neighbor Jasmine. "Jaz, hey sorry I can't talk right now. I'm late."

"Oh. I thought it was weird seeing you this late in the morning. Wanna head down together?" She pointed to the elevator and then saw the sign, "Wait since when?"

"That's what I said!"

"Stairs then?" she asked.

"Unfortunately."

They both headed down the stairs, Peso finally taking notice of the apron draped over her arm and that her long black hair that she normally wore down was in a tight bun. "Where are you headed?"

She sighed, "I have reentered the workforce, this time in a more respectable field apparently," she rolled her eyes, "You know the little coffee shop across from the park?"

"The one with the savannah-theme statues outside it?" A Savannah-themed café in Savannah. Completely original. Peso kept those thoughts to himself.

She groaned, "Yeah, that one."

"Interesting choice. What happened with your online stuff? Not that it's any of my business but wouldn't you be making more?"

"Well apparently now that I have kids that kind of work is completely off-limits, disgusting, and an affront to someone else's god."

While there was a lot for Peso to digest in that one sentence, he zoned in on the most important, "Who's with the kids?"

She stopped mid-stair and shot him a look, "Seriously? Do you think I just left them?"

"No, but I thought Ricky worked in the mornings." She could have called her Mother over to watch the kids Peso reasoned, but he felt like Maria would have stopped by to say hi if she had come to watch the kids.

Jasmine's expression darkened, "Ricky is home, apparently his former workplace didn't fit his newfound religious beliefs and he quit."

"What!?"

"Yeah, he found a God and I might need to find a new husband because no offense to anyone but I think he's gotten messed up with one of those over-the-top crazy churches and I'm at my limit. I mean if you knew half the things he was saying. Like I guess I need to repent for my former career."

They had reached the ground floor and Peso opened the door to the small parking lot outside, "That's literally how you met though."

"Thank you! But he's asked for forgiveness for all his past and all his sins. And I was just like so I need to be forgiven for paying my bills? Cause I don't remember anyone else offering to pay them."

"Maybe it's just a phase?" Peso suggested, shrugging his shoulders, "Maybe something more is going on and he's struggling to deal with it?"

"I don't know." She stopped next to her car, "If they give you a hard time at the ER just tell them your crazy ex stopped you and dumped all her problems on you. Obviously, you were so concerned she was having a breakdown, and you couldn't just leave her."

"Are you having a breakdown?" he questioned, stopping beside her.

"No, not yet. I think I'm getting close though, so I'll keep you updated!"

Her voice was just a bit too cheery for his liking, "Just if you need help or someone to talk to, I'm right next door. Or a phone call away. Seriously don't hesitate, okay?"

She sighed deeply, "I know. Now get to work. Go save some lives."

"That's the plan."

They parted ways and Peso quickly got to his car, tossing his stuff into the passenger seat, maybe I'll be lucky, and it'll have been so slow all morning that no one noticed I wasn't there.

⸶ ⸳ ⸸ ⸳ ⸷

Peso was not lucky.

"You are late as shit! Where the hell have you been?" Nurse Havoc whispered harshly at him as soon as he got close to the busy nurse's station in the ER.

"I am not. I have been here all day." Peso said sitting down and signing into one of the computers.

"Liar. Don't punch in. I did that hours ago because Smith called in. It's just been me and my nurses managing a circus."

Peso's mouth dropped, "That is super illegal in so many ways!"

"Only if I get caught, and then I'm blaming you for everything!" She snapped back at him, "That's not even the worst of it Baby," She told him leaning across the counter, "the Chief's been looking for you since 5:30 –"

"What? Why? What did you tell him? Did he not realize I wasn't here?" Peso fired off question after question.

"I told him to look around and figure out for himself if he thought you had time to go have a little heart-to-heart. Topped it with if he really wanted to talk to you so bad, he could jump in and help. Lord that man hates the ER." She shook her head.

Peso couldn't stop his laugh, "Nice! Way to buy time. Did he mention what he wanted though?"

Havoc shook her head, "Just say he needed you up in his office as soon as possible. So you tell me what you did now?"

Peso's mind raced, "I don't think I did anything. Was it something Erez did, maybe? Or maybe I'm getting fired?"

"Baby, if you get fired, I'm quitting. I'm getting too old for this by myself."

He smiled up at her, Havoc had been calling him 'Baby' since his first day as a resident when she had mistaken him for a pre-med student during a tour. She had quickly become one of the people Peso relied on the most, "The hospital would collapse without you."

"Damn straight it would. Now before you run off to the Chief," she brought a hand down on top of a laptop and worked it open, "these are the patients I need you to deal with."

Peso grabbed a clipboard and reached for the laptop, "Let's get to work then."

⸶ ⸳ ⸸ ⸳ ⸷

Hours had passed and Peso hadn't even had a chance to think about the Chief of Medicine, let alone find him for a meeting. He had all but forgotten about the meeting when he got a text from Dr. Erez. Why is the Chief looking for you on the surgical floor? Were you supposed to be up here today?

Peso quickly texted back, What? No!

He didn't have to wait long fro a reply, Oh good, cause I told him to check the ER. Why's he looking for you?

I don't know. He sent back.

I don't remember doing anything…Are you the problem for once? He rolled his eyes and chose to ignore Erez's last message.

"Havoc?" Peso called out, walking up to the nurse's station.

"Wow, just yelling for people now? I thought your Momma would have taught you better." She yelled down from the other end.

Peso fought back a smile, "The Chief is apparently searching the entire hospital for me. Is there any way we can find a replacement for me?"

"No need, Guin," a disgruntled voice chimed in from behind him, "I don't know what you and that moron in surgery have done now but the Chief isn't happy."

Peso spun around to see the source of the voice, Dr. Edmunds, another internal medicine specialist at the hospital, and Peso's only competition for the head of internal medicine when Dr. Stone finally retired this summer.

It wasn't that Peso didn't like working in the ER and trauma center, it kept him on his toes, but he wanted to get back to his original field of study.

"I haven't done anything thank you, Edmunds. Havoc, I'll be back as soon as I can. Hopefully, this is all something very quick and he's just mad that I've made it take all day." He stopped after a few steps, turning back to the two, "Do you know where he is?"

"He told me he would be waiting in his office," Edmunds answered with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Peso hurried to Chief Attenburg's office. He wasn't overly worried; he had been on good terms with the Chief of Medicine since the beginning. Peso knew he was a good doctor, he didn't cause problems, he was great with patients, well-liked by other staff members…mostly, and he had never personally caused the Chief to be in a foul mood.

The fact that the Chief seemed to be in a bad mood while searching for him now did have him a little on edge. The only thing he could think of was Havoc punching in for him, and yes that was a very big no-no, but they were short on doctors and staff in general. He could probably get the Chief to overlook this once if that's what this was about.

At least he wouldn't have to climb multiple sets of stairs to get to this third floor, he pressed the up button for the working elevator and waited for the doors to open. When they did the doctor who was already inside exclaimed, "Dr. Guin! The Chief has been looking for you everywhere! Did you know that?"

So, I wasn't exaggerating when I told Havoc 'entire'. "Yes, I've heard. Do you happen to know what he wants?"

"No, but he does seem upset so I would be careful." With that slightly ominous remark, the woman left the elevator.

Peso kept repeating to himself, 'It's probably nothing. Don't get yourself worked up' the entire ride up on the elevator and all the way to the Chief's office. Only stopping his internal mantra when he finally reached the door.

It's nothing. He's probably having a bad day and you're just worried because your own day didn't start out that great. Peso tried to reassure himself before knocking on the door.

The door swung inward, a thick-chested man looming in the doorway, "Guin, I was beginning to think you were avoiding me."

Peso looked from the Chief's desk near the window to the door and then at the Chief of Medicine himself, "…were you waiting by the door? 'Cause that was quick."

The Chief's shoulders sagged, and he rubbed at his forehead sighing, "No, I wasn't waiting at the door. I was pacing. Now get in here and sit down."

"Right," Peso stepped passed the man and headed for one of the leather chairs in front of the large mahogany desk. He was a little more worried, both pacing and the Chief's 'this patient isn't going to make it' voice. Maybe everything wasn't okay.

The Chief sunk into his chair behind the desk, "Guin, I honestly don't know where to start or how to say this –"

"Am I actually getting fired?" Peso cut in, he didn't want to believe that he was, but everything looked to be pointing in that direction and he just wanted to know, "Why?"

"Calm down," Attenburg said putting his hands up defensively, "No you're not being fired. Though on that subject, have you ever considered working at another hospital or not even a hospital?"

Peso stared at him in shock, "So I am fired?"

Attenburg rested his elbows on his desk and pressed his thumbs into his forehead, "No, you're not fired. Just let me start over. I have a friend – well more of an acquaintance now – that I owe a large favor. He contacted me late yesterday, he is in need of a doctor, and being that we are a hospital he thought he would try looking here."

"Well tell him we have no doctors available. Seems pretty simple to me."

"Like I said I owe him a rather large favor," Chief Attenburg stood up from his desk and started pacing in front of the multiple bookcases along the wall, "You've heard of the IORCE, correct, or at least of the Octopod?"

Peso's eyes followed the man as he paced, "That international whatever their abbreviation is research group?" Peso asked. The Chief nodded, "I would think the entire world knows about them and their subs, sir." It had been in and out of the news for almost the last ten years, though he had never paid too much attention to the organization. Oceanic research just wasn't one of his interests.

"Yes, that is probably true." The Chief let out a loud sigh, "I was contacted by the IORCE's, that international whatever abbreviation," the Chief smirked, "Anyway, their Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Rogers, my somewhat acquaintance who I owe the favor, contacted me" he overexplained, "apparently the Octopod has been without a doctor for nearly six months and they are having difficulties finding a replacement."

"Well, that's unfortunate for them, but what does that have to do with me?" Peso asked, he didn't like where this was going, the sinking feeling in his gut not helping either.

"It," the Chief paused again bringing one hand to rub at his temple, "he told me he wouldn't even have thought of me if they hadn't had to set down near the Georgia coast."

"Who set down?" Peso interrupted.

"A crew member was injured, and they had to bring him ashore for treatment. It's what pushed Rogers to take a more," Attenburg paused, "aggressive approach to finding a replacement."

Peso nodded summing up the situation, "So I'm fired because you owe someone a favor? My career is going to be nerfed because you –"

"No! No, no you're not fired at all!" Chief Attenburg turned to him, "God no, it would all just be temporary. Just until Rogers can find a permanent replacement."

"So why me then?" Out of everyone, really why? Who was going to run both the ER and Trauma, no one had been able to do it in the past. "There are tons of other capable doctors in this hospital!" Peso snapped his fingers, "What about Edmunds? This could be an opportunity for the hospital to get rid of him finally." he suggested, not caring about throwing his coworkers under the bus – or sub in this case.

Attenburg shook his head, "Rogers said he needed someone who could handle difficult patients, split-second situations and wasn't easily bullied." he explained sitting back down at his desk with a sigh, "You were one of the first doctors I thought of. Besides Edmunds can't work without a plan in his head anyway so he wouldn't work." He added after a second of thought.

Peso pushed up the sleeves of his lab coat revealing patches of white skin, and gestured at his face, "Not easily bullied? And you thought of the one doctor you have who has a very obvious skin condition? You choose me?" he threw his hands up, "Why does a crew of supposed geniuses have a bullying problem anyway?"

"Guin, I've never seen you bothered by comments about your vitiligo in the entire time you've worked here, and I do know there were doctors who tried. But –"

"I've gotten thicker skin as I've got older. But you want to willingly throw me into a place with difficult, bullies of patients?"

"It's not ideal, no but the only other doctor I thought of just informed me of her pregnancy. And I don't think we can put a pregnant woman on a submarine." Attenburg argued.

"Are you sure?" Peso didn't know if they could either, but he was willing to find out.

"You could think of it as a vacation. Visit –"

"Wait, are you making me use my vacation time for this?" Peso demanded.

"No!" the man slammed a hand onto his desk, "Will you let me finish any of my sentences?"

"No! Because this is all just nonsense!" Peso half-shouted, "You can't just call me in here and say 'Hey you're going to live on a sub now for who knows how long and totally ruin your career in the process, cause now all you'll be handling are booboos and tummy aches of whiny brats who can't act like adults.'"

Attenburg stared at Peso for a moment, "That was very…opinionated."

"You implied they bullied their last doctor into quitting, and the length of time they've gone without a doctor suggests no one wants the job."

Attenburg pressed a fist against his forehead, "Rogers is on his way here. He should arrive by tomorrow afternoon, and he wants to meet with any candidates I had in mind. Would you at least be willing to meet with him? Maybe he'll hate you?" he added hopefully.

"Are you suggesting that I make him hate me?"

"You've been spending too much time with Dr. Erez."

Peso gasped, "You could send Erez! He would love it! He loves the ocean! He could splash in the water! He would love it!"

"Guin," he gave Peso another serious look, "He would end up impregnating at least two of the crew before they learned how to handle him."

"Maybe they want babies." The Chief gave him a look, "You never know!"

"Just meet with Dr. Rogers. He's going to be coming here tomorrow. I'm sure he won't force you if you tell him that you have no interest in going."

Peso crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the chair. "Would I still be on the hospital's payroll? For my same salary?"

"I was considering setting up something along the lines of a year, at least, of personal leave at sixty percent pay, with the guarantee that you would be coming back to your current position."

Peso thought for a moment if he left, he would miss Dr. Stone's retirement. There was no way he was going to take this job but just in case, "Seventy-five."

"Oh, so you decided to take the job already?"

"No, just don't think sixty would cut it."

"I'll see what I can work out but would only be if you took the job."

Peso nodded his head again, "Okay, I guess since you're not giving me a choice, I can at least meet with this man."

⸶ ⸳ ⸸ ⸳ ⸷

Peso could barely focus the rest of the day and was more than ready to leave when the time came. Deep in thought, he didn't even notice when another person started walking alongside him as he was headed to his car. Until that person poked Peso painfully in his side instead of just saying his name like a normal person.

"Ow!" Peso grabbed onto his side with one hand and turned to look at his aggressor. Alexander Erez of course it would be, "Alec why?" He demanded, shooting him an angry look.

"You're ignoring me!" his long-time friend insisted, "And I have a cool story!"

Peso nodded his head, dejectedly adding "Yeah me too kind of."

"Is your's cooler than operating on a three-chamber heart cause I highly doubt it." Alec declared c.

"Really? I didn't hear anything about that."

Alec stared back at him with a confused look, "He came in through the ER though…"

Peso stopped, "Oh, huh good to know. I don't even remember that. Did I treat him in the ER? Or was it when I was with Attenburg?"

Alec stopped as well, "I don't know. I figured you had, your name was on his labs." Alec looked down at him concerned, "Are you ok? I mean what did the Chief want? Was it something bad?"

Peso sighed and shook his head, "Let's get something to eat and I'll tell you everything."

A little over an hour later and many empty Chinese food containers and Peso finally had the whole story of his day told. They were in the living room of his apartment, Alec on the couch and Peso in his overstuffed armchair. The empty Chinese food containers were stacked up on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Light filtered into the living room from the open kitchen, lessening the flashes from the tv that had been muted when Peso first began his story of his day.

"Jaz is getting a divorce then? That's surprising." Alec commented when Peso had finished.

"If that's really all you have to say I'm kicking you out."

Alec laughed, setting his plate down on the coffee table, "Okay, first off, let me get my whole thought out, okay? What if you did take it? Now, wait! Hear me out!" he cut off Peso before he could interrupt, "Two incomes for a whole year but only one job, and you get to come back to your 'real' job after all this is said and done and it's all there just waiting for you. Plus, you'd literally be living in one of the most insane engineering projects ever conceived. Like what reason is there not to?"

"See this is why I said he should choose you. You would enjoy this. And what would they bully you about?"

"I mean you're right I am pretty perfect." Alec nodded his head, agreeing.

"So, it's decided you'll go to the interview tomorrow and my life will not become a disaster."

Alec tapped a finger on the coffee table, "But what if someone gets sick? I don't think I can just start cutting people open and poking around inside them. That is my specialty after all."

"Just tell them they have the flu and order them bed rest or something like that."

"What if someone needs, like a physical or something?"

"Then give them a physical?"

"I haven't done that in years."

Silence settled between them as Peso thought about everything. He knew Alec was waiting for him to say something, give him some beyond a shadow of a doubt reason to turn down this potential job.

"Stone is retiring in three months," Peso said finally, "I mean he hasn't said anything more than that he would like to have a part in deciding who replaces him, and he hasn't officially named anyone but…"

"Everyone is pretty sure it's between you and Edmunds." Alec finished.

"I just had this whole plan in my head already. Now I'm doubting everything because Attenburg didn't even mention anything like 'Oh I know this would be taking an opportunity from you' he just said you'd go straight to ER and Trauma. That just makes it sound like Edmunds already has the job and."

Peso ran his hand over his head, "I thought I had a real chance at getting out of the ER and it feels like I've lost it already. I know it sounds really arrogant, but I think I'm a better doctor than Edmunds and it's not fair. I don't even care if I sound childish right now either, this isn't fair."

Alec nodded his head slowly, "Does sound a bit arrogant, and a little childish…interesting combo, but I would agree to both those. I mean most of the surgeons I know when they need an internist, they try to get you or Stone. Not saying Edmunds is worse or better, but it could also be just that you're a lot easier to work with as well. I do know that that is said about you often."

Peso didn't say anything else, just pulled his legs up onto the chair and rested his head on his knees. He heard Alec mutter something about being small but ignored it for now.

"Okay," Alec spoke up after some time, "do you want logic and reasoning or conspiracy?"

Peso considered for a moment, "two then one."

Alec slapped his hands together, "Okay, the Chief said all that just to make you think that you had no chance of getting head of internal. And once you were super defeated, like you are right now, you would have no choice but to take the job because you have no reason to stay at the hospital. This would fulfill his favor to this Rogers guy. Then Rogers could never be all like "fulfill your oath, what say you" again –"

Peso started laughing, "Did you just make a Lord of the Rings reference, seriously?"

"Shut up, Rogers could never pull this shit again and the Chief would be free of whatever this guy has over him, but down a doctor. Did the Chief say what this favor was that Rogers did?"

"No, he did not," Peso stretched his legs back out. He had an idea what the favor might have been but he wasn't completely sure. It wasn't well known around the hospital but the Chief had in the past struggled with a gambling addiction. Peso wondered if Rogers and Attenburg had been much closer in the past and whether Rogers had helped the Chief out of the massive debts he had gambled himself into.

"Okay, so moving on to logic," Alec interrupted Peso's thoughts, "and it might hurt. Edmunds will probably get the job, he's been at the hospital for much longer, he already knows the ins and outs of the department, and you've been stuck in ER and trauma for over two years now. Which isn't a bad thing, but everything does seem kind of stacked in his favor.

"The Chief would know all this already. The Chief has also known you for a long time, you've only ever been at Savannah Grace, so he would know that you would be like this.

"I mean a three-chambered heart walked into your ER and you don't even remember. Yes, you treated the guy and I'm sure you treated all your patients perfectly and most things in the ER probably ran super smooth even if you were crazy busy today, but you still weren't there, there you know? That can lead to problems. The Chief, knowing you, would know that this is how you would be. So, maybe he sees this job as an easy out for you?

"It the whole, you can't be hurt by a relationship you didn't get into, if you were never here to get into that relationship in the first place, but with a job…I think I lost it a bit there, but you know what I mean right? Like you get what I'm getting at?"

Peso sighed, "I do." He didn't like Alec's logical answer but he understood it. "Would you pick Edmunds?"

"Only if I couldn't pick you. Also, I think you might still be able to do training even if you're on personal leave, that way you don't like fall behind the rest of us. Like you would only be able to do theory due to being anywhere on the planet at any given time. And if it's not something that is normally done I'm sure you could work it out with Attenburg so that any new equipment we get, any lectures, any studies you know all the good stuff you would also still be able to be like a part of it and learn it. So, you could participate in hospital life but in a hands-off way? Maybe?"

"Attenburg probably would be willing to do something like that," Peso sighed, "I just don't think I want to. I'm not really the 'let's go on a big adventure type.' That's you, like I've already said they should be considering you."

"I don't think a general surgeon is what they're looking for though. I'm sure this Rogers probably listed more than those three things."

"I don't want to live with a bunch of strangers," Peso argued.

"They would only be strangers for a while. You're quite likable, you'll make friends fast."

"This isn't camp, Mom." Peso sneered, suddenly remembering his Mom's similar wording when she tried to send him to a summer camp one year.

Alec glared at him, "Well you could just try it, sounds like that's what everyone else did. And if you don't like camp, you can always come home. Simple as that."