I am willing to write for Melissa Schemmenti, Chessy (Parent Trap), Rebecca Welton, and possibly Alma Peregrine.
I'm still pretty new, so don't be upset if I deny a request. It's probably because I don't think I could write it up to standard. I also have the right to deny a request for any reason.
Requests can be sent through anon or whatever way you like (I may change this if I get too many), and I will try to respond to your ask or message when I see it.
I am a university student, so my schedule is all over the place. I am also American, so my vernacular may be different from yours.
the best fanfiction you've ever read was written by a woman in her 40s before she made dinner for her kids. it was written by a teenager after school when they should've been studying for a history test. and a barista came up with the idea while they cleaned the espresso machine and busser fact-checked it on their break and the post-doc edited between writing grant proposals and the nurse apologized for typos in the notes after a long shift and behind every drabble and one-shot and multi-chapter fic there is a person with a wonderful and interesting and chaotic life and it is such a privilege that we get to be apart of it because they decided to do this thing we all share, for fun.
Hiya, I was hoping to request a bouquet with gardenia and yellow hyacinth for Dana Evans, please <3
featuring: dana evans x reader
wc: 1,821
warnings: secret relationship, jealousy, divorced dana, reader works in the hospital but their job is left non-descript, allusions to an age gap but not specified, hurt/comfort, angst, self-isolation, insecurity
There was no doubt in your mind that Dana Evans loves you. It’s written into her every movement and actions. Gentle hands that trail against your skin in the early dawn light as you fight against the noise of the world and having to actually get up for work. In every kiss shared between silken sheets and over cups of expensive coffee in the mornings. In the way her eyes always softened, just a little, when she saw you in the ER. How she always slipped a protein bar in your pocket when you weren’t looking or how she always saved your favourite when lunch was ordered in for the department.
It was quiet how Dana loved you, the little in between moments when no one was looking and it was just you and her. And it made sense, when you first started dating all those months ago. The ER survive on caffeine and chaos and gossip, there was no such thing as a secret between two people because someone would always over hear or over share, not out of malice or any ill-intent but in a bid to keep their sanity alive in a place that was determined to bury it six feet under.
It had been new, for both of you. Dana had only been divorced for a year and you had sworn off dating in the workplace after a disastrous break-up with one of the guys in radiology that ended up with him transferring hospitals. But things don’t always go the way you expect them to and the universe always seems to have a way to push you into what you need. So, when a drink on the roof after a rough shift turned into another at the bar and another at her house turned into something beautiful. You both decided to keep it close to your chest.
It was nice, at first. Kisses in hidden hallways when no-one was looking. Passing glances that weighed heavy against your skin for hours, lingering almost like a brand. Gentle touches against skin that, to others simply looked like colleagues passing instruments or offering comfort after a patient, but to you meant everything.
But then something shifted. Not loudly, but quietly. A new nurse had joined the team, older, a little more experienced in both the ways of life and medicine and he seemed to be glued to Dana’s side. Which, at the start was understandable, Dana was the charge nurse and her word was law in the ER.
Suddenly, her attention was him. Where her eyes would drift to you from across the room they now stayed firmly planted on him. The moments the two of you would disappear outside for a ‘smoke’ break and a kiss were non-existent as he followed her out with more questions, some of them more personal than what was truly professional. Then there was the way he stood next to her, shoulder almost deliberately pressed into hers when by her side or his chest nearly pushing into Dana’s back when they read over a chart together.
You never had a moment with her anymore, not alone. And though you spent the nights in her house, tucked against her skin, it suddenly wasn’t enough. Little seeds of jealousy had planted themselves in your heart, roots growing into gnarled and ugly things that sent flashes of white through your veins anytime you saw them together.
It wasn’t just you that had noticed, others around you had too. Princess and Perlah watched every interaction with an eagle eye, and though you couldn’t understand them when they started talking in Tagalog, you could get the gist of what they were saying. Before long, it had spread among the staff, a secret bet for how long until they hooked up or went on a date. Even Robby, who usually stayed out of gossip, had made a comment about how she deserved to be happy and fall in love again.
You thought she had. You thought she was happy with you. That was when the doubt started to creep in. When you would look over to Dana and see her smile at him, wide and warm as if she had known him for years while she barely looked at you. Even at home, she was quieter than normal, nights spent with a silly movie replaced with warm showers and crawling into bed before the clock even hit 9. When she did look at you, it seemed off. Nothing noticeable, just different. There was still warmth there, but it seemed almost muted like she was looking through a stained glass window.
It hurt. A lot. Every gaze was no longer a warm caress but a knife point digging into your skin. So you decided the best thing to do was distance yourself. Slowly at first, invites to join her for a smoke or lunch declined as you bustled about the ER. Disappearing into an exam room or around a corner whenever she approached.
Dana notices almost immediately, of course she did. She was already so observant, picking up the pieces that everyone else misses in the blink of an eye, adding that it was you and she zero’d on it immediately. The way your eyes dropped to the floor whenever she was close by, the furrow of your eyebrows and downturned shape of your lips when she was near, and the cherry on top the way you would scramble for an exit anytime she walked into the room.
By the time you declined her invitation to go back home, to her place, after a shift for a second time with a half-hearted excuse of being too tired or cat sitting for your neighbour (who she knew for a fact didn’t have a cat), a heavy weight settled against her chest. The distance became something palpable and dark, sitting heavy against her chest. She decided then she wasn’t going to wait for another ‘no’.
The knock on your door is unexpected. It’s late into the evening, the moon casting its silver glow across the space and meeting the muted hue of your reading light. It takes you a few minutes to answer, your brain automatically assumes it's a delivery driver at the wrong address, but then it comes again. Harders this time, more insistent along with a text from Dana saying ‘it’s me’.
Your eyebrows scrunch up in confusion at the text but you quickly throw your blanket off your legs and go to the door. When you open it, she’s there. The hallway lights are harsh, but they soften against Dana’s features. The sweet smile on her lips and the edges of her eyes. You want to ask her what she’s doing there, but she’s already stepping forward before you can think of a reason she shouldn’t be.
“I got these for you,” her voice is light, almost a whisper as she presents a bouquet of your favourite flowers and a bottle of your favourite wine. You almost cry at the sight of them, tears lining your lash line as you take a step back and let her fully enter the space. Your turning away from her before she can see them, walking towards the kitchen while she hangs her coat up on the rack.
Dana just watches as you move around the kitchen, eyes drawn close in concentration as she maps the tension in your body. The stiffness of your shoulders, how your fingers flex and unflex as you place the flowers in a jug of water, the scrunch of your eyebrows and the way there are a hundred different thoughts flowing through your irises.
Finally she moves forward, wraps her hands around your wrist and gently glides her way up your arms to your elbows and moves them against her waist before she moves further up until she’s gently cupping your face.
“Hey sweetheart, tell me what's going on?”
Her voice is featherlight as she speaks, concern and love woven into every syllable as they pass by your lips and suddenly you feel so ridiculous for ever feeling jealous or like Dana was forgetting you. The tears well up again, water dotting your lashline as you take in a stuttered breath.
“It…it’s nothing,” another breath, shakier this time, “it’s silly.”
Dana shakes her head, rubs a thumb against your cheek where she catches a stray tear as it slips through.
“It can’t be silly if it’s making you feel this upset.”
The raw honesty in her voice breaks you and suddenly the tears are falling and you can’t stop them this time.
“I just..I got worried,” the honesty of it stings against your cheeks, the tears feeling like pins digging into your skin, “I know we agreed to be quiet, to keep things secret but its…it’s not enough anymore”
You stutter out another breath, almost choking on the words as they tumble out of you.
“I want to be able to hold your hand without looking over my shoulder, I want us to go to the park and not have to worry about someone seeing us there. And then there’s him… the new guys, he’s everywhere and I don’t get a moment alone with you…He fits so easily into your life and everyone sees it, even Robby made a comment about the two of you together.”
Dana doesn’t move, doesn’t falter as she looks at you, she gives you the space you need.
“Then at home, I feel like I don’t even have you anymore because you’re so tired and if I’m being honest, having you only at home isn’t enough anymore.”
Dana’s expression softened, as she pulled you in closer to her, hands moving from your cheeks and down to your waist. She isn’t angry or disappointed, well maybe a little but more so at herself than at you, gods she could never be angry at you for how you’re feeling.
“Sweetheart,” it’s a whisper, but it's so steady and unwavering that you can’t help the way it lifts something inside of you, “You have nothing to worry about. He’s an old friend from nursing school. That’s all.”
She squeezes your hip gently, pulls you flush against her and places a kiss to your forehead.
“The questions? The private moments? He wasn’t flirting, he was telling me about his husband and asking about you. Every time we’re alone I am gushing about you, how amazing you are and how much I adore you. We were talking about how I was finally going to ask you to move in with me, how it’s time we stopped hiding.”
That was your undoing, those seeds of jealousy and self-doubt that had burst into petals withered away as the tears came hot and heavy now. You couldn’t hold back your sobs, the deep heaving breaths shaking your whole body as Dana places her forehead against yours.
𝓢ummary : you need your spare keys so you walked in an ER where no one knows you’re Dana’s wife.
𝒞w : none besides age-gap (reader in her mid-twenties).
𝓦c : 1.2k
n/a : tumblr i hate you for your censorship for nothing </3
The automatic doors slides open as you passed them, and immediately the smell of antiseptic and bad coffee hitted you.
As you navigate in, your hands are clutching your phone like it had personally betrayed you. And you feel like it has.
You had called her six times already, all of them were being unanswered and you are still being locked out of your shared apartment just because the damn door slammed with your keys in it.
And of course she’s unreachable, she was mid-shift, but still, you needed the spare key.
You scanned the ER floor, heart racing, not because it scared you, but because walking into Dana’s workplace unannounced always felt like stepping into her world without permission.
It was noisy, phones ringing. Monitors beeping. Nurses calling out vitals. Someone is coughing somewhere down the hall.
When you had stepped up to the nurses’ station, you had felt slightly out of place with your soft cardigan and skirt among the scrubs of the medical staff.
A woman looked up at you, sharp eyes, tired but alert. Clipboard in hand.
She scanned you quickly, head to toe, trying to categorize you what you are, a patient ? A visitor ? A lost civil ?
“Can I help you ?”
“Umh, I think yeah. I’m looking for Dana.”
“Dana ?” she repeated, brows knitting.
“Dana Evans,” you clarified.
That got her attention.
Her eyebrows lifted, “are you… family ?” And you hesitated, suddenly aware of how strange this probably looked.
“I – yeah. Sort of. I just need to find her. It’s not an emergency or anything, I just lost my keys and she has the spare and she’s not answering her phone.”
She studied you again, this time she did it longer. You were young. Obviously younger than Dana. Not dressed like staff. Not anxious like a patient family member.
She tilted her head.
“And are you sure we’re talking about the same Dana ?” she asked slowly.
“Yes…?”
A quiet snort came from somewhere behind the desk. And then, from down the hall, you heard it, “Evans ! Trauma bay !”
And suddenly, there she was.
Hair slightly messy, scrub top wrinkled, gloves half-pulled off as she walked fast toward the station, distracted, mid-thought, clearly in work mode.
She didn’t notice you at first.
Then she did.
And everything in her expression changed, her steps had slowed, her brows pulled together and then concern flashed across her face.
“No way,” she called, her voice was firm, low, unmistakably directed at you.
Heads turned.
Because that tone ? That wasn’t coworker-tone, nor a patient-family tone.
That was personal.
She walked up fast, stopping right in front of you, scanning you from head to toe, checking to make sure you weren’t hurt.
“What are you doing here ?” she then asked, and her tone wasn’t angry but concerned and confused but it was mostly protective.
You exhaled dramatically, relief flooding your face. “Hi to you too,” you muttered.
"I lost my keys. I locked myself out. I called you like six times but you didn’t answer and I couldn’t get into the apartment and it’s freezing outside and I didn’t know what else to do.”
Dana blinked then she exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down her face. “Jesus,” she muttered under her breath.
Behind her, you both could feel the entire nurses’ station staring. Watching and processing.
Trying to connect dots.
Her jaw tightened slightly as she glanced sideways at her coworkers but then she looked back at you and her expression softened instantly. “Are you okay ?” she asked quietly.
You nodded.
“Just locked out. And cold. And annoyed.”
Dana huffed a quiet breath, half exasperation, half relief. This isn’t the first time you locked yourself out, and it won’t be the last, she knows it.
“Yeah, well,” she muttered. “You picked a hell of a time to lose your keys.” Then she reached into her scrub pocket and pulled out a small keyring, held it up.
The spare.
You brightened immediately.
“Oh my god, thank you.”
But before handing it to you, Dana paused and she looked over her shoulder.
At the silent, staring coworkers.
Then back at you.
Her voice shifted, calm, deliberate, “guys,” she said.
The entire station froze.
“This,” she continued, and finally placing the keys into your hand, “is my wife.”
You swore you could hear someone choke behind her, but Dana didn’t look at them, she didn’t even break eye contact with you, she just leaned slightly closer, voice low enough only you could hear.
“And next time … don’t come here unless you’re bleeding.”
You grinned, “noted.”
She then didn’t wait for you to move as she placed her hand on the small of your back, and tilted her head toward the hallway, that silent come-on gesture.
The ER noise faded as you both moved farther from the nurses’ station, but you could still feel eyes on your back.
You leaned closer to her as you walked.
“They were staring,” you muttered. Dana huffed quietly, not even looking at you, making you glanced sideways at her.
“You didn’t tell them about me, did you ?”
That made her glance at you, “no, I didn’t see the point of it.”
You nodded slowly, absorbing that.
The automatic doors to the lobby came into view. You spun the spare key once around your finger.
“You could’ve answered your phone,” you said, half-accusing.
Dana shot you a look, “I was running a trauma, in case you forgot.”
“Still,” you muttered.
She stopped walking, making you almost bumped into her.
Dana turned fully toward you now, arms crossing over her chest, expression tired but steady.
“You walked into the ER,” she said flatly.
You blinked, “I did.”
“And you told my staff you lost your keys.”
“Yeah.”
“Now,” she added, leaning slightly closer, voice lower, “half of them think I married a college student.”
You snorted at that, “I do not look like a college student.”
Dana stared at you for a long second, and then, “yes, you absolutely do.”
You gasped softly, but it was mostly to be dramatic, that’s all you, "wow. Betrayal.”
That almost made her smile, just barely, a twitch at the corner of her mouth.
Almost.
She reached out, quick and practical, tugging your sleeve down where it had ridden up, like she always did when she noticed little things.
“You’re cold ?” she asked.
The tone changed completely.
Softer.
“A little.”
She sighed, that deep, tired exhale she did when she was already halfway to worrying, and she always does when it’s about you. She then slipped a hand briefly to your shoulder, squeezing once.
Grounding.
“You got the keys now,” she said. “Go home. Lock the door. And please, don’t forget those too or both of us gonna sleep outside.”
You grinned slightly.
“Yes, ma'am.”
She narrowed her eyes at you.
“Don’t start.”
You rocked back on your heels, smiling and acting all innocent suddenly, “noted.”
That time, Dana actually let out a quiet, reluctant huff of amusement. “Yeah,” she turned back toward the ER doors.
“Better be.”
Then she paused and just before stepping back inside, she turned her head. “Text me when you get home,” she added.
Not a suggestion. An order.
And you smiled softer this time, “I will.”
Dana held your gaze one second longer, checking, reassuring, before slipping back through the doors and disappearing into the noise of the ER again.
And behind you ? You swore you could still feel the gossip starting already, she can too.
tags : @fall-bambi, @puppysepulchre and @ghostsunderstoodmysoul 𐙚
summary: after a long shift, dana spends the night at your place. the only problem is you may have forgotten to tell her who your roommates are. luckily, they’re not home and she’s wearing more than an oversized t-shirt when she runs into them in the kitchen the next morning… right?
word count: 2.3k
tags: domestic fluff; secret relationship; roomies trinity and dennis; hint of garsantos; the devil wears prada reference
a/n: technically a prequel to ‘tender love and care’ but can be read as a standalone! i’m thinking of making this a whole universe and writing a bunch of one shots in it. let me know if you guys would read that :)
Rounding the nurses’ station, your bag slung over one shoulder, your girlfriends’ dangling off the other, you reached Dana and plucked her badge off her scrub top.
“Come on.” You pocketed the ornament of cards in exchange for her purse. “I’m taking you home.”
The charge nurse pried her eyes away from the computer screen and scoffed, an incredulous but tired expression on her face.
“Thank you,” Lena interrupted from behind you. “I’ve been trying to get her to leave for the past ten minutes.”
“I’m right here you know.” Dana raised a brow at both of you as she stood up. She swiped back her badge with ease but made no move to re-clip it to her collar. “I gave you my locker code for emergencies,” she said to you, lowering her voice.
“Everything’s an emergency around here, babe,” you quipped, matching her discretion.
The two of you were keeping your fairly new relationship under wraps, not wanting to become the subject of the department’s gossip mill. You knew Ahmad’s betting pool would run rampant and Princess and Perlah would have an absolute field day.
“Handoffs all finished?” You turned to Lena, who was now occupying Dana’s seat. You could see the night shift nurse had logged Dana out, and you gave her a small smile in appreciation.
“We’re all good here,” Lena confirmed before leveling her counterpart with a knowing look. “Go home.”
“Come on,” you repeated as you subtly wrapped your arm around Dana’s waist, pulling her towards you. “I’m driving.”
Looking between you and Lena, Dana huffed, but let herself be dragged around the nurses’ station. “Can’t believe you two are ganging up on me.”
“It’s for your own good,” you whispered, causing her to chuckle.
“Hold down the fort.” Dana turned back to Lena and waved.
“Always do,” the other charge nurse chirped, returning the wave.
As the two of you stepped out into the cool Pittsburgh night, the crisp air sobering, you practically felt the tension leave Dana’s body as she melted into your side. You knew there was nothing to be said in the moment, the shift still clinging to the both of you, so you simply pressed a kiss to the side of her head and guided her to your car.
You turned on the radio, the soft hum of whatever current hit was popular filling the comfortable silence. Every couple of stop lights, you stole glances at your girlfriend, who was just staring out the window. You knew it wasn’t anger or guilt gripping her body, but pure exhaustion. Placing your hand on the gear shift, you reached out to her, an offer of comfort for her to take if she wanted.
A few moments later, you felt her slender hand atop yours. You looked at her out of the corner of your eye, but her eyes were closed, so you simply ran your thumb over the back of her hand and pressed on the gas as the light turned green.
The drive to your place was short, normal commute hour long passed. As she felt the car slow and come to a stop, Dana opened her eyes, frowning when she looked out the window.
“This isn’t my place.”
“How astute of you,” you teased with an easy smile. Noticing the flash of hesitancy in her eyes, you softened. “Let me take care of you, D.”
Sighing, Dana closed her eyes again and squeezed your hand that was still in hers. “I expect pancakes tomorrow morning.”
You chuckled and brought your interlaced hands up to your mouth, pressing a chaste kiss to her knuckles. “Of course. I even have blueberries.”
Dana let out a sound that almost sounded like a chuckle and her eyes lightened. You took that as a win. Grabbing her bag from her feet and yours from the back seat, you stepped out of your car and quickly made your way around the hood to open her door. You held out your hand for her to take, and this time Dana laughed for real.
“And they say chivalry is dead.”
“Only for the best,” you replied smoothly, helping her out of the car.
The two of you dragged your feet up the stairs to your apartment, tired but eager to get out of your scrubs and into bed. As you unlocked and pushed open the door, Dana kicked aside a pair of shoes that were clearly too big to be yours.
“Roommates?” she asked quietly.
“Gone,” you replied with a yawn, pulling her straight towards your bedroom. To your fairness, your roommates were supposed to be gone; Trinity told you earlier she’d be staying at Garcia’s and Dennis had mentioned he was working a double.
As you entered your room, you dropped your bags on the floor by the door and rounded your bed to flick on the light. “Here.” You reaching into the adjoining bathroom to grab a spare towel and handed it to her. “Take a shower.”
“You saying I stink?” Dana joked but held out her hand nonetheless.
“Yes,” you deadpanned, taking a step towards her. “The antiseptic smell is ruining the mood.”
“Oh?” She lifted a brow and pulled you closer as she accepted the towel. “And what mood would that be?”
“The ‘I want to be in bed sleeping and cuddling my girlfriend’ mood,” you sassed.
Dana let out a low laugh, her eyes drifting down to your lips. “Join me?”
You hummed and closed the space between you, kissing her gently. “Tempting,” you mumbled against her lips. “But somebody has to make sure you eat.”
You gave her one more quick peck before gently pushing her towards the bathroom with a playful slap to her behind.
“Alright, alright,” Dana chuckled, shuffling her feet onto the tiled floor and shutting the door behind her.
She turned the faucet on before peeling off her scrubs, letting them pool at her feet. Stepping out of her clothes and into the steaming water, Dana sighed and closed her eyes as she braced herself against the shower wall. A bad shift wasn’t uncommon in the ED, and Dana was no stranger to this empty feeling, but that didn’t make it any easier.
The warm water helped calm her anxieties and soothe her aching muscles, and as she washed her hair—the scent of your shampoo enveloping her—Dana felt the day slowly rolling off her. You were right. She needed this.
Turning the water off, Dana stepped out and wrapped the spare towel you’d so graciously given her around her body. When she reentered your bedroom, Dana felt her chest swell. You had left out your old oversized Hopkins t-shirt for her, the one she’d worn the first time she’d spent the night and had off-handedly mentioned was criminally soft. She fondly shook her head at the sight of it. She couldn’t believe you’d remembered.
Slipping it over her head, Dana let the warm fabric drown her, the shirt dropping to her mid thigh. She then wrapped the towel around her hair before making her way out to the kitchen.
You were standing by the stove when she entered, your scrub top discarded, leaving you in your dark blue t-shirt, sleeves rolled up to your elbows.
“Grilled cheese?” Dana wrapped her arms around your midsection and rested her chin on your shoulder. “Fancy.”
“I’ll have you know there’s like seven dollars worth of Jarlsberg in here,” you scoffed with mock-offense as you leaned back into her embrace.
“It’s eight dollars, you nerd,” she laughed, pinching your waist.
“And yet you still got the reference,” you retorted and swatted away her offending hand. “Go sit down. Yours is on the table with the soup.”
“So bossy,” Dana mumbled as she unraveled her arms from you and sat down at the round wooden table. Along the way, she discarded her hair towel, hanging it on the back of the empty chair, letting her wet hair fall onto her neck.
Rolling your eyes fondly, you flipped the sandwich onto a plate and turned off the stove before joining your girlfriend.
“Dinner is served, my lovely lady.” You wore a silly grin as you took the seat next to her.
Despite her earlier teasing and your playful tone, Dana returned a sincere smile. “Thank you, hon.”
Sensing the weight in her words, you softened. “Always,” you replied easily. “Now eat.”
The two of you ate in silence, shoveling the food down into your eager stomachs. You weren’t sure the last time you’d eaten, and you could only vague recall seeing a half-eaten protein bar next to Dana’s computer earlier this afternoon. There was no awkwardness to the lack of conversation, both you of simply content to be in the comfort of each other’s presence.
As you finished your last bites, Dana’s plate and bowl already empty, you reached for the dishes and moved to stand up but were stopped by a hand on your shoulder.
“I don’t think so, sweetheart. I got this.” She took the stacked plates and bowls from your hand, giving you a stern look as if daring you to challenge her. “Go take a shower.”
“Now who’s bossy?” You muttered under your breath but nonetheless followed her directions. As you headed back towards your bedroom, you called over your shoulder, “Just throw them in the dishwasher.”
“Shower,” Dana responded pointedly like she was back in the hospital throwing out commands, but you knew it was her way of reassuring you. She got this.
After you quickly rinsed off, too tired to bother washing your hair, you slipped into a t-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. As you were brushing your teeth, the door to the bathroom open.
“You still got a toothbrush here for me?” Dana asked, a lazy smirk tugging on her lips.
“Right there.” Your words came out garbled but you pointed to the ceramic cup that held a blue toothbrush.
As you watched her brush her teeth, leaning against the counter, you felt a warmth flood your body. There was a certain ease and domesticity of it all that comforted you. You could get used to this.
After you both finished getting ready for the night, finally, you flicked off the bathroom light and pulled her to bed. “Come on. I need sleep.”
You climbed into bed, your muscles thanking you for a break, and Dana slipped under the covers next to you. Rolling over, you wrapped your arm around her waist and pressed a soft kiss behind her ear. “I got you, darling.”
“I still expect pancakes in the morning,” Dana murmured, instinctively melting into your touch.
But you didn’t respond, your eyes already closed and your breathing evening out. You were asleep, and Dana soon followed.
The next morning, Dana awoke to your arm still cocooned around her body as the light of dawn leaked in through the cracks of the curtain. She glanced at the clock on your bedside table and saw there was still about fifteen minutes before you usually got up. Slowly, Dana slipped out of bed, careful not to wake you, as she went to start the coffee.
As sleep still clouded her mind, Dana didn’t notice the hushed whispers coming from the kitchen. But when she rounded the corner from the hallway and stepped into the main area of the apartment, she was met with two pairs of wide eyes and the harsh sound of a mug dropping.
“Dana?”
Eyes widening, suddenly wide awake, she saw Trinity and Dennis staring at her like a fish out of water. Dana was now very conscious of the fact that she was clad in only an oversized t-shirt and her underwear.
She yelled out your name.
When you woke up to the sound of ceramic breaking along with your last name being shouted from the other room, you knew something was wrong. Then you saw the other side of your bed was empty, and you realized.
“Oh, shit,” you cursed, throwing the sheets off of you and scrambling out of bed.
As you stepped into the kitchen, three pairs of eyes staring at you for answers, you smiled sheepishly. “Good morning.”
“Santos and Whitaker are your roommates?” Dana gave you an exasperated look.
“Yes,” you said it like a question, as if that would keep you out of trouble.
“You didn’t think to tell me that?”
“It may have—” you winced at your own mistake— “slipped my mind.”
Dana huffed, and you could tell she was both annoyed and slightly embarrassed by the current predicament. You’d have a lot of groveling to do later.
“And what’s..this?” Trinity gestured between you and the charge nurse, unsuccessfully fighting off a smirk.
“We’re, um,” you stuttered and scratched the back of your neck, “kind of dating?”
Trinity’s face broke out into a shit-eating grin.
“Kind of dating?” Dana snorted, amused by the way your whole face had flushed pink.
You rolled your eyes, frustration bubbling in your chest. This was not how you imagined this going.
“Okay, yes.” You leveled your gaze at both of your roommates. “We’ve been dating for about three months.”
Dennis’s eyes widened, and you could see the gears churning in Trinity’s head.
“Wait, that means when you were rambling on and on—”
“Okay.” You interrupted Trinity, clapping your hands as your cheeks burned impossibly warmer. “Who wants pancakes?”
You slid past your girlfriend, quickly pecking her cheek, purposefully ignoring her now smug smirk. As you nudged Dennis away from the refridgerator and pulled out the milk and eggs, you heard Trinity groan.
“Great, now I owe Perlah thirty bucks.”
“What is my life,” you mumbled under your breath as you dropped your head against the fridge door.
“This one’s on you, hon,” Dana whispered into your ear as she scooted by you.
And as usual, she was right. You had no one to blame but yourself for how this morning played out. But as you watched her banter with Dennis and Trinity—not as charge nurse and residents, but as your girlfriend and your roommates—you realized you wouldn’t have it any other way.
I'd love it if just once a company could admit their own fuck-up without having to drag it out. Instead of feigning ignorance, and giving us the phony "we hear you" speech that always means nothing, they just changed their fucking minds and moved on from their mistake. Why is it always a war of attrition with these companies?
You end up in the ER after a night out with your friend goes downhill quickly. You made it out with a few scratches, and Dana helps clean you up. She keeps flirting with you the whole time you're there, and you end up leaving with her phone number. From there your relationship with her grows.
Word Count: 2,347
No major warnings, but it is a fic about a hospital so there’ll be typical injuries and such lol
This is gonna be a multi chapter fic over on my ao3 (@/bonnieluvr05) but I figured I’d post the first part here to hopefully get it some more attention!
You never liked hospitals. They were too clean, too noisy, too bright. The smell in the air always made your stomach turn. Not to mention the anxiety of hoping you (or whoever you were with) were okay. Fortunately, the hospital was never somewhere you frequented. Just the occasional weird stomacache, a concussion, some broken bones. Nothing to dwell on, never there long.
Tonight, your luck seemed to run out. Here you were, standing in the middle of the ER, clutching your best friend's bloody, cold hand as countless doctors swarmed her. They were yelling things to each other that you didn't understand. The blood on your dress was hers, or was it yours? Either way, it clung to your skin uncomfortably. You tore your eyes from her face and looked around the room.
“Will she be okay?” The voice that came out of your mouth was barely recognizable. It was raspy, quiet. You weren't even sure the doctors heard you. A new sob racked your body and you could feel your knees beginning to give. Your best friend was going to die, and it was all your fault. All you wanted was to celebrate her getting into grad school. The night had taken a turn that neither of you expected.
The doctor's frantic voices continued, and you stopped looking around the room to look back at your friend. “I’m sorry,” you whispered, voice barely there. “I-”
“I need someone to get her out of here!” A voice cut you off. You kept whispering sorry and please wake up to your friend as you felt a hand on your forearm, gently pulling you away. You shook your head, pulling back, keeping your eyes on your friend.
“No, no! I can’t leave her! Please!” You frantically rushed the words out. Instead of another pull, two steady arms wrapped around you from behind, effectively picking you up and away from the bedside. You tried to fight back against them, but between your adrenaline rush dimming and the hyperventilating, you were growing weak.
“We have to check you for any injuries, hun. I promise that your friend is in great hands here,” A quiet, comforting voice among the yelling reached your ears. All you could do was open your mouth as another pained sob escaped.
—
The stiff hospital sheets itched at your legs as the bulb in the light above your head hummed. Your mouth and throat were dry; your eyes hurt from crying so much. And worst of all, you didn't know how or where your friend was. You had been sitting in this hospital bed for at least 15 minutes, picking at the skin around your nails anxiously. They were raw and bleeding, but you didn't care. Hell, you barely felt it. All you cared about was how your friend was doing. The nurse had told you that you needed patched up from some cuts you had on your arms and head, but no one had come in yet. You considered changing into the uncomfortable hospital gown, since your dress was caked in blood, but you couldn’t conjure up the strength to actually get up and do it.
“Oh, honey, that’s gotta hurt,” The same voice that pulled you out of the room with your friend cut off your thoughts now. You looked away from the various charts on the wall to meet her eyes. They were friendly, inviting. You found some comfort in the way she wore a concerned expression. A warm feeling settled in your chest as you felt something other than anxiety for the first time that night. The nurse sat in the stool beside your bed and you took a moment to look her over. She was older, but the age looked good on her.
“How is she, nurse, uh,” You rasped, blinking away any tears that hung in your lashes and looking for a name tag. A pair of warm hands engulfed yours.
“Dana. And your friend is doing just fine. They had to shock her to get her heart to start again, give her some blood, but she’s stable. Just resting now, waiting for a CT,” The nurse, Dana, you learned, explained softly as a small smile curled on her lips. You nodded once, feeling a weight lift off your entire body. New tears fell down your cheeks as you looked down at your hands in hers. The words you wanted to say were right there. Is she awake? Will she survive this? But as much as you tried, you couldn't bring yourself to talk anymore. You were so fucking tired. You looked back up at Dana and met her stare. Nothing but warmth met your gaze.
“Let’s get these cuts cleaned up and I can take you to see her. Sound good?” Dana squeezed your hands gently and waited for your response.
“Uh, I-” you took a breath, shaking your head. Of course you wanted to see her. She was your best friend, and you had to see if she was okay. However, you didn't think you could handle it if she was unconscious or had wires and tubes connected to her. The sight would gut you. Finding the right way to say this was hard. Would Dana think you were an asshole of a friend?
As if she could tell the turmoil happening in your mind, Dana nodded softly. “If you’re not ready, that's okay,” she said as she began to stand, letting go of your hands. “You need patched up first anyways. I’m gonna go get my friend Dr. Santos to come help.”
You felt a pang of something in your chest. You didn't want to meet any new doctors. As nice as they were, you were so tired and were getting used to the comfort you found in Dana. You wanted her to stay.
“Can you do it instead?” You asked quietly, looking up at her. You chewed at your lower lip anxiously. She probably had other places to be. Why would you expect special treatment? Dana turned, nodding.
“I sure can,” she said without hesitation, gently grabbing your chin and pulling at the skin with her thumb. Your lip dragged from your teeth and she let go a second later, turning to the cabinet against the wall. “Try not to do that,” she said with nothing but concern laced in her voice. You just mumbled out something in agreement, heat spreading over your ears.
Dana began to move around the small room to grab some supplies. You watched her silently. All you could think about, now knowing that your friend was okay, was the events that had led up to ending up here. You and her had been at the bar, celebrating her recent acceptance into grad school, when one of her ex boyfriends showed up and caused a scene. It started as just yelling, but it escalated so quickly that you couldn't even remember how she ended up on the ground in a pool of her own blood. The last thing you remember seeing before an ambulance showed up was her ex being handcuffed by the bar security. You sniffled, fresh tears beginning to pool in your eyes. You closed your eyes, feeling them slide down your cheeks. Except, they didn't get the chance to, because a gentle hand reached out to swipe them away. Your eyes opened to see Dana standing in front of you, her brows knitted in concern.
“From what I’ve heard about the situation, you’re probably blaming yourself. I promise it’s not your fault,” she said quietly, letting her hand linger another second before dropping it. You already missed the warmth. Her words settled somewhere within you, and you nodded. She sat back down in the chair beside your bed, now with a table of supplies beside her.
“It’s just,” you roughly rubbed your eyes, not wanting to cry anymore. You felt pathetic. “I was the reason she was even there, it’s hard to think it’s not my fault,” you whispered.
Dana just frowned, letting out a soft sigh. She started cleaning a cut on your elbow, murmuring a casual, “Still not your fault, hun,”
The bluntness of her response seemed to make it stick. You felt better, both physically and mentally, as she cleaned the cuts on your arms and head silently. Each time she placed a bandaid on a cut, her fingers lingered for a second extra on the area; her thumb soothing over a bandage, a feather light touch around it. Something that could have taken 10 minutes took 30. You didn't mind, though. You enjoyed Dana’s company and there was something about her that made you feel safe.
She placed one last bandaid on your temple, smoothing her thumb over the spot. She was close; practically a breath away. Your eyes met hers and after a few beats of silence, she cleared her throat and dropped her hand from your head.
“Those cuts aren’t too serious. Just keep ‘em cleaned and replace the bandaids once a day,” she explained, patting at your arm. You nodded, trying not to get overly captivated over the way she looked at you just a second ago.
A different nurse peeked from around the curtain. “Dana, they need you in Central 3,” she said and was gone before you knew it. Dana nodded at her before pulling a sharpie from her pocket and grabbing your wrist. She turned your arm so your forearm was angled up and pulled the sharpie lid off with her teeth.
“If you need anything,” she spoke around the cap, scrawling a phone number on your arm. And then she was up and gone before you could register what just happened, flashing one last smile your way. A different smile than the rest of the night, one that felt less like comfort and more like a promise. You stared at the numbers on your arm, a heat creeping its way to your cheeks.
–
For about 20 minutes, you waited. You reached out to your friends parents, only realizing then that no one had, and explained to them briefly what happened. They were headed to the hospital, which meant you could leave if you really wanted to. You wanted to see your friend first. But it also was so late and you wanted nothing more than a warm shower and to crawl into bed with your cat.
As you were about to get up and find a nurse to take you to your friend, Dana pulled the curtain back enough to peek her head in. “Hey kid. Ready to go see your friend? She’s awake and talking, asking for ya.”
You nodded, “Yeah, I was just about to come find someone to take me there.” You stood, grabbing your phone and purse that had been discarded on the end of the bed. Moving around reminded you very quickly how your dress was caked in dried blood and you grimaced. “This is so gross,” you mumbled under your breath, looking down and frowning at the state of it. You had just bought this dress, too. Unfortunate.
A chuckle pulled you from your thoughts as you looked back up to see Dana also looking your dress up and down. She crossed her arms, her eyes lingering for a second before looking back at your face with a small smirk. “I’m sure it looked real good before it got ruined,” she said and turned to begin leading you to your friend's room. You stood dumbfounded for a second, face growing warm from the flirtatious tone you picked up on. There was no way you were reading the room right, right? Stumbling over your own feet and unable to say anything back, you quickly followed Dana. She stopped outside your friend's room, but was gone before you could thank her.
The check in with your friend was short, just you making sure she was okay and sitting with her until her parents got there. You hugged them both as you departed and were finally feeling your exhaustion catch up. Looking around, you realized that the ER was a very confusing place for someone in your state. You started walking in a random direction and hoped it was right. After a few minutes of walking, you realized it was in fact not the right way and stood stumped.
“Lost?” A familiar voice rang out. You turned to see Dana standing a few feet away, behind the nurses station. She had glasses perched on her nose, presumably just reading ones, and was holding a tablet. You nodded.
“Yes,” you sighed, walking towards her. A few other nurses chuckled or nodded in understanding as you approached. Your shoulders slumped in defeat. “I do not know how to get out of here.”
Dana simply handed the tablet off to someone and walked in your direction. “Good thing I do,” she said with a smile, guiding you back the way you came with a gentle hand on your lower back. The warmth of her hand was nice. A small smile curved on your lips. The walk to the exit was quiet, but a comforting one. As you reached the doors, you faced her. “Thanks. For everything tonight, not just helping me leave,” you said with a small chuckle. You looked down at your arm and were reminded of the number scribbled there. Dana tapped on it, as if she could tell what you were thinking.
“Remember, if you need anything,” she said, giving you one last smile before walking back into the bustle of the ER. You watched her walk the whole way until she was no longer visible, a heat spreading over your entire face. You had definitely been reading the room right earlier, and now you weren’t sure where to go from here. So, saving this problem for you in the morning, you turned and left the ER with a smile and warmth in your chest.
Before you fell asleep that night, you added the number to your contacts with a plan to text her in the morning.
