"You did what?!"
"I stole Pam's keys to get—"
"I heard you the first time," Rachel exhaled, growing more inflamed with every word Michael uttered. "I can't believe you were that stupid."
"Well, what would you have done?" he retaliated.
"I would've let Pam get it! Or better yet, I would have asked her to bring it in tomorrow."
Like a sulking child, Michael mumbled a response to himself. Meredith stirred uncomfortably on Rachel's padded lap. Thank goodness she was wearing this "sultry" wedding dress.
"Abs, can you go any faster?"
"Rach, I know you're irritated right now, but breaking road laws is probably not in our best interest right now," the driver replied.
It was a gruelling thirteen minutes for Meredith. Even though Abbey was dodging the potholes, every slight jostle in the road was brought on a wave of pain. More than the dull pain following her hysterectomy— she suspected she'd fractured her pelvis or worse, her hip. But at last they at the hospital, Abbey flagging down help, and before long the four were following a bed through the bustling corridors.
"How did this happen?" a nurse asked.
"She got hit by a car," Rachel replied, which caused Michael to shake his head quickly.
"No, don't make me sound like the bad guy, Rachel."
"Did you hit her, sir?"
"That... I did," Michael confessed. "But it's ok. Because as her boss, I will give her three months' paid leave with bonuses."
The nurse pursed his lips, then left wordlessly. The trio were stopped at some point and forced into waiting room seats, anxiously awaiting Meredith's diagnosis. He wasn't going to admit it, but Rachel could tell that Michael was on the verge of tears. Along with his irresponsible and reckless behaviour was a tender childish demeanour.
"She'll be alright," Rachel sighed, trying to sound even the tiniest bit empathetic. "But Michael, you need to go back to the office."
"No, Rachel. A life is at stake here. I can't just turn my back on Meredith now."
"Should've thought of that before you drove into her," she muttered, thankfully going unnoticed by Michael.
"Rach is right," said Abbey. "Meredith is going to live, so you don't need to worry. You need to get back to the office, where there are many lives at stake. We can go back together if you want, and Rachel can tell us how Meredith goes."
At her suggestion, Rachel threw Abbey an incredulous look. She slowly starts shaking her head, but it was not her decision to make. "Thanks, Abbey," Michael smiled. "That's really nice."
She watched in betrayal until her two coworkers disappeared around the corner. Part of her was hoping it was a childish joke, that they were secretly planning to leap out from behind the wall, just keeping her on her toes. But a few minutes passed before Rachel finally contended that she was stuck here on her own. Rachel had nothing against Meredith, she sort of regretted that it took this long for the two to properly interact. And she was by no means impatient; being alone for twenty-one years teaches you a thing or two about how to entertain yourself. She'd be alright sitting in a waiting room any day. Just not the day she decided to dress as a blue-skinned zombie bride. If the disapproval from Angela wasn't annoying enough, she was feeling the stares of everyone in the waiting room— medical staff on duty included.
She sunk a little lower into her seat, only drawing more attention to herself. Rachel was desperately hoping to Jack Skellington that Meredith would be done soon.
YOU ARE READING
INTERIM LOVER, ryan howard.
Fanfiction"If I had a dollar for every time I wished I wasn't here, I'd have enough to retire right now." In which Ryan Howard and Rachel Munroe realise that what they've been looking for has always been right in front of them. by laurie, 2019-2021 ...
