You Choose Family

Chapter 2

Lauren

In the break room, Dr. O'Connell was sitting, eating his lunch. His black reusable lunch bag was sitting in front of him, blocking me from seeing what he brought. I didn't have time to make something new for lunch, so I just ended up packing a bunch of snacks as my lunch, a small bag of chips, a few fruit snack pouches, oranges, apples, and a small bottle of water.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" I ask, pointing to the chair across from Dr. O'Connell's seat. He shakes his head, me sitting down across from him. He smiles, his smile almost brighter than his eyes. His hair wasn't styled, his beard freshly trimmed. He had good posture, just looking at me, "Any big things today?"

"Had a surgery about an hour ago, and if I'm needed for an emergency surgery, I'm here all night," Dr. O'Connell says, "What about you? How's life in the emergency department?"

"This might be the day where I've had some of the craziest patients," I say, taking a bite of a fruit snack, "In the five years I've been here, I've never had patients purposely try and get attention, such as throwing themselves off beds, jumping up and down, and even running through the halls."

Dr. O'Connell begins to laugh, loudly, drawing the attention from some visitors to us. Most doctors and nurses aren't looking, but hearing laughter in the cafeteria is something that they should be used to by now.

"I should visit the ER more often, then," Dr. O'Connell says, taking a sip of water. We start eating in silence, causing the awkwardness to begin. I wanted to say something, I'm just not great with conversations, especially with handsome men, "So, I was thinking, you'd show me around Philadelphia."

"Did you move here recently?" I ask, Dr. O'Connell nodding, "Where from?"

"Boston," Dr. O'Connell says, "Born and raised."

I smirk lightly at him, taking another bite of a snack, this time, an apple. Dr. O'Connell smirks back at me as I begin chewing. Taking a bite of his food, Dr. O'Connell looks down, before looking up at me.

"Where are you from?" He asks, me thinking about my childhood. Growing up, my dad, Aunt Marie, and I were always working hard, as my dad worked during the day and my aunt worked at night.

"Ardmore," I say, nodding lightly, "Dr. Martin, our friend, Dr. Walsh, and I all grew up next door to each other."

"So the three of you are really close then," Dr. O'Connell smiles, me nodding in agreement, "Uh, so, because Dr. Winston and I are new, do you think you'd be able to show us around?"

I smile brightly. I knew this was his way of trying to ask me out, and it was a lot more kind than I ever expected. He begins to smile as I take another bite of a fruit snack.

"Of course, we would love to," I say, "Just set a date and we'll let you know."

"Dr. Andersen," I hear Dr. Wilson say, walking towards Dr. O'Connell and myself, sitting down next to me, "I see you've met Dr. O'Connell. He's one good doctor, that's for sure."

"Yes, I know," I say, "He helped my aunt with her broken rib, showed my dad how to take care of her, and was very patient with them."

Dr. Wilson begins eating, before I see Dr. O'Connell get a bit jealous over the fact that Dr. Wilson was sitting next to me. He doesn't know the history that we've had, nor is it any of his business. Dr. Wilson and I have been nothing but professional and good friends, him being the only person that won't judge me if I cry about a patient dying.

"Dr. Wilson is a great teacher, Dr. O'Connell," I say, Dr. O'Connell looking at me, "Most of the lessons I've gotten from this hospital have been from Dr. Wilson. If you need anyone to turn to, he's the guy."