The trouble with trying to find someone in a hospital the size of PPTH when you were from out of town was that inevitably you got lost. Kara had gotten lost for the better part of twenty minutes before she gave up, worried she'd miss Harri and have a pissed off boss on the trip home.
Harri wasn't out of her checkup yet, so Kara had taken a seat to wait, a coffee in hand. She'd had to do a double take as she saw the tall doctor in the bright scrubs. Alex looked different to the first time she'd met him.
Definitely wasn't a bad different though, except he looked exhausted. Kara got out of her seat and walked over to him, coffee held out. "Hope you like it with sugar," she said. "You look like you need this more than I do."
Alex had to blink three times before he realised who was standing in front of him. But it wasn't just her. His own mother could be standing in front of him telling him to pull his pants up and he wouldn't have realised at first. His eyes averted to the coffee as the penny dropped and he laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Do I really look that bad?" he asked her.
Kara couldn't help but laugh. She thought the blinking thing was adorable, and she really didn't take offence to the delayed reaction. She offered him the coffee again, smiling. "If it's any consolation I'd still jump you, even looking like this."
Alex accepted the coffee and waved his hand. "You'll have to do all the work," he said with a smirk. "I'm about as useful as socks with toes right now. It's been a hard night. I'm wondering right now if I'm dreaming you, to be honest. Are you a coffee angel or something? I was literally just wishing for caffeine."
"It's the kind of work I don't always mind doing," Kara returned with a wink. She watched him, eyes still sparkling. Maybe there was something in the Fate thing after all. She leaned forward and reached around behind Alex to pinch the gorgeous ass she'd been dreaming about. "Does that feel real enough? And sorry, I'm no coffee angel. Just happened to have one to try and pass the time, but you really do seem like you need it more than me."
Alex's eyebrows shot up and he looked at her in surprise. "You're not backward in coming forward, are you?" he laughed. Luckily the lid had still be on the coffee at that point or he would've sent it splashing down the front of his scrubs. His reflexes probably weren't in tip-top form right now. He snapped the lid off to survey the drink - a finicky habit he harboured for years - and then took a sip. "This is probably going to sound much ruder than I mean it to, but what are you doing in Princeton? It's not exactly in the neighbourhood of New York City."
Kara grinned as she shook her head. "No, not really. What's the point? You spend all that time dancing around each other when you could just be enjoying each other's company." She shrugged off the question, not really phased by it. "Dragged Harri here on her BFF's orders to come see one of the doctors. She's got this real hatred of doctors, so she was hardly going to do it herself. Aiden lives here with his boyfriend."
"Aiden's the BFF? Does he work here?" Alex asked, always on the alert for new information. He and Marc hadn't really had a chance to sit down and discuss the possible six degrees of separation from Lachlan Campbell and his family, but a couple of days working here, he could already see just how many people were linked to each other. "She's still sick, yeah?"
"Aiden's the BFF," Kara confirmed with a nod. "No, no. Pat works here. Pat's the fiancé. I keep saying boyfriend, but they're engaged. White picket fence and everything." Her tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth as she nodded again. "As a very expensive dog."
"This Pat doesn't happen to be a patient here right now, does he?" Alex asked. If it was the same Pat, it was the guy Lachlan had called on in the early hours of the morning. He had come immediately up from the Medical Ward, walking with a walking stick, and sat with Lachlan and Tara for hours. Actually, Alex was pretty sure Tara mentioned the guy was the baby's godfather. Holy shit. It wasn't even six degrees... more like two very small degrees of separation. If just one of them discovered who he really was, his cover would be well and truly fucked. He had to be careful. "Do you think it's serious?"
Kara nodded again, looking at Alex curiously. He really was good at filling in blanks. "Yeah, he is. He's got MS, and is recovering from a pretty bad attack." She tried not to think on how much sexier Alex's strong powers of deduction made him. She also resisted the urge to ask him what number she was thinking of. "I have no idea. She had the flu a little while ago, and she was pretty sick with that. I honestly thought she wouldn't get sick again, but now she is. Hopefully it isn't too serious. Better to have it checked though."
Alex nodded and smiled. "He was on our ward last night, visiting one of our new patients. He's a really nice lad. Very colourful. I didn't meet his fiance, though. It was late, like three in the morning, which would explain that. The pink diamonds on the walking stick was priceless. If I was gay, I'd want to be gay like that," he laughed. "It's a good call getting her to a doctor. Believe it or not, puking is rarely a simple symptom. It usually leads to something."
"Ah, I see. And yeah, Pat's got a distinctive style about him, that's for sure. It think it's one of the reasons Harri adores him. Besides the fact he makes Aiden happy. Happiest that boy's been in a long time." Kara shifted to lean back against the reception desk, her attention still on Alex. "So far it's led to a pair of her shoes getting ruined, and the interior of my car being a bit on the nose."
"Yes, he actually talked me into the fact that I needed to get shoes to match my scrubs ASAP, and even told me what rack in a certain shop I should go to to get them. I couldn't believe he was a nurse, to be honest. He could be a gem with your magazine," Alex laughed, shaking his head. "So, this Aiden and Marc's girlfriend are pretty tight? I can't say I've ever had the luxury of having a BFF. I used to be real close to my older brother, but I was a bit of a loner after that. Lots of friends, just no one distinctly close."
He winced. "The doctor in me wants to get my hands on her blood samples ASAP."
Kara laughed, imagining exactly what Pat would sound like telling Alex that. "I'm still trying to imagine what shoes go with Toy Story scrubs. And also trying not to smirk at the Woody on your woody. I'm sure if Harri ever thought he'd be interested, she'd snap him up." She gave a nod. "Oh, yeah. He and Harri are practically twins, it's kind of scary how tight they are. I haven't had a BFF either, so you're not alone there. I'm close to my brothers. What about your sister? You said something about a younger sister, right?"
Kara smiled. "Well, she's in good hands according to Aiden. Some guy called Riley?"
Alex pointed. "That was lame, but I giggle-snorted on the inside," he laughed. "And now I will never watch Toy Story the same ever again, nor is that tagline 'Save a horse, ride a cowboy' running through my mind right now." He took another sip of the coffee. "Yeah, I'm actually a middle child. My kid sister is about eight years younger than me. We're close. I just wouldn't really go to her to talk about penis or sex issues, if you get my drift. I could talk to my brother about anything."
His eyebrows rose again. "Riley?" He scratched his head. This was a lot to take in on his sleep-deprived mind. "Does Riley know Pat?"
Harri wasn't out of her checkup yet, so Kara had taken a seat to wait, a coffee in hand. She'd had to do a double take as she saw the tall doctor in the bright scrubs. Alex looked different to the first time she'd met him.
Definitely wasn't a bad different though, except he looked exhausted. Kara got out of her seat and walked over to him, coffee held out. "Hope you like it with sugar," she said. "You look like you need this more than I do."
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He winced. "The doctor in me wants to get my hands on her blood samples ASAP."
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Kara smiled. "Well, she's in good hands according to Aiden. Some guy called Riley?"
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His eyebrows rose again. "Riley?" He scratched his head. This was a lot to take in on his sleep-deprived mind. "Does Riley know Pat?"
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