Work Text:
Kate absolutely hated Valentine’s Day. The chocolates, the flowers, the gifts; horrible. Most of the staff at Aubrey Hall had bargained for a spot off, but as a fourth year resident and new transfer, Kate knew she had to prove herself here. Most at Aubrey Hall were welcoming, and many had been impressed by Kate’s skills and her quick ability to adapt.
That’s how Kate found herself in the hospital at 10pm on the most romantic day of the year, waiting for a heart to be delivered for a transplant. The night would be worth it when she gets to scrub in on the surgery.
Dr. Hanover had directed her to wait for the heart and do nothing else. So Kate seated herself on a vacant bed by the ER. Hanover was an ass and made fetishizing remarks, but he was her boss at the end of the day. If Kate stayed in his good graces she would for sure be able to specialize in cardio with no problem.
But she really did want to punch him in the face sometimes, or accidentally spill his morning drink on him. But he was also a great surgeon and Kate had to find a way to work with him. Not in the way interns and scrub nurses did though. Kate knew better than to twist herself up in the sheets with Dr. George Hanover IV. He probably was responsible for the Syphilis outbreak last month now that Kate thinks about it.
40 minutes later…
While Kate did her charts and studied, it was hard not to get tempted by the cases passing by. Holidays meant the ER would be busy. It was great.
For her, not the patients.
“Alright, Let’s pack her up! We’ve got another in Soho!” She heard Colin yelling from outside. Only two Bridgertons were in the hospital tonight. Violet and Edmund had their annual dinner; the chief was very adamant about leaving Aubrey Hall on time earlier that evening. And Sophie mentioned that Benedict had finally asked her out on a proper date. How cheesy Kate thought, a first date on Valentine’s Day. But after weeks of obvious flirting, she was genuinely happy for her new friend.
Anthony Bridgerton was also absent from AH tonight. Kate didn’t have to see his smug grin or deal with his overly confident attitude. He was probably charming some sultry woman with the same hotshot doctor line he always used. But with Anthony gone, Kate did have cardio all to herself. That was a win in her book.
The gurney coming in carried a child with a swelling red face; Peds she thought. Probably an allergy reaction. Right on queue, Daphne Bridgerton ran up and assessed the child.
Hopefully that heart will arrive soon.
1 hour later…
Kate checked her watch. Where was that heart? Her patient needed it urgently…the whole point of working tonight was for her to get some extra action, yet Hanover had her sitting like a perched bird.
After checking the status of the heart (still in transit) and getting a snack, she heard another commotion in the ER.
“Move! Make way!” Benedict yelled as a woman screamed. Curious, Kate looked over the corner and saw quite a sight.
Swirling their way through the ER was Sophie and Benedict alongside a pregnant woman. She had blisters on her bare stomach and looked to be in excruciating pain. Sophie was also on the gurney as she had her arms between the woman’s legs trying to soothe her, while Benedict pushed them into the nearest room.
“Page Dr. Danbury, the baby is already crowning and she’s only 34 weeks along!” Sophie called to attention. “She’s got third degree burns on her belly, so we’ll need plastics too.”
“I thought you two were on a date?” Kate asked them as they passed her.
“We are!” They yelled at the same time.
Benedict explained, “We went to that new Hibachi place when there was a mishap with the grill,”
“And it blew up!” Sophie finished.
Kate gasped, “Are you two okay?”
“We’re fine, but she’s not.” Turning the attention back onto the patient.
A baby at that term should survive if everything went smoothly. Its breathing will need to be monitored in the NICU, and the mother will need skin grafts. It was going to be a tough night for the mother and baby, but with Benedict and Sophie, they should be in great hands.
“Page me when you’re free. Hope everything goes well Soph.” Kate said kindly.
“Uh, Dr. Sharma?” An intern who’s name she was trying to remember tapped her shoulder.
“Yes?”
“There is someone requesting your services.”
“An attending?” She raised her brows.
“No.”
“Then who?” You would think they’d elaborate more.
“A patient, a woman. She said she was your sister.” They stammered.
“Well why didn’t you lead with that?” Kate huffed as she looked for Edwina through the ER. Was she hurt? How urgent was it?
Waving, Edwina caught her attention. “Kate! Over here.” She held her hand that had a gauze over it.
Kate walked over and dismissed the intern tending to her sister. Gently taking Edwina’s hand, “What in bloody hell did you do?” She said while assessing the area; not too deep but she will need stitches.
Edwina gave a brilliant smile, “Well you know how I have been talking with that girl from the market?” Kate nodded. “I planned on cooking dinner for her; she said her favorite dish was Salmon Piccata, so as I was chopping up the fish my phone rang and sliced my hand!” Edwina giggled like it was the funniest thing in the world.
“Well you need to be more careful.” Kate injected an anesthetic, and started to sew Edwina’s wound, “I know you’re excited, but I can’t have my sister slicing her hands!”
“I know! I was just moving too quickly; you know how clumsy I can get. Plus my hands aren’t the important ones, yours are. How has your transition been?”
“Changing the subject now are we?”
“Yes.” Edwina gave a sly smile.
Kate had told her about her horrible attending and the friends she had made at Aubrey Hall, but she had left out the topic of Dr. Anthony Bridgerton. She knew Edwina would make something out of nothing. “It’s been fine. Same as the last time we talked.”
“Really?” She snooped. “Okay, then update me on how your OB friend is doing with that other doctor?
“Oh! She finally went on a date with him tonight.”
“And you?”
“And me what?”
“Have you been on any dates?”
Kate eyed her. Of course she fell into her trap. “Hey! That’s not fair. You set me up! I’m sewing your skin back together with perfect technique and you think to ask me about my love life?”
Edwina over dramatically gasped, “How horrible of a sister I must be.”
Kate shook her head and finished up the sutures. “It’s nonexistent at the moment.” She continued, “I don’t have much time thinking about my heart, when I’m learning how to sew others back together – physically not emotionally,”
“How poetic of you.” Edwina laughed. “But I mean you could find someone here! I mean look at the doctors. I think it’s always so busy because patients just like looking at the staff!”
“Edwina!” Kate scolded.
“What?” She gestured to someone behind Kate, “Look at him. He looks nice, tall, and has nice shoulders. If I didn’t already have a date tonight, I’d go up to him.”
Kate turned and laughed, “You mean Fred? He’s an intern and we call him Princey. It’s a no for me Eddie.”
“Well just keep your options open. You deserve to find someone.”
“Thank you, and I know.” Kate grabbed her good hand.
The sisters fell into their normal banter as Kate finished checking for any flaws in her work (there never was). Topics jumping to how Mum was doing, Edwina’s work at the museum, and stupid jokes they always shared. Once Edwina’s paperwork was all settled, Kate had her discharged and sent her off to her date. Even though her sister cut her hand, it was nice to see her during the long shift.
Just as Kate was making her way back to her post, her pager went off.
Her heart. Finally.
She practically ran to the doors to retrieve the organ. Meeting the transplant physician, Kate confirmed that all the information was correct and was informed that the delay was due to a flower truck crash; blocked all lanes and hundreds of flowers everywhere. She didn’t care much for the flowers, they would die anyways and are obnoxiously expensive. Kate took the invaluable cooler and gracefully ran to the cardio section of the hospital.
Paging Dr. Hanover while she ran, Kate placed the heart on the counter huffing and puffing. Looking around, he was nowhere in sight. “Hanover?” She breathed heavily.
Dorset, another fourth year resident, looked up from his charts, “In the on-call room.”
So he’s having sex while their patient was currently hanging by a thread. “I did not wait around wasting valuable time for him to be occupied.”
“I heard he told Nurse Margaret that she was his special Valentine this year.” Dorset laughed.
Kate slumped over and rested her head in her hands. “Ugh, be my Valentine.” She looked at the heart in the cooler.
“I’m sure he’ll be done soon, if you know what I mean.” Dorset mumbled.
Kate snickered and walked to the OR board. She glanced at the surgery schedule and saw that coming up were a few C-sections, an Appendectomy, a fracture repair, and her heart transplant.
It stated:
STAFF: HANOVER, G
RES: BRIDGERTON, A
ASST: EVANS, A
Wait.
Bridgerton? A?
Anthony Bridgerton.
No.
Why is his name on the board? He’s not even supposed to be here! Hanover made her wait for the heart so she could join in on the surgery. She’s earned it.
Kate stomped her way back to Dorset and slammed her hands on the counter, “Where. Is. He?”
Recovering from shock, he scrunched his brows, “Did we not just have this exact conversation?”
“Not Hanover. Bridgerton.” Kate gritted through her teeth.
He giggled, “Which one-”
“You know which one.”
Just as Dorset was about to answer she got chills running down her spine. A sudden annoyance and negative energy seemed to have entered her vicinity, and Kate slowly turned around.
Meeting her eyes was the one and only pain in her arse, Anthony “Son of the Chief” Bridgerton. He nonchalantly leaned against the wall grinning a big wide smile.
“Good evening Dr. Sharma, Dorset.” Anthony said, walking towards them.
“I suddenly forgot about some charts that I need to fill out.” Dorset stood and quickly left Anthony and Kate alone.
“Well it’s not a good evening anymore now that you’re here Bridgerton.”
“Why so punchy?” He leaned in closer.
Matching, Kate leaned in as well, “You stole my heart.”
Anthony placed his hand on his chest and gave her a smirk, “You flatter me Kate, but I’m going to have to brush aside your intense feelings for me.”
“You know what I mean.” She said, rolling her eyes. “What are you even doing here?”
He stretched and started to walk around, “I was hoping to meet a lovely lady at the club tonight and then ravish her at my flat.” Anthony raised his arms showing off his toned muscles, “But no one seemed to catch my eye, so I came back here.”
“To steal my heart, my surgery.” Kate snided. “What I’ve been waiting all night for!”
Anthony held his hands up in surrender, “Look, I get your anger. But I asked Hanover if I could scrub in and he said yes. Plus I’ve been doing his charts this whole month. Call it a transaction; charts for surgery.”
She felt her face heating with rage, “Call it nepotism, Bridgerton.”
“Whatever you want it to be. Either way I’ll reap the benefits.” Anthony knew he got special treatment sometimes. It may not be fair, but if it makes him a better surgeon he’ll take all of the opportunities he can get. “I’m a shark, Sharma. If you want to compete with me, take the bait.”
Kate wanted to throw the cooler at him – she didn’t as it contained the heart they desperately needed. Instead she gave Anthony the deadliest glare she only used on Newton when he was being particularly bad.
“Fine. Have this one.” She said in a low voice. “One day there’ll be a once in a lifetime surgery. One you think you’ll be a shoe-in for, but I’ll be there. And I’ll be better. Your name won’t help you then. Game on Bridgerton.”
He didn’t cower, he was smiling. “I look forward to it, Kate. Game on.” And with that, Anthony swiftly took the cooler and walked away.
Kate hoped he could feel her look on the back of his head. Anthony Bridgerton was selfish, arrogant, privileged, and charming. His charm masked who he really was, but Kate easily saw right through it.
It was infuriating how he found joy in their jesting. It was fun for Anthony and it made Kate want to do things to him that she should not say out loud. She wanted to break him down and push all of his buttons; make him as bothered as he was to her.
He was a great surgeon, but Kate was extraordinary. She would show him, and he’ll regret ever crossing her.
Mark her words.