ETHAN NEEDS HELP. IM GONNA PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE AND HIT HEAD WITH A BROOM, SLAP HIS FACE WITH A BOOK, AND IM GONNA KICK HIS BUTT ALL THE WAY FROM BOSTON TO SAN FRANCISCO. HES A FREAKIN DIAGNOSTICIAN AND HAS A ONE HELL OF A DUMB MIND HOLY HECK. IF HE DOESNT GET HELP OH MY GOODNESS-
loved this so much! cant wait for the next chapter!! ❤️
Delaying the Inevitable -
Chapter 19: Revelations
Book: Open Heart 3 (Post Series)
Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC Tobias Carrick x F!MC
Rating: Chapter: Teen
Summary: Extended Series WIP – Love Triangle. In this chapter: Floria discourages Ethan from overstepping with Casey; livid, Ethan confronts Tobias and, later, Casey; Naveen and Alan pair up; preparations are underway for Thanksgiving.
Category: Extended Series (WIP)
Warnings: Drinking, language
A/N: Well, I managed to get a chapter out with the new job in place. This is an accomplishment. 😊 Those who have stuck around for 18 chapters know, brevity is not my strong suit. So, despite the length of this chapter, it is shorter than I intended for it to be. I think the model of shorter (relative) chapters will begin, so the series may go on a little longer. This is subject to change as I find a new groove.
A/N 2: As of now, releases will take place on Saturday or Sunday. Stay posted.
A/N 3: A reminder, it’s a triangle folks. To all those DMing me that they can’t believe she is considering Tobias… I will reiterate … it’s a triangle folks
A/N 4: The enthusiasm for this series continues to astound me. Knowing this story is enjoyed by so many continues to blow my mind… a sincere thank you to each of you.
A/N 5: Last, but not least, a big thank you to my LLS @ka for pre-reading this chapter. Seriously, your support, your help, and your friendship have been one of the best things to come from this fandom! And girl, what they’ve got us doing next…. Lol <3 love you, little sis!
CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS
If you wish to be added or removed from tags, please let me know. Comments and reblogs are always appreciated. 😊
“Si, I’m so glad you took the walk to Derry’s with me! I miss you so much. Plus, it’s November, Boston will be covered with snow within the next 20 minutes, and we will be stuck inside until the spring thaw.”
“Casey, I think you may be exaggerating just a bit. Except about the missing part. There is no exaggeration there,” Sienna smiled.
“Really? Even though I’ve been abusing you, using you as my unpaid therapist every night. You still miss me?”
“Of course! I miss you even more now.”
“Awwww,” Casey squealed as the two friends stopped in their tracks to hug one another.
“Hey! Watch what you’re doing!” a pedestrian hollered as he nearly crashed into them.
“Relax!” Sienna yelled back, “This is what dolphins do! Deal with it!”
“It is what?” Casey laughed, as the bewildered man stalked off.
“I don’t know, we were squealing… it sounded good in my head. I’ll never see him again, what do I care.”
“Why don’t you take out that coffee and start drinking it, Sienna,” Casey laughed as they walked toward the hospital entrance, “You’re a little off your game!”
They were about to enter the lobby when Casey heard a voice calling from the street.
“Casey! Case! Wait up!”
They both turned to see Tobias running between cars that were stopped at a red light making his way toward them. He jogged up and stood in front of Casey.
“Hey,” he said, his eyes as bright as his smile.
“Hey,” she replied, cheeks slightly flushed.
Sienna looked between the two of them several times with a knowing smirk on her face before interjecting.
“Hello to you too, Tobias. Lovely seeing you.”
“Oh, sorry, Si. I didn’t see you there. I…”
“I get it. I’m short.”
Tobias chuckled, “Look I won’t keep you two. Case, I just wanted to let you know that I’m driving into Charlestown to do grocery shopping after work. Did you want to come along?”
“Oh, yeah, I should. I want to get stuff for Thanksgiving.”
“Your Mom is aware that I’m not letting you actually cook anything, right?” He teased.
“There is no need to be a wise ass, Tobias Carrick! I am actually making some of the food.”
“Oh, God, no! What are you making, Casey?” Sienna asked, clearly horrified.
Tobias burst out laughing.
“It’s OK, Si. I’m limiting her to the tomato and mozzarella salad. I don’t think she can do much damage there.”
Sienna gasped. “You think… she can’t… are you aware that Rose is an Italian mother, Tobias!? Please tell me that you never said those words to her! Further, there is most certainly a way to screw it up and… I’m truly sorry Casey… but if there is a way to do it, Casey will find it!”
“Wow, thanks best friend! Thanks, roomie. I am so feeling so much love from you two right now.”
“It’s OK, Sweetheart. We all love you, just… not for your cooking abilities.”
“I mean if we come right down to it, it’s actually fair. You’re pretty much perfect otherwise, Case. God had to fuck you up somehow.”
“Sienna, you’re spending too much time with Jackie, without my supervision… and it shows.”
Sienna giggled and jumped up to give Casey a kiss on the cheek.
“I love you, bestie!”
“Do you know if you’re joining us yet, Si,” Tobias asked.
“Nope. But my schedule is out tomorrow. I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”
Casey was still shooting a defiant smirk in Tobias’s direction.
Catching her, he shook his head, “Truce dear, truce.”
“I’m only accepting it because you are driving and sparing me eight hours from hell on Amtrak.”
“Hey, I use what I can to my advantage,” he winked. “Look, I’ve got to fly, I have a consult with Reynolds in fifteen. Case, I’ll pick you up at the side entrance at six?”
“Sure, see you then.”
“Bye T!” Sienna yelled as he walked away, watching Casey keeping her eyes locked on him until he was out of sight.
Sienna cleared her throat.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. Just a tickle,” she grinned. “So, have you given any more thought to what we have been talking about?”
“What, about Tobias?”
“No, Casey. About why Taylor Swift was inspired to write Folklore! Of course, about Tobias!”
“Well, what’s to say? I think I feel something but, I need to take some time. I don’t want to do anything that would harm our friendship, you know?”
“That makes perfect sense, but what are you afraid of?”
“Well, that he doesn’t feel the same about me, for starters.”
Sienna chortled.
“Si, what is it?”
“Casey, how are you so smart, yet…”
“What!?”
“What time is it, Casey?”
“8:30.”
“What time did you leave the apartment?”
“7:30.”
“When is your diagnostic team meeting?”
“At 9:30, what’s your point?”
“How many times do you think you and Tobias will cross paths at work today? I mean, before 6:00 PM grocery shopping, that is?”
Casey folded her arms across her chest and looked down at her friend.
“Your point, Sienna?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just that men with zero interest in someone are known for running between cars on the street to catch up with someone they saw just an hour ago, and who they will see in another hour, to ask a question that could have easily been handled in a 2-second text. That’s all.”
“Si, when did you become so snarky.”
“All the unsupervised time with Jackie, of course. But, regardless, what kind of a best friend would I be if I didn’t point out the obvious.”
“Oh! Speaking of the obvious, if you end up joining us for Thanksgiving, what are you bringing? Mamma Rose asked me to text her before her big grocery order today, and she’ll have my head if I don’t respond.”
“Take that off your to-do list. I am in contact with Rose on my own, Casey. Do you seriously think we’d leave this to you? If I can go, I told her I’d make the Braciole. I’ll take that off of her hands this year.”
“Wait! She gave you her Braciole recipe, and she won’t give it to me!?”
“Well, would you look at that I have, uhm… a thing… right now…. but don’t worry Casey,” she yelled fleeing into an elevator, “I’ll let you know as soon as I get my schedule. Bye!”
Casey shook her head exasperated.
I can learn how to make Braciole too! Well, maybe. I could try. If we notify the Boston Fire Department in advance. You know, it’s best left to Sienna.
The sounds of laughter coming from the diagnostic team office finally took Casey’s mind off of Braciole-gate. At least one voice wasn’t familiar. Ethan was seated at his desk, with Harper and Floria seated in the chairs in front of him.
“Oh my God, and then he called Naveen down, and in his bathrobe! I swear it’s the only time I ever saw the man curse! When he saw Ethan… oh! Good morning, Casey, I didn’t see you come in,” Harper smiled.
“Hi, Harper. It’s OK, you guys carry on. I’ll just wait at the table until our meeting starts.”
“You’re more than welcome to join us over here,” Ethan emphasized.
“Thanks, but I’m ok here,” she answered sheepishly.
She and Floria locked eyes as she turned away. Floria offered a faint smile.
“You know, what? I really need to get back to work anyway. Ethan, will you have those reports ready by 2:00?”
“Yes, if you don’t have them by 1:00, please send me a reminder.”
“Will do. Bye, Casey,” Floria said as she headed out the door.
Tobias entered just as she exited. He saw Harper and Ethan were still engaged in a friendly conversation, and Casey sitting at the conference table appearing glum. He quietly entered the room and slid into the seat next to her. He tilted his head and whispered in her direction.
“Hey, you doing ok there, kid?”
She lifted her head and smiled.
“Doing better now.”
Ethan, who had been surreptitiously watching their exchange from his desk, cleared his throat loudly.
“Casey, Tobias, why don’t you come sit up here. Our meeting is going to be extremely brief today.”
“Sure thing, boss,” Tobias answered as Casey silently stood.
“Hey, smile,” Tobias whispered. “After today we are on Thanksgiving recess.”
“You make it sound like we’re back in Kindergarten.”
“Kindergarten, Edenbrook… same thing really.”
She laughed and broke out into a bright smile.
“You’re not wrong,” she laughed, “So, team, let’s get this meeting over with, shall we?”
____________________
Floria looked at the clock in her office, 1:00 PM. She checked her inbox. No reports from Ethan. She e-mailed him a reminder, as promised, and fifteen minutes later he replied with a simple, “Come here.”
“You couldn’t figure it out, could you?” Floria smiled as she sauntered into his office.
“Negative. These things have never been my forte. I didn’t exactly go to med school to learn to run reports.”
“But it’s still part of the job. You never seemed to have any problems with them before, what’s with your sudden regression?”
Ethan sat back in his chair thoughtfully.
“Casey used to run them with me.”
“With you, or for you?”
He shot her a look.
“This is why we should always teach, and never do,” she chided. “Relax, I’ll help you.”
She slid next to Ethan and began showing him how to run the report.
“Ethan, it may be none of my business but, you’re still on the same team. Why didn’t you ask her for help? Clearly, anyone’s company must be better than mine,” she laughed.
“Normally, I’d agree,” he said snarkily, but then smiled when Floria glared at him. “But right now, I think it’s best that I maintain my distance from her as much as I can.”
“She looked pretty miserable when I was in here this morning,” she paused as she completed entering the data required for the report. “Can I offer you some advice, Ethan?”
“I suppose if I say no you will continue anyway.”
“You always were observant,” she mocked. “Ethan, try to work things out so you could at least be friends. I mean, you work together and, take it for someone who has handled past breakups…”
He looked up at her and she lowered her eyes, “… atrociously in the past. There is a better way.”
“Well, Casey has made it abundantly clear that she is not ready to be anything more than what we are now.…”
“Which is?”
“Which is what you saw this morning.”
“Well, I’m sorry to see that,” she said standing to leave, “the reports take about thirty minutes to run when you see them in the queue just…”
“Floria, why don’t you sit down.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Why?”
“I could use the company,” he grinned with almost enough sincerity that Floria didn’t look for an alternative motive.
“Uhm, OK. You usually aren’t too welcoming; do you have inside information that I’m dying or something?”
“It was the Napoleon. You know I can be bribed with my sweet tooth.”
“Had I known that I would have bought you a box full on my first day at Edenbrook. That could have saved us months of discomfort.”
“Eh, discomfort is underrated. Everyone wants life tied up in a pretty little bundle, and it doesn’t work that way,” Ethan said eyeing the reports. “Learning to be comfortable with discomfort, it’s not such a bad thing.”
“Is that what we’re doing right now?”
“Perhaps,” he said handing her a spreadsheet. “Is this all the data you need?”
“Yes, but there is a field missing. Employee zip codes are needed for payroll data. But don’t worry, I’ll extract them from an existing report. So, there is no need to…”
“That’s right!”
“What’s right?”
“I forgot… have access to my team’s employee records! I haven’t gone into that system in years. How do I get in?”
“You’re that excited about employee zip codes, Ethan?”
“I am assuming there would be other address data, not just zip codes, am I correct?”
“Yes, but… wait…” she crossed her arms, “Ethan, what are you looking for?”
He grimaced, “I just want to know where Casey is staying.”
“Why?”
“Because she won’t tell me, and I want to know.”
“Not a good reason. Ethan, you should really reconsider this, I don’t think it’s a good…,”
“I’m not going to stalk her. I’m not sending her roses. I’ll just feel better if I know.” He began flinging papers around his desk, “I know I have instructions written down somewhere… I will figure it out, Floria, you can just save me time and effort.”
“And that delay may help you come to your senses. Listen to yourself, Ethan! She’s not wrong, where she lives is no longer your business. Besides, if you do this, you will be ruining any chance of….”
“Floria, there is no chance of, understood? We’re in the past.”
“Ethan, you’re full of shit! Why do you care where she lives if she is truly in your past? I mean, I am truly in your past; I don’t see you breaking into systems to find out where I live.”
“I just want to know… I want to know she is someplace safe.”
“Ethan, you do know that. She shows up to work every day! She’s rested, she’s dressed, she’s eating. She’s a grown woman! One that you broke up with and you lost any claim. I have to side with her here, you don’t have the….”
“You can stop now, Floria… I just got in.”
Floria stood up and moved to turn the computer screen toward her.
“Ethan no,” she said blocking the screen, “you don’t have to do this….”
Ethan had completely tuned her out and turned the screen back toward him.
“Wait a second… One Franklin Street. One Franklin… Isn’t that the Millennium Tower?”
“Ethan, I’m new to Boston, you’re asking the wrong person.”
He plugged the data into Google.
“It is the Millennium Tower.”
“OK, so she’s living in Millennium Tower. How is your life any different than it was three minutes ago?”
His fist slammed into his desk, startling Floria.
“Jesus, Ramsey, are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“You knew.”
“What?”
“You knew, that’s why you were trying to stop me?”
“Ethan, what are you talking about.”
“She’s on the 55th floor.”
“So, she has a good view?”
“She has more than a goddamned good view.”
“I’m not following.”
“She also has Tobias,” he said as his face turned red, “She’s living with Tobias.”
Floria raised her eyebrows.
“Look, I’m new to town, but even I know that’s a huge building. It doesn’t mean that…”
“It’s the 55th floor, what are the chances,” he said furiously typing before pushing his chair back in disgust. “It’s the same unit. The same goddamn unit. She’s living with fucking Tobias!! Son of a bitch!”
“Ethan, take a deep breath, I know… I mean, they’re good friends so this doesn’t… “
“You thought they were dating, remember?”
“Well, I mean, they have a certain rapport between them, but that doesn’t mean any… wait, stop. Even if she were, which for the record I don’t see, but honestly, it’s none of your business.”
“Floria, it’s time for you to leave.”
“Excuse me?” she said snidely, but one look at his angry stare and she gathered her things.
“Ethan, please use your head.”
“I am. Now go.”
He took out his phone and furiously sent Tobias a text.
He inhaled deeply and sat back in his chair.
She’s been there this whole time, hasn’t she? This whole time. But she never told me. HE never told me. Why? Why the hell wouldn’t he tell me at least on the side. Just to let me know she was OK?
Waiting only made things worse as his mind began to wander. This morning at the conference table:
“Hey, you doing ok there, kid?”
“Doing better now.”
How had she gone from being so down to a bright smile so quickly? He barely said hello? And the looks on their faces. There can’t be…
She’s sitting at their booth in Donahue’s, she is wearing a Johns Hopkins sweatshirt, it wasn’t his… it had to be? But she didn’t heave her clothes yet… because you threw her out, a small voice said, but he silenced it… but the day he joined them in the booth, the two of them, looking at photos on her phone… was there more to it?
His mind went back further, to when they were together:
… Baby, I’m meeting T at the Seaport for lunch, I’ll be home by 5:00.
… there is no need to worry, Hun, T walked me home. I’m safe as could be.
The party after the board exams:
“Well, we may have to move, I don’t think we will all fit here?”
“No need!” Tobias yelled, “It is time to get out there and show the DJ how it is done.”
“Oh my God, YES! I have been dying to dance! Ethan, join us?”
“Oh, no! You go dance the night away!”
“Suit yourself!” She grabbed Tobias’s hand and they were off.
The day that he and Tobias had lunch together at Sorellina’s:
“I figured if my girlfriend considers you one of her “besties”, as she would put it, and we were once “besties” too, I thought it would be wise for us to try to improve our relationship.”
“Well, I don’t disagree; but are you sure it’s not a keep friends close and your enemies closer thing?”
Could they be? Could they have been? He seriously doubted Casey was involved while they were together, but what were they now? What had Tobias been feeling then, did…. If he laid a goddamn hand on her so help me God….
Ethan’s thoughts were interrupted.
“Hey, Boss, what’s going on, sounds like we have a fire to put out.”
“Close the door Tobias and lock it.”
Tobias eyed him suspiciously but remained calm as he returned to the door and snapped the lock shut. He returned to Ethan’s desk, leaning against the wall to talk to him.
Ethan’s rested his head in his hands, running them through his hair before exhaling loudly.
“When did Casey move in with you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t play stupid with me Tobias,” he lifted his head and stared him in the eyes, “I know she is there. I want to know for how long, and I want to know why you never said a word about it to me.”
Tobias’s nonchalant reaction only served to fuel Ethan’s rage.
“She’s been staying with me since she needed a place to live. I never said anything because it wasn’t my place to. She asked me not to, and I gave her my word. I will always my word to her.”
“Your loyalty to Casey is commendable. Perhaps it would have been nice if you had some to me as well.”
“Then perhaps you can point out where I have been disloyal to you.”
“How about you allowed my girlfriend into your home and neglected to inform me.”
Tobias half smiled, “Your girlfriend. Casey ended up under my roof precisely because you freed her from that role. She had no place to call home, Ethan, and she needed a place to stay. Neither she nor I needed to clear that with anyone. Especially not with you given the circumstances.”
Ethan chuckled menacingly. “The more things change, huh Tobias?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“What a damn fool! He’s her good friend! I should get to know him again! He’s not a bad guy! I tried. I tried, Tobias, and all the while…”
“Ethan, stop right there. Don’t go down a road you don’t want to travel on. Casey is staying with me because she needed a roof. She is there because she is my friend and she is important to me, but there is nothing more than that between us. So don’t go there.”
“Really? Care to explain her wearing your Hopkins’s shirt at Donahues?”
“Sure. Her clothes were still at your place. Would you have preferred she show up naked?”
Ethan stood up and moved to the window, his jaw clenched.
“Why is she always sitting next to you, Tobias? You’re not her only friend. Always smiling. Even this morning, glum as could be until her good buddy Tobias strolled in, then her face was aglow. Am I imagining things?
Tobias’s face began to twitch. Oh, the shit he could throw in Ethan’s face right now. But he didn’t want to go there. He took a breath and composed himself, but his patience was wearing thin.
“Ethan. She is my friend. And if you think I’m going to apologize for making her smile, well, you’ll be waiting for a while.”
“It all makes sense, now. That lunch, remember when I wanted to try to rekindle our friendship, ‘keep your enemies closer, now it all makes sense…”
“Ethan, stop the bullshit already! Casey and I have been tight since I started at Edenbrook and she …”
“…and she is living with you.”
“Because she had no place to go!”
“Sienna? Jackie? Aurora? Even Bryce? It had to be you, right? Her good ol “T”. Only you.”
“Well, perhaps you should have given all this a little more thought to when you were going to kick the love of your life out. Maybe THE DAY her friends were moving into their new place wasn’t the best decision you ever made, now was it?.”
“Spare me! How long did you wait?”
“What?”
“How long did you wait to jump in? Was it a day, a week, two? Is this nothing more than a game to you? If you think I’m going to sit back and watch you use Casey as a pawn in this sick competition between us…”
“What competition, Ethan? What competition? When is the last time I competed with you? I’ve grown up! I’m not the same asshole I used to be. You’re my boss, for Christ’s sake, my boss! Would I work for you if I was still trying to one-up you? I’ve told you, you’re the better doctor. I’ve worked my ass off to rebuild our friendship, do you think that’s a way of launching some competition? I literally begged you to work things out with Casey. I showed up at your door in the middle of the night, begging you! I suppose that’s how I was trying to “jump in” on her. And, Bro, even if there were a competition, I would never use Casey, never!”
“Like hell you wouldn’t. How happy were you? How happy were you when she called you crying? Saying I left her? That was the perfect opportunity, wasn’t it? Do you think I’m stupid? Maybe I was back then, but I’m not anymore. The way you looked at her, the way you danced with her, with me the damn fool watching, so happy that you two were such good friends…”
“…and that’s all we were Ethan.”
“I WASN’T DONE!! You couldn’t wait! You had to have her because she was mine. I should have expected this of you all along. Failing to realize that you would stoop so low, that is all on me. But Jesus! Casey? I thought better of her! How fucking long did she wait before she jumping into your bed?”
Tobias felt himself begin to tremble, the restraints inside of him beginning to snap. He saw red. He jumped to his feet and in a moment he was in Ethan’s face.
“OK, it’s time for you to watch your fucking mouth. If you want to talk shit about me, make bullshit up in your head and believe it? Have at it, I can’t stop you and frankly, with who you’ve become, it’s not even worth my effort to try! But don’t you dare talk about Casey like that! Don’t you dare! All that woman ever did is love you, she loved you like no one else ever saw fit to. She was the best thing that ever happened to you, and you reciprocated by tossing her on the street. And for what? For the grave sin of trying to teach Ethan Ramsey that it’s OK to love? You fucked up, and you know you fucked up. Want confirmation? Ask Naveen, Harper, I’m sure your father… they all tried to tell you, I tried to tell you, but you only listen to the damn voices in your head. So don’t turn this on me, and don’t you dare turn this on Casey. You already hurt her enough!”
“I’m not turning this on anyone. Yes, we broke up…”
“No… you broke up with her… get it right!”
“We broke up Tobias, yes, I called it off. But you know how much she mattered to me! She wasn’t some woman I picked up at a bar, I loved her. You, you’re supposed to… How long after she left my apartment was she sitting in yours? How comfortable was she there? How easy was it for her to say out with the old and in with the new because good old Tobias was waiting in the wings? If you were her friend, never mind mine, you would never have done that! You would have…”
“OK ENOUGH! Enough! You loved her? She meant something to you? Some way you have of showing it! How long do we all need to be subjected to this poor, pathetic little Ethan act? How long do we walk on eggshells to keep the truth from you? Well, I’m done! You cared about her? Do you think she called me that night and asked me to come get her? Like I was the only person in the world she could trust? I wish it had played out like that because that’s a lot prettier than the reality. I think it’s time you get a little education. Do you want to know how I found her? I found her on the ground! On the goddamn ground shivering cold, crying, she didn’t even know where she was. A stranger was standing over, a stranger! Because she knew it wasn’t safe for her to be alone in that condition. But you, the almighty Ethan Ramsey, the man who claimed to love her, you let her walk out of your door like that. Then you couldn’t even be bothered to check if she were dead or alive for six hours! For six hours! But I’m the bad guy? You want to see who the bad guy is in this situation, Ethan? Find a fucking mirror!”
Seething, Tobias headed toward the door.
“Tobias wait! TOBIAS!!!”
Tobias turned around slowly, biting his lips, his eyes on fire.
“Your just her friend? That’s all it is? Then look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love her.”
Tobias stood in place, not a muscle moving. He owed no explanation, but he would never lie about what he felt for Casey.
“She is living in my condo, Ethan. But we are not together. Not that it would be any of your goddamned business if we were.”
“I didn’t ask that. I asked you to tell me that you don’t love her, tell me you don’t want her.”
“How could I not? Tell me, that? How could I not? Casey is … she’s perfect … she’s brilliant and beautiful, and kind, she is funny, and she loves with all she has and asks for almost nothing in return… who wouldn’t love her? Tell me, Ethan, who would be stupid enough to turn her away? Huh? I begged you, I begged you to get the help you need, to work things out with her, because I care about the two of you and it was the right thing to do. I did it out of respect and out of love, but every day I become more grateful that you didn’t take my advice. Because the only thing you and I are beginning to agree on is that you never deserved her in the first place. If Casey were mine,” he stopped and took a deep breath before he continued, “If she were mine… I’d treat her like the most precious thing in this world because she is! So yeah, I love her. But she has no idea because even now, even when I could have taken advantage one hundred times over, I’ve never acted on it. And you know why? Because I love that much!”
Ethan shook his head and smirked, the urge to punch Tobias suppressed only by the fact that they were in Edednbrook.
“Are you foolish enough to think that she will ever love you the way she loved me?”
“I don’t profess to know what Casey will do. I don’t get to speak for her. But I’ll tell you this, I would love her more than you ever could. I already do.”
Both men turned as they heard a key enter the door and Naveen stamped into the room.
“What is the meaning of this! What is going on in here! I can hear you two all the way down the hall, and so can everyone else!”
“Why don’t you ask the golden boy here?” Tobias said. “Casey has been staying at my apartment., Naveen. He put her on the street, and I gave her a place to stay. But he’s still untouchable and I’m still the piece of trash and, frankly, I’m tired of it.”
“Tobias, I will need to speak with you both about this after things calm down. But for now, why don’t you go, I need to address this with Dr. Ramsey.”
“With pleasure.”
“And Tobias?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for looking after Casey.”
“No one ever needs to tank me for caring for her.”
Ethan sunk back into his chair, looking away from his mentor
“Ethan, this has gone entirely too far and it has to stop.”
“She’s living with him Naveen! Living with him!”
“Son,” Naveen said with a soft, steady voice, “where Casey lives stopped being your concern the day you left her. You know that’s true. So, stop it. It might hurt to hear that, but you know I am right.”
“She just dismissed me and replaced me, like I meant nothing to her.”
“Ethan, she never dismissed you. You dismissed her. You can’t tell someone to leave and then get mad at them when they do. Where do you think she’d be right now if you hadn’t behaved in the abhorrent way that you did? She’d be with you. There is no doubt.”
The men sat in momentary silence before Naveen spoke.
“I know you’re supposed to see Alan. I want you to leave tonight, I’m putting you on leave for a week. Go, spend Thanksgiving with your father. Talk to him and come back with a new perspective because, this is still a hospital, and I can’t have you behaving like this no matter how much I love you.”
“You can’t give me off, Tobias and Casey are already off... funny how that worked out… “
“Ethan stop! Stop! Harper and I will cover the cases. I’m not requesting you take time off; I’m demanding it. If I don’t see immediate improvement, I am going to order you into therapy. Do you understand? This isn’t only my love for you speaking, it’s also my obligation to the wellbeing of the hospital. Now, I want you to gather your things and go. Go home, call Alan, head down there. It’s not a request. Go.”
“Naveen, I don’t…”
“GO!”
Ethan never broke eye contact as he pushed his chair back and stood from his desk, but once he fixed his eyes on the door, he never looked at Naveen again. He gritted his teeth as he exited.
“I’ll text you when I’m in Providence,” he said before stammering out into the hall.
____________________
Tobias had stormed out of the office after Naveen’s arrival. Every single eye on the floor turned to stare at him. He shook his head as he smirked. Once again, everyone saw big, bad Tobias. He told himself that he didn’t really give a shit, but deep inside, he knew he did.
He barged into an empty on-call room, promptly kicking a trash can across the floor. He considered punching the wall. Oh, God, how he wanted to punch the wall. But he closed his eyes and focused instead. Everyone was waiting to see the old Tobias Carrick show up, and he was now intent to show them that he no longer existed. Once he gathered himself, he grabbed his phone, he needed to warn Casey.
He dialed her phone.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
No answer.
He stepped out into the hallway just as Jackie was passing by.
“Hey, T, what’s going on? I heard that….”
“Not now, Jackie. Have you seen Casey?”
“No. Why?”
“I don’t think she has her phone on her. I’m going to look for her, but if you should see her, ask her to call me, OK?”
“OK, but can you…” she didn’t finish her sentence before Tobias was gone.
____________________
Ethan had every intent on leaving the hospital. Especially when he left the office to find all eyes on him. It was uncomfortable, but he knew just what stares to throw in order to make people scatter, employees, guests, and patients alike. He glowered as he headed toward the stairwell. A young volunteer walked past him and Ethan recalled a conversation he overheard between the young woman and Casey have earlier today. Casey had mentioned that she would try to stop in on an arts and crafts workshop in the community room at some point that afternoon. With that in mind, he changed his direction.
Peering into the glass window on the door, he spotted Casey. She was smiling and leaning over an elderly patient’s wheelchair, helping her place her project to place in a canvas bag. The bright smile on her face dissipated the moment she looked up and saw him staring at her. As the patients flooded out into the hallway, he entered the room. Casey did her best to ignore him, gathering the remaining supplies, clearly eager to exit.
He walked toward her, blocking her from entering the closet where she was trying to reach.
“Ethan, I have to get to these into the…”
“This won’t take long,” he said somberly.
Her shoulders slumped in defeat and her face sank. She looked pathetic, the antithesis of who she was just moments before as she reveled in the joy of her patients. She turned her eyes toward the floor as she waited for Ethan to speak.
“You’re living with Carrick?” he asked accusatorily.
Casey’s downcast eyes bulged open, and her demeanor changed in an instant. Lifting herself from her shoulders up, she stood tall, her eyes fixed on him.
“Yes,” she said clearly, “I am.”
Ethan snorted with disgust.
“Not even a trace of remorse. Not an attempt at denial.”
“Remorse? Denial? Why would either of those things apply to me?”
“Because you’re living with Carrick!”
“Where I live or what I do with my life stopped being your concern the moment you threw me on the street like I was nothing.”
“I offered to help you! I told you could stay…”
Casey raised her voice and spoke definitely over him.
“You know what, save it, Ethan! Even you know how ridiculous that sounds. You can’t try to destroy someone and then offer to be their savior.”
“So instead, you ran to my rival?”
“I didn’t run to anyone. Besides, when did he become your rival again? I must have missed that memo.”
Ethan hadn’t heard a word she said. His eyes were dark, he was locked into a world of his own.
“Are you sleeping with him?” he asked pointedly.
“Excuse me?”
“Are you sleeping with him? It’s a simple question, yes or no answer.”
“I’m picking the third choice. It’s none of your fucking business.”
“I swear to God, Casey! I never thought you would…. we have been apart, what….”
“TWO MONTHS. We’ve been apart for two months, Ethan. Let me ask you, how long am I supposed to sit around mourning the man that tossed me aside like I was nothing? For doing what Did I betray you? Cheat on you? Deny you? How long am I supposed to wait?”
“I don’t know, but I thought it would be more than fifteen minutes after you left my apartment.”
Casey smiled sardonically.
“You’re apartment. Hmmm… I seem to recall you evicting me from it about fifteen minutes before it was to be our apartment.”
She walked toward Ethan, her eyes as cold as ice.
“Fifteen minutes. Let me see, if I remember correctly, I was sitting on the floor in front of the elevators crying at that point. Praying that you would come to your senses and come after me. I sat there staring at the door, waiting for you to come and get me for over a half-hour, Ethan. Shielding my face so the neighbors wouldn’t see me. Thirty minutes I waited, but you never came. But you think I was what, crawling into Tobias’s bed fifteen minutes after,” she chuckled wryly. “Dear God, did you ever even know me at all?”
She shook her head and walked away, but turned around as the anger inside her began to rise. How dare he?
“For the record, even if I had moved on fifteen minutes later, I still wouldn’t have had to explain it to you. Why? I seem to remember someone saying I needed to get over them because they were already over me. Remember those words, Ethan? Because I sure do. They were the last words you said to me before you tossed me out like I never meant a thing to you. Three years. Three years of my life I gave to you. Being your friend, your confidant, your lover, no matter how much you denied me. You were my everything, Ethan. I would have died for you. But do you know what you are to me now? You’re my co-worker. You are nothing more, and that is by your design. This is how you wanted it, well, congratulations, you have it! So don’t you dare get angry at me for what you have done. If you think that my love life, or lack thereof, is any of your goddamn business, you are sorely mistaken. If I wanted to fuck Tobias, the new guy in IT, and every goddamn member of the Boston Red Sox, that's my business and it will never be yours again. Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do.”
Casey walked brusquely to the door just as Naveen entered the room. He smiled tenderly at Casey, honestly happy to see defiance, more than sadness, in her eyes.
“Casey, are you, OK dear.”
“I am,” she said lifting her chin.
“Good. I want you to go home for the day.”
“But, why, I…”
“Casey, I insist. Don’t worry, I’ll get coverage for all of your patients, please, just go. Come back after the holiday, you deserve the time.”
She touched Naveen’s hand tenderly, “Thank you, Naveen, I think I’ll take you up on that.”
She turned over her shoulder and glared at Ethan before turning on her heel and leaving the room.
“Ethan, I did not tell you to leave for you to come down here and harass Casey. Frankly, you have done enough to hurt her already.”
“Naveen, she… he loves her! The two of them…”
“Ethan! I don’t know what’s happening between the two of them, and neither do you. But no matter what it is, it’s none of your business! And, if they are something, you have no one to blame but yourself. You can’t rid yourself of her and then expect her to stay loyal to you! Do you not see how far gone you are? Ethan, please! Go see your father, spend time away, when you come back, I want to see you in my office before you start. This has gone on long enough and it stops now.”
____________________
Casey walked down the hall quickly, she didn’t think anyone other than Naveen had overheard her conversation with Ethan, but she did not want to take any chances. She slipped her hand into her pocket, eager to text Tobias and warn him. That’s when she realized she was without her phone. She headed to her locker, hoping she had left it there. Running into the locker room, she sprung her door open and there it was, aglow with text messages from Tobias, Sienna, Bryce, Raf, Jackie… it was good to know the news was all over the hospital. She slunk to the bench in the empty room and placed her head in her hands.
Just then, Tobias came running into the doorway. He turned his head and spotted her sitting dejectedly on the bench several yards away.
“Casey?” he whispered as he made his way to her.
Her eyes sprung up at the sound of his voice and she wrapped her arms around him when he sat next to her. Feeling safe, she began to gently cry.
“It’s OK,” he whispered, rubbing her back, “It’s OK, baby, let it out.”
“He has no right,” she sniffled, “no right to make me feel badly.”
“No, he doesn’t,” he pulled back from the hug and looked at her directly, “so do you?”
“No,” she answered defiantly, “I don’t. I have no reason to be.”
“Damn straight,” Tobias smiled.
“Please, can we go home?”
“You got it, kid, let’s go.”
“Wait!” She said, pulling him back down to the bench. “Can I have one more hug first?”
“I always carry a few extra in case you need them,” he smiled, “so why not?”
The two of them remained on the bench for several minutes, collapsed into each other’s arms. He smiled. He loved her, he wanted so much more, but he was happy to be where he was. She smiled. She was falling for him, she hoped one day there could be more, but she was happy to be where she was.
He was the first to pull free.
“I guess we are blowing the grocery store off then?”
She smiled, “I mean, we could just head to Philly early and do it there. It’s not like my Mom would be unhappy having… well, correction… I’m sure she’d be thrilled to have you join her in the kitchen. Me… she’d probably send me to clean the gutters or something.”
Tobias laughed, “I’ll leave it up to you.”
“Let’s just go home. I’m exhausted.”
“Then I have my marching orders, let’s go,” he said, extending his arm. Casey grabbed on to it and they walked out together.
____________________
Ethan had barely sat in his car before his phone started ringing. He looked at it and rolled his eyes. Clearly, Naveen already made the call.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hello, Son, I…”
“Let me guess, you got a call from Naveen, and he said…”
“He said you’re on your way down here now, I hope he was correct.”
“Well, I’m sort of sitting in the parking lot at work. I wouldn’t consider that on my way down just yet.”
“Then you have two options. Go home and get your things, and begin heading down here right now. Or, I will gather my things and I will be at your condo in just over an hour. Take your pick, Ethan.”
He sighed.
“I should be on the road to your house within the hour, is that acceptable?”
“Yes, as long as you text when you’re leaving.”
“Deal.”
“Son, I’m glad we will get to spend the holiday together, but you should know. We are not evading things on this visit, we will be having some serious talks.”
“Understood. That’s fine, Dad. I love you.”
“I love you too son, now, get going before it gets late.”
“Will do, I’ll text you when I’m leaving Boston.”
Ethan pushed back into his headrest and closed his eyes. He wasn’t looking forward to the introspection. He wasn’t looking forward to Naveen ordering therapy, but he really didn’t see an out. He wasn’t looking forward to any of it, but he finally accepted that it was necessary, whether he wanted it or not.
He closed his eyes and waited until he heard silence, then he pulled his car out and began driving home. It was time.
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“I don’t know,” Sarah answers with a shrug. “Naomi was the star resident, and she was a shoe-in to get a spot on Dr. Banerji’s team alongside Ethan, especially when Banerji revealed he was stepping down and handing over the team to Ethan, but towards the end of her residency, that all went up in smoke. They split up and Edenbrook became grounds for the second Cold War during their divorce. Naomi left three years ago and she didn’t look back, so why is she here now?”
I’m reading this paragraph over and over again. What happened between Naomi and Ethan? Did someone cheat on the other? Did Naomi want to move to another hospital for “greener pastures”, but Ethan refused? Was it just a really bad fight?
Did I just read of Ethan getting jealous? Like he literally just stopped a conversation between his ex-wife and patient, stepping out into the hallways and said:
“He was flirting with you.”
I was smirking so bad my mouth started hurting 😏
Bye, Naomi actually believed what Leland told him. That’s pretty dumb, actually. Like I get that they’re divorced and didn’t part off amicably, but after knowing Ethan for so long, she should understand that Ethan hasn’t told anything to Leland and he isn’t the type of person to gossip, much less to Bloom.
This chapter was so interesting, I love it!! Cant wait to learn more about Naomi, Ethan and what actually happened between those two! 😃❤️
Then & Now Ch. 2
Ethan x MC
Catch Up Here
Tags at the end.
~v~
“Ethan, I think it is imperative that you calm down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down! I will not calm down, Naveen.”
“I think you should listen to the Chief, Ramsey,” Leland warns. “All of this huffing and puffing cannot be good for you. You’re so fond of reminding me that I’m not a doctor, but I think even my plebeian brain can register that.”
Ethan narrows his eyes at Leland. “Of all the people in the world, you choose my ex-wife? Excuse me, if I’m not in a good mood right now.”
“Dr. Ramsey, née Valentine is an excellent physician,” Leland says. “In her three years at Mount Sinai, she has practically revolutionized the field and per the Chief there, she’s one of the best they have in her internal medicine department. Contrary to what you may think, the world does not revolve around Ethan Ramsey. The fact that you were married to her at one point simply means you have good taste in picking women, but suck at keeping them.”
Leland’s face gives absolutely nothing away, and that causes Ethan’s jaw to jump. “I’m not working with her.”
“We’ve had a patient in this hospital with zero answers and results. His condition is deteriorating under your watch, so I outsourced it. Dr. Naomi has worked with you before, she’s incredibly smart, and she’s currently working at one of the best hospitals on the East Coast. So I’m going to give her a chance. And if she doesn’t figure things out, hopefully the fact that she’s so under your skin will be enough motivation in order for you to figure things out like there’s a literal fire under your ass.”
When he says things like that, Ethan can’t help but believe Leland is lying about not doing this to get under his skin.
Ethan exhales heavily, pondering his next move. After much contemplation, Ethan decides to stay quiet, turning on his heel and leaving the office. Arguing with Leland doesn’t result in anything productive, so he’s not going to waste his time.
~v~
News of the former Missus Ethan Ramsey being back at Edenbrook doesn’t stay hidden for long. Naomi’s arrival injected new blood into the hospital’s gossip circuit, excited whispers and murmurs filling every inch of space Isabelle found herself occupying.
“What is the deal with Dr. Ramsey and...female Dr. Ramsey?” She finally asks, sliding over to the nurse’s station.
Sarah, the head nurse’s mouth drops open in shock. “What? How do you not know about the two of them?”
“Cut her some slack, Sarah, it’s only the girl’s second year here,” another nurse, Marlene adds. “Ethan and Naomi were together before she even started at Edenbrook. He’s only a few years older than her. I think they met in medical school, and they got married right before the start of her intern year and his first one as an attending.”
“They were so cute together,” Sarah adds. “We’ve seen tons of relationships within the four walls of this hospital, but those two...they were something special. Ethan can be an absolute pill on his best day, but that woman brought out the best in him, personally and professionally.”
Isabelle’s brows furrowed. “If they were so in love, what happened?”
“I don’t know,” Sarah answers with a shrug. “Naomi was the star resident, and she was a shoe-in to get a spot on Dr. Banerji’s team alongside Ethan, especially when Banerji revealed he was stepping down and handing over the team to Ethan, but towards the end of her residency, that all went up in smoke. They split up and Edenbrook became grounds for the second Cold War during their divorce. Naomi left three years ago and she didn’t look back, so why is she here now?”
Isabelle watches as the two nurses go back and forth, theorizing in explanations for Naomi’s return. The buzz is so intense, she doesn’t have the heart to tell them she’ll only be in town for as long as she’s working the case, and then it’s back to New York.
“What’s she like, work-wise?” Isabelle asks. “Anything like her ex husband?”
Marlene snorts. “The complete opposite. Don’t get me wrong, Dr. Ramsey is an excellent doctor, one of the best we have, and he’d go above and beyond for his patients and this hospital, but he lacks...warmth. And tact. And a decent bedside manner. Naomi couldn’t be further from that. She’s a good doctor, not just because she’s smart, but because she has more empathy in her pinky toe than most people do in their entire bodies. She connects with all of her patients and they love her. And she isn’t an asshole doctor who thinks the M.D behind her name makes her better than everyone else.”
“And she’s fun to get drunk with,” Sarah adds. “If you run into her at Donahue’s while she’s here, get her to play a game of darts.”
Armed with more knowledge than she thought she’d get out of the nurses, Isabelle waves a quick goodbye and departs from the front desk. Her head spins as she tries to wrap her mind around everything she’s learned about her boss—and his ex-wife for that matter? At least now Isabelle had a slight idea about what she was getting herself into when it came to working with them. Now, she just had to hope things have cooled down between the two of them and she’s not caught in the crossfire.
~v~
Walking around Edenbrook was something Naomi could describe as slipping into an old pair of jeans. Even with the extensive upgrades to the hospital in the past few years, she can make her way to the seventh floor with zero direction. After her rather...intense standoff with Ethan earlier, he stormed out like a toddler determined to have a loud temper tantrum, Naveen at his heels.
The tension in the room was stifling, so she quickly exited stage left and wandered around the hospital, visiting her former coworkers, and catching up with her old roommates, giving Ethan a chance to cool down.
When she makes it back to the office, the entire team is there and their attention turns to her. “Oh good, the gang’s all here!” She claps her hands together excitedly.
“You are a sight for sore eyes, Naomi,” Tobias says in greeting. He strides over to the younger woman and wraps her in a warm hug.
“Really?”
“Oh yeah. It’s nice to have you back, even for a little while. I can’t believe Bloom was able to drag you out of New York.”
Ethan takes the sentence as the perfect segue to snipe. “Yes, how could you ever come back here after jetting off to the city at the first opportunity?”
He’s still in the mood to argue, Naomi quickly surmises. Whatever snarky reply is on the tip of her tongue, she manages to bite down. She’s not going to stoop to his level.
“What can I say?” Naomi shrugs. “I’ve never met a medical mystery I didn’t want to solve. I’ve never known a patient I didn’t want to help.”
She steps further into the office, glancing around as she does it. Everything is so different from when she worked here last, the office full of upgraded equipment and state of the art technology. She can’t even wrap her mind around what Bloom has invested into this room alone, let alone the entire hospital.
The shared workspace is covered in printouts of articles, opened textbooks, and post-it notes. The whiteboard which covered most of the wall is riddled with Ethan’s slanted handwriting, which only gets sloppier the more he writes.
Naomi tsks, an action that doesn’t go unnoticed by Ethan.
“Is something not to your liking, Doctor?”
“This isn’t going to work, this…lack of organization. How do you guys get anything done here?”
Ethan can vividly recall the days of Naomi flitting around his office, cleaning up behind him and getting things in order when he got too into his head and his workstation became a mess. She’s a lot tidier than he is, their work styles vastly different yet cohesive, and they worked symbiotically for years. He thought her over the top organizational skills were cute and endearing. But now? Now, Ethan’s not in the mood for appeasing her.
“We do groundbreaking work here every single day, Naomi, whether the papers are neatly filed or not. If you’re going to nitpick my team within the first 5 minutes, you can easily turn around and leave.”
“Not nitpicking, just making an observation,” Naomi says smoothly. “Where’s the patient file? I’d like to read through it before I formally meet him.”
Ethan takes the file off of his desk and in a few quick strides, he and Naomi are face to face. She snatches the file out of his hand without a thank you.
The exchange is done, but the exes don’t make a move to separate from each other. Naomi stares down Ethan, her eyes running over his face, and the extra attention makes him feel unsettled, like she’s staring into his soul with those annoyingly deep eyes of hers. “What?” He snaps.
Naomi steps forward and places her thumb in between his eyebrows. “You know, you really shouldn’t scowl so much darling. You’ll get premature wrinkles.” She smacks his chest with the thick file he just gave her. “Now let’s get to work!”
~v~
When Ethan and Naomi finally make their way to their patient’s room, Ethan agrees to let Naomi take the lead. She’s the only doctor that hasn’t met or interacted with him, and he might divulge some new information.
After knocking on the door and receiving a soft “Cone in,” Naomi enters the room, plastering on her most dazzling smile.
“Hi, you must be Anthony Remington,” Naomi greets.
To the best of his ability, Anthony sits up a bit straighter and clears his throat. “Have I died and gone to heaven? Because you have to be an angel.”
Ethan scoffs in the background, but Naomi ignores him. “You’re quite the charmer, but no. My name is Dr. Naomi Ramsey, I’m one of the doctors working on your case.”
“Ramsey?” Anthony raises an eyebrow and points at Ethan. “Isn’t that his last name as well?”
“Unfortunately we have that in common.”
“What, are you guys married or something?”
Both Dr. Ramseys snap in unison, “No!”
Anthony chuckles at their dramatic response. His eyes flit lazily over Naomi’s frame, sizing her up like a hungry predator. Ethan steps further into the room, but he resists the urge to get in between them.
Naomi picks up the chart at the foot of Anthony’s bed and reads it over. “So Anthony, you woke up one morning, with no feeling in your lower body, correct?”
“Correct. And the longer I stay like this, the more annoyed I get. I happen to be fond of certain body parts below the waist, if you catch my drift.”
“Oh, I’m picking up what you’re putting down.”
“Think you can get me back into working order any time soon?”
“Lucky for you, Mr. Remington, I’m one of the best at what I do. You’re in good hands.”
“Mhmm, is that a promise?”
“Dr. Ramsey, a word?”
Naomi turns around to look at Ethan. “Can it wait a moment?”
“No.”
Naomi shoots Anthony an apologetic smile, before stepping into the hallways with Ethan. She shuts the door behind them. “What?”
“What? What? What on earth are you doing?”
“Talking to our patient,” Naomi deadpans. “At least I was before you pulled me out here.”
“You were flirting.”
“I was not flirting!”
“He was flirting with you,” Ethan amends.
“Who cares? Anthony is younger than my little brother, he’s as harmless as a fruit fly.”
“This is a hospital, not a singles’ mixer. We’re here to be professional and treat him.”
“I know how to do my job, I’ve been doing it for almost as long as you have Ethan. I know where the lines are drawn between patients and doctors, and if a little bit of harmless flirting makes him feel comfortable enough to talk to me, I’ll let him call me pretty and shoot my cheeky smiles all day long.”
Ethan opens his mouth, a rebuttal on the tip of his tongue, “But–”
“But nothing,” Naomi says. “Do you trust me?” When Ethan doesn’t immediately respond, Naomi rolls her eyes and changes the question. “Do you trust my efficacy as a doctor?”
“Yes,” Ethan grumbles.
“Whether you like it or not, I’m here to help. Until this case is solved, you and I are on the same side, so let me work. Please.”
“Fine.”
“Thank you,” Naomi sighs out. “Now let me spend some time with him, without your interference, and I’ll see what I can pull out of him. If I come up empty handed, I’ll let you regain the lead with this one. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Good. Now go back to the office, I’ll take it from here.” And with that, Naomi leaves Ethan in the hallway and she walks back into Anthony’s room. “Sorry about that.”
“I’ve flirted with every hot doctor or nurse that’s come into this room—which is literally everyone because this hospital is full of hotties—but you’re the first one that other Dr. Ramsey has actually raised a fuss over. He stood in the corner shooting daggers at me.”
Naomi shrugs. “He can be…”
“Jealous?”
“Overly-protective. He and I go way back.”
“You sure you don’t have some sort of thing going on with him?”
“He’s my ex-husband,” Naomi admits.
“And you still have to work with him?” Anthony laughs. “How’s that working out for you?”
“Well neither of us has burned this place down so I’d say things are going great, all things considered.”
“No offense, but that is bleak.”
“None taken. Now, enough about me, I’m here to focus on you. Talk to me, what do you do for a living?”
“Nothing really. My dad set me up with some bullshit position in his company that he’s grooming me to take over, but I have zero interest in real estate.”
“Well what do you have interest in? If you weren’t in the hospital, if you didn’t have to “work”, what would you be doing right now?”
“Oh, I’d be with my friends in Europe, racing.”
“Racing?”
“I’m friends with some British earl or duke of whatever, 30th in line for the throne, and he has the sickest estate in Ireland. I’m talking massive. And on his estate, he has a race track.”
“Oh, so like NASCAR.”
Anthony snorts. “Please, we put NASCAR to shame.”
“How often do you do this?”
“I’m not going to get in trouble for telling you this, am I?”
“I mean, as long as you don’t admit to killing someone, I won’t be turning you in.”
“I spend a lot of time out there. My dad thinks I’m running his office in London, but my friends and I race as much as we can. Before I came back to the states, we were in Switzerland. Once you guys finally get me out of here, I’ll have to take you racing with me. I think you’d look pretty hot riding shotgun.”
“Interesting.” Naomi bites down on her lip as she tries to work out a theory in her head. “Do you mind if I run a few more blood tests on you? I think I have an idea.”
~v~
“Benzene poisoning? This entire time, he’s has benzene poisoning?”
Naomi triumphantly waves the results of Anthony’s blood test in Ethan’s face as she presents her findings to the rest of the team. “He’s into underground street racing.”
“Of course he is,” Ethan mumbles.
“He’s a bored rich kid, doing bored rich kid things,” Tobias says.
“When he started talking about racing, I decided to test him for any sort of hydrocarbons or chemicals used in or around cars. He tested positive for really high levels of benzene due to how much he’s around cars, and not following any sort of rules or regulations.”
“Okay. So now that we have the problem, what’s the solution?”
“We’ll put him on oxygen, and my team and I will assess any long term neurological damage,” Harper adds. “Thankfully, he hasn’t had any more seizures and his vitals are stable. Within the next few days, we’ll start him on physical and occupational therapy.”
Ethan nods. “Sounds like a plan. It is with great pleasure that I say this case is officially closed. Great work team.”
The team members other than Naomi and Ethan file out of the office, leaving the exes alone. Ethan sits down behind his desk. He doesn’t look up until he feels the expectant glare Naomi is shooting his way. “Is there something you’d like to say?”
“Is there something you would like to say? I noticed you gave compliments to the team, but it is I, Naomi Marie Ramsey, who solved the mystery once and for all.”
“Okay?”
“So I deserve my own personal kudos.”
“You did good work, Naomi,” Ethan says genuinely.
“Thank you.”
“Anything else you want me to add?”
“I can gather up all the doctors in the hospital and make you tell them how great I am.”
“Don’t push it, Rookie.”
“Rookie. Wow, that’s a nickname I haven’t heard in years.”
The once affectionate pet name hasn’t crossed Ethan’s mind in years. It was a slip of the tongue. “Yeah, I got used to calling you other things. Things that don’t bear repeating.” Naomi playfully shoves Ethan, and he chuckles. “When are you leaving again? I’m sure Leland’s fancy helicopter can get you back to New York before your dumb reality shows air tonight.”
“I’m staying until Anthony is fully discharged. We may have figured out what was wrong with him, but the work isn’t done. You know I don’t like to leave my patients hanging.”
For all of her annoying traits, Ethan can’t deny Naomi’s commitment to patient care is admirable.
“Think you can handle seeing me within these four walls for a few more days?”
With an exaggerated sigh, Ethan nods. “I suppose I can manage.”
“Thank you, oh generous leader.”
Once the banter quiets down, the two of them settle into a rhythm. It’s not lost on either of them that this is the first decent interaction they’ve had in years. Naomi is even willing to go as far as saying it’s nice.
“So…how are things in New York?” Ethan asks.
The question catches Naomi off guard, but if this is Ethan’s way of extending an olive branch, she won’t turn it away. “Um…great! Really great, actually.”
“Is Ted Bigsby still at Mount Sinai?”
“Yes.”
“Does he still have the–”
“The hideous pornstache?” Naomi nods. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“Ugh. How does anyone get any work done at that hospital without staring at it all day?”
“It’s a difficult job, but we’re superheroes.”
They both dissolve into a fit of laughter that is interrupted by a knock at the door. Without waiting for a response, Leland enters the room. His eyes widen as he sees Naomi and Ethan not tearing each other’s heads off, but instead laughing. “Hello you two. What’s so funny here?”
“It’s sort of an inside thing,” Naomi replies. “Is there something you needed, Mr. Bloom?”
“I just wanted to congratulate you in person on solving the case,” Leland says. His eyes flit between Ethan and Naomi curiously. What happened to the man that wanted his head served on a silver platter earlier in the day? Where’s the woman who reveled in the idea of needling Ethan? “I have some last minute work to catch up on, but do see me when you get here tomorrow Naomi. There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you.
“I’ll see you then.”
“See you then.”
~v~
Naomi is caught up in a flurry of greetings from old colleagues, and a meeting with her patient’s family early the next morning, so she isn’t able to make her way to Leland’s office until well in the afternoon. When she arrives, she’s struck by how…industrial everything is. All white and silver, no color to be found anywhere. The space is cold for lack of a better word, ridiculously so.
“Ah, Dr. Ramsey, please have a seat!” Leland gestures to the large leather chair across his desk. Naomi settles in comfortably. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”
“Of course. I know you wanted to meet in the morning, but I got caught up.”
“It’s not a problem. I just wanted to check in with you,” Leland says. “How does it feel, being back at Edenbrook?”
“Nostalgic. Weird.”
“And working on the diagnostics team?”
“Again, weird. But I’ve known Tobias, Harper, and Ethan for ages, and Isabelle is great, so we managed to get things done.”
“So I take it Ethan behaved himself?”
Naomi smiles ruefully. “As best as Ethan can.”
“Isabelle told me that you were the one to actually get an answer as to what was going on with Anthony. And for that I wanted to personally thank you.”
“Oh, no thanks needed. I’m just here to do my job.”
“As humble as you are brilliant. Can I be honest with you, Dr. Ramsey?”
“Of course.”
“I think your talents are being wasted at Mount Sinai. And I think Edenbrook is missing the opportunity to have a shining star in our midst. So, I would like to extend a formal job offer to you, as an attending here, and as a full time member of the diagnostics team. Whatever your salary is at Mount Sinai, I’ll double it.
Naomi nearly chokes on air because holy hell, that would be a lot of money. “You want me to work here?”
“I think you’d be a perfect fit.”
Naomi goes silent for a long while, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as she thinks. She’ll be the first to admit that it was nice to be back at Edenbrook, but coming back was never part of her plan.
“Mr. Bloom–”
“Leland.”
“Leland, that is an extremely generous offer and I appreciate it, but I’m going to have to decline.”
Being told no isn’t something Leland is used to. “What?”
“I love it in New York, I love my team and my patients. And while being here was a nice visit, I think it should stay just that.”
Naomi saying no wasn’t what Leland planned for. So he switches tactics. “You know what, let’s just forget I asked. I should’ve just listened to Ethan.”
“Ethan? You talked to Ethan about this?”
“Well of course. It’s his team, so I ran the idea by him first.”
“And what did he say?”
“I really shouldn’t divulge.”
“What did he say, Leland?”
“He said it’d be a terrible idea, one that he wouldn’t support. He said you left Edenbrook for greener pastures, and there’s no reason we should be bending over backwards to welcome back a doctor who didn’t want to be here and only came back for the drama and attention.”
“I never thought—he said that?”
“It’s one of the nicer things he said about you in all honesty. There was also a lot of talk about you always being the other Dr. Ramsey. The lesser one.”
Naomi’s face heats with rage as she processes what Leland just told her. While they are nowhere near being best friends, she thought things were okay between her and Ethan. To think he’d say such mean things about—untrue ones at that—stings. She bites the inside of her cheek.
Does he really think so little of her? Sure their marriage ended on bad terms, but Ethan knows better than anyone just how much she values being a doctor, and how much pride she takes in her work. This goes beyond slight bickering and sarcastic jabs. It goes below the belt.
If Ethan thinks she doesn’t have what it takes to carve out a lane for herself, she’s just going to have to prove him wrong. She’s going to have to be the best goddamn doctor Edenbrook has ever seen.
“You know what? I take back my earlier statement. I would love to work at Edenbrook again.”
Leland smiles. Hook, line, and sinker.
He extends a hand for Naomi to shake. “Welcome back, Doctor.”
~v~
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