Serenity | Fragile Hearts

chapter 21- new beginnings

Aila

It was the morning and I was currently rushing out the door for my "interview" with Ronan. This morning hadn't gone as planned, leaving me with no childcare, a grumpy toddler, and a tired mama.

It was early in the morning, about 7am. I held a sleeping Sofie in my arms as I walked through the icy sidewalk. The temperatures were dropping here in Chicago, and as much as I loved the season- it could get very cold at times.

I followed the google maps directions he had sent me last night after our call. Thankfully, it wasn't too far. 

Before I knew it the tall building got bigger and bigger as I approached it. I was confused. This didn't look like a hospital at all. Nonetheless, I continued to follow along. As I approached the all too familiar steps and grabbed the door, my mouth dropped.

The last time I'd been in the lobby, it was dull, dark and mysterious. But it was as if fall threw up on it because the whole lobby was decorated in different shades of oranges and browns. It was marvelous.

The security guard escorted me to the counter where I was met with a lady. "Good morning miss, how can I assist you?" she asked with a demeaning tone while eyeing my sleeping daughter.

"I have a meeting with Ronan."

She nodded and continued to type. "He's expecting you. Take the elevator to floor 28."

I nodded. "Thank you."

"Mhm."

I made my way to the elevator and clicked on 28. There were 58 floors. What is this? The Empire State Building?

As expected, this wasn't your average elevator, because in 10 seconds we were on the 28th floor. As the doors opened and I couldn't believe my eyes.

It was an entire medical floor.

State of the art beds lined the walls, with nurses stations in the middle. There weren't any supply carts or spare beds in the hallways like you see in the movies. Everything was cleaned and organized accordingly.

Why was there a medical floor in the middle of a random building?

A nurse stopped me, sensing the confused look on my face. She approached me with a warm, bright smile. "Hi, how can I help you?"

"Hi I'm looking for Ronan?"

She nodded. "I can take you to his office." I followed her down the long hall to another hall, with a series of doors.

"And who is the little one in your arms?" She smiled softly.

I smiled back. "It's my daughter, Sofie." She looked shocked. "You look too young to be a mother! You have wonderful genes hun. And your daughter, she's absolutely adorable." she said softly.

"Thank you so much." I liked this woman. She was the first kind person I've met all morning.

"And here it is." she smiled softly.

I looked at the name plate on the door.

Ronan Astor, MD F.A.C.S

Holy shit he was stacked. I shifted Sofie's weight onto one side of my arm and knocked lightly.

"Come in."

I opened the door and for the umpteenth time today, my mouth dropped. His office was immaculate. Floor to ceiling windows lined 3 walls of the office. To the right was his desk, couch, and mini kitchen. The left were two doors which probably led to his personal bathroom.

I turned to him quickly, embarrassed of my gawking.

He had a similar body build to Grey. Tall as hell and muscular. He wore black scrubs with a long sleeve underneath, from which I could see some of his tattoos peeking through. He was definitely intimidating.

His bright smile greeted me. "Good morning Aila! I'm very glad you could make it. I see you brought a small assistant with you as well?" he laughed out.

I smiled. "Morning! And yes. Unfortunately my babysitter fell through today. I felt bad waking her but I'm thankful she's sleeping now." I told him as I readjusted her in my arms. Her tiny face was now resting on my neck with her arm wrapped around me. She was comfortable.

He started right from the beginning. "So here's the deal. This hospital is mainly a trauma hospital. You'll see all sorts of things here. As far as hours, that's completely up to you. You can work 3 12-hour shifts, 5 8-hour shifts, I don't care you pick. Since you're a new grad, I'll have you shadow a few of the different wings and the nurses to get a feel of what each is like. As far as pay, you don't have to worry at all. All of the nurses have a minimum salary of $150,000. It's much higher than the norm, but again, this is a special hospital. Of course, you can work overtime, but that's completely up to you."

My eyes almost flew out of my face when he mentioned the salary. What the fuck. That's insane. That's life changing money for Sofie and I.

He continued on. "This is a lot to take in, and so if you're unsure, you can think about it. If you want it, it's yours." he said with a small smile.

I nodded and smiled without hesitating. "Thank you so so much for the opportunity, Ronan" I told him as tears lined my eyes. I couldn't believe this one bit.

He stood up and made his way around the desk over to me. I went to stand up, but he bent down and gave me a slight hug on my shoulder.

"I know this is last minute. But I can have someone show you around for a little and meet your boss. Sofie can sleep in my office. I'm going to be here helping my daughter with applications. She'll be safe."

"Oh, no I don't want to cause you any trouble. It's completely fine."

"Nonsense. Not at all. I'm sure my daughter would love to meet her as well." He reassured me.

I contemplated it for a second. And gave in. I was on the same floor, and knew where his office was. I would check in on her. I thought about what would happen when she woke up and didn't see me, but she seemed to feel comfortable in Ronan's presence from the other night, so I ultimately let her stay.

I placed her on the couch with her blanket and made sure she was comfortable.

"I can have a nurse show you where the scrubs are and you can get set!"

I nodded. "Sounds perfect!" I smiled. I was very excited.

The same nurse from before showed me to the locker room. I expected it to be one you see from greys anatomy, but again, it didn't disappoint. The lockers were all cabinets with small finger pads on the front to lock them. The wall of scrubs wasn't a messy cart left with only oversized scrubs, but packed FIGS scrubs.

Yeah, you know the $90 scrubs that I dreamed about.

She grabbed me an XXS pair of scrubs and showed me to the bathroom to change. Thank god I wore sneakers today, so the outfit didn't look completely out of style. I threw my clothes into one of the empty lockers.

I came out and she smiled. "Honey, you look amazing." she beamed.

"I'm gonna take you to Dr. Cavalaro, who you'll be shadowing." she said with a smile.

I nodded and followed her.

"And here's his office!"

I looked to the name in the front of the door.

Stephen Cavalaro, MD F.A.C.S

I took a deep breath and knocked.
—————————————————————
A/N I hope you guys enjoy!
I hope you all are doing well! :) I apologize for the lack of updates, but I promise they're coming !

a few updates:

I'm going on a trip soon ! :) and will def have time to write on the long flights!

I've already started planning the third book to this series!

Additionally, one of my good friends on here @bookishshayla just released another book!! It's called "Moonlight"! please go check it out! You won't be disappointed!

Hope you all enjoy! :) don't hesitate to vote or leave a comment! <3

-Alayna