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In the weeks that follow, Sarah finds herself repeatedly returning to Callie’s. It has become a sort of safe haven for her; somewhere she could depend on, especially on the days when things were tough. She does, however, find herself thinking about the nameless woman she’d quite literally bumped into on that first visit. It had to be admitted, she had considered not ever going back, purely to avoid any awkward interaction that might ensue on seeing her again. But as a budding psychiatrist, she realised such avoidance was probably a little irrational. And in any case, she was craving one of those cinnamon buns again. Besides, another part of her (the part that doesn’t dread awkward interactions) is still curious about the mystery woman, as Sarah had begun calling her in her mind, and she can’t help but wonder who she is and whether she was somewhere in the city.
It seems, somehow, that fate has it in to answer that particular question for her one Wednesday morning. By all accounts, it’s been a fairly quiet morning when Sarah finds herself being paged to the ED, and she’s about to turn the corner when she hears the voice.
“What kind of idiot resident misses this?”
Sarah freezes. There is no mistaking that accent, that voice, its intonation. It’s the woman from Callie’s. There’s no other explanation.
“Ava, c’mon you can’t expect him to catch everything. Sometimes these things happen,” she hears Connor’s voice.
Ava, Sarah mouths. The woman’s name was Ava. She likes the way the name feels in her mouth.
“Our patient could have died, Connor,” she hears the woman—Ava—say.
“But he didn’t.”
“Yeah, no thanks to that ED resident,” Ava mutters darkly, striding down the corridor and past Sarah, not noticing her presence in the least.
“Oh, hey Sarah. Where’re you headed?” Connor asks her, a little puzzled. Sarah doesn’t blame him. Admittedly, it must look at least a little odd to see her just standing there in the corridor when she really should be somewhere else.
“I was on my way down to the ED,” she manages to recover. “But I, uh, heard raised voices and didn’t want to intrude…” she trails off.
“Oh that,” Connor laughs emptily. “That was Dr Bekker, our new cardiothoracic fellow.”
“I take it from your tone that you two don’t get along,” Sarah smiles.
“You could say that. She just always has to be right!”
“Well maybe it’s more of the fact that you’re more like her than you think.”
“Hmm, yeah right. Don’t you try and shrink me, Reese,” Connor laughs. “I’ll see you ‘round,” he tells her, walking off in the opposite direction, leaving Sarah to her thoughts. And there are a lot of them.
Ava Bekker. What are the odds? The woman she practically almost knocks to the ground turns up working at the same hospital as her. And Sarah doesn’t know how to feel about that. At all.
The rest of her shift is spent down in the ED. It’s mayhem as usual down there and owing to the shortfalls in staff, Sarah’s been requested to help out. Although, perhaps that is lucky for her, as it gives her something else to preoccupy her mind with. By the time the ordeal is over, Sarah is about ready to collapse. So, she makes her way to the one place in the city that makes her not feel quite so lost.
Callie’s is a little busier than usual when Sarah arrives, but that’s probably to do with the time of day, with people grabbing themselves a pick me up, not unlike Sarah herself, before heading off home. Sarah heads straight for the counter and places her order before waiting a little off to the side. She doesn’t really have much time to sit today, not wanting to miss her bus.
James, the barista today (the plastic name tag pinned to his front tells her), hands Sarah her drink and she goes over to get some sugar, easing the lid off carefully. As she does, she realises this is absolutely not her order. Instead, in her hands is a hot chocolate, and whilst it smells so warming and comforting and is topped off with whipped cream, this is definitely someone else’s order.
Sighing, she heads back up to the counter.
“Hi, sorry, I ordered an earl grey, but this is a hot chocolate,” Sarah says, holding up her cup.
“Oh, sorry about that,” the barista says, but before he can continue, a voice like honey and warmth behind her interrupts.
“That would be mine.”
Sarah turns around to find none other than Ava Bekker, smiling at her.
“O-oh, here,” Sarah stammers, all but thrusting the drink into the woman’s hand.
“And this is yours. Didn’t I see you at the hospital today?” Dr Bekker asks with a smile and Sarah goes wide-eyed. She didn’t think she was the type of person to get remembered.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Sarah Reese, psychiatry resident,” she introduces herself a little clumsily.
“Oh, so you’re the one who told Dr Shore to fuck off,” Ava states simply, taking a sip of her drink. “Ava Bekker, by the way.”
“I don’t know about that,” Sarah starts off, startled, “but I did quit pathology. Connor told me you’re the new cardiothoracic fellow,” Sarah continues, keen to divert the attention away from her.
“Did he now?”
“Yes, I sort of ran into you both earlier today…” Sarah trails off, wishing now she hadn’t said anything.
“Well, since we’re on the subject of things Connor tells other people, he seems to be quite your fan. Always singing your praises.”
“Really?” Once again, Sarah is taken aback. She hadn’t expected for Connor to talk to other people about her like that. Especially not to someone who was so new to Med.
“Mhmm,” Ava smiles, taking a sip of her hot chocolate, and Sarah can’t hold back a smile, which, apparently, is very obvious to Ava.
“What?” Asks Ava.
“Oh- I just didn’t picture you as the hot chocolate type person,” says Sarah, realising how foolish it sounds now when she knows nothing about the woman in front of her.
“Ah, so you think you know me?”
“No-o.” Sarah doesn’t add on that she’d like to, because that would most definitely sound cheesy and probably borderline stalkerish.
“Relax, I’m just teasing,” Ava smirks, making her high cheekbones even more prominent. “So how come you come here? Not that I haven’t enjoyed your company, just that it’s a little out of the way of the hospital.”
“That’s exactly why, actually. Sometimes I just don’t feel like bumping into the whole of Med, you know?”
Ava nods in agreement.
“Well I hope you don’t stop coming on my account,” Ava tells her, holding the door open for Sarah as the two step out into the chilly Chicago evening.
“Only if you don’t,” Sarah smiles, relieved.
“Never,” confirms Ava, fixing her with another dazzling smile. “It was nice meeting you, Dr Reese. Hopefully see you around sometime?”
“Yeah,” Sarah returns in a voice that sounds so far off and unlike her own as she watches Ava turn to go, walking in the opposite direction until she’s swallowed up by the Chicago crowds.