Chapter Text
Dr Aubrey Posen huffed as she glanced at the clock again.
Late.
A half hour late.
“Bree, is Trauma One ready?” Chloe tilted her head as she watched Aubrey glare at the ED doors, amusement in her features as she prompted her again, “Hello? Earth to Dr Posen?”
“What?” Aubrey turned to Chloe, frustration radiating from her.
“Is Trauma One ready? We’ve got incoming from a major incident in two minutes, there was a pile up on the highway.”
“Great.” Aubrey grumbled, “That’s perfect. A major incident incoming, and our new trauma medic is half an hour late for their first shift. I swear they’d better come through those doors bleeding or dead.”
Aubrey stormed off in the direction of the aforementioned trauma room, Chloe supressing a smile at her oldest friend’s actions. The new doctor might not turn up injured, but they would probably wish they were by the time Aubrey was done with them. Barden Med’s emergency department was Aubrey’s pride and joy, nobody had ever put in as much effort as she had to keep it above water. Messing with the status quo always ended up with whoever it was in hot water they wouldn’t soon forget.
The phone in Chloe’s hand beeped, drawing her attention to the notification.
“Alright people, listen up!” Chloe felt that familiar tingle of pride go through her as the department stopped to look at her. Being charge nurse of the ED was hardly the easiest job in the world, but something about having all these doctors with their fancy qualifications stop and listen to her made it worth it, “We’ve got at least five incoming in the first wave, two critical, I need all hands on deck. Posen takes Trauma One, Conrad Trauma Two, Swanson and Hobart I want you leading triage. It’s going to be a long morning.”
They quickly broke apart to their assignments, Chloe watching her nurses spread themselves between teams to help out. The only person that hung behind was a bright eyed young doctor, notepad clasped tightly in hand as she shifted on her heels a little, looking unsure of herself.
“Where do you want me?”
“Uh…” Chloe frowned a little, “I’m really sorry, do I know you?”
“Oh, sorry!” The doctor stuck out her hand, beaming at Chloe, “Junk, Emily Junk I-”
“You’re the new student doc.” Chloe nodded, “Katherine’s kid right?”
“Yeah!”
“We don’t shake hands here.” Chloe grinned, offering her elbow, “We need to be as scrubbed as possible at any given moment. So we bump elbows instead.”
“Cool!” Emily giggled, copying Chloe as they bumped elbows, “So where do you need me?”
Before Chloe could answer the doors to the ED slid open, paramedics starting to rush in and pulling Chloe’s attention.
“Uh, wherever you’re needed!” Chloe yelled over her shoulder as she went to meet them, “You’ll figure it out, just think of it as a trial by fire!”
Emily’s eyes widened as she nodded in response, looking a little pale and small (despite the fact that she almost towered over Chloe) in the midst of all the chaos that was starting to unfold around them.
“What’ve we got?” Chloe met the paramedic as they came through the door.
“Twenty-eight year old female, penetrating abdo wound, vitals falling fast…”
“Take her to Trauma Two, Stacie’s waiting for you.” Chloe turned to the next set of paramedics coming in, her jaw dropping a little at the sight before her eyes.
On the gurney was not one person but two, the woman on top having thrust her hand inside the bleeding man underneath her. What in the world…
“James Deacon, thirty one, BP one-eighty over ninety, GCS of five, sats at 92 and falling. Shrapnel shredded his aorta, you should have seen the state of his car, someone had to stop him from bleeding out before he got here.” The woman with her hand in his chest flashed Chloe a grin as the gurney was rolled level with her, “Here Red, will you take this for me?”
Chloe raised her eyebrow as the woman passed her a motorcycle helmet with her free hand, “And who are you exactly?”
“Dr Mitchell.” The brunette was still grinning, helmet still offered out in the air towards Chloe, “Your new trauma medic.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes a little as she took the helmet, wanting nothing more than to give Dr Mitchell a piece of her mind, but the patient had to come first. Besides, she was about to get a taste of her own medicine.
“Trauma One. I’ll put this in the lounge when I have a minute.”
Beca gave her a salute as the gurney wheeled off, Chloe shaking her head a little before turning her attention back to the incoming patients. It was going to be a long morning, and Chloe wasn’t sure if their new trauma doctor was going to make it better or worse.
Aubrey’s eyebrows shot into her hairline as she met the gurney halfway between the entrance and Trauma One as she saw the state her incoming patient was in, or rather the woman sticking out of her patient.
“What the hell are you doing to my patient?!”
“Saving his life.” Beca shrugged her shoulder a little, “And I think, given the fact my hand is inside him, that makes him my patient, don’t you?”
“Your patient?!” Aubrey scoffed as she kept pace with the gurney heading for the trauma bay, “Who the hell do you think you are?!”
“Dr Mitchell.” Beca carefully but gracefully got off the gurney, keeping her hand inside the patient, “Sorry I’m late, the accident unfolded right in front of me, I figured I’d stick around to help out.”
Aubrey shook her head a little, eyes narrowing dangerously, “Fine. Your lead, doctor. You made this mess, you can fix it.”
“You just want to watch me work my magic, or do you want to lend a hand?” Beca raised her eyebrow, smug smirk tugging at her lips as Aubrey walked over to join her.
“What do you need?” Aubrey would reem Beca out another time, the patient’s life came first.
“Let’s start with two units of O-NEG while we crossmatch, a cardiac ultrasound, and get him intubated to stop his sats getting any lower.” Beca retained an air of smugness as her orders came clear and direct, “I need an OR, can someone get me an ETA on one?”
“Twenty minutes.” Chloe called as she strode quickly past them, holding her hands up defensively as Beca frowned, “Hey, I just ask the questions, you have a problem with the OR schedule you take it up with the surgeons.”
“He hasn’t got twenty minutes.” Beca shook her head a little, “Alright screw it, we’ll do it here.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Aubrey balked, “You want to perform surgery in my trauma room?”
“No.” Beca deadpanned, “I want to do it in an OR with a bypass machine, but I need to do it here before this tear in his aorta gets any bigger and he bleeds to death. So either mover your ass and help me, or go find me someone that will.”
Aubrey shook her head a little as her team looked at her for approval, “Okay. Let’s do this. But you get to tell the Chief why you cut this guy up without the proper equipment.”
“You got it Blondie.” Beca smirked, suddenly very grateful that she would be the one with a scalpel in hand and not the woman glaring daggers at her.
“It’s Dr Posen.”
“Right.” Beca grinned sheepishly, “Someone get over here with that betadine and just pour it on the area for me, and I need a scalpel, cross clamps, and rib spreaders.”
“What do you want me to do?” Aubrey had thrown a gown over her scrubs, a pair of gloves hastily snapped into place as she stood next to Beca.
“I’m going to extend the incision by a couple of inches, you get ready to spread the ribs, I need as good a field of vision as you can get me.” Beca’s snarkiness fell away under her urgency to help her patient, any tension between her and Aubrey put aside for the meantime.
Aubrey was ready and waiting as Beca made her incisions, quickly inserting the metal instrument so it sat either side of Beca’s hand and widened the gap between his ribs. Beca’s face creased in concentration as she looked into the abdominal cavity where her hand had been sitting for a good ten minutes now.
“Alright… I want 4-0 Prolene on standby, without a bypass machine I’m going to have to clamp his aorta above the tear to fix it.”
“But that cuts of blood circulation to almost everything.” Aubrey frowned deeply, “Including his brain.”
“I know.” Beca mumbled, “Which is why the second I clamp it someone’s going to be keeping watch on the clock for me. Any more than three minutes and we’re in trouble, more than nine and he can kiss his healthy brain function goodbye.”
“Dr Mitchell-”
“Look.” Beca turned her head to meet Aubrey’s authoritative disapproval, “I’ve done this before, with even less equipment than I have now. So let me do my damn job!”
“Alright.” Aubrey held her hands up defensively, “Just tell me when to start the clock.”
“No.” Beca shook her head, “I might need an extra pair of hands, besides, I need your attention on the organs you see, any amount of discolouration there is, I need to know. No use fixing his aorta if his kidneys crap out.”
Beca looked around her, her eyes finding a tall doctor hovering by the door, “Hey kid, what’s your name?”
“E-Emily.” Emily stood up a little straighter, eyes full of nerves, “Emily Junk. I’m just a student, it’s my first day-”
“No better time to learn then.” Beca smirked, “Get in here, when I give you the nod you’re going to keep track of my time okay?”
“Yeah.” Emily swallowed hard, puffing her chest out a little, “Yeah I can do that.”
“Good girl.” Beca turned her attention back to her patient, “Alright, I need as much light as you can get me and a cross clamp. Posen, you see where the lung is occluding the aorta above my hand? I need you to lift it so I can see what I’m doing.”
Aubrey wordlessly did as she was asked, watching intently as light flooded the area and Beca’s hand could be seen.
“Jesus, you really are just holding that together with your fingers huh?” She breathed, unable to mask the quiet awe she was feeling at Beca’s skill and quick thinking.
“Yep.” Beca grinned, “Alright Junk, start counting… now.”
Beca clipped the aorta, hand reaching out for the suture materials that were waiting for her. There wasn’t a sound in the room except from the beeping of the monitors as Beca began to suture the vessel, eyebrows knitted together in concentration.
“One minute.” Emily called out, hyper focused on her task despite wanting nothing more than to watch Beca work. This was so cool.
“Dammit…” Beca mumbled, shaking her head a little, “The damn thing keeps shredding…”
“You should have waited.” Aubrey frowned, “He could have held on a little longer.”
“My hand was starting to cramp as it was.” Beca growled, “I’ve been holding him together for nearly fifteen minutes, or would you rather I had a hand spasm and tore it more?”
“Two minutes.”
“I’m just saying-” Aubrey started.
“And I’m telling you I’ve done this before.” Beca snapped, “I just need a few more seconds…”
“Three minutes.”
“You need to unclamp.” Aubrey pushed, “He’ll stroke out if you leave him much longer!”
“Almost got it…” Beca mumbled, barely listening to Aubrey at this point. She knew she had this.
“Four.”
“I’m done.” Beca grinned a little, cutting off the thread as she set it down, “Unclamping now.”
They watched with bated breath as the monitors continued to beep and flash urgently, Beca’s bottom lip tugged between her teeth as she watched the numbers. For a heart stopping second there was no change, but then the alarms lessened, the beeping steadied, and Beca’s shoulders sagged a little in relief as she was her sutures holding strong.
“There we go. That should hold him until he can get up to surgery.” She smirked, looking around her as the team around her grinned back, each looking equal parts amazed and relieved, “Not bad for my first patient huh?”
“You got lucky.” Aubrey’s eyes narrowed as she retracted the rib spreader, “I don’t tolerate mavericks in my department Dr Mitchell. Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again.”
“Hey, I saved his life didn’t I?” Beca frowned, “Don’t get your panties in a twist.”
“Go change into something more appropriate.” Aubrey snapped, cold glare dragging over Beca’s leather motorcycle gear, “The Chief decides if you get another shift here, but I’ll be recommending that you don’t. He’ll be fortunate if he comes out of this without any brain damage.”
“Whatever dude.” Beca snorted, “It was your Chief that begged me to come here, I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of me. Let’s get him packed and covered, tell general surgery he’s ready for them whenever they can grab him.”
Beca turned on her heel, able to feel the anger radiating off Aubrey as she left the trauma bay, heading for the locker room she’d glimpsed on her way through the ED. She didn’t notice as Emily quickly scrambled after her, her brown eyes wide with amazement as she followed her.
“That was amazing!” Emily gushed, Beca jumping a little before she smirked at the student doctor, “Like really amazing, where did you learn to do that?”
“Kabul.” Beca shrugged a little, “Two tours with the Army taught me a lot about how to manage without the equipment in textbooks and training.”
“You must have seen some pretty crazy stuff…” Emily kept pace with Beca as they entered the locker room.
“You have no idea kid.” Beca chuckled a little, “So, you want to be a trauma medic then?”
“Oh no.” Emily shook her head furiously, still smiling widely, “I’m just here because it’s a mandatory rotation, I’m going into OB like my mom. She works upstairs.”
“Huh.” Beca mused, eyes running along the line of lockers as she tried to pick out an empty one. She found one, bee-lining for it as she unzipped her jacket, shrugging it off, “That something you want? Or something your mom wants for you?”
“Oh, not that one!” Emily winced a little as Beca’s hand rested on the handle of the locker she had spotted, “I got told not to this morning. It used to belong to the previous head of department, but he died, they’re keeping it empty right now…”
“Ah.” Beca backed off a little, “Yeah I think I’ve pissed enough people off today already…”
“Oh so you’re not totally heartless then?”
Beca’s head whipped round to find the redheaded nurse that she’d met on her way in leaning against the doorway. She smirked at her, running a hand through her hair, “Maybe not. Come to spy on me changing Red?”
“I was putting this in here for you.” Chloe strode into the locker room, confidence in every line of her as she thrust Beca’s motorcycle helmet into her chest, Beca oomph-ing a little as she did, “For the record, I am not some errand girl whose going to run around for you. I am not ‘Red’. You might be the big shot doctor, but I’m the charge nurse, this is my ED, nothing happens here without my say-so. Got it?”
“Got it.” Beca grinned, neither of them noticing as Emily ducked out, “So what do I call you then? Your highness?”
“Nurse Beale will do.” Chloe raised her eyebrow, “But we can go with your highness if you’d rather.”
Beca chuckled a little, “You want me to curtesy a little too?”
“Maybe Maverick…” Chloe’s lips began to tug into an amused grin, “But for now you can take the locker next to mine and get some scrubs from the machine at the back. Your white coat is at the nurse’s station when you’re ready.”
“You couldn’t bring that with you?” Beca grumbled, still smirking at Chloe as she walked away.
“Not your errand girl, remember?” Chloe called over her shoulder.
Beca shook her head a little as she moved herself over to the locker next to the one labelled “C. Beale”. Sure, Beca wasn’t here to make friends, she was here to save lives, but it would seem that she hadn’t burnt all her bridges just yet.
As Chloe had predicted it was a long morning as they dealt with the fallout from the pile up on the highway, but thankfully it seemed that all of their patients were going to pull through.
“Dr Mitchell when you’re free, will you check on the patient in Three?” Chloe stuck her head around the door of the treatment room that Beca was currently working in, a soft smile on her face. Sure, Beca was kind of a loose cannon, but no-one could say that she wasn’t working hard to see as many patients as she could without cutting corners.
“Yeah, you got it.” Beca nodded, smirking as she curtseyed a little, Chloe rolling her eyes in response.
“Just check on the patient Maverick.” Chloe laughed, “Should be the last one before lunch.”
“Are you offering to buy me lunch Nurse Beale? Because that’s very forward of you.” Beca raised her eyebrow at Chloe.
“Not a chance.” Chloe snorted, “I don’t date my co-workers, and even if I did you’re not my type.”
“Oh?” Beca mused, her cocky smirk growing wider, “Not your type huh? We’ll see.”
“Patient.” Chloe reminded her, walking back to the nurses station where Aubrey and Stacie were watching on.
“Flirting with the new doctor Chlo?” Stacie teased, “I thought you didn’t date doctors?”
“I don’t.” Chloe deadpanned, “And I wasn’t flirting, she was flirting, I was doing my job.”
“I don’t like her.” Aubrey growled softly, pen clenched tightly in her hand, “She’s arrogant, I don’t have time or energy for arrogance in my department.”
“Easy Bruce Banner…” Stacie gently pried the pen from Aubrey’s grasp, amusement in her features, “Before you shatter that innocent biro.”
“I just…” Aubrey shook her head a little, “I worked my ass off to keep this place afloat, and now this hotshot turns up with her ego and her stupid smirk, acting like she owns the damn place. Oh, and apparently she has the Chief in her pocket, so that’s just great.”
“The Chief?” Stacie raised her eyebrow curiously as she looked over her shoulder to where Beca was stepping into Treatment Three, “Girl’s got a lot of pull for someone who just got here.”
“Tell me about it.” Aubrey mumbled darkly, “Watch her like a hawk, I won’t have her ego bringing down everything I’ve worked so hard to protect and build.”
“Nurse Beale!”
Chloe turned on her heel as the aforementioned Chief of Medicine, Gail Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberg (or for the sake of ease, the Chief/Dr Abernathy) strolled into the ED, white coat wafting a little. She always looked out of place in the ED with her dresses and high heeled shoes that cost more than any of them saw in year, but that was the trade off for running every medical department in the hospital. It was hard to believe that she had once been one of the most sought after emergency medical doctors on the Eastern seaboard when she looked like she had stepped right out of an issue of Vanity, but no-one underestimated her skills here.
“Could you get everyone to gather around the Nurse’s Station for a moment?”
“Of course Chief.” Chloe nodded, quickly scurrying off to do as she’d been asked.
“I take it you’ve met the new trauma medic?” Gail turned to Aubrey who snorted.
“Oh yeah. She turned up half an hour late with her hand inside a patient, turned my trauma room into a bootleg OR, and almost caused the man lasting brain damage.” Aubrey’s arms crossed over her chest as Stacie quietly stepped away to make it look like she wasn’t listening (she definitely was).
“That’s how she’s trained Aubrey.” Gail’s award winning smile stayed in place but there was a tightness to it now, “She’s been in some of the toughest warzones in the world practicing medicine with little more than a staple gun and a ripped t-shirt. Just give her time to adjust to the wonders of working in a fully stocked ED.”
“I need staff I can rely on.” Aubrey’s eyes narrowed a little, her voice lowering as more of her team started to join them, “I can’t have a lone wolf in here.”
“Give her time.” Gail repeated insistently, “I moved heaven and earth to get her to come here. I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t think she was worth the trouble.”
“We’ll see.” Aubrey mumbled, leaning against the desk behind her as Gail turned to the assembled ED staff.
“I know that given her entrance, many of you are aware of our new member of staff.” Gail beamed, Beca shifting uncomfortably as every eye in the room turned to her, “But allow me to make a more formal introduction. Meet Dr Beca Mitchell, emergency medical specialist and trauma surgeon.”
Gail gestured to Beca who smiled tightly, waving awkwardly. She hated being the centre of attention like this, hated people gawking at her like she was some kind of animal at the zoo. This was definitely not what she signed up for.
“I know you’ll all make sure she feels welcome as part of our team, Dr Mitchell has a unique skill set which her a valuable resident for us to have. Anything you’d like to add Beca?”
“Uh…” Beca cleared her throat a little, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, “No I… I guess that’s it. I’m psyched to be here, it beats being out in the desert.”
“Alright. Back to work then everyone!” Gail clapped her hands together, gesturing for Beca to join her as she stepped to one side, “How are you finding things Beca?”
“Yeah, great Chief.” Beca nodded a little, “I may have ruffled a few feathers when I got here, but that’s fine, people aren’t usually quick to warm to me.”
“I’m sure you’ll find your place in no time.” Gail smiled warmly, “The ED’s like a family, you might bicker and butt heads on occasion, but there’s nothing stronger.”
“Sounds a lot like the army Chief.” Beca grinned, “I better get back to work, don’t want to give Posen more reason to string me up.”
“Go easy on her.” Gail caught Beca’s arm as she moved to go back to work, “I know she can be a little… uptight. But she’s a good doctor, and an even better person when you get past the ice queen thing. She takes a little time to thaw.”
Beca nodded a little, a smile tugging at her lips, “Got it. Thanks.”
Gail watched as Beca disappeared into the throng of people in the ED, smiling to herself as she saw her attentions immediately went to a mother and daughter that had just walked in. Beca would be a good fit here, she could feel it, and quite frankly Aubrey could do with someone like her to even her out a bit. Emergency departments changed on a dime, things could go South far quicker and more aggressively than any other department, having someone with Beca’s unique skill set on board would only make them stronger.
At least, that was the hope anyway.
“So, survived your first shift then?”
Beca turned around to find herself face to face with the same male doctor that she’d seen looking at her all day. It wasn’t like Beca wasn’t used to guys and their doomed crushes on her, it just never happened this quickly.
“Uh yeah. Just about.” Beca shrugged, grabbing her jacket and her helmet from her locker and shutting it with a loud metallic thud.
“You’re kind of a rockstar y’know?” He raised his eyebrow, walking with Beca as she made her way through the ED, “I’m Jesse by the way, Jesse Swanson, third year doc.”
“Nice to meet you man.” Beca’s grin was genuine. Okay, he was definitely crushing on and she had to shut that down, but he seemed harmless. Kind of a dork actually.
“Me and some of the other guys are going to grab a drink at the bar over the street if you want in? We’re always in there after shift.” Jesse offered, walking backwards as Beca suppressed a snort.
“No. Thanks, but I still have a tonne of stuff to unpack, and I need to get my bike back too.” Beca shrugged, “Maybe next time.”
“Suit yourself.” Jesse shrugged, “Until next time Becaw!”
“What a weirdo…” Beca whispered to herself, chuckling softly and almost running into the plain clothed police officer that stepped into the ED, “Oh shit, I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going…”
“No, please, that’s on me!” The officer laughed, “I’m Sergeant Hernandez, we met at the accident today?”
“Right, of course.” Beca nodded, smirking a little as her eyes travelled over the woman in front of her, “What can I do for you Sergeant?”
“I brought your bike over.” Sergeant Hernandez held up Beca’s keys on her finger, Beca’s eyes widening in surprise and delight.
“Aw man, thanks!” Beca took her keys, “That has saved me such a hassle, you have no idea…”
“Felt like the least I could do after you G.I. Jane’d it back there…” Hernandez shrugged, “I heard you saved the guy’s life.”
“It was nothing.” Beca shoved a hand in her pocket, rocking back on her heels a little, “I was just doing my job.”
“I was wondering, you said you were new in town…” Hernandez’s grin grew a little as she watched Beca’s expression carefully, “How about I show you the best pizza joint in the city?”
“I could go for pizza.” Beca mused, her eyes raking over the woman in front of her again, “As long as you’re okay riding on the back of Bessie.”
“I’d love nothing more.” Hernandez almost purred as she ran her hand down Beca’s arm, “Lead the way.”
Chloe, Stacie, Jessica and Ashley stood watching the scene unfold in quite awe, shaking their heads a little.
“Half pint’s got game.” Stacie mused, nodding in approval.
“I give it a week before that blows over.” Jessica raised an eyebrow.
“A week?” Ashley scoffed, “Try a night, look at her. That is a girl who likes her freedom, and you know what, good for her.”
“I give it a month before Conrad’s in her bed.” Chloe giggled, nudging Stacie with her elbow as Stacie feigned offence.
“Excuse me, I’d like to think I have a little more self control than that!”
“Please, she’s just your type.” Jessica laughed.
“My type, what does that mean?” Stacie frowned.
“Breathing?” Ashley quipped, earning herself a playful shove from Stacie.
“Hey, Emily!” Chloe had caught sight of the student doctor leaving, ignoring her friend’s childish behaviour, “We’re going to Elle’s, are you coming?”
“Really?” Emily beamed, practically bouncing over to them, “I’d love that!”
“Yeah!” Stacie threw her arm around Emily’s shoulders, ruffling her hair playfully, “You kept pace with us today, all that chaos is a lot to handle on your first day. We’ll make a trauma doctor of you yet, Junk, just you wait.”
Emily giggled as she wriggled out of Stacie’s embrace, straightening her hair again, “I’m going into OB like mom… but today was really cool.”
“We’ve converted worse.” Chloe linked her arm through Emily’s grinning at her, “Stace wanted to be a plastic surgeon when she first turned up, but look at her now!”
“Hang on, how I am ‘worse’?” Stacie scoffed, “I’m the best doc in the place!”
“As you can see, she kept the plastics ego.” Ashley raised her eyebrow.
“You’re pushing your luck tonight Jones.” Stacie pointed her finger accusatorially at Ashley.
“Hey, out here none of that doctor versus nurse crap matters.” Ashley help up her hands defensively, “I gotta get my shots in while I can.”
“Come on…” Chloe rolled her eyes a little, “It’s freezing out here, let’s go inside and get a drink.”
“That might be your best order today.” Stacie grinned.
“What about Dr Posen?” Emily asked, catching sight of the doctor in question crossing the car park, “Should we invite her?”
“Not tonight.” Chloe smiled sadly, “She’s… she’s got a lot on her plate lately. She needs to go home and rest, it’ll do her some good.”
“Oh?” Emily frowned a little, “Is she okay?”
“Yeah.” Stacie nodded, “Posen’s strong stuff, she’ll be fine. One of us will check in on her later.”
“We got her.” Jessica smiled warmly, “Barden ED’s as good as family.”
“And that means you too kid.” Stacie gave Emily’s arm a friendly punch, “Which is why the first round’s on you.”
“What?” Emily squeaked, “I have med school debt coming out of my ears, I can barely afford my own beer!”
“You’ll figure it out.” Stacie shrugged, “That’s what family does.”
“Don’t worry.” Chloe whispered as Stacie charged ahead into the bar with Jessica and Ashley in tow, “I’ve got you covered.”
“You don’t have to-” Emily started, worry sparkling in her eyes.
“I know.” Chloe shrugged, “But I also know how they drink. We’re family now Em, that means I make sure they don’t bankrupt you after one night.”
Emily giggled in response, leaning into Chloe a little as they entered the bar. Her mom was right about one thing; Barden Med was definitely the best place for her.