OKAY. This (even my author's notes!) has SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS for Trauma Team. Do NOT go any further if you don't want it ruined!

Alright, now that all that is over, I've got lots to say.

Hi! I'm back - I graduated college AND got married in the month of May so life has been... hectic. Please excuse my recent drop off the face of the earth, but now that everything is overwith I have lots of free time and I hope to spend it WRITING. This is just a start to get me back in the swing of things, I guess.

I know I said I wasn't going to write anything for Trauma Team, and while this TECHNICALLY is from Trauma Team, it's really just a backstory of the like, 12 second cameo Derek makes in the game. Because if someone can take a 12 second clip of Derek and make it into a four-thousand word oneshot, that person is definitely me. And I put Gabe in here a lot because he kicks so much ass. Seriously him and RONI are like an old married couple... too funny.

Completely unrelated: I want to punt Tomoe off a cliff. A big rocky cliff.

This is the exchange between Gabe, CR-SO1, and Derek while discussing Naomi's operation. It is slightly fluffy because that's just how I roll, so deal with it. :)

Enjoy!

It was a rare day at Caduceus.

A quiet day.

And Derek Stiles was loving every minute of it.

There were no hard cases, no mass trauma, very little paperwork... Instead, it was a day of checking up on patients who were already near discharge and taking the rest of the time to catch up with coworkers and colleagues who weren't accessible for very many long talks at other points of the year.

At this particular point in the morning, Derek was seated on the couch in his office alone, as Angie was off doing inventory of the hospital's supplies with the other nurses. The sun shone brightly outside, trickling into his window and casting a golden hue over the entire room. A small smile stretched across his face as he extended his right arm, placing the coffee cup in his hand on the table as his head leaned back against the couch and his eyes gently closed themselves.

And right on cue – just like every other time he tried to take a nap at work, an interruption came to thwart his plans. Though he knew no matter what it was, it would never ruin the peacefulness of that day...

...right?

Three beeps came in succession from the phone on Derek's desk, meaning that someone was looking for him. Half expecting it to be Angie, Derek cocked an eye open when instead he heard the voice of Anne, the friendly woman who worked in Caduceus's call center.

"Dr. Stiles?"

Derek's other eye lazily opened itself at her tone of voice, noting that it was a bit more serious than her normal cheery disposition.

"Good morning, Anne." he replied. "Do I have a call?"

"Good morning. Um, yes... there's a call on the line for you – a doctor claiming it is of an urgent nature. He's claiming to be an old friend of yours."

Derek sighed. Being a world-renowed surgeon had it's perks, but it didn't take long for the actual important calls to lessen and the calls only seeking a chat with the famous surgeon to grow in number. For that reason, both he and the people who answered Caduceus's phones had become accustomed to the screening process, as while it was fun in the beginning, Derek found that taking calls from people constantly praising him did get a bit... annoying.

"Did they leave a name this time?" he asked, his eyes slowly closing as he prepared to be able to slip back into his awaiting nap.

"Actually, yes." was the unorthodox reply. "His name is Dr. Gabriel Cunningham from Resurgam First Care in Portland."

Derek immediately rose to his feet, hopes of a nap dashed as the name rang a direct bell in his head.

"Oh, I haven't heard from Gabe in forever! Send him through, please." he asked, reaching for the receiver and bringing it to his head.

"Right away, Dr. Stiles – here he is."

Derek fiddled with the cord on the phone as he waited for the click on the phone line, signaling that the call had gone through.

"Derek Stiles." he answered after hearing it.

"Hey Stiles – it's Gabe... long time no see, man!"

Derek instantly lit up at the voice on the other end, knowing just by the way he talked that a cigarette was tucked into the corner of his mouth. It had been there permanently since they had met, and Derek smiled to himself, knowing that it would probably be fixed there until he died... unfortunately, probably of lung cancer.

"Well well, Dr. Cunningham..." Derek chided with a laugh. "I was starting to think you had fallen off the face of the Earth there, for awhile – did you forget how to use a phone?"

The sarcastic diagnostician let out a small laugh on the other end, causing Derek's forehead to furrow. Gabe was the most quick witted person he knew, and since their days back in med school together, he was never one to turn down a chance to joke with someone...

"Don't worry – I'll make time to catch up soon, I promise. But right now..."

Derek listened intently as Gabe's voice trailed off, the worry in it evident even from a few thousand miles away.

"...Right now, man, I need help."

Derek's grin had completely dropped by now, replaced by a frown and a pain in the pit of his stomach that he got whenever situations got out of hand.

"I'm sorry to spring this on someone I know has got to be the busiest doctor in the world, but you're our last hope for an answer... and unfortunately, I think you know this particular patient."

It was just as he had feared. Derek felt his heart skip a beat, right before it plummeted directly into his stomach. It was the feeling of knowing that a grave situation once again rested on his shoulders – a feeling he knew all too well, but still affected him even after years as a top surgeon.

"I'm ready when you are." Derek said, voice immediately growing stoic as he snapped into professional mode. "What can I do to help?"

A sigh came from the other line as he heard Gabe shift, papers being shuffled around as he got his affairs in order.

"Well, it's been somewhat under wraps – but, you know the wave of the flu that's been going around by us? The one that caused the quarantine?"

"Yes." Derek replied with a nod of his head as he paced by the window and leaned his thin body against its frame. "Sounds like it's quite the resilient strain... have they been able to identify it? Our head of R&D here has been pretty curious about the whole thing."

"Well..." came the reply from the other end, Gabe's voice suddenly uncomfortable. "I'm sure you'll hear sooner or later, but for now it stays between us."

Derek's stomach dropped again. "Don't tell me..."

"Don't have a heart attack, dude – it's not GUILT... but it's bad. It's real bad."

Gabe sighed again. "...it's actually a highly infectious strain of viral hemorrhagic fever – and its been taking people out left and right."

Derek was taken completely aback at the revelation, though he did not move from the lean he had copped against the window frame. His eyes looked out of his barely opened blinds and onto the city below Caduceus with sadness, knowing all too well how the doctor and his colleagues must have been feeling in that moment. That moment of chaos, of pure fear, of not knowing if the tools and skills you possessed were enough to take down a crippling disease...

...and the moment of panic when you realize it all rests on you.

"Thankfully, by the grace of God and some very skilled forensic work, we were able to locate it's source and develop an antiserum to curb its effects. The masses are still being carefully watched as they recuperate, but it's looking better for them..." Gabe explained, trailing off.

"That's great news." Derek replied with the utmost sincerity, barely able to get it out before Gabe began talking again.

"But, this one patient... she, already has a genetic condition – and, the fever is wreaking havoc on her body. She doesn't have much time – and I know you've treated her before. We have a surgeon here ready to operate, but he needs your guidance – you're... pretty much her only hope now." he said disdainfully, before letting out a small chuckle. "No pressure, or anything."

Derek smirked. "Yeah, thanks."

Walking quickly back to his computer and sitting down at his desk, Derek quickly typed in his information to log onto Caduceus's database in order to pull any information he would have on said patient. As he waited to get past the security checkpoints, his eyes traced over the bulletin board in front of him, scanning articles and pictures like he normally did. And just like every other time he did this, a smile briefly touched his lips as his eyes met the picture of Angie at the beach just a year ago, in the blue bikini that had never and would never fully escape from his thoughts.

"Alright. I'm ready – give me the name of the patient and her current stats, and I'll call you right back after I look over what I have." Derek said, fingers sprawled out across the keys as he cradled the phone's headset in between his head and shoulder.

"Great. The patient is... Naomi Kimishima."

Derek's heart thumped loudly in his chest, his brain unable to put the identity with the name until he remembered that fateful day just a few months ago when he was again faced with the master surgeon in a sad turn of events.

He remembered the day he had diagnosed her vividly, especially how surprisingly well she had taken the news. Derek honestly thought since she had removed herself from medicine almost completely, that the next time he heard the name would be with the news of her death... and as he processed the situation, he sincerely hoped there was something that could be done.

There was a lot that the team at Resurgam – let alone, anyone in medicine – would never know. And he knew, as always, it would make it hard to fully explain the situation.

"Naomi..." Derek whispered, barely audible under his breath as he grabbed a pen and a piece of scrap paper.

"Alright – give me just a few minutes. What's your callback number?"

The diagnostician quickly rattled off a number, explaining to his old friend that he would be speaking to the operating surgeon himself when he called back. Derek quickly bid Gabe farewell and began sorting through the information in front of him, knowing that time was of the essence if Naomi had a chance at life.

It was times like these he wished the patient was just right around the corner, because explaining his methodology to some stranger seemed...

Derek quickly shook his head and tried to rid the thought of his brainwaves as well. Doctors everywhere were in it together, to keep patients alive and healthy. It didn't matter who got the credit, so long as the patient made it out safely.

The surgeon sighed to himself, bespectacled eyes pouring over the information in front of him as he came upon a sad revelation.

"If the patient comes out safely... why do I care that I'm not the one to make it happen?"

xx

"Done."

Angie sighed as the word slipped from Leslie's mouth, a smile stretching her lips as she met eyes with the green haired nurse.

"It's about time." Angie replied, walking from the last storage room and out into Caduceus's wide hallways. "I sure wish I could be on vacation like the rest of the nursing staff... but no, I have to be an idiot and take mine during busy season, so all I get are calls during vacation about things people need help with!"

Leslie chuckled. "Wow, someone sounds bitter..." she said jokingly. "I know how you feel though... but, inventory is done. Our patients are all doing wonderfully, and we have the rest of this beautiful day to enjoy. So, I guess it can't be all bad, right?"

Angie smiled again, hugging her clipboard to her chest. "I guess you're right. Hey – I'm going to go drop off the inventory to Sidney and then wake Derek up from the nap he's probably taking. Maybe we can go grab lunch later?"

"Sure!" Leslie chirped. "Sounds great – if you want to, you know where I'll be!"

Just like that the nurses split in opposite directions, the blonde taking a quick jog up to the Chief's office before walking back to the office she and Derek shared. Expecting him to be napping, Angie grew surprised as she neared the room, seeing his figure near the window, his silhouette the only thing visible with the bright sun shining in the window. Getting ready to greet him, Angie slowed to a near-stop and became immediately quiet as she noticed a phone in his hand, and grew concerned as her ears picked up a serious tone in his voice. Not wanting to bother him, she slipped quietly into the room and into a chair right next to the entrance to do what she did best.

Eavesdrop.

"A superinfection?" said the surgeon on the other line, surprised by the simplistic nature with which Dr. Stiles had mentioned it.

"Yes." Derek replied, attempting to explain Naomi's condition as best he could. "She was infected with an unusual agent in the past. Most likely, the gene propagated into her cells... and was activated concurrently with the viral infection."

Angie raised an eyebrow, wondering what patient Derek could possibly be talking about.

"So, that means it's an evolved form of the Rosalia virus." the surgeon muttered to himself, taking time to process what the elder surgeon had just told him.

"...How should it be treated?" was the surgeon's next question, one that was sent off with a voice full of uncertainty as he waited for the response.

Derek took a quick look down towards his left hand at the notes he had scribbled to himself on the subject, sighing softly as he tried his best to come up with something to be able to comfort the young surgeon with.

"To be honest, these materials can't tell me everything..." he began, hearing the tension on the other line at his opening, which he quickly worked to undo. "But... Listen carefully, please. If the focus is as I predict..."

Derek took a gentle pause, closed his eyes, and began to imagine exactly how a virus like this would affect Naomi's current condition. Angie smiled softly as he spoke with confidence and the utmost intelligence, still impressed by the vast amount of knowledge he possessed even to that day. She listened briefly until they finished speaking, not knowing that nearly twenty minutes had passed since she had entered the room. Wishing the other surgeon the best of luck, Derek bid farewell with the request that they keep him updated on the situation as more information became available.

"It was my pleasure." he finished. "Good luck to you."

And with that, Derek turned around to hang up the phone, nearly jumping through the ceiling as he met the stare of Angie, whom he never noticed had walked in.

"Angie!" he yelped, placing the phone back in its cradle as he settled himself down. "When did you get here?"

"About twenty minutes ago. I didn't mean to eavesdrop – but I still love listening to you talk complex operations with other people." she said with a smile, which Derek weakly returned before he turned back around and went to look outside once more.

Angie looked on him with a questioning eyebrow at the move. "Are you alright, Derek?"

"...yes." he said with hesitation, leaving his nurse wide open for some chastising, which she for once passed up.

"Talk to me." she simply said, knowing by the shift in his demeanor that whatever had just happened was now weighing heavily on his mind.

Derek sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that morning.

"They were calling from Portland. Between you and I, there was an outbreak of viral hemorrhagic fever. They've found an antiserum and contained it for the most part, but there was a patient with a genetic disorder that isn't responding normally to the treatment. The doctor over there is an old med school buddy, so he called for some help – especially since I was the one that diagnosed her."

Angie paused for a moment, racking her brain to think of who it could possibly be and coming up with nothing.

"Who, Derek?" she simply asked.

"Dr. Kimishima." he replied softly, the gasp that it elicited from her mirroring the emotion he had also felt upon hearing the news.

"Yeah." Derek replied to her gasp. "I know."

There was a stale silence in the room, broken by Angie.

"...do you think she's going to make it?"

Derek paused with the thought, wholly unsure considering it was an outbreak he knew nothing about. He only had half of the puzzle and knew that given his experience, he could make a good guess but wouldn't know if he was right until the operation was finished.

"I... I honestly don't know, Ang."

Another bout of silence.

"Derek. Are you sure something else isn't bothering you?" Angie gently asked, watching as Derek still failed to move from his position near the window. He went to speak but quickly stopped himself, as even though he trusted her more than anyone in the world, he had a hard time admitting the thought on his brain to himself, let alone her.

"It's... nothing."

Derek didn't need to turn around and look at her to know she was raising an expectant eyebrow at him, and he especially didn't need to know that just by the silence in the room, she wasn't budging from that spot until he talked. But he knew both of those things without a doubt – they were both markers of a woman that cared for him... a woman that deserved to know his true feelings.

"This... is going to sound so stupid and completely selfish of me..." he began quietly. "But..."

He shuffled his feet, fingers from his right hand reaching up to the stethoscope that hung around his neck and tracing the tubing gently as he spoke.

"...I miss the feeling of being the world's only hope."

Angie's eyes grew wide at the revelation, having suspected it for some time but never believing for a moment that Derek would ever actually admit it to her... or to himself.

"I mean... I know we're all in this fight together – to save the world from disease and give our patients the lives and the happiness they deserve... But, the more time goes on, the more well-equipped everyone is becoming and the less they're relying on people like me. And, while I know I'm still valuable, I can't help but get... jealous. Jealous that it's not me, jealous that I'm not jetting off all over the world anymore, jealous that people can perform these operations and save these patients when it used to be me. I guess I just..." he paused, nearly choking on the words as they came out.

"...miss being needed." he finished, shame in his voice as he heard it out loud.

"Hey." was Angie's immediately gentle reply as she rose from her seat and walked over to stand at his side. "Look at me."

Derek gently peeled his eyes from the world outside of Caduceus and looked at her with slight shame in his eyes, hopeful that she would say something to make him feel better as she normally did.

But instead of saying something right away, Angie just leaned forward and enveloped him in a big hug, arms holding him in a way that he had come to find only she could. After a few moments to relax him, she pulled back and grabbed his hands in hers, looking up into his eyes to give him some reassurance.

"If it wasn't for you, Derek. If you weren't here to be our fearless leader through two bioterrorism attacks and the countless complications that followed... there simply would be no world to save."

She looked on at him with all the seriousness in the world, though he could see the sincerity in her expression.

"You are what paved the way for this. It was your brilliant mind and unbelievable skills that gave us treatment plans. It was your hands that first saved all these people, and without you, who knows where we'd be? You had the determination and the guts to fight like nobody else was able – these people learned from you. By watching you work, listening to you speak, calling you for assistance, and just by hearing your name and all you've given to your patients... everyone knows you and what you've done, because you've left more than your name on the paperwork – you've left a legacy. A trend of doctors who will give anything they can to see their patients smile again, and they've all learned from you."

Derek smirked softly – she had a way of always making him feel better, but it never ceased to make him feel worth everything in the world that someone like her was the one by his side.

"I know it's hard because yes, the phone calls and the constant hectic emergency feelings aren't so frequent any longer. But – we're growing older and moving onto new phases in our lives... we can't be there for the whole world forever. You've passed the torch onto people who will help carry on your dream of curing disease around the world – and the drive and determination I see in the doctors who know you is one-thousand percent because they got it from you. People will always look to you and up to you for answers and guidance, even though you may not know it..."

Derek smiled fully now, accepting of her answer though still embarrassed that she had to give it to him in the first place. He squeezed her hands gently with his as she returned the smile, happy to see the life flood back into his eyes, as shown by the sparkle that now adorned them.

"And besides..." she continued with a bigger smile "Flying all over the place and under constant stress... someone else gets to have a turn at that now. Now, you've got something in your life that will always need you, no matter what..."

Derek watched as Angie pointed to the small frame next to Derek's computer, his eyes following her as he turned around and looked at it with a grin – the ultrasound of his first child was something that never got old or boring to think about.

"That puts it all into perspective." he replied with a smile, pulling Angie into him for another hug followed by a soft, lingering kiss to her lips.

"And that reminds me..." he said, looking down at her as he continued to hold her. "I probably should feed the two of you soon, hm?"

"Ooh, now you're talking." Angie replied with a grin. "Do I get something extra delicious for that awesome pep-talk?"

"Eh, I don't know... now you might be pushing it..." Derek joked, laughing when his wife wrangled out of their hug. "I'm just kidding – are you in the mood for P.F. Chang?"

When Angie whirled back around with wide eyes and a smile, Derek knew he had gotten it right on the money. And so he took her hand and led her out of their office, thanking her on the way outside for always knowing just what to say to put him back together.

The one thing Derek always made perfectly clear to his wife was that of all the people that needed him, she was the only one of them that mattered... and out of coincidence, she just so happened to be the one person he needed, too.

Goop. That's the sound my stories make because they are always dripping with fluff. Sorry about that.

Hope you liked it!