SO NICE, SO SMART | nell

[ELIJAH ZAY BARGER]

Elijah plopped down at one of the round tables in the cafeteria with his ceaser salad. He was still a bit of a loner at Seattle Main Hospital. Being a young attending, all the other attendings shut him out. He was the new kid to them. It would have been weird for him to hang out with residents because it would have looked like he was favoring one over the other. Interns were nice but they only bugged him about scrubbing in on surgeries. He admired their enthusiasm but sometimes he just wanted to talk to another adult about things other than just operating. So most of the days he opted to eat in the cafeteria alone, which he was perfectly fine with since it allowed him some time to reflect on surgeries and plan out new ones.

Note: Ugh I'm sorry it's such poop. My muse is so low right now!

[NELL DOE FUENTES]

When Nell saw Elijah already sitting as she got her food, a tupperware container in one compartment of her tray, she smiled her usual half-smile and made her way over to him. Maybe it was the precious curly quiff his hair was usually in or his charming childishness -- whatever it was, it had endeared her to him. She sat down at the table across from the doctor, taking the tupperware out of the tray. "Here," she said, placing it down and sliding it across the table toward him. "Taquitos," she informed him as she picked up the plastic spork for her own food. "I've been trying out south of the border lately, and the results have been impressive, if i do say so myself." She squirmed a little in her seat with a self-satisfied smile. Never mind the fact her smoke alarm disagreed, but that thing went off if she exhaled too hard. "So what's up? You look all pensive and whatnot."

notes shhh no ur fine

[ELIJAH ZAY BARGER]

Ah, Nell. She was his saving grace in the hospital and his best friend. One day, he asked her for a huge favor that most nurses would have given him grief for, but she did it with a smile on her face. The two started talking after their shift and it was all friendship and butterflies since then. Every week or so Nell would get really into a certain culture and make all the food she could. It worked out perfectly for Elijah because he couldn't cook to save his life. He could make a mean salad but if you asked him to boil water, he'd probably burn it.

Eli brought out a Styrofoam coffee cup with ginger coconut tea inside. This was what he brought to the friendship, coffee and tea. Whether someone was a surgeon or a nurse, the hours at the hospital were crazy. The hospital wouldn't function properly without some sort of caffeine. "Here. Tea for the lady. And I'll be the judge of these taquitos." He smiled a cheeky smile and chomped off a side of the taquito making a "mmm" sound to signal that it was indeed impressive.

Eli shook his head at her comment. It was the same old stuff that he always bothered her with and he always felt stupid pouting about not feeling respected. She was a nurse after all and in the medical word, nurses were treated as house maids. "Some intern made a comment about me in the OR and I had to shut him down. I understand other attendings not trusting me, but interns. I won't have it in my OR."