Athens Hospital Chapter One

Emily walked quickly down the sidewalk towards the main entrance to the hospital, her medical encyclopedia tucked under one arm and other hand occupied by her to-go milkshake which she sipped on occasionally. It was near-gone by the time she arrived at the nurse's station, so she tossed it into the trash and went to the staff locker room to tuck her book and purse out of sight in her locker, though sure to keep her cell phone in her pocket. She adjusted her form-fitting maroon scrubs one more time in the mirror, made sure her nametag was facing outward, and tied her ebony hair up into a loose ponytail on her head. Soft, shorter strands fell free and around her face, making her huff. She never could remember to bring Bobby pins to hold those tendrils back. She turned on her heel and headed back out, clocking in to her nursing shift, and sat herself behind the station to read reports.

"Good morning, Catherine, Bridgette," Sabastion greeted the other nurses as he passed them, glancing up from his clipboard to give them a little nod. He completely missed the goodnatured little shakes of the head coupled by smiles he received in return, only catching the "Good morning, Doctor Panas"s he received in return. He stopped at the nurses's station and set his clipboard on the counter, taking a pen out of his pocket with a soft click noise as he scratched in a couple of notes. Noticing a glimpse of color behind the counter, his pale eyes darted up to see who he had missed, landing on the young medical student who had just taken up the seat. "Good morning, Emily," he greeted her as well, his words rolling with the slightest hint of a Russian accent that made only the oldest of the nurses swoon. He looked back at his papers and doubled checked the information on the form. "Do you know who I am seeing next?"

Emily looked up from the reports she was looking over both in old-fashioned files on the desktop as well as on the computer screen. She smiled at Sebastion with the doe-eyed admiration that any pupil would gladly give their idol. "Good morning! Um, yes, room B26, Me. Gates. He's complaining of abdominal pain and bruising on his left side." she explained, passing the file to him over the top counter. She watched him as he studied his own papers, unaware that She was staring until one of the other nurses nudged her. She coughed and grabbed her bag of medical tools and stood. "Dr. Panas? May I accompany you with your assessments for a bit? I need them for school..."

"Hm? Ah, yes, I suppose so," Sabastion agreed, almost as if it took him a moment to catch what she had said. Perhaps it had. He handed his clipboard to a nurse who was not as distracted as Emily and took the next one with a little smile of thanks, becoming a bit more serious as he looked over the chart. He motioned for Emily to follow him as he headed for room B26, still lost in his papers. He didn't seem to be ignoring her however as he spoke once again while they walked, "How many more hours was it you needed for your course?" He remembered she had told him about it before. When was that though? Walking in the halls like this? Coffee in the cafeteria? He wasn't sure. He definitely remembered thinking she had beautiful raven hair and eyes that sparkled like southern waters when she was excited though. "I feel like you are here so often- Is it not many more?"

"Not too many more, no," Emily said quickly as she grabbed her own clipboard and bag of tools up into her arms. She bumped the desk with her hip on her way around it and hissed between her teeth, but kept going. "About 20 hours left," she said as she caught up to him.

Sabastion looked away from his papers at the noise, giving her a calculating look. He pointed at her hip with his pen. "Too many more of those and you're going to make me have to give you an examination," he commented idly and turned back to the papers in his hand. "I'm sure it's rather odd to patients when their medical staff gets hurt. A bit like seeing a god bleed." He paused and hummed thoughtfully. "Perhaps I give us too much credit." He tucked his pen back into his pocket and the clipboard under his arm, turning his attention more fully to Emily as they walked. "Will you be spending all 20 hours at this facility?" he asked as he held out his free hand, offering to carry her bag for her. There was probably less risk of her hurting herself if she wasn't so worried about such things.

Emily's cheeks blazed a deep red at his mention of him giving her an examination. She started to say she was fine, that it was just an accident, but stuttered off when he asked about her hours and offered to carry her bag. Of course, she didn't know that's what he was offering to do, but rather that he was asking for something important. Had he missed something in his files? Did he want to see her notes? Her brain zipped wildly for a few split seconds before she fumbled to offer him her clipboard instead, her cheeks still pinked. "Um, yes, I had hoped to... I only need those hours and to finish my class and then I can begin my residency." she explained.

The doctor accepted her clipboard, although it was done with a singular eyebrow raise, followed by both raising in a surprised acceptance. He tucked it under his arm with his own. At least it was one less thing she had to fumble with, maybe it would help anyway. "Have you considered where you will do your residency? I know it is not usually done in the same facility as one does their hours."

Emily nodded. "I know it's not usually done either... But if I can get a good letter of recommendation from a doctor here advocating for me, the school should be able to let me Do it." She loved Athens Hospital, for more reasons than just doctor Panas. She had gotten used to the layout already, knew many of the long-term patients, and was friends with multiple nurses and other staff. Plus it was close to her home. The nearest hospital besides Athens was a little over an hour away and she didn't have a car. She was hoping to be offered a full time position there after her residency. They finally stopped outside of B26 and she looked at him.

"It is not usually done for a reason," Sabastion explained better, looking at her directly for the first time. "Varied experience makes for a better Doctor. Don't let a difficult step discourage you, Emily. You seem to me strong and smart enough to take on such a task." He found her clipboard and held it out for her to take again. "But if you need a recommendation, you may ask me if you wish. I am always glad to have such wonderful staff here."

Emily reached out and took her clipboard back shyly. She didn't know what to say to Sebastian other than, "thank you," for all of his kind words. She opened the door and let him in first and after a brief discussion and assessment with--thankfully--no clumsy hiccups from Emily, they emerged again together and she closed the door gently. "I'll get these orders for that x-ray to the nurses, Dr Panas..."

"Thank you. You did well in there," he commented, giving her an approving nod. "But you always do. You can count on nothing but praise from me when your review comes up." He paused a moment, and suddenly have her a heartbreakingly genuine little smile. "I think my review is supposed to be confidential from you." He lifted a finger and pressed it to his lips in a shushing motion. "Pretend I didn't say anything." He carried the clip boards back to the nurses station where she would fill out the request, checked them, scribbled his final notes and put away his pen again before once more handing them over. His face had once again become the relaxed, almost but not quite sad expression it usually had, the smile but a memory. It was a bit of a joke among the hospital that Dr. Panas' smile was a unicorn, as rare as it was seen.

Emily, having been confronted by that unicorn of a smile, was all blush and aflutter from it all the way back to the nurses station. She slid back down into her seat and twiddled her fingers while she waited on the finished orders and reports from him. She rubbed her face to try and make the warmth go away, and one of the other nurses noticed with a small laugh.

"You okay, Em?"

Emily looked up quickly and said, "huh? Oh, yes, I'm alright.... Just tired, I guess." she lied.

The nurse shook her head and clicked her tongue. "That roommate of yours still causing trouble, huh?"

Emily fidgeted a little in her seat and gave a nod. She hated talking bad about anyone ever, even if they caused her grief. This current roommate of hers, however, was causing her a ton of it. "Yeah... I'm at my wits' end..."

"Why don't you just kick him to the curb?" Brenda, the curvy, dark-skinned med nurse interjected.

Emily shook her head. "I can't do that... Technically I'm renting from him." She explained, fiddling with the pen cup in the corner of the desk. Her finger slipped and the cup tipped, sending pens and pencils rolling across the desk, and she scrambled with a yelp to clean them up.

Sabastion, who was receiving his next patient at the desk still, listened to the little exchange. It made him think of his own empty house a few blocks from the hospital. Perhaps he should consider a room mate? He wondered if anyone could even tolerate him. He had not had the experience Emily did with living with others after all. It would be awkward, wouldn't it? Since the death of his grandmother he had redone nearly the entire house, with the exception of the garden, and it was no secret he lived alone but no one had asked if he would have someone live with him- Perhaps he should wait for marriage? Was that something one did at his age? He pushed the thought aside and thanked the nurse who took his clipboard and swapped his forms with the next assignment before handing it back. When Emily tipped the cup, he frowned, watching a pen roll its way across the surface, stilling close to him. He picked it up to hand it back calmly. How had this girl managed to stay organized long enough to nearly make it to her residency? He sighed mentally but kept his body still so as not to offend. "Thank you," he told the nurses as a group as he set the pen back in Emily's cup. "I'll return in a bit." He tipped his head to them before turning and heading off down the hall, his head down as he reviewed the files on the way to the next room.

Emily watched him go, feeling a heavy sense of renewed embarrassment. She groaned and put her face in her hands. She had managed to make a fool of herself in front of her favorite doctor, her idol. She whined.

"You know," Brenda said with a mischievous grin as she leaned on the counter, "Doctor Panas lives all alone in that big house of his... Maybe he might need a roommate to brighten the place up a bit?"

Emily's head snapped up. "But... Wouldn't that be a violation of work relationships or something?" she asked, not quite remembering the name of the policy she could be violating.

Brenda laughed and shook her head. "No. Besides, who here needs to know anyway?" She swiveled her head to look around at the other nurses, who all playfully turned a blind eye--or ear-- to the conversation. "Now c'mon, Murphy, you're shadowing me today."

Emily nodded and grabbed up her bag of tools and clipboard, following Brenda down the hall the opposite way Sebastian had gone. She kept her head down and her mouth shut, hoping she didn't run into him. Still, as she worked, she couldn't help but ponder if maybe it wouldn't be worth the risk to ask him about being roommates.

Two hours flew by in the blink of an eye, or so it seems in the busy environment of a hospital. Even still, when ten o'clock came around following a twelve hour midnight shift, Sabastion was glad for the reprieve. As he handed in his last papers, he glanced down the halls, sad as usual to leave his patients but in desperate need for some rest. It was then that he remembered and, instead of shrugging off his coat, he leaned on his crossed arms on the nurses station, tilting his head a little. "Martha? Danny?" he asked the two nurses currently there. Martha was probably the eldest of the staff, her hair long since grey. Danny was a younger, overweight woman clearly past middle age. They both turned to him with attention. "How.. if one was looking for... How is it said.. How does one find... a room mate? If one is looking," he added to quantify it, but most of his statement and most of his tone was thoughtful. The two women looked at each other, hardly hiding knowing little smiles, but Sabastion only raised a questioning eyebrow at them, choosing not to comment on what that might have been.

"The paper is good for that, and I've seen a post board at Sophia's-" Martha answered. Seeing Sabastion's confused look, she quickly added, "The cafe in town."

"There's a bulletin board in the cafeteria as well," Danny offered. "If you're looking for someone in the hospital." Martha looked at her quickly, but Danny just gave her a 'what?' look and shrug. Martha gave her a narrowed eye look, but then they both looked back at Sabastion, who was watching the exchange with an expression that was a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

In the end, the doctor nodded, the motion small and slow as he took in the information. "Thank you. That was very helpful." The nurses nodded quickly as they watched the doctor shrug off his coat and fold it carefully over his arm. "I'll be leaving then. Have a lovely day, ladies." They shared waves as he walked away down the hall toward the employee lockers where he would turn in his coat and tools before grabbing his wallet and keys to return home. Perhaps he could get the ad written before he went to sleep, and submit it when he woke later that afternoon, or on his way to work the next day.

A few minutes following Sebastian's departure, Brenda and Emily came back to the nurses station, talking idly about the condition of a patient as they did. They exchanged files and Brenda signed Emily's work hours log for school, signalling the end of her short shift. She smiled at the nurses and started to clean up to leave. "Have a good day, ladies, I'll see you all tomorrow... I'm off to look at listing for new roommates, apparently." she grumbled.

"Ah! Interesting you should say that!" Danny breathed excitedly, leaning on the desk with an exaggerated knowing smile. "You know I just heard the most interesting thing-"

Martha swatted her lightly before turning her attention to Emily. "Dr. Panas just none-to-subtly mentioned he was going to start looking for someone. Man like that?" She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, giving a little shrug. "Probably won't need to look long...."

Undeterred by the swat, though she did pout and rub her arm, Danny gave a sage nod at Martha's words before her grin returned. She looked at Emily, wondering if the girl would take the suggestion or be too intimidated. She was such a sweet girl, her doe-eyed looks at her superior really was rather precious to watch. It was like a real life soap opera!

Emily's eyes flitted back and forth between the two nurses, and she heard Brenda laugh lightly behind her. She blinked. "He's actually looking for a roommate?" she asked in disbelief. While intimidated by the idea of possibly living with such a superior doctor, she also agreed with Martha that an ad like his wouldn't be out there long before someone else took it. This might have been her only chance to take it. She quickly grabbed up her things. "Is he still in the building??" she asked hurriedly, already walking away towards the locker rooms. She heard one of them shout after her about him being in there already, and she almost skipped to get there. She felt sick with anxiety, but she was also excited. She reached for the door just as someone else was coming through it from the inside. It swung outwards at her, and she just narrowly avoided getting hit in the head with it, though her shoulder and various work items were not so lucky. Her bag of tools, clipboard, and papers went raining into the locker rooms, and she cradled her shoulder with a wince, but it didn't stop her. "S'cuse me!" She said to the orderly who'd hit her. She moved around him and into the locker rooms, looking around for Sebastian.

She didn't have to look far. At the noise of her items hitting the floor, Sabastion had stepped out from behind the lockers to see what the commotion was. Seeing it was, again, Emily, he frowned, then frowned at her items, then back at her. "You really should be more careful, Emily," he admonished gently. He slipped his keys into his pants pocket, his coat already in his locker, then knelt to start helping her pick up her things, despite the fact that that is not what she was doing. "What on earth would have you in such a hurry you can not be cautious-"

"Roommate!" Emily suddenly interrupted him. She blushed, realizing how loud and rude that may have sounded, and shrunk back in on herself a little bit, rubbing her sore shoulder. She coughed awkwardly and said more quietly, "I heard... You are looking for a roommate... I would like to apply for the space.." She shifted a little and then moved to help him finish picking up her things.

Sabastion paused in picking up her things to look at her after the outburst. When she explained more, he opened his mouth to answer, then paused, and closed it. Looked at the door behind her, then back at her, then the door, then returned to picking up a few small items from the floor. "I suppose it was no secret, but I didn't expect to hear back to quickly," he admitted as he stood and handed over the things he had gathered. "I had not prepared an ad, I do not know what type of person I had hoped to meet... but if you wish to see the space I had in mind, you may accompany me to my home?" He watched her, the offer posed as more of a question than a statement.

Emily took her things back from him gently, and looked him in his face. Her own brightened at his offer, that bright-eyed smile that he and others enjoyed, and she nodded eagerly. "I would like that very much!" She said, but kept her volume reigned in. She was all too glad that they were currently alone in the locker room.

The corners of his mouth quirked almost imperceptibly, but he nodded, then motioned to the lockers. "I'll wait outside when you are ready. We can walk, it isn't far." And with that, he left her to finish getting ready to leave. He found a bench out front the front of the hospital and took a seat, laying is arms across the back as he closed his eyes and tilted his face to the sun to enjoy the warmth. Well, finding a potential room mate had been easier than he thought but- Remembering Emily's face he felt his heart pick up slightly and he mentally shook his head. She might hate it, for whatever reason. There was no guarantee she wanted to be there. And besides, she was coming to look only, and she was curious about the space, not his company. There was no need to be nervous. She would like it, or she would not, and he didn't need to think further than that for the moment. He lived close to the hospital she wanted to keep working at, and he was someone she sort of knew, of course she would at least want to look.

Emily, however, had to keep herself from dancing with joy. She had taken a chance and it had worked in her favor! She was grinning to herself like a child at Christmas, putting her nametag and other work items in her locker. She withdrew her purse and cell phone and pulled her long ebony hair out of its ponytail. After a quick check in the mirror to make sure she still looked presentable, she headed outside. She found Sebastian sunning on the bench, and she had to pause to admire him a moment. He certainly was handsome. She silently regarded the curves of his face and the shade of his hair, along with his long arms and adept hands. But it wasn't just his physical attributes She enjoyed; she thoroughly admired his intellect as well. He was an intelligent man and a skilled Doctor. He was everything She aspired to be as a medical professional. She bit her lip, swallowed down the butterflies in her stomach, and said, "Doctor Panas? I'm ready."

Sabastion gave a little start at her voice, having dozed off slightly while waiting on the bench. A few blinks at her and he seemed to come back to himself. He waved a hand at her. "Sabastion is fine," he said absently before standing from the bench. "It is just a few blocks. I must apologize in advance, it is an older house, but I've done my best to keep it well maintained. That doesn't change the exterior though..." He gave her that same little quirk at the corners of his mouth before turning a bit to imply she should join him, then led the way to his home. BotO Sebastian's House


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Blood of the Olympians
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