Chapter Text
“Who are you?” Doctor Alex Levy asked to the new face in the lounge. She was always so annoyed whenever they brought on another new staff member. It always meant more questions, and usually more mistakes that she’d have to fix after they’d inevitably screwed up. Plus, she looked fresh. She had to be fresh out of residency.
“Hi. I’m Doctor Bradley Jackson.” She held out her hand, but Alex only looked at it with her arms crossed. Bradley quickly retracted her hand. She was already so nervous. This hospital had a reputation. They scared off a lot of Doctors, but once you were in, you were in.
“Oh, don’t mind her. Hi. I’m Cory.”
“Just Cory?” Bradley asked.
“Well, Doctor Cory Ellison sounds so blegh. I’m just a regular person, you know?”
“Yeah. I’m Bradley.” She shook his hand.
“Welcome. I can show you around if you want.”
“I’d like that.” Bradley smiled. He showed her to an empty locker and she set her stuff down, and the two of them talked as if they were old friends.
Alex turned to Laura. “She’ll be gone in a week.”
Maggie laughed. “I bet she doesn’t even return from her lunch break.”
Laura watched Bradley from across the lounge, talking to Cory. She knew his play. He went after every new doctor the second they walked in. Probably, because the rest of them hated him. He always tried, and most of the time he scared them away on his own. Laura attempted to get a read on Bradley, determine if she was worth saving from Cory, if she even would return from her lunch break. There was something… she was thinking Bradley was different from the past 10 doctors who’d taken the position before her in the past year.
“I don’t know, I think she’s got at least a year.” Mia shrugged.
“I think she’ll be good.” Laura finally said.
“Oh god, Laura, not her.” Alex rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe how fast Laura fell for every fucking woman who walked through those doors.
“I didn’t say anything! I just said she’d be good.”
“In bed?” Alex laughed. “Cause there’s no fucking way she’s a good doctor.”
“Funny how your mind jumped there when you saw her.” Laura said and left the lounge. She honestly was just thinking she’d be a good doctor. She seemed like the kind who they could boss around easily. She was so nervous and eager to please. They could mold her into the doctor she needed to be.
Maggie turned to Alex. “20 bucks says she doesn’t come back from her lunch break.”
“Deal.”
Bradley allowed Cory to show her around the hospital. He showed her to the radiology department with all of their high tech equipment. “Wow. It’s- I never thought I’d work at a fancy New York hospital.”
“Yeah, you said you were from Virginia, right?”
“Yeah, West Virginia. The hospital in my town had the oldest equipment you’d ever see.” She laughed.
“Well, this place is very impressive. It’s why I’m here. You just have to- let’s see, how do I put this? Well, you have to just not give any mind to the other doctors. They’ll learn to respect you eventually, you have to keep your head down and stay focused on your work until then. You can hang with me if you want.”
“Thank you. I mean, I’m not gonna lie, I’ve heard the rumors.”
Cory laughed. “Yeah? I guess this hospital is famous then.”
“Yeah. I- I didn’t have too many choices you know. I wanted to work at a hospital with a level 1 trauma center, but… I kind of failed the boards a few times, and I guess word got out. So, I will put up with whatever I have to in order to stay here.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Oh, and please don’t tell anyone about that. I don’t want that to be my reputation here.”
“My lips are sealed.” Cory said. “Let’s finish the tour.”
“Heyy, you look like hell, did you have a good night last night?” Laura laughed when she saw Chip walk in.
He took a sip of his coffee. “Shut the fuck up.” He said and continued in.
Laura laughed and took a seat behind the desk next to Hannah. Hannah turned to her. “I heard they hired another ED doctor?”
Laura nodded. “She’s fresh, naïve. Cory already got to her, I think.”
“She’ll see.” Hannah laughed. “I did.”
They both looked over when Cory and Bradley came up behind them. “Here is your station. Have a good day.”
“Thank you, Cory.”
“I have lunch around 1 in the cafeteria if you want someone to eat with.”
“Thank you.” She smiled and watched him walk away. She didn’t know how to approach the other doctors that sat there, so she turned to the door and luckily a trauma came in, and Bradley walked over to the door to take it.
“I got it.” Hannah said. It was the trauma she’d been waiting for, that they’d determined in the field that they needed stat surgery. “Stick to bandaids on your first day.”
Bradley didn’t fight it. She wasn’t familiar with the hospital at all, but she knew what she was doing. She decided to take Hannah’s seat at the nurse’s station, and she gave Laura a nervous smile.
“Hi.” Laura said.
“Hi.” Bradley knew Cory had warned her about keeping her head down, and she wasn’t too interested in attempting to converse until she could prove herself.
“I’m Laura.”
“Bradley.”
“I saw you… hanging out with Cory. You know him?” She asked.
“Not until today.”
“Watch out for him.” She knew Cory’s reputation, and she did not want Bradley to go in blind.
“Oh, cause the rest of y’all have been so welcoming? He’s the only one being the least bit nice to me, so thank you, but I can form my own opinions.”
“Hey. Do what you want. I thought I was being nice to you.”
“Sure, let’s call it that.”
Laura was taken aback by her attitude. She was honestly trying to do her a favor. Maybe Bradley would last if she could survive her Cory phase. She was feisty. She smiled. “You’re fun.”
Bradley shook her head. She had no idea what Laura wanted from her. She could tell Laura and Alex were tight by the way Alex turned to Laura after she’d been overly rude to her. Laura was obviously trying to manipulate her and take away her only friend so they could run her off and torture her more. Maybe she'd spent too much time looking into the place and heard a LOT of rumors...
“Oh, head laceration in the waiting room. Why don’t you bandage them up, and call your boyfriend if you need to.”
“Fuck you.” Bradley rolled her eyes. She bandaged the patient up, and decided to Tiger Connect Cory. “Hey. I thought I could use a neuro consult on this.”
“You didn’t need me for this. You just wanted to see me. It’s okay. I wanted to see you too. Your patient is fine.”
“Thank you.” Bradley said and looked over at Laura who only watched the interaction and shook her head.
Rena sat with her feet up on the desk when Chip made his way to the station. “Hey. You look… rough.”
“I’ve heard. Tell me all the little sick kids went home overnight?”
“Nope.” She said and slapped his patient list on his chest. “So, what’d you do last night?”
“I don’t remember much.”
“So, it was a good night.”
“Oh, yeah.” He smiled. “I stayed home though.”
“Oh, come on, that’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“Not even!”
“I’m gonna take you out this weekend, and show you what a good time really is.”
“Oh, is this a date?”
Rena laughed. “In your dreams.”
“Well, I think that is in your dreams, because let’s be honest, you’re a little bit obsessed with me.” Chip said and shrugged.
“Shut up! I am not!”
“You did choose the same specialty as me.”
“I didn’t even know you, you psycho!” She laughed and gave him a playful shove.
Cory met Bradley for lunch that afternoon. “So, how is your first day going? Laura Peterson making you want to quit?”
“Just about.” Bradley laughed. “She’s trying to act like we’re friends, like she’s looking out for me. But she had a different story in that lounge.”
“I tell you, they’re all the same. Besides Fred, he’s cool. Old.” He laughed. “You’ll figure it all out.”
“I think I’m getting the feel. Basically everyone’s an asshole.”
Cory laughed. “Aww now why’d you have to group me in there?”
“According to Laura, you are.”
“Aww, she’s just upset that I was born with a dick. She hates men.”
“Oh.”
“Let me finish giving you that tour.”
“I thought you already did.”
“There’s somewhere I forgot.” He said and they got up from the table.
He looked down the hall before he led her to the supply room, and he locked the door behind him. “So you have pretty much all your supplies here. You know, bedpans, gauze, cannulas, you’ll find what you’re looking for eventually. But we usually make the nurses grab stuff for us. Doctors don’t really come in here, unless…” he stepped closer to her, and suddenly kissed her.
“What the fuck?” She pushed him away. “Is that why you’re being nice to me? Do ya’ll have some sort of bet on how long it will take to screw the new girl?”
“No, no. I just like you. There’s something about you, that pulls me to you. Don’t tell me you can’t feel it.”
Bradley shook her head and walked to the door and attempted to open it. “You locked the door? What the fuck did you think was gonna happen?” She shook her head and walked out, completely running into Laura when she left the room. “Oh, fuck. Sorry.”
“You’re fine.” She looked at Bradley and then at Cory who stood in the supply closet, and he adjusted his waistband, attempting to give her the message that Bradley was his. He’d claimed her. She liked him. She looked at Cory in disbelief and shook her head. “On day one.”
“She came onto me.”
“I’m sure she did.”
“Hey, don't hate me.” He held his hands up. “And I wouldn’t waste too much time on her, she really seems to enjoy dick.”
“You’re disgusting.” Laura said and walked out. She went to run down Bradley. “Hey. Hey, Doctor Jackson.” She said, practically running to catch up to her. She finally turned around when she made it to the elevator. “Are you okay?”
Bradley looked at her skeptically. She had tried to warn her… Maybe Laura really did have her best interest. “What do you want me to say you were right? Fine. You were right.”
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know it’s your first day, and there’s all this pressure to get people to like you. So, I wanted to make sure you wanted that to happen.”
“I wouldn’t have pushed him away if I wanted it to happen.” Bradley rolled her eyes and got in the elevator.
Laura followed her in. “Bradley. Let’s go to the lounge.” She took her to the lounge where they’d began their day, and Alex was in there eating her lunch.
“Oh, I called it!” Alex laughed. Laura had already made a move. How predictable.
“Shut the fuck up, Alex.” Laura said. She shook her head and took a seat across the room from Alex. She knew Alex would still listen, but she hoped it put enough distance where Bradley would be comfortable. “Bradley. I know it’s scary, and you’re new, but we’ll all have your back. What do you wanna do?”
“What do you mean? I’m not quitting.”
“About Cory.”
“Nothing. I’m fine. It’s not a big deal.”
“Bradley, he assaulted you.”
Alex watched and listened closely from her seat at the table. Bradley didn’t give her the time of day since their introduction, and that was intriguing. She needed to learn everything she could about her.
“No, he just kissed me. It’s fine.”
“Bradley, he told me what happened.”
Bradley looked at her confused. “I don’t know what he told you, but nothing happened. I swear. He’s fucking disgusting. He kissed me for a half a second, I pushed him away and ran out.”
Laura didn’t know what to believe. “Okay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and that you know you do have a friend here.”
“I realized that.”
“You can come to me for anything, okay?”
“Is this some game between you and Cory? Who can get the girl first?”
Laura shook her head. “He told you I was a lesbian? Of course he did.”
“It’s not true?”
“No, it’s true. I just don’t like to lead with that, at least until I feel people out.”
“Oh, I have no problem with it.”
Laura smiled. “Except now, you don’t think we can be friends without me having another agenda.”
“Who says I’d mind you having another agenda?” Bradley said. She leaned in. She hoped Laura was feeling what she was. God, she was already in the middle of so much drama and it was only her first day. She finally understood why everyone else had been scared off.
“Bradley Jackson. Who would have thought?”
Bradley smiled. “I should get back. I’ve been on lunch for over an hour.” Bradley said and ran back to the ED.
Alex laughed. “Oh, you’re fucked.”
“Shut up.”
“You can’t tell me you didn’t feel anything when she leaned that close to you.”
“You’re right. I’m fucked.”
Alex looked at her for a while, until Laura took a seat at the table across from her. “We signed our divorce papers this morning.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was it hard?”
Alex shrugged. “I think the hardest part will be seeing him. And Lizzy. She’s upset with me. She acts like I work too much, as if we don’t work at the same fucking hospital. Sorry heart surgery is a little more intense than fucking knee surgery. No one ever died because their knee didn’t work!”
“She’ll get over it.” Laura smiled. “Why don’t you come to Tom O’Donnell’s tonight with a bunch of us?”
“Bradley?”
“I’ll invite her.”
“Maybe.”
“It’s Friday night, you’re single, you deserve to have fun.”
There was a large crowd of doctors at the bar that night. Bradley walked in skeptically. She didn’t know what the fuck she was doing there, but she had recieved an invitation, and she knew better than to turn it down. She needed these people to like her. She guessed she had done something right because she already had Laura on her side. She could tell Laura was popular amongst the other doctors.
“Hey! You made it!” Laura said, and ordered Bradley a drink. “I’m glad you came.”
Alex walked up to them. “Hey, Bradley. I’m Alex.” She said and finally held her hand out for her to shake.
Bradley only looked at it with her arms crossed.
Alex shook her head. Oh, fuck. Bradley was feisty. “You’re gonna regret that.”
“I don’t think so.” She stared at Alex who stared back at her. There was so much tension in their stare.
Alex shook her head and ordered another drink. She surveyed the bar. She needed someone to help her get over Jason.
Rena sat with Chip in a booth. They looked friendly. Mitch and Paige were of course sitting together. Jason and Maggie were talking? Claire, Yanko, Mia, and Hannah were in a group talking. Alison was chatting up Eric. Alex sighed. She’d wasted too much time with Laura and Bradley. She turned her back to everyone and ordered another drink. If she wasn’t hooking up, she was going to get drunk.
“Hey.”
She turned to the voice next to her. “Hi.”
“I heard about your divorce being finalized today. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too. But… I’m officially a free woman.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“I like the sound of you liking the sound of that.”
He laughed. “Wanna get out of here?”
“Weren’t you just talking to Alison?”
Eric laughed. “Yeah, about a hypothetical patient.”
“I’d love to get out of here.” She said and took Eric’s hand and shot Laura an excited look as she walked out with him. As soon as they got into the Uber, Alex leaned over and kissed him, passionately. She couldn’t wait. They were stuck in traffic. She kissed him, sitting on his lap the best she could being in the back of the car. She unzipped his pants as she looked him in the eye. He was so ready for this. He’d been trying to get her attention for months, and she hadn’t given the slightest indication that she knew of his existence. Hell, everyone in that hospital wanted to be with Alex, and she fucking knew it. It was so hot.
She pulled him out, and he was already hard. She smiled. “Do you have a condom?” She whispered, licking his ear as she said it.
“Not with me.” He said.
“Fuck it. Make sure you warn me.” She said, and he hooked her underwear, pulling it down and he lifted her dress up so he could see. He always knew she had to be perfect.
She slipped him inside of her and fell onto him, feeling his entire length fill her up. She leaned in and kissed him as he held her ass under her short dress, assisting with the movements.
“Uhh. Ohh.” Eric moaned quietly. He was certain the driver knew what they were doing, but he didn’t want to give him cause to look back.
“You’re so big.”Alex whispered in his ear.
“Oh, fuck. I’m coming! I’m coming!” He said. The words from Alex sent him over the edge quickly.
Alex got off as fast as she could, feeling the liquid dripping from her thighs, but confident they’d been quick enough.
“Uhhh Uhh.” He said, throbbing as he gave a final squirt that landed on his own pants. He reached his hand down on Alex, but they arrived at his apartment.
She quickly pulled her underwear up, and he zipped his pants as they quickly made it into the apartment to continue the night, Alex taking a much less dominating role once they were out of the car.
As everyone drank a little more they began to mingle some more. Stella found herself sitting alone with Mia. “So, I haven’t seen you around much lately.”
“Oh, yeah, last week I was at a conference.” Mia said.
“It’s only been a week? It feels longer.”
“Well, I was sick the week before that.”
“There it is. Two weeks.” Stella smiled. She didn’t know if Mia felt what she did, but god she wanted to kiss her. She’d never wanted to kiss a coworker so badly.
“You know, I just realized I drove here, so do you wanna get out of here while I only have one drink in me?”
“I’d love to.” Stella smiled and took Mia’s hand as they walked out of the bar together.
Mia drove Stella to her apartment building and waited for Stella to invite her in for the night. As soon as the door shut to the apartment, Mia began kissing Stella, and Stella backed her to the bedroom, pinning Mia to the bed, and then slowly taking off her own shirt. She then slid Mia’s shirt over her head. “I’m gonna fuck you so good tonight.” Stella said.
“I hope so.” Mia said and she reached up to kiss Stella.
Stella kissed Mia and sat her up so they could both remove the remainder of their clothes. Stella immediately pinned Mia again, kissing her chest. Stella wasn’t the type to take her time. She held Mia’s legs in her arms as she slid down to ready position.
“Oh, god, Stella.”
“That what you like?” She asked.
“Oh, yeah. Fuck. Fuck.”
“Keep it down, I have a roomate.” Stella said.
Mia kept quiet as Stella brought her to her high, her body throbbing her juices out as Stella licked them up. “Tell me why haven’t we done this before?”
“Because you never asked.” Stella said. She finally kissed Mia again, laying down next to her as they both grabbed at each other’s bodies. Their legs intertwined and Mia moved her way to the top. She kissed Stella’s neck as she roamed her hands everywhere. “Dominate me, Mia.”
“You bet I will.” Mia said, and she kissed her, her tongue entering Stella’s mouth, her hands on her face. She then held her arms at her side as she made her way to her chest. She was moving fast. Stella was smiling bigger than Mia ever thought was possible. Stella was usually all business, and Mia had never seen her experience pleasure, especially not to the extent she was able to deliver. Mia spread her legs and pushed her fingers in, fast.
“Ahhh.” Stella moaned. “Oh, fuck, yes.”
“Keep it down.” Mia reminded her. She moved her fingers in and out with more speed, and Stella’s body contracted.
She had her hands behind her back, so she bit her lip, but it could only do so much. Mia was so fucking good. Plus, it’d been a really long time since Stella had been with anyone. “Ahhh. Ahhhh. Aaahhh!” She was practically screaming. She wasn’t the type to be quiet.
Mia figured she’d better just finish this off before she woke the entire apartment complex. She lowered her mouth, and she immediately felt Stella throbbing around her fingers, and her body contracted as she screamed out with pleasure. God, that was hot. “Was that good for you?”
“Oh, god, yes.”
“So much for keeping it quiet.” Mia said as she laid next to her.
“It’s not like I never hear her.” Stella wasn’t the least bit worried. It felt too good for her to worry about anything at that moment.
Chip said goodbye to Rena and walked around the parking lot with his final beer.
“You good, Chuck?” Laura said when she hung up her phone. She pulled her cardigan tight around her as the breeze added an extra chill to the air.
“Fine. Just another night alone. By myself.”
“You’ll find someone.”
“Yeah, hopefully.” He said.
“Hang in there.” Laura returned to the bar.
Jason walked out next to take a call. Chip was overhearing so many phone calls in that parking lot. “Oh, I didn’t see you out here.”
“Yeah. Just contemplating love and life and all the fun stuff.”
“Tell me about it. My divorce was finalized today.”
“I’m sorry, man. That’s tough shit.”
“Yeah, and then I see her run off with Eric, who is much younger and better looking than me. Is that who she wanted me to be the whole time?”
“I don’t know. I think being young is overrated. I’d take you over Eric any day.” Chip said, and he was suddenly being kissed by Jason. “Woah. Woah. Man.”
“Oh, was that not a signal? Forgive me.”
Chip looked around and saw no one in sight. “I’m just not… out.”
“Every fucking person who works with us is some form of gay. It's not a big deal.”
“I don’t- I’m just not. It’s a whole thing and I don’t-” He stumbled over his words. “I don’t know why it’s a big deal. It just is. Okay?”
“Alright. But you don’t have to lie to me. You can be yourself around me.”
“Do you wanna get a ride out of here?”
“I’d love to.” Jason went inside and paid his tab while Chip called them a ride. They both got in the Lyft and sat on opposite sides of the backseat. They didn’t talk the entire ride. But they exited to go up to Chip’s place together. They kept a safe distance apart until the door was shut, and then Chip laid a kiss on Jason. He felt so much relief finally being able to let this part of himself be free again. God, he missed it. He threw off his shirt as Jason did at the same time, and they left a trail of their clothes as they made it to the bedroom. Jason immediately bent Chip over in the bed and lubed himself before he grabbed him by the hips and slowly entered him, picking up his pace more and more. He reached his hand around to make it go faster, being that Jason was holding on for dear life. Jason ended up exploding in Chip, and Chip came seconds after.
“Ohh oh god.” Chip said as he squirted himself back onto Jason.
“Fuck!”
Chip collapsed on the bed and pulled Jason down with him, kissing him.
Back at the bar, Laura sat talking to Bradley as they watched the rest of their coworkers slowly take off. “So, what’s your story?”
“I mean, it’s nothing interesting. I just grew up in a small town, and then decided I wanted to get out, make more of my life so I went to med school, and then I moved here so I could actually make a difference in this world. What’s your story?”
“Um, I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field. I didn’t quite know what, but I decided to go to med school, mostly to please my parents, and I fell in love with the ED. I don’t know, there’s a thrill from not knowing what you’re getting into, or when.”
Bradley watched Laura talk with so much passion. “Yeah, I think that’s what I like about it too.”
“I just-”
The bartender came over to wipe their area and handed them their tabs. “We’re closing in 10 minutes ladies.”
Laura took both of their tabs and handed him her credit card. “I got it.”
“No, I can pay for my own…”
“Please, I got it. It’s already done. Think of it as a peace offering for your hectic first day.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s up to you, but would you want to catch a ride together, go back to my place? No pressure, but I’d like to learn more about you.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Great.” Laura said and she pulled out her phone and ordered a ride as she waited to get her credit card back and signed the receipts. “Shall we?” She held her arm out for Bradley to interlock arms with her, and they waited in the parking lot for their car to arrive.
Bradley suddenly realized how nervous she was. She had no idea who any of these people really were. Laura seemed nice, but she also seemed tight with Alex who clearly hated her, yet attempted to act nice. Was all this some kind of trick? To get her to admit she likes girls and make fun of her for it? To film them so they could all have dirt on her? So Laura could get her naked and tell her she wasn’t actually a lesbian and humiliate her or some bullshit? The day had already been weird enough, and the drinks weren’t helping her think through it rationally. Maybe these people weren’t her friends, Cory sure wasn’t. She spent the entire ride running over the thoughts in her mind. She never was able to shut it off, her mind was constantly running at a hundred miles an hour. She got out of the car and followed Laura to her apartment.
Laura offered her another drink and she decided to accept it. They both took a seat on the couch. “Are you good? Can I get you anything?”
“I’m good.”
“All of a sudden you’re quiet? What’s up?”
“What do you want from me? I wasn’t nice to you this morning, and no one but Cory was nice to me… I don’t get it.”
“I have a thing for mean girls.”
“I’m serious.”
“I’m serious too. I do have a thing for mean and unpredictable girls. I don’t know what it is about you, but I’m drawn to you. Maybe it’s because you’re new and intriguing, and maybe it’s because you’re hot, and you flirted with me, and maybe it’s something more than all that. I don’t know.”
Bradley looked at her skeptically. She was smooth, that was evident.
“Look, I don’t want you to think I only invited you here because I want something from you. I really just want to know you better. Honestly. If you’re not comfortable, I won’t be offended, you can leave, I’ll pay for your ride.”
“No, it’s fine. I just- I want to make it clear that I didn’t come to fuck. I just wanted to know you better.”
“We’re on the same page then.”
Bradley smiled. Who the fuck was this woman?