Knots

Where I Leave You.

07. "Where I Leave You."

"Waking up every day and loving someone who may or may not love us back, whose safety we can't ensure, who may stay in our lives or may leave without a moment's notice, who may be loyal to the day they die or betray us tomorrow , that's vulnerability."
-Brene Brown

7:30 A.M

REGGIE SIMON

"Today," Thomas began, his eyes wandering over the five interns before coming to a halt on Reggie's, "you interns will assist Chief Tucker with a surgery of her own explanation. You are to meet her in the board room for a breakdown of today's proceedings, as well as the parts you all will play in assuring its success."

"I'm confused Doctor Avery," Reggie noted, his hand raised while the others stared in curiosity.

"How so Doctor Simon?"

"Why can't you explain the proceedings of the surgery, you're a brain surgeon, and why does it require all of our help? Shouldn't we be on rounds instead of putting all of our time into one surgery?"

Despite Reggie's intentional bitterness towards his superior, Ku offered him a brief thumbs up; while the other four simply nodded in agreement.

"Excellent question, but as I said Chief Tucker will explain it to you when you arrive."

"But-" Reggie began, but was almost immediately hushed by Thomas.

"You all are dismissed, hustle down there; I don't want to be the reason you kept that woman waiting.

Reggie bit his lip in frustration, but grabbed his medical chart and proceeded down the trauma filled hallway none the less.

"This better be good," Ku noted as the gang made their way towards the room.

"I know right, what could Tucker want with us anyway?" Rosie asked.

"I don't know," Grace continued, "but that woman better have a good reason if she's costing us traumas."

Reggie and Andre however, remained quiet; both for completely opposite reasons. Reggie knew that Andre was doing his best to avoid Chief Combs, but when it came to avoiding Thomas, Reggie had it a thousand times worse. Friday night had ended on an awkward note, and his boss's reluctance towards telling him the details of the surgery only seemed to further prove that neither of them had let it go. However, despite Reggie's internal struggle of monologue, the door to the board room came all too soon; and none of the interns seemed willing to open it.

"Do we really have to go in there, last time I worked with Tucker she yelled at me; and if you guys haven't been able to tell I don't like being yelled at," Grace rambled.

"What are you, five?" Ku joked, finally pushing past the others and into the room; the rest of the interns reluctantly following behind her.

The room looked as it had during the tour Reggie had originally taken months ago: white walls, long brown table with dozens of wooden chairs, and a large white board; at which Chief Tucker stood scribbling things down in red sharpie.

"Sit down," Tucker noted, her voice flat and stripped of meaning; but the interns followed her instruction regardless.

"Now," the red head noted, before capping her sharpie and laying it flat along the table before her, "let's get down to business. I'm familiar with one of you; Doctor Grace assisted with a CTE on a ten year old boy who is now recovering along your daily rounds. However, myself being familiar with only one of you does not meet the mark in my book, therefore I've instructed Doctor Avery to let me take his golden-five off of his hands for a project of my own."