it is a beautiful day to save lives

"The brain is the organ of destiny. It holds within its humming mechanism secrets that will determine the future of the human race." - Wilder Penfield

[dr-grundler]

GRETCHEN JI-WON ROSE GRUNDLER

"Have some fire. Be unstoppable. Be a force of nature. Be better than anyone here, and don’t give a damn what anyone thinks. There are no teams here, no buddies. You’re on your own. Be on your own…”

Nicknames: Gretch, Grundler Pronouns: She/her Sexuality: Queer (leaning toward feminine folks) Magic status: Mundus Nationality: American Ethnicity: Black/Korean Accent: American (Generic, but a bit of a Southern twang) Height: 5'7 Build: Lithe Skin tone: Dark and warm Eye color: Dark brown Hair color/length/style: Black, short and natural. Like this. (As of Feb 1, 2026) Tattoos/piercings/daily jewelry: Dog tags with her info on them. Pets: none Occupation: Intern at Swynlake General Hospital Relationship Status: Single What would you find if you Googled them?: Socials, but nothing special really. What natives would know about them: Nothing. She's new.

biography + character sheet + instagram + inspiration

[dr-grundler]

Berries Beware }} [Sugre]

[princess-su]

@dr-grundler

She nodded, starting to stand so she could get the binder and get the page free– only to look up and suddenly have her hand occupied with a phone. Su listened to the reasoning behind needing to give her number and it made sense. Why else would this person want Su's number other than to see this thing through and help the patient who was in danger?

Still. She paused, staring at the screen.

It was probably harmless. Her past experiences had made her paranoid. And she could always just block the number if things took a turn.

There was also the thought of should she? Like, on a professional level? Or should she be giving this person the office phone?

Su quickly typed in her cellphone number and put in her name with the addition of (Environmental Specialist Assistant) just in case and handed the phone back over to get on with her original task. Thankfully the copier in Dr. Yoder's office cooperated today so Su was back in a flash, handing three copies of the page over to her.

"I'm sorry again for not being more help," she said. "Thank you for coming in, I wish there was more we could do for you."

[dr-grundler]

Gretchen didn't notice the other girl's--Su's--hesitation. Gretchen didn't think anything of it. When Su handed the phone back, Gretchen noted her name. She tried to be good with names, since she had poor bedside manner, she made up for it with remembering all her patients.

"It's fine," Gretchen said, shrugging a little. "It is what it is."

Frustrating. Disappointing.

"At least we have more information than we did before. That was really all we were looking for. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks."

She raised the papers she'd been handed in a wave and then turned to leave the office. She texted Ashley, letting her know she was on her way back and to let the rest of the team know.

@princess-su

[starfellwisher]

prideful chapters || star & gretchen

[starfellwisher]

It seemed like Star had woken her up from some daydream. What kind, they weren’t too sure. The other’s reaction didn’t give much away in that regard. How unfortunate!

“Thanks! So, do you know what’s going on here?”

It quickly took a seat at the table, looking ahead at… whatever was happening. Ze had never seen anything like it in hir however many months since getting here. It’d be fun figuring it out, though! Everything else had been so fun so far! This was sure to be the same, mhm!

“It looks cool, wonder what they’re getting ready to say on stage…” she mumbled, more to herself than the other, but it was more than loud enough to hear. Xe hadn’t quite figured out the appropriate volume level for this place. Humans had so many rules about that sorta thing.

⋆˚✰ @dr-grundler ⭑.ᐟ

[dr-grundler]

The person started yapping at her.

Gretchen tried not to feel too perturbed about this. Clearly they were just friendly. And if you were sitting with someone at a table, it was only polite to strike up some kind of conversation. She was from the South, and despite her best efforts, she was used to unsolicited yapping. It made her relatively decent at idle conversation.

Though--

Why was this person here if they didn't know what it was?

"It's a poetry reading..." Gretchen said. "People are going to read poetry." She tried not to say it like this person was stupid...but tried is the operative word in that sentence.

@starfellwisher

[dr-spinelli]

The Night Off | Spinner

[dr-spinelli]

A smile spread across Ashley's face and she tossed back the next shot and got to her feet. "Yeah alright. Let's dance!"

She had never been much of a dancer, unless one counted grinding against someone with the single minded intention on going home with somebody. But hey, she needed to let loose and have a good time. And Gretchen was a great person to do that with.

The beat was good and loud and something where it was easy enough to throw herself onto the dance floor with Gretchen and start moving her hips along to it. It was like that one Sidney song. All she had to do was forget about all worries and strife for a while.

@dr-grundler

[dr-grundler]

Gretchen also hadn't danced in a while.

She also didn't frequent bars much. Unless she, too, was looking for a hook up. At Harvard, she'd gone out a few times with her cohorts. It was fun and it could be messy. She had never minded, though. Gretchen wasn't the kind of person to get caught up in messy drama.

She simply didn't have time for it.

Still, she liked to let loose. Just like anyone else. The dancing was a great way to do that, especially as the alcohol lowered her inhibitions.

Jumping and dancing and singing along, they sweat and her muscles started to fatigue, though she barely felt it through the cover of the alcohol, which wrapped her up in a warm quilt. Almost too warm. Gretchen was starting to feel a little sick. The alcohol sloshing in her stomach.

"BRB!" she yelled into Ashley's ear and then made a beeline for the bathroom.

@dr-spinelli

[audrey-auto-motive]

2AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake || Grey

[audrey-auto-motive]

Audrey's eyebrows rose just slightly at the breath and as Gretchen spoke they settled back into her expression again. She couldn't imagine losing her sister, but she also couldn't have imagined losing her father the way she had.

"666, huh." Audrey said with a slight smirk still, she wasn't going to coddle Gretchen or tell her how sorry she was for her loss because all that shit never actually felt good. Honestly, it made Audrey feel awkward when it was pointed back at her. What was she supposed to say to it? Thanks? "At least he had a cool birthday. One day off and you'd be stuck with a 6-7 tattoo." It was a dark bit of humor.

"My dad passed a few years ago. I refuse to upgrade or trade in the motorcycle he got me. Guess that's kind of like my tattoo." She let out a slight huff, amused at the universe for a second, "Oddly enough it was a hemorrhagic stroke." And here she was, talking to a brain surgeon in training.

She continued, "I think when you first introduced yourself you told me you were going to cure Magick Inflammatory Encephalitis. Pieces are all coming together now."

@dr-grundler

[dr-grundler]

Gretchen smiled a little. Yes, 666. It was a funny birthday, though her mother had never liked when they'd all joked about it. Calling Teddy a devil's child.

Maybe there had been some truth to her concern, considering what had happened to him.

She tried not to linger on that and on all the things that Teddy wouldn't be able to do or say. There was no point in it really. She carried her grief around like a pebble in her pocket, but as the years went on, it was starting to wear smooth.

"Maybe I can put hemorrhagic strokes next on the list to cure," Gretchen said with smirk. It was her way of saying: sorry about your dad, without actually saying it. She appreciated that Audrey had done the same. Not that she minded when people said they were sorry about Teddy, because it was certainly something to be sorry about. But, it was nice to talk to people who had also lost someone in that particular way. Who understood.

@audrey-auto-motive

[dr-robking]

His Lips Are Sealed || SGH Interns

[dr-robking]

Rob felt second hand embarrassment when Grundler couldn't let it go. He didn't really care for magic one way or the other, good or evil. It was a force that he found uninteresting as it had nothing to do with him. With the childish urgency in her 'what if's', he would believe the other intern was wishing she was a sorcerer rather than a surgeon.

The tension settled somewhere between Grundler and the rest of the interns, but Dr. Avery moved on with a dazzling smile and a sigh. "Mr. Whitmer, we're gonna have Dr. Spinelli here take you up to get an MRI so we can assess how much of the soft tissue is fused together. Then she and I will formulate a game plan for your surgery. You're in good hands."

He was so charming. Rob wanted to be that likable. So likable that the entire room could watch him pick favorites and disregard differing opinions and still end up swooning over him. His peers were unbelievable. He looked at Gretchen with a sour expression.

"The rest of you, make sure the A&E is covered." He took his hand from the patient's beside and dismissed them, not giving the outside-the-box Dr. Grundler a second look.

Rob remarked on the way out, "That oughta show us for not being born into medical royalty..."

@dr-spinelli @dr-grundler

[dr-spinelli]

Gretchen had a good point. And Ashley knew that she had a good point. She only listed out what she knew were methods that they could actually use in the hospital. But it didn't feel like the wisest move when the person was still cursed.

She grimaced a little at Gretchen being cut off. She was soon distracted, however, when Dr. Avery selected her as the intern to take him to the MRI. And... she was in on the surgery too? Her eyes went wide, and she couldn't help the small pleased smile that came from getting the opportunity she did feel like she'd earned.

That smile didn't last long when Rob spoke up. She moved to start preparing the patient, Mr. Whitmore to be moved to the MRI machine. "You know, Dr. King, being born into a medical family is useless if you can't also learn vasts amount of information." She refused to let Rob of all people make her feel bad for it.

Though now she did have that nagging thought. Had Dr. Avery really chosen her because she gave the best answers? Or was Dr. Florence Spinelli haunting the moment? She glanced over at Gretchen. "I thought you made a good point though. Even if we don't have control over that, it's true it'd probably be better in the long run."

@dr-grundler @dr-robking

[dr-grundler]

Gretchen felt a stab of jealousy. And she, ungenerously, thought that of course Ashley got the case. She was Dr. Spinelli's daughter, after all. It only made sense.

It was a cruel thought. Mean and born of embarrassment, more than anything else.

She was still smarting as she turned to leave the room, following Rob out into the hall. She didn't look at Ashley as she went. And she even snorted a delicate laugh out of her nose at Rob's comment.

But then Ashley spoke. And while Gretchen wasn't sure she believed that this was not a direct case of favoritism, she did agree. Ashley was annoyingly talented. Though, Gretchen would point out, even her genes, predisposed as they were, had given her an advantage.

Still, Ashley caught her off guard, complimenting the points she had made. Gretchen wasn't quite sure what to do with that. She had just spent the last thirty seconds whipping herself into a jealous frenzy. And now, she felt guilty for it.

"Yeah, just--good luck," Gretchen said, then turned on her heel abruptly and squeezed passed Rob out the door.

For the record, she did glare at him as she left. But she was usually glaring at Rob for one reason or another.

@dr-robking, @dr-spinelli

[joy-mohanty]

Girl's Night! || Dr. Joy

[joy-mohanty]

@dr-grundler

"I feel like I won, having mostly sisters plus Frankie who is spiritually a sister more than a brother. I didn't have to deal with him, like, farting on my head and some of the other gross brother stuff." Joy said.

A beat, before saying, "Though there's got to be benefits to being the only girl too. Nobody stealing your clothes for one. My sisters and I are are roughly the same size so if someone says 'I like your skirt/top/jumper' guard it with your life."

[dr-grundler]

"Yeah, I lucked out in the brothers who behave department too. My brothers weren't really the rowdy type. Who knows, maybe Teddy would've been." It was a process of self-flagellation to think about Teddy might've become if he had lived. Would he still even like to go by Teddy? Did it matter? Would Gretchen still call him that and he'd roll his eyes but accept it?

Would he try to pin her down and spit a lougie in her mouth in retaliation? These were questions she simply would never have the answer to.

"Besides, Gideon does steal my clothes sometimes. He dresses too femme and I dress too masc sometimes, but it balances out, I suppose."

@joy-mohanty

[dr-grundler]

Berries Beware }} [Sugre]

[princess-su]

@dr-grundler

Su hesitated at the question, not really sure that was smart to let someone who wasn’t a part of the department walk out with one of their resources. Not that she didn’t trust the woman to be responsible (She was going to be a doctor!) but just that she had priorities that were different to their own. The paper could get lost or stained if left in the wrong place, someone else setting a coffee cup on it and leaving a ring mark. Which would suck. She also didn’t know if Dr. Yoder had another copy of that page– oh! 

“If you don’t mind waiting for just another second, I can make you a copy of it real quick?” she proposed. And she was going to be sooooooo calm and collected about it so that the printer wouldn’t smell her fear and make a scene. 

“And none that come to mind,” she said. “You’re welcome to take the list of plants I made for you. Maybe if your patient could see a picture, it might be helpful in identifying it? If not…maybe when Dr. Yoder gets back, we could make a trip out to the river and look around for you guys. See if anything might fit. It’s possible that something might have popped up, or someone planted something without out knowledge. I don’t know the last time he made a trip around that area or spoke with any of the Enchantra reps about that sort of thing…”

[dr-grundler]

Gretchen tried not to get too frustrated.

She tried to remind herself that she had come here knowing it probably would not be an easy solution. That she had been sent here because the doctors who were far more experienced than her didn't know what to do.

But not knowing what to do felt unacceptable to her. She wanted an answer and she wanted it now. And she wanted it to be sure.

Of course, it wasn't this girl's fault. She had been surprisingly useful...helpful, some might say. And she seemed very knowledgeable about plants. Especially magical ones. Which could only ever be a boon in Gretchen's eyes. The patient was partially in the position she was in because people did not value magical plants the way they did perceived nonmagical plants. (There was an argument to be made that any plant was magical, but Gretchen didn't have time to get into that.)

Instead, she listened to the girl's spiel about the various options. They were like a soothing mantra. That this wasn't a dead end. It may not be the answer, but it also wasn't, totally a defeat.

Somewhat mollified, but still annoyed, Gretchen sighed harshly.

"Yes, please make a copy. And here." She pulled out her phone and handed it over. "Put your number in. It will be easier to coordinate than through hospital channels or me stopping by."

@princess-su

[dr-spinelli]

The Night Off | Spinner

[dr-spinelli]

Ashley couldn't help but snort.

Fuck her was the right attitude really. She didn't really know that she could ever live up to her mother's expectations anyway. How could anyone? Dr. Florence Spinelli was in her own world when it came to medical research and being a doctor in the first place.

And Ashley wasn't sure yet which specialty she would prefer. There were a lot of amazing options. "Yeah I mean it's all important really," Ashley pointed out, reaching for a shot and tossing it back. She really needed to catch up and forget all the bad stuff anyway.

"'n I mean it's not like I'm against going into cardio or something but I just... haven't had enough time to figure it out yet! It's crazy," Ashley grumbled, ordering them another round of shots. "And then like... where the hell is she? Doesn't she still have a job here in town? How long's she gonna be off wherever? Ughhhh. So annoying to wonder all the time."

@dr-grundler

[dr-grundler]

Yes, Gretchen could only imagine how annoying wondering was. She had gone down that rabbit hole several times over Teddy's death. Wondering if there was something she could've done different, something her parents could have done, the doctors could have done...

It was exhausting and also pointless.

Still, she got it.

"Well, stop wondering then!" Gretchen declared as their next round of shots came. She threw hers back and then shook her head. "Woo! Let's go dance!" She grabbed Ashley's hand.

@dr-spinelli

[dr-grundler]

Out on a Limb }{ [Grohan]

[delilah-mohanty]

Delilah smiled, her very best, perfectly practised and practised to perfection, I'm going to make sure you leave here alive smile. She reached out to shake the patient's son's hand, a few firm shakes before she stood back to address the doctors.

She was sure she could see the vein threatening to pop in Kepner's forehead, and had they been doing this consultation alone, she might've pointed it out. But for now Delilah forced herself to meet her eyes, and then Dr. Grundler's, as she looked over at her.

Delilah did vaguely remember Grundler from a consultation a little while back, but since she tried to keep herself out of A&E as much as possible, she didn't often bump into her. Still, Delilah respected the jut of her chin - whether defiant or indignant, Delilah didn't know, but she liked it all the same.

"Alright." Delilah nodded. "What's our clinical history? And have we done a full neurological exam?" She asked, looking between the two doctors. "Or, Dr. Grundler, would you like to perform one now?"

@dr-grundler

[dr-grundler]

Delilah had the same look as she usually did: stern and serious and focused. Gretchen had a similar face of concentration that she wore most of the time, so logically, she knew not to take it personally.

But, damn, at the moment, that was hard to remember.

Gretchen felt like she'd had a stagelight shone directly into her eyes. Delilah was offering her a chance to prove herself. Half her intern cohort was staring at her. Now was her moment to rise or fall.

Her heart beating, she nodded. "Yes, ma'am--Doctor."

Stepping forward, she led Mrs. Prestley through the steps. Using her pin light, her finger, and had Mrs. Prestley push and flex against her hands, her own face stony in concentration.

"Some weakness noted on the right side," she reported. "And a nystagmus." She had seen it again. She was right. A little thrill went through her at the thought.

"Oh, c'mon," she heard one of her fellow interns mutter behind her.

"What does that mean?" Mrs. Prestley's son asked.

@delilah-mohanty

[starfellwisher]

prideful chapters || star & gretchen

[starfellwisher]

Star wasn’t quite sure how he’d gotten here. One moment they were reading a book outside like usual, the next a few residents ushered them inside here. Something about there ‘still being room’ and ‘no need to wait outside’? Either way, it sounded like fun so ey didn’t really do anything to stop them.

Now that they were inside, though, it was kinda really, super surprising how it had missed this beforehand. How nice of those strangers to show him inside! Now… oh, right! They said it was starting soon. Whatever ‘it’ was. 

A table to sit at—oh! That one looks kinda free.

There was another person sitting there but everywhere else had at least three so close enough, right? Yep! That sounded about right! Besides, the fallen star wasn’t exactly planning on doing whatever this is alone anyways!

“Hi! Can I sit here? Everywhere else is pretty full.”

For good measure, Star waved at her with its biggest smile. That was sure to work, right? It had to! 

⋆˚✰ @dr-grundler ⭑.ᐟ

[dr-grundler]

Gretchen didn't have plans for her day off, but she hated sitting around. If she was at home, she was studying. The day had been nice, so she'd wandered the farmer's market, noticed the advert for the poetry night and decided to check it out.

She liked the bookshop at once. It was cozy and smelled like old books. All the chairs and books were mismatched, clearly all mostly secondhand. And she even liked seeing the occasional floating book as a ghost moved back and forth. It reminded her of home. (Charleston was very haunted.)

Gretchen sunk into that homesickness--

Until someone spoke and turned her head. "Oh, uh--yeah, sure," Gretchen said. She would've preferred to sit alone, but it was pretty crowded and she didn't need to be a dick.

@starfellwisher

[dr-grundler]

Berries Beware }} [Sugre]

[princess-su]

@dr-grundler

Su dimmed significantly and was left to shrug, shaking her head. "No, not that any of our records are aware of anyway. It's a shame, but not a lot of the native species of Enchantra have really gotten looked at properly. It's really only those at the university who have been studying them since magical plants aren't everyone's favorite species in the botany community."

Why, Su would never know. Well, actually she did know– anti-magic sentiments, and any Magick scientists in the field were few and far between, let alone around to give Enchantra their time of day and be cutting a bigger check elsewhere

Sigh.

"Sorry– I didn't mean to lead us down a rabbit hole. Just trying to think of what other plants around Kohaku that they could have come across," she said, squinting as she peered off into the middle distance to wrack her brain.

[dr-grundler]

"It's not necessarily a rabbit hole," Gretchen said with a shrug.

It very well could be. There was a reason it was going down a rabbit hole and chasing a white rabbit. Not because it wasn't useful, but because it was seen as divergent. After all, Alice wasn't supposed to follow the white rabbit, but that didn't mean it wasn't also correct.

Gretchen felt that way about a lot of things.

Including magic in the sciences, because she agreed with everything that the girl had said. She'd seen it in her own education and budding career. People left magic to the Magicks, even when it affected everyone. Or even when the study would benefit everyone.

"If there is no documentation that details what happens when it is ingested, there is every possibility we've found our match." Gretchen took out her phone and snapped a picture of the page. "Can I take this with me?" She wasn't sure. She knew the archives were rather strict, but she had no idea if this counted. It did seem hand made, not properly published.

"Is there any other plant you think might have caused the problem?"

@princess-su

[audrey-auto-motive]

2AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake || Grey

[dr-grundler]

It was true that Gretchen had been looking forward to this...date? Meet up? Whatever.

She had tried to tell herself not to get her hopes up. The likelihood of someone canceling last minute at a 2AM meet up were not low. In fact, Gretchen had almost stopped offering it as an option because of the amount of times she was stood up or canceled on.

However, she never really did.

Gretchen liked the challenge of it. She thought it said quite a lot about people and how much time they were willing to commit.

Her eyes sparkled slightly as Audrey continued. "I quite agree," she said, her voice smooth, but there was a current of excitement in it. "Of course, I don't wish anyone ill health or accidents, but they're going to happen. So, being eager to fix them isn't a negative in my book. What got you into car maintenance? Is there a more appropriate term? I admit, I don't know much about cars. I always let my dad service mine."

@audrey-auto-motive

[audrey-auto-motive]

Audrey could see that they had a lot of similarities when it came to their philosophies on work and life. Maybe that's why they were back here at 2AM when no one else seemed to be up and around.

The mechanic sipped at her coffee and grinned over the cup a bit, "Hey, I mean, same. I don't wish for accidents or someone's car to mysteriously stop working, but you know, it's nice to have a problem to solve."

At the mention of her dad servicing her car, Audrey smiled though it was slightly sadder, "Well, my dad got me into it. Owned a garage back in Michigan so I've been working on cars since I could figure out how a wrench worked. And car maintenance is fine, technically its like 'automotive repair industry' or something but you know, I fix, I maintain. What got you into surgery? Or you know, brains?" She said with a small smirk on her face.

@dr-grundler

[dr-grundler]

Gretchen had never thought about mechanics as similar to doctors, but she supposed their was something there. Muscles and synapses and sinew exchanged for nuts and bolts and whatever else cars were made of. It made her tilt her head slightly, seeing what Audrey did in a new light. To be honest, Gretchen had never placed much worth on anything besides being a doctor.

She still didn't think it was quite as important, but she wasn't too self-absorbed to acknowledge that cars were very important to some people. From those who traveled for work to the disabled.

"I like to pick people apart," Gretchen said, matching Audrey's smirk with her own. Then, she took a little breath. Bracing herself the way she always did.

"My brother Theodore died when he was seven. Inflammatory encephalitis. He was Magick and his physiology didn't respond to normal treatments. We still don't know exactly what happened. I figured that I should be the one to find out." She shrugged a little, turning her arm so the inside of her wrist showed. On it was "666" and "THJG" in simple black ink.

"His birthday and initials."

@audrey-auto-motive

[dr-spinelli]

The Night Off | Spinner

[dr-grundler]

Buzzed was not what Gretchen was going for. She was going for drunk. So drunk that she might not remember the morning. She was usually very diligent about her diet and all of that sort of thing--she didn't even drink coffee!

But, every now and then, when she needed to unwind from work: she liked to drink, hard.

"Tequila, for sure," Gretchen said with a giggle and then flagged the bartender down to get their two shots. She already had one cocktail in her stomach, sloshing as she picked up her lime and clicked her shot against Ashley's.

"To necrotizing fasciitis!" Gretchen declared and took the shot, following it with the lime.

She flagged the bartender down for another, but he was busy. "So, you heard from your mom lately?" Gretchen asked.

@dr-spinelli

[dr-spinelli]

"Tequila it is," Ashley replied with a grin. She clinked her shot against Gretchen's and tossed it back quickly, following it up the same way as Gretchen. It was powerful stuff. And generally she didn't want to get totally wasted, but hey... it was their night off. And maybe she'd then be more motivated to find someone to hook up with later. Always a plus.

She blinked at Gretchen and snorted. "Yeah. I got one message back from her the other day." It was really hit or miss as far as getting any kind of response back from Dr. Florence Spinelli. But every time Ashley would start to really worry, she'd get something back that was... well still quintessentially her mother.

"You know what she said?" Ashley pulled up her phone so she could show Gretchen the exact message. "Told her about this new oncology attending and about Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Mohanty and she just said 'who cares about oncology? Why aren't you making any attempt at connecting with a cardiothoracic or general surgeon?'" Ashley scoffed. "Classic Dr. Florence Spinelli."

@dr-grundler

[dr-grundler]

Gretchen scooted eagerly closer, nearly falling off her bar stool. She managed to put a foot down to stop herself, so she didn't tumble into Ashley and her phone. Embarrassing. She was supposed to be more coordinated than that.

But, it was her night off. She'd leave the coordination for tomorrow.

She blinked and focused on the screen as Ashley spoke. Wow. It was kind of crazy, reading actual words that Dr. Spinelli wrote. That weren't published literature. Her brain started wandering, to see if maybe she could memorize the email...

But no. That'd be a total breech of trust. And, besides, Florence Spinelli clearly didn't want to be found. Gretchen didn't respect runaways.

"Fuck her, dude," Gretchen said eloquently. "Sorry. I mean--I know she's your mom but oncology is great! Super important...stuff." Gretchen only meant that a little, but it was because her heart was in neuro, 100%.

@dr-spinelli

[madellaine]

Farmers Only || Graddy

[madellaine]

It was far more impressive than Maddy’s reason had been.

Though admittedly, Maddy’s made a good story. It would maybe one day make a fantastic memoir. Or a semi-autobiographical magical realism novel. 

“So what flavors do you have today?” Maddy said. “Not that I should eat a cupcake first thing, but we can pack it up and have it later.” She grinned at Gretchen. “Destiny’s baking is so good.” 

@dr-grundler

[dr-grundler]

"So I've heard," Gretchen said with a smile in Destiny's direction. It was very impressive, though Gretchen wasn't terribly surprised. With the kinds of tools available to blind individuals, they could be extremely independent. Gretchen always strove to not be shocked by anything she came across in the hospital, or, indeed, in life.

"Oh, well--right now I have a lavender and lemon. Then, a chocolate raspberry!" Destiny said.

"Chocolate raspberry sounds delicious," Gretchen said and meant it. She pulled out a ten pound note to put in the bucket for donations. "Those are my mother's favorite cakes. I wish I could send one to her."

"Maybe she can come visit."

"True, maybe after my first intern year. I'm rather too busy to play host right now. And I'm living in a very shitty apartment."

@madellaine

[joy-mohanty]

Girl's Night! || Dr. Joy

[joy-mohanty]

@dr-grundler

"Oh, Gem was adopted a bit older so I remember a lot of time before him," Joy explained. "I was the only baby of the family for a while. But I can't imagine not having him now. I even asked his permission to move to India because that meant I could only visit him once a year instead of like 2-3 times."

When he was in prison. The first time.

"Of course he was all 'why are you asking me' but still, I wanted him to be okay with it. And I think I'm close with all five of them. Mostly. Enid is a tough one, she doesn't really like anybody, I even wonder if she likes Nadia, her identical twin sometimes. But she hasn't killed me for raiding her closet yet so I guess that counts for something."

[dr-grundler]

Right: complicated family dynamics. Gretchen should've known.

"I think my brother, Gideon, couldn't wait until we were on separate continents," Gretchen snorted.

She loved her brother, of course. Would probably die for him, if it really came down to it. And she did admire him for his lackadaisical lifestyle. Sometimes she was jealous, wishing she could just let things go like that. Sometimes, she thought that he was too far removed from Teddy. That he saw their little brother too much at a distance to really feel it.

Not the way Gretchen did anyway.

"That is so nice, though. I know I'm complaining about my brother, but my family was very tight knit growing up. My dad is military, so sometimes all I had was my brothers when we were in a new place. I always wanted sisters, though."

@joy-mohanty

[dr-grundler]

Out on a Limb }{ [Grohan]

[delilah-mohanty]

Delilah was quite sure by now that she could walk from the neurospinal ward down to A&E with her eyes closed. Of course she didn’t mind consulting, it was half of the job, but she wished that sometimes the cases were a little more interesting.

Generally speaking, if she thought it wasn’t going to be interesting, she would send a resident down in her stead. They had the ability to consult same as she did, and if they weren’t sure of something, they would call her to double check. But today her residents were tied up with patients, which meant it was Delilah’s job to traipse downstairs.

She had done a quick read of the patient’s chart as she descended the stairs, pushing into the emergency department with a quick scan of her badge. The noise always seemed to hit like a wall; Delilah checked the board and hurried along to the right bay.

“Knock knock,” she said, stepping inside the curtain. “Mrs. Prestley, I’m Dr. Mohanty, I’m a neurospinal consultant.” Turning to the gathered doctors, she asked, “What do we have here?”

@dr-grundler

[dr-grundler]

"It's so nice to meet you," Mrs. Prestley said. Her son stepped forward to shake her hand as well.

Dr. Kepner was standing with her arms crossed and her shoulders up by her ears. She reluctantly handed over the patient's record. "Dr. Grundler, here," she said, glancing disapprovingly at Gretchen, "unnecessarily worried Mrs. Prestley that her dropping her bowl was neurological."

"I believe it was," Gretchen confirmed, though she had to try hard not to shrink when Dr. Mohanty's gaze flicked towards her. Her heart was hammering. If she was wrong, Dr. Mohanty would think she was an idiot. She just--couldn't be wrong, then.

Gretchen lifted her chin. "I noticed a nystagmus during intake."

@delilah-mohanty