DR. HEARTLAND

Elliot Heartland. Eli. Switch. former US Army combat medic. Trauma Surgeon.

[drheartland]

fcundtm​:

⌜

     Oh no. Not that look – she knew that look. It had been her undoing so many times before. Every fight, every bit of resolve she’d ever had would just melt away when she’d been given that look. God, she might have felt slightly ashamed to know it was the same look she’d been giving him. Fortunately for her, the only thing she could think about was getting Elliot’s pants off.

      “Pants off.” Her gaze darkened, though she gave him no time to follow through on the command before she was on him again, fingers tugging at the drawstring of his scrubs, mouth founding his once more. She missed not time in picking up where she left off, her desperation and his eagerness to please making for the most intense kiss she’d had in months. Oh, she needed this. Her hand abandoned its job of undoing his scrubs, moving clamp around his throat, not hard enough to leave marks – yet – just enough to make sure she really had his focus. 

     Pulling away from the kiss, nipping roughly at his lower lip for good measure, she smirked at the perfect little submissive switch beneath her hand. It was the first real chance she’d given herself to look him over. He looked so pretty when he flushed. Her grip tightened ever so slightly, pushing him back against the door. “Pants. Off.” A fire she’d almost forgotten she had burned in her eyes, knowing it was her own fault that he couldn’t really follow the command she’d given, yet still wanting to see him squirm for not doing what he was told. “I won’t tell you again.” 

It was second nature to slip into the role Vanessa needed from him, to forgo control, to give into the submissiveness he wore just as well as his Dominance. Her command was low, words precise, cutting. Pants off. His fingers twitched, a sign he was willing to follow her command immediately, but she beat him to it, tugging at his draw strings, a woman possessed. 

Her mouth sealed over his between one breath and the next -- taking -- as if she hadn’t ever stopped to begin with. Fuck. Elliot kissed her back, entranced, cock responding to the wet slide of her mouth, they way she kissed him like it was her right. 

Elliot felt dizzy, drunk off just a kiss, but nothing prepared him for when Vanessa abandoned the draw strings of his scrubs to seize him by the throat. Oh. Oh. His dick really liked that, it seemed. He was hard now, damn near aching. He felt dumb under the pressure of her fingers, shuddering as she pulled just slightly away, nipping at his lower lip. It stung in the best of ways. He blinked, stupidly affected when she tightened her grip, the order pouncing from her lips and leaving him feeling utterly boneless. 

I won’t tell you again. 

Well, damn. 

He laughed, breathless, his Adam’s apple bobbing against her palm as he swallowed. “As you wish,” he exhaled, gaze half-lidded, wanting. “Miss.”

Elliot made sure to maintain eye contact as he fumbled with his pants, shoving them down to his ankles and kicking them off, purposefully leaving his briefs on, a bit bratty, sure, but she had only said to remove his pants. 

He grinned at her, punch drunk off her dominance already, and pressed into her grip, shuddering under the pressure. “Ah,” he breathed, like he didn’t already know the answer, “did you mean my briefs as well?”

[ohthevillains]

[drheartland]

stcnehearted​:

@drheartland​

      “Sooooo–” ​Savannah held onto the word, drawing it out as much as possible while they walked. She picked absentmindedly at the cotton candy she’d picked up from one of the vendors – a pair of sweet teenagers, one of which Austin couldn’t stop staring at. It was almost painful the way he couldn’t get his words out around the other boy. She’d never known her brothers to be inherently shy. It was certainly not a Moore trait. No, they were loud, abrasive, and completely wild. Still, she couldn’t help but laugh at the redness in her brother’s face when he saw his crush.

     She was about to do the big sister thing and torment the poor kid, but there was something vaguely familiar in his features. A look she’d seen elsewhere, the stammering of his words and brushing off of flirtations as nothing more than friendly banter. Lifting the candy to her mouth, letting it dissolve on her tongue before she turned to her companion. That’s where she’d seen it before. The way Austin spoke to this boy… it resembled the way Elliot spoke to her. She could’ve brushed it off as nothing more than being unsure of himself now that he’d returned home, but she was certain it was more than that. Or maybe she was manifesting a little too hard. Either way, she wasn’t about to let this question hang in the air between them any longer.

     “– is this a date?”

///

Elliot had somehow managed to invite Savannah out to the Spring Bash. And, by somehow, he meant he’d sent a text message. He’d always done better with that than the face-to-face stuff. It was easier to speak to Savannah when he wasn’t directly confronted with how beautiful she was, how stunningly blue her eyes were, how soft her hair looked, how he longed to run his fingers through it -- pull tight, perhaps, see how easily her mouth parted, how she --

No. No, what? He seriously needed to get his head out of the gutter, especially when the object of such fantasies was standing right next to him. Next to her teenage brother. 

Elliot swallowed, praying to a higher power for him to get his shit together. But, the fact she was eating cotton candy in such an objectively innocent (yet provocative) way was really fucking with him. He just couldn’t catch a break, could he? 

He’d just managed to contain his thoughts when Savannah turned towards him, her question posed innocuously enough. The question, however, caused Elliot’s brain to short circuit, going offline completely for several seconds. 

Date? Date. 

He, uh, he wanted it to be? He liked that, a little too much. 

He blinked at her, like a dog that had been caught chewing on her favor pair of slippers. He swallowed, looking away awkwardly as he asked with a nervous laugh: “If you want it to be a date?” 

Idiot. He was a Goddamn idiot. 

[drheartland]

nevadawilliamsx​:

◊

He’s right. Nevada has to give him that much – he wouldn’t have listened, he was all impulse and no brain in high school. Every idea was a good one and every dare worth taking. The years have taught him a little caution. He’s not necessarily wiser, but he remembers where his scars come form. “And yet, you never did.” Eli had tagged along to even his worst ideas, Nevada’s not really sure he deserved that kind of loyalty then. He’s not sure he deserves it now either.

He reaches for the peanut cracking a shell open to pop one in his mouth, smile crooked. “Mhm,” He says, unimpressed, a brow arching over his eye. “And cows fly.” Nevada can’t imagine what that adjustment must be like, especially for Eli. It’s not like they talked about it, Nevada doesn’t want to press and Eli seems to like his silence – half answers and tip toeing around it. It’s not his place to push for answers anyway.

“Yeah, and how did that one go?” Eli’s smile’s always soft when it comes to Savannah, Nevada isn’t sure if he’s even aware of it. The guy’s never had much of a poker face and now it’s painfully obvious. He’s like a puppy with a crush. He should be mad. Jealous, right? “They are teenagers, you know how it is.” Too much energy. “But it’s nice, you know. Being around them again.”

Maybe he’s had too much to drink. He’s drinking for the both of them, after all, Nevada having decided to give it up, unable to temper himself, know when to stop. Sometimes, Elliot wonders if it was his fault, that Nevada sunk so low into alcoholism. He’d always been the wiser of the two of them, after all. He was always there to step in when Nevada took things too far, to bring him back down off the high of an impulsive decision. 

But then he’d gone and joined the military, all but abandoned Nevada when he likely needed him most. He carries that guilt with him. Maybe shit would have been different, if he’d stayed. Elliot sure as hell knew he would’ve been better off, wouldn’t have been saddled with trauma he didn’t even know how to begin to unravel. 

“If you want to ask something, Nevada,” Elliot says, suddenly too hot, too flushed, as he reaches up to loosen his tie, “just do it. Beating around the bush isn’t your style.” 

He laughs softly at the question. “Told her the flowers I brought for her were for the staff,” he says, snorting, because honestly, he was so damn hopeless where Savannah more was concerned. “Yeah,” he agrees quietly. “It is nice.” 

[drheartland]

@brooklynarievans​

Austin had showed up at his work, looking suspicious, and then asked him if he could pretty please go to a teacher conference instead of Savannah for him. He didn’t want to die before he graduated high school, after all. 

Elliot had sighed, pinched his lips, and had been about to say no, when Austin had offered something he couldn’t resist: Tips on how to woo his sister. 

So that was how he found himself duped into showing up at Silver Creek High, ducking into one Ms. Rodger’s classroom. “Hello,” he said, sheepish. “Ms. Rodgers? I’m Austin Moore’s guardian.” 

[emcgregor-deactivated20220904]

Michelle Williams and Ewan McGregor in DECEPTION (2008) dir. Marcel Langenegger

[drheartland]

@stcnehearted @nevadawilliamsx

[drheartland]

Elliot wasn’t one for outbursts. He kept himself tightly controlled at work, couldn’t risk slipping up. As far as anyone knew, he was fine. So, when he exited the operating room, after five hours spent trying to save some guy’s life who’s name he didn’t even know and failing, he ripped off his gloves like he couldn’t get them off fast enough. 

Only after he’d ripped off his mask as well, did he notice Dr. Wilson was also in the room. 

“Ah,” he said, heaving a slow, grounding breath. “Dr. Wilson, I didn’t see you there,” he offered apologetically. 

@doctorevawilsonsub​​

[drheartland]

Elliot was exhausted, the kind that felt good as aches in his bones. Work was always a good distraction, a way to keep his mind off the darker parts of that lived in his head. If he was moving, saving lives, he didn’t have time to sink back into the horror that were his memories; the screaming, the blood, the last, wobbling breath, a dying death rattle that would haunt him no matter how many times he heard it. 

Even now, in the silence of his apartment, they began to creep back in. 

He sighed, frowned, and poured himself a glass of bourbon, the last the bottle had to offer. It would dull the memories, but it wouldn’t erase them. Would he sleep, he had to wonder, or would the terrors terrorize him well into the night as well? 

He brought the glass to his lips, pausing when there was a soft knocking at his door. He frowned, checking his phone out of habit -- was it Nevada, Savannah? But, nope, his screen flashed, no new messages. 

Curious now, he opened the door without checking to see who it was on the other side, softly surprise to find who he found there. “Ash?” he said, clearly caught off guard.

@lxcidwaters​

[drheartland]

fcundtm​:

⌜

     “Doctor Heartland, I –” what was she? She should have been sorry for attacking her colleague like that. Her voice was shaky, searching for an answer to her unspoken question. Searching for something – for anything. There was only cloud and haze, and the goddamned squeaky wheel of a stretcher that needed to be retired. The only moment of clarity came when her eyes landed on his, finding an off comfort in the gentleness of his gaze. The realization, knowing what she needed now more than ever, grounded her – kept the desire to sink back into her nightmare at bay.

     It was far from professional, but before she could overthink or try to talk herself out of it, she’d crossed the distance between them. Her palms were against his chest, pushing until her body was slamming into his, trapping him between her and the door. There was no dignity in the way her lips crashed against his, only desperation as she searched and searched for something to cling to – to keep her grounded in that moment. Teeth nipped at soft flesh, cool fingers finding their way beneath his scrubs, seeking out the warmth that reminded her there was still life.

     It was only when she tried to snake her tongue into his mouth that she remembered she hadn’t gotten his consent for the kiss – not verbally. She could have sworn it was in his eyes, but that wasn’t enough.

     “Shit.” As quickly as she was on him, she was pushing herself away, inadvertently shoving him back into the door. Her body turned from his to try and recollect her thoughts. “I’m sorry.” And she was, but when she turned back to him it took all she had in her not to launch herself back at him. 

Elliot had given her permission, though it may not have been verbal, to take what she needed. So, he shouldn’t have been surprised when she rushed him, hands finding purchase as she forced him back and against the door. The smarting of pain was a welcome one, the impact pushing the breath from his lungs, eyes wide when her mouth found his. It wasn’t a kind kiss, all desperation and teeth, wandering hands making a mess of his scrubs, rucking them up to expose warm flesh to the cold, clinical hospital air. 

And hell, he’d always thought Vanessa was attractive in that objective sort of way. He was a hot blooded male, after all, he noticed when women were appealing. But, he was also a professional, and Vanessa was a coworker he respected. 

But, this? This was different, it was biological, a compulsion they both shared. 

It made the decision to kiss her back an instant one, mouth parting, tongue seeking. But, just as he’d opened up for her, invited her inside, she withdrew, leaving Elliot’s head spinning, his cheeks flushed, already half-hard and willing to do anything to get her mouth back on him. 

As she pushed away, she slammed him back into the door, the knob digging painfully into his back. He grunted, but the spark of pain hit just right, her rough treatment of him sending him straight into his submissive headspace. And so he shuddered, breathing heavily, flush well beneath his collar now, scrubs a mess, looking liked they’d done much more than share one kiss. 

Elliot laughed softly, but there was a desire in his eyes now, a need that matched Vanessa’s in intensity. “The only thing you should be sorry for, Miss,” he began, words sounding just as wrecked as he felt, “is stopping.” 

[drheartland]

nevadawilliamsx​:

Nevada smiled, he was taking the stroll down memory lane more often these days. Maybe it was the move or he just missed home. 

“If I was it was only because you always listened,” He chuckled, thumbing at handle of his pitcher. “Might have done you good to protest against my bad choices once in a while, you know?”  But if there was one thing Eli was it was loyal, a good friend…

His eyes drifted over the blonde’s face, shaking off the distant memories of some fifteen years ago. “Bullshit.” He clicked his tongue, tossing back half of his beer in one go, “Bullshit and you know it.” Nevada pointed at him over the table. “I could always tell when you’re lying, don’t forget that or do you forget all the money you lost to me playing poker.” Not that either of them were good at it to begin with. 

“You been to see Sav?” Nevada asked, changing the topic.  

Elliot snorted at that, effortlessly knocking back the rest of his drink and ordering another. “Right, ‘cause you would’ve listened, had I protested.” Not that Nevada had ever gotten him into any real trouble. Their shenanigans had been typical teenager fodder, easily forgiven by the adults in their lives. 

Besides, following Nevada around, doing whatever bullshit he wanted, it made the more submissive side of him sing. He’d always been aware of that, hadn’t ever been ashamed of it. It was part of who he was, after all. 

“Maybe I was just letting you win,” he snarked back, grin tugging at the edges of his mouth. He, as well as Nevada, knew very well how bad of a liar he was. “I’m well enough.” He shrugged. “Still adjusting to civilian life.” 

At the mention of Savannah, Elliot laughed softly. “Yeah, ‘course I have. How’s crashing at her place? The boys stealing all your time, or what?”

[purposeful-path]

[wickedgifs-moved]

[navarrra]

[drheartland]

nevadawilliamsx​:

Nevada paused to stop the waitress, order in another pitcher of beer. His attention on the sub is quiet, wondering. 

“Silvercreek, huh?“ He teases, the quick addition only makes him laugh. “Sure, stuck.” It’s not Nevada’s place to admit just how much Eli’s absense was noted. 

“So why now?” Nevada asked. “Something changed?” 

///

Elliot laughs softly, shrugging into another slow sip. The beer feels nice in his veins, helps him with loosening up. Not that he needs it, not when it comes to Nevada. He isn’t his oldest friend for nothing. 

“Yeah, yeah. You really gonna act like you weren’t the ringleader of our merry band of trouble makers?” 

Nevada’s question hits a little too close to home. He doesn’t know how to answer that question without lying. Yeah, something had changed. He’d nearly died, been discharged, and hadn’t been able to sleep through the night since then. “Figured it was time,” he says instead. It isn’t a lie, though he’s sure Nevada will still see right through it.  

[drheartland]

stcnehearted​:​

⌜

     When the receptionist mentioned someone was waiting in the waiting room, Sav shot a look to the other vets, ready to crush them all in a mad game of rock, paper, scissors before it was clarified the person was here for Savannah. There was a momentary panic – had something happened with the boys? Was Dallas hurt during practice? Her mind swam, heart racing before she tried her best to nonchalantly check her phone – no messages. It couldn’t be about the boys. “I’ll be right out.”

     Sighing, she prepared herself for the next worse thing: an angry dominant. The list of people she’d pissed off couldn’t be that big, she was trying to keep the peace now. Or maybe it was just someone who preferred Sav worked on their animal. Whatever option it was, she was not expecting to find Eli Heartland to be in the waiting room, flowers in hand for the office and no animal. How the Hell did he find her? How the Hell was he here? Where did he get the flowers? 

     “I’m sure the staff will appreciate them.” She finally spoke, closing the distance between them to grab the flowers, offering them to the front desk, who went about finding something to display them in. She did, however, wonder if the flowers were meant for her, but pretended it didn’t sting a little that they weren’t – she was growing as a person, but not about to admit she cared. 

     Savannah was about to go in for a hug, but remembered she was at work – and couldn’t have people knowing she was soft for just anyone. Her hands instead came to rest on his arms, taking the opportunity to look him up and down. “When did you get back? Are you okay?” Does Nevada know?

Elliot cursed himself silently, watching in abject dejection as Savannah handed off the flowers meant for her to the front staff. He was an idiot, really. He could already hear Nevada laughing his ass off at his miserable, failed attempt at wooing a woman. Honestly, it was a wonder he got laid at all. 

He anticipated a hug -- wanted a hug, he was man enough to admit it. But, Savannah simply grabbed the sides of his arms instead. Her touch was just as warm as he remembered, just as soft. He’d missed her -- he really, really had. Elliot swallowed, fighting down the urge to just pull her in for a hug himself, maybe place a kiss on her temple. That, he was sure, would earn him a fist to the face. 

Which, that brought a small, crooked smile to his face. That was part of Savannah’s charm, wasn’t it? 

“The -- yeah,” he cleared his throat, pursing his lips. “The staff.” And, if he glowered at the vase the flowers had been placed in well, that was between him and God. 

But, Savannah was talking and Elliot, Elliot needed to be listening. “Oh, few weeks back,” he answered. “Nevada told me you were in town.” Which, shit, maybe he should have kept that to himself? Elliot had never been very good at the whole lying thing. 

Are you okay? 

He wasn’t. But, he wasn’t about to worry Savannah unnecessarily. “Yeah,” he said, smiling warmly at her -- feeling okay, for the first time in a long while. “I’m okay.” His face flickered, however. “Are you okay?” He didn’t mention her father, didn’t have to, but the offer of support was there, in the gentle silence between them. 

[xladymorganx]

[drheartland]

fcundtm​:

@drheartland​

     Vanessa may not have been sound in her personal life, avoiding the walk ways that they used to walk together – she and Mason – but when it came to her job, Vanessa was a force to be reckoned with. She was beside the gurney as soon as the patient was out of the ambulance, when the vitals dropped she was the first to start compressions, her body launching onto the stretcher so her whole body was behind the motions – ribs be damned. 

     It’s only when the patient is transferred and another nurse takes over that she stops, evaluating the scene before her. Accident was all she heard. Tears had been in her eyes the moment the ambulance arrived, but her entire body went into autopilot, focusing on keeping this poor man alive. It’s not him, she knows that, she’s not stupid enough to believe that, but lack of sleep and lack of acceptance has her seeing his face on the table. The world moves in slow motion, bodies crashing in the scramble. 

     How she managed to pull it together and assist was a mystery, the whole thing a blur, but the next thing she knew her feet were carrying her quickly through the hallways, ducking into the nearest supply closet with a scream. Her hand landed against the metal shelf with a loud echo, the sound of the door behind her barely registering.

     “What do you want!?” She had barely looked at him, slinging misplaced anger at the poor man.

///

Elliot supposed he preferred work because the chaos made him feel alive -- time slowed in an emergency, sounds dulled, it was just him, the patient, and a problem to be fixed. Life had purpose, meaning, focus. But when the chaos faded and the silence creeped back in, he always felt too big for his skin, too out-of-place. The walls were too white, the lights too bright, his heart a drum that beat to a tempo a note too fast. 

He knew that feeling, knew it all too well, and he recognized it Vanessa; in the taunt lines of her body, the too-wide set of her eyes, the clench of her jaw -- the thousand yard star. She wasn’t here, at Silver Creek Medical, she was far away, sucked back into her trauma like it was the first time, the reel playing over and over again on repeat, each time more fragmented and yet worse. 

Elliot followed her on instinct, mostly, and then, consciously, out of concern. She would need something familiar, a focal point, much like he did. An outlier not related to the wave of pulsing emotions swirling inside of her. 

Upon hearing a crash, he didn’t hesitate, he pulled the door open and stepped inside, unafraid. The words out of her mouth were accusatory, angry -- but, most of all, fearful. Elliot studied her, let his silence hang heavily between him. He stepped forward then, like approaching a feral cat, one that might bite. But, if he could give her any amount of reprieve, Elliot supposed he didn’t mind being bitten. 

His voice was soft when he spoke. “I don’t want anything, Vanessa,” he told her. He met her gaze, permission hidden within the gentleness of it. “Tell me what you need.”