#ngl as a kid I always took the narrators as their own characters

[galactic-space]

It’s now morning and I’m realizing that the ever after high Narrators would probably not be aware of bakugo and just goes “oop new kid who tis”

They’d totally get quiet to watch him. Lmao

Making a follow up post for my stupid ass MHA X Monster high x Ever after high x fucking Winx club??? Ehhh???

Anyways…

Soooo answering this dude up here ^ @faemagic88 let’s just say I got a few ideas

So basically, for anyone who didn’t see my last post?

Quirk toddler uses quirk on Izuku, bakugo, and denki and sends them to monster high, ever after high, and Winx respectively

Lord explosion god dynamight and his fairy tale adventures

For ever after high I totally want bakugo to be apart of the school purely because he heard how the school has a lot of secrets and magical items that might help with his issue, so he decides to force his way in to get back to his universe ( somehow… he’s working out the kinks of his plan )

While there he’s definitely gonna throw a ton of kids for a loop. Not caring about royal or rebel because A. He’s from another universe and B. He just thinks it’s so dumb to follow the paths of your parents just because of something as silly as “destiny”

He’s the type of person who believes that you chose your life, and he’s not gonna be silent about it.

Is he gonna cause more drama in this school? Yes, but this school is already filled with it so whatever

I don’t know what fairy tail he would pretend to be. I think he might pretend to be the son of “Momotaro” from the story “Momotaro; the story of the son and the peach” where basically this boy is born from a peach, soon taken in by a couple. When the boy turns fifteen, he goes off on a journey with a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant to slay the demons on an island, before returning home to be with his family

It makes the most sense, as Momotaro is fairly popular in Japan- or so I’ve heard

But an alternate story I thought of was of him pretending to be the son of Kintarō, “the golden boy” who is a warrior who goes on many journeys throughout his life, slaying beast and saving towns n what not.

Neither story would explain his weird… “explosion magic” as people call it, but hell it’s the best thing that he gots so.

I was thinking of mimickings ever after highs small story structure and maybe have an “episode” where Apple white realizes that he doesn’t seem to care about her, her status, her story, or even her looks and how that kinda bothers her ( more like gets her all riled up. She’s not used to boys just… not even giving her a second look. )

And then another small “episode” of bakugo deciding to take part in a sport cuz… well… let’s just say daring and his group found out that if you tell Bakugo he can’t do something, he’s gonna do it just to show off

Thing is, cerise is in the sport as well in the opposing team, and maybe bakugos team is like “well most of them are girls maybe we should go easy”

Cue the “equal rights equal fights” from bakugo, and basically forces cerise to show off her wolf abilities if she even wants to try to actually win against him.

And… who knows maybe that’s when people realize she’s haft wolf or something lol

I was also maybe having him be apart of the Dragons games??? Like maybe he wasn’t gonna be apart of it, but when Apple white accidentally releases the evil queen and the evil queen he senses some shit is about to go down and thinks “ugh, god, not more bullshit”

Also maybe he gets his own dragon for the games by literally TACKLING AND SUBMITTING ONE OF THE EVIL QUEENS BAD DRAGONS so he could ride it and use it so he could be apart of it.

And yes, Goldielocks did record this for her mirror channel and a bunch of kids did just see one of their “new students” fucking wrestle a dark dragon just cuz he needed a dragon to be apart of the games

Also maybe bakugo finally talks about his… HIS… FEELINGS?1!1!2??2!2?2 GASP lol

But that’s enough for bakugo

Next up

Dekus freaky experiences

Ok so deku… doesn’t know what the FUCK anything is. He just appeared in like the monster high catacombs, got fucking lost in them til Operetta finds him in there.

She’d probably be like “woah hey aren’t you a normie” and dekus like “wh- huh???”

Course before the two can get more into it maybe the place starts crashing down. Cue deku quickly realizing what’s happening and using his quirk to save operetta, there for showing that he definitely is a lot more then JUST a normie

Operetta concludes that deku might be a hafta like Henry Jekyl, and takes him to monster high to help him

Cue deku realizing that he’s NOT where he’s suppose to be. Maybe he tries to explain it to operetta, but when she simply gives him a weird look and ask if he’s ok, he realizes that no one is gonna believe him. So with a deep breath and shaky smile, he simply goes “maybe I just hit my head to harshly…????”

Which- yes, that’s even weirder, but he isn’t about to explain how he’s a human with a quirk when it’s so obvious that everyone is weary of him because of his human look ( he can always tell when people look at him with pity or fear. Being quirkless for most of your life then suddenly having a terrifying, powerful quirk will teach ya that ) so he does his best to just seem normal

Maybe he’ll pretend he didn’t know how he got here, talks to headmistress blood good and asks if she could PLEASE let him stay cuz “he doesn’t remember anything”

And- she’s nice, so she’ll let him stay just as long as he promises to help around the school anyway he can ( she is letting him stay here for free, it’s the least he can do ) and deku agrees to it

Now deku is… SOMEHOW a student at monster high. Everything is weird, but… here comes Frankie, who totally gets his feeling. She helps him out, teaches him all he needs to know, and helps him out- cuz, she knows what it’s like to be the new ghoul in school, and she can tell he definitely needs the help.

Cue Izuku befriending her, and maybe some of her friends.

Of Course, he still wants a way back home, so he’s gonna do everything in his power to do research into this world and ( hopefully, maybe ) try to find something to help him back home.

He’s probably not gonna tell the ghouls what’s actually happening with him til he literally has no where else to go to.

Cue the ghouls helping him go back to his comic book like world ( and maybe finding a way to get there cuz… heroes???? Villains??? Sounds like a scare-tastic experience! )

And ysaaaa they find a lot of secrets in this school. Like a lot. Oh dear

Also I totally want a scene where toralei just drills it into izukus head that he definitely isn’t gonna be all accepted here just cuz he’s “1/3 of a monster” and that he’s definitely gonna have people having it out for him because he’s mostly Normie in nature.

Idk, maybe Izuku might have some dejavú about feeling excluded because of his apparent lack of something

But it’s ok cuz Frankie would definitely cheer him up by saying “haft normie or not, you’re a great person Izuku. Don’t let someone like Toralei get under your skin, she doesn’t know what she talks about. Me and the ghouls care about you, Freaky flaws n all. And nothings gonna change that.”

And have him feel so… happy, because let’s be honest he was only accepted back into society cuz of his quirk. It would probably heal the poor little quirkless kid within him because she basically just told him that he matters, not because of what he has but because of who he is as a person and UGHHHBBN

But that’s enough of deku. Let’s talk about… denki??? How did you get here-

Denki kamanari and his strange, magical journey

Admittedly, I don’t have a lot of ideas for this one. I seriously need to rewatch Winx club, it’s been ages for me lmao

But the basic idea is that he appears right near “Redfountain School for Specialists”

Naturally, he’s freaking out cuz WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS PLACE

After a while of freaking out, he looks up to see the WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT??? THATS A GIANT ASS PLACE

But as he looks around, realizing that there’s only trees for miles on end, he decides to head into the school to try and find someone to help him. Because… where the fuck is he? He just wanna go back to Izuku and Bakugo :(

So he heads in. I was thinking that it’s probably assembly day, and the kids around him just assumes hes just some poor new kid who’s about to get in trouble cuz he’s not in uniform. It’s an important meeting for the school, so he just gets dragged in with a bunch of boys who are about to be late.

I imagine he’s just trying to ask questions, sees these boys running, and says “what’s going on??” And they turn to him and go “dude, important assembly today! We’re about to be fuckin late, come on”

And they just run off.

And welll- denkis confused and weirded out but… if it means finding someone who can find him, then he’ll just follow behind and play along for now

Long story short, he ends up accidentally becoming a part of the school cuz- just- no one is questioning this yellowed hair boy with a lighting streak on the side. He’s not the weirdest thing they’ve seen. Not to mention- school in the middle of the forest, not really seen by outsiders?

Most people probably wouldn’t think it’s an outsider. I mean… who the fuck would be out in this forest anyways?

And well- it’s probably only haft way though does denki actually tell them what happened to him. And maybe they don’t believe him at first, but once he shows off his “magic” they might start to believe him.

Thing is, the show never really went into this school a lot ( at least what I remember ) sooo I might just make up a bunch of shit for this

I mean the other plan is just to have him be in the fairies school, they quickly realize he’s not suppose to be here, and probably do everything in their power to bring him back to his old world so idk

BUUUTTR the idea of denki learning to fight with a sword is cool and funny at the same time SO-

Also also I’m definitely gonna take some shit from the scrapped monster high x ever after high movie that was suppose to be made but never was, so that’s actually a perfect way to get deku and bakugo back together

Not to mention I’m probably gonna have Cupid ( who actually appears in both shows as an important side character ) to be involved. I mean, dimensional traveling? That’s kinda her thing, I think she would catch wind very quickly that bakugo ISNT from a fairy tale story.

But uhhh yea that’s all of my ideas I guess. Do with them with what you want lmao

[organic-guacamole]

showtime

episode 211 let's go

ok first of all, this is the second to last episode guys... I don't even wanna think about how much pain I'll be in after next week's episode

mr mazzara doing the recap-

this is so weird to me and I don't know why

WHY DIDN'T YALL JUST ASK BENJAMIN FOR HELP, THATS LITERALLY HIS THING

is Nini giving out the cards a callback to season 1 when Natalie Bagley said that Nini gave her a card or something on opening night of another musical?

STEPHY AS THE ENCHANTRESS OMG YES

Ricky in the crown gives me Harry styles in that photoshoot vibes

he's so pretty.

ok but why did we never see Ricky and Ashlyn interact before? it's been like 5 seconds and I already love how they bounce off each other and it's just so natural

OH THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE ANY UNDERSTUDIES-

well that explains a lot...

so Ricky fell on top of Ashlyn and all that broke for both of them was their wrist-

insert Jake Peralta *coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool no doubt no doubt no doubt*

of course howie was amazing as the beast, were we expecting anything less??

Ricky is so beautiful and I will not shut up about it....

let me enjoy this before the makeup crew slaps mud on his face.

Nini and Ricky talking to eachother? in a civil manner? wasn't she avoiding him just in the last episode? hm ok

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH THEY CANT EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS JUST LIKE ME HAHAHAHAHA THIS IS HILARIOUS, WHATS NEXT? THEY CUT EVERYONE OFF CUZ THEY CANT HANDLE EMOTIONS? ...ha

yes Kaden and Rico, my favourite east high boys 🥰

I mean....where's EJ?

THERE HE IS

EJ AND GINA IN THE BACKGROUND... doing something idek

KOURTNEY'S MOM IS BACK YAY

Howie is a shining star, ofc ofc

the smallest fOrk

can't wait to see the fork burst into song about how she deserves more than to be used to eat salad😌

the duster and the bluster.... ok😃

hi Gina!

hi- oh wow I didn't know Robbie Rotten was in this show!!!!!

the portwell look.

that my friends, is a married couple's look✋

GOSH EJ WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU

aww Gina's so excited for this

D word?

Die?

Delicious?

Dom Toretto?

"good, clean fun all alone with someone I dig...a lot"

sir that does not sound very clean to me

SEBLOS

Seb looks so cute standing there next to pope Carlos

DID THEYEY REALLY LIGHT ANTOINE ON FIRE-

I NEED TO SEE THAT

Seb's reading Carlos better than big red read the script in episode 102, this is great development after the "fight"

Kourtney really just made the best outfit for herself and let the rest of them suffer

the way Gina immediately goes to hold on to EJ after the announcement

"tonight we're going to put the U in UTAH"

...

"hey where are you from?"

"TAH"

SEB'S SINGULAR CLAP KILLED ME-

he's officially salt lake city's resident thanos

just wity clapping because for some reason I have a feeling he doesn't know how to snap his fingers...don't ask why

Ms Jenn do you mind encouraging your leads before the show? idk just an idea

pepto bismol product placement smhsmh

those flowers are bigger that big red himself-

*bops along to the opening theme*

that whistle at the end slaps everytime

WHY IS THE AUDIENCE SO MASSIVE

I guess they're all here to see Ms Jenn go on as a fork after Nini decides to *go her own way*

wow i am so funny

so they couldn't do many group scenes cuz of covid, but this 300 person crowd is cool? nice

OO THE VIOLIN GIRL FROM EPISODE 6 IS IN THE ORCHESTRA

HOWIEEEEEE

"Mr Caswell", he said, in the loudest voice possible while backstage at a show that's about to start.

Mazzara what are you trying to pull-

I usually like Benjamin but I don't like his tone

"iS yOuR wHoLe FaMiLy HeRe?" LIKE YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW THATS A SOFT SPOT FOR EJ

"we've had some good conversations these past few weeks"

right so what's going to happen after you graduate?

what does he think of you not going to Duke?

what did he say about you giving the sweatshirt that's been in the family for 3 generations to a girl you're not even dating?

good old Mr. M

therapist Mr. Mazzara, they all need it.

start with Ricky though.

"Michael Bowen"

dude why did you shave, now you look less like "hot lumberjack" and more "creep at the gas station"

OH-

does she not like Mike anymore?

why does it sound like jennzzara started dating and now they just sit back and talk smack about everyone in their freetime

break the fourth wall-

uhhhh im scared

why am I scared

he's scary

hehe flowers for Ricky, obviously for Ricky, ObViOuSLY

oh boy poor Michael

this man is in love, rip

why does Ms Jenn always look at people with her eyes open so wide

LILYYYY

I'm only excited because I really like the idea of lily and Ricky being friends, nothing more.

ha this guy's got jokes

a MOAT AROUND THE SCHOOL

wheeze

also he's very pretty.

"the wolves and very talented humans"

how dare he forget to mention the very talented wolves and normal humans, smh erasure

"being nice, what a concept" ted talk by Lily who still doesn't have a last name

did she just say lol out loud

same with the hug emoji last episode-

go touch some grass babes

the way he didn't say no, but said he didn't know how the east high kids would react-

not saying he does want to date her but that's an interesting thing to think about, also another thing to write an essay analysis on just to leave it in my drafts for a few months

awww lily genuinely trying to help him

sorry guys, I've been taken by the Lily charm (didn't know it existed until now but oh well)

REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I'LL NEVER SHIP PORTWELL?

just look at me now

the Lily wink I can't she's so cute-

HELP ME I'M BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY LIL-

David Attenborough?

oh nvm it's Benjamin narrating the show in a really weird British accent for some reason.

STEPHY GOT MORE LINES YAY GOOD FOR HER

also is this to show that Nini doesn't care about being the star of the show anymore? the way she's supporting everyone else even though she's a fork?

I would pay for a special of the full musical ngl

OOO THE TRANSFORMATION WAS SMOOTH

shockingly

yo where did the makeup come from

man I wish I was a theatre kid

THIS IS STEPHY'S EPISODE NOW IDC✋

my girl is starring

"needs an X-factor"

Simon Cowbell creeps in

"it's a yes from me"

and them boom, he takes Nini and mistreats her horribly and then she comes back to theatre after deciding music isn't for her👍

"I thought she just hog-tied him?"

don't ask sebby, it's better if you don't know.

imagine they spotlight the wrong person and this dude is just some random person that likes writing down stuff during shows.

Ms Jenn just let them do what they rehearsed (at some point we never saw) or else this is gonna end horribly wrong

"help"

same Carlos, same

I love how seb is just his translator rn

I thought he said "great displeasure" instead of "greatest pleasure"....help?

big red coming out from throwing up to see his girlfriend star is the cutest thing in this show.

Ash and Gina dancing is so fun

I'm imagining them practicing at night at their home, watching the movie for the 100th time and making sure their one dance together is perfect

KOURTNEY YES

HOWIE IS IN LOVE AHHHH

I LOVE HOWIE SO MUCH

SEBBY

THIS SCENE HAS SO MUCH GOING ON I CAN'T KEEP UP

THIS IS SO GOOD

HOW???

no because I'm actually crying

I'm dead serious.

we need this musical released as a special

big red is so proud and I love to see it

Natalie: "if you do not by at least 20 dollars in concessions, you do not support art"

rando in the audience: "but I pay for ad free Spotify"

Mr Mazzara clapping in the distance

Gigi, the guy you like is talking to you, complimenting you and hyping you up

YOU LUCKY LITTLE FEATHER DUSTER

aw EJ teasing her about the chocolates in a way that doesn't make her feel bad? take notes Richard

JORDAN FISHER

there is no rest of the show idc Jordan is it for me

THE WIG CAP ON RICKY OMG

they look like they're high and having "deep" conversations on the floor

THE MEAN GIRL WITH THE EYES-

@sunshine-julie-molina YOU HEAR THAT

Natalie really just be coming for them all

Howie what is happening rn

I'm scared

"did you enjoy it"

"very much"

dude wants a kiss so bad

ASHLYN OMG

NO DON'T DO IT BECAUSE OF LILY, PUT YOUR OWN TWIST ON IT

I want a Jordan autograph please

just keep swim- oh pushing...

Gina is literally a giant next to him and I live for it

am I about to cry for the 3rd time in this episode?

yes.

Ricky's leg kicks under the table makes me so happy aw

the portwell glances will kill me.

ah yes, mashed potato snow

Mr. M.... I'm not a theatre kid but even I know you can't have your phone on backstage.

Howie please just do it

CHIP'S BIG LINE I CANT

I LITERALLY HAD TO PAUSE IT AMD SCREAM INTO MY MASK FOR A SOLID 2 MINUTES (I'm not at home rn) HES SO CUTE

oh ok bye Jordan

oo tea

NOT HIM BEING STARSTRUCK BECAUSE HE'S MEETING HIS FUTURE BROTHER IN LAW-

"we're all just glad Gigi has a big brother figure in her life"

excuse me for a few thousand hours while I laugh hysterically

THE CAMERA ZOOM ON EJS FACE AND EVERYTHING-

STOP EJ LOOKS LIKE HE'S GONNA CRY BUT I CAN'T TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY WITH THE STAGE MAKE-UP

someone else said this already but I think it's hilarious that they had to bring in 2 guest characters to create some portwell angst

omg this really is Cici's episode, found family is their thing

elevator music lol

I'm gonna bet that big red took the harness for his surprise for Ashlyn without realising what it was

did Ms. Jenn just....tell her most mentally unstable student....to commit suicide....on a disney show...was that....I'm very....well....what the actual-

oh and there she goes running off instead of trying to make it right

oh wow Nini's the hero, she's gonna save the show 🤩

😐

the judge is doing a sudoku

honestly if I went to the hsm show as well, I'd come prepared for this one too

Lily why are you looking like that-

I WAS JUST STARTING TO LIKE YOU DON'T MESS THIS UP

wow ok, there goes that.

omg

what if Howie was acting weird because he knew what Lily did and wanted to tell Kourtbut Lily threatened him so he was scared to-

anyways see y'all clowns next week when we all simultaneously lose all motivation for the week without Fridays to look forward to.

[thecreedsgambit]

02: Anticipation | Ethan Ramsey x MC (Diana) | song inspiration: To Die For by Sam Smith

Author’s Note: Literally finished this at 4 AM with Sam Smith’s song on constant repeat in my ears. I had fun with this one though, ngl. 

Summary: After seeing Dr. Diana James arrive in the emergency room, Ethan struggles with his emotions as he waits for her to return to him again. 

01: Triage | Part One 

Tags: @mvalentine @openheart12 @colossalpainintheass @noboundariesplease

Disclaimer: Characters and flashback scenes belong to Pixelberry.

Ethan sat in the waiting room, then he paced the waiting room, then he left the waiting room, then he returned to the waiting room once again. The waiting drove him insane, and he couldn’t fathom how so many families were able to do this. He felt so unlike himself. He knew he should be busy with work, or checking on patients, or doing literally anything other than sitting in a damn waiting room.

But he knew he couldn’t - not in the current state he was in. Besides, Naveen wouldn’t allow it.

As he took a seat in his chair, yet again, his eyes roamed over to a little boy sitting by his mother. The mother was clearly agitated, wringing her hands together and checking the hallway every few moments, most likely waiting for any doctor to come and tell her that her loved one would be alright. The little boy, however, was just the opposite. His small hand was wrapped around a toy plane, waving it aimlessly through the air with a carelessness that a part of Ethan wished he himself had.

“Do you want kids?”

Diana’s voice boomed through the speaker, and Ethan was slightly shocked by her question. He wasn’t expecting her to get so personal - to be so forward - when he asked for her to help him test the new fMRI machine. He was trying his best to remain as still and as calm as he could - emotionless, almost. He didn’t want to give too much away.

“Dr. Ramsey?”

“I heard you,” he responded. “I’m thinking.”

But he knew the answer. He had thought about kids a few times actually, but the idea seemed odd now. He had always blamed it on work or being too busy. He supposed the truth was that he never really considered that life could happen to him. He never really thought someone would walk into his life that he could love, and love so deeply, enough to want that kind of life. Something like that just never made sense to him.

The little boy’s sudden helicopter noises jarred Ethan out of his memory, and another painful jolt of guilt and shame washed over him. Why couldn’t he have just been honest with her? Why didn’t he open himself up more? Why couldn’t he have opened up sooner?

He quickly stood and walked towards a hallway. A nurse moved to intercept him, but he waved her off. “Relax,” he grumbled. “I’m just going to the vending machine. And tell Naveen I don’t need a babysitter.”

When he got to the vending machine, though, he just stood there. Feet planted on the ground, arms folded, and eyes staring straight forward at a small pouch of hot chocolate.

"That got her to take her pills,” he sputtered. “I can’t believe it.”

“Of course it did.”

Ethan looked at her suspiciously. “So, are you going to tell me how you worked this one out?”

A mischievous smirk played on the corner of Diana’s lips and a teasing glint shimmered in her eyes. “A girl’s got to have some secrets, Dr. Ramsey.”

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t slightly annoyed by her response. “You’re seriously not going to tell me?”

“I’m going for the air of mystery.” He couldn’t help but notice the way her tongue darted out and licked the bottom of her lip as she paused, adding an innocent smile. “Is it working?”

Despite himself, a small smile appeared on his face. “... mildly.”

She grinned before turning back to the machine and punching in the numbers for the chocolate bar in the top corner. Retrieving it, she tossed it toward him.

“And who is this for?”

“You.” Her response made him look her in the eye. Mixed feelings swirled within him as he tried, and so desperately failed, to study her. All she did was smile in response; the same smile that made his heart beat uncomfortably in his chest. “It’s okay to treat yourself sometimes, Dr. Ramsey.”

The memory faded as his eyes lazily glided towards a chocolate bar that rested in the top corner of the machine. He shook his head and walked further down the hallway, stopping to lean against a bin of medical supplies. His eyes flickered to a TV that was playing a baseball game in a patient’s room.

The pharmacy executives walked away, and Diana turned toward him with an annoyingly attractive smirk toying on her lips. “’One of our most promising young doctors,’ huh?”

“Stop.”

She gave him an innocent smile as she melodramatically narrated his own words. “’The future of medicine.’”

“Well, I couldn’t introduce you as a colossal pain in my ass, now could I?”

A wide smile spread across her features, provoking a grin of his own.

Pins and needles pricked the backs of his eyes once again, and he looked away quickly. Being reminded of the baseball game felt like a painful punch to the gut. He remembered how proud he had felt of her that day. She handled the executives with so much ease and confidence that it nearly took him by surprise. He didn’t even know why he had invited her in the first place.

Of course he did. He always knew.

He decided to go upstairs to his old office. It was still vacant; maybe he wouldn’t be bothered there - by people or by painful memories.

He was wrong, of course. The moment he stepped through the threshold of his old office, an even more painful memory surfaced.

“What are you -?”

Diana strode into his office, no knock, just a fiery look of accusation burning in her eyes. “Are you punishing me? Do you enjoy it, or something?”

Ethan’s face twisted in anger, and he felt his skin crawl with an unbelievable amount of annoyance. “You need to separate your personal feelings from your professional feelings, Dr. James.”

His anger was almost - not fully, but almost - misplaced because he knew that he, himself, should have been listening to his words, too.

Diana rose to her full height, which was still much shorter than Ethan. “You told me you gave me that patient for a reason.”

“Of course I did!” He was raising his voice now. That usually made people back down; not Diana. “I meant to challenge you!”

“Challenge me to do what?”

She raised her voice too, and his shoulders tensed with annoyance, with anger, and with ... something else he couldn’t quite place his finger on.

“To be the best doctor you can be!” He shouted. Both of their chests rose and fell with pint up emotions. He chose to lower his voice, but the anger dripping from his tone still sliced through the tense air between them. “I selected you because I saw something special in your application.”

Her entire demeanor changed as it dawned on her. “Wait - you selected me?”

“Yes.” He towered over her; his eyes narrowed, and his jaw set tight. “It’s very rare that I’m wrong, Rookie. But I’m willing to admit when I am.”

The way she had looked at him before she left his office was almost enough to make him call after her. But he didn’t; he couldn’t. He was too blind at the time, too wrapped up in pushing her away to prevent himself from pulling her closer. Now, just the idea of him possibly hurting her with his words made his head swim with unfamiliar pain.

“What are you doing to me?”

Diana had overcome his willpower with just one look, and her eyes searched his own in such a way that made his heart beat erratically. With the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, she responded, “Hopefully something good.”

He felt dizzy - inexplicable confusion. He’d never felt like this before, and he certainly couldn’t explain it. If he tried to leave his office, he feared he would stumble or try his hardest to go in that damn operating room himself. He needed them to save her.

“I hated her ... but he still loved her.” Ethan looked at Diana with so much vulnerability. He didn’t even bother to hide his emotions from her; not this time. “Why didn’t he ever resent her the way I did?”

Diana’s eyes were so soft, so warm. He felt like she single-handedly kept him tethered to the ground, and he never, ever wanted to let go. “It’s a different type of pain, Ethan. You were just a child; your world view was still forming. You couldn’t possibly have understood then.”

Perhaps she was right, but he understood now. He needed them to save her ... because he loved her.

“Ethan,” a familiar voice sounded behind him.

He turned to see his dad standing in the doorway. His eyebrows furrowed together, but he couldn’t ignore how good it felt to see such a familiar face.

“Dad?” When his voice came out, it surprised him with how little it sounded. He sounded like a small child. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was on my way back to Providence, but -,” he paused. Alan took one look at his son, and his heart nearly broke with both compassion and understanding. “I was already told what happened. I’m so sorry, son.”

All Ethan could do was nod. His dad stepped closer and wrapped his son in a careful hug. Ethan was hesitant for a long moment. It felt odd - uncomfortable, even - but he accepted it, eventually. Only because he could just imagine the look Diana would be giving him right now, encouraging him to play nice with his dad.

Ethan only let the hug last for a few seconds before he pulled away and roughly swiped at his eyes to remove any stray tears. Before either of them could speak, Dr. Varma appeared in the doorway with uncharacteristically red eyes.

“Dr. Ramsey ... Diana’s out of surgery.”

~

When Ethan got the news, he hadn’t known what exactly it was that he expected. Maybe her brown eyes gazing up at him, eyelids blinking lazily, and a hoarse voice asking what had happened. Perhaps even some irrational part of him had hoped to see her sitting up, reassuring nurses and friends alike not to fuss over her. Something - anything - to indicate that she was going to be okay.

But that isn’t what happened, and Ethan had mentally cursed himself for allowing even a sliver of hope to twist his chest as he rushed to her room with his dad on his heels.

Now, even two hours later, she still hadn’t woken up. Ethan longed to see her open her eyes, to see her look at him the way only she could. A part of him couldn’t help but to allow just an ounce of hope to trickle into his mind as he imagined Diana’s eyes fluttering open and immediately drifting toward him. What would he say? Would he even be able to let her go another minute without telling her that he loved her?

Every twitch of her finger or her eyes sent Ethan’s heart into a rapid frenzy with an overwhelming arousal of hope he’d thought was dormant; it nearly left him dizzy. Yet, she remained asleep.

After checking on his patients once again, Ethan returned to her room - to the chair he had pulled as close to her bed as possible. His glasses rested on the edge of his nose, hands gripping patient files that he didn’t even look at. All he could do was watch her. Nurses and doctors passed by her room, throwing curious glances in his direction, but he didn’t care. His eyes remained trained on the one object of his affection.

“Ethan.”

His eyes dragged up to see his dad, who stood in the doorway and attempted a sad smile. Ethan fished his keys out of his pocket, working his house key off of the ring. “You can stay at my place again tonight, dad.”

Alan watched his son struggle to get the key; frustration clear on Ethan’s face. Alan let out a quiet sigh, stepping into the room and walking to the foot of Diana’s bed. “Ethan, I know you want to stay here, but ... maybe you should get some sleep? They have plenty of other fine doctors here who will watch Dr. James.”

Finally tugging the key off of the ring, Ethan paused for a moment before raising the key in the air, wordlessly meeting his dad’s gaze. They both knew he wouldn’t leave.

Alan sighed once more, walking closer and patting his son on the shoulder. “It’s okay, son. I’m driving back tonight.” Ethan dropped his hand, and another long moment passed between the two of them. “Dr. James will be alright, just - just take care of yourself, Ethan.”

Ethan met his dad’s gaze once again before offering him a short nod. “Drive safe, dad.”

Alan spared him one last look, then glanced worriedly down at Diana’s sleeping form, before leaving the room. Ethan watched him go, even listened to his receding footsteps for as long as he could. After a beat, his eyes - a blue storm of pain, longing, and hope - returned to Diana.

Just as he’d done many times before, he placed the files on his lap and leaned forward. He gently took her wrist, placing his fingers above her pulse. With eyes trained on his watch, he counted each passing second before glancing up at her monitors.

Vitals were fine; patient was stable. He did this nearly every thirty minutes because it was the one thing that eased his conscious.

When he placed her wrist back at her side and returned to gripping the files in his hands, Dr. Trinh, Dr. Varma, and Dr. Greene entered the room

“Oh - Dr. Ramsey,” Dr. Trinh said, slightly startled. She looked as if she wanted to add, “You’re still here ...”

He wanted to offer to leave - to tell them they could have a moment with their friend - but he couldn’t; he wouldn’t. He had left her before, and he never intended to do so again. The thought of her being alone when this accident happened nearly made his hands curl into fists and his heart beat with both anger and guilt. He wanted to make sure he was the first person she saw; he wanted to make sure she knew she would never be alone again.

Much to his relief, Dr. Varma offered him an out as she held up a card and a teddy bear that looked as if both had come from the hospital’s gift shop. “We just wanted to bring these to her before our shifts ended for the day.”

She walked over to Diana’s bedside, placing the teddy bear on the side table and positioning the card delicately in the bear’s grasp. The card fell open slightly, facing Diana, and Ethan caught sight of the inside of it.

His eyebrows furrowed as he squinted his eyes slightly. “That signature in that card - is that the governor’s signature?”

Dr. Varma’s mouth twisted in a smile as she looked at the card, as if she were smiling at some fond memory. “It’s sort of a running joke between us.”

Dr. Greene found his way to the foot of Diana’s bed, sad eyes looking at her seemingly peaceful face. “Has she woken up yet?”

He hadn’t looked at Ethan, but Ethan knew he was talking to him. He also knew Dr. Greene already knew the answer. He shook his head anyway. “No - nothing, yet.”

After having lingered in the doorway, Dr. Trinh finally walked into the room and went directly up to Diana’s bedside. A stray tear left her eye, and Ethan looked away for a moment. He felt like he was intruding on something - a moment, rather. But he still refused to leave; he just couldn’t bring himself to do so.

A moment later, Dr. Trinh sniffed, and they all turned to leave. “Have a good night, Dr. Ramsey.”

“Doctors,” he said, nodding his head at their retreating figures.

Once they had cleared the doorway, Ethan’s eyes landed on an elderly couple in the hallway. One was a patient; a short, frail woman with graying hair and a hospital gown hanging loosely on her thin body. Her hands were placed gently on an elderly man’s arm. The two walked slowly down the hallway as he pulled her IV stand behind them. The smiles on their faces as they gazed up at each other made it seem as if they were walking around Boston Common, not the inside of Edenbrook.

With furrowed eyebrows, Ethan returned his attention to Diana. For a moment, he could see it - the life he never could image for himself. A house somewhere on a lake just outside of Boston, one they had built, with Jenner pouncing around the lawn after a baseball his son had failed to catch in his gloved hand.

His pager sounded, and he shook the image from his head almost aggressively. Standing to his feet, he paused and dropped an affectionate hand down to meet Diana’s cheek. He brushed his fingers against her soft skin with a touch as light as a feather. He stood there - just like that - for a second longer before withdrawing his touch and leaving the room as fast as he could so as to be able to return as fast as possible.

~

He tried not to get angry that his patient took longer to deal with than usual. Why was it always so hard to get Mr. Mitchell to take his medication?

Regardless, his feet carried him all the way to Diana’s room. As he went, he flipped through charts and results that had been waiting for him at the nurses’ station. A slight pain throbbed just behind his eyes; he knew he was tired, but he was just stubborn enough to push through it.

At the end of the hallway, Diana’s room sat, and, as he approached and let his eyes painfully draw up from the charts, there she sat, too.

His heart stopped and his blood ran cold as he watched her. She was wiggling her toes and stretching her fingers while clearly still trying to blink herself awake. Ethan couldn’t bring himself to announce his presence, so he continued to watch her in disbelief. 

He knew he should’ve rushed forward, scolding her not to put too much strain on herself. He should’ve stepped forward and checked her vitals to make sure she was fine, to ensure there were no signs of any surgical complications.

He just couldn’t. He couldn’t move.

She attempted to look at her monitors, but her pillow was blocking her view. She brought her hand up to move it out of the way, and, as she did, she caught sight of Ethan.

With a sheepish smile that made Ethan’s heart skip a beat, she raised her arm and waved it in the air, letting all the wires connected to her bounce aimlessly, before dropping her arm back to her side. “I was just doing a post-surgery checkup.”

He wanted to scoff; he wanted to say, “of course you were.” But his speech failed him. All he could do was stare at the woman in front of him, knowing that, deep down, he only had one thing to say.