Open Heart One Shots (Choices)

Return to Dagger Mountain

Summary: Cassie whisks Ethan off for a romantic weekend, much to his discomfort and surprise.

"Grab your coat, leave a note, and run away with me."

Ethan Ramsey absently glanced up from the computer screen, his reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. The temporary annoyance at being disturbed faded from his blue eyes when he saw who it was.

"Who am I leaving a note for, and why are we running away?" he asked nonchalantly, turning back to the screen to finish replying to an email.

After almost three years together, he was well used to his girlfriend's grandiose statements, often designed to get a rise out of him.

Cassie Valentine swiveled his chair around and leaned in until her face was close enough for him to see the tiny blue-black flecks in her eyes. Her hands gripped either side of his chair, and she teased his lips with her tongue until he parted them slightly.

"Leave a note for whoever needs to know you'll be out of the office for a few days. And because we can."

He shook his head to clear the fog, somewhat disappointed to not receive a kiss. It took him a minute to realize that she'd already moved away and was reaching inside the corner closet for his winter coat and scarf.

"You know what I love about being an attending?" she said without turning around. "How I can take off after morning rounds if I don't have anything else going on. And not having to fill out time cards. That's gotta be the best deal."

Still confused, Ethan stood up, the coat she'd thrown at him clutched in his hand. She started to pack up his laptop, unplugging it from the docking station and unzipping his messenger bag to slip it inside.

"Cassie, will you please stop?" he said, exasperated. And then his eyebrows snapped together. "And no, you cannot just take off after morning rounds even if you're an attending. The day's work is just beginning, for Christ's sake. I taught you better than that."

When Cassie burst out laughing, he knew he'd been had. She hugged the laptop bag in her arms as she doubled over, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes.

"You're so easily riled, Dr. Ramsey," she said, her chest heaving as she tried to breathe through her laughter. "Check your watch, babe."

Ethan looked down at his wristwatch and saw it was after five o'clock. A quick glance at the twilight outside had him wondering where the day had gone.

"Oh," he said for lack of anything else to say.

"Oh, indeed. It's Friday, and we're off the clock for the next two days. Our bags are packed, and a car is waiting downstairs to whisk us away for a ski getaway. Don't ask questions; just go on this adventure with me." She arched one brow and stared at him intently, holding out her hands as fists. "Red pill or blue pill?"

And that's how Ethan found himself sitting in the back seat of a town car. At the same time, Cassie bubbled excitedly about their plans to return to Dagger Mountain.

"Rodney reserved the same penthouse suite," she said. "I want to try the Old Serpentine Trail. I was bummed I couldn't go with you last time. Maybe we can visit the thinking rock, you know, for Picta."

"I don't know why you hired a car service," Ethan grumbled. "We could've taken my car. It's a bit of a drive, and we probably should've left early tomorrow rather than risk dark country roads at night. We don't even have skis or helmets or...."

Cassie ignored most of his diatribe. "That's why god invented ski rentals. And I never said we were driving to New Hampshire.

Ethan realized what she meant by that when the car turned towards Logan Airport rather than the interstate and drove through a security gate shortly after. He remembered coming here once before when they took a private jet to Ines's wedding in Hawaii.