[Jaykobell]

Murray frowned a little. He sighed and pulled away from Martin in order to sit on the edge of his desk. “Fine,” he said as he crossed his arms and settled in to listen, “I promise I won’t tell them or anybody else.”

Martin didn’t look as panicky, but he didn’t look convinced. “You promise it’ll just stay between us two?”

Murray sighed, but he tried to keep his cool. “Yes, Martin,” he replied, “I promise.”

Martin still hesitated to Murray everything, but he soon gave in with a sad sigh. “The first night didn’t go well,” he started with. “Neil refused his treatment and Cybele had to force him to take it.” He paused to sigh again. “She got mad and threatened to pull back on the deal.”

[Jaykobell]

Murray listened quietly, and when he didn’t react, Martin got nervous. “But she said all that because she was upset; she didn’t mean any of it. They’re fine now, and Neil apologized and agreed to take his treatments.”

Martin couldn’t tell if no reaction from Murray was a good thing; but after a few seconds of silence, Murray sighed and rolled his eyes. “This kid is going to kill me,” he groaned, but Martin didn’t get the feeling that Murray was upset, which definitely helped his anxiety. “So he got over his temper tantrums and Cybele got over being sensitive?” he asked. “You’re positive he’s taking his treatments?”

“Promise,” Martin said right away, and he lifted a hand to assure Murray he was swearing it. “He’s had all the treatments he was meant to have up until this point. And you’ll get confirmation of that when I do his blood tests at the end of the week.” If Murray had any doubt, then the results would speak for Martin.

[Jaykobell]

Murray sighed again and let his arms drop. He propped himself up with one hand while he rubbed his forehead with the other. “He’s such a fucking dumbass this kid,” he said under his breath.

Hearing him say that, Martin grinned just a little. “That’s why you love him.”

Murray frowned. “That’s why I tolerate him,” he corrected, but Martin shook his head.

“You say that,” he retorted, “but I know what you really mean.”

Murray rolled his eyes, and without adding another word, he returned to his cleaning. Martin watched Murray do his thing in silence, one arm propping up his head. “You know,” he said after a few seconds of silence, “I’m very happy you decided to give him another chance.” That came from the heart, and although Martin didn’t have a hard time expressing how he felt, the same couldn’t be said for Murray.

[Jaykobell]

His answer didn’t come right away. “Yeah, well,” Murray eventually replied between flipping through a bunch of old file folders, “he better not fuck it up. I can’t keep bailing him out.”

Martin just smiled widely at that answer; and if Murray had noticed, Martin knew Murray would’ve been embarrassed. He was going on about Neil messing things up, but Martin knew better.

Murray continued to clean up while Martin sat there quietly, but eventually the silence was broken by a knock on the door. Murray looked at his watch and Martin turned his head around to look at the door. “Come in, please,” Murray called out.

Martin figured it was Murray’s nurse who needed something, but he was surprised to see Cybele walk into his office instead. He blinked, and his first thought was that Cybele had gone back on her decision. But he found himself confused more so than anything else, since that conclusion didn’t make sense.

[Jaykobell]

Cybele partially cleared it up when she said, “You wanted to see me, doctor Wolfgang?” If Murray had called her in, then by process of elimination, it had nothing to do with the situation with Neil.

“Yes; it won’t be long,” Murray said without looking away from his cabinets filled to the brim with antique patient records. “I need you in a different department today, Cybele,” he explained. “And potentially for longer. We have a nurse who quit recently, and I have a doctor who needs help until we hire someone new.”

It took Martin a few seconds to process what Murray had just said, and when he did, he got nervous all over again. “No problem,” Cybele said in return. “Who is it?”

Murray paused for a moment as he got distracted by something that barely looked like a file anymore. “Elliott Colchester,” he replied after a few seconds of delay.

[Jaykobell]

She was surprised to hear that name. She only knew Elliott because they worked in the same hospital, but they didn’t work in the same departments. She had crossed him a handful of times in the halls, but nothing more. Arguably, they had never even spoken.

“Do you know where he works?” Murray asked, stopping long enough to look over his shoulder and towards Cybele.

She opened her mouth to answer; only to realize she actually didn’t know the answer. “I… No,” she admitted. “I can’t say that I do.”

“He works in the psychiatric ward,” Murray said, and the answer made Cybele a little concerned. “I assume you know how to get there? If not, you can ask Susanne.”

[Jaykobell]

“Oh, uh, yes,” she replied. “I know where the psychiatric ward is.” She hadn’t had to work there very often, but on second thought, those few times were the times when she’d actually caught glimpse of Elliott.

“Good,” Murray said, and he returned to his cleaning. “I’d bring you over, but I’m busy.” She wasn’t a brand new nurse, either; she knew how to get around, and she didn’t need a nanny to bring her places.

Cybele nodded. “That’s not a problem,” she assured him. Assuming she was dismissed, she turned towards the door. “Thank you, doctor,” she said, but before leaving, she also looked to Martin and smiled. “And good morning, doctor Donato.”

[Jaykobell]

Martin had only listened passively to their conversation. Mostly, he’d started tuning it out after hearing that poor Cybele would have to work with Elliott for a bit. “Oh, hello to you too, lassie,” he replied when she addressed him, and if anything, he was happy to see she was looking good. He much preferred to see her shining bright and early with a smile rather than sobbing at his doorstep.

She exited shortly after, closing the door behind her; and Martin sighed. “Why are you so hard on the girl?” he asked Murray. “First Melanie, and now Elliott?”

The comment left Murray feeling attacked. “What are you talking about?” he asked back, and he grimaced. “I’m assigning her to them because she’s good enough to work for them.”

Martin shook his head. “You’re going to burn out the poor girl.”

[Jaykobell]

“Martin,” Murray said, “if I didn’t think Cybele could do it, I wouldn’t appoint her to Melanie and Elliott. Plus, working for those two nutjobs has got to be enough to distract her from Neil.”

Martin listened, and he grinned widely again. “Aw,” he whispered, “you care.”

Murray opened his mouth to say something, but he decided against it and frowned instead. He wasn’t the type to let out his emotions; he found it embarrassing. He did open up a lot more to Martin than to everyone else, but it was embarrassing to admit things even to him.

“It’s okay to care, you know,” Martin said after Murray had fallen silent again, and knowing why that was.

[Jaykobell]

Murray scoffed. “I care for my staff to become the best they can be,” he explained.

Martin chuckled and shrugged. “The reason doesn’t change the fact you care.”

Murray’s mood was progressively getting sour, and that was both from the cleaning and from Martin’s commentary. “You know what else I care about?”

Martin loved these discussions. He always had to pry Murray’s heart open, and it wasn’t always easy; but when he did manage to do it, Murray always came up with fantastic things. “What?” he asked, expecting something heartfelt and heartwarming.

[Jaykobell]

“I care about why the fuck you’re wasting time in my office,” Murray said, stopping what he was doing specifically so he could glare at Martin.

Martin was left disappointed. “I’m offering emotional support,” he argued in his usual nonchalance.

“Why don’t you offer,” Murray replied, “to get your ass out of my office and back to work?” Martin had said what he’d wanted to say. He was just wasting time at that point.

Martin grinned widely at Murray’s words. “So you’re the one Neil gets that from,” he said, and the sentence alone made Murray all flustered.

[Jaykobell]

Outside the office, Cybele was making her way out and heading towards her new station. She’d been a little concerned to see Martin in Murray’s office, but she trusted the hematologist to keep his word. Murray hadn’t said anything, either, and knowing that they shared ownership of the hospital, the logical conclusion was that they were discussing private matters or hospital matters.

She passed by Murray’s nurse on her way out, thinking nothing of it, but she was almost out in the hall when she heard a voice behind her say, “Excuse me, Cybele.”

Cybele stopped and immediately turned around. “Yes?” she said.

[Jaykobell]

It had been none other than Murray’s nurse, Susanne, who had intercepted Cybele. The woman was infamous throughout the hospital for her wild and eccentric personality that matched her unusual hair - one half nearly shaved and the other left as long as possible, the whole dyed in a dark purple color - and overall looks, like her matching purple nails and singular earring. She was a jarring match for the strict and no-nonsense Murray, but the two made a perfect team; one as a general practitioner and surgeon, and the other as one of the very few nurse practitioners St. Lazare had.

A few of the staff were intimidated by Susanne, but Cybele never had a problem with her. In terms of her work ethics, Cybele could only look up to Susanne. As far as she was concerned, she was an ignorant rookie compared to the seasoned nurse practitioner.

“May I ask where you’re going?” Susanne asked Cybele curiously.

[Jaykobell]

“Oh, uh.” Murray made the decisions, but Susanne did oversee the staff, specifically the nurses of the hospital. “Doctor Wolfgang assigned me to the psychiatric ward for a bit,” she explained, and Susanne shook her head.

“And he’s not bringing you there himself?” she inquired, and judging from the literal twenty seconds Cybele had stayed in his office, Susanne could only assume Murray hadn’t warned her or told her much of anything, either.

Cybele shook her head. “No,” she replied. “He mentioned he was busy,” she added. “But it’s okay, I know how to get there.” Not to mention the fact Elliott had to be expecting her if she were stationed to work with him for what potentially looked like days.

[Jaykobell]

Susanne frowned when Cybele explained the situation. “Hold on just a minute, won’t you?”

Cybele did as instructed, and Susanne turned her attention to her phone. She pressed a button, and the phone started ringing on speaker. She patiently waited for the other party to pick up the line, and Cybele was surprised when the phone picked up and Murray’s echoed through the speaker. “What?”

“Um,” Susanne said, paused, and then added, “are you daft?” with a condescending tone.

Cybele stared, wide eyed, as Susanne spoke to Murray that way. She had expected the doctor’s next answer to be him screaming, but he was eerily collected as he said, “What now?”

“Didn’t you schedule Cybele to the psychiatric ward?” Susanne asked.