A/N: Thank-you to everyone! I didn't expect quite the response I got for the last chapter, but trust me, I greatly appreciate it.
KatrinaJuliet: It's funny you say that, because that was my intention when writing this. I usually hate him, but he grows on you, yeah?
funnechick: Caitlin really should be more careful...
Thank-you to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed this story. I'm super excited about this next chapter - so enjoy!
Spreads Like Wildfire
"Lease, why are we using an endoscopic endonasal approach with this aneurysm?" came Dr. Todd Herring's voice came. He looked to Caitlin, who was looking up at the Gallery where Sarah sat, exchanging glances. "Dr. Lease?" his voice came more sternly.
Caitlin snapped back to attention, Todd's eyes were raised as he looked irately at Caitlin. Kyle rolled his eyes as he smiled behind his surgical mask. "Because... Because his aneurysm is near the skull base, so this method is less... Less invasive," Caitlin stuttered. Caitlin stepped on Kyle's foot to silence his snickering.
"Very good, Lease," Dr. Herring nodded, looking down at the patient. Will entered the operating room, holding a surgical mask over his mouth.
"Can I steal Kyle from you?" Will asked, shifting his eyes between Kyle and Caitlin. "My guy in 2022 is going into surgery right now - his aneurysm bursted and I need all hands on deck."
Todd looked to Kyle and nodded. "Have at it, Will," he said, still looking down at the patient as he focused on clipping the aneurysm.
"Thanks, man," Will replied, gesturing for Kyle to follow him. Once Kyle and Will left Todd looked up at Caitlin.
"Surprised he didn't pick you, Lease," Todd smiled, continuing his work.
Caitlin's eyes widened. "What does that mean?" Caitlin asked, feeling her face heat up. Todd couldn't know, could he?
Todd shrugged, not making eye contact. "It means what it means, doesn't it?"
Kyle must have said something. Caitlin could feel her anger boiling.
"Kyle," Caitlin said, walking towards him. He looked up from the table he, Elliott, and Sarah were sitting at. "I need to talk to you."
Sarah narrowed her eyes, analyzing the situation. Caitlin mouthed "I'll tell you later". Sarah nodded and looked back down at her macaroni salad. Kyle stood up, pushing his hands into his lab coat.
He followed Caitlin in to hallway, which was deserted. "What's up, Cait?" Kyle asked with a smile.
"Who all did you tell about me and Will?" Caitlin snapped, glaring at Kyle. Kyle's face contorted in confusion. "And don't give me any bullshit, Dr. Herring made a pass at it in the OR after you left. I know he knows."
Kyle sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "I swear to God, I didn't tell anyone, Cait," Kyle said, a bored tone to his voice.
"Then how would Dr. Herring know?" Caitlin asked, arms crossed.
"I don't know," Kyle began sarcastically, "maybe because you went and fucked Dr. Capilla and he told someone. The man isn't a saint." Caitlin could tell Kyle was starting to get angry.
Caitlin opened her mouth to reply when she heard a gasp from behind them. Caitlin and Kyle both turned to see Elliott with her mouth hanging open. "Shit," Caitlin said under her breath. "It's not as bad as it sounds, Elliott."
"Shut up, Caitlin," Elliott snapped. Kyle's eyes widened in shock, Elliott was never angry. "So I've been working my ass off and I can't even get into one neurosurgery case and you go around fucking the head of neuro, get surgeries, and you don't even give a shit about neuro." Elliott's face was red and she looked like she was about to cry.
Sarah came into the hall, her eyes widening. Caitlin was at a loss for words. "See?" Kyle said, walking past Caitlin, "I didn't tell anyone."
"Kyle-" Caitlin began, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Leave it," Kyle spat back, storming off.
Caitlin turned back toward Elliott who still looked angry. "Elliott, can you let me explain?" Caitlin tried, softening her voice.
"No," Elliott said, glaringly, "I don't want to hear anything you have to say." She turned around and walked away too.
Caitlin leaned back against the wall, taking a deep breath. Of course Will told Dr. Herring. They were friends, weren't they? She had just been so quick to assume Kyle had told someone.
"She probably won't tell anyone," Sarah tried, leaning against the wall as well, "Elliott isn't a monster. Let her cool down."
Caitlin turned her head toward Sarah. Sarah looked back, her big eyes wide with concern. "I believe that," Caitlin replied finally, "but I'm more concerned with how our friendship stands. Her and Kyle. We have to work together for the next few years and they both hate me."
"Don't be so dramatic," Sarah laughed, "they'll both calm down. We're all in this suffering thing together." She offered a warm smile.
"Elliott thinks I'm using him to get ahead, and I'm not," Caitlin said, her voice breaking from stress.
Sarah put her hand on Caitlin's shoulder, "Give it a day or two and explain it. I know you're not using him and I'm fairly certain Kyle knows that too. Don't worry." Sarah took a step back, examining Caitlin's appearance. "Now go find an on-call room and sleep a little bit. You look like crap."
Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Thank-you. Your honesty..." she began sarcastically. Sarah gave Caitlin a hug and walked off. It took Caitlin a moment or two before she left. If Elliott did tell someone, she couldn't get kicked out of the program, but one of the other interns, Hayley Williams, had been caught sleeping with one of the other attendings and the staff had a way of making her life a living hell. Hayley said she hadn't been in surgery for two weeks. That couldn't happen to her.
Caitlin sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "You okay, Cait?" Will asked, setting his chart down at the nurses' station. He nodded at the nurse behind the counter before walking over to Caitlin.
"Did you tell Dr. Herring about us?" Caitlin asked, looking up at Will. Will leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets.
"I did," Will nodded. "He's my friend though, he won't tell anyone. Don't worry." Caitlin nodded, biting her bottom lip. Her expression looked frustrated as she leaned her head back against the wall. "Seriously, he won't say anything, Cait," Will laughed.
"That's not it," Caitlin stated, "I thought one of my friends did. And now he hates me. And now I'm afraid he's going to tell everyone."
Will nodded thoughtfully. "Come with me," he said, gesturing down the hall.
"I don't want to-" Caitlin began.
"Calm down, Cait," Will laughed, rolling his eyes, "that's not where we're going." He smirked as Caitlin blushed.
Will lead Caitlin to the roof of the hospital. "Now try to breathe," he said, walking to the center of the roof. The lights of San Diego twinkled back at them. Caitlin walked towards the edge of the roof, stunned. "Don't jump, please," Will joked. Caitlin rolled her eyes.
"Sarah said Kyle won't tell anyone," Caitlin sighed, staring into the distance at the San Diego downtown skyline. "She's probably right. But after what happened to Hayley..." her voice drifted off.
Will stood next to her. "That won't happen. Hayley basically told everyone herself. Besides, aren't you and Kyle and Elliott and Sarah all friends or something?" Will asked, bumping his arm into Caitlin's. Even the short contact made Caitlin's skin burn.
"Yes," Caitlin replied, taking another deep breath. The fresh air filled her lungs and she felt her tension uncoil. She looked at Will, whose gaze was off in the distance. "Thank-you," she said quietly.
Will snapped his attention to Caitlin, whose green eyes looked tired and her honey-brown hair was tied back in a ponytail. Even tired, she looked stunning. "Don't thank me, I'm just telling you the truth," he smiled back cheesily.
"Well, I appreciate it," Caitlin smiled, bumping Will's arm. He laughed and pushed her slightly. "I can take you." Caitlin tried, standing up straight, hands on her hips.
Will laughed, he had a good six or so inches on her. "Are you sure about that, sweetie?" he asked sarcastically.
"Absolutely," Caitlin replied, crossing her arms. Will took a step closer to her.
"I don't think so," he whispered. Caitlin's stance didn't weaken as she narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you tough?" he leaned down and kissed her forehead, wrapping his arms around her.
Will jumped back when he heard a door slam. He looked up to see Todd walking across the roof. Relief flooded through him. The last thing Caitlin and him needed was getting caught by someone. "We'll have to be more careful," Will whispered to Caitlin, who nodded.
"Hey, man," Todd waved, he looked to Caitlin, and raised an eyebrow, "hey, lady. What are you guys doing up here?"
"Getting some air," Will replied, taking a step away from Caitlin.
"Cool, cool," Todd replied, and then looked at Caitlin. "Dr. Weathers is looking for you. You guys have a case in the pit."
"Thanks," Caitlin said quickly, "I'll see you later." She waved to Will before hurrying off.
Todd looked to Caitlin curiously before turning his gaze back to Will. "Getting air?" Todd asked, obviously not believing Will.
Will nodded, "Yes. It's not a code for anything, Todd. Get your mind out of the gutter. She was stressed, so I took her here."
Todd put his hands up in surrender. "That's all good, man," he defended himself.
The two men stood in silence for a few moments. Todd kept shooting glances at Will. "What?" Will asked tiredly.
"Just seems like you care about her. That's all," Todd shrugged, smirking. "I thought you didn't get attached. Not since-"
Will raised a hand to silence him. "It's not like that," Will snapped. "I couldn't care less. And look at that," he gestured towards the door, "I'm probably getting some tonight. You should try sympathy sometime. It might end your dry spell." Will smirked at Todd's expression.
"Dr. Wilson," Dr. Weathers snapped as she looked up from the open body cavity in front of her. Elliott looked up, clearly distracted by something. "I'm sure whatever is going on on the floor is extremely exciting, but can you at least pretend you want to watch me fix the tear in this man's spleen?" Dr. Weathers narrowed her eyes at Elliott, who blushed.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Weathers," Elliott stammered.
"Don't be sorry, just fix it," Dr. Weathers mumbled, looking down at the torn spleen in her hands. Caitlin looked at Elliott who had refused to make eye contact with her during the entire surgery. "Why didn't get go in laproscopically, Wilson?"
Elliott's eye lit up, she knew the answer. "Because the tearing was unpredictable and we aren't sure if there's more damage than to just his spleen," she recited.
"Excellent," Dr. Weathers smiled, looking up at the heart monitor. Caitlin looked up to see Kyle and Sarah in the viewing gallery. She gave Kyle a smile behind her surgical mask and felt herself flood with relief when he gave her a thumbs up. Sarah was right, as always. Now she just had to wait for Elliott to come around.
Todd burst into the room, his eyes frantic. "You got a problem, Dr. Herring?" Dr. Weathers asked, not looking up from her patient.
"We just got a driver from a drunk driving accident in the pit," Todd began, sounding moderately out of breath, "and he has shards of glass stuck in his skull. Dr. Capilla requested Dr. Lease in OR 2."
"Alright," Dr. Weathers replied, looking up at Caitlin, "Dr. Lease, you can leave." Elliott sighed loudly. "Is there a problem, Dr. Wilson?"
"Nothing," Elliott replied, staring right at Caitlin. Todd turned around in confusion. "I'm just not surprised Dr. Capilla requested Caitlin. That's all." She had a look that resembled confidence on her face as she stared straight at Caitlin.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Dr. Weathers asked, "Dr. Capilla can request whatever intern he wants." Caitlin's eyes widened in fear, she knew what Elliott was doing.
"Elliott, it's not like that," Caitlin said quickly, she could feel her pulse racing as she watched Todd's eyes widen too.
"Not like what?" Dr. Weathers asked, her voice sounding frustrated. "Dr. Lease, go to OR 2, now."
"Yeah, Caitlin, go," Elliott began, crossing her arms, "then you can reward him for giving you a surgery afterwards." She tilted her head to one side innocently.
"Reward him how?" Dr. Weathers asked, catching on. "This better not be what I'm thinking."
"Oh, it's exactly how you think," Elliott replied, her gaze still fixed on Caitlin.
"No it's not," Caitlin snapped, her frustration apparent in her voice, "you have no idea what you're talking about, Elliott-"
"I'm not dealing with this now," Dr. Weathers snapped, shaking her head, "both of you to my office. You can wait for me to finish this up. Dr. Kilbourne," Dr. Weathers waved to Sarah in the gallery, "to OR 2, right now." Sarah snapped to attention and nodded, darting out of the gallery. Dr. Weathers glared at Caitlin and Elliott. "I'm sorry," she began angrily, "did I sound like I was kidding? To my office - now."
Caitlin and Elliott didn't speak the entire walk to Dr. Weathers' office. They both slumped down in the two chair opposite of Dr. Weathers' desk, in silence.
"Elliott," Caitlin began, trying to keep her voice calm, "it's not what you think it is." Elliott kept her arms crossed, not giving Caitlin a second look. "He's not doing me any favors and I didn't ask for any."
Elliott finally turned her head towards Caitlin, still glaring, but it was progress. "Then why? Why would you sleep with one of our bosses? He's our boss, Caitlin. Our teacher. There's no way there isn't some favoritism involved."
"There are no favors," Caitlin repeated.
"Then what? You actually like him?" Elliott asked. Caitlin was silent. She honestly didn't know how she felt about Will. He was sweet and caring and funny. The arrogance was a little much at times, but behind that facade was a real human being. Elliott's eyes widened. "You do like him." Caitlin opened her mouth to argue, but Elliott spoke first. "That wasn't a question. It's a statement." Elliott slumped back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Damn," she said under her breath.
"I don't know what it is," Caitlin began, "but there are no favors. You have to believe me on that, Elliott."
Elliott sighed, her face had relaxed and she seemed less angry. "I'm sorry I did that," Elliott stated, sitting up. "This is going to spread like wildfire, isn't it?"
Caitlin bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Pretty much."