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After a quiet night shift where she gets more sleep than usual, Stacie steps out of the hospital and breathes in the already slightly humid Miami air, taking a moment to bask in the sunshine on her skin after 26 hours in the hospital. She considers going home and taking a nap but she doesn’t feel exceptionally tired like she usually does and she realises it’s been a while since she’s surprised her dad at work so as she gets into her car and pulls out of the parking lot, instead of turning left to go home, she turns right to their favourite breakfast spot.
An hour later, armed with a bag full of medianoches, a tray of coffees and having changed out of her sandals and into appropriate closed-toe shoes, she walks onto the construction site and waves to the security guard watching the entrance.
“Morning, Carl!” she calls out with a smile as he doesn’t even get up from his perch and merely raises a hand to acknowledge her.
She giggles softly to herself as she crosses over to the small office attached to the construction site, knocking on the door and waiting for confirmation to enter.
“Who is it?!”
“Breakfast!” she calls out and the door immediately swings open and Stacie comes face to face with an older woman whose face lights up at the sight of her.
“You are even better than breakfast, sweetheart,” she says and ushers Stacie into the air-conditioned trailer.
“I figured if it was Mateo he’d be more likely to open for breakfast,” Stacie teases, dropping the bag of food on a nearby table and turning to hug the shorter woman. “Morning Patty.”
“Good morning,” she says, rubbing Stacie’s back softly.
“I heard you!” Mateo’s voice calls out from one of the small offices.
Stacie merely rolls her eyes as she pulls away and reaches for one of the coffees, pressing it into Patty’s waiting hands.
“Angel,” she murmurs moments before she sips from the coffee, eyes closing as she delights in the taste.
“And a medianoche for you,” Stacie adds, extracting one of the wrapped sandwiches and setting it on Patty’s desk. “Where’s my dad?”
“Working,” Patty says with a half-smile and an interested tone as she rounds the desk to sit down and Stacie’s eyebrows shoot up as she glances at the clock to confirm the time.
“But it’s not even 10.”
Patty holds up one of her hands to indicate she has no additional information and Stacie just hums lowly, picking up a coffee and one of the sandwiches and going into the office with the open door.
“Buenos días.”
“Qué hubo, Doc,” Mateo says with a wide grin as he pushes away from his desk to give Stacie a quick hug and snatch the coffee and medianoche from her. “Gracias.”
“A la orden,” Stacie offers with a quick laugh, perching on the side of his desk as he tears into the sandwich and takes a bite, moaning softly at the taste. “Is my dad seriously working right now?”
Mateo nods but doesn’t pause in his chewing to speak, instead opts to point out the window overlooking the construction, presumably where her father is so she twists to look outside. She watches for a while expecting to see him and frowning when she doesn’t so she reluctantly gets up and moves over to the window for a better vantage point.
A few minutes later her father appears, his back to the trailer as he speaks with someone just out of Stacie’s line of sight. “Who’s he talking to?”
“¿Qué?” he mumbles absentmindedly with a mouth full of food and just then the person appears, a blonde wearing sensible boots and a t-shirt that clings in all the spots Stacie’s eyes are drawn to.
“¿Quién es esa?” she asks with interest and Mateo finally joins her by the window.
“Aubrey Posen. Architect,” he says after the briefest of glances. “Este proyecto se lo dio a tu papá,” he rattles off distractedly but then he pauses before taking his next bite, turning to face Stacie and leaning in with squinty eyes. “You hot for blondie?”
“Mateo!” she says, mock outrage colouring her tone before she lets out a soft laugh. “Just wondering, I’ve never seen her around before.”
“It’s because you’re at that hospital all the time,” he says dismissively, dropping back into his chair and reaching for the coffee.
“The hospital where my job is? Where I save people’s lives, you mean?” Stacie throws over her shoulder but Mateo just brushes her off with a quirk of his lips and a “pfft”.
“Hola yo soy Stacie Conrad,” he mocks, his voice mimicking her American-accented Spanish. “Doctora de Amor.”
“Doctora de ortopedia,” she corrects with a challenging smile. “C’mon, Mateo, at least get it right.”
“Ai, disculpame,” he drawls, his hand touching his chest in the most insincere gesture of apology Stacie’s ever seen from the man she practically considers her brother. “Stacie Conrad, doctora de ortopedia,” he fixes and his whole façade drops as he rolls his eyes. “You don’t even save lives, paisa.”
“I’m gonna remember that next time you break your arm,” she threatens but it’s all in good fun and Mateo merely oohs mockingly before taking another hearty bite of his sandwich.
“I will find a better doctor when that happens,” Mateo says, the confidence in his voice lessened considerably by the food in his mouth.
“Good luck,” Stacie says with narrowed eyes but doesn’t add to it because she hears the door to the trailer open and familiar heavy steps make their way inside.
“Has the breakfast fairy been by today?” the gruff voice says and she’s already moving away from Mateo’s desk with a smile.
“The fairy is still here,” Patty says with affection and the man has barely turned around before Stacie wraps her arms around him.
He smiles and hugs her back just as tightly, a soft groan falling from his lips.
“Hi dad,” she says, voice muffled by his shirt.
“Hello, sweetheart.” He quickly kisses the side of her head. “You smell like hospital.”
Mateo cackles loudly from his office and over her father’s back she flips him a middle finger.
“I just got off a shift,” she explains, straightening her shirt when they pull apart. “Thought I’d bring breakfast so imagine my surprise to find you hard at work already.”
“Of course. I have to work hard, this business doesn’t run itself and that means starting fresh every day!” he gives jovially but at the deafening silence he gets in response, his shoulders falter and he narrows his eyes at his daughter, who’s doing a horrible job of hiding her disbelief and laughs right in his face. “Oh, you all wound me.”
“What was it really, boss?” Mateo calls out.
“I gotta keep these type of big firms happy so that they swing more and more projects our way, y’know. And Aubrey might be the nicest of the bunch but I still have to impress.”
“I see you wore your nice shirt. Are you trying to impress on a business front, or…?” Stacie enjoys riling up her father, especially when he pales at the suggestion, mouth dropping open in horror.
“Anastasia! Of course not! She’s your age, what kind of man would—”
“Oh, Chuck, many men,” Patty interrupts over her coffee. “Many, many men.”
“I would never,” he hisses.
“If you say so,” Stacie says with a shrug.
“I do say so!” His gaze darts all around the trailer, from Patty to Stacie to Mateo, trying to gauge how much they believe him.
Stacie takes pity on her father, grabbing the bag she’d brought with her and holding it up in front of his face. “Medianoche?”
“Yes, thank you,” he says and Stacie laughs as she walks into his office and he follows her in, leaning out and pointedly glaring at Patty and Mateo. “You are all horrible, horrible people; now go back to work.”
“Right on, bossman!”
Stacie thanks the nurse as she walks away from the desk, flipping through the patient chart and reading through the initial intake reports before absentmindedly pulling back the curtain to bay 8.
“Hello Mr. Carmichael, I’m Doctor Conrad. I see you have a broken—” she starts, finally looking up and faltering when she finds the bay empty. She frowns, turns around and looks around the emergency room as if that’s going to somehow conjure up the missing patient and bed. “Where’s my patient?”
The curtain is pulled away from the other side and then, “Where’s Josh?”
“That’s what I’m wondering,” Stacie quips before turning to the woman, her confused expression dropping completely at the sight of golden green eyes staring at her, scarlet red lips set unhappily. “Hi.”
“Hello,” the woman says, worried expression easing somewhat at the brilliant smile being sent her way. “Did you lose a patient?”
“It seems like I did,” Stacie says, shooting Aubrey a quick grimace. “Which doesn’t paint me in the best light, I realise.”
The words draw a soft laugh from Aubrey but when she gives the woman a once-over, she notices the two cups of coffee and refocuses on the fact that her patient is still very much not where he’s supposed to be.
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Posen, I’ll be right back,” she says, turning away to go and missing the immediate furrow of Aubrey’s brows as she watches Stacie leave.
“Mae?” Stacie asks innocently, leaning against the nurses’ desk and attempting to get the attention of the woman sat there. “Where is my patient?” she asks, holding up the chart.
“Bed 8,” Mae says, not even looking up from where she’s annotating a patient file.
“Mae,” Stacie urges and the woman sighs as she looks up, follows Stacie’s pointed finger all the way to the empty bay. “Where’s my patient?”
“Those damn surgeons,” Mae mutters darkly and Stacie laughs.
“I’m a surgical resident, Mae,” she teases even though she knows exactly who the woman had meant.
“You’re an ortho surgeon,” Mae dismisses, standing up and the wheeled chair goes sprawling behind her and crashes against the printer. “I told those damn interns not to take him up to X-ray until you’ve had your consult.”
“Hey can you at least not murder them on Christmas Eve?” Stacie requests as the woman rounds the nurses’ desk, laughing again when Mae mutters “they don’t deserve death” before stalking off.
Stacie’s eyes follow Mae as she leaves and she twists, ends up looking at the empty curtain and remembers that she’d told Aubrey to wait for her, finds the blonde staring at her with an odd look on her face.
“Thank you for waiting,” Stacie says as she walks back, ready to explain the situation when Aubrey interrupts her.
“I’m sorry but have we met before?” she asks, gaze flickering between Stacie’s eyes.
“Sorry?”
“You referred to me by name but I don’t think we’ve been introduced.” Her voice is careful, afraid to cause offence but Stacie freezes when she realises what she’s done, has the startling epiphany that she’s basically given herself away and she’s briefly mortified, has to push through it and plaster a smile on her face as she awkwardly thrusts her hand forward.
“Doctor Stacie Conrad,” she says, smile widening when she sees recognition flit through the blonde’s eyes.
“Aubrey Posen,” she says politely, shaking Stacie’s hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Stacie Conrad…” she says slowly, considering the name. “Do you know a Charles Conrad by any chance?”
“That’s my dad,” Stacie says with a soft smile, trying to contain her smile when she sees Aubrey light up with recognition.
“You’re Chuck’s daughter?” she asks, eyes warm and Stacie wants to shudder at the nickname before noticing Aubrey’s gaze rake down her body. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“All bad things, I hope,” Stacie flirts and Aubrey’s eyes trail back up to meet hers, the woman’s lips tugging into a badly contained smirk.
“All good things, unfortunately,” she throws back effortlessly and Stacie has to conceal an impressed look. “He calls you his little girl so you are not at all what I imagined.”
“What did you picture?” Stacie can’t help but ask.
“I don’t know, young? Pigtails? School outfit? Definitely not as…” Aubrey’s eyes linger on Stacie’s chest before flitting back up to meet expectant eyes. “Tall.”
Stacie doesn’t even try to hide her smirk at the blatant pivot and she drops her voice low when she says, “I can put my hair in pigtails if you ask nicely.”
“Maybe some other time,” Aubrey throws back and Stacie feels like she physically can’t look away from those twinkling eyes.
Aubrey finally clears her throat and severs their connection, pointedly looking around the empty bay before returning her gaze to Stacie, this time with a much more sober and expectant look and Stacie remembers where they are, snapping back into doctor mode.
“What happened to Josh?”
“He’s been taken upstairs for a few additional X-rays,” Stacie says.
“So why are you here?”
“Slight miscommunication,” she admits and Aubrey shoots her a wry smile. “What is your, uh, connection to the patient?” she asks, looking at the chart in her hands in an attempt to seem blasé about the question.
Aubrey doesn’t answer immediately, something in her smile shifting as she watches Stacie pretend to read over something.
“He’s my cousin.”
Considering the answer still doesn’t shed light on Aubrey’s marital or dating status, Stacie doesn’t understand why she feels so relieved but before she can delve into that, Aubrey speaks again.
“Is that relevant to the care he’s going to receive?” Aubrey asks casually, taking a sip from the coffee in her left hand to hide her smile.
“Oh, no, I was just curious.”
“Hm… curious.”
Stacie’s not sure how to respond to that, or to the way Aubrey seems to be sizing her up but she’s mercifully saved by one of the interns assigned to the ER pulling back the curtain and stopping at the sight of them.
“Doctor Conrad, can I get your help on something?”
“Sure thing, Turner, I’ll be right there,” she says with a quick smile and then turns to Aubrey. “Feel free to wait here or in the waiting room, Mr. Carmichael should be brought back soon.”
“And you?” she asks plainly, surprising Stacie.
“I should be back for a consult later,” Stacie manages to say with a half-smile, pausing at the edge of the small space. “Will you still be here?”
“Of course,” Aubrey says with an obvious sort of tone to her voice.
“Of course,” Stacie echoes.
“I need to make sure my cousin receives the best medical care this hospital has to offer,” she adds with a coy smile, lifting the coffee to her lips again.
“I will see you later, then.”
The door to the room is open and she can hear voices inside so she doesn’t knock before peeking inside, leaning against the doorway as her eyes fall on the single bed and its occupant and feeling a measure of relief to actually find her patient where he’s supposed to be. Aubrey’s also sitting on the bed with her legs crossed under her and Stacie pauses for a moment to take in how similar Aubrey and her cousin look.
They have the same sharp jaw, high cheekbones, and piercing eyes but where Aubrey’s blonde hair falls over her shoulders in soft waves, his long locks are tied back into a messy bun at the nape of his neck and if Stacie were to meet the two on the street, she would’ve sooner mistaken them for twins.
It doesn’t help that they’re facing each other, both of their expressions set in focus and determination and hands holding a few playing cards and creating a striking mirror image.
“Where do you keep pulling those eights from?” Josh says with a grumble as he picks up a card from the deck.
“Call it luck,” Aubrey boasts as she puts a card down on the open-faced stack.
“I can call it something else,” he murmurs and Stacie has to stifle a laugh because they still haven’t noticed her presence.
“What are you implying?” Aubrey asks, her voice taking on a sharp edge and before they can spiral into anything serious, Stacie clears her throat.
“Knock knock,” she says and both of them turn to her, Josh with a tentative, polite smile that twists into something more teasing when he glances at his cousin and sees her wide smile.
“This her?” he whispers but doesn’t try hard enough to keep it a secret and Stacie smiles when she hears the words, fully stepping into the room as she transfers his chart to her left hand.
“Shut up,” Aubrey throws his way quickly while keeping her eyes on Stacie. “Hi, come in.”
“This is my room,” he says with a small frown.
“Joshua Carmichael?” Stacie asks as her eyes settle on him.
“That’s me,” he says and offers his hand for a firm shake.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Conrad, I’ll be doing your surgery tomorrow,” she explains and at her name, his smile widens as he glances at Aubrey again with a manic look. “I know the attending on call already spoke to you about your surgery and given you all the details but I thought I’d swing by and introduce myself.”
“That’s very kind of you,” he says and Stacie isn’t sure if the lilt in his voice is a teasing implication or just a by-product of his Southern accent. “You’ve met my cousin Aubrey?”
“I have,” Stacie says with a quick glance her way and finding Aubrey’s eyes already on her. “Hello again.”
She keeps her voice polite, staying professional with the presence of her patient.
Josh glances between them with a half-grin, settling back on Stacie as she valiantly tries to ignore that knowing glint in his eyes.
“Did you really come in to introduce yourself or is there some sort of ulterior motive?” he asks plainly and Stacie almost reels back at the directness of the question, hadn’t expected him to point-blank ask her that and her mouth drops open as she tries to come up with some sort of reasonable response.
Aubrey barks out a sharp laugh, which adds to her confusion.
“I wanted to see if you had any questions,” she finally settles on and something on her face must appease him because his narrowed eyes melt away into a sheepish look.
“Dr. Donoghue already covered all his questions, he’s talking about something else,” Aubrey provides, her voice shaky as she tries to keep laughter at bay and Stacie feels like she’s floundering because it’s clearly not anything to do with her and Aubrey flirting earlier.
“I thought…” He clears his throat, shoots her a wry smile. “You might be here after hearing how I broke my leg.”
“To meet the big oaf himself,” Aubrey adds on and he glares at her. “You oaf,” she whispers.
“I was going to ask you tomorrow while you were loopy on meds but I guess now is as good a time as any,” Stacie says with a teasing smile to show him she’s only joking. “Especially if it’s as good a story as you’re setting it up to be.”
“It’s really not,” he says miserably.
Stacie’s not unused to patients trying to fib their way out of the ridiculous manner in which they’ve sustained a fracture, but she’ll still always delight in the way her patients turn sheepish, their own personal judgments and embarrassment preempting any type of assumption Stacie can make.
“I fell out of a hammock,” he says and Stacie’s already inclined not to believe him by the studious way he avoids her gaze, and Aubrey confirms it by shaking her head.
“That’s not what happened.”
“I was swinging in a hammock when I wanted to get out and I got distracted and overshot the distance.”
“What did you crash into?” Stacie asks, genuinely curious because she’s seen his X-rays and physical test results and knows the surgery he requires and she’s honestly impressed by how badly he’s managed to break his leg in what is clearly not a vehicular or motor crash.
“I ended up in the shrubs after flying out of the hammock at max velocity and taking out parts of Aubrey’s porch bannister.”
It’s not so much the words that make her have to bite down on her lips not to laugh, but the lopsided, wry smile he attempts in Aubrey’s direction.
“My whole porch bannister is ruined, you giant.”
“And your shrubs,” he adds, not helping himself.
“And the support beam for my hammock,” Aubrey says.
“These things are all easily fixed,” he says and immediately shrinks down in his bed to dodge the swat she levels at his torso.
“Why couldn’t you have slowed down and stepped out of the hammock like any normal person instead of hopping out of it, huh?”
“Because I really like spending Christmas at the hospital, Aubrey,” he sasses. “And I had other priorities at the time.”
“Like getting to Checkers?” Aubrey says with a smug tone and he crosses his arms.
“Yes,” he says, lifting his chin proudly. “You know how much I like dogs.”
Stacie’s silent observation of the back and forth comes to a sudden halt as she processes his words, her eyebrows knitting together as she considers all of it.
“I’m sorry, you rushed out of a hammock for a dog?” she interrupts and the two turn to her with wide eyes as if they’d forgotten her presence altogether.
“It was a Dalmatian,” Josh says with an obvious sort of shrug, as if he’s the one making the most sense at the moment.
“You broke both your fibula and tibia and dislocated your ankle to get to a dog?” she repeats, hoping that the added injuries will draw some sense from the man but he just stares at her blankly.
“Checkers is a really cute puppy,” Aubrey tries to reason and Stacie drops her chin to her chest, giving up on the both of them as she shakes her head softly and lets out a small laugh.
“Okay,” she finally manages. “In any case, it’s a very impressive break.”
“Impressive?” he asks, his whole expression lighting up. “Did you hear that, Aubs? My break is impressive.”
“It’s a Christmas miracle,” she says drolly, blinking at him.
Her pager gives three short beeps and it takes all the attention, Stacie looking down at where it’s clipped to her lanyard to see if it’s an emergency that requires her immediate attention.
“Duty calls,” Aubrey says.
“It does,” she confirms with a smile after noting that she does need to call back for the page but not run out of the room altogether.
“Thanks for swinging by, Doc,” Josh says with a smile and she steps closer to shake his hand again.
“It was no problem. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, and stay out of trouble tonight,” Stacie says with a teasing wink that elicits a chuckle from the both of them.
“We’ll try,” he says with a mockingly serious look.
Aubrey shakes her head in exasperation before offering Stacie a kind smile. “Bye.”
“You know those are crazy unhealthy, right?”
Aubrey smiles as she drops her head, blonde hair falling into her face before she looks at Stacie with a small smile. She kicks off from the pillar she’d been leaning against to put out the cigarette on the nearby ashtray before tossing it.
“I know.”
“Oh, you don’t have to stop on my account,” Stacie adds yet makes no move to step away.
“I was done anyway,” Aubrey says and Stacie watches with a curious smile as she fishes a small peppermint candy from her pocket and pops it in her mouth.
“Didn’t look like it.”
“I can never finish a whole one without feeling…” She shrugs, doesn’t finish the sentence and Stacie doesn’t pry, patiently waits her out. “I know it’s not good for me, but it’s the quickest way to let off steam.”
“But not the best way,” Stacie can’t help but throw out and one side of Aubrey’s mouth twitches up, her gaze lazily raking down the brunette’s body to check her out now that she’s not wearing scrubs anymore.
“Whatever are you implying, Doctor Conrad?”
She mirrors Aubrey’s coy smile but doesn’t elaborate, just holds her eye contact. “We’re outside the hospital and I’m off the clock,” she finally says, enjoying the slight way Aubrey’s brow furrows. “Call me Stacie.”
“Hm,” Aubrey gives. “That’s weird. I’m friends with your dad.”
“Something I’ve been working very hard to forget,” Stacie answers immediately and Aubrey’s delight seems to balloon.
“Why is that?”
“Because I’d like to ask you out after your cousin is discharged but thinking of you as my dad’s friend just makes that weird.”
Aubrey’s laugh is sharp and loud and draws the attention of a few people making their way back into the hospital.
“Then don’t think of me as your dad’s friend.”
“Then how?”
“The woman you met when she had to bring her idiot cousin to the ER?” Aubrey tries and Stacie pretends to consider the words, shakes her head as she worries her lower lip.
“That just makes me look unprofessional.” Aubrey rolls her eyes good-naturedly and Stacie shouldn’t enjoy it as much as she does, steps just that slight bit closer to Aubrey and drops her voice. “How about chance encounter outside a hospital?”
“I think I like that.”
“Yeah?” Stacie asks softly, smiling when Aubrey sways closer.
“A chance encounter can be a lot of things,” she says slowly, as if mulling over the thought. “I like the possibilities.”
The distance between them is so minuscule that Stacie can feel the air shift around them as Aubrey’s breathing slows, and if her head tilting slightly up hadn’t been an indication enough that she’s interested, the parting of her lips would have been, her cool minty breath washing over Stacie’s jaw.
Something inside her threatens to snap as her heart beats a staccato drum in her chest, the whole world around them going quiet with the pause but instead of closing the gap, Stacie clears her throat.
“So about that date,” she whispers, eyes never leaving Aubrey’s and how they seem to glint from the lingering rays of the sun.
“Hm?”
“You doing anything right now?”
Aubrey finally breaks away with a soft chuckle, glancing back at the entrance of the hospital and Stacie takes the opportunity to admire her profile and the way her previously teasing grin seems to melt into something softer, sweeter.
“I promised Josh waffles for dinner since he’s not allowed to have breakfast tomorrow morning,” she explains.
“Well, then,” Stacie whispers, fingers reaching up and delicately tucking a few rogue strands of hair behind Aubrey’s ear before leaning in and softly brushing her lips against the woman’s cheek — a poor substitute for the undoubtedly hot kiss they’d been on the precipice of sharing but better than nothing. “Good night.”
She hears the soft hitch of breathing when their skin makes contact and it takes a lot of willpower not to grin outright at the reaction.
“Good night, Doctor Conrad,” Aubrey says lowly, looking up at Stacie through her lashes and an eyebrow arching in challenge when Stacie’s smile twitches at the titling. “See you tomorrow.”
“Bright and early, Ms. Posen.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Surgery rounds always start earlier than other wards and even though Stacie understands the need for it, she always feels slightly guilty when they have to wake up patients at the crack of dawn, especially when said patients are not allowed any food or drink before surgery and have probably been kept awake for the laundry list of pre-op tests necessary.
So when the lead attending opens the door to Joshua Carmichael’s room and finds the lights already on, she feels a measure of relief that at least one person on the ward won’t be grumpy and half asleep and begging for just five more minutes with the lights out.
She’s entirely unprepared to find Josh sitting up in his bed, leaning forward with his body twisted, Aubrey half-perched on the bed behind him with her fingers combing through his hair and parting it.
“Good morning, Mr. Carmichael,” Dr. Donoghue says with laughter in his voice.
“Hey Doc!” he says, lifting his hand for a wave and smiling as they all fill in before Aubrey pushes his head back down.
“Hold still.”
“Be gentler with me,” he grumbles and two med students behind Stacie fail to stifle their giggles and even though she also really wants to laugh, she shoots them a quick look and they sober up, schooling their features and falling silent.
“What’s going on here?” Donoghue asks, handing off the chart to the junior resident in charge of presenting Josh’s case and leaving his arms free to cross.
“One of the nurses said I couldn’t go into surgery with my hair just loose because that’d be annoying for y’all, so Aubrey’s braiding it before we have to go,” Josh explains, his head still bowed as Aubrey starts folding locks one under the other until she’s quickly and deftly done up half in a Dutch braid.
“How are you feeling? How’s the leg?”
“Well, it’s there,” Josh says and that elicits a round of chuckles from the group and he instinctively lifts his head. Aubrey pushes his head back down with a long sigh and Josh lets out a squawk and says, “Ow! Can I report this abuse?”
“Do you want to do this yourself?” Aubrey threatens, fingers loosening their grip on him but not letting go of his hair entirely and Josh immediately sobers.
“No, sorry.”
Donoghue shakes his head and lets out another chuckle, gesturing to the assigned junior resident to start presenting Josh’s case to the whole team, and Stacie hangs back slightly, leaning against the wall as she listens to Dr. Turner while watching Aubrey finish the second braid, tying it off neatly with the hair tie around her wrist.
For all their morning bickering, when she moves away he shoots her a grateful look and a smile and Aubrey trails a hand down the braids, seemingly to test they’re secure but Stacie can see that it’s also a way for her to reassure herself that he’ll be okay, her following breath deep as her shoulders lose some of their tension.
“… so if you have no other questions or concerns, we can start taking you to the pre-op ward now,” the junior resident finishes and turns to Stacie with an expectant look that she smiles in response to while giving an encouraging nod and a thumbs up.
“Let’s party,” he says, cocking finger guns and making the accompanying sound as he lays down and this time Stacie doesn’t even bother to gently admonish the med students because she has to duck her head to keep from laughing herself.
Two of the junior residents raise the safety rails on his bed and start wheeling him out of the room while Stacie hangs back and watches the rest of the team file out, each to go attend to their respective duties while he’s prepped for surgery.
“You’re allowed to join him in the holding area,” Stacie says when Aubrey doesn’t move to follow them.
“I know,” she says with a smile, only briefly hesitating by the small sofa she’d slept on the previous night before moving closer to Stacie. “I just wanted to call my grandma first.”
“Alright,” Stacie says, stepping away but suddenly Aubrey’s fingertips touch her arm to halt her and her brows knit together in confusion.
The next moment happens so fast Stacie’s not sure if she’d imagined it but suddenly Aubrey moves closer, onto the tips of her toes as her fingers tighten on Stacie’s arm to keep her balance. The kiss to her cheek is quick but firm and by the time Stacie understands what’s happened, Aubrey’s moving away again with a satisfied smile.
“What was that for?” she manages, blinking quickly as she tries to process it.
Aubrey just points up at the ceiling, her smile never budging as Stacie follows her finger and sees the sprig of mistletoe hanging there, mistletoe that had definitely not been there the day before.
“You do that?”
“I’m pretty sure Josh got one of the nurses to,” Aubrey explains, the pleased twist of her lips accented by her bright red lipstick, the same hue as the day before and just as perfect and Stacie finds herself wondering if it had held up for so long or whether Aubrey had just applied a fresh coat. “I’m gonna go. Have a good day. Don’t let him die, please.”
“I won’t,” Stacie finds herself responding before she even knows what she’s saying, staring after Aubrey as she walks away without even glancing back.
The rooftop garden of the hospital has always been her favourite spot to seek solitude and after a long gruelling day of surgeries and seeing emergency patients, Stacie welcomes the fresh air and the last warm rays of the quickly disappearing December sun.
She only closes her eyes for a moment while she takes a deep breath, opting to keep them open to take in the way the sunset paints the cloudy sky with reds and purples, the last of the bright blue disappearing under dusk and her fingers tighten around the rail to anchor herself in place as she works to calm her mind.
She watches the skyline until the sun is completely gone and she marvels at the fact that her pager hasn’t gone off yet, calling her back inside to something that demands her attention, the peace and quiet very unusual for Christmas day.
No sooner is she thanking the Gods for giving her reprieve but she hears the heavy door to the garden open and shut. She lets out a soft sigh, squaring her shoulders back and getting ready to go back to work.
Only a handful of nurses know where to find her if she’s gone missing and of the ones who know, very few would actually come seek her out which means there must be a real emergency that she has to attend to.
“Oh, hi.”
She doesn’t recognise the startled voice but Stacie’s small frown dissipates as soon as she turns and her eyes land on the blonde woman standing there.
“I didn’t realise there’d be anybody up here.”
“The garden is closed, Ms. Posen,” she says with a stern voice but she doesn’t even try to hide her smile as she turns to fully face the woman.
Aubrey smiles and nods. “I know.”
“How did you even get up here?”
“Nurse Susan gave me a keycard.”
Stacie whistles under her breath, impressed. “How’d you manage that? She’s usually very strict with handing those out.”
Aubrey smiles coyly as she slowly strolls closer, fingers reaching out to brush against some of the plants.
“Bit of charm, bit of glad-handing.”
Stacie chokes on her next breath, covering it up with a cough but Aubrey freezes and looks at her curiously, head tilting in question.
“I know we haven’t known each other long but I didn’t take you to be that kinda gal,” Stacie gives, eyebrows high.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, I don’t mean any offence,” Stacie rushes to say when Aubrey crosses her arms. “Just surprised. By Susan as well, to be honest.”
She glances away from Aubrey in an attempt to dispel the images of the two women from her mind, even has to shake her head softly.
“What exactly do you think we did?” Aubrey asks, her voice level and practically begging Stacie to elaborate.
“You just said you glad-handed her.”
“I did.”
Stacie raises her eyebrows suggestively and Aubrey’s frown deepens.
“What are you implying?”
“I’m not implying anything beyond what you said you did,” Stacie says, her own confusion growing at the affronted way Aubrey’s looking at her. “What?”
“I just asked her nicely.”
“You asked her nicely with your hand down her pants?” Stacie asks and despite really not wanting to think about her colleague and Aubrey going at it, the way the blonde blushes a fierce red while her mouth drops open is amusing, to say the least. “How even did you—? No, I don’t want to know.”
She shakes her head and stops herself before she can spiral into thinking about the logistics of it all, and Aubrey attempts a sentence at least three different times, her skin growing redder each time until even the tips of her ears are red.
“I didn’t!” she finally manages.
“Didn’t what?”
“Put my hand down her pants, why would you even say that?” she says in a scandalised voice.
“You said you gave her a reach-around!”
“When did I say that?”
They’re practically shouting and Stacie’s grateful that they’re having this conversation on the rooftop instead of inside the hospital somewhere.
“What do you think the term glad-handing means?” Stacie says, brows knitting together.
“Clearly not what you think it means,” Aubrey says, her flourish dying down at that. “Why would you think it means giving someone a reach-around?”
“Because that’s what it means,” Stacie says with a quick roll of the eyes but Aubrey scoffs.
“No, it doesn’t!” Aubrey counters.
“I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree,” Stacie says and she can see that Aubrey doesn’t want to let this go, the way her fingers tighten around her crossed arms and her eyes set in determination, lips pressed in a thin line clearly to stop herself from saying something rash and her cheeks are still a little flushed and Stacie is enjoying the sight far too much.
“As long as we’re clear that all I did was schmooze nurse Susan.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Stacie says and Aubrey’s smile shifts then as her head tilts, that scrutinising look slow and calculating down Stacie’s body.
“Why’s that?”
One of her hands drifts up from her chest to scratch at the side of her neck and Stacie’s eyes are drawn to the movement so she takes a beat longer to answer.
“I’d be jealous if somebody in this hospital was getting sexual favours from you,” she admits brazenly and Aubrey seems taken aback by the blunt words, her fingers freezing against her skin and her eyebrows shooting up.
“Doctor Conrad—”
“Stacie,” she corrects.
“We’re still at the hospital.”
“We’re on top of the hospital.”
She rolls her eyes but relents. “Stacie…” Aubrey moves closer to her, eyes never leaving Stacie’s as she leans in. “Nobody in this hospital is getting sexual favours from me at the moment.”
Stacie’s pout is masterful and she doesn’t hesitate using it, combining it with puppy dog eyes and Aubrey’s shoulders soften almost immediately, her gaze flickering down to Stacie’s lips as if she can’t keep them away. Stacie enjoys the way the corners of her mouth twitch up with thinly veiled amusement even as she remains firm.
“How ‘bout outside this hospital?” Stacie whispers, sliding her hands into the pockets of her scrubs to keep from reaching out.
“What are you doing later?”
The suggestion behind the words is not lost on Stacie but her mouth twists as she shoots Aubrey an apologetic look. “I’m here.”
“You’re not going home?”
Considering Stacie’s been there since the morning, she can understand Aubrey’s surprise.
“I’m the senior resident on call tonight so I have to stick around.”
“But it’s Christmas.”
“Idiocy waits for no holiday,” Stacie says and Aubrey gives a quiet chuckle at that. “Your cousin being a prime example.”
She’s glad Aubrey laughs and seems to accept that explanation because she doesn’t feel like explaining that the holidays are just difficult for her and her father, and that spending and celebrating Christmas together in the house where she grew up feels empty without her mom there and despite it having been many years since her passing, the day hasn’t gotten easier and so it’d become an unspoken tradition for the Conrads to simply skip the holiday altogether.
She doesn’t ask what her father does on the day, and he doesn’t ask her not to work the Christmas shifts, and if her being at the hospital means her fellow residents can have the holiday off to spend with their families and enjoy themselves, that’s Christmas spirit-y enough for Stacie.
Circling back to the conversation at hand, she fully processes Aubrey’s invitation and the implication that Aubrey doesn’t have plans today either and her brows knit together at that, considering how the woman had already spent all day at the hospital.
“You don’t have Christmas plans?” she asks delicately, her own experience in the back of her mind as a reminder that the holidays aren’t all happily festive for everybody.
Aubrey shakes her head. “Yesterday Josh and I were gonna drive up to Jacksonville to spend the holidays with family but…”
She trails off with a wry smile and Stacie chuckles.
“He broke his leg,” she fills in.
“Like a fool,” Aubrey adds but her eyes are warm the way Stacie can see she always is when around her cousin.
“You two seem very close.”
“We grew up together,” Aubrey explains. “He’s like a brother.”
“So what are you doing up here with me?” Stacie asks teasingly. “Not that I’m complaining.”
Aubrey shoots her a look of fond exasperation but then she glances away with and briefly bites her lower lip.
“He wanted a shower but—” Stacie’s about to interrupt, eyes going wide with alarm but Aubrey holds her hand up to halt her before she even speaks. “All the nurses told him no but because he was so adamant, they talked him into a sponge bath instead.”
Aubrey scrunches up her face and she looks so darn adorable doing it that Stacie almost misses her next words.
“And I don’t need to be there for that.”
Stacie laughs loudly in response and Aubrey’s face shifts into something softer, sweeter and it’s the sight of those warm eyes that makes Stacie calm, a hand over her chest to control her breathing.
“Well twisted as it may be, I’m glad it means you’re up here with me.” Aubrey’s smile turns shy at that and she ducks her head to hide it so Stacie presses further. “Despite the fact you let me walk around the hospital with a bright red lipstick mark on my cheek.”
She expects a sheepish, guilty smile and is totally thrown for a loop when instead Aubrey looks at her with fire behind her eyes.
“When did you spot it?” she asks with a smug smile.
“I didn’t. I was scrubbing into surgery when the chief of surgery pointed it out to me.”
Aubrey bites down on her lips to stifle a laugh but a soft snort still makes it past and Stacie shakes her head.
“Which means that for about two hours, nobody said a word to me,” Stacie continues as the very delayed realisation hits her.
“That’s not my fault.” Stacie hums her dissent. “And if nobody said anything, what’s that say about you?”
“Nothing good.”
Aubrey just makes a soft noise in the back of her throat and Stacie’s smile widens.
“Does that lose me favour with one Aubrey Posen?”
“No,” she says lightly, never breaking eye contact with Stacie as she licks her lips. “If anything it has the opposite effect.”
The way Aubrey’s fingers are still trailing over the skin of her neck is so distracting, and Stacie can’t figure out any justification for why Aubrey’s still doing it other than that she knows exactly what effect it’s having on Stacie.
In a moment that she can only characterise as pure recklessness, she gently wraps her fingers around Aubrey’s wrist and pulls it out of the way and Aubrey’s brow just twitches at the slow movement before Stacie suddenly, quickly dips her head and kisses her.
Stacie’s lips barely brush against hers before Aubrey jerks away in surprise, eyes wide and frozen and there’s a moment of pause where Stacie’s horrified at what she’d done, and she’s about to apologise for being too forward, too presumptuous, too something, when Aubrey’s fingers curl into her light green scrubs and yank her closer, crashing their mouths together for a kiss much more hurried than the one Stacie had been intending to lay on her moments before.
It’s her turn to be surprised, less by Aubrey kissing her and more by the fervour with which it’s being done, slender fingers curling around the back of her neck to bring her even closer and Stacie just takes her lead and deepens the kiss, taking advantage of Aubrey’s soft sigh to lick into her mouth while her hands fall to Aubrey’s hips, fingertips pressing against the soft cashmere of her sweater.
Aubrey tugs on her lower lip and everything in Stacie’s brain goes completely quiet, replaced with a singular focus on kissing Aubrey.
Stacie truly hadn’t noticed that Aubrey is a few inches shorter than her until kissing her, and she drags a hand up Aubrey’s back to gently cup the back of her head and tilt it back enough to make the angle more comfortable, warmth exploding in her chest when she drags another content sigh from Aubrey.
And then as quickly as it had begun, Aubrey jerks away from her for the second time in so many minutes and Stacie frowns at her, hands dropping uselessly at her side as she tries to clear the fog in her head and the only thing she can make out is Aubrey’s frown, directed at her chest which only adds to Stacie’s confusion.
It’s only a few seconds later that the ringing in her ears dies away and she realises her pager is going off, and that Aubrey staring at her chest unhappily has nothing to do with her body and everything to do with the insistent beeping coming from the small machine attached to her lanyard.
She opens her mouth to say something — anything — but her body betrays her and a few syllables of nonsense stutter out of her as she reaches for the pager and unclips it to look down at the message and silence it.
“You have to go,” Aubrey says and Stacie hates that she can’t stick around to kiss Aubrey for longer or to hear more of that lovely post-kiss rasp.
“Yeah,” she says with a nod, still breathless and unsure of how to depart politely. “It’s a priority one.”
“Then go!” Aubrey says with an exasperated look and Stacie shoots her a quick smile before turning and jogging to the door, pulling it open with more force than necessary and disappearing down the stairs without looking back and thus missing the way Aubrey smiles after her with a dazed look in her eyes.
Just as every year, Christmas night had been hectic and busy and Stacie had barely gotten an hour of sleep her whole shift and the thought of going home and crashing face-first into bed is the only reason she’s still on her feet.
Stacie’s a little too happy to be handing over the code blue pager to the senior resident coming into his own 26-hour shift and when he asks her how busy it had been, all she can do is make a miserable sound that draws a laugh from him.
A quick rundown of important information later and she’s ready to leave the hospital but before she can do that, she has to make a quick pit stop.
After kissing Aubrey and having to unceremoniously run off, she hasn’t had a moment of calm to swing by and she’s hoping to at least get a moment to talk to her now that she’s officially off the clock.
She finds the door to Josh’s hospital room open again and knocks on the doorframe as she steps inside with a smile.
“Good morning,” she says when she spots Josh sitting up in his bed, halfway through his breakfast.
Her expression falls slightly when she notices that the small sofa in the room — made available to the patients’ for if they want a family member to stay with them for the night — hasn’t been made up and doesn’t have linens on it as it had the day before.
“Morning Doc!” he says after washing down a bite with some water. “Missed you at rounds this morning.”
“I was doing handover,” she explains and at his frown, she elaborates. “I’m heading home.”
“And you decided to come to say goodbye to your favourite patient…” he teases, his accent thick as ever. “I’m very flattered.”
“I wanted to come see how you were doing and say goodbye because I was told they’ll be discharging you tomorrow and my next shift isn’t until Thursday.”
“Oh,” he says loudly with a steadily increasing smile on his face as he leans back against his pillows and folds his hands over his stomach. “I see how it is.”
“There’s nothing to see,” she protests even though they both know that’s not entirely the truth. “You’re my Christmas patient of the year.”
“Christmas patient of the year?” he asks. “What does that mean?”
“I always work the Christmas shift and every Christmas, there’s a guy — a person, but usually a guy — who comes in with an injury that I’ll remember forever.”
“And that’s me?” he asks, his expression brightening at the information and he sits up again to level her with a slightly suspicious look. “Not because of Bree?”
“No,” Stacie says as she files away that nickname for another time. “You had to have major surgery because you were excited about a dog.”
“A Dalmatian puppy!” he tries to argue but she laughs softly.
“Still.”
“Do I get a plaque? Or like a special certificate?”
“No,” she says around a laugh. “Why would you want one?”
“When Bree and me get to Jacksonville, my memaw is gonna kill me for getting hurt and missing Christmas dinner.”
“And you think a certificate’s gonna help with that?”
“It’s somethin’,” Josh says with a shrug. “I could spin it as an achievement of sorts.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Stacie says, making a mental note to email the nursing staff on his floor, and he shoots her a grateful smile. “You’re still going up to Jacksonville?”
“Yeah, we’re gonna drive up after I get discharged.”
“Okay good, I hope you still get to enjoy the rest of your holidays,” Stacie says with a smile that widens when Josh nods.
“Thanks for swinging by to check up on me. And for, y’know, fixing me up and all that,” he says, gesturing to his leg before offering her a hand to shake and she steps closer to give him a hand.
“Always a pleasure, and I hope not to see you back here anytime soon,” she says with a small smile.
“I’m sorry Aubrey’s not here to say goodbye, I’m sure she also wanted to thank you.”
Stacie tries to hide her smile at his subtle jab as she sinks her hands into her pockets, levelling him with a coy smile.
“No thank you necessary,” Stacie says in a professional voice. “You can tell her I said that.”
“You could tell her yourself,” Josh throws back, wagging his eyebrows.
Stacie doesn’t say anything, just watches with what she hopes is a reserved and cool look as he reaches into his pyjama pants pocket and retrieves a small card.
He hands it over and Stacie’s fingers trail over the smooth, glossy card stock and the embossed letters of Aubrey’s business card and when she flips it over, she reads over the cellphone number scribbled hastily in black pen.
“She put you up to this?”
“No, I’m just a very good wingman.”
Josh’s grin is infectious and try as she might, Stacie can’t help but smile in response, shaking her head even as she tucks the business card in her front pocket.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Carmichael,” she says with a small smile as she steps away.
“Merry Christmas, Doctor Conrad.”
“Morning, Carl!” she calls out with a smile at the man sitting by the main entrance of the construction site and she’s pleasantly surprised when he yells a greeting back to her and waves with a smile instead of a lacklustre gesture that she’s allowed onto the site.
She shakes her head and just stays by her car and she can see that he’s confused, but not enough to come seek her out and ask about it.
Stacie reaches into her car for the two cups of coffee, closing the door with her hip and resting one cup on the roof of her car as she waits patiently while sipping from her coffee.
She doesn’t have to wait long and sure enough Aubrey comes off the worksite towards the parking lot and by extension towards her. She’s reading over some papers in a portfolio she has in her hands and it offers Stacie the opportunity to check her out without needing to be covert about it.
Stacie likes seeing how different she looks here from how she’d looked at the hospital, her soft sweaters and leggings traded in for tight jeans and a sensible button-down shirt, rolled up at the sleeves.
Aubrey only looks up from her papers to see where she’s going and Stacie watches with a small smile as she glances her way before looking down, and then lifts her head again so quickly Stacie’s concerned about whiplash.
“Hi,” Aubrey says, coming to a sudden stop, her surprise at finding Stacie there more than clear.
“Good morning,” Stacie says and holds out a hand, offering her the spare coffee. “Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year,” she echoes softly and snaps her folder shut as she moves closer to take the coffee, fingers brushing against Stacie’s and lingering for too long. “What are you doing here?”
“Visiting my dad at work,” she teases.
“So what are you doing out here?” Aubrey asks with an arched eyebrow, keeps her eyes on Stacie as she lifts the take out cup and sips from it, features softening slightly at the delicious taste of the Colombian roast.
“Watching you in action,” Stacie says with a shrug and it brings a smile to Aubrey’s face. “Since you got to see me in my element, and all.”
“Hmm, I don’t know if I did,” Aubrey says with a disbelieving hum, tucking her portfolio under her arm. “All I saw was you flirting with a patient’s cousin.”
“Shame you think that’s all I did,” she replies as she fully leans back against her car. “I’m very good.”
“At your job?” she asks and Stacie can see that even Aubrey knows that’s not what she was talking about.
“Sure.”
“If you’re that good, why haven’t you texted?” Aubrey throws out almost too casually, that eyebrow still arched and her lips twisting dangerously.
“I thought a completely casual yet incredibly planned meet-cute would be more my style,” Stacie says, not even taking a moment to think about it and refusing to wilt under Aubrey’s studious gaze.
“Incredibly planned?” she asks and Stacie can see that she tries to keep up her cool exterior even as her eyes lose some of their edge, curiosity winning out.
“Mhm-hm.” Stacie gestures to the work site behind Aubrey. “Who set up this inspection?”
“… Your father.”
Stacie smiles knowingly and a slow yet calculating smile makes its way onto Aubrey’s face.
“Impressive.”
“Thank you,” she says.
“So what else is in this incredibly planned event? How do you see this panning out?” Aubrey asks as she drinks from the coffee cup again.
“I’d suggest we go to breakfast, you remind me that you’re working, I ask you out to dinner and to show you I’m serious we kiss a little but not too much because Patty and Mateo are almost definitely peeking out the office window at us, we say goodbye and I let you drive off and finally send you that text that Josh said I should.”
Aubrey nods slowly as she processes the wealth of information thrown her way, smile widening the longer she stares at Stacie and Stacie doesn’t shy away from it, mirroring it with a smile of her own and a lazy shrug.
“Wait, Josh said what? He only told me he gave you my number.”
“That’s not important,” Stacie dismisses immediately. “Do you want to go get breakfast?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a shame, I—wait.” Aubrey giggles softly and she tries to hide it with her coffee cup but fails spectacularly. “That’s not in the plan.”
“Sorry,” she says in an unapologetic tone. “I have the morning off.”
“But you’re here, working,” Stacie says and if her voice is a little high pitched it’s only because she’s in completely uncharted territory.
“Because Patty called me for an inspection,” she explains. “And told me to keep my morning free.”
Realisation dawns on her and her head turns so she can look at the small trailer that houses the office, where blinds snap back into place a little too suddenly, the timing awfully convenient.
“There’s been scheming,” she notes and Aubrey gives a soft hum and a nod.
“Yes.”
“It’s kind of a shame the plan’s been thrown out now,” Stacie says with a soft pout as she turns back to Aubrey.
“Not all of it,” she says softly, stepping closer and mindful of the half-full cup in her hand, leans in to kiss Stacie.
She doesn’t waste a second as she presses back, lips moving over Aubrey’s and her hands finding her hips, turning them so she’s pushing Aubrey up against the car and smiling when fingers curl around the back of her neck to keep her close.
Aubrey moans softly when Stacie’s hand drags up her side and the sound makes them break apart to avoid going too far, and Stacie’s breathless but she enjoys the way Aubrey’s chest rises and falls at a rapid pace and how her tongue pokes out to lick her lips.
“So, breakfast?” she asks and Aubrey nods, fingertips ghosting along Stacie’s neck as she pulls her hand back and they slowly part for the time being.
“Yes please, I’m starving.”