37.8. Reveal

Co-written with isabelowens & cameronpreston
[Follows THIS, THIS and THIS, but before THIS]Isabel tried not to look too worried as she lay back on the exam bed in nothing but one of the flimsy hospital gowns. She'd never had a problem with her body, but she was about to get unequivocal proof that she was pregnant, and that scared her. It scared her more than ( Read more... )

30.1. Knock

Co-written with asinthecity
[Follows THIS]Riley realised he was probably supposed to be trying to sleep right now. Jetlag should be setting in. It might be eleven am in Princeton, but it was four am in Edinburgh, and he was running on adrenaline... or something. He had been lying in bed all of ten seconds following the pregnancy test and random ( Read more... )

26.8. Beginning

Co-written with imnodoctorRiley stuck his tongue out in annoyance as he read the reading on the thermometer. Another fucking fever. He felt mostly okay, just hot and achy. The joys of being HIV Positive with no spleen... he had little chance of fighting off minor random bugs or viruses. He had to keep a close eye on his health at all times. ( Read more... )

20.4. Doctor

Co-written with straight2point

[Follows THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS, and THIS]

Harriet Ryan, editor and owner of the successful New York fashion magazine, Razor, was officially ready to run out of the exam room and not come back. Anymore fucking waiting, and she was done. She didn't care what promise she'd made to Marc, or that Kara had taken the time ( Read more... )

20.1. Admission

[Co-written with drcampbell]

[Follows THIS but occured the day before THIS]Riley had been quiet all day. He was generally a quiet sort of person, but this was different. Lachlan stole a glance up at his friend from where he was kneeling on the floor tickling his baby son’s bare tummy, revelling in the soft cooing and smiles he was getting ( Read more... )

20.6. Family

[Follows THIS]

Riley had his godson at his home no more than an hour and the place already looked like Babies’R’Us had exploded in there. Actually, the diaper bag did sort of explode when he opened it. Tara had packed so much into the confined space that he wondered how she managed it. Then he realised it wasn’t as coordinated as it ( Read more... )

18.7. Intoxicated

Co-written with asinthecity

[Follows THIS and THIS]Riley's watch for his pills had gone off no less than fifteen minutes earlier... and he was still trying to coordinate the bottles along the coffee table in front of him. He had a half-empty beer bottle braced between his knees and another fresh one in his left hand as he tried to open the ( Read more... )

17.10. Bed

[Past scene, set when Riley is eight years old]Riley hadn’t been feeling well at school. It got to the point that the teacher sent him to the school nurse and the nurse inadvertently sent him home. Riley had asked no less than eleven times if Tab could come with him, but they weren’t having a bar of it. He even pointlessly tried to ask ( Read more... )

17.3. Rescue

[About two weeks after THIS]Riley paused in his writing of a particularly long case note and put his pen down on the file to rub his eyes. It was just after one am of his nine pm to seven am nightshift. He had never minded nights but sometimes when it was quiet, a weariness set in if he wasted away the hours catching up on paperwork. ( Read more... )

13.7. Emotion

Co-written with asinthecity | New Years

[Follows THIS and THIS]It was about twenty minutes post-midnight before Riley managed to pry himself away. He wanted to call Lachlan to make sure he and Tara were okay and get the biggest drink of water he could get his hands on. Bouncing up and down was exerting and it wasn't even the best sort of ( Read more... )