RP Log with musicalmedic | Spanner in the Works

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Mel had to laugh at her brother sometimes. Matt had rung her all in a panic when he'd realised he'd left his cell at home, begging her to bring it to the hospital. She couldn't work out why he had to have it with only five hours of his shift to go. Especially when she figured he was already at work - they were hardly going to call him, were they? And most people would have called the hospital if he hadn't answered, and it was urgent.


Made her wonder if he was enjoying text sex with his lady boss, but she just made a mental note to ask when she handed over the phone. She wasn't so desperate to find out by looking through his phone. That was until it beeped with a message, and she might have opened it. Accidentally of course. The contents had her blushing from head to toe, and her question was well and truly answered.

Mel still had a hint of a blush as she stepped through the doors to the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Her hair was a ruffled mess, but at least she was warm in her scarf, and jacket. Her hands were tucked into the pockets and she reluctantly pulled on free to try and smooth her hair back into some kind of order. At least the inside of the hospital was warm. Now all she had to do was remember how to get to Matt's floor. She headed to the elevator and had only just reached to push the button when the doors swung open and she found herself about to be hit by a wall of chest.

A chest that seemed to be more familiar than it should of been. She stared at it for a moment before she blinked, and managed to lift her gaze to the owner's face. "Nathan..." she said in a rush of breath, and stepped back to give him some room. "I was just... phone... You're here."

Nathan had been on his way back from the ER after sitting in on a patient assessment. A four year old boy with seizures and high temperature. It turned out the kid wasn't even going to pass go in Pediatrics. The Department of Diagnostic Medicine had snapped the case up when the kid started to hallucinate. It was intense, but it was the sort of thing Nathan could only get used to by experience and learning. He just made sure to keep his mouth well shut around the guy with the cane, as a short doctor with a big nose warned him would be the safest option. Nathan was more than happy not to rock any boats the first few weeks in his placement. The medical record was slotted under his arm after Diagnostics got their own duplicates, and Nathan was quite well aware of the fact he was adorned in Simpsons scrubs with his lab coat over the top which was leaps and bounds from his usual DJ get-up Mel had met him in.

In fact, he floundered momentarily and only managed to just catch his stethoscope when it slipped from around his neck. "Mel," he said, flashing her a smile now he had a grip on the expensive medical accessory. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Hm?" Mel had tilted her head, her gaze dropping back to his chest briefly as she stared at an image of Apu on his scrubs. She ruffled her hair, and gave him a nervous smile in return. "You remember," she said softly, a hint of surprise in her tone. Well, remembering her was a huge plus. She had several scenarios of the phone call running through her head which were all defunct now, but one of them had involved him instantly forgetting who she was. "Really is a small world. I, um... I was coming to see my brother."

Nathan looked surprised himself and then laughed. "Why wouldn't I? It's not like I have Alzheimer's. Got a pretty good memory for the right things," he told her in amusement and then glanced down at the phone in her hand. He gestured to it and then hooked the stethoscope back around his neck. "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked.

Mel shook her head as she looked up at him. He was even more gorgeous than she remembered. Especially when he smiled. "I don't know, I wasn't really... I mean, I got a pretty good memory, too. Really, really good." Mel held up her hand with the phone. "My brother's. He forgot it. I'm sure he can wait a little bit longer. I'm glad I bumped into you. I was actually... I forgot to get your number. Maybe not forgot, but just didn't get a chance. I was trying to find it out because I wanted to ask you--ask you something."

"So, the good memory doesn't run in the family?" Nathan joked, trying not to laugh at her but he could see she was clearly nervous, maybe feeling a little awkward. He leaned in with a smile, pretending like what he was about to say was a hushed secret and spoke softly against her ear. "You can relax, you know. I only stick my thermometer up the butts of babies." He rose again, watching her as he fished his prescription pad from out of the breast pocket of his lab coat and quickly wrote his cell phone number down on it, then held it out to her. "What did you want to ask me? No more Bowie. He should be taken in small doses only, saves side effects."

"No, not exactly..." Mel could smell him as he leaned in close, and was dangerously close to just shoving him back into the elevator and having her way with him. Why did he have to smell so damn good? She closed her eyes briefly, and tried to pull herself together. He still hadn't run away, and he was even making jokes. And now he was writing his number down! She didn't need to be nervous when he seemed to actually like her too, right? She just hoped she wasn't the only one falling apart just from smelling him. She hoped there was just the tiniest chance her smell was doing something to him. She took the prescription with his number on it, and smiled like a complete dork. She couldn't help it. The truly pathetic part of her wanted to actually frame the bit of paper as proof. "What? How can you say that?!" Her senses were returned to her for long enough for her to be offended as she scoffed at him. "You did not just say that about Bowie! He's written some of the greatest songs of the last few decades. Well, maybe not the last decade. That's still kind of up for debate. And no, he's not what I wanted to ask you about. I wanted to ask you on a date." The words actually made it out of her mouth before she could stop them, and then she stared at him, the shyness threatening to kick in again as she felt an urge to hide behind one of the decorative plants rather than stand there and wait for a reaction.

Nathan stuck his nose up in the air a little. "Too much time around awesome live bands, old eighties icons lose their flare a little," he joked again. It was in his nature to mostly hold his cards close to his chest in situations like that. He had been burned in relationships in the past, and his history kept him a little wary. Plus, since he started med school and DJ'ing, he found that girls like to hit on him just for status, even if it wasn't really status. There was the chicks who pub crawled, liked music, and tended to make fools of themselves when drunk. He always got in the firing line of those during his hours as a DJ. Then there were the group who wanted to bed a doctor, hopefully marry one after a few dates. They were a lot more scary than the drunk chicks. Mel didn't seem to fall into either group, and he wasn't actually one to ever turn down the offer of a potential connection. He would like a relationship as much as the next person. He just really hoped she would understand what she might be getting herself in for with his work schedule. "Isn't that supposed to be my job? Not that feminism isn't a wondrous thing. Yay bra-burning," he added with a laugh and a thumbs up.

Mel laughed, Nathan making her relax the same as he had when she met him. It was rare to find herself at ease around a guy. Cameron had been the last one, but probably because they really were destined to be friends. "I, um... Well, I didn't want to miss a chance. I just... I liked you. Like you. And I wanted to maybe get to know you better. I'm not really used to guys asking me out though, so I guess I figured I should do the asking in case you were never going to." She raised her hand to push her fingers through her hair as she gave him a sheepish smile. "I'm not trying to take your job, just making sure I don't miss out. I'm having a moment of courage. Even if I still kinda want to be hiding behind a plant," she admitted.

Nathan bit on his lip around the smile and gave her a small shrug. "To be entirely honest, when you didn't seek me out again at the party, I figured you weren't interested, or wasn't exactly into the kiss," he admitted. "Plus, I was pretty much comatose for two days after New Year. I'd been working some nights that week, and I wasn't used to it. You're making it hard for me to believe guys don't ask you out much."

Mel's eyebrows went up. "What? No! Just you got dragged away, and I thought that was it. I kept an eye out for you, but I was with my brother and sister after. Did I seem not into the kiss? Because I was! Definitely. In fact I kind of want to kiss you right now, but that's not really appropriate, is it?" she asked with a crooked smile. "I don't blame you for being comatose. Must be hard having your body clock fucked with like that." Mel frowned a little. "I'm... what? Seriously?"

"I was working. Getting pulled away is inevitable, but that doesn't mean I wasn't going to come back," Nathan told her with a laugh. He glanced around. "Yeah, it is kinda. Unfortunately. I'm not sure the parents of my patients would appreciate me necking the visitors in the corridors. A lot of parents we get tend to be paranoid about germs if their kid is sick. Not that I think you're germy, but you know how parents can be." He looked at her in slight disbelief. "Yeah, seriously. What, are you into bondage or something? Do you have a third nipple? I'm confused."

"Oh." Mel ducked her head as she started to blush again, and scratched at her forehead. "Now I just feel silly. I'm sorry I didn't see you again that night, but I guess I'm also kind of glad I get to see you again now. I still have your number, and I still did get to ask you out." She gave a nod as she laughed. "Hey, it's okay. I get it. I wouldn't want the parents thinking I'd infected you." She ran her tongue over her lips. "I just... No, no bondage! Jeez! Not that I haven't thought about the benefits of having a guy strapped to my bed for hours of pleasure... but not anything weird. And no third nipple. Just really bad nerves. Chronic nerves when it comes to talking to guys."

Nathan shook his head. "No need to feel silly. Sounds like wires crossed on both our parts. I could blame Bowie, but I'll blame the long week instead." He looked at her curiously, as if he was trying to figure her out a little more, but finding it difficult. He smiled and then laughed softly. "Why? Have you had bad experiences?"

"You still didn't say yes," she reminded him quietly. "And good plan with blaming the long week. I'm not sure I could take you blaming Bowie." Mel shifted under his gaze but didn't look away. She let out a breath when he smiled, hoping he'd found whatever he'd been looking for. "Yeah, several. I just seem to get dumped almost as soon as they ask me out. I guess I'm just not whatever they're looking for."

Nathan cleared his throat. "It's going to have to be on the weekend, if that's okay? I'm a write-off most nights, and even then, it would have to be an early night. I start at six am. I can only agree if you let me choose the place and make the arrangements so the traditional guy inside me doesn't cry," he teased. "You don't put out on the first date? Or you don't cater to their egos? Seriously, it's been a long time since I had a date with someone who didn't want me to just put out, so this could work for both of us. Not to lower the tone by referring to putting out, but it's rare that doesn't come into the equation somewhere, right?"

Mel shrugged. "I'm okay with you making all the arrangements. I'm not that much of a bra-burner. Even if it doesn't look like I need them so much. I'm also okay with early nights. I've never been a hardcore partier. I like going to The London since that opened up, but that's about it. And that's not even every night." Mel held up a finger before she dug around in her pockets and pulled out a tissue. "For the traditional guy inside you just in case I do make him cry. No, I don't put out. Also don't tend to cater to their egos. I mean, a great guy is great, and I did have this sort of friends with benefits thing going with a guy, but that's different. You didn't lower the tone, I mean, it's okay to wait. It's even nice to wait. There's just nothing wrong with still being attracted to the person, and not wanting to jump them first up. I'm sorry if you've feel forced to put out. I promise I won't do that. I wasn't even expecting a date let alone sex."

"It's not so much I feel forced. I'm capable of consenting as much as the next guy. I mean, who doesn't like sex. They're just not really in it for me, which yeah, I'm not in it for them either by that point. Now I'm just making myself sound like a male slut. I don't actually have a string of one night stands notched on my bed post, I promise. More just a generalisation. It's one thing wanting to date a doctor or a DJ, but it's a whole other story when you get down to the logistics of it all. Late finishes, early starts, busy on weekend nights. Most chicks lose interest pretty quick," Nathan laughed, shaking his head. "Why was it just a friends with benefits thing? If you don't mind me asking. You don't have to feel obligated to answer that at all. I'm just thinking the guy must be crazy."

"Well, I won't deny it's kind of cool knowing you're a doctor and a DJ, but I'd like to think maybe I'd be able to stand it. If we get through a date and realise we still like each other. Plus when you take me, you pretty much take my sister, and my brother. I'm not without things to be wary of, either." Mel looked down at her brother's phone. "Well, he's not crazy. Just about to be a dad, and has some baggage. It was just a way for me to help him out, and he was helping me out, too. It had been a while. Sometimes the itch just needs scratching. Which now makes me sound like a slut, but I'm really not. He's just got other priorities, that's all."

"I don't-" Nathan paused, hesitating and shifting the file to under his other arm. "I don't have any siblings, so you're safe on that front. I get the twin thing, though. More than you probably realise." He looked at her a little warily, as if something just dropped in his mind. "About to be a father? The guy's not married, is he?" He thought he better check. He knew there was a couple of expectant fathers in Luke's posse, and that could be a little awkward. "Not that there is anything wrong with that, but... you know. Everyone has different tastes."

Mel's eyes went wide. "Married? What? No! God, no. How could you even-no! Just... no." Her cheeks had flushed scarlet again, and she bit down on her lip as she breathed in deep through her nose. "I'm not like that... I would never..." She started to shake her head emphatically. Then she stopped, and looked up at him. "What do you mean you get the twin thing?"

Nathan held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I just... my boss is about to be an uncle, and I wasn't sure if that was the expectant father you were talking about!" he said hastily. "I just had to check, you know? Luke's been my boss for ages, that might have been a little awkward on account of the fact he's married to the expectant father's twin. In saying that, there is also Cameron and I maybe jumped the gun just a little bit, so my apologies. I was just trying to figure out who stood where." He blew out a breath and moved the file to hug it. "Can I take a raincheck on that question and tell you when I see you next? I promise I won't forget. It's just... a long story."

Mel sucked in a breath. "It's... It's Cameron. Was Cameron. We're just friends. His ex really burned him, and he had fucked his knee, and my brother was being stupid and introduced me. I'm sure I told you at the party. He's the one I didn't want to go all rabid fangirl on, you know? I just... ah, went all FWB on him instead. It's not Riley! I haven't even met him, but he's friends with Cameron and his brother and stuff. He can't really have anything more with me, and I'm okay with that. I always knew he wasn't my guy." She reached out to touch his hand briefly. "I can wait. I'm patient, believe it, or not."

"Thanks," Nathan said with a small smile and then patted the file. "I should actually get back to it. We've got some pretty intense patient cases right now. You've got my number, do you want to give me a call tonight and we can arrange something for the weekend? I get off here at six after a staff meeting, so I'll be home a little after that."

Mel nodded as she held up the treasured scrap of paper and smiled. "Yeah, I can do that. I should get my brother's phone to him. He's probably having serious withdrawal by now. Good luck with your cases. Try not to get too bored at the staff meeting. I'll, um... talk to you tonight."

Nathan smiled at her and nodded. "Talk to you then," he promised and then leaned in to give her a brief kiss. He stepped back and held up the file before he turned to head around the corner to his ward.