DINNER & DIATRIBES. . . JACKSON AVERY!

chapter thirty-nine: all you need is love

The only good thing about Valentine's Day is the amount of chocolate floating around.

Along with confetti, streamers, and every other decoration April could find while shopping for the hospital. Every available surface has something on it about it being Valentine's Day, whether it's a stuffed animal or a card. Briar is trying really hard not to be hateful about it.

"We're gonna get a zillion Valen-trauma's." April tells her, Alex and Jackson, trying to rally them up. Briar just forces a smile for her, flipping to a different chart in her hands. "I bet a few of them will be good surgeries for our boards."

"Well, it's not St. Patty's Day. Those are good traumas–car crashes, bar brawls." Alex tells them.

"Pfft. The Fourth of July is where it's at." Briar scoffs, shaking her head. "Drinking and fireworks? Never a good mix. Fun for us though."

"Yeah, Valentine's Day is all swallowed engagement rings and guys who threw out their backs getting laid."

"Speaking from experience there, Alex?" Briar quips, winking at April when she starts giggling. "But I'll never understand the ring in a drink proposal. It just feels lazy. Like, make it personal, or at least try not to immediately kill your fiance."

"It's all lame." Alex says, and Briar hums along.

"You're just bitter 'cause you don't have a date." April tells Alex, who shakes his head in denial.

"First of all, Valentine's Day isn't for having a date with some chick." He starts, all of them looking at him with amusement. "No, it's for macking the chicks who don't have dates. Besides, I have to study for my boards."

"Ugh, don't even mention them to me right now. I'll actually be sick." Briar complains, because she's so tired of studying for them. Callie has long since stopped helping her study, insisting that she's all set for the ortho boards, but she's still studying for both specialties and hating herself throughout.

"You're studying already?" Jackson asks, and Briar gives him a confused look. It's February. They have less than three months until their boards.

"Of course." April tells him. "You're not?"

Jackson clears his throat, looking uncomfortable. "No, I am."

Well, that's an obvious lie.

Before Briar can say anything–she has so many teasing comments to make–Owen comes up to them, looking as done with life as ever. Briar just raises an eyebrow at him, completely unimpressed by him and his attitude.

"Who put up all this?" He sighs, frowning at the decorations surrounding them.

"I did!" April tells him proudly. "Well, research shows that a cheerful environment reduces stress and helps patients to feel more–"

She's cut off by Owen crushing one of her paper decorations–a teddy bear holding a heart. He walks away after that, and Briar shakes her head in disbelief. What a child.

"Ignore the sourpuss." She tells April, reaching over and giving her one of the chocolate hearts. "It looks great, and it's good for morale. He's just miserable."

"Thanks." April says softly, before sighing. "Do you think I should take it down?"

"Not a chance." Briar says firmly. She hates the holiday, but other people love it, and hospitals need any cheer they can get. "I'm sure patients will love it. Speaking of, where are they? Surely someone's tried an awful proposal by now!"

"Are you guys planning on standing around all day?" Owen snaps, appearing back at the nurses desk.

"We're grabbing charts." Briar defends the group, frowning at the trauma surgeon. "Everyone is taken care of. It's not like someone's bleeding out while we stand around and gossip."