Chapter 32

A month had now passed since Ryan had run out on his and Mandy's wedding. He had moved back into his apartment, Mandy had moved out because technically Ryan owned it. Ryan was spending more and more time with Chris, he had even stayed the night at his apartment.

"So?" demanded Dylan as he and Ellie scrubbed out of a surgery.

"So what?" she said.

"So what have you done?"

"About what?" said Ellie who had no idea what he was talking about.

"I don't know. What have you done? You have your guilty face on," said Dylan as if he was talking to an idiot.

"My what?"

"Your guilty face when you've done something bad and you feel guilty."

"I know what my guilty face is," snapped Ellie.

"Well then why the guilty face?"

"None of your damn business!"

"Oooh you did something really bad didn't you?" teased Dylan.

"Shut up! I didn't do anything good or bad!"

"Sure you didn't," said Dylan rolling his eyes at her. "When you come out of denial come and find me, I want details of the sordid deed."

"There was no deed, no sordidness or deed," said Ellie a little too quickly and high pitched.

"Oh my mother of all that is sacred," gasped Dylan overly dramatic. "Who was it?"

"Nothing…no' one…I didn't do anything."

"Sure you didn't," laughed Dylan.

"Oh piss off will you?" snapped Ellie.

"I'm going," said Dylan leaving the scrub room.

----------------------------------------------------

"Shepherd I need an intern," Ryan called across a crowded ER.

"Alright Donnelly you're with Henderson," said Ellie trying to disperse her interns.

"But…" Mandy protested.

"Look I get that the situation is awkward and have tried to keep you out of his service for as long as I can, but enough is enough. You can't avoid cardio forever, you have the makings of a good cardio-thoracic surgeon," said Ellie trying to sound sensitive and caring, but it just came out like exasperation. "Anyway you should have thought of this before you got involved with a co-worker."

"But I thought we would be together forever…we were meant to be married," wailed Mandy tears spilling out of her eyes.

"Fine," sighed Ellie she could not deal with that today. "Go and get it together then go to plastics." Mandy nodded tearfully and ran towards the stairs.

"Ellie I need someone NOW!" shouted Ryan as his patient started to fit.

"Shepherd run a neuro check and MRI," Mark shouted spotting the patient fitting.

"I'm on it," called Ellie running over to the patient grabbing the chart and scanning it. "Alright we have to stop the fitting…try…"

"Done," said Ryan injecting the patient with the drug Ellie was just about to say. "We have to…"

"Smith call the OR and let them know we're coming!"

"Looks like we're still a good team," Ryan whispered suggestively into Ellie's ear as he passed.

"I guess," said Ellie trying to look anywhere but at him.

"We should probably talk later," he said quietly so that nobody could hear.

"About what?" said Ellie trying to pretend she had no idea what he was talking about.

"You want to play it like that?"

"Like what?"

"Fine you play dumb Elle," said Ryan sounding more amused than angry. "Let me know when you get bored of that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't," he whispered into her ear then nibbled softly on her ear. "Like I said let me know when you get bored."

-----------------------------------------

"Hey do you want me to pick up Chris?" Ryan asked Ellie as they both left the hospital.

"No it's fine I'll do it," said Ellie getting her keys out of her bag. "But why don't you come over later?"

"Okay," said Ryan.

"When Chris is in bed."

"Why?"

"I guess I got bored," shrugged Ellie.