Nightingale (Sequel to Solider Boy)

Six

"So," Bucky asked once Melody was settled at the kitchen table with a large cup of coffee. "What  have the last few years been like for you?"

"Much the same as they were before," she replied, blowing on her drink before taking a sip. "I'm still working at West Memorial, still teaching interns and they all still hate me."

"What about that one that you thought would do well In your specialty?"

"Jones is still showing amazing promise. He could be a great surgeon one day and that's no small thing."

"You really think so?"

"Takes one to know one."

Bucky grinned. "Really love the modesty."

 "I know I'm great at what I do and it's stupid to pretend otherwise." Melody said with her usual bluntness. "I'll never get my research grant if I downplay my intelligence."

"Research grant?"

"I've wanted to do it since I was kid, fund a research project that can eventually be moved to a clinical trial. I'm not sure what I want to do yet, but I know I want to be part of something that can turn into a long-term treatment for some  serious aliment."

"Lots of those to choose from," Bucky commented and Melody smiled sadly. 

"Isn't that the truth?"

"So what else is new besides brainstorming ideas for the eventual clinical trial?"

"Well," Melody sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "I was offered a  slot in the pediatric fellowship program."

"That's amazing! How'd you take the time off in while being a Fellow though? After all the work involved applying and training-."

"I didn't say I applied," Melody corrected, "I I said it was offered."

"That's unusual, isn't it?"

"Unusual circumstances."

"Define unusual?"

"Well, I was visiting a co-worker after a shift, she'd been admitted for labor and delivery late that night and suddenly took a turn for the worse. Baby's heartbeat was barely beating and  a storm was brewing outside so traffic was slow. The nearest on-call pediatric surgeon was still thirty minutes away so I suited up and called Derrick to walk me through the procedure."

"You'd never performed it before?"

"Not since my residency while I was trying to pin down where I wanted to specialize." Melody shuddered. "I never want to do that again."

"So that's why they offered you the fellowship?"

"Yep but I turned it down, one specialty is enough." 

"Who's Derrick? Was he the friend you made?" He was only guessing but he figured it was fairly on the mark. Melody didn't refer to her coworkers by their names, just their titles. 

Melody's face turned a deep shade of red. "Um no, that was Miranda Richards; the woman I operated on." 

"Oh? Then who's Derrick?" 

If possible, she turned an even darker shade of red. "My ex-boyfriend."

Bucky tried to ignore the sensation of a stone dropping into his stomach when Melody said that. "Oh," he said lamely, unsure of what else to say. "So you've been dating too, since..."

"For a while," Melody said, glancing up at him, but only briefly.

"What happened?" He asked before he could stop himself. Bucky wasn't sure what her answer would be, part of him was afraid of it, but he still knew he had to know. She wasn't with him now, that part was clear, but she had been and Bucky wanted to know why. He wanted to know what made Derrick special enough to capture Melody's attention, even if it had only been for a while.