“Excuse me…” Amber stopped in front of Carter blocking his path so he had no choice but to pay attention to her, “Do you know where I can find Kerry Weaver?”

“She’s in the lounge I think…” He looked at her for a moment she was gorgeous with long brown hair and green eyes, she had the body of a supermodel and a voice like an angel he would have normally answered her question by asking who she was but there was something about her that made him feel like she had been there forever, maybe it was her smile. Seeing the look on her face when he said that Weaver was in the lounge he spoke again, “It’s over there.” He motioned to a door that said ‘Doctors Lounge’ Amber smiled at him and headed off in that direction, Carter shook his head slightly and smiled before getting back to work. Amber entered the lounge and there was only one person in there, and since it was a woman she assumed that it was doctor Weaver.

“Are you Kerry Weaver?” Amber asked pulling off her scarf and matching knit hat, she looked like she had just gone on a shopping spree at one of the most expensive stores in Chicago, Weaver smiled thinking about how quickly Amber was going to wish she had worn something less pricey.

“Yes…” she stood up and that’s when Amber noticed her cane, she tried not to stare at it but it seemed weird that a doctor working in the ER would have a handicap, “You must be Amber.” She stepped forward and held her hand out to Amber; she took it hesitantly still trying not to stare at the older woman’s most obvious physical flaw.

“Yeah I know that I’m an hour early but,”

“Make that 24 hours early, I didn’t have you scheduled to work until tomorrow morning.” She smiled and sat back down before motioning at Amber to join her.

“I’m sorry,” she took a deep breath, “It’s just I can’t wait to get back to work after the time I took off it’s really boring doing nothing you know?” Her parents had recently passed away and they were tycoons of the technology industry, when they had died they left her their entire estate and all of their money because she was their only child. At first she had thought that it was going to be wonderful sitting around the house eating ice cream and watch TV but then she got bored. She realized that even though her parents had died and she had enough money to fly her to the moon and back she still had a medical degree and she loved being a doctor long before her parents had died. She also had to worry about the small estate in Japan that they owned, they only traveled there during the summer but most people would consider it more then just a summer home.

“After a day here you aren’t going to feel that way any more.” Weaver picked up her coffee and took a long drink, Amber certainly had some sort of charm about her that was hard to describe, a charm that made her very likeable in a very short period of time. Amber smoothed out her long hair because it was a little messed up from the cap she was wearing and then flipped it over her shoulders. “And when you come in tomorrow you might want to wear something less expensive.”

“Huh?” Amber looked down at the business suit she was wearing it was made by Gucci, but then again all of the business suits she wore were made by Gucci spending that kind of money on clothes was not such a big deal to her. Her parents had brought her up in a very elegant lifestyle she always had the best clothes, shoes, and toys. She went to the best schools in Japan and she even went to Harvard when she moved back to the states with her parents after high school. At first she couldn’t figure out what Kerry meant by wearing something less expensive but then she reminded herself that not everyone wore Gucci suits and five hundred dollar shoes, especially not to work in an emergency room. “Oh…um…right I guess I was just trying to make a good impression.” She was going to have to remind herself to go out and buy some clothes at a Target or something she really didn’t want to appear snobby.

“So it says you are fluent in Japanese?” Weaver was apparently looking over some information on Amber when she walked in, “If we ever have a Japanese patient that doesn’t speak English I’ll get you right away.” Amber nodded wondering how often that actually happened at the hospital, what she didn’t know is it happened more then she would have expected.

“I also speak a little bit of French but I only know a few things…I don’t know if I could be of any help in that area.” She blushed a little and told herself to shut up because people were always getting the impression that she thought she was better then them because she had so many different qualities. The truth of the matter was that she was only so smart because she never had any friends growing up and so she chose to study instead. It was hard being an American girl in the Japanese school system there was a lot of prejudice thrown her way especially since everyone acted like she would have to study extra hard just to keep up with her class. Amber sighed and pulled her necklace out from behind her shirt and started to play with it, it was something she did when she was nervous and she couldn’t have a cigarette. Weaver watched her play with the chain for a moment but then her eyes were drawn to the medallion that was swinging back and fourth, it was an upside down pink triangle, even a straight person knew what kind of statement that symbol meant.

“Are you?” Kerry suddenly spoke up but then decided to back away from asking the woman if she was a lesbian so instead she changed the parameters of her question, “Able to stay here for a while today maybe get to know the place?” Amber noticed the sudden change of tone in the middle of the question and her eyes glanced down at the swinging medallion, which she quickly shoved back under her shirt. She certainly wasn’t flamboyant about her sexuality but she had worn that necklace for so long she usually forgot what it meant.

“Yeah that would be great I could meet a few people…you know I talked to a few different people from his hospital. Because of my surgical knowledge a Dr. Romano contacted me but then he soon found out I was not qualified for anything…and then some one from psych gave me a call because that was my double major…I’m glad you won me over.” She explained getting up from her chair, she stretched her arms out in front of her slightly in a very graceful manner and then dropped them down to her side. She pulled off her jacket and draped it over her arm. Kerry watched her in a slight daze there certainly was something about her that was amazing.

“Feel free to just introduce yourself to anyone you see. Most of them won’t really appear to be busy until I come out there.” Weaver said before she broke eye contact with Amber and went back to the papers she was reading, Amber smiled and nodded wondering if Weaver was getting the same feeling she was but the last thing she wanted to do was hit on her boss before her first day of work had even started. She turned and stepped out of the lounge and into the hall where she noticed a woman with short blond hair, she couldn’t even believe how beautiful this woman was and that she was a doctor to boot. The woman turned from talking to the bald guy who was standing across from her and headed in Amber’s direction where they made eye contact.

“Hi, I’m Amber McKay, I’m going to be starting here tomorrow.” She offered her hand to the pretty red headed woman who took it and shook it firmly.

“I’m Susan Lewis…welcome and good luck.”

“Good luck for what?”

“If you start tomorrow you’re going to need it, and what ever you do, don’t get on Weaver’s bad side.” She smiled and walked off, Amber nodded even though she was thinking that she wasn’t going to have a problem with Weaver there was a chemistry between them that seemed undeniable. She turned to walk down the hallway so she could get a feel for the place when she ran right into the shorter bald guy Susan was talking to just moments before.

“Aren’t you people supposed to wait in triage?” He said in a rather attitude laced voice, Amber was considerably taller then him and she smiled noting the obvious napoleon complex that probably plagued this guys every waking hour.

“First of all there is only one of me so saying “you people” is uncalled for,” She said ‘you people’ in a tone that was an octave lower then her normal voice but then changed it back to finish the sentence, “And secondly I start work here tomorrow my name is Amber McKay.”

“And mine is Dr. Don’t talk to me unless it’s an emergency.” He started to walk away from her annoyed with how many new people Weaver had been hiring lately. Amber snickered and then recognized his voice from the phone he was the one who wanted to talk to her about becoming a surgical resident.

“You must be doctor Romano,” she started to walk after him but he abruptly stopped and turned to look at her with a suspicious glint in his beady eyes.

“How did you…”

“I’ve heard so much about all the great work you’ve done.” She decided to lie because he seemed like a hard ass and she knew that a little ass kissing never hurt anyone. He paused for a moment before looking her up and down thoughtfully.

“Yeah…I know you’re lying but the ass kissing is a nice touch, have fun.” With that he turned and left, Amber breathed a sigh of relief she was glad that she didn’t qualify for a surgeon she felt like she would rip her brain out of her own head if she actually had to work with that man for more then five minutes.

“Looks like you just survived your first Romano experience.” The voice she heard next belonged too the same man who had told her where Dr. Weaver was, she had to admit that he was cute but he seemed a little wimpy at the same time but looks could be deceiving so she decided to try and keep and open mind about him. “I’m John Carter.”

“Amber McKay,” She smiled at him and then shook his hand, “Is he always like that?”

“No, today he’s having a good day.” Carter smiled at her and they both laughed, at least everyone else was keeping a humorous attitude to the napoleon incarnate. “Are you starting today?”

“Actually I made a mistake,” she blushed a little and looked at the floor, “I’m supposed to start tomorrow.”

“Well I’m on break in five minutes you want to get some coffee?” He offered and she wondered if he was trying to come onto her either way it would mean a free cup of coffee and possibly a free bagel.

“Sure that sounds like fun.” With her necklace safely hidden behind her lavender blouse things would be okay and the men would continue to act normal around her, she didn’t like them knowing she was a lesbian. It didn’t make her uncomfortable but it did change the way men acted around her, drastically. She took a deep breath through her nose and looked around at the commotion and the urgency of the hospital it was nice to finally be back home.

She started the next day and was right on time, in a pair of less expensive black slacks and a white silk blouse. It had only been three hours and she already felt like she needed a break, she forgot how difficult patients could be, especially the male ones. She walked into the lounge to change her shirt because some one had so thoughtfully decided that they were going to puke on her instead of trying to make it to the nearest trashcan. She carefully removed her white coat, luckily nothing had gotten on that, before stripping down to the white tank top she was wearing under it. She picked up a plastic bag that was at the bottom of her locker and put the shirt inside knowing that it was ruined because she wouldn’t be able to get the stain out right away. She pulled on a gray turtleneck and then put her white coat back on before shutting the door to her new locker. She grabbed her now empty cup of coffee and went over to refill it thinking about how much her feet were starting to hurt.

“I hope your not thinking about quitting already,” A voice came from behind her, she snapped out of her little day dream and turned to see who it was, “You were the only one who was able to convince that guy that he wasn’t possessed.” It was a blond woman they had already worked together but for the life of her Amber couldn’t remember her name.

“Yeah,” She smiled and glanced thoughtfully to her locker that held the vomit-stained shirt, “Only after he decided to puke on me. I’m sorry your name was?”

“Susan, Susan Lewis.” She smiled and nodded at Amber before walking over to her to refresh her cup of coffee, “How were you able to do that?”

“Oh I just made up a prayer that sounded like it was in Latin.” Amber sort of laughed, “I guess that did the trick.”

“Well thank you very much you would have no idea how many times a week that man comes in her claiming to be possessed.” Lewis took a sip of her coffee and then went to sit down at the table, Amber really like this woman but it was so hard to guess and check some one’s sexuality when they were working with you. Amber sighed and looked at her watch she still had four more hours before she was off of her shift and she had to go check on a patient that thought there was a monkey in his stomach. She began to wonder just how many psychos came into this place; maybe it was just an off day.

“Do you know where I could get a banana?” Amber said as she pushed open the door to the lounge, her patient was currently sedated but she knew that it wouldn’t be for much longer. Lewis looked at her oddly and then smiled slightly wondering what Amber might need a banana for.

“Probably in the cafeteria…why?”

“I have a guy who thinks that he swallowed a monkey…I’m going to try to lure it out with a banana.” Amber smiled at her, Susan looked intrigued by this, she had never seen anyone handle these weird patients in such an effective manner, but then again she didn’t have any idea about Amber’s background in psychology. If Amber really was this good with handling mental cases then she was out of luck because the other doctors would notice it right away and hand of their questionable patients to her. “I have a double major in psychology it really helps sometimes.”

“You know what this means now don’t you?”

“What?”

“I’m handing all my nut cases over to you.” Lewis laughed a little and surprisingly Amber laughed back.

“Then you get all my foreign objects in anal cavities patients, not to mention the ones who just come in for a testicular exam.” She stepped out of the lounge and into the hallway, Lewis thought it over for a moment and decided that she would happily trade a man who thought he had a monkey in his stomach for a man who shoved something up his ass, at least when some one had something stuck inside of them there was concrete evidence that it existed and it could quickly be taken care of. She didn’t have the first idea how to convince a man that there wasn’t a monkey in his stomach any more.

Amber headed towards the cafeteria hoping to find a banana before the sedative on monkey man wore off. She turned the corner looking down at the floor when she should have been looking right in front of her and literally slammed into Romano. She cursed softly to herself and looked up to say she was sorry when she realized who it was.

“What is wrong with you people?” He said to her again, she didn’t know why but she was really getting sick of hearing him refer to her as ‘you people.’

“Look Dr. Romano I am one person, therefore you should say ‘what is wrong with you?’ and secondly how long does it take?”

“How long does what take Dr. McKay?” He stressed the fact that he was calling her Dr. McKay because she had decided to call him Dr. Romano instead of just Romano.

“How long does it take to shove that rod up your ass every morning?”

“Dr. McKay!” A surprised voice came from behind her she instantly recognized it as Kerry Weaver’s and it was all she could do to stop herself from slapping her forehead with the palm of her hand. Romano smirked at her like he was glad she was about to get in trouble and then walked off to go bother some one else. “It’s your first day and already you are insulting Romano?”

“Well I…”

“Don’t worry about it…he only took a few hours to get on my nerves but I usually try to ignore it.” She smiled at Amber and started to walk towards the cafeteria with her, Amber tried very hard not to notice the fact that Weaver wasn’t wearing a bra but it was hard not to watch her boobs move as she walked. She cleared her throat slightly and tugged on the collar of her shirt suddenly feeling like she was incredibly hot. “So where are you headed?”

“To the cafeteria to get a banana.” Amber said in a voice that was rather serious, Weaver looked at her oddly for a moment not even stopping to think that Amber might actually want to eat a banana, but then again she wouldn’t recommend getting anything from the hospital cafeteria. “I have a guy who thinks there is a monkey in his stomach, I’m going to lure it out with a banana.”

“Do you think that will work?”

“Well my impromptu exorcism seemed to work on the guy who was projectile vomiting.” She turned the corner and entered the rather empty cafeteria scanning over the room to see if they had any bananas.

“Really? You got that guy to think that he’s not possessed any more?” Weaver looked impressed Amber didn’t know it but he was one of their frequent flyers she didn’t see what the big deal was. With people like him you just sort of had to play along and usually the most easy and obvious thing was the answer to their problems.

“Yeah, no big deal. I do have a second major in psychology if you remember.” Amber said, she walked over to a bowl of fruit that was on one of the counters and picked up one of the nicer looking bananas. She then paid for it and started to head out of the room with a still amazed Kerry Weaver behind her.

“Well then…”

“Look I would appreciate it if all of the psych cases didn’t come to me. I don’t mind some but I would like to actually be in a trauma room once in a while.” Amber said before Weaver could finish her sentence. That was certainly understandable, she wouldn’t want to have to deal with all of the psych patients all the time either, and Amber had made it clear from the beginning that she wanted to have a big part in treating the severe cases.

“Okay I completely understand that, but I was actually going to ask you if maybe you wanted to grab something to eat after work.” She replied hesitantly, because of her tone of voice it was hard for Amber to decipher if she was asking her out or just being nice.

“Sure sounds like fun.” She assumed that Weaver was only trying to be nice to her and offer her support in her new surroundings, besides she had her eyes set on some one else, a woman named Susan Lewis, but she would soon find out that she was definitely barking up the wrong tree.

Two days later all of the stress was starting to take a toll on Amber’s body, she knew after about a week she would be used to working in an ER again but right now her whole body ached. She took a seat in the break room, she had been on her feet for six of the eight hours she had to work and now she was finally able to take a break. She opened her soda and took a long drink before setting it on the floor by the couch and laying down.

“How’s it going?” She heard a voice say from the doorway, she opened her eyes just enough to see that it was Susan. She smiled slightly not knowing exactly how to respond to that questions, she felt like she was going to collapse if she had to work any longer.

“My body will be more used to this next week, it’s been a while since I’ve even been in an ER.” Amber explained as she idly reached for the soda that she knew was on the floor. Susan came over to her and knelt down before putting her hand on top of Amber’s gently.

“I bet I know what will make you feel better…” She smiled slyly and leaned in kissing Amber rather passionately right in the middle of the break room. Amber was a little surprised but that didn’t keep her from kissing back with the same amount of passion.

“Amber?” There was another voice and this time it was louder, she jerked up to a sitting position only to find that she had dozed off. She sighed slightly at the dream she just had when she saw that it was none other then Dr. Weaver standing at the door. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah just tired is all.” She pushed her self up so she was sitting completely up and grabbed her soda from the floor by her feet. She was hoping all of the sugar and caffeine in the drink would give her the boost she was going to need for two more hours of work.

“You can go home if you want, things had really calmed down.” Weaver replied as she went to refill her cup of coffee. Amber didn’t know if she wanted to leave, she didn’t want Weaver to think that she couldn’t handle the job. She reached into her pocket and pull out a hair clip before lazily putting her soft brown hair into it and sighing.

“No I’m fine I just wanted a moment to rest is all.” She smiled weakly before chugging down the rest of her soda, “I just have to get used to doing this again by next week I’ll be pulling 36 hour shifts again.” She stood up and stretched slightly bending over to touch her toes before skillfully tossing the empty can of coke into the trash can by the door. Weaver watched her for a moment, they had coffee together twice after work but she didn’t think that Amber was picking up on the fact that she wanted to date her and not just be friends. Of course Weaver didn’t automatically assume that every lesbian in the world would be compatible for her but they already had so much in common so she thought it was worth a try.

“Okay,” She nodded, “But I know how stressful it can be I wouldn’t think you were a terrible person if you went home.”

“I’m just getting my second wind really I feel great.” Amber smiled at her again but this time it wasn’t weak, then she walked out of the lounge with a slight bounce to her step. Weaver couldn’t tell if she was forcing it of if she really did get her second wind so she took a sip of her coffee and headed out after Amber. The ER was pretty dead, leaving most of the staff to commune at the front desk to gossip about anything they could. Amber was leaning against the front desk with her head tilted slightly as she dreamily looked at Susan who luckily didn’t seem to notice. Kerry noticed and it suddenly became clear to her that Amber was interested in Susan, she wasn’t going to say anything she was just going to let the events play out for themselves.

“You! Playmate of the year!” Romano snapped from across the hall he was heading towards Amber quickly and she suddenly felt like she should duck and cover, “You sent some one up to surgery because you got the impression that they might possibly have appendicitis?”

“Well I it wasn’t exactly like that I…”

“Let me explain something to you in words you can understand,” He stopped so he was right in front of her and she was looking down at him, “IDIOT!” And then he stormed off again, and she sort of shrugged because she knew that it hadn’t happened the way he just described. She had some one come down for a surgical consult what happened after that was anyone’s guest because she was called away, and when she got back her patient had been moved. She did think to check it out but then she was called in on another trauma and forgot all about it, she assumed that everything was being taken care of.

“What’s his problem?” She heard Susan asked from behind her, “I took care of everything why the hell is he mad at you?”

“Maybe he has a crush on her.” Carter joked before getting a glare from both Susan and Amber he walked off shaking his head slightly still laughing softly about the idea.

“I’m sorry about that Amber, I don’t know what happened exactly but Romano tends to only hear what he wants to.” Susan said to break the tension that Carter had just created, Amber smiled her last boss was exactly like that and she was used to it. She was the first one to admit to making a mistake when she made a mistake but when she knew that she hadn’t actually done anything wrong she just brushed it off. “How about I buy you a drink after work?”

“That sounds like fun.” Amber smiled at her hoping that this invitation to get a drink was more then just some time out. Susan nodded before there was a commotion in one of the exam rooms and she realized that it was one of her patients so she raced off to see what was happening. Weaver had heard the whole thing, not because she was trying to but she was looking over charts at the front desk. She bit her lip and hoped that Amber would figure it out before she did something to embarrass herself.

The next day Amber came in looking positively terrible, and she actually had a black eye and swollen lip. She had gone out with Susan the night before but then Susan left her to be with some guy, and Amber’s drink had been laced with something. All she could remember was screaming for help as some guy undressed her in a dark alley, then she passed out. When she woke up she was still in the alley like she had been thrown out as piece of trash. She knew that she had been attacked and raped but since she was a fifth degree black belt she felt so incredibly stupid for not being able to defend herself and so she had some how convinced herself that she deserved it for not being more cautious.

“Oh my god Amber, what happened to you?” The voice came loud and in her ear she winced slightly only to see it was Luka, she muttered to herself about him talking too loudly and headed towards the lounge to put her stuff away. She felt like she was hung over from both drinking too much and from whatever was in her drink. Things didn’t stop there, not only did Luka follow her to the lounge she was confronted by Dr. Weaver when she got there.

“Whoa Amber what happened?” Weaver said almost as quickly as Amber came in the door, Amber didn’t want to admit to anyone that this had happened to her, she was too humiliated to even admit it to herself.

“I fell down the stairs this morning…tripped over the dog.” Her lip was so swollen it was hard for her to talk. Lucky for her Weaver bought it and stood up just as Luka was coming in the door to the lounge, Amber turned her head to see who was behind her and when she saw it was Luka she hoped he wouldn’t start talking loudly again.

“Well you’re lip looks like it might need some stitches.” Weaver said softly and Amber nodded slightly, “Lets get you to a room.” before Luka could say anything else Amber turned and angrily walked towards the first empty exam room she saw. She didn’t want to be taken care of she just wanted to get to work and forget that this whole thing had happened. She sat down and let Weaver check her lip and give her stitches before she handed her an icepack and told her to put it on her face. Amber complied because she was too tired to argue any longer and she laid back on the bed slowly because her head was now pounding. Weaver stood up and walked over so she was on the other side of the bed looking at Amber.

“You need to take the day off okay?” Weaver said in a rather concerned voice as she put her hand over Amber’s. Amber nodded slightly she had never heard anyone be concerned for her, not even her mother and father. She felt a tear escape the eye that wasn’t covered by a bruise and she quickly wiped it away before Weaver could see it.

“Thanks…I really didn’t mean for this to happen.” She whispered back trying to keep the noise level in the room to a minimum. Weaver smiled and squeezed her hand slightly before leaving the room and turning out the light. Amber almost immediately started to cry before rolling over on the bed and falling into a very fitful sleep.