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CHAPTER ONE hard day's night. season one, episode one.
CASSANDRA HARPER REFUSED TO LIVE IN FEAR. At any moment, the world could stop turning, the ground could cave in beneath her, and everything could fade to black. Funnily enough, these were things which soothed her anxiety, rather than spurred it on.
It was a born instinct for her to scream all of her I love you's from the rooftops. Even if they were only reserved for family, never once did she regret doing so; if anything, she only ever regretted not.
The only thing she didfear was being too late, not saying it while the people she loved still had the time. While she still had the time.
Life can be as short as it is unexpected, and Cassie intended to take that cliché saying to her grave.
No, she didn't live in fear.
A perpetual state of anxiety over not being perfect, however, had always been a bit of an issue.
The first day of her surgical residency had yet to begin, and Cassie could already feel the nerves eating away at her insides. Despite having a bit of an advantage—Derek would be there, which meant there would be at least one attending she didn't need to impress—the possibility of it going poorly was enough to nearly send her off the deep end.
Sparing a glance into the slightly cracked, dust-covered mirror above the hotel room sink, Cassie let out of a puff of air through her cheeks.
The urge to drop everything and run back to New York had never been stronger.
New York, where her mother's grave resided. New York, where the sick man who was her father in everything but name lived. New York, where her friends still remained; her friends, who she didn't exactly feel keen on speaking to at the moment.
(Addison left a voicemail wishing her good luck, and Mark had emailed her some video of an animated cat wearing a party hat. Cassie responded to neither.)
Finally looking away from the mirror, she quickly grabbed her car keys.
The hotel was only a ten minute drive from her destination, giving her plenty of time to internally freak out in the parking lot before she had to go in. With hopefullness brewing in her chest, the large building finally came into view as she followed the sign that read Seattle Grace Hospital, North Entrance.
A person sped by her in the parking lot, their face obscured by their motorcycle helmet, and Cassie almost walked in with them so she could make a friend.
