Langst One Shots

ER (Female Lance) Part 2

Laura had been in the hospital for days now, doing nothing but napping, caring for Alice, and talking Keith. She was barely able to stay awake during their conversation. It wasn't apparent at first, but the birth had taken a huge toll on her health.

She continued to hold Keith's bruised hand, all the way through the process. Sometimes he would stay there more hours holding her hand while she slept because he didn't want to wake her up.
If Shiro wasn't his boss (and if Shiro wasn't a nosy bastard who couldn't keep to himself) he would have been fired.

He couldn't help but feel jealous when her husband came to the hospital with his lawyer to settle the divorce. That jealous faded quickly however once he was escorted out for his violent tendencies.

'What kind of person hits their spouse? What kind of person wouldn't be there for his spouse while they're pushing a baby out of them?'
Keith would think to himself as he made small talk with Laura. His thoughts slowly began to betray him, and he couldn't help but grow more and more attached.

'If I was her husband, I would never do that to her. I would let her know she was everything to me.'
...And yet, he never said that out loud. He couldn't even bring himself to admit that he was slowly catching feelings. The monologue changed every now and then, but the last line stayed the same.

'I would let her know she was everything to me.'

He had no idea why his crush had revealed itself so suddenly, or rather why he was so anxious to act on it. Not that he was going to act on it, or anything. She was vulnerable, after all. She had a baby now, and all the mental and physical wounds were still fresh. 

Of course, Laura couldn't stay in the hospital forever. Her and adorable little baby left a little less then a week after her birth. Alice was getting cuter and cuter, too. She had her mom's eyes. 

And now he was left with nothing. He'd have to get over her now! She wasn't his patient anymore, he didn't even have her number. It didn't matter if she was all he could think about, he couldn't talk to-

Shiro gave him her number.

God damn it, what was he going to do now? She was a phone call away- god, why did she need to be phone call away? 

...whatever. He just won't call her. He'll save her contact as "DO NOT CALL" and he'll just set the phone down and-

*ring ring*

OH SHIT SHE'S CALLING ABORT ABORT-

Keith used his uninjured hand to pick up the phone, trying to keep his voice as calm and stoic as it usually was.

"...Hello?"

"Hey doctor! It's Laura- Shiro gave you my number, right? Hope this isn't out of the blue."

He could hear the faint sound of Alice cooing in the background, and he paced his apartment in an attempt to keep himself focused.

"Nonono- not at all. I mean- it is random but I don't mind."

He took in a deep breath. Steady, Kogane.

Laura giggled. She loved tormenting him, didn't she. 

"Hehe! Alright then. I wanted to thank you for helping me through everything. Alice, the divorce... everything."

"It was the least I could do. I would have been a monster if I didn't help."

He could almost hear Laura smile on the other end of the phone.

"I guess you're right. Still, I want to say thank you. I'm no longer your patient, right? It's not 'unprofessional' anymore."

Keith paused, and reminded himself of the hours he had spent rehearsing his response. It was over, and it was time to move on. At least, that's what he had said before she started showing interested. Not that he was interested.

It was obviously just Florence Nightingale syndrome; he was her patient, for Christ's sake!

He quickly realized he was taking too long to respond, and Laura laughed as he began to stutter.

"N-No- I- I mean-"

"I meant for casual coffee, not a date. I mean, it can be- but I literally just got divorced. And in my personal opinion, coffee isn't romantic."

Keith laughed nervously, thankful she was lighting the mood.

"How if coffee not romantic? Coffee shops are the most aesthetically pleasing places in the world!"

"You mean hot bean water bars? No thanks."

"Well I like my bean water iced, so checkmate. And for the record, restaurants are the most un-romantic places in the world."

"What?! Free food is the most romantic thing ever!"

"Take out, maybe. But a sit down restaurant? I don't want someone I'm interested in to watch me eat! Plus, I alway end up paying."

He straightened his back, almost like she could see him through the phone. Thank god she couldn't see him.

"Fine, fine... what about the movies? Those suck, right?"

"For a first date? It's terrible!"

"Then let's go there! We both hate it, so we can make fun of it together. Tell me when you're free so I can ask my sister to baby sit."

Keith's face lit up red and he adjusted his tie nervously.

"I-I thought you said this wasn't a date!"

"We were taking about date spots for like five minutes, Mr.ResturantsAren'tRomantic. I'm free Saturday, how about you?"

"I never said yes to anything!"

"See you Saturday, Doctor. I'll let you know when I'm picking you up."

The call abruptly ended, and Keith sat there like an idiot looking at his phone.

AUTHOR'S NOTE :

Hi guys! I usually start this off by saying "I'm not dead lmao" but... I kind of am? Other than revisiting this site every few months to laugh at my middle school self's writing, I've mostly transitioned over to AO3. So yeah, the slow updates may been even slower, lol. I won't say I'm completely abandoning this book, because I don't think I am. It's fun to revisit these stories! This is a very old continuation to the ER story (still don't know why I thought writing out the birth scene was a good idea?? But hey, we ball) and hopefully there will be a part 3 coming out soon. No promises!

- Moon