This is a series of one shots based on Pixelberry's Open Heart, featuring Dr. Ethan Ramsey and Dr. Cassie Valentine. The stories follow canon to a certain extent but diverge after book 1. In this AU, there is no trip to the Amazon and no need for a...
Summary: When an addition to the Diagnostics Team shifts the dynamics, it placesCassie and Ethan on opposite sides of the issue.
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Ethan Ramsey had never noticed how quiet his apartment could be when it was just him there. Once upon a time, the silence had been a welcome respite from the constant busyness and cacophony of hospital life.
And then he'd held the hand of one Cassie Valentine two years ago in the waiting room of Edenbrook Hospital. Week by week, month by month, year by year, a lifetime of quiet started to strip away to reveal a world of color and noise and laughter. Often all at once.
Now as he sipped his expensive scotch, watching the city lights twinkling bright outside, he realized that he couldn't remember what silence sounded like anymore. Even the scotch was starting to taste sour on his tongue.
He reached for the phone, scrolling to the text app and the person that was at the top of the list. He started to type out a reply, but the words wouldn't come. He hated texting at the best of time, but it was Cassie's preferred way and he adapted.
But some things couldn't be said over text with words that lacked emotion unless one used one of those emojis to express what they really felt. And even then, he wasn't sure there was a combination of emojis — at least not that he was aware of — that conveyed that he was an idiot and could she please come back.
He knew it was late and she was likely asleep, but he hated the way they'd left things. And yes, the silence was getting to him. It spoke volumes when it needed to and was making him deaf from the pressure of it.
Exiting the message screen, he clicked on the rideshare app instead. He wasn't drunk, but he'd certainly drank more than he should have.
Forty-five minutes and an awkward car ride later where he'd shut down any attempts by the bubbly driver to start a conversation, he stood in front of her apartment building. Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he pressed the street door buzzer and hoped that of all her roommates, Dr. Trinh would answer. She was the nicest of the lot and would be least likely to ask questions.
He got lucky.
A few minutes later, he ascended to the penthouse floor. He and Cassie usually met at his place as it was more private, but he'd certainly spent his fair share in the apartment she shared with her friends.
He was about to press the doorbell when the door swung open and there stood the woman who'd made him hate the quiet.
"Slumming?" she mocked.
She was leaning against the open door with her arms crossed, one eyebrow quirked in that way he found incredibly sexy. Not that he would ever tell her that. She had too many weapons in her arsenal already.
"Last time I checked, Rookie," he remarked, emphasizing his nickname for her, "a penthouse apartment in this neighborhood doesn't qualify as a slum."
"Anything would, compared to the quiet luxury that you live in, Doctor Ramsey," she retorted.
The use of that word — quiet — in this context had him harking back to his earlier thoughts and he turned an uncomfortable shade of red.
Her arms dropped as she straightened away from the door to reach for his hand. Her fingers laced through his as she moved closer.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked softly, her tone concerned as she gazed up at him easily reading his discomfort.
"Can we talk? Inside?" he asked.
She nodded, keeping her hand in his as she led him inside, closing the door behind him before they walked down the hallway to her room. He was relieved to see that her roommates had made themselves scarce.
"Don't worry," she said, reading him accurately again. "Sienna and I are the only ones here tonight. The others are either on shift or away for the night."
She shut the bedroom door behind them, leaning back against it rather than joining him by the bed.
"You're going to make this hard on me, aren't you?" he asked as she continued to watch him.
"If this is about our text conversation earlier, then yes," she said unequivocally.
She moved away from the door then, brushing past him to sit down on the armchair next to her window. He waited a beat and then sat down on the side of the bed, facing her.
"You were right," he said with a huff. "I'm being an ass and I'm sorry. Tobias Carrick saved your life when he developed that antidote. For that alone, I am forever grateful to him and am willing to put aside any ill feelings from whatever transpired before and welcome him to the team."
She smiled at the disgruntled expression on his face.
"Aww. What a lovely apology," she teased, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "Now, was that so hard?"
"Excruciatingly so," he admitted with a pained expression. "Am I ever going to win against you?"
"It's doubtful," she said with a laugh. "If you make it a competition, I'm winning. You just gotta accept it, babe. After all, isn't that how I earned my spot on the team?"
He rolled his eyes at that. She let out a yelp when he suddenly leaned forward to grab her by the arms and pull her onto his lap.
She rested her forehead against his, hands clasped behind his neck as she found her balance.
"Now that you have me here, Dr. Ramsey," she quipped, her tongue teasing the inner shell of his ear, "what do you plan to do with me?"
"We're going to play another type of game, babe," he said, his lips slowly trailing down the side of her neck, leaving nerve endings in their wake. "And this time, we both get to win."
"We'll see about that," she said, pushing him back on the bed as she climbed over him.
Her fingers made quick work of unbuttoning his shirt, but when her hand touched the front of his pants, he flipped her over. He lowered his hips against hers, watching her eyes darken as she felt him push into her through their clothes.
Smirking at the effect he knew he had on her, he shifted only to press one palm against her core, revelling in the way she groaned, her hips rising off the bed. His hands untied the strings holding up her shorts, pushing them down and then off along with her panties.
"You might want to hold on," he leered, slithering his way down her body. "And remember, Sienna's in the next room. Ten bucks you can't hold back your moans."
Cassie would have said challenge accepted but she was too busy biting the inside of her cheek as his tongue dived in. Those clever fingers of his kneaded her breasts, tweaking her nipples until she ached to have his mouth on the hard points.
Her hands found purchase on the sheets, grasping them as her body thrashed on the bed when he increased the pressure. Unable to hold back, despite her best efforts, Cassie buried her face in the pillow, but it wasn't enough as her muffled cries echoed across the room.
When she finally came down from the high it was to find him holding his hand out to her.
"Pay up," was all he said, smirking in that self-satisfied way she couldn't help but find sexy.
Not that she would ever tell him that. He had too many weapons in his arsenal already.
"Can I pay it in kind?" she asked with a sly glance, her hands cupping him through his pants.
He appeared to give that some thought before smiling down at her.
"I told you," he affirmed, reaching for her hand to entwine their fingers. "This is one game we both can win."
With that they both lunged for each other, clothes flying across the room. They got lost in their world, which was full of beautiful colors and sounds that were unique to them.
