He was nervous. He was never nervous. He didn’t know why he was nervous. The confrontation he had put off would soon happen in a matter of twenty-nine minutes. He had no idea why he was early to work. He was never early, almost always late. And yet, here he was, making himself a cup of coffee before Neil Hayes could touch the machine. He was sitting at his conference table which was in his spacious office, staring blankly at the seat next to him. Her seat. Would things be awkward between them? Would she hate him for leaving her? What she hate him for using her?

But he wasn’t using her…

“I’m surprised to find you here,” a low voice drawled from the doorway.

Mason’s eyes blinked, her voice chasing away his doubts. Immediately he put up his defensive front, and looked at his boss, the Dean of Medicine and Hospital Administrator, levelly. He took a long drink of his black coffee – he needed something strong to prepare him for the day – before rubbing his lips together.

“I figured I’d throw you off if I showed up early,” he told her, setting his cup of coffee down on the glass table before interlocking his fingers and resting them in his lap. “Now your whole day is going to be off, much like your period.”

“Ha ha ha,” she mocked dryly, rolling her eyes. She walked into his office without an invitation and handed him a manila folder. “Since you seem to have so much free time, I could always assign you more hours in the clinic.”

“How for along until you hit the bitchy trimester?” Hadley asked, quirking a brow. “I would be incredibly appreciative because knowing you, I don’t think I’d be able to tell.”

Dr. Carmen Garcia rolled her dark eyes. It was a wonder she hadn’t fired Hadley after his first day of the job, causing two clinic patients to complain, and an actual case-patient to transfer hospitals, despite being correctly diagnosed. How long ago had that been? Twenty years, maybe. Even his first diagnostician team had all quit, although granted, they stayed longer than anyone expected them to. Dr. Bert McGraw resigned after Hadley aborted a patient’s fetus without getting the consent of the patient, despite the fact that it was killing her. Dr. Carmen Duffy quit after she was caught breaking into someone’s home and had to endure a night in jail. And Dr. Erin Feinstein quit after realizing that despite her utter adoration for the man, he would never return her feelings of affection. Out of the three, Feinstein was the only doctor from the team to remain in the hospital as a surgeon, probably because she wasn’t quite over her former boss.

“You know my husband could kick your ass, right?” she said, quirking a perfectly plucked brow. Garcia was always sharp-looking; incredibly professional. She was always wearing name-brand pantsuits, Chanel being her absolute favorite. Her dark, curly hair was always pulled out of her face, and her makeup was always light.

“Ah, but I’m faster,” Hadley told her with a grin. “Now, what do you have for me?”

“Patient,” Garcia answered, leaning next to Hadley so she could read the folder from over his shoulder. “A woman, mid-thirties, lawyer. She was in court, going over jury picks, when she couldn’t form sentences. It just came out in babble.”

Hadley said nothing, his eyes scanning the forms thoroughly. It did sound rather… interesting. Even he couldn’t deny it. Maybe it would even help take his mind off other looming things.

“Of course, if you would rather not waste your precious time, there’s a clinic that is in desperate need of doctors.” She tried to make her voice sound appealing, but she knew he wouldn’t give in; he never did.

“My team should be here any minute,” Hadley stated. “You go sit around, trying not to go into labor, and I’ll cure the patient.”

Again, Garcia rolled her eyes but had nothing but the highest confidence in him. She walked out with a disgruntled sigh; while Hadley was curing a patient, she still desperately needed a doctor to help the lone Dr. Summer in the clinic.

Neil Hayes was the first to walk in. He was surprised to see his boss already there, writing a symptom on the whiteboard. Specializing in neurology, Hayes was the second person hired to Hadley’s team. Hayes definitely favored suits when dressing for work, much like Hadley. Unlike Hadley, however, he shaved every other day. Currently, he had on a blue suit with black slacks and the shiniest loafers Hadley had ever seen. Every hair on the man’s head was perfect, brushed back and held there with gel. His grey eyes looked slightly tired, and he perked when his eyes rested on the coffee machine. However, they seemed to sadden when he realized the coffee had already been made.

Hadley watched the changing expression on Hayes’s face and walked over to his table, picking up his cup and taking a long sip. “Delicious,” he stated. “You should really try some.”

Hayes gave Hadley a tired look before trudging over to the coffee machine with the hopes of creating nearly perfect coffee.

The next to enter with Alex Roberts. Roberts was quite a favorite with the female (and a surprising number of male) patients, who specialized in cardiology. He had a very soft, soothing voice tainted with a Southern accent. Staying true to where he was from, Roberts wore jeans, belts with abnormally large belt buckles, and plaid collared shirts. There were even occasions where he showed up in cowboy boots, but normally it was some kind of tennis shoes. He had shaggy blond hair and deep brown eyes, and when he smiled, a dimple popped up in his left cheek. He, too, was surprised to see his boss already present, but said nothing more, and took his normal seat next to Hayes.

Hadley glanced at the clock. She wasn’t late or anything, but he kind of wished she would show up so they could get this whole thing over with. And almost as though the universe heard, and granted, his wish, there she was.

Goodson’s red hair was swept up in a fashionable messy bun, with stray strands of long locks framing her heart-shaped face. She was smiling as she entered, and he couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised. It was as though Friday night hadn’t even happened, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Yet, there was something different about her. An obvious observation would be her clothes. Granted, she was not wearing anything too provocative; a white collared shirt with bell-shaped sleeves and dark blue jeans with matching suspenders attached and black ankle boots. The body he had seen, had felt, had kissed was revealed tastefully in her current outfit. But even more than that, she walked with an air of confidence surrounding her.

She looked happy, genuinely happy.

“Well, Goodson,” he said in his gruff voice, “don’t you look like you just got laid over the weekend.”

“What makes you think it was just once?” she asked coyly, arching a brow.

This seemed to startle him. He was normally so quick with the comebacks, and yet here he was, staring at, completely speechless. Her statement seemed to bother him for whatever reason. She was single; she could fuck whoever she wanted. Even his rational left him unsatisfied.

“I heard about the whole Owen thing,” Hayes said as Goodson took her seat across from the two seated men. “Good for you, girl.” He gave her a playful wink. “Lord knows what you saw in him.”

“If you ever need to talk-“ Roberts began, leaning toward Goodson, his dark eyes sincere.

“Speaking of talking, how about discussing our new patient,” Hadley interrupted quickly. While Roberts seemed incredibly charming, he was incredibly single and liked it that way.

His team turned to glance at the whiteboard and Hadley relayed the information given to him by Garcia. When he finished, he looked at the three and asked, “Thoughts?”

“I’d say brain tumor,” Hayes said, his fingers wrapped around his chin. “If she can’t control what she’s saying, it’s gotta be a neurological problem.”

Hadley thought about it, pressing air into his right cheek and then pushing it to his right. “Do an MRI,” he stated after a moment.

The team began to get up, Hayes quickly grabbing the patient’s folder. Goodson followed the two out the door, curling a strand of hair behind her ear when she ran into Andy. She was somewhat surprised at how quickly Shelby had sent him up to Hadley’s office, but then again, it was such a Shelby the thing to do. She was quite impatient whenever conducting her experiments.

“Hi, Dr. Goodson,” Andy said formally, a small smile on his face.

Goodson smiled at him. Andy was incredibly cute; not the picturesque handsome, but very, very cute. He was tall and somewhat lanky, with short dark hair and dark eyes that clashed with his pale skin. His smile was normally shy, but when it came to his profession, he was incredibly persistent. He was incredibly sweet and very friendly, although Goodson had to wonder if he might have been a bit intimidated by her boss. The two were standing in the doorway of Hadley’s office, and Andy kept glancing at Hadley, almost as if he expected the diagnostician to pounce on him.

“Congratulations, by the way,” Goodson told him quietly, leaning in so Andy could hear her. “’Bout time Summer.”

Andy chuckled at that. “I was wondering if you weren’t doing anything, you’d assist me with a consult in the clinic?” he questioned.

Goodson glanced back at her boss and was surprised to find Hadley staring very intently at Vince. His blue eyes were narrowed somewhat and his lips were pressed into a thin line. A throb in her pelvis sent tremors through the inside of her body in reaction to his territorial look. Maybe Shelby was on to something.

“Is that a problem?” she inquired curiously.

Hadley looked at her, his blue eyes pooling into hers. “It doesn’t take three people to do an MRI,” he stated. The wasn’t really an answer, but Goodson knew Hadley well enough to know that was his way of saying yes.

She turned and followed Andy down to the clinic, the two discussing his impending nuptials.

“Your fiancée is smarter than I give her credit for,” she told him after a moment.

“Yeah,” Andy replied, scratching the back of his head. “I’ve learned that the hard way.”

* * *

By the time five o’clock rolled around, the team figured out that it was not a brain tumor as they initially believed. However, the patient seemed stable and nurses would be around supervising through the night, promising to beep the team if anything happened. They, of course, were not allowed to beep Hadley; usually Goodson took it upon herself to beep him if things were too serious for the three of them. It didn’t look like tonight would be a long night for Hadley’s diagnostic team.

Hayes and Roberts were out the door by the time Goodson slipped off her lab coat and draped it over her arm. “Good night,” she called over her shoulder, glancing at Hadley who was staring at his computer screen.

At the sound of her voice, he abruptly stood. “We need to talk,” he told her and then walked over to the door so he could shut it, giving the two privacy. When he turned, he stared at her pensively, but after three years of working with him, the inquiring stare did not intimidate her like it once did.

“Yes?” she asked, slowly arching a brow.

“Who was that physician who asked you for a consult?” he asked bluntly. “How come I’ve never seen him before?”

“Maybe if you actually paid attention to your surroundings, you would know that he works in the clinic,” she retorted dryly.

“I pay attention to you,” he told her.

“Obviously,” she said with a chuckle, “because if Dr. Summer hadn’t come to talk to me, you wouldn’t have noticed him at all.”

“You know his name.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Actually, I know a lot more about him,” Goodson continued. “I know his full name, his favorite color, and much, much more.”

“So who is he?” Hadley leaned his backside on the edge of his oak desk and crossed his arms over my chest.

“None of your business,” Goodson told him firmly. “Now, if there’s nothing else…?” She let her voice trail off as a question and looked at him expectantly.

“I want to make it my business.” He was sure when he said it; there was no hesitation or doubt. He had been thinking about everything the whole day, when he wasn’t concentrating on the case, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized he wanted to share many more nights with her. It was an odd feeling, liking her, but he couldn’t quite say it that way out loud, at least not yet. He wasn’t quite sure how Goodson would react, but at least he got it there out in the open.

Goodson was surprised. Whatever Shelby had concocted worked more than they had both originally anticipated. Goodson had wanted some kind of friends-with-benefits type deal. Was he asking for a relationship? She was normally good at reading between the lines when it came to Hadley, but this statement wasn’t as clear as his others were.

“I don’t… understand,” she said finally, furrowing her brow. “You leave after we get together and now that some guy asked for my consult, you want… me?” Her eyes narrowed and she placed her hands on her hips. “You just want me because somebody else does. You’re as territorial as a dog, you know that?”

“Yes,” came his nonchalant reply. “I see nothing wrong with that.”

“Your feelings are conflicting,” she stated. “You only want me because now there’s a chase. I know you, Hadley, and I know how quickly you tire of things when they’re just handed to you. You like the chase. Hell, you like the fight.”

“Are you saying you don’t want another Friday night?” he asked her, his eyes perked, obviously surprised at her insinuation.

“No,” she said quietly. “I’m not saying that.” She paused, chewing the inside of her cheek. Hadley had seen this look on Goodson plenty of times before; she was thinking very hard about something, and so he waited for her to continue patiently. “We need guidelines so things don’t get out of hand.”

Hadley nodded once. “Okay,” he said.

“I don’t want the stigma of the whole boyfriend/girlfriend relationship,” Goodson stated firmly.

“Agreed,” Hadley told her. “I want to know if you find someone else before you get involved with him.”

“Yes,” Goodson said, nodding. “Oh, I don’t want anyone here to know about us. You can tell Shore if I don’t find out he knows.”

Hadley smiled and nodded without saying anything. A pause. “Is that it?” he asked her.

“I think so,” she said with a smile. “I’ll see you at my place around seven thirty?”

Hadley’s smiled deepened. “I guess so,” he said, and then pushed himself off the edge of his desk. He looked at Goodson for a long moment before asking, “So, who’s this Dr. Summer then?”