erinm_4600
in
12to32
Fic: Statistics are Deceiving
Title: Statistics are Deceiving
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Stephen, Natalie, Frank and two OCs, with appearances by Eva and Miles (mention of Kate, Lisa and Natalie's ex whoever he is)
Rating: PG
Summary: Following a case in Mexico, Natalie unwinds with a bottle of tequila and Stephen gets an earful.
Warning: post-series *Written for Round 14 of prompt_in_a_box. Prompt #06: "He and I had something beautiful, but so dysfunctional, it couldn't last." (Near To You - A Fine Frenzy) for laeliamouse and queenof1000days, who have been impatiently waiting...
Disclaimer: The original characters of Medical Investigation belong to NBC and their respective actors. The OCs are mine. The title is from Marriage is the Leading Cause of Divorce by Michael Peterson.
Statistics are Deceiving | You Can Analyze the Reasons
Stephen Connor entered the cantina, exhausted from a long, but ultimately successful, three days in Mexico. The team had been much happier to be on the western side of the country, following their return visit south of the border. Miles McCabe had mentioned, upon arrival in the small fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, that he'd leave the life-threatening jungle adventures to Indiana Jones.
They were heading back to Bethesda in the morning, but now that everything had been packed up and all the affected patients had been cured - minus the few losses - everyone was winding down in their own way. Stephen was in search of a beer, Miles had already turned in for the evening and Eva Rossi was, most likely, either asleep or doing paperwork.
Stephen assumed Frank was probably also in bed... or he was inside the cantina. The last person he expected to see inside was Natalie Durant. She was sitting at a table in the back corner, accompanied by Raoul Montoya, the local doctor. Between them, on the table, sat an empty bottle of tequila. As Stephen neared, he noticed that Natalie's eyes had a definite sheen.
"Doctor Durant, Doctor Montoya," he said simply. Montoya glanced up to Stephen, noticed his expression and turned back to Natalie.
"We have been found," he said with a wink. Natalie laughed and made a comment in rather-stilted Spanish, which made Montoya laugh. "Your Spanish is terrible, Doctor." Natalie shrugged and reached for the bottle.
Pushing herself up from the chair, she stumbled as she announced: "We need more."
Stephen caught her, effortlessly, and remarked: "I think you've had enough." Natalie scoffed and tried to pull free from his grasp, but Stephen wasn’t letting go.
"There you are!" they heard, and everyone turned to see Tali Montoya, Raoul's wife, moving along the bar.
"My beautiful rose," Raoul exclaimed and held his arms up.
"What do you think you are doing?" she demanded, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Montoya pointed between Natalie and himself.
"We were mourning the loss of three men, two women and six children, my dear," he stated, matter-of-factly. Stephen looked down to Natalie, who had stopped trying to get out of his hold. She hated losing patients, as did any doctor, and she wasn't dealing with this loss well, as evidenced by the empty bottle of tequila.
She'd missed the simple answer because she was so used to expecting the difficult one. Of course, Stephen had completely missed it, as well, but that didn't make her feel any better. Tali pushing past him made Stephen turn and he stepped toward Natalie as Raoul fumbled out of his chair.
"Foolish old man," Tali mumbled, hooking an arm around her husband's waist and pulling his arm around her neck. "You're just lucky I love you," Stephen heard her mumble.
"You can manage?” Stephen asked, not wanted to insinuate he had doubts as to the woman's abilities. At half their size, Tali Montoya had more strength than most men he knew and, truth be told, she intimidated even him.
"This dead weight?" she asked with a nod to Montoya. "You?" Stephen simply nodded, keeping a tight hold on Natalie as she tried to pull free again. "Good evening, Doctor Connor," Tali said with a nod. "And to you, Doctor Durant." Natalie forced a smile and glared at Stephen.
"Doctors," Raoul exclaimed, "I insist you do not leave tomorrow without saying goodbye."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Natalie shook her head. Stephen actually laughed and nodded to both Montoyas as Tali pulled on her husband. Natalie managed to pull loose from Connor's hold and fumbled her way to the end of the bar. Setting the empty bottle down, she raised a finger to the bartender and Stephen quickly pushed her hand down.
"You need to call it a night, Natalie," he warned in a low voice. Natalie made a face and pulled away from him again.
"You aren't my mother, Stephen," she said with a huff and pushed off the bar. She was moving fairly well for someone who'd had a whole bottle of tequila, he noted. Shaking his head, Stephen gave a look to the bartender, who shook his head and went back to conversing with the two men closer to him.
Natalie was already out the door when Stephen caught up to her. "Natalie!" He reached for her, but Natalie shrugged out of his hold and kept walking. Stephen sped up and got in front of her, grabbing her at the elbows as he exclaimed: "Will you stop?"
Natalie winced and leaned back, but Stephen didn't let go of her. Opening his mouth, Stephen realized he didn't really have much to say. After all, he'd tried to drown in a bottle of champagne once. "So," he mused as Natalie pulled away again, "tequila?"
"What about it?" she frowned and stepped around him. The weather was warm, she noticed, but not too hot. Sniffing, Natalie turned back to the cantina and stopped, tilting her head to one side. Stephen watched for a second as she finally nodded and stepped to her right.
"Where are you going?" he asked, following after her. She may be lucid, but he wasn't about to trust her. Natalie didn't respond as she cut down the alley. Stephen actually had to quicken his step to keep up with her. She cleared the end of the alley and disappeared from Stephen's view as he looked down to watch where he stepped. Looking back up and not seeing Natalie made him panic slightly, but as he cleared the corner, Stephen spotted her at the rock wall, staring at the water.
He stepped over to her and watched her for a moment before quietly saying: "Natalie..." She blinked slowly and turned to look at him. He'd never seen her like this; sure, they'd dealt with the loss of patients before, but they usually just shared a beer in his office and moved on. Here, in Mexico, there was no office, and she didn't drink with him.
There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was heading for a crash. And he wouldn't let Natalie Durant crash. "Come on," Stephen said, reaching for her arm.
"What?" she grimaced, pulling back.
"Knock it off," Stephen snapped and caught her arm. "When we get back to Maryland," he said, turning her back toward the alley, "you're taking a vacation."
"I'm not taking a vacation, Stephen," she said with a laugh.
"It wasn't a suggestion," he said stoically.
"Because I had a drink?" she asked, the look on her face suggesting she'd just been slapped.
"You didn't have a drink, Natalie. You finished off an entire bottle." Okay, so this really was the pot and the kettle, but he was concerned about her.
"It's not like I'm going into surgery, Stephen," she spat and pulled free, moving herself down the alley.
Once they were back on the street, Stephen's arm caught hers again, but he didn't turn her around. "I've never seen you drunk."
"Hmmm," she laughed, "you should have been around when I got divorced." Natalie held a wink and pointed to Stephen. He nodded ahead of them and Natalie smiled as she stared at the road. As the alcohol kicked in, Natalie blinked. "Hooo..." she breathed and her hand locked around Stephen's wrist. Stephen turned his hand and wrapped his free arm around her waist.
"I've got you," he said quietly.
They moved down the next block before Natalie lifted her head in his direction. "Do you know what the leading cause of divorce is?" Stephen smiled slightly and shrugged.
"Adultery?" Natalie shook her head. "Money?" he guessed. Natalie shook her head again.
"Marriage," she said, holding up a finger. Stephen actually laughed.
"What happened?" He didn’t know much about Natalie's marriage, as it had ended before they'd met, and she never talked about it. He had no reason to ask, either.
"Eh," she groaned, "your marriage fell apart because you are a workaholic," she stated, as if he didn't already know that.
"Yes, it did," he nodded.
"I became a workaholic because my marriage fell apart. I was stupid," she huffed. "Stop," she said quickly, reaching for his arm. Stephen stepped around her and caught both her arms then leaned down to look her in the eyes.
"Hey, just breathe," he told her. He hadn't experienced tequila in years, but he did remember that the stuff had one hell of a kick. Natalie leaned forward and rested her forehead on his chest, then let out a deep breath.
"He was great," she mumbled and pulled back, "and then he finished school." Natalie shrugged and turned back to the street. "Told me he wanted me to quit. One semester left. He was gonna be the big doctor and... and he wanted a wife who would go to all the functions and stay home all day and be Donna Reed and just..." She let out another breath and shook her head.
"I am not arm candy," she stated a moment later and pulled away from Stephen. "He just couldn't handle I'm a better doctor than him," she nodded again. Looking away from him, Natalie's face screwed up into a frown and she finally turned back to him. "He has three kids now," she whispered and turned away again as the tears began to fall.
"Natalie," Stephen said, grabbing her arms and giving her a shake, "he's a fool. Anyone who would let you go is an idiot." She looked up and caught his eye and Stephen gave her a smile. "Stupid as it sounds, maybe you need the bad one to find the good one."
Natalie rolled her eyes and backed away. "Oh, I did," she said with a nod. Stephen managed not to react to the comment. It wasn't his business if she was dating someone, after all. He raised a hand and waved to her, forcing a smile.
"There you go. If you were still with him, you wouldn't have Mister Right."
"I never got him," she grumbled and looked at the building just ahead of them, which was currently acting as their residence.
“Why not?” Stephen asked.
"Because you were already married," she replied before she realized she'd said it out loud. A second later, her hand clapped over her mouth and her eyes went wide as she spun around. 'Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap.'
Natalie dropped her hands to her sides and her chin hit her chest. Maybe he would take her drunken ramble as just that. Maybe she had already passed out and was dreaming the whole thing. A lurch in her stomach reminded Natalie that she was, in fact, wide awake - not to mention oddly sober - and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in a corner and die.
"I need to lie down," she said simply. "Good night, Stephen," she added, then walked across the street and pushed into the small house. Stephen followed after her without saying anything, but did give her a good minute's head start. By the time he got to the doorway of her temporary room, Natalie was already on the bed, facing away from him. He wasn't sure if she was still awake or not, but she wasn't wandering the streets.
Stepping back outside, Stephen took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. That was not what he'd expected. Snorting lightly, Stephen decided that he needed a drink and headed back down the street for the cantina.
"Hey," Stephen heard about ten minutes later and looked up to see Frank moving along the bar.
"Hi," he replied as Frank pulled up a chair next to him and nodded to the bartender.
"Heard I missed an empty bottle of tequila," Frank said with a hit of a laugh. Looking up to the raised eyebrow of Stephen, Frank added: "I ran into the Montoyas." Stephen nodded and took another swig of his beer. "Wish I'd known she was in here," Frank said, nodding to the bartender as the man set a bottle down.
"Oh, I think we should get her drunk more often," Stephen said sarcastically. "She's fun." Frank rolled his eyes and took a swig of his drink.
"She's-" Frank started, turning around to look at the room.
"Sleeping, last time I saw her," Stephen answered. Frank watched Stephen for a moment then leaned back in his seat.
"She talked." Stephen raised an eyebrow and turned to Frank. Frank laughed to himself and reached for his drink again.
"You knew?" Stephen asked, already assuming the answer.
Frank nodded. "Yeah, Kim and I got our turn with her," he said with a smile. "While you were gone, we had a rough case. Local. She didn't take it well." Stephen stared at his beer again and Frank shook his head. "Don't worry, Stephen. Tomorrow, you won't even know she was within a mile of this place." Frank took another swig of his beer and clapped a hand on his best friend's shoulder.
"Sometimes, you just need to let one go." Frank took a deep breath and gave the cantina a look. "I'm callin' it a night. I'll see you in the morning." Stephen swallowed and nodded, watching Frank stand and move away from the bar. "Don't stay here too long, man."
"Yeah." After Frank left, he stared at the bar for a minute then nodded to the bartender. "Tequila," he requested.
____________________
Confession: I didn't like the end. I thought it was weak. So I cut it. This is what happens when you plot something and then don't touch it for MONTHS. I still have the end, and if you are so inclined, I will share it. Just be warned it's crap. Not that this was much better, honestly *facepalm*
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Stephen, Natalie, Frank and two OCs, with appearances by Eva and Miles (mention of Kate, Lisa and Natalie's ex whoever he is)
Rating: PG
Summary: Following a case in Mexico, Natalie unwinds with a bottle of tequila and Stephen gets an earful.
Warning: post-series *Written for Round 14 of prompt_in_a_box. Prompt #06: "He and I had something beautiful, but so dysfunctional, it couldn't last." (Near To You - A Fine Frenzy) for laeliamouse and queenof1000days, who have been impatiently waiting...
Disclaimer: The original characters of Medical Investigation belong to NBC and their respective actors. The OCs are mine. The title is from Marriage is the Leading Cause of Divorce by Michael Peterson.
Statistics are Deceiving | You Can Analyze the Reasons
Stephen Connor entered the cantina, exhausted from a long, but ultimately successful, three days in Mexico. The team had been much happier to be on the western side of the country, following their return visit south of the border. Miles McCabe had mentioned, upon arrival in the small fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, that he'd leave the life-threatening jungle adventures to Indiana Jones.
They were heading back to Bethesda in the morning, but now that everything had been packed up and all the affected patients had been cured - minus the few losses - everyone was winding down in their own way. Stephen was in search of a beer, Miles had already turned in for the evening and Eva Rossi was, most likely, either asleep or doing paperwork.
Stephen assumed Frank was probably also in bed... or he was inside the cantina. The last person he expected to see inside was Natalie Durant. She was sitting at a table in the back corner, accompanied by Raoul Montoya, the local doctor. Between them, on the table, sat an empty bottle of tequila. As Stephen neared, he noticed that Natalie's eyes had a definite sheen.
"Doctor Durant, Doctor Montoya," he said simply. Montoya glanced up to Stephen, noticed his expression and turned back to Natalie.
"We have been found," he said with a wink. Natalie laughed and made a comment in rather-stilted Spanish, which made Montoya laugh. "Your Spanish is terrible, Doctor." Natalie shrugged and reached for the bottle.
Pushing herself up from the chair, she stumbled as she announced: "We need more."
Stephen caught her, effortlessly, and remarked: "I think you've had enough." Natalie scoffed and tried to pull free from his grasp, but Stephen wasn’t letting go.
"There you are!" they heard, and everyone turned to see Tali Montoya, Raoul's wife, moving along the bar.
"My beautiful rose," Raoul exclaimed and held his arms up.
"What do you think you are doing?" she demanded, hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Montoya pointed between Natalie and himself.
"We were mourning the loss of three men, two women and six children, my dear," he stated, matter-of-factly. Stephen looked down to Natalie, who had stopped trying to get out of his hold. She hated losing patients, as did any doctor, and she wasn't dealing with this loss well, as evidenced by the empty bottle of tequila.
She'd missed the simple answer because she was so used to expecting the difficult one. Of course, Stephen had completely missed it, as well, but that didn't make her feel any better. Tali pushing past him made Stephen turn and he stepped toward Natalie as Raoul fumbled out of his chair.
"Foolish old man," Tali mumbled, hooking an arm around her husband's waist and pulling his arm around her neck. "You're just lucky I love you," Stephen heard her mumble.
"You can manage?” Stephen asked, not wanted to insinuate he had doubts as to the woman's abilities. At half their size, Tali Montoya had more strength than most men he knew and, truth be told, she intimidated even him.
"This dead weight?" she asked with a nod to Montoya. "You?" Stephen simply nodded, keeping a tight hold on Natalie as she tried to pull free again. "Good evening, Doctor Connor," Tali said with a nod. "And to you, Doctor Durant." Natalie forced a smile and glared at Stephen.
"Doctors," Raoul exclaimed, "I insist you do not leave tomorrow without saying goodbye."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Natalie shook her head. Stephen actually laughed and nodded to both Montoyas as Tali pulled on her husband. Natalie managed to pull loose from Connor's hold and fumbled her way to the end of the bar. Setting the empty bottle down, she raised a finger to the bartender and Stephen quickly pushed her hand down.
"You need to call it a night, Natalie," he warned in a low voice. Natalie made a face and pulled away from him again.
"You aren't my mother, Stephen," she said with a huff and pushed off the bar. She was moving fairly well for someone who'd had a whole bottle of tequila, he noted. Shaking his head, Stephen gave a look to the bartender, who shook his head and went back to conversing with the two men closer to him.
Natalie was already out the door when Stephen caught up to her. "Natalie!" He reached for her, but Natalie shrugged out of his hold and kept walking. Stephen sped up and got in front of her, grabbing her at the elbows as he exclaimed: "Will you stop?"
Natalie winced and leaned back, but Stephen didn't let go of her. Opening his mouth, Stephen realized he didn't really have much to say. After all, he'd tried to drown in a bottle of champagne once. "So," he mused as Natalie pulled away again, "tequila?"
"What about it?" she frowned and stepped around him. The weather was warm, she noticed, but not too hot. Sniffing, Natalie turned back to the cantina and stopped, tilting her head to one side. Stephen watched for a second as she finally nodded and stepped to her right.
"Where are you going?" he asked, following after her. She may be lucid, but he wasn't about to trust her. Natalie didn't respond as she cut down the alley. Stephen actually had to quicken his step to keep up with her. She cleared the end of the alley and disappeared from Stephen's view as he looked down to watch where he stepped. Looking back up and not seeing Natalie made him panic slightly, but as he cleared the corner, Stephen spotted her at the rock wall, staring at the water.
He stepped over to her and watched her for a moment before quietly saying: "Natalie..." She blinked slowly and turned to look at him. He'd never seen her like this; sure, they'd dealt with the loss of patients before, but they usually just shared a beer in his office and moved on. Here, in Mexico, there was no office, and she didn't drink with him.
There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was heading for a crash. And he wouldn't let Natalie Durant crash. "Come on," Stephen said, reaching for her arm.
"What?" she grimaced, pulling back.
"Knock it off," Stephen snapped and caught her arm. "When we get back to Maryland," he said, turning her back toward the alley, "you're taking a vacation."
"I'm not taking a vacation, Stephen," she said with a laugh.
"It wasn't a suggestion," he said stoically.
"Because I had a drink?" she asked, the look on her face suggesting she'd just been slapped.
"You didn't have a drink, Natalie. You finished off an entire bottle." Okay, so this really was the pot and the kettle, but he was concerned about her.
"It's not like I'm going into surgery, Stephen," she spat and pulled free, moving herself down the alley.
Once they were back on the street, Stephen's arm caught hers again, but he didn't turn her around. "I've never seen you drunk."
"Hmmm," she laughed, "you should have been around when I got divorced." Natalie held a wink and pointed to Stephen. He nodded ahead of them and Natalie smiled as she stared at the road. As the alcohol kicked in, Natalie blinked. "Hooo..." she breathed and her hand locked around Stephen's wrist. Stephen turned his hand and wrapped his free arm around her waist.
"I've got you," he said quietly.
They moved down the next block before Natalie lifted her head in his direction. "Do you know what the leading cause of divorce is?" Stephen smiled slightly and shrugged.
"Adultery?" Natalie shook her head. "Money?" he guessed. Natalie shook her head again.
"Marriage," she said, holding up a finger. Stephen actually laughed.
"What happened?" He didn’t know much about Natalie's marriage, as it had ended before they'd met, and she never talked about it. He had no reason to ask, either.
"Eh," she groaned, "your marriage fell apart because you are a workaholic," she stated, as if he didn't already know that.
"Yes, it did," he nodded.
"I became a workaholic because my marriage fell apart. I was stupid," she huffed. "Stop," she said quickly, reaching for his arm. Stephen stepped around her and caught both her arms then leaned down to look her in the eyes.
"Hey, just breathe," he told her. He hadn't experienced tequila in years, but he did remember that the stuff had one hell of a kick. Natalie leaned forward and rested her forehead on his chest, then let out a deep breath.
"He was great," she mumbled and pulled back, "and then he finished school." Natalie shrugged and turned back to the street. "Told me he wanted me to quit. One semester left. He was gonna be the big doctor and... and he wanted a wife who would go to all the functions and stay home all day and be Donna Reed and just..." She let out another breath and shook her head.
"I am not arm candy," she stated a moment later and pulled away from Stephen. "He just couldn't handle I'm a better doctor than him," she nodded again. Looking away from him, Natalie's face screwed up into a frown and she finally turned back to him. "He has three kids now," she whispered and turned away again as the tears began to fall.
"Natalie," Stephen said, grabbing her arms and giving her a shake, "he's a fool. Anyone who would let you go is an idiot." She looked up and caught his eye and Stephen gave her a smile. "Stupid as it sounds, maybe you need the bad one to find the good one."
Natalie rolled her eyes and backed away. "Oh, I did," she said with a nod. Stephen managed not to react to the comment. It wasn't his business if she was dating someone, after all. He raised a hand and waved to her, forcing a smile.
"There you go. If you were still with him, you wouldn't have Mister Right."
"I never got him," she grumbled and looked at the building just ahead of them, which was currently acting as their residence.
“Why not?” Stephen asked.
"Because you were already married," she replied before she realized she'd said it out loud. A second later, her hand clapped over her mouth and her eyes went wide as she spun around. 'Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap.'
Natalie dropped her hands to her sides and her chin hit her chest. Maybe he would take her drunken ramble as just that. Maybe she had already passed out and was dreaming the whole thing. A lurch in her stomach reminded Natalie that she was, in fact, wide awake - not to mention oddly sober - and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in a corner and die.
"I need to lie down," she said simply. "Good night, Stephen," she added, then walked across the street and pushed into the small house. Stephen followed after her without saying anything, but did give her a good minute's head start. By the time he got to the doorway of her temporary room, Natalie was already on the bed, facing away from him. He wasn't sure if she was still awake or not, but she wasn't wandering the streets.
Stepping back outside, Stephen took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. That was not what he'd expected. Snorting lightly, Stephen decided that he needed a drink and headed back down the street for the cantina.
"Hey," Stephen heard about ten minutes later and looked up to see Frank moving along the bar.
"Hi," he replied as Frank pulled up a chair next to him and nodded to the bartender.
"Heard I missed an empty bottle of tequila," Frank said with a hit of a laugh. Looking up to the raised eyebrow of Stephen, Frank added: "I ran into the Montoyas." Stephen nodded and took another swig of his beer. "Wish I'd known she was in here," Frank said, nodding to the bartender as the man set a bottle down.
"Oh, I think we should get her drunk more often," Stephen said sarcastically. "She's fun." Frank rolled his eyes and took a swig of his drink.
"She's-" Frank started, turning around to look at the room.
"Sleeping, last time I saw her," Stephen answered. Frank watched Stephen for a moment then leaned back in his seat.
"She talked." Stephen raised an eyebrow and turned to Frank. Frank laughed to himself and reached for his drink again.
"You knew?" Stephen asked, already assuming the answer.
Frank nodded. "Yeah, Kim and I got our turn with her," he said with a smile. "While you were gone, we had a rough case. Local. She didn't take it well." Stephen stared at his beer again and Frank shook his head. "Don't worry, Stephen. Tomorrow, you won't even know she was within a mile of this place." Frank took another swig of his beer and clapped a hand on his best friend's shoulder.
"Sometimes, you just need to let one go." Frank took a deep breath and gave the cantina a look. "I'm callin' it a night. I'll see you in the morning." Stephen swallowed and nodded, watching Frank stand and move away from the bar. "Don't stay here too long, man."
"Yeah." After Frank left, he stared at the bar for a minute then nodded to the bartender. "Tequila," he requested.
____________________
Confession: I didn't like the end. I thought it was weak. So I cut it. This is what happens when you plot something and then don't touch it for MONTHS. I still have the end, and if you are so inclined, I will share it. Just be warned it's crap. Not that this was much better, honestly *facepalm*