Work Text:
Before the news of crushing devastation was revealed, Victoria’s day hadn’t been too bad, all things considered.
When she silenced her morning alarm the dread set in for all the inevitable firework injuries and grill burns of the holiday. Deciding to take it all in stride, she chose to liven the day up with red, white, and blue earrings. Her blue undershirt was dirty and she had no red ones, so she selected a blue-ish purple one that matched her jacket.
Once at work, revealing a gonorrhea diagnosis to a Nun definitely threw her for a loop, so she made a mental note to add the discovery to the notebook she kept in her locker. She filled its pages with the nearly unbelievable tales of the Pitt: impossible injuries, funny interactions with patients, overheard gossip (from coworkers and patients alike), and her struggles.
Victoria had started it her very first day, frantically scribbling in it the morning before her first shift at the Pitt. It begins with her anxieties at people finding out the truth of her mother, and fears of not being good enough.
Once she finished the unexpected 15 hour shift from hell, she filled four whole pages of what happened, the letters blending together into a nearly illegible script. She pressed so firmly against the paper it was a miracle the pages didn’t rip. By the end of the entry the tips of her fingers were stained with ink, but the pressure and worry in her head had departed. She’d finally found rest afterwards, succumbing to the bone deep exhaustion that had settled in hours previously.
And that’s how her TikTok account started.
She’d fallen victim to the mind-numbing scrolling like others her age, though her slight addiction wasn’t as encompassing due to her studies and hectic schedule.
It started as a way for her to vent and process her experiences, and somehow it amassed an audience beyond her wildest dreams. It still was difficult for her to comprehend that nearly 100,000 people were so engrossed in her content, but it thrilled her nonetheless.
The account was hers, and none of them knew about her mother. The success belonged to Victoria alone, and she took a great sense of pride in it—as much as one could take in something as superficial as social media.
She obviously didn’t care for it like her drive and calling for medicine, but it was a nice way to de-stress and clear her head from the chaos of the ED.
Victoria just never imagined that anyone at work would find out.
Being exposed was a lingering fear ever present in the back of her mind, but it was mostly quelled by the knowledge that no one else was as young as her or was interested in TikTok. She told herself (more like convinced herself) that none of her coworkers would choose to spend their time away from work looking at more hospital content.
She herself couldn’t stand medical dramas, as inaccurate as they were. So she felt secure that no one would find her account which had rapidly grown out of her control. She’d never be on the same level as Dr. Mike which was a relief; both from the massive internet fame she didn’t want and the fact she wouldn’t be popular enough for it to pass around by word of mouth.
But the universe has other ways of biting her in the ass.
Dr. Langdon was a stranger to her, they barely interacted on the only day she’d known him. But he was a hard worker, diligent, and smart as a whip, that much was clear. She quickly discovered his intelligence, along with the fact that he clearly knew it and wore it like a badge. He was conventionally attractive which factored into his attitude but he was too old for her, married with children, and not her type—certainly not a Human Utah like Mateo.
Then he disappeared, leaving a storm of rumors behind. After the guilt of Dr. McKay calling her out for the whole ankle monitor situation, Victoria wasn’t ready to hop into more gossip.
But some of the rumors were confirmed about ten months later when he showed up as mysteriously as he had left, with an offhanded remark about drug addicts that felt too deliberate. A confession, carefully crafted as a way to ease back into the workplace and clear the air.
In the shock and weirdness of the moment she’d laughed it off with Whitaker, but later contemplated the true weight behind it.
Dr. Langdon had been in rehab the entire time, and it was the first exposure she’d had to a situation like that.
It wasn’t what Victoria expected. She’d expected drug addicted medical professionals to “look the part”, as hurtful as that sounded. Dr. Langdon was anything but, he was an excellent physician and the one to quickly notice the gun strapped to the Pittfest victim’s ankle, saving more potential casualties.
With his return she was looking forward to getting to know him more, to learn from him and his more relaxed demeanor that lacked his previous cockiness. He’d even called her Dr. Javadi, which warmed her heart a bit before she corrected him.
She just never imagined his snarkiness to come back in the way it did, or for the Dr. title to become even more complicated.
Victoria was finishing up with a patient when she was notified to head down to triage. It was a little strange, given how busy they were with the arrivals from Westbridge but she went despite her confusion.
And was met with the name she never wanted to be uttered in the ED.
“Dr. J, finally.” a patient exclaimed, a smile on her face.
Dr. Langdon turned in his chair to face her. “It is so nice to meet you, Dr. J.” he said, a teasing tone seeping into his voice as thick as syrup.
Victoria’s heart dropped into her stomach and her feet grew as heavy as stones, anchoring her to the floor.
“This is Willow, your new patient.” he gestured with a flick of his gloved hand, before turning robotically back to her, a smug smile she’d never seen on him before curling his lips.
Dr. J.
Oh how that was biting her in the ass.
Dr. J. was who this woman was expecting to see, the competent, happy doctor that Victoria presented herself as on social media.
It’s a fun, cute name she decided to brand her account with and what her followers could refer to her as, inspired by Dr. Robby’s shortened form of his name Robinavitch. It “technically” wasn’t a lie since she was a doctor of sorts—a student doctor—but many of her followers were clueless to the hierarchy system of the medical field and assumed she was a real one.
She never had the energy to correct them and it quickly spiraled out of control so it was best to just let them think what they wanted. But now, now she was confronted with a fan of hers in real life who was refusing the care of an experienced actual doctor in favor of her.
Victoria shoved her hands behind her back and then quickly brought them forward again, wringing them in anxiety to ground herself so she didn’t bolt and hide in the nearest closet.
“I’m actually a student doctor,” she admitted, her face heating up with the force of Langdon’s knowing stare.
He KNEW and he was openly teasing her about it and she would NEVER live this down.
“I, uh, watch all of your videos,” the blonde woman explained.
Well, at least there’s a silver lining that she’s completely oblivious.
“The one about coping with difficult coworkers was super helpful.”
Langdon was absorbing everything with too much glee and turned back to Victoria.
“I gotta watch that.”
Victoria’s eyes widened at the terrifying possibilities laid out in her future, the gossip that would shroud her in a cloud and never leave, potentially becoming an even bigger issue than being Dr. Shamsi’s daughter.
“Um-um, so—” she stammered, trying to blink away Langdon’s smirk and dread of her daunting future, “So, what is Willow’s health issue?”
She gestured to the patient and stepped forward like a good doctor would, like the good Dr. J Willow expected her to be. She forced a smile and cheerfulness into her voice but it was strained, cracking at the edges and her cheeks burned with the lie of the front she was putting up.
“Uh, my eye, it’s…superglued shut.”
“Halfway trim and mineral oil didn’t work?” Victoria questioned immediately as she moved even closer, the ‘doctor’ in her assessing the case like the absolutely qualified medical professional she was.
Dr. Langdon just stared at her with those massive blue eyes that bored holes into her soul, his mouth parted like a schoolboy. He shook his head slightly. “Nope.”
“Then-then I would suggest cutting the full lash down.”
The real doctor in the room nodded animatedly, reminding Victoria of theatre kids who put their whole being into their performance, over the top and full of energy.
“I concur Dr. J.”
Willow looked between the two of them. “As long as…you’re the one doing it.”
Victoria’s hands trembled where they were grasped together and her face fell.
“Oh,”
Langdon nodded at Willow in a gesture for her get to work, his movements even more animated than before—if that was even possible.
Screw him.
“—Okay! Yeah, sure!!” Victoria’s pretend smile strained her cheeks even more as she grabbed some gloves. “Um, yeah. Uh, sit back for me?”
She instructed Willow on how to prepare for the ‘haircut’ and only noticed Langdon had moved to the other side of the bed when he offered the trimmers to her with a painfully polite, “All you, Doc.”
“Thank you, Dr. Langdon.”
Despite the fact that this was just about the worst moment of her entire life—apart from asking Mateo out on a date—she couldn’t help the giddy feeling that started to spread in her heart.
The smile on her face changed to being genuine, and the playfulness in her coworker’s demeanor became bearable.
This was fun, and he was clearly teasing her like a big brother. The mystery of Dr. Langdon was falling away, the abrasive and rude image she’d developed of him during the past ten months crumpling, revealing a new, charming, snarky personality.
She had just started the trimming process when her new friend piped up again.
“How many followers do you have, Dr. J?”
The chaff in his voice was unmistakable, and seriously brightened her day. The rest of the shift could be even worse than her first day at the Pitt, and she’d be fine with it because of this interaction. It felt like peak Dad behavior, or how he’d interact with his siblings if he has any.
A sweet, real smile overtook her as she finished the procedure.
“More than you’d guess, Dr. Langdon.”
Willow was sent on her way sans eyelashes—much to her chagrin—and the two of them were left alone.
Victoria took a deep breath, stared at the ceiling as if it would give her strength, and turned to face the man who’d surprisingly endeared himself to her.
He was standing perfectly still, arms folded neatly across his chest. An innocent expression painted his features, and as another smile bloomed across her own face, Dr. Langdon suddenly snorted and bent forward, cackling loudly.
“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me,” he assured her, catching his breath between laughs.
Victoria’s horrid giggles erupted from her chest, their deep tone filling the room. Thank heavens no one was walking by, they certainly made quite the scene.
Unfortunately they had work to attend to; patients to see, lives to save, doctors to be. Before they departed, Langdon leaned in and whispered one final message.
“You’ll be getting a new follower tonight, Dr. J.”