Caught in the Middle

Chapter 14

"What are you staring at? Smettila di comportarti come una statua! If you want something, ask." I grumble at the intern who's name I can't even remember. For him, his obstetrics rotation is just something he has to do, he refuses to learn anything new. Come to think of it, none of the new interns are interested in my field, not even with once-in-a-lifetime surgeries happening during the mandatory rotations. No, all they care about is trauma. Inseguendo l'eccitazione.

I raise my eyebrow at the intern and even Dr. Wilson feels the tension coming off of me in spades. "Dr. Kwan. An attending asked you a question." The new doctor's cockiness wavers when I grind down on my teeth in irritation. "Uhm, Dr. Hunt asked if -" Dr. Khan gulps when I growl at him as a warning to not finish his sentence. Only one of the five interns are on track to complete their rotation within the required timeframe, exactly because of this reason. Trauma keeps stealing my interns.

The way I aggressively click my pen does little to help with Dr. Khan's stuttering. "Do I need to remind you that you are the intern with the least amount of hours in OB, and you only have one more week to complete your rotation or you won't even get to write the residency exam." I point my pen at him and roll my eyes when I see the reality set in his eyes. Jo coughs on her laugh when his pager goes off again and I demand that he hands over his phone.

INCOMING TRAUMA
Any available assistance required

I raise my eyebrow at the sneaky doctor and turn my phone to show Jo the message that he claims to be a personal request from the head of trauma. "I would advise you to not lie to your attendings in the future. But I'll do you a favor. I'll go down to the ER to make sure that your absence doesn't negatively impact the patient since I'm the only one available on this floor. And you can clock some OB hours by relieving the nurses for the next round of nappy changes. Sounds like a plan, no?"

I ignore the death glare he rewards me and wait for him to thank me for my generosity before I allow him to leave for the nurses' station. Mia madre mi ha sempre insegnato a conoscere il mio posto. Jo falls into step beside me, looking over her shoulder at the scolded intern with a smirk on her face. "Not that I don't love torturing the interns, but what crawled up your ass?" Her smirk falls from her face when I turn my vengeance on her and she quickly falls back into our professional roles, sensing that this is not the time to be friends.

I instinctively feel bad when I see her smile drop and bite back on my foul mood. "My apologies, Dr. Deluca. Is there anything you need from me?" The ball of frustration I've been walking around with for the last week, lessens its load off my shoulders and offers me a retrieve to see the affect my mood has had on my friends. "Mi dispiace, Jo. I'm just grumpy." The tension leaves her shoulders, and she gives me a questioning look, not prying, but giving me the opportunity to get whatever is bothering me, off my chest.

"I think the universe is conspiring against me. Maya and I are completely out of sync." Jo presses the button for the elevators to take us down to the ground floor. "I thought you guys were doing well. Or is the rumor mill mistaken?" I shake my head at her and groan at the mere thought of my incredibly sexy wife sleeping in my office. "Things are going magnificent. It would just be better if we could actually spend time together. Our schedules haven't aligned since the weekend of our date."

As we walk into the elevator, Jo gives me a sympathetic smile. At least when her and Alex's shifts are different, they can still sneak a peek or a touch in the hallways. "We even have trouble finding the correct time to text or call each other, because if she's not on a call or I'm not in surgery, then one of us is taking the ample opportunity to catch up on some sleep or paperwork. Mi manca mia moglie!" Jo starts laughing when I stomp my feet in the elevator like a petulant child not getting enough attention.