Lincoln Hospital

Chapter Nine

"I'm just saying, Thene, you two have danced around each other for almost three weeks now. When are you going to get over it and call him out on his asshole move?" Sabine asked in a low voice one morning as they followed behind Webster and the other interns. They were doing their routine rounds and next for them to see was Sebastian, the little boy who'd stolen her heart the first time she'd met him.

"I'm not, Sab. It was a momentary lapse in judgement on my part and I won't let it happen again. All dealings between C—Dr. O'Reilly and I will be strictly professional. I need him to be my teacher; nothing more." Sabine had switched from team get-Cian-in-Athena's-pants to team I-want-to-kill-him-for-hurting-Athena in a matter of seconds after finding out about what had happened in the on-call room. It'd taken everything Athena had to talk her down and get her to cease and desist before she hunted Cian down and cut off his balls like she wanted to. That was what Athena loved about Sabine, her fire and her loyalty. She couldn't have asked for a better best friend.

"Good morning, Sebastian, Mrs. Harris," Webster greeted them as they stepped into the five-year-old's room. They had been rounding on the Harris family every morning and Athena had formed a tight bond with Sebastian. He was the sweetest little boy, a real sports nut and had a love of the outdoors. Mrs. Harris was a widow; her husband had been killed the year before in a car wreck. She spent every waking hour at the hospital, only taking a break when she needed to tend to some matters at their home. Athena couldn't imagine what the stress of worrying about her child dying was doing to her, especially on the heels of the fresh grief of losing her husband.

She often snuck in on her down time to bring Sebastian new coloring books or play a quick game of Crazy Eight's, his favorite card game. He somehow had it in his head that it was actually poker and she didn't have the heart to set him straight.

"Good morning, Dr. Webster. Hi, team," Mara Harris greeted them the same way she did every morning. The toll of waiting on a new heart for Sebastian was starting to show in the dullness of her hair and the worry lines around her eyes.

"Athena!" Sebastian exclaimed when he saw her. His voice lacked its usual enthusiasm and his coloring was more gray than usual. He was growing more and more sick by the day and if they didn't get him a heart soon; Athena feared their worst nightmare was going to come true.

"Hey, little man," she greeted him. He grinned but it didn't quite reach his eyes this time, a fact that broke her heart. He was only five, he should be out playing t-ball and chasing frogs—not lying in a hospital bed waiting on a miracle just so he could live.

"Can we play poker later when you're hiding from work?" he asked, earning her a raised eyebrow from Webster. She laughed nervously and twirled a lock of her hair. Dick snickered and she wanted to kick him.

"When I'm on my break, yes we can definitely play poker." she corrected him.

"Maybe instead of teaching children to play poker you should be worrying about their medical care," a voice called out from the doorway. She knew it was him, she'd know that voice anywhere, despite her best efforts to forget he existed.

"Poker is code for Crazy Eights," she answered without meeting his eyes. If he wanted to think she wasn't prepped on Sebastian's case; let him. She'd answer any damn question he threw at her. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and paid attention to the update on Sebastian's care. When they were finished, she told Sebastian she'd be back to see him later. Since he was the last patient they had to round on, she used the free moment to escape into the unusually empty lab.

Damn him. He had a way of affecting her like no other. He'd made it clear he didn't want anything to do with her, so why did she care what he thought?