Fated: An Open Heart AU

Destined

He woke with a start, his eyes darting back and forth in the dark, searching for a threat that wasn't there. Sweat poured off him despite the coolness of the bedroom from the air conditioner pumping out arctic air.

Dr. Ethan Ramsey pushed aside the covers and swung his legs off the bed. Body slumped, he buried his face in his hands, using his long fingers to massage his aching temple.

Two months after his kidnapping and rescue, he still couldn't manage a full night's sleep unless he drowned himself in alcohol or pushed his body to extreme fatigue. His sessions with a psychiatrist the hospital board had forced him to see hadn't gone well. But he'd done enough to assuage Harper who had signed off on his return to work.

Getting back to his patients, solving the medical mysteries of the human body, that's what was going to save him. He just had to get past what had happened to him.

Even as the words formed in his head, he saw a pair of sparkling green eyes and sunny blonde hair, remembered the lopsided smirk she'd thrown him as they said good-bye outside the airstrip in Arlington.

Agent Cassie Valentine had left her mark on him too and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

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"That's just ridiculous," protested Cassie loudly over the noise of the busy gun range. "I'm no one's hero and I don't see why I need to be rolled out like a carpet for the bigwigs upstairs."

She reloaded her gun, reset the target on the other side of the alley and took aim. The first three shots concentrated into the center of the target, while the others tapped the target's shoulder and knees, intended to immobilize in real life.

"Nice shots," she heard her boss, Dr. Naveen Banerji, say when she pulled off the ear protectors.

"Flattery won't help, boss," she said, leaning against the wall, arms crossed with a mulish expression on her face.

"You could look at it as an opportunity to dress up and enjoy free food and expensive drinks, Agent Valentine" said Dr. Banerji, smiling at how he'd predicted just this reaction when he'd first heard the news that she was being given a commendation for her work on the Ramsey case.

"It's important, Cassie," he said, sighing when she didn't respond. "Not just because of what it will do for your career, but because how important it is for the team and the work we do."

"Fine," she said a bit churlishly. "But those speeches had better be short and the food excellent. Or I'm sending you a bill for the most expensive steakhouse meal I can find. And in this town, that's not hard to do."

She walked away before he could tell her about the dress code and special guest. Oh well, that's what email was for, he thought.

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"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world..."

Ethan turned at the voice he'd only heard in his dreams these last couple of months. It was just as soft as he remembered, the slight mocking tone making him wonder what it was about him that she found so funny.

"Agent Valentine," he offered with a slight nod of his head.

"Dr. Ramsey," she responded, mimicking his tone.

Ethan tried not to stare at the plunging neckline of her gold dress with the single teardrop diamond resting between her breasts. His mouth dried up when he saw that the bottom of the dress wasn't any better with its thigh-high slit making him imagine those toned legs wrapped around his waist.

"Eyes up here, doc," she teased, cutting into his R-rated thoughts.

"My apologies," he stammered, feeling his face flush.