⋆ ★ ALREADY GONE ━━━CHAPTER NINETEEN
( THE NEW MAN ) , damage case.
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AFTER JAMIE HAD GIVEN HER DOG TO DEREK AND ADDISON, SHE THOUGHT THAT IT WS THE LAST TIME SHE'D EVER SEE THE PRECIOUS THING. But it wasn't. Doc had recently become sick, and Jamie joined the couple in vet visits where she met, Aaron.
Aaron was very polite and did everything he could to make sure that Doc was in the best care. Aaron was a nice guy and a pretty damn good vet- best in the area. He had dark brown hair, almost black with a rather plain beard on his chin. Jamie had to admit, he was not bad looking to the eyes. He also didn't mind flirting with Jamie whenever he had the chance.
And that's when she started dating him. She deserved a guy like him after all the shit she'd previously been through- not to mention by a guy who had similar features.
Jamie had actually recently stayed over with him and woke up in his bed. Something she found... weird, almost. She never really stayed at Derek's trailer, so it felt unnatural to wake up in a bed that was not her own.
As Aaron was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for the two, Jamie got up from her chair at the counter and stood beside him with a smile. "Hi,"
Aaron turned to her, a smile on his face as well. "Hi,"
"So, uh, I actually don't know how to cook. Well, I don't cook not that I don't know how."
"Nobody asked you to cook, Grey." He replied lightly. "I am a pretty amazing cook if I do say so myself. If I wasn't a vet, I'd be a chef."
"I know," She sighed, playing with a strand of her hair anxiously. "I'm just saying that I don't cook. For in the future or something. And it also means that you don't have to cook. You can if you want to but-" Jamie was cut off when a quick kiss was planted to her lips. "What was that?" She smiled when the male pulled away.
"You were rambling." Aaron smirked in return.
"Sorry. But again, you don't have to cook. I really don't expect you to cook for me."
"Okay, sit down." As Jamie sat down, as told, he moved towards the kettle and poured some of the boiled water into the cup. "Now, I know you might have been expecting coffee, but I personally like tea better and I think after you try this, you will too."
Jamie laughed a bit. "Well, I just so happen to like tea over coffee so there's no doubt that I'll like it."
"Good," Aaron nodded before placing the cup in front of her. "Now, I want you to drink this and try really hard to act like you aren't scary and damaged, alright?"
"I'm not scary and damaged." She protested.
"Yes, you are." He retorted.
Jamie laughed once more. "No! I'm not scary or damaged. You've got it all wrong, Dr. Halpert." She used his name formally.
"Mmhmm, then why don't you tell me about your family?"
"I have a little sister, Meredith. You've met her, right? And... that's about it." When Aaron gave her a look of doubt, she scoffed. "Okay, me not wanting to talk about my family does not make me scary or damaged."
He shrugged in response. "Okay. Tell me about the last guy you slept with."
"Ha..." The resident then checked her watch before sliding off her chair. "I've got to get to work."
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"So, after he asked you about the forbidden topic, what did you say to him?" Kathryn asked her friend as they walked into the doors of the hospital.
"I didn't say anything, Harper. I fled, I ran and lied and said I had to get to work." Jamie explained and the sighed. "I feel terrible."
"So, you didn't tell him about Derek or me?" Adam asked from Jamie's left.
"You two slept together?" Kathryn gasped very, very loudly. "Oh my god, Jamie Grey, how did I not know about this?" She demanded.
The resident shrugged. "It was way before me, and Adam were the friends we are today. It's a distant memory that someone," She motioned to the man. "should never mention ever again. Got it."
He scoffed. "Are you embarrassed by me, Grey? That's low, even for you."
"Shut up," Jamie retorted. "And no, I didn't tell him about that because I don't think about it on the daily basis but clearly you do."
"I do not. I think about having sex with many other women other than you, don't flatter yourself, babe."
"Can we get back to the subject?" Kathryn interrupted the little feud between the two. "Jamie, you like him."
"I could like him," A hint of red appeared on her cheeks as she spoke.
"Is the sex any good?"
"Is that all you ever think of Harper?" Adam spoke up. "I mean, I feel like any time I'm around you, you're talking about screwing someone."
"Shut up," Jamie scolded him before turning back to Kathryn. "I don't know, we haven't slept together yet."
The female attending looked like her eyes were about to pop out of her head. "Four dates and two sleepovers at his place and no sex? Have you even kissed him goodnight?" Her friend shook her head no. "Ugh, Jamie."
Adam nudged the girl before wrapping an arm around Jamie. "I'm so proud of you babe. Abstinence is key. Trust me, I'm an OB/GYN, I know my shit." He then discreetly winked at Kathryn who rolled her eyes.
"Shut up," The resident smiled. "I've got lousy interns to get to..." Her smile then dropped and Jamie sighed. "I hate it here."
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"Good morning, interns." Jamie met them in the pit. "Where is Stevens and O'Malley?"
"She peed!" They heard from inside. "Naked peeing. Ask Meredith... oh, that's right, I forgot, you're not talking to her. Goodmorning, Dr. Grey." The blonde intern smiled at the resident.
"Who is naked peeing where?" Jamie deadpanned. "And why am I hearing about it?"
Izzie pointed at George for a quick second. "George's girlfriend, Dr. Torres. She's an orthopedic doctor upstairs. And please tell George that he needs to ask Meredith about it. If he were talking to her, she would tell you that Callie crosses the line. So, across the line."
"Please stop talking, Stevens, you are giving me a massive headache and it's still early in the morning so if you don't want to end up doing scut today, shut it."
"Oh," Alex scoffed from behind them, looking directly at Izzie. "We're still pretending that you're not seeing a patient, right?"
"People, what's with all the evil misery, huh?" Cristina asked them. "Live and let a little."
"You're cheerful," George spoke, almost as if it were a question. He was right though, Cristina Yang was rarely in a good mood.
"How's that possible?" Izzie questioned.
"I scrubbed in on a 4-hour paraoesophageal hernia last night, then I got laid, and now three ambulances are coming in full of bloody broken car crash victims all who need to be cut open." The intern smiled before dancing with herself. "So, I'm cheerful. I'm cheerful!"
"Ugh..." Derek sighed, walking up behind her. He didn't want to be cheerful now- especially when he heard about Jamie and the vet.
Cristina looked down in embarrassment. "Sorry, sir."
"Hey," Jamie said to him.
"How's my dog?" He grumbled in reply.
"Much better, Aaron is running the tests that are needed and he should be good. Hopefully. Fingers crossed, am I right?" She attempted a smile which the male did not return.
All he said was "Good," before tramping inside.
Jamie stopped him. "Our dog." And Derek turned back around with a grunt. "Our dog, you said my dog. He's our dog."
"Yeah, whatever." Derek grumbled once more.
"Wait- are you mad at me for something?"
He sighed. "Now is not the time." And then retreated inside the building which left Jamie confused, really confused.
"25-year-old restrained driver, Noah Reynolds." Izzie spoke as she brought the gurney with the patient inside the ER. "Vitals stable, chief complaint, right knee pain."
"Curtain three," Bailey pointed the way.
"Noah!" A woman called from the next gurney. "Are you still alive?"
"I'm still alive, baby!" The patient called back.
"What do we got?" Jamie took the next gurney.
"22-year-old pregnant, restrained passenger." The paramedic told her. "T-boned on her side. Prolonged extrication in the field. BP, 90/50. Pulse is in the 80s."
The resident nodded. "Alright, let's get her to trauma room one."
"Trauma?" The woman asked. "No, I'm fine really. You don't have to go to all that trouble."
"Ma'am, that' kind of our job." Jamie smiled down at her.
"Mercy, no, I am fine. Really. The air bags went off. If you could just check on my baby and the rest of my family and my husband. Noah!" She screamed for the other patient "You saw mama breathing, right? And daddy- where the hell is daddy? Mama and daddy are still alive, right?"
"They're in the ambulance right behind us!" Noah called back.
"Yang, you got this?" Jamie asked the intern who nodded before checking the patient's visuals.
"Driver and front seat passenger, both early 50s, both restrained, both stable." Joey said, wheeling an elder man in from the ambulance bay. "The passenger has some leg and arm pain. The driver is complaining of chest pain."
"Shoot!" A southern accent was heard. "Dang it all to heck!"
Jamie furrowed her eyebrows. "What the hell is going on today? Jesus..."
"Get off." The father tried to push Joey and Jamie out of the way. "Get off."
"Sir," The resident raised her voice. "I need you to lie the hell down so that I can clear your spine. Now."
But he kept struggling. "My spine is fine, and you can sew up my head later. Where's my girl? Mellie?" He then tried pushed Joey away but hit Jamie a little too hard so she got thrown to the ground.
"Oh my god," Bailey gasped when she saw her friend go down. "Jamie, are you alright?"
"Ugh..." She groaned in reply, her head slightly spinning before she laid back down on the floor. "I'm good, I just... need a minute. But dammit, my arm hit the ground pretty badly... shit."
"Evans, O'Malley, get Ace a gurney, now!" Bailey ordered. "One of you two, page Ortho while you're at it."
"I'm fine." Jamie motioned the other resident off but when she sat up, she saw stars. "Never mind."
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"Here," Callie handed Jamie some water for her to sip on with her good hand. They were in a trauma room furthest away from the patient that knocked her down plus all the commotion. "Drink some water. You want me to page Neuro? Bailey said you hit your head down there."
"No, I'm good." Jamie shook her head lightly. "My head will be fine, a little sore from hitting the ground but I'll tough through it. I just need my arm to operate."
"Well, you kind of need your brain for that too, Ace." The other joked.
The one sipping on her water laughed. "Ha. You are right, Dr. Torres."
"Please, call me Callie."
"Well, in that case, call me Jamie- ow!" She exclaimed as Callie pressed hard on her arm. "What the hell was that?" She demanded.
"I'm just doing my job." Callie argued, slightly intimidated by the smaller girl. "Sorry. Well, it's not broken but I'm debating on taking you up for a CT just to make sure. Are you allergic to any type of medications?"
Jamie shook her head. "Not that I am aware of."
"Good, I'm going to start you on some morphine just for the pain and we'll have to wait it out a bit. Sound good?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good, now let's get this medicine started and that means you'll probably be in here the majority of the day."
"Ugh, seriously?" She complained in response. "The Hillbilly picnic downstairs needs help."
"The same Hillbilly picnic that got you here?" When Callie asked and the smaller girl remained silent, the Ortho resident smiled. "That's what I thought. I'll be in to check in a little bit. Don't go anywhere."
grey's anatomy
"Is there any way that you can talk to your best friend?" Meredith grumbled as she walked into Jamie's trauma room where she was laying down and trying not to fall asleep.
"What?" The other sighed before laughing. "Sorry, shit, Callie put me on morphine so I'm a little... drugged. Who are we talking about?"
"Derek," The younger sister said. "He's taking his personal anger out on me, and I have no clue why. Have you seen him at all today?"
Jamie giggled and shook her head. "Nope," She popped the p. "Actually, that is a lie. He seemed pretty pissed at me this morning but I have no clue why. Maybe you can ask him, sis."
"You're no help." Meredith deadpanned.
"Hey! I can't help it... the Hilly Willy picnic knocked me over and almost crushed me arm!" The resident then let out a big laugh. "I said me arm. I'm a pirate now, Mer! Come join me and me crew." That made Jamie laugh at herself more. Why she was laughing this hard was probably the drugs.
Meredith couldn't help but be amused at the situation, taking her mind off of Shepherd. "You're so high right now, James." She commented.
"No I'm not," She protested with a slight roll of her eyes. "Callie just gave me a small bit to relieve the pain and it worked. But I am completely normal right now."
"Uh huh. Sure."
"What about McDreamy?" Jamie slurred, sipping a bit on her water before almost choking. "Oh shit, my bad.'
"Are you okay, James?" Meredith asked, alarmed that her sister almost died because of water.
"I'm fine." The older sister waved the other off. "What about Derek?"
"He's taking whatever he's going through out on me. My guess is because he can't find you and I'm the next best thing."
Jamie just stared at her sister. "You're pretty. Hey, where's Dr. B? I wanna see her, tell her Jamie Grey wants to see her, she'll know who that is. Trust me, have you met, Dr. B?"
"Yes," Meredith nodded, seeing where this would go. "I believe I have, Jamie."
"Ooh, yes. So, then you know how amazing she is-" But then she saw the look on Meredith's face when the intern checked her pager. "What? What is it?"
"I'll be back, James." And then she was gone in a flash.
Jamie looked confused but then soon let out a giggle. "Me arm. I'm a pirate. Wait, Mer!" She quickly got up with her IV stand and rushed behind her sister out of her trauma room. "Wait for me!"
"What the hell?" Meredith questioned when she saw her sister follow her into the CT room. "Jamie, go back to your room, you fell down and you're on morphine."
"How in the hell do you let a patient get the far off your watch?" Derek asked the intern as he approached the two.
"Earlier, I turned my back for a second-" Meredith tried to explain.
"He was in the damn gallery!"
"He's a surgical inter at Mercy West, and he-"
The attending shook his head. "I don't care if he is the surgeon general. In this hospital, he is a patient. With a head injury who needs a CT. In this hospital, he is a scared guy who does not need to see the massive internal injuries of the woman he rammed with his car! This is your fault! You had him and you lost him-"
"Hey!" Jamie warned him, pointing a finger at the male, as she came to her senses. "If you don't watch your back, so help me lord, my sorry-drugged-ass will kick yours from now until next fucking year." She cursed. "You don't talk to my sister that way ever again, especially right in front of me. Take your problems somewhere else."
Derek didn't say anything, he just huffed a breath and shook his head while walking away.
Jamie turned to her sister who had a sad, embarrassed look on her face. "Hey," she said calmly. "Don't worry about him, I'll take care of him. You go with your patient. I'll be back."
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"Shepherd!" Jamie called for him as he was entering a stairwell and she followed him. "What the hell is your problem? First you talk to me the way you did this morning and now you're taking all your shit out on my little sister. That's not okay with me. You better figure out your problems on your own time-"
"-when were you going to tell me about the vet? Or Williams." He asked in return, a smug look on his face as he cut her off. "You really get around now, huh?"
"What?" Jamie laughed for a quick second. "Hold on, am I- is it the drugs or did you actually just say that to me?"
"Who's next, Karev? The intern, or maybe the other one- Ross Cameron. Because I hear they like to sleep around. You three might have that in common."
"What the hell is your problem?" She cursed in response. "You have a wife, Derek! A goddamn wife, who cheated on you and then you decided to do it back to her with me. Hypocrite. Don't make yourself the victim in this situation. Yes, what Addison did to you was fucking, over the moon terrible, but when you decided to move here and sleep and mess with me, that's when I became the victim. You left me, Derek. You chose to stay with Addison so right now, you have zero room to make yourself the victim.
"And so, what if I am sleeping with thousands of guys a night, it's not concerning you? At least Aaron treats me as the kind of person I actually am and doesn't have a goddamn wife hidden in LA. So, underneath all my mommy and daddy issues and such, I finally have someone that cares for me and don't try to say that you do care for me because I wouldn't believe a word, you'd say at this point. Because if you did, we wouldn't be in this fucking situation. And Adam is my best friend, so don't talk shit of him either. He is twice the man you'll ever be, and you better get that through your thick skull for your sake- not mine.
"And when I met you, I actually thought that you were the one. How silly of me. But now I am finally trying to get back on track with my life and I am not going to let you take that away from me. That is an oath I vowed myself to- not just for you- but to anyone who would try and take me away from myself. You broke me, over and over again, so I make no apologies for how I chose to repair what you broke."
He nodded in understanding. "This thing with us is finished. It's over."
"Congratulations. I can't wait for my life without you to finally begin."
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"Where the hell were you?" Callie yelled at Jamie as the patient entered her trauma room. "I was about to call a missing person's code!"
"I'm sorry," The smaller resident sniffled her tears away. "Today has been a really shitty day. I didn't mean to worry you, Dr. Torres."
Callie could relate right now. "Today has been shit, I'll admit that." She nodded before asking, "What happened, Jamie?"
"First I get beaten down by a Hillbilly picnic. Then the guy who screws me over, has the audacity to call me a whore when he's the one who didn't tell me he has a wife!" Jamie explained, more small tears welling her eyes. "I mean, I really thought that we had something special- and maybe it's the drugs talking but I really loved him and he totally- royally- fucked me over."
"I'm sorry... truly, Jamie, I am really sorry." Callie had a sympathetic look on her face. "My day has been full of selfish interns who gossip any chance they get."
"Oh," Jamie groaned, more tears coming to their eyes. "I hate the interns. They're everywhere, Callie! They live with me, they work with me, and I hate it. I haven't had a moment of silence since. They are driving me crazy. It's like I'm actually going insane, and I can't take it anymore. I can't. My life has actually gone to shit."
Callie had to force herself not to cry at the scene of her co-worker, which she had really only known a day. "If you need a place to stay, you can always crash with me... and George. Well, or I could come to you, so you don't have to be alone." She suggested.
The smaller resident looked a bit hopeful. "Really?" But then shook her head. "No, I couldn't burden you, Callie."
"You wouldn't be a burden to me, Jamie. Plus, I'd like to get to know you. You seem cool."
"Ha..." Jamie forced a laugh. "You're only saying that because I just broke down right in front of you, right?"
The other woman snickered. "Partly, but I've heard some stories about you, Ace. What do you say?"
"Well, I can't refuse the offer to talk about myself, but I sort of already have plans."
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"You're driving me crazy with the hovering." Aaron chuckled at Jamie who was right behind him in his kitchen as he was cooking fo her again. "You alright, you know, after your fall at the hospital?"
"I'm sorry," She shook her head before exhaling. "This could be a mistake. This. Us, what's going on between us. You're a really nice guy, Aaron and well... you don't want to get involved with me. If you knew me-"
"-scary?"
"Aaron-" She sighed in defeat.
"-and damaged. I told you." He smiled while sipping his white wine.
Jamie sighed again. "If you knew me, deeply, if you knew my family and friends. If I told you the guy I was with before you, the scary and damaged might actually be... scary and damaged. Which is probably more than you can handle."
"My father is dead." Aaron started. "He had CF when I was 10 and suffered for a very long time before he died. My mother never really recovered from it and it's... it's sort of like she died with him except for the fact that her body is above ground and his is six feet under." He then took a moment before saying, "The last person I slept with was my husband."
"Your... husband? Are you...?" She trailed off.
He nodded. "Yes, I'm gay, well, bi. And well, my husband died as well. Cancer. He didn't know he had it until he was on his death bed which was quicker than we hoped. Don't worry, Jamie, I'm thinking that my luck is beginning to change because... I met you. And you like dogs and you enjoy pony births, and you have the ability to save lives."
Jamie smiled at him, leaning into him for a hug. "Really?"
"I never said I wasn't scary and damaged, too." He answered before kissing her. "See, we're all a bit messed up."
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— AUTHOR'S NOTE:
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derek <<< aaron.