Open Heart One Shots (Choices)

Chasing Cars

Summary: It's the first day of a new intern year, and Ethan's patience is at an all-time low.

Ethan Ramsey had just stepped off the elevator when he heard the familiar sounds of a Code Blue being called. He didn't have a patient on this floor with severe enough complications to warrant the Code team. So, he didn't pay any attention to it.

Mentally reviewing his to-do list, he strode towards the nurses' station to check in on the patient he'd assigned to Valentine and Emery. He'd already had two run-ins with the former but had yet to meet Harper's niece.

When they had worked on the emergency thoracotomy this morning, Ethan hadn't connected the fresh-faced intern in scrubs with the Valentine whose residency application had caught his eye. It was early days, but he had high hopes for her.

If only she didn't make him so damned nervous.

Both times they met today, something unspoken passed between them. It was unnerving for a man—an accomplished doctor—in his mid-thirties to feel this antsy about a woman, and an intern at that.

He shook his head at the unruly thoughts crowding his head. Shake it off, Ramsey.

Ethan was about to pull up the patient chart when panicked voices echoed from his patient's room. He immediately recognized one of them and, recalling the Code Blue, rushed down the hall to ensure the interns hadn't killed anyone.

"What the hell is going on in here, Rookie?" Ethan barked, glaring at the two interns.

"She was allergic to the antibiotics I prescribed," Valentine explained, breathless from performing chest compressions.

Ethan, who'd been expecting a dozen feeble excuses and was ready to blast through all of them, paused at the thoughtful response.

"Well... at least you're taking responsibility. Sometimes, patients don't know about their own allergies. That's why you always have to be cautious."

He was surprised at how calm he sounded. Unfortunately for Valentine, it didn't last long.

Despite the successful save, Ethan waited until Varma was gone before turning his ire back to the person who had let him down mere hours after promising they wouldn't.

"And you..." he folded his arms across his chest and glared at Valentine, "you need to have a long, hard think about whether or not you're ready to be here. It doesn't matter that it's your first day, or that you're still learning. Whether this girl lives or dies is on you."

"...I know, Dr. Ramsey."

Ethan could tell she was remorseful, but medicine was a life-or-death business. There was little room for error. The training wheels were off. He needed to make sure she understood that.

"You still have no idea what's wrong with her, and your first effort nearly killed her. This is the real world. No room for mista—"

"Hi! Dr. Ramsey? Sorry to interrupt."

"For the love of god, what now?"

He turned at the sound of a perky voice and nearly cursed at the sight of the petite intern. She lingered awkwardly in the doorway, staring at him as if he'd sprouted horns and a pitchfork tail. Great. Now he was the ogre.

"One of the nurses told me... that one of the other interns told them... that one of the doctors said..."

"Skip to the point," he said, impatience coloring his tone. He really hated the first day of intern year.

"Dr. Toussaint needs to see you urgently!"

Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled under his breath, "Lord save me from interns."

He threw Valentine a warning look. "Remember what I said, Rookie. Next time I see you, you'd better have solved this case."

The other intern jumped out of his as he swept out of the room and stomped toward the elevator bank.

What the hell did Toussaint want? If this was about the annual charity golf tournament again, Ethan had a few choice words about where the other doctor could shove his invitation.

The elevator was crowded, and Ethan muscled his way off when it stopped at Toussaint's floor. He marched down the quiet hallway where a few senior doctors had offices. At this time of day, most were in the clinic or department meetings.

That was fortuitous because he was not in the mood to make small talk. He was running behind, first because of the Code Blue and now this unplanned detour.

Why couldn't the man have just emailed him or sent a page instead of dispatching an intern?

"Ramsey?" Toussaint looked up in surprise at his perfunctory rap on the half-open door. "What can I do for you? Let me guess. You changed your mind about the golf tournament?"

"No," said Ethan, leaning against the doorjamb. "I heard you wanted to see me."

"Not me," said the other doctor, stepping out from behind his desk. "I'm on my way out, in fact. Are you sure they said it was me?"

Ethan thought back to the interaction on the fifth floor and the chance interruption that had cut short his blistering putdown. His eyes narrowed to blue steel. Maybe it hadn't been a coincidence after all, but a carefully planned tactic to protect a fellow intern.

"It was an intern, so who even knows if they got it right," Ethan muttered, raking a hand through his hair.

"Or you've just been hazed," Toussaint laughed, clearly enjoying his predicament.

Rather than argue, Ethan nodded and waved goodbye.

As he waited for the elevator, the shrill beep of his pager pierced the quiet. Ethan cursed under his breath, suddenly remembering he was supposed to be at a diagnostics team meeting.

On top of everything else, Naveen was acting strange—secretive, even. What was that about?

One thing at a time, Ethan told himself. Right now, his focus had to be on his patients and ensuring the interns made it through the first day in one piece. Naveen could wait a little longer.