Chapter Text
Pope wasn’t sure how he ended up walking into this particular seedy bar somewhere in the middle of Pittsburg.
He knows the basics. He knows how he got to Pittsburg, thanks to J and his big ideas. J said that they needed to look for a new job. They had too many close calls as of lately and the only way they would be able to do any jobs, big ones at that, would be to venture outside of Oceanside. Craig said he knew someone in Pittsburgh that might have a job for them. How Craig knew anyone in Pittsburgh was beyond him but then Deran said he knew the guy too and that had made Pope feel a little better. So here they all were, in cold ass Pittsburgh scoping out a job for the last week.
After another failed family meeting earlier, Pope had stormed out. They hit another roadblock in their plans. The place was too new, unfamiliar. Everything had to be perfect which meant everyone was on edge. This had led to argument after argument and Pope had finally had enough. He stormed out of the hotel room in search of somewhere he could find some quiet.
Ten minutes later, he finds himself walking down some street with no destination in mind. Up ahead he sees a sign for a bar and figures he could drink a beer.
Pope takes one step inside the bar and immediately questions his choice. It’s dark, dingy and dusty, he assumes. The place looks one health inspection away from being shut down. He just hopes there aren't any mice running around like there were at Deran’s. After a quick glance around, he decides it will do long enough for a quick beer and some quiet.
For it almost being 9pm, the place is pretty dead. Pope can guess why after his earlier inspection. There are only two other bodies sitting at the bar, a burly looking bald man and a girl in a jacket twice her size. The bartender is behind the counter cleaning glasses. He decides to seat himself between the middle of the two patrons, both a length of two stools away.
Once the bartender takes his order, Pope goes back to his earlier inspection. He wipes a finger across the bartop to see if any dust collects on his finger. After finding none, he finds that he can rest a little easier with his decision. At least the bartop was clean.
Right as the bartender sits his beer down, he glances over to his right. Sizing up the bald man, Pope decides he’s not an imminent threat. He turns his attention back toward the bartop and that’s when he hears it. A sniffle comes from the girl on his left. He ignores it until he hears it a second, then a third time. He raises his eyes toward her figure, sees nothing but a curtain of dark, curly hair and the shake in her shoulders.
Pope knows she’s crying. Has seen that familiar combination of shaking shoulders and quiet tears before. Has seen it on Craig and Deran. Had seen it on Julia.
Pope was never really one to go out of his way to talk to strangers. He’s not sure why she’s any different but he finds himself saying, “Hey. You okay?”
The girl looks up startled, surprised by the fact that anyone had heard her. Pope immediately notices the tears running down her cheeks, the dark circles under her red eyes. She starts wiping at her cheeks trying to clear any evidence of tears. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just a rough day at work.”
Pope nods his head. She looks tired. Worn out. Sad. He’s seen that too. In Julia. He remembers Lena telling him that he was sad all the time. “Me too.”
This catches her attention. Sitting up straighter, she says, “Really? What do you do?”
He takes a gulp of his beer before saying, “I’m in business with my family. We don’t always agree on things.”
“Wow, that must be tough. I can’t imagine working with my mom.”
Smurf flashes across his mind so he takes another sip of his beer. “Yeah.” He grits his teeth. “Why was it a rough day?”
“I’m a doctor. I’m in my fourth and final year of residency. My attending has been on my case for as long as I can remember and today he wasn’t holding back. I guess I wasn’t able to hold it all in anymore.”
“Do you need me to go put him in his place?” He says, feeling the need to protect her. He would if she needed him to.
Luckily, she takes it as a joke and lets out a quiet, somewhat laugh. “No. I just have a few more months and then I won’t have to deal with him anymore. I’m doing a fellowship at a different hospital.”
Pope wasn’t sure what a fellowship was but if it meant that she was no longer working under her current boss then it must be a good thing. “I’m sure you’re a very good doctor.”
She lets out a sigh. “Yeah, well tell that to Robby. I’m Samira by the way.”
Pope realizes after a minute that she must want him to give her his name. “Andrew.”
Suddenly Samira’s phone starts vibrating on the counter. She reaches to grab it, quickly reads whatever message is on the screen and then starts gathering her things while getting up from the barstool. “It was nice to meet you Andrew. Thank you for letting me unload my baggage on you. I’m sure you had better plans than letting some stranger complain to you about her job.”
Pope gives her a curt nod. No he didn’t have better plans he thinks to himself. Talking to her had been the most interesting part of his day.
Slinging her backpack across her shoulder she says, “And as a favor, if you ever unfortunately find yourself in need of emergency medical services I’m at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center until June. You can ask for me.”
Pope knows it’s not an invitation but he almost finds himself taking it as one. Storing the information into his brain to be used at a later date. “Thanks.”
Samira gives him a small, closed mouth smile before rushing towards the front of the bar and out the door. Pope watches her through the window until she’s out of sight.
Samira.
Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.
Until June.
He finds himself repeating these three facts back and forth in his brain making sure that he remembers them.
With the information ingrained into his mind, he knows what to do. Even though he doesn’t care for hospitals, he figures he can find a way into the ER without causing suspicion. Pope doesn’t go out of his way for strangers but he thinks he can make an exception for her.