just_muse_me | 32.9. Third Wheel
Without a doubt, there seemed to be a lot of things happening lately that had more than succeeded in turning MT1 upside down. It couldn't be factored to Dr Proctor, even if most of it seemed to simultaneously begin when he arrived. Eva couldn't deny that she had been hoping to step up into the role as head surgeon of the department when Rayner's health literally deteriorated before their eyes. She had always been ambitious and she wasn't satisfied to just settle comfortably into a fellowship role for the rest of her life. She wanted to learn more, she wanted to make more of a difference. The itchy feet had been there for awhile, and in any other situation, she probably would have been given that promotion. But then Proctor arrived, and she had no choice but to just accept the changes, and accept the fact a promotion in MT1 wouldn't be anywhere on the horizon. She was disappointed, without a doubt, but Proctor bought with him a different style and she found herself learning more and more from him anyway. The team seemed to gel again okay, despite losing Rayner and despite Chris being wary of their new boss in general.
It had just proved to be a trying time. A lot of things they could never have foreseen had happened. Memorable patients that had hit close to home, Tuck being stabbed, Chris' brother showing up out of the blue and promptly finding out he had cancer. Eva knew the latter had only just begun and it had led to Chris needing to take a leave of absence from work, which was a big thing. Chris barely even took sick leave unless he was half dead, and when he took leave, it was usually only for a week at a time. She was worried how he was going to cope being away from work and not having that as a distraction, and she was more than worried how he and Rick were going to get on. Hopefully they managed to breach some of the gap, but she knew it wouldn't be an easy step for either of them.
Eva missed her friend, without a doubt. She missed his camaraderie, and just taking for granted that he would be there with his cheeky smile and a laugh when things felt tough. For the past four years, he had been the only constant in her life other than her job. Despite all the rumours, she and Chris never had romantic feelings for each other. It was always just a close friendship, and a suggestive banter. If they were ever going to jump in to bed together, it would have happened when they first met. Neither of them were going to suddenly wake up these days and think they were hot for each other. But he was still a huge and important part of her life, and lately Eva felt like those foundations were tipping a little. They didn't have much time to talk, and it felt like he was getting more and more distant from her. She might have initially thought at first that she had done something to upset him, but it seemed just more of a case that Chris' world was changing, while her's remained stagnate. Hell, he even admitted to her he was dating someone, and it was serious, while Eva - four years older than the wayward genius cowboy - hadn't had a seriously relationship in five years. She hadn't even dated in two, and hadn't had sex in close to a year. There was seriously something wrong with this picture.
She wanted to blame Chris, and wanted to blame the fact they seemed to be moving apart, but she couldn't. She knew she couldn't, because she knew the problem was her, plain and simple. She was jealous Chris' life was evolving and she had been left behind. She was jealous that despite his brother being seriously ill, Chris had a more than content air about him. This mysterious someone had made him happy, and Eva wanted a mysterious someone to make her happy too. She was exiting the MT1 after a long and hard shift, glancing up at the sky as she heard some thunder rumble in the distance. "Mierda," she cursed to herself, digging around in her bag under her arm to try and find the keys to her car. She just wanted the rain to hold off until she got home, but with her luck lately, it really wouldn't surprise her if she got bucketed on. Before her hand grabbed her keys, though, it brushed against some papers that had been shoved in there a few weeks ago and she had been making a concerted effort to ignore. Her train of thought since knocking off had her pulling them out with a sigh though, and she unfolded them, skimming over the letter on top.
A job offer. An amazing job offer. To head the trauma unit at Boston Medical Center, along with a research grant for trauma in patients with existing medical conditions. It just seemed too good to be true, and it was probably why she hadn't let herself stop too long to actually absorb it. Now the time was ticking away, and she had until next Monday to give them her answer. Taking it would mean walking away from her Miami life, though... from MT1. She didn't know if she had it in her to leave that behind, and to go away from the closest friend she ever had.
The documents were shoved back into her bag when she finally got her keys out and she was heading across the carpark when she spotted something at the other end of the lot that more than caught her attention. It was Chris. Nearly eleven pm and Chris was standing in the MT1 car park when he was supposed to be on leave. Sure, he wasn't in scrubs, just jeans and a t-shirt, pretty much his staple uniform when he wasn't at work. But he was there and she found herself smiling before even stopping to really wonder why he was there. It was just odd that he was leaning against a car, like he was waiting for someone, when he didn't actually own a car. Maybe Rick was here? The thought had her starting to head over to him, and she was just about to call out to him when something happened that she would probably never forget. Serena appeared from the opposite end of the car park, hurrying over to where Chris was standing. They smiled at each other, and then before Eva could even rationally connect in her mind what was going on, Serena wrapped her arms around Chris' neck and they met in the embrace with a heated kiss.
If Eva felt before like her foundations were tipping under her, they suddenly felt like they were ripped right out from beneath her. She gasped in shock, the pieces all there dropping in her brain, but that didn't mean it made any sense to her as it played out before her. Before she could stop it, she found the shocked words falling from her lips. "Are you kidding me?!" she cried, pushing her hair off her face. The couple sprung apart and whipped around to look at her. Deer caught in headlights wouldn't even begin to cut how they looked, but Eva wasn't too far off that herself. All she did was hold her hands up in some sort of surrender when a stunned hurt burned through her. She shook her head and backed up, turning to run towards her Jeep that was parked a couple of rows over. It started to rain before she even got there, and she could hear Chris calling out to her, but she didn't stop. It was probably the quickest she ever got her car open and she was inside with the door slammed and speeding off in a heartbeat. She passed Chris, who was standing at the end of the row getting drenched in the sudden downpour, but she merely shot him a glance before she drove off out of the car park. She wasn't even out of the hospital grounds before she was digging the papers out of her bag again.
Sometimes decisions just got made for you.
Chris [geniuscowboy] and Serena [cutandlearn] referenced with endless love and permission
Word Count | 1,395
It had just proved to be a trying time. A lot of things they could never have foreseen had happened. Memorable patients that had hit close to home, Tuck being stabbed, Chris' brother showing up out of the blue and promptly finding out he had cancer. Eva knew the latter had only just begun and it had led to Chris needing to take a leave of absence from work, which was a big thing. Chris barely even took sick leave unless he was half dead, and when he took leave, it was usually only for a week at a time. She was worried how he was going to cope being away from work and not having that as a distraction, and she was more than worried how he and Rick were going to get on. Hopefully they managed to breach some of the gap, but she knew it wouldn't be an easy step for either of them.
Eva missed her friend, without a doubt. She missed his camaraderie, and just taking for granted that he would be there with his cheeky smile and a laugh when things felt tough. For the past four years, he had been the only constant in her life other than her job. Despite all the rumours, she and Chris never had romantic feelings for each other. It was always just a close friendship, and a suggestive banter. If they were ever going to jump in to bed together, it would have happened when they first met. Neither of them were going to suddenly wake up these days and think they were hot for each other. But he was still a huge and important part of her life, and lately Eva felt like those foundations were tipping a little. They didn't have much time to talk, and it felt like he was getting more and more distant from her. She might have initially thought at first that she had done something to upset him, but it seemed just more of a case that Chris' world was changing, while her's remained stagnate. Hell, he even admitted to her he was dating someone, and it was serious, while Eva - four years older than the wayward genius cowboy - hadn't had a seriously relationship in five years. She hadn't even dated in two, and hadn't had sex in close to a year. There was seriously something wrong with this picture.
She wanted to blame Chris, and wanted to blame the fact they seemed to be moving apart, but she couldn't. She knew she couldn't, because she knew the problem was her, plain and simple. She was jealous Chris' life was evolving and she had been left behind. She was jealous that despite his brother being seriously ill, Chris had a more than content air about him. This mysterious someone had made him happy, and Eva wanted a mysterious someone to make her happy too. She was exiting the MT1 after a long and hard shift, glancing up at the sky as she heard some thunder rumble in the distance. "Mierda," she cursed to herself, digging around in her bag under her arm to try and find the keys to her car. She just wanted the rain to hold off until she got home, but with her luck lately, it really wouldn't surprise her if she got bucketed on. Before her hand grabbed her keys, though, it brushed against some papers that had been shoved in there a few weeks ago and she had been making a concerted effort to ignore. Her train of thought since knocking off had her pulling them out with a sigh though, and she unfolded them, skimming over the letter on top.
A job offer. An amazing job offer. To head the trauma unit at Boston Medical Center, along with a research grant for trauma in patients with existing medical conditions. It just seemed too good to be true, and it was probably why she hadn't let herself stop too long to actually absorb it. Now the time was ticking away, and she had until next Monday to give them her answer. Taking it would mean walking away from her Miami life, though... from MT1. She didn't know if she had it in her to leave that behind, and to go away from the closest friend she ever had.
The documents were shoved back into her bag when she finally got her keys out and she was heading across the carpark when she spotted something at the other end of the lot that more than caught her attention. It was Chris. Nearly eleven pm and Chris was standing in the MT1 car park when he was supposed to be on leave. Sure, he wasn't in scrubs, just jeans and a t-shirt, pretty much his staple uniform when he wasn't at work. But he was there and she found herself smiling before even stopping to really wonder why he was there. It was just odd that he was leaning against a car, like he was waiting for someone, when he didn't actually own a car. Maybe Rick was here? The thought had her starting to head over to him, and she was just about to call out to him when something happened that she would probably never forget. Serena appeared from the opposite end of the car park, hurrying over to where Chris was standing. They smiled at each other, and then before Eva could even rationally connect in her mind what was going on, Serena wrapped her arms around Chris' neck and they met in the embrace with a heated kiss.
If Eva felt before like her foundations were tipping under her, they suddenly felt like they were ripped right out from beneath her. She gasped in shock, the pieces all there dropping in her brain, but that didn't mean it made any sense to her as it played out before her. Before she could stop it, she found the shocked words falling from her lips. "Are you kidding me?!" she cried, pushing her hair off her face. The couple sprung apart and whipped around to look at her. Deer caught in headlights wouldn't even begin to cut how they looked, but Eva wasn't too far off that herself. All she did was hold her hands up in some sort of surrender when a stunned hurt burned through her. She shook her head and backed up, turning to run towards her Jeep that was parked a couple of rows over. It started to rain before she even got there, and she could hear Chris calling out to her, but she didn't stop. It was probably the quickest she ever got her car open and she was inside with the door slammed and speeding off in a heartbeat. She passed Chris, who was standing at the end of the row getting drenched in the sudden downpour, but she merely shot him a glance before she drove off out of the car park. She wasn't even out of the hospital grounds before she was digging the papers out of her bag again.
Sometimes decisions just got made for you.
Chris [geniuscowboy] and Serena [cutandlearn] referenced with endless love and permission
Word Count | 1,395