just_muse_me | 28.5.2. Take a risk
Co-written with geniuscowboy
[Follows Miami Medical 1x07 "Man on the Road", contains SPOILERS]
After awhile, inevitably, the team broke away from their group table. Eva and Proctor were hanging at the bar after getting some refills, which left Serena alone at the table when Chris ducked to the bathroom to 'powder his nose', according to him. Though obviously anything accompanied with a trademarked Dr C smirk was anything but complete truth. Just like his keys to the city's garage door. He exited the bathroom, and his blue eyes bounced from Eva and Proctor talking at the bar to Serena alone at the table, and a mischievous smirk spread across his face. He casually sauntered over to the bar where his fresh scotch on the rocks was sitting and held the glass up to Eva and Proctor in a small toast, shooting them a smile and then backing off to head back to the table. They were none the wiser. Why would they be? Nothing was out of the ordinary, right?
Chris nudged his chair right up close to Serena's this time before sitting down, the ice in his drink clinking against the glass as he set it on the table. He folded his arms across the surface, that usual unrevealing, yet cheeky, smile on his lips again. "So, I hear someone else is having a Happy Birthday tomorrow," he told her and rested his tongue between his lips. "Do you want a cupcake with sprinkles and a little pink candle?" he asked, holding his fingers up a short distance apart.
Serena blinked, and looked at Chris. "I... what? It's not my birthday. Not for another week, anyway. It's my one year anniversary for Trauma, but that's it." She shrugged a little as she gave him a smile and tucked her hair behind her ear as she clinked her glass against his. "Nice try though, Dr C. As much as I would love you to bring me a cupcake with sprinkles and a little pink candle I don't think it's quite the right time. Besides, I'd much rather just have you covered frosting. Mr Two Keys to the City, and the City's Garage."
Chris's forehead creased and he laughed with a slight nod. "Yeah, that's kinda what I meant." He waved his hand over his head. "Whoosh. That really went over your head, didn't it? Sure that's just a Martini in that glass and not a double shot of vodka? Nah uh, the garage door opener was a clicker, not keys," he corrected her with another smirk.
Serena bit her lip as she looked at him sheepishly, and shrugged her shoulder. Now that she had him to herself, it was hard to keep her attention off him. Even if she was aware of Eva and Proctor still at the bar. "Oh. I'm sorry, it was a really long day... hard day. I wasn't sure I was cut out to keep going with Trauma after what happened. And then when we didn't find any survivors apart from that first one... I just thought I was doomed to make the world worse, you know? Poor Moose really copped me at a real emo moment." She met his gaze again as a smile blossomed. "Oh, a clicker? Well, I'm sorry. No wonder you're so good with them."
"You? Emo moments? Seriously? Would never have guessed," Chris teased with an amused snort, waving his hand dismissively. He took a sip of his drink and swirled the ice cubs around in the amber liquid. "The first one and her kid. That's actually a pretty good average for something like a plane crash, you know. Especially when you were only supposed to be on observation. So, you pierce a lung and cause a pnuemo, but on the other hand, you relocate a kid's jaw with tongue depressers and medical tape. When are you going to chill and realise that in medicine - in trauma - there is never a straight answer, never one completely right way of doing something. You shouldn't have even been touching that kid on observation, but you did, and you saved his life. At the end of the day, babe, it balances itself out. Surely you're starting to see that? And Moose has thick skin, don't be worrying about him."
Serena rest her arms on the table as she looked down at her drink and stretched her back a little. Chris was sitting on his chair with it turned backwards like he always did. Sometimes she wondered if he even realised he did it every single time, or if it was just that much of a habit by now. With a quick glance up at Proctor and Eva, Serena shifted to lean back in her seat again, her hand slipping under the table to rest on Chris' knee. "My Dad's an accountant. It's like I was explaining to Moose, I was keeping score without realising, and I hate myself for it. I know that Trauma shouldn't be about checks and balances, but my Dad's way of thinking is ingrained pretty deep. Explains a lot, huh? I really am trying to chill. You actually help me chill more than you realise."
Chris gave a small shrug. "Even accountants can't balance some books," he pointed out to her, his hand closing over hers under the concealment of the table. "When your Dad comes in and sticks his fingers into a chest cavity to get a heart pumping again, then we can talk, yeah? I'm not saying you shouldn't take guidance from your parents, you should. But no, it doesn't explain much at all. It sounds to me like you're scrambling to find explanations for everything, when really, there isn't always ways to explain things at all. That's why you just need to get in there and do it, by whatever means it takes. In our world, we don't have time to stop and count." He held her gaze and slowly drew her hand up his leg to his thigh so her fingers could brush against his groin, showing her just exactly what that top she was wearing was doing to him.
Serena arched her eyebrow with interest, and could already feel a flush of arousal race across her skin. That was one thing she really did have no control over. Serena had fair skin, and there was no hiding blushing. She casually took a sip of her drink as she more than brushed her hand against his groin. The top had been chosen with Dr C in mind, Serena unable to help herself. She wanted to dress nicely for him. She wanted to turn him on. Just like him wearing jeans always did it for her. Chris in denim was definitely her Kryptonite. "I was pretty awesome though, right? I was like the MacGuyver of medicine... And hey, I did observe! I observed the kid needed his jaw relocated so he could breathe. Moose was just going to cut his throat. The boy didn't need that."
"Moose is a paramedic, not a surgeon. He's trained to get 'em breathing to get them to us alive. This is that whole balance in medicine again. Moose's choice wasn't wrong, the kid still would've gotten to us alive and his throat would've healed. You just had a sounder option at the time. Which is cool, you know. Really cool. You need to keep having that confidence in yourself. It's kinda sexy," Chris added with a smirk and cleared his throat, looking over at Proctor and Eva. Eva had glanced over at them and she held up her beer, so Chris just shot her a smile in return. "I'm kind of glad you weren't there to bring in the dude with the DNR tattoo. That would have totally set you into guilt overdose when he actually chose to pull the plug."
Serena kept her hand on Chris' crotch, brushing and teasing, and rubbing under the table. It was kind of nice to indulge in this kind of contact out in public. There was also a part of her getting a thrill out of doing it right near Proctor and Eva. Serena's confidence though probably would have waivered if they were sitting at the table while she tried doing it, though. "Do you think Eva looked a little jealous at the idea of Proctor and Sable, or was it just me? I heard about the tattoo guy. That's some crazy stuff, but I guess if he had early onset Alzheimer's he'd be wanting a guarantee. What good is a piece of paper you don't remember signing? I'm kind of glad I had you on the other end of the radio. Kept me sane, and you picked up on the fact that the other survivor was a kid."
Chris laughed. "Only because the kid's father turned up. It wasn't a hard leap to make if the dude was standing there living and breathing in front of us." He leaned forward against the chair a little more, dropping his head down to wet his lips when a bolt of heat swept through him. On the outside, no one would pick any changes, but then, he did have years of honing these sorts of skills right down. "If he stayed in the reverted mind state, though, his sister could've overrode that tattoo. He wouldn't have been of sound mind to make the decision and there was no time for, as Proctor put it, wait for legal to get get their thumbs out of their asses," he said in a bad British accent. "We would've kept him on the vent. But he understood, we had to respect those wishes. Understandable. One thing I would never want to lose is my mind. I'd have probably made the same choice."
Serena smiled at him crookedly. "Yeah, but you still managed to radio it through. In fact, anyone would think you were looking for any old excuse to give me a call. Did you miss me, Chris? It's okay, you can admit it." She gave him a firm squeeze to punctuate her teasing before taking another sip of her drink as she smiled and nodded at Proctor who was glancing over at them. "You still not getting along with our Chief? But he had a point. He didn't have time to wait, not if the guy's lung needed to get taken out. You'd think legal would have been a bit quicker with the answer. Well, it goes back to Rayner, doesn't it? Even walking out buck naked after a mental breakdown is a form of losing your mind. It's a scary prospect."
"I was going to let you use those immaculate psychic powers of yours to hear about the kid, but I thought I would be kind considering you were having a rough day," Chris said, sniggering. He drew in a sharp breath and glanced back to Eva and Proctor. "To answer your question, if she was jealous, it was subconscious. Eva wouldn't ever sleep with a boss. It would be like some sort of weakness to her, and she doesn't like showing those much. Not in her professional life. I think she respects Proctor, but anything there is just professional awe. Proctor and me are cool, it's all good. I just don't get him, and I think I've given up trying. Sometimes he just turns around and makes as clear as a bell sense, but the other times, I'll just leave it up to you and Eva to figure out. Sort of goes back to Rayner. Truth of the matter is, anyone can lose their mind. DNR dude is proof of that. See? It's not just trauma docs."
"Makes you wonder if it is all just genes, or if there's something else we can do to prevent it. It just seems sad to know that you won't ever have a life past your forties. Or even younger." Serena took a moment to watch Chris, her gaze dropping to his mouth briefly as her mind strayed to thinking about kissing him. It had been at least a day and a night since she'd last kissed him, and she couldn't deny there was an itch there that needed scratching. And getting him off was helping. She twisted in her seat to face him more, leaning forward so her top fell forward from her chest. "So I'm weak for wanting to sleep with you?"
Chris shifted closer to, tilting his head has he made no effort to hide the fact when his eyes dipped lower to her chest and lingered there before they swept back upwards to her face, that telltale smirk back in place. "You aren't Eva," was all he murmured with a pointed raise of his eyebrows.
Serena's tongue snaked out to wet her lips again and she let out a soft sigh. Her hand started to rub more forcefully against Chris' groin, her breathing starting to become shallow as her arousal kicked up a notch. Serena crossed her legs under the table and squeezed them together to stop herself from wriggling in her seat with restlessness. "Good thing too, otherwise I'd be wondering what the hell you were thinking about right now."
Chris was glad Eva and Proctor were far enough away to not actually be able to see something like where Serena's hand was. He also wasn't exactly sure he could let her continue because the white, fitted t-shirt he was wearing wouldn't pull down over his groin to cover any telltale wet patches, as tempting as it was. He let her continue for a few more moments, indulging in the electricity that tickled over his skin from his arousal and then he wrapped his hand around her wrist, stilling her hand. "You know what happens when light denim gets wet," he told her in amusement. "As much as I know you want to get access to my garage clicker."
Serena's mind took a moment to realise he'd put a stop to things, and when it did she couldn't help but pout just a little. "You mean like that wet patch a couple weeks ago? It was a little unfortunate, but you just get me so riled up in jeans. I'll just have to get access to your clicker later. Do you maybe want to come over later?"
"Do I maybe want?" Chris pucked his lips up a little and narrowed his eyes, still teasing her, even managing it by facial expressions. He picked up her drink and took a slow sip of it right from the spot her lips had just left on her last mouthful and he licked his lips slowly. "I think I can maybe manage to maybe want later."
Serena pushed his leg under the table after slipping her hand from his. "You think you're so freaking cute, don't you? All with the hot charm, and making with the little jokes."
Chris had to pause for a moment, not actually reading if she was pushing him away or not. Even still, to be on the safe side, he sat back and picked up his own drink, sipping it. "So, uh... how about those Cowboys?"
Serena frowned a little, trying to work out what had changed. She let her hand rest back against his leg again, and squeezed it. "It was just retaliation for the teasing, you know. I wasn't... I still want you to come over if you can maybe manage it. I don't watch sports. Only the highlights on the news to catch the cuties."
"Cuties?" Chris laughed, shifting on his seat. "They're all meat heads. One wrong move, and they're quadriplegic, snapped neck, just like that." He snapped his finger for emphasis. He leaned in close again. "Things are going to get boring if you keep trying to retaliate my teasing. If you don't like it... well, it's just who I am. I like to have fun."
Serena shrugged. "Not like I know many surfies. I just know the one, and I'm really hoping he doesn't ever get a snapped neck. And I'm also not shallow enough to abandon someone if they do wind up a quadriplegic." She circled her finger around the rim of her glass before she met his gaze again. "I do like it. I like it a lot. I like you a lot," she whispered before averting her eyes as she finished her drink in one swallow.
Chris pressed his lips together. "You'd be surprised how many relationships fail in the wake of a tragedy like that. It's not like the person changes, is it?" He stretched his arms up over his head, stretching out his tired muscles from the busy day and even indulging in a small yawn. A surf. He suddenly felt like one of those, it had been awhile since he'd managed to get out. Or maybe a hike or mountain bike ride somewhere. A restlessness bubbled through him and he rubbed his hand over his chest thoughtfully. "We might've had a problem if you didn't, babe," he offered with a smile.
Serena watched him when he answered, her eyebrows rising just a little. What did that even mean? Did that mean there would be a problem in having ninja sex? Or there was a problem because they were in a relationship without stopping to acknowledge it? Did it mean he liked her a lot too? Serena bit back any questions, and just smiled back. She had to keep learning to roll with it. Relationships weren't about checks and balances either, and she was hardly about to back out now. She was in this - whatever the this was. She cleared her throat as she folded her arms under her chest, displaying her cleavage again. "Skinny dipping too tame for you?" she asked him, reading the source of the restlessness.
Chris' eyebrows rose slowly as he dropped his arms back onto the table. But he soon laughed, looking at her in amusement. "Where the hell did that come from?" He picked up her drink again and gave it a small sniff, as if checking for any odd substances. "Did you hit your head in that chopper?"
Serena shook her head as she grinned. "No. You just look like you need to do something, and I'm thinking that maybe coming over to my place isn't quite enough. So how about a sneaky naked swim by the beach? We can even make it your place since you're right there on the water."
"Call it undiagnosed ADHD," Chris replied, drawing in a long breath and letting it out heavily. "I only sit still when I'm drinking or half dead. This is a beach in Miami. You don't think it's a little risky we'll get caught? I thought we were supposed to be keeping this secret." He was looking again back to Proctor and Eva, who seemed to be having some sort of intense discussion. As much as it pained Chris to admit, getting caught with Serena with his pants down actually quite scared him... especially after Proctor sent him home after trying to cover for her.
"That's why it would be near your place. It's dark, there aren't any lights out on the shore. It was just a suggestion," she said with a shrug. "I wasn't suggesting it with the intention of getting caught. This is secret. I'm not going to break my promise. I wouldn't risk it."
Chris shrugged too and then pressed his lips together, really not believing he was about to say what he was. "I think we should just be a bit more careful," he admitted and then started to scratch the back of his neck slowly. "Though, it is a good argument for finally buying that hot tub for my balcony I've been scoping out for a few months."
Serena let out a soft sigh as she gave a nod. "Okay. Then just come over later when we've all said our goodbyes." Then she blinked. "You want a hot tub for your balcony?"
Chris laughed and nodded. "Yeah, just didn't think much on it over the winter. Got the brochures at home somewhere. Some sales girl in a bikini at the pool store took great pride in giving me all the, uh, figures." He smirked at her and held his hands up before she could say anything.
Serena pressed her lips together as she shook her head in disbelief. "I bet she did, Chris. I bet she did. Sounds like a good idea, though. I'm sure there's a lot of entertaining you could do with your own hot tub. Lots of figures to discuss."
Chris laughed and grinned. "Hell yeah," he said, the words coming out before he could stop them. Then he stilled, pressing his lips together sheepishly. "I mean, it would be good for the circulation."
Serena raised her hand this time as she smiled. "It's fine. You deserve to entertain as much as you want to. You work hard, you deserve to play hard."
"You want us to be exclusive," Chris guessed, blue eyes locked on her face as he read her expressions and the light tone of her voice.
Serena froze like a deer in headlights but she shrugged it off, and contemplated whether or not this would be a good time to just escape to the bar and ask for another drink. "I don't want to ask anything that's going to fuck it up," she finally answered.
"I didn't hear you asking anything," Chris pointed out with a smirk, still holding her gaze. "Don't think I'm capable?"
She gave a shake of her head. "No, I just don't think I should expect it. It's not what we're about. We didn't ever... agree to it. Or discuss it. It was never part of the deal, so why bring it up now? It's fine."
Chris sat back with a light shrug. "Then maybe we should," he returned, putting her on the spot as he picked up his drink again. "For argument sake, we didn't discuss or agree to anything. Let alone make any deals."
"We agreed to secret, and we agreed to fun, and not letting it fuck up our working relationship," Serena pointed out. "Pretty sure anything else messes up the secret, fun and working relationship thing. If it goes sour, can we really guarantee we'll still work together?"
"Can we guarantee I won't step out of the Crab Shack and get hit by a bus? Can we guarantee I won't snap my neck on my next surf? Can we guarantee you won't meet another HRG and fall madly, passionately in love with him? Can we guarantee Eva doesn't want in Proctor's pants? Can we guarantee Tuck won't have permanent disabilities?" Chris paused and leant close to her. "Can we guarantee we'll even keep having fun?"
"I think we can guarantee we'll have fun trying to have fun," Serena murmured as she looked at him. "I just... You fixed my clicker. We have a thing now. That's not what casual fun is about. Casual flings don't get things. They just fizzle out and you pass on to the next one. I don't think we're going to fizzle. Or maybe I just hope we won't."
"So, why not just tell me you want to be exclusive?" Chris asked her, raising his eyebrows a little.
Serena wet her lips before she sucked in a deep breath. "Because I didn't know if it was what you wanted, and if it wasn't--isn't--then that's it, isn't it? You can't be with me when you know I want to be exclusive, and you don't."
Chris couldn't help it, he started to laugh. "As if you thinking like an accountant isn't bad enough, you have to start acting like a lawyer and try to put words in my mouth," he joked. He leaned forward on the back of the chair and folded his arms across in front of him on the table after nudging his drink out of the way to make room. "You really do think I'm incapable of being in a relationship. You think because I'm single and enjoy casual sex that it makes me a committment-phobe, a player. And yeah, maybe I am... when I'm single. I like sex. Casual is generally where it comes from when you're single."
Serena shook her head emphatically. "No, I just maybe think you're incapable of being in a relationship with me. There's a difference."
Chris leaned right close to her, and in a hushed, covert voice, "Why, are you really a man?" he teased with a smirk.
Serena looked at him before she rolled her eyes and started to laugh at her own stupidity. "Yes, I am. I'm just really good at tucking."
"You're friggin telling me," Chris sniggered, shaking his head in amusement. "I get it. You don't like blonds, do you?"
She caught some strands in her hair as she pulled her hair over her top lip to make herself a moustache. "What gave it away? Don't like facial hair, either. And that body? Pfft, it's terrible. I don't need someone with abs I could use as a washboard."
Chris smirked and then turned his head away again with another amused laugh as he shrugged. "I might go hit Eva up for a fuck tonight, then. Won't have to bother with wasting time fixing any clickers," he joked back. "Or maybe I'll try Proctor. He's English, he might have sex hanging from the rafters. I like extreme sports."
Serena dropped her hair back down as she laughed. "You do that. I'm sure he'll be happy to provide you with colourful metaphorical commentary as you two get it on."
Chris scrunched his face up with a sound that was a cross between a moan and snort. "Hell, can you imagine it? I can't think of anything more off-putting. It's like verbal birth control. Something like the conception of the first condom was evolved by a lucky dude who could've gotten his chick knocked up, but didn't, because he's the lucky one." He waved his hands with another dismissive snort. But he soon held them up with another shrug. "So, if I'm capable of having a relationship with any other woman but you, why am I here and not over there?" he asked, pointing to the bar where there was a group of chicks dressed extremely skimpily, done up and scoping the males of the bar.
Serena's face was scrunched up similar to Chris' but more at the sight of the skimpily dressed women, than the idea of metaphor riddled sex. "Because I'm hoping you have some taste?" she guessed before she met his gaze again. "Do you want to be exclusive? With me?"
Chris narrowed his eyes slightly, contemplating her closely. "You never admit to wanting anything until you're sure the foundation is secure under you, do you? Do you ever take risks with anything?" he had to ask. "Even with HRG, weekend of hot sex, then a billion text messages to make sure there was some foundation there of why you did it. I'm going to even go so far as to say that the reason you've been in this with me so far is because there was that secure foundation of me being in a seniority to you, you think I won't risk that. If I don't take a risk, you don't have to. The romantic in you wants it exclusive, but your accountant blood thinks it's too much counting, and that's the stronger side of you. It's your inner romantic that gives you the guilt trips. I dare you to take a risk," he said lowly, with a brief glance in Eva and Proctor's direction. "Exclusivity, with me, in secret."
Sometimes Serena really hated that Chris could be so perceptive when he wanted to be. He came across as a cheeky playboy, but he was always watching, always picking up on the details and filing it all away so he could slam you with a revelation like he just did with her. She felt like she'd been whacked in the chest as all the air left her lungs and she just stared at him, lost for words at first. "Okay," she whispered. "I'll take the risk. I won't even let my inner romantic give me a guilt trip over it. I'll actually embrace it."
Chris smirked faintly at her, clearing his throat. "I'm going to go with 'I'll believe it when I see it'," he told her quietly. It was a huge risk for him, too. Potentially one he could lose his job over it. He just hoped she had it in her to be able to keep making with the casual joking and banter at work to elude any suspicion, because as much as it pained him to admit... Proctor was still a starkly unknown quantity to him.
Words: 4812
[Follows Miami Medical 1x07 "Man on the Road", contains SPOILERS]
After awhile, inevitably, the team broke away from their group table. Eva and Proctor were hanging at the bar after getting some refills, which left Serena alone at the table when Chris ducked to the bathroom to 'powder his nose', according to him. Though obviously anything accompanied with a trademarked Dr C smirk was anything but complete truth. Just like his keys to the city's garage door. He exited the bathroom, and his blue eyes bounced from Eva and Proctor talking at the bar to Serena alone at the table, and a mischievous smirk spread across his face. He casually sauntered over to the bar where his fresh scotch on the rocks was sitting and held the glass up to Eva and Proctor in a small toast, shooting them a smile and then backing off to head back to the table. They were none the wiser. Why would they be? Nothing was out of the ordinary, right?
Chris nudged his chair right up close to Serena's this time before sitting down, the ice in his drink clinking against the glass as he set it on the table. He folded his arms across the surface, that usual unrevealing, yet cheeky, smile on his lips again. "So, I hear someone else is having a Happy Birthday tomorrow," he told her and rested his tongue between his lips. "Do you want a cupcake with sprinkles and a little pink candle?" he asked, holding his fingers up a short distance apart.
Serena blinked, and looked at Chris. "I... what? It's not my birthday. Not for another week, anyway. It's my one year anniversary for Trauma, but that's it." She shrugged a little as she gave him a smile and tucked her hair behind her ear as she clinked her glass against his. "Nice try though, Dr C. As much as I would love you to bring me a cupcake with sprinkles and a little pink candle I don't think it's quite the right time. Besides, I'd much rather just have you covered frosting. Mr Two Keys to the City, and the City's Garage."
Chris's forehead creased and he laughed with a slight nod. "Yeah, that's kinda what I meant." He waved his hand over his head. "Whoosh. That really went over your head, didn't it? Sure that's just a Martini in that glass and not a double shot of vodka? Nah uh, the garage door opener was a clicker, not keys," he corrected her with another smirk.
Serena bit her lip as she looked at him sheepishly, and shrugged her shoulder. Now that she had him to herself, it was hard to keep her attention off him. Even if she was aware of Eva and Proctor still at the bar. "Oh. I'm sorry, it was a really long day... hard day. I wasn't sure I was cut out to keep going with Trauma after what happened. And then when we didn't find any survivors apart from that first one... I just thought I was doomed to make the world worse, you know? Poor Moose really copped me at a real emo moment." She met his gaze again as a smile blossomed. "Oh, a clicker? Well, I'm sorry. No wonder you're so good with them."
"You? Emo moments? Seriously? Would never have guessed," Chris teased with an amused snort, waving his hand dismissively. He took a sip of his drink and swirled the ice cubs around in the amber liquid. "The first one and her kid. That's actually a pretty good average for something like a plane crash, you know. Especially when you were only supposed to be on observation. So, you pierce a lung and cause a pnuemo, but on the other hand, you relocate a kid's jaw with tongue depressers and medical tape. When are you going to chill and realise that in medicine - in trauma - there is never a straight answer, never one completely right way of doing something. You shouldn't have even been touching that kid on observation, but you did, and you saved his life. At the end of the day, babe, it balances itself out. Surely you're starting to see that? And Moose has thick skin, don't be worrying about him."
Serena rest her arms on the table as she looked down at her drink and stretched her back a little. Chris was sitting on his chair with it turned backwards like he always did. Sometimes she wondered if he even realised he did it every single time, or if it was just that much of a habit by now. With a quick glance up at Proctor and Eva, Serena shifted to lean back in her seat again, her hand slipping under the table to rest on Chris' knee. "My Dad's an accountant. It's like I was explaining to Moose, I was keeping score without realising, and I hate myself for it. I know that Trauma shouldn't be about checks and balances, but my Dad's way of thinking is ingrained pretty deep. Explains a lot, huh? I really am trying to chill. You actually help me chill more than you realise."
Chris gave a small shrug. "Even accountants can't balance some books," he pointed out to her, his hand closing over hers under the concealment of the table. "When your Dad comes in and sticks his fingers into a chest cavity to get a heart pumping again, then we can talk, yeah? I'm not saying you shouldn't take guidance from your parents, you should. But no, it doesn't explain much at all. It sounds to me like you're scrambling to find explanations for everything, when really, there isn't always ways to explain things at all. That's why you just need to get in there and do it, by whatever means it takes. In our world, we don't have time to stop and count." He held her gaze and slowly drew her hand up his leg to his thigh so her fingers could brush against his groin, showing her just exactly what that top she was wearing was doing to him.
Serena arched her eyebrow with interest, and could already feel a flush of arousal race across her skin. That was one thing she really did have no control over. Serena had fair skin, and there was no hiding blushing. She casually took a sip of her drink as she more than brushed her hand against his groin. The top had been chosen with Dr C in mind, Serena unable to help herself. She wanted to dress nicely for him. She wanted to turn him on. Just like him wearing jeans always did it for her. Chris in denim was definitely her Kryptonite. "I was pretty awesome though, right? I was like the MacGuyver of medicine... And hey, I did observe! I observed the kid needed his jaw relocated so he could breathe. Moose was just going to cut his throat. The boy didn't need that."
"Moose is a paramedic, not a surgeon. He's trained to get 'em breathing to get them to us alive. This is that whole balance in medicine again. Moose's choice wasn't wrong, the kid still would've gotten to us alive and his throat would've healed. You just had a sounder option at the time. Which is cool, you know. Really cool. You need to keep having that confidence in yourself. It's kinda sexy," Chris added with a smirk and cleared his throat, looking over at Proctor and Eva. Eva had glanced over at them and she held up her beer, so Chris just shot her a smile in return. "I'm kind of glad you weren't there to bring in the dude with the DNR tattoo. That would have totally set you into guilt overdose when he actually chose to pull the plug."
Serena kept her hand on Chris' crotch, brushing and teasing, and rubbing under the table. It was kind of nice to indulge in this kind of contact out in public. There was also a part of her getting a thrill out of doing it right near Proctor and Eva. Serena's confidence though probably would have waivered if they were sitting at the table while she tried doing it, though. "Do you think Eva looked a little jealous at the idea of Proctor and Sable, or was it just me? I heard about the tattoo guy. That's some crazy stuff, but I guess if he had early onset Alzheimer's he'd be wanting a guarantee. What good is a piece of paper you don't remember signing? I'm kind of glad I had you on the other end of the radio. Kept me sane, and you picked up on the fact that the other survivor was a kid."
Chris laughed. "Only because the kid's father turned up. It wasn't a hard leap to make if the dude was standing there living and breathing in front of us." He leaned forward against the chair a little more, dropping his head down to wet his lips when a bolt of heat swept through him. On the outside, no one would pick any changes, but then, he did have years of honing these sorts of skills right down. "If he stayed in the reverted mind state, though, his sister could've overrode that tattoo. He wouldn't have been of sound mind to make the decision and there was no time for, as Proctor put it, wait for legal to get get their thumbs out of their asses," he said in a bad British accent. "We would've kept him on the vent. But he understood, we had to respect those wishes. Understandable. One thing I would never want to lose is my mind. I'd have probably made the same choice."
Serena smiled at him crookedly. "Yeah, but you still managed to radio it through. In fact, anyone would think you were looking for any old excuse to give me a call. Did you miss me, Chris? It's okay, you can admit it." She gave him a firm squeeze to punctuate her teasing before taking another sip of her drink as she smiled and nodded at Proctor who was glancing over at them. "You still not getting along with our Chief? But he had a point. He didn't have time to wait, not if the guy's lung needed to get taken out. You'd think legal would have been a bit quicker with the answer. Well, it goes back to Rayner, doesn't it? Even walking out buck naked after a mental breakdown is a form of losing your mind. It's a scary prospect."
"I was going to let you use those immaculate psychic powers of yours to hear about the kid, but I thought I would be kind considering you were having a rough day," Chris said, sniggering. He drew in a sharp breath and glanced back to Eva and Proctor. "To answer your question, if she was jealous, it was subconscious. Eva wouldn't ever sleep with a boss. It would be like some sort of weakness to her, and she doesn't like showing those much. Not in her professional life. I think she respects Proctor, but anything there is just professional awe. Proctor and me are cool, it's all good. I just don't get him, and I think I've given up trying. Sometimes he just turns around and makes as clear as a bell sense, but the other times, I'll just leave it up to you and Eva to figure out. Sort of goes back to Rayner. Truth of the matter is, anyone can lose their mind. DNR dude is proof of that. See? It's not just trauma docs."
"Makes you wonder if it is all just genes, or if there's something else we can do to prevent it. It just seems sad to know that you won't ever have a life past your forties. Or even younger." Serena took a moment to watch Chris, her gaze dropping to his mouth briefly as her mind strayed to thinking about kissing him. It had been at least a day and a night since she'd last kissed him, and she couldn't deny there was an itch there that needed scratching. And getting him off was helping. She twisted in her seat to face him more, leaning forward so her top fell forward from her chest. "So I'm weak for wanting to sleep with you?"
Chris shifted closer to, tilting his head has he made no effort to hide the fact when his eyes dipped lower to her chest and lingered there before they swept back upwards to her face, that telltale smirk back in place. "You aren't Eva," was all he murmured with a pointed raise of his eyebrows.
Serena's tongue snaked out to wet her lips again and she let out a soft sigh. Her hand started to rub more forcefully against Chris' groin, her breathing starting to become shallow as her arousal kicked up a notch. Serena crossed her legs under the table and squeezed them together to stop herself from wriggling in her seat with restlessness. "Good thing too, otherwise I'd be wondering what the hell you were thinking about right now."
Chris was glad Eva and Proctor were far enough away to not actually be able to see something like where Serena's hand was. He also wasn't exactly sure he could let her continue because the white, fitted t-shirt he was wearing wouldn't pull down over his groin to cover any telltale wet patches, as tempting as it was. He let her continue for a few more moments, indulging in the electricity that tickled over his skin from his arousal and then he wrapped his hand around her wrist, stilling her hand. "You know what happens when light denim gets wet," he told her in amusement. "As much as I know you want to get access to my garage clicker."
Serena's mind took a moment to realise he'd put a stop to things, and when it did she couldn't help but pout just a little. "You mean like that wet patch a couple weeks ago? It was a little unfortunate, but you just get me so riled up in jeans. I'll just have to get access to your clicker later. Do you maybe want to come over later?"
"Do I maybe want?" Chris pucked his lips up a little and narrowed his eyes, still teasing her, even managing it by facial expressions. He picked up her drink and took a slow sip of it right from the spot her lips had just left on her last mouthful and he licked his lips slowly. "I think I can maybe manage to maybe want later."
Serena pushed his leg under the table after slipping her hand from his. "You think you're so freaking cute, don't you? All with the hot charm, and making with the little jokes."
Chris had to pause for a moment, not actually reading if she was pushing him away or not. Even still, to be on the safe side, he sat back and picked up his own drink, sipping it. "So, uh... how about those Cowboys?"
Serena frowned a little, trying to work out what had changed. She let her hand rest back against his leg again, and squeezed it. "It was just retaliation for the teasing, you know. I wasn't... I still want you to come over if you can maybe manage it. I don't watch sports. Only the highlights on the news to catch the cuties."
"Cuties?" Chris laughed, shifting on his seat. "They're all meat heads. One wrong move, and they're quadriplegic, snapped neck, just like that." He snapped his finger for emphasis. He leaned in close again. "Things are going to get boring if you keep trying to retaliate my teasing. If you don't like it... well, it's just who I am. I like to have fun."
Serena shrugged. "Not like I know many surfies. I just know the one, and I'm really hoping he doesn't ever get a snapped neck. And I'm also not shallow enough to abandon someone if they do wind up a quadriplegic." She circled her finger around the rim of her glass before she met his gaze again. "I do like it. I like it a lot. I like you a lot," she whispered before averting her eyes as she finished her drink in one swallow.
Chris pressed his lips together. "You'd be surprised how many relationships fail in the wake of a tragedy like that. It's not like the person changes, is it?" He stretched his arms up over his head, stretching out his tired muscles from the busy day and even indulging in a small yawn. A surf. He suddenly felt like one of those, it had been awhile since he'd managed to get out. Or maybe a hike or mountain bike ride somewhere. A restlessness bubbled through him and he rubbed his hand over his chest thoughtfully. "We might've had a problem if you didn't, babe," he offered with a smile.
Serena watched him when he answered, her eyebrows rising just a little. What did that even mean? Did that mean there would be a problem in having ninja sex? Or there was a problem because they were in a relationship without stopping to acknowledge it? Did it mean he liked her a lot too? Serena bit back any questions, and just smiled back. She had to keep learning to roll with it. Relationships weren't about checks and balances either, and she was hardly about to back out now. She was in this - whatever the this was. She cleared her throat as she folded her arms under her chest, displaying her cleavage again. "Skinny dipping too tame for you?" she asked him, reading the source of the restlessness.
Chris' eyebrows rose slowly as he dropped his arms back onto the table. But he soon laughed, looking at her in amusement. "Where the hell did that come from?" He picked up her drink again and gave it a small sniff, as if checking for any odd substances. "Did you hit your head in that chopper?"
Serena shook her head as she grinned. "No. You just look like you need to do something, and I'm thinking that maybe coming over to my place isn't quite enough. So how about a sneaky naked swim by the beach? We can even make it your place since you're right there on the water."
"Call it undiagnosed ADHD," Chris replied, drawing in a long breath and letting it out heavily. "I only sit still when I'm drinking or half dead. This is a beach in Miami. You don't think it's a little risky we'll get caught? I thought we were supposed to be keeping this secret." He was looking again back to Proctor and Eva, who seemed to be having some sort of intense discussion. As much as it pained Chris to admit, getting caught with Serena with his pants down actually quite scared him... especially after Proctor sent him home after trying to cover for her.
"That's why it would be near your place. It's dark, there aren't any lights out on the shore. It was just a suggestion," she said with a shrug. "I wasn't suggesting it with the intention of getting caught. This is secret. I'm not going to break my promise. I wouldn't risk it."
Chris shrugged too and then pressed his lips together, really not believing he was about to say what he was. "I think we should just be a bit more careful," he admitted and then started to scratch the back of his neck slowly. "Though, it is a good argument for finally buying that hot tub for my balcony I've been scoping out for a few months."
Serena let out a soft sigh as she gave a nod. "Okay. Then just come over later when we've all said our goodbyes." Then she blinked. "You want a hot tub for your balcony?"
Chris laughed and nodded. "Yeah, just didn't think much on it over the winter. Got the brochures at home somewhere. Some sales girl in a bikini at the pool store took great pride in giving me all the, uh, figures." He smirked at her and held his hands up before she could say anything.
Serena pressed her lips together as she shook her head in disbelief. "I bet she did, Chris. I bet she did. Sounds like a good idea, though. I'm sure there's a lot of entertaining you could do with your own hot tub. Lots of figures to discuss."
Chris laughed and grinned. "Hell yeah," he said, the words coming out before he could stop them. Then he stilled, pressing his lips together sheepishly. "I mean, it would be good for the circulation."
Serena raised her hand this time as she smiled. "It's fine. You deserve to entertain as much as you want to. You work hard, you deserve to play hard."
"You want us to be exclusive," Chris guessed, blue eyes locked on her face as he read her expressions and the light tone of her voice.
Serena froze like a deer in headlights but she shrugged it off, and contemplated whether or not this would be a good time to just escape to the bar and ask for another drink. "I don't want to ask anything that's going to fuck it up," she finally answered.
"I didn't hear you asking anything," Chris pointed out with a smirk, still holding her gaze. "Don't think I'm capable?"
She gave a shake of her head. "No, I just don't think I should expect it. It's not what we're about. We didn't ever... agree to it. Or discuss it. It was never part of the deal, so why bring it up now? It's fine."
Chris sat back with a light shrug. "Then maybe we should," he returned, putting her on the spot as he picked up his drink again. "For argument sake, we didn't discuss or agree to anything. Let alone make any deals."
"We agreed to secret, and we agreed to fun, and not letting it fuck up our working relationship," Serena pointed out. "Pretty sure anything else messes up the secret, fun and working relationship thing. If it goes sour, can we really guarantee we'll still work together?"
"Can we guarantee I won't step out of the Crab Shack and get hit by a bus? Can we guarantee I won't snap my neck on my next surf? Can we guarantee you won't meet another HRG and fall madly, passionately in love with him? Can we guarantee Eva doesn't want in Proctor's pants? Can we guarantee Tuck won't have permanent disabilities?" Chris paused and leant close to her. "Can we guarantee we'll even keep having fun?"
"I think we can guarantee we'll have fun trying to have fun," Serena murmured as she looked at him. "I just... You fixed my clicker. We have a thing now. That's not what casual fun is about. Casual flings don't get things. They just fizzle out and you pass on to the next one. I don't think we're going to fizzle. Or maybe I just hope we won't."
"So, why not just tell me you want to be exclusive?" Chris asked her, raising his eyebrows a little.
Serena wet her lips before she sucked in a deep breath. "Because I didn't know if it was what you wanted, and if it wasn't--isn't--then that's it, isn't it? You can't be with me when you know I want to be exclusive, and you don't."
Chris couldn't help it, he started to laugh. "As if you thinking like an accountant isn't bad enough, you have to start acting like a lawyer and try to put words in my mouth," he joked. He leaned forward on the back of the chair and folded his arms across in front of him on the table after nudging his drink out of the way to make room. "You really do think I'm incapable of being in a relationship. You think because I'm single and enjoy casual sex that it makes me a committment-phobe, a player. And yeah, maybe I am... when I'm single. I like sex. Casual is generally where it comes from when you're single."
Serena shook her head emphatically. "No, I just maybe think you're incapable of being in a relationship with me. There's a difference."
Chris leaned right close to her, and in a hushed, covert voice, "Why, are you really a man?" he teased with a smirk.
Serena looked at him before she rolled her eyes and started to laugh at her own stupidity. "Yes, I am. I'm just really good at tucking."
"You're friggin telling me," Chris sniggered, shaking his head in amusement. "I get it. You don't like blonds, do you?"
She caught some strands in her hair as she pulled her hair over her top lip to make herself a moustache. "What gave it away? Don't like facial hair, either. And that body? Pfft, it's terrible. I don't need someone with abs I could use as a washboard."
Chris smirked and then turned his head away again with another amused laugh as he shrugged. "I might go hit Eva up for a fuck tonight, then. Won't have to bother with wasting time fixing any clickers," he joked back. "Or maybe I'll try Proctor. He's English, he might have sex hanging from the rafters. I like extreme sports."
Serena dropped her hair back down as she laughed. "You do that. I'm sure he'll be happy to provide you with colourful metaphorical commentary as you two get it on."
Chris scrunched his face up with a sound that was a cross between a moan and snort. "Hell, can you imagine it? I can't think of anything more off-putting. It's like verbal birth control. Something like the conception of the first condom was evolved by a lucky dude who could've gotten his chick knocked up, but didn't, because he's the lucky one." He waved his hands with another dismissive snort. But he soon held them up with another shrug. "So, if I'm capable of having a relationship with any other woman but you, why am I here and not over there?" he asked, pointing to the bar where there was a group of chicks dressed extremely skimpily, done up and scoping the males of the bar.
Serena's face was scrunched up similar to Chris' but more at the sight of the skimpily dressed women, than the idea of metaphor riddled sex. "Because I'm hoping you have some taste?" she guessed before she met his gaze again. "Do you want to be exclusive? With me?"
Chris narrowed his eyes slightly, contemplating her closely. "You never admit to wanting anything until you're sure the foundation is secure under you, do you? Do you ever take risks with anything?" he had to ask. "Even with HRG, weekend of hot sex, then a billion text messages to make sure there was some foundation there of why you did it. I'm going to even go so far as to say that the reason you've been in this with me so far is because there was that secure foundation of me being in a seniority to you, you think I won't risk that. If I don't take a risk, you don't have to. The romantic in you wants it exclusive, but your accountant blood thinks it's too much counting, and that's the stronger side of you. It's your inner romantic that gives you the guilt trips. I dare you to take a risk," he said lowly, with a brief glance in Eva and Proctor's direction. "Exclusivity, with me, in secret."
Sometimes Serena really hated that Chris could be so perceptive when he wanted to be. He came across as a cheeky playboy, but he was always watching, always picking up on the details and filing it all away so he could slam you with a revelation like he just did with her. She felt like she'd been whacked in the chest as all the air left her lungs and she just stared at him, lost for words at first. "Okay," she whispered. "I'll take the risk. I won't even let my inner romantic give me a guilt trip over it. I'll actually embrace it."
Chris smirked faintly at her, clearing his throat. "I'm going to go with 'I'll believe it when I see it'," he told her quietly. It was a huge risk for him, too. Potentially one he could lose his job over it. He just hoped she had it in her to be able to keep making with the casual joking and banter at work to elude any suspicion, because as much as it pained him to admit... Proctor was still a starkly unknown quantity to him.
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