Code Black fic: The Cast-Offs
Just a little Code Black fic I wrote for hineas_estel, expressing our snarky feelings about the show getting rid of its best characters. (Spoiler alert: Malaya Pineda, aka Melanie Chandra, is the latest to be unceremoniously dropped between seasons.)
Disclaimer: I didn't watch season 2, so I'm working from second-hand information. But this is set shortly after the events of that season.
No warnings, unless you think my snarky attitude at the way this show treats its actors might offend you. Characters used are Neal, Malaya, Christa, and Mike.
The Cast-Offs
"And then the bastard had the nerve to 'suggest' that I 'complete my residency elsewhere.' Can you believe that?!"
Malaya was seething with a rage that not even her vodka cocktail could take the edge off, and Neal didn't blame her. He'd been there.
"Even after you accepted that bogus suspension without complaint?" he said, more as a show of solidarity than as a helpful addition to the conversation.
"Yes!!"
Neal nodded and 'mmm'd sagely.
"You know, I thought he was getting nicer these last few months, almost starting to show signs of humanity? But he's still the same jackass he was when he made your life hell in surgery and hung you out to dry."
"Well, I landed on my feet," Neal said with a hint of a smirk in his voice. "And I'll put in a good word for you at Cedars-Sinai. Pretty sure they have openings. It would be like old times - you, me, and Christa working together again."
"Ugh, that would be amazing. Thanks, Neal." She took another large sip of her cocktail, glancing over at the door of the bar. "Speaking of Christa, what's taking her so long?"
Neal gave her a wry smile. "She had to pick up a stray."
Malaya's face crinkled up into an adorable puzzled frown, the kind that brought out Neal's big-brotherly instincts like nothing else could. "Like a... stray... dog?"
"More or less." Even before he finished speaking, Neal's attention was diverted to the door of the bar. "Ah, here they are now."
He stood up and smiled as Christa approached the table, leading a reluctant Mike Leighton along behind her by the sleeve of his jacket. He seemed to be trying to protest, but God knows Christa can't be talked out of whatever she sets her mind on.
"Okay, here he is!" Christa said triumphantly. "Now he's yours to deal with." She gave his arm one last yank and presented him to Neal with a patronizing pat on the shoulder. Then she made a sound that Neal could only describe as a girly squeal and embraced Malaya. "So good to see you!"
Neal shifted his focus to Mike while the women launched into girl-talk mode, and stared at him mildly. It had been a month since he'd seen his friend, but since they'd kept a constant stream of texts flowing back and forth in the meantime, neither of them felt the need for greetings and pleasantries. So it came as no surprise that Mike got right to the heart of the matter as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Like I've already said a thousand times, the answer is no."
Neal shot him some well-practiced side-eye and sat down. He nudged a chair with his foot and motioned with his hand for Mike to sit.
Mike rolled his eyes and flopped down into the seat. "Malaya," he said with a nod, as there was a momentary break in her and Christa's animated conversation.
"Hey, Mike, how's it going? Haven't seen you in months!"
"Going okay. These jokers trying to rope you into their crazy-ass scheme, too?"
Malaya glanced at Christa, confused but interested. "What crazy-ass scheme?"
"It is not a crazy-ass scheme," Christa said with a tolerant laugh. "And we were just about to pitch it to her," she added with a subtle wink at Neal.
Neal smiled lazily back at her, but inside his heart was just about bursting. Crazy-ass scheme my foot, he thought. This is going to work. It's actually going to work. One more year for Christa and Malaya to finish their residencies, and then he'd be working alongside his three favourite people. No more jackass bosses, no more former-teachers-turned-friends trying to dictate who he wants to be, no more being stuck in a sterile room all day with no energy or excitement to make the day interesting... just his very own trauma department in a brand new hospital fashioned after Angel's, with Dr Taylor as their boss and the sky as their limit. It was a dream come true.
"Well, come on, don't keep me in suspense!" Malaya laughed.
"They're finally building that new trauma center," Neal said almost casually. "Should open its doors in the middle of next year. And guess who gets to do the hiring?"
Malaya went from shocked to thrilled in less than a second, but Mike was still shaking his head. "There's no way," he said. "You know I can't. I'm not even practicing medicine anymore, and a brand-new trauma center? Do you know how much work that'll take?"
"Come on, Mike," Neal said, and rested his right elbow on the table with his hand held up and open. "Give us your hand. You win, you're off the hook and I'll respect whatever decision you make. I win, you go back to medicine and come work for me next year without another cynical word."
Mike scowled. "That makes no sense. If I win..."
"...your rehab is working, you can no longer deny that you're back to normal, and you can go back to work anyway," Christa said helpfully.
"You guys just won't quit, will you?"
Neal grinned. "Nope."
Mike hesitated a moment, then said slowly, "You know I have no place to live in LA right now, right? There's no way I'm asking my father for rent money."
"So you can crash on our couch again until you get back on your feet," Christa said with a shrug.
Neal swayed his arm back and forth, still holding it in wrestling position.
Mike shook his head in disbelief. "You seriously want to do the arm wrestle thing, even though you've obviously made up your minds to force me into this?"
"Just want the pleasure of seeing you lose," Neal said, knowing what the consequences of his words would be.
"Okay. That's it. Challenge accepted, but I still think you're crazy."
Mike grasped Neal's hand, and his grip was strong enough to make Neal wince. An excellent sign.
"Don't go easy on me," Mike warned.
Neal scoffed. "Never."
"Can I be the referee?" Malaya said eagerly. "I've always wanted to referee an arm-wrestling match."
Neal gave her a weird look. "Kind of an odd thing to have always wanted to do, but oka..."
"GO!" she shouted.
And they went.
Disclaimer: I didn't watch season 2, so I'm working from second-hand information. But this is set shortly after the events of that season.
No warnings, unless you think my snarky attitude at the way this show treats its actors might offend you. Characters used are Neal, Malaya, Christa, and Mike.
The Cast-Offs
"And then the bastard had the nerve to 'suggest' that I 'complete my residency elsewhere.' Can you believe that?!"
Malaya was seething with a rage that not even her vodka cocktail could take the edge off, and Neal didn't blame her. He'd been there.
"Even after you accepted that bogus suspension without complaint?" he said, more as a show of solidarity than as a helpful addition to the conversation.
"Yes!!"
Neal nodded and 'mmm'd sagely.
"You know, I thought he was getting nicer these last few months, almost starting to show signs of humanity? But he's still the same jackass he was when he made your life hell in surgery and hung you out to dry."
"Well, I landed on my feet," Neal said with a hint of a smirk in his voice. "And I'll put in a good word for you at Cedars-Sinai. Pretty sure they have openings. It would be like old times - you, me, and Christa working together again."
"Ugh, that would be amazing. Thanks, Neal." She took another large sip of her cocktail, glancing over at the door of the bar. "Speaking of Christa, what's taking her so long?"
Neal gave her a wry smile. "She had to pick up a stray."
Malaya's face crinkled up into an adorable puzzled frown, the kind that brought out Neal's big-brotherly instincts like nothing else could. "Like a... stray... dog?"
"More or less." Even before he finished speaking, Neal's attention was diverted to the door of the bar. "Ah, here they are now."
He stood up and smiled as Christa approached the table, leading a reluctant Mike Leighton along behind her by the sleeve of his jacket. He seemed to be trying to protest, but God knows Christa can't be talked out of whatever she sets her mind on.
"Okay, here he is!" Christa said triumphantly. "Now he's yours to deal with." She gave his arm one last yank and presented him to Neal with a patronizing pat on the shoulder. Then she made a sound that Neal could only describe as a girly squeal and embraced Malaya. "So good to see you!"
Neal shifted his focus to Mike while the women launched into girl-talk mode, and stared at him mildly. It had been a month since he'd seen his friend, but since they'd kept a constant stream of texts flowing back and forth in the meantime, neither of them felt the need for greetings and pleasantries. So it came as no surprise that Mike got right to the heart of the matter as soon as he opened his mouth.
"Like I've already said a thousand times, the answer is no."
Neal shot him some well-practiced side-eye and sat down. He nudged a chair with his foot and motioned with his hand for Mike to sit.
Mike rolled his eyes and flopped down into the seat. "Malaya," he said with a nod, as there was a momentary break in her and Christa's animated conversation.
"Hey, Mike, how's it going? Haven't seen you in months!"
"Going okay. These jokers trying to rope you into their crazy-ass scheme, too?"
Malaya glanced at Christa, confused but interested. "What crazy-ass scheme?"
"It is not a crazy-ass scheme," Christa said with a tolerant laugh. "And we were just about to pitch it to her," she added with a subtle wink at Neal.
Neal smiled lazily back at her, but inside his heart was just about bursting. Crazy-ass scheme my foot, he thought. This is going to work. It's actually going to work. One more year for Christa and Malaya to finish their residencies, and then he'd be working alongside his three favourite people. No more jackass bosses, no more former-teachers-turned-friends trying to dictate who he wants to be, no more being stuck in a sterile room all day with no energy or excitement to make the day interesting... just his very own trauma department in a brand new hospital fashioned after Angel's, with Dr Taylor as their boss and the sky as their limit. It was a dream come true.
"Well, come on, don't keep me in suspense!" Malaya laughed.
"They're finally building that new trauma center," Neal said almost casually. "Should open its doors in the middle of next year. And guess who gets to do the hiring?"
Malaya went from shocked to thrilled in less than a second, but Mike was still shaking his head. "There's no way," he said. "You know I can't. I'm not even practicing medicine anymore, and a brand-new trauma center? Do you know how much work that'll take?"
"Come on, Mike," Neal said, and rested his right elbow on the table with his hand held up and open. "Give us your hand. You win, you're off the hook and I'll respect whatever decision you make. I win, you go back to medicine and come work for me next year without another cynical word."
Mike scowled. "That makes no sense. If I win..."
"...your rehab is working, you can no longer deny that you're back to normal, and you can go back to work anyway," Christa said helpfully.
"You guys just won't quit, will you?"
Neal grinned. "Nope."
Mike hesitated a moment, then said slowly, "You know I have no place to live in LA right now, right? There's no way I'm asking my father for rent money."
"So you can crash on our couch again until you get back on your feet," Christa said with a shrug.
Neal swayed his arm back and forth, still holding it in wrestling position.
Mike shook his head in disbelief. "You seriously want to do the arm wrestle thing, even though you've obviously made up your minds to force me into this?"
"Just want the pleasure of seeing you lose," Neal said, knowing what the consequences of his words would be.
"Okay. That's it. Challenge accepted, but I still think you're crazy."
Mike grasped Neal's hand, and his grip was strong enough to make Neal wince. An excellent sign.
"Don't go easy on me," Mike warned.
Neal scoffed. "Never."
"Can I be the referee?" Malaya said eagerly. "I've always wanted to referee an arm-wrestling match."
Neal gave her a weird look. "Kind of an odd thing to have always wanted to do, but oka..."
"GO!" she shouted.
And they went.