#hmm. should i tag the games with the dialogue this is referencing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

commander-rahrah · 4 years

Text

RESIDENCY: SECOND CHANCES (AN OPEN HEART FIC II): PART ONE

Pairing: MC (Jordynne Holland) X Ethan Ramsey X Bryce Lahela; MC X Bryce; MC X Ethan. Please note that both pairings are present in this fan fiction — off & on, at the same times, and the relationships do ebb & flow. Please keep this in mind. Thank you.

Masterlist: Click Here

Chapter Rating: T

Word Count: 4100+

Description: What happens between the end of Book One, and the start of Book Two. Picking up from the ending of Open Heart Book 1 and the last chapter of Residency (masterlist posted above)

Disclaimer: Characters, storyline, and parts of the dialogue are taken from Pixelberry’s Choices. They fully own the characters, dialogue, backgrounds, etc. MC Jordynne’s background is my own creation, based loosely off of MC in-game’s personality and provided with more details.

Author’s Note: Annnnnnd we are back with Residency Part Two! Second Chances! I really wanted to explore what led to Ethan leaving for South America… For Two Months… Your girl hates a time jump and she hates even more when there are missed opportunities for angst and drama!!

As always any likes, reblogs, and comments are very appreciated. If you would like to be added/removed from the tag list please just let me know!

Taglist: @drakewalkerfantasy @owleyes374 @lahelable @mayar-mahdy @paisleylovergirl @nicquix @emilymay100 @octobereighth @llamasgrl @timmagicktoad @lilyofchoices @msjpuddleduck @mfackenthal @paulfwesley @ccolz88-blog @mindlessdreaminxo @jooous @lapisreviewsstuff @choicesarehard @themingdynasty @omgjasminesimone @hopelessly-shipper @binny1985 @perriewinklenerdie @jens-diamondchoices @indiacater @chasingrobbie @writingsbymissy @dimitriwife @tacohead13 @amy-choices @violinet

Previous Updates: Residency — Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten Part Eleven Part Twelve Part Thirteen Part Fourteen Part Fifteen Part Sixteen Part Seventeen Part Eighteen Part Nineteen Part Twenty

Previous Update

PART ONE:

Light trickled in through the office window — casting everything in a yellow light. The leather books lining the walls — some of the spines worn from years of referencing them. Framed diplomas and awards on the walls — not put up by him, but by the adamant advice of the board. They wanted to show off their decorated diagnostician.

Ethan Ramsey was leaning back in his desk chair, surveying the space around him carefully. Re-familiarizing himself with the space after his time away.

But now he was back.

His decision to come back was his own. But he was blindsided by everything else — Harper stepping down and Naveen replacing her was a shock. He was conflicted thinking of Naveen as administration now — hopeful that perhaps he had someone on his side now, but strained in wondering if it was really what the old man wanted.

And then there was Jordynne.

No — Doctor Holland, he corrected himself.

As he thought of her, images immediately began to play in his head like a slideshow. The previous night and how they had gotten lost in each other. The intimacy and passion and pleasure they shared in her tiny bedroom.

How intriguing it had been to see her personality and life displayed to him throughout her bedroom. The framed photos of her family on the walls, her perfectly organized, color coded bookshelf but her chaotic closet spilling at the seams. Ethan never thought he could be that excited at seeing someone else’s stacks of books on a nightstand — but with her he was.

And then their conversation. It wasn’t really a conversation — more of a quiet understanding. They both knew what it meant with him coming back to the hospital. But as he had opened his mouth to speak about it, Jordynne had silenced him with a kiss.

“Just be here with me — right now. Okay?” She had whispered through the kisses.

So that’s what he did.

But now — back in his pressed pants and lab coat, sitting in his office — his head was swimming. Going back to the way things were — he wasn’t sure how to do that. It was a lot harder now. A lot more complicated.

Ethan Ramsey had always been a man of conviction. Rules and regulations. Usually, they were his own rules, that were made with the official ones in mind that he would bend and twist as needed. So he had made a line for him and Jordynne — that wasn’t to be crossed. But they did — time and time again.

Now that she was going to be on the Diagnostics team, that line seemed more complicated than ever. He was her boss now — her direct report, not just her attending. But that also meant that they would be spending more time together than ever.

Why did Naveen put them in this situation?

Standing up abruptly, the chair behind him moved backward from being knocked by the backs of his knees.

Marching down the hallway, Ethan headed towards the elevator. He had a few glances at him in it — other staff whispering about him being back. But he had kept his arms crossed over his torso, keeping his guard up as to not initiate any conversations.

His leather dress shoes clicked down the hall as he made his way to the Chief of Medicine’s office. The door was already open.

“Ahh, Ethan. It took you longer than I anticipated to come see me up here.” Naveen spoke as he stepped away from hanging up a frame on the wall. He stepped back, putting his hands on his hips and looked at Ethan with a smile.

“I needed to process.” He stepped into the room, his hand hovering on the doorknob.

Naveen noticed, “Close the door.” The pair shuffled towards his desk and sat on opposite sides of it.

Ethan glanced over to see the frame he had been hanging — it was the pair of them, accepting an award. The same photo that was hanging on his living room wall.

“So, my friend, what is it your processing?”

“Why you’re in that chair.”

“Because,” He thought for a moment — his finger moving over his moustache, “Because we need to make sure that Edenbrook can continue to do good things. Harper’s heart wasn’t in it, anyone could see that. So, we needed to make sure that someone who knew how good this place is took this chair.”

“I— I just never thought you would be administration.”

Naveen let out a low belly laugh, “Me neither. But a few days ago, I had also accepted my fate that I was going to be a cadaver. You just never know.”

“Hmm,” Ethan grunted.

“That’s not what’s really bothering you.” His mentor had always known how to read him — he should have known better.

He let out a sigh — hesitating before finally speaking, “I really wish you considered it more before you decided to put Dr. Holland on the diagnostics team.”

Naveen’s eyebrows rose, “You think I didn’t think it through? Is there another resident you would rather have on your team?”

“No — I, of course not.” He shook his head, scoffing, “I don’t want to work with any of those imbeciles.”

“So Dr. Holland is the correct decision.”

“Yes. No. It’s—“

“Complicated?” Naveen offered with a smirk.

Ethan let out another heavy sigh, “Yes.”

“Ethan — I thought it would be less complicated for you by making the final decision. I selected her — not you. And I have my own reasons for doing so.” He leaned back in his chair, studying him, “She’s damn good.”

“She is.” He didn’t miss a beat.

“So you agree. Perfect.”

Ethan stumbled on his words, “I— she — we,”

A chuckle escaped Naveen, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so flustered before.”

For a moment, he dropped the act. “I just thought that with me coming back — it would be different. You are healthy again, so there isn’t a secret case. She’s a resident now, not an intern. But now — she’s on my team, she’s my direct report. Distancing myself from her — how is that going to work now?”

His thick eyebrows furrowed with worry, “You want to distance yourself from her? Do you really think that will work?”

No.

He answered in his head. When he saw her down the hallway that morning it had made his heart flutter. The smallest of things, even on the off chances of seeing her — the way she tightened her ponytail, when he got a whiff of her perfume, her quick jabs back when he got sarcastic, the way the corner of her eyes stretched when she laughed.

“Maybe.” He said out loud.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease...”

A dark-haired man was sitting stunned on a chair in the sterile hallway — his hands folded carefully onto his lap as he processed.

Jordynne stood in front of him, a clipboard clutched to her chest as she looked between him and through the room’s window at the woman she had just diagnosed. She had been observing her and doing tests for the majority of the morning.

“Can — can it be cured?” He stuttered.

“No,” she said simply — a sad smile spreading across her face. “But it can managed and treated.”

He looked up at her, his eyebrows furrowing a little less. “I — I have no idea what to do. My dad dealt with all this stuff for her and now—,”

Jordynne slid into the chair next to him, her body angled towards him a little. “I know it's a lot to take in. But we can discuss treatment options, pain management.”

A grateful smile spread across his face, “That — that would help. Thank you.”

“How about we get you a coffee, and I’ll get paged once your mother wakes up?” She offered.

With a nod, the pair stood up and made their way to the cafeteria. Jordynne grabbed a coffee for the man, and a green tea for herself — she knew better by now than to drink the cafeteria’s attempt at caffeine.

They settled into a table near the window — and they took a moment to watch the pedestrians strolling by.

“So, what can we do? For my mom?” He broke the silence after taking a long sip of his coffee.

Jordynne wrapped her fingers around her own cup — warming up her fingers. “Honestly, one of the best things she can do is quit smoking. But we can start her with an inhaler — a combination of steroids and bronchodilators. If it progresses, she may need oxygen therapy… or surgery.”

Her patient’s son’s eyes went wide as he listened to the information, “Could it lead to cancer?”

“She has a higher risk of developing lung cancer.” She stated simply, her eyes studying him.

“That’s how we lost Dad…” He looked out of the window — suddenly looking lost.

“I’m sorry, Justin.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek.

“Don’t be. You’ve nothing to be sorry for.” His mouth spread into a smile — it was nice. “Besides, I would be completely clueless about all of this if it weren’t for you. You’re very intelligent.”

“Oh, thank you,” Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the compliment. “I’m just doing my job.”

“Well, you are very good at it. I couldn’t imagine, doing something like this.” He pointed up, indicating to the many floors of patients above them.

“What do you do?”

“I work at a marketing firm.”

“That sounds exciting.”

“Ha,” He let out a dry laugh, “It’s different than this for sure. I sit in a cubicle and stare at a computer all day.”

Jordynne crinkled her brows, “But you like it, right?”

He thought for a moment before nodding, “Yeah, yeah I do.”

“Then that’s what matters...” But her voice trailed off as she watched Ethan step up to the coffee station nearby. She could hear the mutter of Justin’s voice in front of her — but couldn’t make out any of the words.

Should she say something to him? Would it be more weird if she didn’t say anything at all?

“Dr. Ramsey, hi?” Her voice was uncertain as she watched him nervously pour creamer into his travel mug.

“Dr. Holland!” He jumped at the sound of her voice — his open mug spilling onto his dress shirt. “Ow!” He winced as the hot coffee split on him.

“Ohmygosh,” She got up quickly and crossed over to him. Without thinking about it, she grabbed a handful of napkins and started plotting his blue dress shirt.

Ethan watched her for a moment before he stepped back with a cough, “It’s quite alright, Dr. Holland. I can take it from here.”

She stepped back embarrassed — realizing what she was doing. Looking over her shoulder she remembered where she was. “Dr. Ramsey, this is Justin Ramirez — Mrs. Ramirez’s son, my patient in 515.”

He finished wiping his hands on a napkin before crossing over and putting his hand out to shake. “Sorry to meet you in these circumstances,” They shook hands for a moment, “I can assure you that your mother is in great care with Dr. Holland.”

“Thanks, I’ve seen that.”

Her face went pink at the compliment as she stood awkwardly near the table — unsure if she should sit or stand. She wasn’t really sure how to act right now. “We’re just reviewing treatment plans.” She blurted out.

“Right...,” He looked between the two of them, his blues eyes scrutinizing, “Well make sure you save the time to explain it to the patient too, Dr. Holland.” With a nod, he tightened the hold on his travel mug before turning on his heel and heading out the cafeteria door.

“Sorry about that — I,”

“No worries, I—“ But Justin trailed off, looking over her shoulder.

Jordynne jumped in her chair a little as she felt someone grab onto her shoulder. Straining her neck, she looked up the see Bryce — his mouth upturned in his usual wide smile. “Hey gorge—,” But he stopped himself as he realized she wasn’t alone. “I’m sorry, I thought you were alone, Dr. Holland.”

Moving his hand off of her shoulder, he stretched it across the table, “I’m Dr. Lahela.”

“Hi, Justin Ramirez.” He said, shaking yet another hand in the hospital cafeteria.

“Mrs. Ramirez’s son? In room 515? I’ll be going up there later this afternoon to discuss surgery options.”

“Right.”

“Well, I will see you up there later then. Dr. Holland — we’re still ok for lunch?” His caramel eyes caught hers, the edges crinkling as he smiled down at her.

She gulped, “Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

Did her voice sound squeaky? It sounded squeaky.

“You’re a popular doctor.” Justin said after Bryce had walked away.

“Or it’s just a small cafeteria.” She let out a sigh of relief as her pager went off, “Looks like your Mom woke up.”

��Yeah? Good, let’s go.”

Jordynne lingered at the table for a moment longer — letting him get a few paces ahead of her. Swallowing, she resolved herself a bit before following in behind him.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Two months.”

Ethan was back in Naveen’s office — his feet planted in front of his desk. He was staring down at the old man, watching him read the application he had sat down in front of him.

“Two months?” Naveen repeated, finally looking up at Ethan. His eyebrows were furrowed, deep lines forming in his forehead.

He chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment, “In South America.” He said it as neutral as possible.

Naveen reread over the page, flipping it back and forth. His mouth turned into a frown, “When you said distance yourself I didn’t think you meant flying to a different continent.”

Neither had Ethan. But it had fallen onto his lap. An unopened email he had long forgotten about in the chaos of the last few days.

He had forgotten he had even thrown his name into the ring — reaching out to the World Health Organization to volunteer. For literally anything. Anywhere.

It had been a way to get away from Edenbrook and Boston. A way to forget about his failure. Failures. Multiple.

But now — it could just be for a break. A reset.

To distance himself.

“Sign it.”

“No.” The Chief of Medicine barked, putting the papers back down and pushing them towards Ethan.

“Naveen—“

He straightened up — setting his jawline as he stared at him. “Not until you tell me why.”

“I can’t,” Ethan let out with a sigh. “I— I need more time. I’m not ready.”

“Ready for what?” Naveen raised a brow, “You’ve been running the diagnostics team since I left.”

“To act like I don’t...,” He trailed off, “To act like I don’t care for her. The way I do. The way a boss shouldn’t. I’m not ready.”

“Fine.” The old man signed the form, placing it carefully on the edge of his table for Ethan to take, “When this doesn’t work — don’t come crying to me. I warned you.”

_______________________________________________________________________

The next day came by in a blur. Jordynne had missed all this — her suspension had proved how much she loved being a doctor.

She hadn’t missed giving people life-changing diagnoses — but that was apart of the job description. She was leaning against Danny’s nurse station, watching Justin saying goodbye to his mother through the window to her room.

He had come in to check on her before going to work. They had decided to hold her for another day of observation, but he couldn’t take any more time off.

Watching the son and mother hug made her heartache. Her homesickness had never been worse.

Blinking back to reality, she watched as Justin approached her — a sad smile on his face.

She pushed herself off of the nurse’s station and headed towards him, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I just wish I could stay longer.”

“Well, I assure you that your mother is in the best care. Danny is the charge nurse for this shift, and honestly, he could probably run this whole building.” She assured him.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me,” He dug into his back pocket and pulled out a folded paper, “Here, I wanted to give you my number...”

Her green eyes widened in shock, “Oh! I’m flattered but—“

But he quickly stopped her, “For my mom’s file. In case something happens.”

“Right. I’m an idiot.” Jordynne felt her entire face turn hot with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, I don’t—“

“No! You’re really not.” It was his turn to reassure her now, “I thought about it actually,” He lowered his voice a little, “I was gonna ask you out.”

“Oh?” She blinked in surprise.

“I mean — you’re incredibly smart and hot and like, just the right amount of intimidating.” He laughed nervously, “But I got the sense that you were already seeing someone. When that doctor came over and introduced himself yesterday in the cafeteria?”

Which one?

Jordynne thought to herself. God, she seriously was the worst person.

“It’s probably not a good idea to date my mom’s doctor anyways.”

She nodded with pursed lips — taking the sticky note he had offered and placing carefully onto her clipboard. She hugged it to her chest, “If there are any updates throughout the day, we’ll give you a call.”

She forced a smile on her face — trying to hide the winding gears going off in her mind.

_______________________________________________________________________

At the end of her shift, Jordynne was wrapping up the rest of her paperwork. She and her friends were hovering around the nurse’s station — itching to get out on time for once so they could head down to Donahue’s and get a good spot for once.

Just as she slid the last of her patient’s charts over to the charge nurse, the intercom buzzed.

“Dr. Holland to Chief of Medicine’s office. Dr. Holland to Chief of Medicine’s office.”

“What’s that about?” Sienna quickly asked — her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Yeah — I thought everything was good?” Elijah piped in.

“It is.” She raised her hands up, trying to calm them down, “Seriously.”

“It’s only day two of her being back. What’s the Chief of Medicine’s going to want anyway?” Jackie piped in, shrugging her shoulders as she finished up her own paperwork.

“Yeah, plus she did save the dude’s life.” Bryce offered, leaning casually onto the station. He was right next to Jordynne — she swore she could feel the heat radiating off of him.

“Right...,” Sienna and Elijah said in sync.

“Seriously, I’ll be okay. I’ll meet you guys at Donahue’s.” She started to turn on her heel, but fingers grabbing onto her elbow stopped her.

It was Bryce. “I’ll save you a seat.” He said simply, before flashing her a brilliant smile and letting go of her arm.

“Thanks,” She breathed in, feeling a little winded all of the sudden. Turning on her heel, she blinked back to reality and started heading towards the elevator.

She knocked gently on Naveen’s office door — before a soft voice told her to come in. Stepping inside, her eyes were immediately drawn to the old man sitting behind the desk — a warm smile was spread across his face.

“Hi, Dr. Banerji,” Jordynne said as she closed the door softly behind her.

“Now,” He got up to greet her, moving around from behind the desk, “How many times do I have to tell you — it’s Naveen, my girl.”

“You’re the Chief of Medicine. I can’t call you that.”

“And you’re the young doctor who saved my life.” He motioned for her to take a seat, before doing the same, “And besides, we are friends and we respect each other. So it’s Naveen.”

“Okay. Naveen.” Her mouth has turned upward — a warm sensation of pride filling her chest.

“So, how does it feel to be back?”

“I’m... ecstatic. And grateful.” She paused for a moment, before continuing, “Everything that I went through — the trial, and suspension — it just really showed me how this is what I’m meant to do.”

“I couldn’t agree more. And how do you feel about the fellowship?”

“Excited.” She said quickly — but chewing the inside of her lip gave her away, “But nervous at the same time. It will be —“

“Different?” He offered.

“Mhmm.” She hummed.

“Well, it will start in about two months' time. Once the new wing is completed, the diagnostics team will have a brand new office and your fellowship will commence.” Naveen hesitated before licking his lips, “It will also coincide with Ethan’s return.”

Jordynne furrowed her brows in confusion, “What do you mean? He’s already back.”

“Ah — so I see he has left that part for me.” He avoided her stare for a moment.

“I don’t— what are you talking about?”

“Ethan has accepted a team lead position for a project with the World Health Organization. They are going to be stationed in the Amazon.”

Her mouth fell open, “The Amazon? Rainforest? In South America?”

“For two months.”

“Two... Two months?” She couldn’t help but repeat everything back she was hearing. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I’m sorry he didn’t tell you himself.”

She could tell by Naveen’s tone that he did not approve of Ethan’s decisions.

“I— I don’t understand. He just got back.”

“What I’m thinking is, his world just got turned upside down. He doesn’t do change very well. Perhaps this will let him straighten things out.” He said it like it was a practiced line.

“By living in the rainforest for 2 months? How will that get him back to normal?” She asked, completely exasperated.

“No idea!” He let out a dry laugh, “You should tell him that.”

“When does he leave?”

“Tomorrow morning. He actually just wrapped up for the day — so he can prepare.”

Her shoulders sank — he left. Without telling her any of this. Without a goodbye. Was she supposed to just walk past his office and figure it out? Get an out of office email notification back?

“You can still catch him. Go to the parkade.” He winked a brown eye at her, waving his hands to shoo her out of the door.

Jumping out of her seat, she started speed walking down the hallway — weaving past the few administration staff lingering in them. Some of them flashed her some odd looks, but a doctor speeding through a hallway wasn’t the weirdest thing to see in a hospital.

When she got to the parkade door, she took a big breath, tucked some of the hair falling out of her ponytail behind her ear, and pushed through the door.

Her green eyes searched for his familiar black car, walking as she looked. She stopped in her tracks as she noticed him — his hand lingering on his open door as he went to go sit in his car.

So he really was going to just leave without saying anything.

“Were you even gonna say goodbye?” She asked — her voice echoing a little in the concrete parkade.

His head whipped around to her voice, his eyes wide as he stared at her. Closing the door to his Mercedes, he took a few long strides until he was a few feet away from her.

“I — Who told you?” He avoided meeting her stare.

“Naveen.”

He let out a sigh, “Of course.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” She said, her jaw set into a hard line.

“I — I wasn’t not going to say goodbye.” He put his hands in his jacket pocket — clearly nervous. “Things just happened so fast.”

“Right.” She didn’t look like she believed him, “So South America?”

“Mostly Peru and Brazil.”

“Malaria?”

He nodded in reply.

Confusion spread across her face, causing a line to form in between her brows, “Why are you doing this?”

“What?”

“Why are you really going, Ethan?”

“People are suffering and I can help them.” He stated simply.

“The same thing is happening here in Boston.” She countered, crossing her arms of her chest.

“Well, I made a commitment to the organization. So I’m going.”

She let out an involuntary sigh, “I thought we were going to try and be normal about all of this, Ethan.”

“This is normal. I’m a highly qualified diagnostician and doctor who is traveling to a region in desperate need of quality medical assistance and advancement.”

She shook her head at him, “That’s not what I meant.”

“Well, that’s the reason.” His tone was flat and final.

“Fine.” She bit down on her bottom lip, “Safe travels.”

He nodded in thanks. The pair standing in awkward silence for a moment — finally meeting one another’s eye. She searched his blue eyes — looking for even just the smallest glint of something. But she couldn’t find it — his well-practiced mask was already on and it seemed it wasn’t going to be coming off.

Jordynne let out a sigh that echoed through the parkade, before turning on her heel and marching away. The heavy metal door let out a large bang as it closed behind her.

Part Two

42 notes · View notes