The Pembrokes

(Cassandra) Fern Pembroke

A/N: This is a work of fiction.  Please don't take the following to heart.  I'm not against the name Cassandra, in fact I like it very much.  So, advance apologies to readers whose first or middle names happened to be Cass, Cassie or Cassandra.

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 ~ (Cassandra) Fern Pembroke  ~

Cassandra Fern Pembroke preferred to be known by her middle name because she found Cassandra to be too old fashioned. Furthermore, in her mind, it didn't suit her style even one bit. She always reminded her family that Cassandra was a popular name in Medieval Britain and during the 1950s in the US.  She could not understand why her parents chose that stuffy name for her. While some high school friends of hers still called her Cass or Cassie, all those who got to know her from College onwards only knew her as Fern. Many even thought that it was her first name since she was known professionally as Dr. Fern Pembroke.

Fern came from a family of doctors. She was trained in Harvard Medical School as a Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon. The Pembroke family owned the Xavier Pembroke Private Hospitals (The Pembroke) which was started by her grandfather, a well-known Cardiologist, the late Dr. Xavier Thomas Pembroke, who went on to head the hospital that bore his name. Fern's grand-uncle, Xavier's younger brother, the late Dr. Edgar Alistair Pembroke was a Psychiatrist. Fern's Nephrologist father, Dr. Richard Maximilian Pembroke, Xavier's third and surviving son, currently served as the Chief of Staff and President/CEO of The Pembroke. Fern's mother, Dr. Georgina Spencer, was a Gastroenterologist in the same hospital before she passed away when Fern was a little girl.  Her father didn't remarry.  Fern only knew her mother from the photographs and video clips left in both her father and her possession.

Fern and Jamie where roommates since their freshman year. The former in Medical School and the latter, in Law School. Both had a third roommate, Erin Stanton, also a medical student. All three of them got along very well so they decided to move out from the dormitory to a shared apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts after their first semester. The place was procured by Leon Carrington for his precious youngest daughter. So the apartment was closer to Harvard Law School. The other two medical students had to commute a short distance to their faculty and hospitals but they didn't mind at all. They loved living in vibrant Cambridge, MA and they also loved living together with each other since they got along like sisters.

Fern had always been Jamie's wingman and shoulder to cry on since the first year they got to know each other. They both came from affluent families and had much in common, so over time, they naturally ended up as best of friends. They were equals in terms of looks, fashion sense, family backgrounds and wealth etc. At 5' 7", Fern was just a couple of inches shorter than Jamie. They both have Dark Brown Eyes, Fern has long raven hair as compared to Jamie's short natural black hair which she colored at times into different shades of blonde, red, blue, burgandy and brown depending on her mood and the colors in fashion.

When Fern first knew Jamie, she was totally annoyed by the latter's directional dyslexia. She thought that Jamie was a show off and spoilt brat who just wanted to seek attention from everyone. As time went by and they got to know each other better, Fern finally accepted that Jamie was indeed hopeless in her directions and she wasn't just acting lost to get sympathy or attention. Without both of them knowing, Fern had also developed feelings for Jamie, though very slowly, little by little and not in the same magnitude and intensity like JJ, Charlotte or Gretchen who fell for her best friend rather quickly.