Chapter Text
Trinity has a system, she had to have a system for everything since she was 5 years old. Her life had routines, and regimens, and appointments that demanded systems unless she invite pure chaos. So, she has a system. Even for her lunar appointments.
It goes something like this, Trinity having crafted a reputation of being a mildly insolent rule-bender and medical procedure enthusiast in the pitt – she picks up double shifts as much as possible until it triggers a HR warning for exceeding the monthly quota and lo behold she finds herself free of having to step foot at the ED for 2 straight days every month. Sure Robby makes a show of reprimanding her when Gloria is around, and Dana jokingly warns her I don’t want to see your face for 48 hours Santos and she responds to the call with her own Only if you promise not to get any gnarly traumas until I am back and boom she is free for her transformation.
Every month, for one special night, since she was 15 years old – Trinity must shift into a 4 legged beast that has to howl at the moon. Trinity is a gymnast, Trinity can sing well, Trinity can speak Tagalog, Trinity’s kitchen has a large freezer full of protein, has a flatmate who doesn’t pay rent and eats her avocados, and she is a werewolf. Just facts of life. And that brings her to today where she is looking at her fridge and realising it is almost empty. She marches into Dennis room, and starts banging pots in his face as he scrambles off the bed scared.
“GO SHOPPING YOU FREELOADER, YOU EAT ALL OF MY FOOD”
And she hears his usual whining about long shifts and exhaustion. But he will go for a grocery run before his shift today and then he would head to farm for night and she will take her camping gear and head to the national park. And then when she is back and hungry, she will eat a feast. Dennis would think she cleaned up the entire food just to spite him and she will be tired but not too tired to throw a smug smile his way and the teasing gets her back to regularly scheduled programming as she heads to shift next day. She has a system alright.
And this June, the system goes to shit.
***
Azar does not want to go to summer camp. He wanted to visit his cousins and spend summers with them. But his mama said she will be joining a new office, and Azar would be joining a new school next month and they both can do this together – practice making friends with new people. So Azar says yes to summer camp just as his mama says yes to their new neighbourhood’s gardening meet ups. The Al-Hashimi’s are going to tackle their anxiety head on. And come out with friends by end of summer.
Azar had hugged his mother off on Saturday and now he is in the cabins at the national park with prettiest trees for the rest of the week. He is going to do painting, learn about various mushrooms, and try kayaking. And he already made a friend with his cabin mate, Art and his cousin Alba. And now they are hiding from a group of 15 year olds who had taken to throw paint at them all afternoon and calling them babies. Azar was not a baby, he is 8 years old and his mama is a doctor who told him more about babies than any of these older kids would know. And he said that and he might have also said only one of them seem to have baby fat and it is not the ones whose names starts with A. And now they seem to focus on him most. Ah well, he promised him mama he would make a friend, not that he would make friends with everyone.
By the time they had supper and went back to their cabins, Azar had mostly forgotten about what the older kids were talking about at the dining table two rows over. There were snippets of “bear traps” and “hunter uncles” that he forgotten about in excitement to eat his spaghetti and go for the star-gazing session tonight. Azar did not know the camp had a telescope, he would have definitely ticked that activity if he knew, but sometime in evening there was a flyer left on his bed about it tonight and a small map to location and he was excited. Art was not much for star gazing but he decided to tag along.
Of course they fairly quickly understood they have been pranked once a group of boys hoisted them and carried them quickly into the forest and left them there as they ran back. Atleast the boys had their torches and winter clothes on and Azar remembered the survival lessons him mama taught him last summer. So they kept calm and tried to find the trial back and they can see the camp lights in the pitch dark forest, so they started the slow trek back. But 2 minutes in Art was crying and he swore he can see something stalking them.
So Azar hugged him, and said we will hide for a second and listen. Azar was sure he would not hear anything and that would convince Art to be not afraid. But sadly, they do hear quick crack of branches, and howl. Art freezes and runs off towards camp. Azar is ready to follow when he hear the howl again but it sounds like a painful whimper. His mama is a doctor, she helps anyone in pain, one time they nursed back a crow they found hurt, together. Azar heads towards the distressed animal in the forest. And finds a really big dog with a paw struck in a bear trap.
As Azar sees the BIG DOG, the big dog notices Azar too. And it seems to shrink, and makes its heads and jaw touch the floor and stays very still. Azar rushes to the dog, pats it on the head.
“Don’t worry. I will help okay. Stay calm little one”, he says the last line in Farsi like he saw his mama say as she patched up when he is hurt.
The dog had the nicest fur coat and stayed absolutely still. Azar proceeded to find a branch, wedge it into the trap as he was taught and used all his strength to pry apart the jaws of the metal trap.
The dog is quick to retrieve its paw, turns around to give Azar’s face a solid lick, and growls at the steep trap. Azar agrees and joins in growling at the trap. That yearns another lick.
“I know, hunters should not leave them here. I read rules with my mama and this is not allowed. I will tell the camp counsellors”
The dog listens to him attentively and huffs and nods at right moments. Azar thinks the dog understands him perfectly. He nudged away from the trap and towards something else. Azar keeps talking.
“But first I need to find my way back to the camp. I wanted to see the stars but I think it was a prank. These bullies set a trap for me, and I fell for it too”
The dog huffs and manages to curl around him like giving him a hug. Azar promptly hugs the dog back. They keep walking and Azar tells him (?) about his old school, his cousins, his favourite subject at school, his mama being worlds best mama and great doctor, and only after a while thinks to ask the dog.
“hey maybe you know the way back, help me?”
And the dog snorts, and nudges him to turn and Azar can see clearly they are at just few feet from the camp cabins!
“Oh you got me back, thank you friend!”
The dog hugs him again and then his years twitch and with another big lick, it runs away into the woods. And Azar is still open mouthed and impressed by its speed when the torch lights of the counsellors reach him. He cannot wait to tell him mama about the adventure! But first, time to report on those bullies.
***
Baran has been at the pitt for a month now. The first two weeks were spent alongside the regular attending, so the transition for his sabbatical was smooth. Well, that was the plan but Dr. Robby was hell bent on making it as painful as possible for her. Men and their egos. Baran had seen many Robinvitchs and no doubt will see a few more, but July 4th had been a point of no return. He still had a sabbatical to head to and she had a chaotic ED and it’s staff to wrangle. And dare she say, she managed to bring order within the fortnight.
So when Dana Evans invited them to independence day barbecue, Baran did not know what to expect. First of all considering it was July the 14th , famously not the independence day. And secondly, because family was invited and this would be the first time she will meet all her sub-ordinates in an informal setting. McKay laughed a lot explaining the Pitt’s many in-jokes by saying since everyone worked on independence day, they threw a series of get-togethers' whenever they can as an alternative. A party is a party, she said. Which Dana repeated like a chant. And well, team cohesion is important, so Baran repeated like good soldier. And that is how Baran finds herself in Dana’s backyard, watching Azar play soccer with Harrison and few other kids, and half of her colleagues in casual clothes, relaxing in groups. But her attention drew to one corner with an unexpected collection of her colleagues, hanging around, a bit far for her to hear what they are saying but enough to watch it like a silent movie play in-front of her eyes.
Her R1, A Dennis Whitaker (Good listener, polite, rule-follower) was in the middle of finishing his retort when he fell to his side by the strong push of one unperturbed Trinity Santos (Stubborn, Intelligent, rule-bender) her R2. One Victoria Javadi was full on belly laughing (Knowledgable, Confused, Young) who narrowly missed getting hit by the animated hands of Mel King (Proficient, Hard worker, ND) who was in conversation with one Joy Kwon (Smart, Temporary, Potential).
Santos brought her beer to her mouth with one hand, while using the other to grab the bottle out of King’s still animated hand that flew very close to Javadi's head again, which gave King a brief pause but on noting who it was that took possession she gave a smile and went back to her anecdote. Just in time for Whitaker to come back to Santos’ side and continue the conversation he started as if he was just not pushed into grass not a moment earlier. Santos hands him King’s drink and proceeds to move across the yard, presumably to get a snack or drink. Dennis follows her continuing his story, Javadi follows him adding something to which he snipes back at her, and finally Mel and Joy also seem to think getting a snack is a good idea. And Baran Al-Hashimi, 4 weeks into this new workplace, observed all this with fascination of an anthropologist discovering new group behaviour in a colony.
“That kid lost me 50 bucks,” says Dana with an unlit cigarette in her hand, also gazing at the group.
“How come?”, Baran prompted, having formed a good rapport with the head nurse over the month. Happy nurses, Happy work, she always thought.
“Princess and Perlah were sure Santos and Javadi would get into a slapping match, hell I thought Santos would get into a slapping match with at least half of them by now”, and they both turn to see the group now at the snacks table with Santos nodding to something King was saying but she shoved a new drink in her hand, and sent Dennis off in the direction of the grills with burgers on them and proceeded to laugh at something Kwon was saying.
“Yeah, instead the pittlings somehow adopted her as their ring leader”, says Dana and Baran lets out a surprise chuckle. Okay, they did resemble ducks following a reluctant mama duck as Santos marched across the yard, or a ducks following a reluctant goose, knowing R2's temperament.
“I guess I will have to rethink my idea of Dr. Santos”, and Baran takes a sip of her fruit juice and does her regular quick check on Azar. They are still playing soccer in the free area besides the snack table.
“Yeah if you ever get a bead on her tell me, I wanna earn my money back”, Dana says as she starts moving towards the grill, “But the kid is good to quip with and quick with her reflexes, so note that down”
Baran takes that under advisement. She looks for McKay who seems to be chatting with few of the night shift who made it, and walks towards them. Time to go socialise with new colleagues, a necessary burden. And seems like the universe decided to show proof that Dana is more right than not.
One moment the kids are playing soccer, and another moment there is a shout and a skid, and by the time the parents heads turn toward the ruckus the strangest scene awaits.
One Trinity Santos has moved to the other side of the table, and is now holding Harrison with her left hand like a sack of potatoes by her hip, and had another kid in her right, hugging her neck. No wait, Trinity Santos has her kid in her other hand!
Baran rushes just as Santos places Harrison back on the ground, who is already excitedly telling Mckay how they were chasing the ball, how they lost balance in the slightly muddy patch of yard, and how he would have definitely crashed into the bench if not for HER lifting him up in the air like nothing. McKay is thanking Santos and putting an end to the game, directing the kids to the food table and Azar has still not let go of Trinity even though she had crouched down and his feet are already on ground.
Baran hurries to them worried and crouches down as well, running her hand over his head.
“You okay there, Azar?”, she asks in Farsi. And to her surprise, he finally turns his head, hands still around Santos’s neck and gives her the biggest grin.
“That was so cool”, he excitedly says back in English. Distantly she can hear Harrison yell a “yes it was!”
“Oh!”, Baran says and turns to look at Santos to thank her and realises just how close they are. Her mind can’t help but supply how green her eyes are, verdant like the forest. With a golden halo? She blinks, and thinks she was mistaken. Santos is full on grinning at her.
“I did not know all it took was one athletic trick to impress you, Dr Al-Hashimi”
Ah yes, Baran forgot, reflexes but also the quips. She snorts, shakes her head in disbelief, and decides to be the adult in this situation and move on from bad jokes.
“Say thank you to Dr. Santos, Azar and lets get you some lunch okay”, Baran pats his back and slowly starts to disentangle him from Santos.
“Thank you Dr. Santos,” he says and finally lets go. Santos stands back up and ruffles his head.
“You are welcome, big man”, and gives a grin.
As Baran stands too and puts a hand on Azar’s shoulder to guide him to the food, Azar latches back on to Trinity’s hand and starts pulling her along.
And promptly launches into an interrogation about Trinity’s athletics background (gymnastics, lacrosse, hockey), shares his interests (soccer, horse riding, archery), and that of his friends from camp. Baran loves her only child, but Azar can talk anyone's ear off.
Trinity seems to nod at all the right places like adults tend to do but unlike most adults, she seems willing to share her uncensored opinions, unrepentant (Soccer is cool, horses smell like shit and are assholes, bow & arrows are pointless but gave her some great cases in ED). Azar loves it, by now the other kids have also joined and want her opinion on every other sport under the sun.
Baran leaves them to it and joins the adults again. By the evening, the kids had persuaded Santos to lift all of them up, and she took turns throwing them into the pool to their utter delight. And at some point recruited Whitaker to it and there were double the splashes. And the kids were happy, the parents free. Her first social gathering went better than she had any hopes for.
Azar fell asleep in the car itself, hugging his dog plushie. He had grown out of the plushie phase but then he came back from camp with tales of befriending a dog, and Baran was so happy that the bullying did not traumatise him that she went on a shopping spree with him. She tucked him into bed, puts on some music, and sits in her yard looking at the stars. The full moon looked beautiful. She should take him camping when she gets a few days off in August.
***