just_muse_me | 17.5.2. Unwanted news
17.5.2. Be told something you really don't want to hear
Co-written with imnodoctor | Follows THIS
Evie's shift finished an hour before Riley's, but rather than go home on her own, Evie waited. She took her time getting changed, that feeling of being dunked underwater still never really going away. She barely managed to understand people when they talked to her, having to ask them to repeat themselves several times. Between the news about Chase, and discovering she had a sister her day had been... well, she didn't even know the word for it. She wasn't sure if she should be happy about Emma still, reeling from the idea that her Dad used to play up before she was born, not just after her mother's death. He'd fathered a second girl after her Mom had been pregnant. All this time, Evie could have maybe known her sister, but instead her Dad had thrown money at the 'problem' in the hopes it would go away.
And Chase. Poor guy had cancer, and faced the idea of not being around for his daughter's first birthday. Stage fucking two. Evie just felt so sad, maybe identifying with the wife's point of view, even if she'd barely spoken to Mrs Chase lately. She just knew how she'd felt when Riley had finally been given his diagnosis, but the truth was it hadn't changed how Evie had felt about him. Not one bit. She still loved him body and soul, and his HIV status didn't change that. Now they were thinking about attempting their own family, and Evie just wanted to make sure if they were successful that the child knew that it was loved. More than Riley had, more than she had, and more than apparently Emma had.
She wiped at tears that she only just realised were there, and gave her fiancé a tired smile when she finally saw him. Without hesitating, Evie walked up to him and gave him a tight hug as she murmured that she loved him. She took his hand when she managed to let go of him, and led him to their car. If she'd have finished before him, she would have swung back around to pick him up, but this way they could go home together, and she needed that. She also needed him to be the one to drive, because Evie wasn't sure she could concentrate for long enough. "Please tell me you're up for driving," Evie said, figuring she better actually check. "Otherwise we better try and get a cab now."
"Yeah... yeah, sure," Riley murmured, watching her closely. Something was wrong. He didn't need her to have a flashy sign over her head to say that because her face said it. He was tired and had never been so happy to walk out of the ER than he had that evening, but he could drive. "Has something happened, love?" he asked her, trying to fish around in his backpack for his car keys and smokes. He really needed a smoke.
Evie sighed as she leaned back against the car, grateful it was one that lacked an annoying car alarm. "Yes... but one thing I can't tell you about, and the other I don't even know how to begin to explain. It's a total mind fuck." She reached out to fiddle with his coat sleeve, and watched him search for his keys. "Let's just pretend for one crazy second that you and Tab weren't raised together... that for whatever reason you got separated at birth, and then you didn't meet until now. Do you think you'd still share that same strong bond with her? Would you even want to know her?"
Riley understood the first part. The cross to bear of being a healthcare professional. Evie could treat Tab herself and wouldn't be allowed to tell Riley unless it was specifically requested. Of course, the notion made Riley a little nervous with a thought that maybe someone they knew was ill, but he just pushed the thought away. He found the smokes first, followed by his lighter and put them both on the roof of the car, giving the bag a little shake to hear that the keys were even in there. They were somewhere. His watched beeped too, signalling it was time for his pills, but he could get them when they got home. "Our Mum would've loved to have only one of us to raise," he said with a derisive snort. "Of course I'd want to know her. I'd cut my left arm off to know her if that's what it took. She's my blood and my sister. It wouldn't matter that I didn't know her... I'd make sure I got to know her. As for the bond... I don't know. Do you mean the brotherly sisterly bond or the physical twin thing?" He found the keys with a small frown. "That's an awfully specific hypothetical, love."
Evie moved closer to him, taking physical comfort in him now he was here. She had a sudden urge to ask him if he'd heard her telepathic call earlier, but it was better to stay on one hypothetical at a time. "I guess I mean the brotherly sisterly bond. I'm not really talking twins, but I know that some of what you and Tab share is because you are twins. I've just--I've never really known a bond like the one you two share, but if you didn't grow up together, would you still even have it? Or be able to forge it? You don't think it's too late if you met her now to be as close as you are? Would you still be close?"
"Wow, um..." Riley said, letting out a slow breath as he tried to wrap his tired head around all the questions that were coming out of the blue. "It would probably take some time, but I like to think we would be able to get close like we are now. But then, we are close how we are because we took care of each other growing up, so I guess that would be a factor. Again, though, it's a blood thing. She's my sister. I'd do anything for her. I'm pretty sure if I just met her, I would still feel a yearning to want to at least try to be close."
Evie nodded, and pushed her hair back from her face as she cleared her throat. "My Dad knocked up some chick while Mom was pregnant with me. I have a fucking half sister that I never knew about until today."
Riley dropped the car keys and stared at her in shock. "What? A what?"
"Exactly," Evie replied as she smiled wryly. "What the fuck am I supposed to do with a half sister? She didn't even know about me until a year ago! My fucking father and his fucking straying dick. My mother was six months pregnant and he went and had a fucking one night stand without a damn condom. Who does that?!"
"I-" Riley tried, but he wasn't exactly sure what he could say. He didn't really want to encourage Evie to forge a hatred for her father. It was hard enough seeing Tab harbour it for their mother and he didn't think it was going to be a healthy thing in the long run. "Are you sure she's really your sister?" he asked, stooping to collect the keys. He stuffed them into the pocket of his jacket and grabbed his smokes, quickly lighting one up. He needed it now more than he did before.
Evie was just angry. She wasn't sure she would ever truly hate her father, but he just kept doing stupid things that pissed her off. She needed to blow steam off before she even tried to talk to him. "She showed me a copy of her birth certificate. It actually says Keith Miller... And her eyes..." Evie hadn't exactly taken in the detail while she'd been in shock, but now as she pictured Emma's face, she knew they had the same eyes. "She has his eyes just like I do."
"She was here?!" Riley squeaked. He shook his head. "That's just... that's..." He really wanted to say 'fucked up', but he knew that would lack a distinct amount of tact in the situation. He put the cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply. "How do you know the mother didn't just say that to get his money?"
"Because Dad was the one to offer the money. It sounds like it was his idea. I don't know, Riley. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do right now... I have her number, and I saw her, and holy fuck. I have a sister. I don't know what to do!" Evie almost felt like taking the cigarette off Riley and smoking it herself, but she'd just wind up coughing. "She's a paramedic."
Riley was frowning. "She could be lying," he still pointed out. It all seemed too... weird. Convenient. All he could think of was that Evie was going to end up hurt. "What if she just winds up hurting you?" he asked. "It would be like... that clinic telling us we could have a kid and then calling us a month in saying 'Oh, no. We lied. You can't have one'."
"How's she going to hurt me? It's not as if I'm attached to the idea of her being my family. I can't think straight. I don't really don't know what to do. Tell me what to do. Please, Riley." She looked up at him, silently pleading with her expression. She just needed some kind of direction. "I don't have anything for her to want enough to fake this kind of shit. I'm not rich, I'm not special. I'm just a nurse."
The frown only deeped. "What? You are fucking special, Evie. Very special. And if this chick hurts you, I'll kill her," he said, leaning against the car. The cigarette burned between his fingers and he scratched his forehead with his thumb. "But if she is your sister, then... well, if I was in your shoes, I couldn't ignore it. I'd want to... I'd want to care for her and protect her," he said softly.
Evie reached out to take the collar of his jacket in her hands. "You're cute when you're protective. And I know it's possible she might be scamming me, but I don't think she is. She didn't know I was me, she was really shocked she'd found me. You can fake crap like that. And I do kind of want to care for her, and protect her, but I don't even know her! Am I supposed to just... I don't know. Start hanging out with her?"
Riley shook his head slowly. "I don't know, love. I really don't. I've always had Tab right there with me. Did she seem like she wanted to get to know you, or was it just a passing 'Hi, you're my sister, bye' type thing? I mean, I guess not everyone has a family yearning... I've just always sort of have. Family and friends are important. Plus, life's too short. We only get one shot at it, too," he reasoned, trying to offer her an insight without telling her what to do.
"She gave me her number, and address. I think she does want to get to know me. Why else would she have looked for me? She's nice... I think you'd like her. I think I like her, but it's my secret sister! I have a fucking sister..." Evie buried her face against his chest. "This is exhausting."
Riley dropped the remainder of the smoke onto the ground and stubbed it out with his toe so he could wrap his arms around her. "I wish I could tell you what to do, love, but I really can't. This is a choice you have to make yourself. Just like when you told me that you couldn't tell me whether to go back to the ER or not. I just know that Tab is... she's part of me. She's my blood. I would do anything for her for that very reason alone. If she's your sister, she's probably your only sister and you might not ever get another chance to know what it's like to have one."
"I'll try and sleep on it. I don't want to make any rash decisions." Evie lifted her head up to look at him. "So how was your day? Any secret relatives spring themselves on you?"
Riley shook his head. "No, I probably could've coped with that. It was just intense. I found myself filtering my patients so I didn't take anyone who could possibly be a drug addict. I wouldn't go in the bay I got attacked in. It was basically a disaster, but the shift is over, so it's fine."
Evie stretched up to kiss him. "Can we go home, get drunk, and have takeout? Maybe sex if we have the energy?"
Riley smirked and returned the kiss. His cell phone started to ring in his pocket. "Was this your ultimate plan? The sister was all an elaborate plan to get me into bed, wasn't it?" he teased.
"You got me. I figured you might be exhausted from the ER, so I tried to cook up something that would at least win me sympathy sex," Evie laughed as she pulled away enough to give him room to get his phone if he wanted to.
"I'm not that hard to lay, am I?" Riley laughed. But when he took his phone out to check the caller ID, it was an unknown number. He flipped it open to answer. "Riley Browne." When the caller gave his name, a deep frown appeared on Riley's face and he assumed Wilson was looking for Evie. If only. Riley didn't have much of a chance to talk, and only answered briefly when Wilson asked him if he had a couple of minutes. Riley nodded with his answer, even though Wilson couldn't see him and his eyes remained on Evie. He could never have anticipated what would come next in the phone call and he paled, leaning heavily against the car as Wilson explained softly but succinctly. Riley was speechless and just listened numbly.
With a small mumble of thanks, the phone call ended and he stared at Evie with a tiny shake of his head. "Chase," he said hoarsely. "That was the other thing you couldn't tell me. Chase has cancer."
Evie bit her lip as she nodded, and hugged Riley tightly. Wilson must have called Riley because Chase's records still listed him as his doctor. In a way she was grateful that her boss had done it, because now she could talk to Riley freely about it. Well, within reason. "Yes," she whispered. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm so, so sorry."
"Oh my god," Riley whispered, and hugged her back tightly. "How can you... how is he...?" But he couldn't finish the thoughts. There was nothing else that could be said, so he just held her, standing there in the carpark together.
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Muse | Dr Riley Browne & Evie Miller
Fandom | House, M.D. (Original Characters)
Word Count | 2,511
Co-written with imnodoctor | Follows THIS
Evie's shift finished an hour before Riley's, but rather than go home on her own, Evie waited. She took her time getting changed, that feeling of being dunked underwater still never really going away. She barely managed to understand people when they talked to her, having to ask them to repeat themselves several times. Between the news about Chase, and discovering she had a sister her day had been... well, she didn't even know the word for it. She wasn't sure if she should be happy about Emma still, reeling from the idea that her Dad used to play up before she was born, not just after her mother's death. He'd fathered a second girl after her Mom had been pregnant. All this time, Evie could have maybe known her sister, but instead her Dad had thrown money at the 'problem' in the hopes it would go away.
And Chase. Poor guy had cancer, and faced the idea of not being around for his daughter's first birthday. Stage fucking two. Evie just felt so sad, maybe identifying with the wife's point of view, even if she'd barely spoken to Mrs Chase lately. She just knew how she'd felt when Riley had finally been given his diagnosis, but the truth was it hadn't changed how Evie had felt about him. Not one bit. She still loved him body and soul, and his HIV status didn't change that. Now they were thinking about attempting their own family, and Evie just wanted to make sure if they were successful that the child knew that it was loved. More than Riley had, more than she had, and more than apparently Emma had.
She wiped at tears that she only just realised were there, and gave her fiancé a tired smile when she finally saw him. Without hesitating, Evie walked up to him and gave him a tight hug as she murmured that she loved him. She took his hand when she managed to let go of him, and led him to their car. If she'd have finished before him, she would have swung back around to pick him up, but this way they could go home together, and she needed that. She also needed him to be the one to drive, because Evie wasn't sure she could concentrate for long enough. "Please tell me you're up for driving," Evie said, figuring she better actually check. "Otherwise we better try and get a cab now."
"Yeah... yeah, sure," Riley murmured, watching her closely. Something was wrong. He didn't need her to have a flashy sign over her head to say that because her face said it. He was tired and had never been so happy to walk out of the ER than he had that evening, but he could drive. "Has something happened, love?" he asked her, trying to fish around in his backpack for his car keys and smokes. He really needed a smoke.
Evie sighed as she leaned back against the car, grateful it was one that lacked an annoying car alarm. "Yes... but one thing I can't tell you about, and the other I don't even know how to begin to explain. It's a total mind fuck." She reached out to fiddle with his coat sleeve, and watched him search for his keys. "Let's just pretend for one crazy second that you and Tab weren't raised together... that for whatever reason you got separated at birth, and then you didn't meet until now. Do you think you'd still share that same strong bond with her? Would you even want to know her?"
Riley understood the first part. The cross to bear of being a healthcare professional. Evie could treat Tab herself and wouldn't be allowed to tell Riley unless it was specifically requested. Of course, the notion made Riley a little nervous with a thought that maybe someone they knew was ill, but he just pushed the thought away. He found the smokes first, followed by his lighter and put them both on the roof of the car, giving the bag a little shake to hear that the keys were even in there. They were somewhere. His watched beeped too, signalling it was time for his pills, but he could get them when they got home. "Our Mum would've loved to have only one of us to raise," he said with a derisive snort. "Of course I'd want to know her. I'd cut my left arm off to know her if that's what it took. She's my blood and my sister. It wouldn't matter that I didn't know her... I'd make sure I got to know her. As for the bond... I don't know. Do you mean the brotherly sisterly bond or the physical twin thing?" He found the keys with a small frown. "That's an awfully specific hypothetical, love."
Evie moved closer to him, taking physical comfort in him now he was here. She had a sudden urge to ask him if he'd heard her telepathic call earlier, but it was better to stay on one hypothetical at a time. "I guess I mean the brotherly sisterly bond. I'm not really talking twins, but I know that some of what you and Tab share is because you are twins. I've just--I've never really known a bond like the one you two share, but if you didn't grow up together, would you still even have it? Or be able to forge it? You don't think it's too late if you met her now to be as close as you are? Would you still be close?"
"Wow, um..." Riley said, letting out a slow breath as he tried to wrap his tired head around all the questions that were coming out of the blue. "It would probably take some time, but I like to think we would be able to get close like we are now. But then, we are close how we are because we took care of each other growing up, so I guess that would be a factor. Again, though, it's a blood thing. She's my sister. I'd do anything for her. I'm pretty sure if I just met her, I would still feel a yearning to want to at least try to be close."
Evie nodded, and pushed her hair back from her face as she cleared her throat. "My Dad knocked up some chick while Mom was pregnant with me. I have a fucking half sister that I never knew about until today."
Riley dropped the car keys and stared at her in shock. "What? A what?"
"Exactly," Evie replied as she smiled wryly. "What the fuck am I supposed to do with a half sister? She didn't even know about me until a year ago! My fucking father and his fucking straying dick. My mother was six months pregnant and he went and had a fucking one night stand without a damn condom. Who does that?!"
"I-" Riley tried, but he wasn't exactly sure what he could say. He didn't really want to encourage Evie to forge a hatred for her father. It was hard enough seeing Tab harbour it for their mother and he didn't think it was going to be a healthy thing in the long run. "Are you sure she's really your sister?" he asked, stooping to collect the keys. He stuffed them into the pocket of his jacket and grabbed his smokes, quickly lighting one up. He needed it now more than he did before.
Evie was just angry. She wasn't sure she would ever truly hate her father, but he just kept doing stupid things that pissed her off. She needed to blow steam off before she even tried to talk to him. "She showed me a copy of her birth certificate. It actually says Keith Miller... And her eyes..." Evie hadn't exactly taken in the detail while she'd been in shock, but now as she pictured Emma's face, she knew they had the same eyes. "She has his eyes just like I do."
"She was here?!" Riley squeaked. He shook his head. "That's just... that's..." He really wanted to say 'fucked up', but he knew that would lack a distinct amount of tact in the situation. He put the cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply. "How do you know the mother didn't just say that to get his money?"
"Because Dad was the one to offer the money. It sounds like it was his idea. I don't know, Riley. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do right now... I have her number, and I saw her, and holy fuck. I have a sister. I don't know what to do!" Evie almost felt like taking the cigarette off Riley and smoking it herself, but she'd just wind up coughing. "She's a paramedic."
Riley was frowning. "She could be lying," he still pointed out. It all seemed too... weird. Convenient. All he could think of was that Evie was going to end up hurt. "What if she just winds up hurting you?" he asked. "It would be like... that clinic telling us we could have a kid and then calling us a month in saying 'Oh, no. We lied. You can't have one'."
"How's she going to hurt me? It's not as if I'm attached to the idea of her being my family. I can't think straight. I don't really don't know what to do. Tell me what to do. Please, Riley." She looked up at him, silently pleading with her expression. She just needed some kind of direction. "I don't have anything for her to want enough to fake this kind of shit. I'm not rich, I'm not special. I'm just a nurse."
The frown only deeped. "What? You are fucking special, Evie. Very special. And if this chick hurts you, I'll kill her," he said, leaning against the car. The cigarette burned between his fingers and he scratched his forehead with his thumb. "But if she is your sister, then... well, if I was in your shoes, I couldn't ignore it. I'd want to... I'd want to care for her and protect her," he said softly.
Evie reached out to take the collar of his jacket in her hands. "You're cute when you're protective. And I know it's possible she might be scamming me, but I don't think she is. She didn't know I was me, she was really shocked she'd found me. You can fake crap like that. And I do kind of want to care for her, and protect her, but I don't even know her! Am I supposed to just... I don't know. Start hanging out with her?"
Riley shook his head slowly. "I don't know, love. I really don't. I've always had Tab right there with me. Did she seem like she wanted to get to know you, or was it just a passing 'Hi, you're my sister, bye' type thing? I mean, I guess not everyone has a family yearning... I've just always sort of have. Family and friends are important. Plus, life's too short. We only get one shot at it, too," he reasoned, trying to offer her an insight without telling her what to do.
"She gave me her number, and address. I think she does want to get to know me. Why else would she have looked for me? She's nice... I think you'd like her. I think I like her, but it's my secret sister! I have a fucking sister..." Evie buried her face against his chest. "This is exhausting."
Riley dropped the remainder of the smoke onto the ground and stubbed it out with his toe so he could wrap his arms around her. "I wish I could tell you what to do, love, but I really can't. This is a choice you have to make yourself. Just like when you told me that you couldn't tell me whether to go back to the ER or not. I just know that Tab is... she's part of me. She's my blood. I would do anything for her for that very reason alone. If she's your sister, she's probably your only sister and you might not ever get another chance to know what it's like to have one."
"I'll try and sleep on it. I don't want to make any rash decisions." Evie lifted her head up to look at him. "So how was your day? Any secret relatives spring themselves on you?"
Riley shook his head. "No, I probably could've coped with that. It was just intense. I found myself filtering my patients so I didn't take anyone who could possibly be a drug addict. I wouldn't go in the bay I got attacked in. It was basically a disaster, but the shift is over, so it's fine."
Evie stretched up to kiss him. "Can we go home, get drunk, and have takeout? Maybe sex if we have the energy?"
Riley smirked and returned the kiss. His cell phone started to ring in his pocket. "Was this your ultimate plan? The sister was all an elaborate plan to get me into bed, wasn't it?" he teased.
"You got me. I figured you might be exhausted from the ER, so I tried to cook up something that would at least win me sympathy sex," Evie laughed as she pulled away enough to give him room to get his phone if he wanted to.
"I'm not that hard to lay, am I?" Riley laughed. But when he took his phone out to check the caller ID, it was an unknown number. He flipped it open to answer. "Riley Browne." When the caller gave his name, a deep frown appeared on Riley's face and he assumed Wilson was looking for Evie. If only. Riley didn't have much of a chance to talk, and only answered briefly when Wilson asked him if he had a couple of minutes. Riley nodded with his answer, even though Wilson couldn't see him and his eyes remained on Evie. He could never have anticipated what would come next in the phone call and he paled, leaning heavily against the car as Wilson explained softly but succinctly. Riley was speechless and just listened numbly.
With a small mumble of thanks, the phone call ended and he stared at Evie with a tiny shake of his head. "Chase," he said hoarsely. "That was the other thing you couldn't tell me. Chase has cancer."
Evie bit her lip as she nodded, and hugged Riley tightly. Wilson must have called Riley because Chase's records still listed him as his doctor. In a way she was grateful that her boss had done it, because now she could talk to Riley freely about it. Well, within reason. "Yes," she whispered. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm so, so sorry."
"Oh my god," Riley whispered, and hugged her back tightly. "How can you... how is he...?" But he couldn't finish the thoughts. There was nothing else that could be said, so he just held her, standing there in the carpark together.
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Muse | Dr Riley Browne & Evie Miller
Fandom | House, M.D. (Original Characters)
Word Count | 2,511