All He Wanted
Book: Open Heart, Book 1 Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Sawyer Brooks) Rating: General Warning: None Category: Fluff Word count: 1.5K Prompt: Ethan doesn’t care to celebrate his birthday, but that doesn’t mean he wants to spend it alone. A/N: My Ethan’s birthday is October 5th. This fic takes place during Sawyer’s intern year.
For @choicesoctober event: autumn / favorites things / celebration For @choicesprompts Flufftober 2023 event: Birthday Surprise
It was a crisp autumn morning in early October. The sun was still rising when Sawyer exited the hospital and came face to face with Ethan.
“Hi! You’re here early,” she greeted, surprisingly perky after a grueling night shift.
“And you’re here late. Wasn’t your shift supposed to end at five?”
“It did, but after clocking out, I went and checked on Dr. Banerji one more time. He was awake, so I stayed and chatted with him for a bit.”
“I’m sure he appreciated the company, thank you,” Ethan replied.
“I think he did. He was all too happy to share several stories about you as an intern,” she smiled devilishly.
While teasing him about getting caught in a supply closet, Sawyer began to shiver. Accustomed to much warmer climates, she had not yet adjusted to the much colder temperatures in Boston, and found herself unprepared nearly every time she went outside.
“Hold this for a minute,” Ethan instructed, handing her his tall cup of steaming hot coffee from Derry’s.
As he unzipped and removed this jacket, Sawyer was distracted by the words written on the side of his cup. Happy birthday, Ethan!
Busy processing this bit of information, she was almost startled when Ethan offered her his coat.
“Here,” he said, holding it open for her.
“Oh, thanks…but wait…are you sure you won’t need it later,” she stammered, shifting the coffee from one hand to the other as she slid her arms into the sleeves.
“I’ll be fine,” Ethan assured, spinning her around and zipping the jacket. When he realized what he was doing, he dropped his hands and cleared his throat, “Sorry, you probably could have done that yourself.”
Sawyer smiled, unfazed.
“Thank you. In Arizona, we would still be wearing shorts and flip-flops this time of year,” she chortled, “I’m still getting used to real fall weather.”
Sawyer handed his coffee back and wondered if he had forgotten about their plans to research Naveen’s case that night. Presumably, he would have other plans for his birthday.
But before she could ask, he confirmed, “Just bring it back tonight.”
“You’re still wanting to work on the case tonight?”
“Yes…but if you are no longer available, I understand–”
Sawyer could have sworn she caught a flash of disappointment and quickly interjected, “No! I mean, I am. Available.”
“Good. My place at seven? If I get delayed checking on Naveen, let yourself in and make yourself at home.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later,” she nodded, a plan forming in her head as she started toward the train station.
A hot shower and a few hours of sleep later, Sawyer left her apartment on a mission.
When Ethan arrived home shortly before seven o’clock, he was not expecting to find the lights on.
“Sawyer?”
“In the kitchen!” she called back.
As Ethan rounded the corner, the kitchen came into full view, and he was taken aback.
“Happy birthday,” she softly exclaimed.
Genuinely surprised, “How…how’d you know?” he asked.
“Your coffee cup this morning.”
“I see. Outed by the coffee rewards program,” he said amused.
On the kitchen island, there was a large paper bag, a bottle of wine and scotch, and a bouquet of chocolate bars with a couple balloons tied around the base.
“You…you didn’t have to…thank you,” he fumbled for words, sincerely touched.
Sawyer gestured to the two options, “Take a load off and pick your poison. I wasn’t sure what you’d be in the mood for, so I got both.”
Ethan reached for the scotch. While Sawyer hunted down two tumblers, he examined the bottle.
“This is one of my favorites.”
It wasn’t the most expensive brand, but a bottle would certainly stretch an intern’s budget.
“Yeah, I know. I stopped by Donahue’s and asked Reggie what you liked,” she revealed. “That’s actually a gift from him. He insisted when I told him it was for your birthday.”
Ethan shook his head in wonder. “I’ll have to remember to thank him when I see him next.”
He finally sat and poured a glass, taking a sip and savoring the smooth, smokey flavor.
Meanwhile, Sawyer busied herself with dinner, removing takeout containers from the paper bag and grabbing plates from the cupboard. She plated his dish and passed it to him.
Ethan couldn’t believe his eyes when he looked down at the swirl of black pasta on his plate.
“Is this from Coppa’s?”
“Mm-hmm,” she answered, “...you conveniently mentioned it was one of your favorite restaurants last week.”
“But I don’t recall telling you Linguine Alla Sepia was my favorite dish,” Ethan countered, twisting the squid ink pasta and Rhode Island calamari around his fork.
“You didn’t. I gave the hostess your phone number and they were able to pull up your previous orders in their system.” She continued, “And in case you’re wondering how I knew about the candy bars, well, you left a wrapper in your coat pocket.”
“First, you discover the secret behind Patient X, and now all of this. I don’t know whether to be impressed or scared,” he poked fun.
“Or proud that my mentor has instilled in me the importance of listening and observing,” she suggested with a wink.
“What did you order?” Ethan wondered, as Sawyer reached for her meal container.
“Pizza.”
“Of course you did,” he chuckled.
“Why is that funny?” she asked.
“Rookie, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about you, it’s that you would be perfectly content ordering from the kid’s menu.”
“Says the guy eating squid!” Her body trembled in disgust and she pretended to gag, earning a toothy smile from Ethan.
As they dug into their meals, their playful banter eventually faded into a peaceful lull. After a couple minutes, Sawyer finally broke the silence with the question that had been on her mind all day.
“Hey, why didn’t you cancel for tonight?”
“Why would I?” he asked innocently, taking another bite of pasta.
“Surely you had better things to do on your birthday. Dinner with your family? Drinks with friends? A date?”
From the corner of his eye, Ethan could see her staring down and picking at her pizza, appearing almost nervous.
“My dad and I usually go out to dinner. He’s coming up this weekend,” he explained. “To be honest, I don’t care much for the attention, or for people making a big fuss.”
“Oh, I’m sorry if I–,” she started.
Covering her hand with his own, he cut her off, “This is perfect, Sawyer. Thank you.”
As the evening wore on, they enjoyed the rest of their meals, drank, talked, and laughed. When it was time for dessert, Sawyer lit a candle, pressing it into Ethan’s tiramisu. She spared them both a solo rendition of the birthday song.
“Make a wish,” she insisted, holding the plate a few inches away.
Ethan’s eyes flitted between the burning candle and Sawyer’s eyes before he blew it out.
Neither had realized how much time had passed until Sawyer cleared the dessert plates and noticed the late hour on the microwave’s digital display.
“Wow, is that really the time?”
Checking his watch, Ethan too realized it had gotten late. Much too late to start any research on the case.
“I’ll find some time tomorrow to review the new case studies. We should probably call it a night.”
Like this morning, disappointment once again flashed across his face. Not realizing that Ethan was only upset that the night had to end, Sawyer misinterpreted his distress as frustration and offered an apology.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get any work done.”
“Don’t be. If I’m being honest…,” he exhaled, “it was nice to have a night off.”
“Then, I'm glad I could help provide a distraction," she smiled, internally breathing a sigh of relief.
Together they cleaned up and waited for her ride.
“Your car is here,” Ethan announced when his phone pinged. Sawyer gathered her things and he followed her to the door.
“Thank you for tonight, Sawyer.”
“You’re welcome,” she beamed up at him.
Suddenly the air became heavy, a standard goodbye not feeling adequate for the celebratory occasion. Cutting through the awkward tension, Sawyer slid her arm over his shoulder and pulled him in.
Ethan far from minded the gesture, but even still, he cautiously accepted the friendly squeeze, placing a hand between her shoulder blades.
The hug only lasted long enough for the intern to wish her boss a happy birthday one last time.
“Happy birthday, Dr. Ramsey.”
Then they parted. When Sawyer cracked the door, Ethan reached over her head to hold it open for her.
“Goodnight, Rookie.”
She offered a small wave and Ethan closed the door with a contented sigh.
All he wanted for his birthday was to spend an evening with the person who made his worries disappear and his burdens feel lighter. Tonight, he got everything he wanted. In fact, much more than he had hoped for. And if birthday wishes came true, there would be many more nights like this in his future.
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