Noah Crawford

Was there a better cure for heartache than the sound of his best friend’s laughter? Probably not. Finley was beaming, especially for the fact that it was he that had made him laugh. “Never say never, Crawford. I don’t want to hear it. Not even ‘possibly never’.” With a sip of his beer and a click of his tongue, Finley turned from chastising Noah to gaping at him with wide, excited eyes. “I bloody knew it! I knew it! You better make a move tonight or I’ll be very disappointed.” Managing a laugh at his own expense, Finley gave a good-natured shrug of his shoulders. “Yeah, but it’s easy with you. You’re not a jaded git like me. Anyway, I don’t know…”  He drowned his sentence with another sip of beer. “I mean, for one thing, there’s Presley. Hayden has no clue about that yet and I really shouldn’t be going there but… fuck, she’s something else.” Finley sunk his teeth into his bottom lip as he thought about the dark-haired woman. “Also, like… I’ve kind of – sort of – maybe started feeling things for Flossie… again? I don’t know, it’s weird. I don’t want to think about it.” 

📷 Instagram: @drnoah_c uploaded a photo

Amelia bit down on her bottom lip for a moment, contemplating how to respond to his question. “Us… no, I don’t think… it’s not weird to me. I… I just know that whatever it is that we have, I think it should be between the two of us and it shouldn’t concern James.” She admitted, nodding her head. She was done having people interfere in her romantic life and dictate how things were. She did not need anyone’s opinion or approval to pursue a relationship with Noah. He made her happy and that was all that mattered to her at this point. “Money can buy everything… but love. Believe me, I would know.” She sounded almost bitter when she’d said that. “William… well, he was always a complicated man. He tried to love me, I think… at some point when I was little, he tried. But then… all he cared about was his legacy. He only cared about whether I would live up to his accomplishments, his expectations for me… and me being me, I… he resented me after what I did with Ethan. Let’s just put like that. We didn’t have the best of relationships either, but I guess… it is what it is.” She shrugged her shoulders as she said that, turning her gaze back to the photos. She did not enjoy talking about her parents and it wasn’t necessarily a topic for a first date conversation. “Uh…” It took Millie a moment to step forward and take a look at the photo and she turned over to look at him. “Oh that is… my NICU nurse at Westminster Hospital, when I was born… she was the one who kept me alive for the first two months of my life…” It took Millie a moment to remember her name. “Miss Ivanov, she’s-” Perhaps it was because she had heard an overly emotional James rant to her the other day, when he had mentioned his mother’s full name. Khristina Ivanov Crawford. She had not paid attention to it then, but upon seeing Noah’s reaction, she knew exactly what it meant. She gasped, her hand covering her mouth in shock. Looking over at him, Amelia could feel her heart beating right outside of her chest. Her eyes glazed over, though she did not realize why. “Oh my God…” She grabbed his arm, as if trying to pull him out of a trance. “Noah, is that… is she your mother?”

He’s always been quick to pick on stuff, especially when her expression would sour so suddenly once the parents subject had been approached, regretting ever bringing it up in the first place, after all he himself did not need to be reminded of his own at that moment, he hasn’t gathered the courage to call them and tell them about James as of yet. The only way to sort the subject and put it aside would be to nod his head and busy his eyes with the photos in front of him, well at least until fate decided to kick him right where it hurt. “NICU.. Westminster..” He processes the information given to him up until she mentions his mother’s maiden name, Miss Ivanov. His heart stops then, forcing him to lightly gasp for air. “You mean Mrs. Crawford, a Russian nurse in London..?” He starts, then bursting into laughter that would feel more like a reaction to surprise than a happy one. This was now beyond weird and if James had him questioning his life then Amelia would have him questioning if there was any truth to what some people believed and called fate. “-- She is, Amelia. She is.. my mother. This is -- wow. This is way too big of a coincidence.. Are you sure you’re the baby in the picture?” The question is meant as a joke, far from expecting an answer to that. “.. Because I’m sure that’s my mother, pretty much one of the first faces I can recall, there’s no doubt.” 

“Yes..She’s…she’s great…Really great.” He muttered, sighing. This guy was perfect for her; he was put together, handsome, british. He rolled his eyes trying to make sure Noah didn’t notice. “..Oh really? Where abouts in England are you from then?” Trying to make conversation away from Amelia knowing if he found out more about their relationship it would eat him up inside. “Good friends?” He raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were uh–dating.” He coughed it out, feeling extremely uncomfortable. “My–Uh..” He winced as the bruise spiked on his cheek. “We aren’t currently speaking.” He sighed lightly as he turned to him. “But she’s…she’s-” He sat up a little, as he tried to play with his pager in his hands. “She’s my best friend. She really is.” She is also the girl I love with every part of me. “You’re lucky.”

“Noah…” James bit down on his bottom lip as he stepped forward, sighing before he shook his head. “It’s okay… it wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault, as much as it wasn’t mine.” He knew that he could not hold it against Noah for not knowing of his existence, so he didn’t. Perhaps, he would have a much harder time forgiving Edward and Khristina for what they had done. But for now, he was grateful to have Noah in his life, as he had wanted when he first arrived in this town. Hearing him finally acknowledge him as his brother made James smile at last. “Brother, you are my brother… wow, it’s finally starting to feel weird just saying that. I never had a brother. My parents never had anyone else… and I know you had Nate but… this is so weird.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I don’t want to spend anymore time away from you, Noah. Thirty-five years were long enough.” James was glad that Noah was finally accepting of him and his existence, a nervous laughter at his question. “Yeah, I do drink… a lot more than I should be, if I’m being honest. English blood mixed with Russian blood… and a Romanian mother so you can imagine.” He laughed. “I’ll hang around the premises after my meeting and we can go once you get off. I heard that Cloak & Stagger was the best place to get drinks in town.”

                “the more you talk, the more i’m sensing the little judgment you’re hiding somewhere in your tone.” hayden playfully squinted her eyes towards her friend, giving him the look of suspicion. “i’m actually… taking suggestions. i’m suddenly out of name ideas despite me just looking over a book of baby names.”

After leaving Robert’s house in a hurry, Amelia found herself driving straight to Noah’s. It took her a while for it too sink in that she had just thrown away ten years of friendship in an instant. It broke her heart, but she had been as stubborn as he was. She needed to get away from him and focus on her own life, just as he had told her that she should walk away from him. Clearly, he wanted that right? But her heart was searching for some kind of comfort in the loss of her friendship and she somehow knew that Noah would be the one to give it to her. That sense of security. She’s already sobbing by the time she knocked on his door and upon seeing him, she launched herself right into his arms. Noah had once seen her vulnerable before, which was why she knew that he was the right person to help her come to terms with her overload of emotions that she was feeling. She trusted him enough to share this with him, but it was more than just trust. She loved him. She loved him enough to lean on him at a time like this. “Noah, I-I… Rob and I are not friends anymore… we’re… I don’t even know what happened but, I just knew that I needed to see you, I… I’m sorry, I should have called but I left his place in a hurry and I didn’t know where else to go…” She cried against his shoulder, letting herself hold onto him for a little longer before she pulled back. “Do you mind if I stay here for a the night? I really don’t want to be left alone in my big ass house…”

Seeing her like this would break his heart into a million pieces just like it did the first time he’s seen her in a similar scenario, eager to ask just what had happened but instead wrapping his arms around her. “Not friends anymore? H-- what happened, love? -- No no don’t apologise I’d rather have you come to me.” He rubbed her back as he tried to comfort her. “Of course not, we can order something to eat, talk about it -- and if you don’t want to talk about it we can do something else.. I don’t know, watch something? I’m .. brainstorming, but anything you want, really, feel comfortable.” His tone of voice is calm and even just like the day he’d found her crying her eyes out in a room at the hospital, he lets go of her grip for a moment to have a good look at her although not stepping back and thus allowing her to continue hugging him, kissing her forehead lightly and running his fingers down her hair. “Come inside, I’ll make you a tea.. something to calm your nerves.” He suggests.

Her eyes guided themselves away from his when he mentioned Amelia, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk about it, it was that she knew that whatever she said next was probably going to get back to the woman. “Uh- not yet. I haven’t actually seen her, plus, I don’t regret anything I said. Maybe it wasn’t the right time or place, but… I shouldn’t be talking to you about this. It’s fine, I’m professional- apart from obviously that one time, I can be civil,” she assured him, taking the coffee from him with a ‘thank you’. “That’s what I said to him, but you know what it’s like, it’s tough. I’m sure he’ll be back on the right tracks soon, he’s got way more potential than I ever had.” 

He senses the way she completely avoids the subject, which he was no one to hold her against it, so he takes a deep breath. “I’m sure you two will work it out, I would never for a second doubt you’re a professional, how’s your own path to Paeds going?” He offers her a soft smile in an unconscious attempt that it might ease the moment and show her he was not her second enemy. “Oh he definitely has, and he seems to have a lovely family to support him, he will go far!”

Amelia gave him a nod, sighing. “Yeah, we worked together for a few years in New York… after he returned from space.” Looking over at him, she could not help but wonder how much of an emotional roller coaster it must have been for him. “I’m sorry, Noah. I didn’t mean to keep this from you… I called him after I saw you. I asked him if I should tell you that I knew him, but he said… He told me not to tell you. He said that he wanted to surprise you when he got here. He was so excited to come down here and see you. After losing his grandmother the way that he did, he was just glad that he would be able to have his brother in his life. But then… it’s a shame, I guess. You didn’t know.” It all seemed unfair now, she could not imagine how James must have felt when he found out that Noah never knew him. A small smile on her lips as he said that, she nodded once again. “Robert and I did our residencies in New York and we’ve been friends for about ten years now. James was working with both of us, but I didn’t know him as much as much as I knew Rob.” She clarified. “Those two are thick as thieves though… kind of like you and Finnegan- Finley, that’s his real name, right? I almost forgot what it was. He calls me Millicent so I call him Finnegan.” It was kind of surprising that the two of them had so many mutual friends, yet they had never met until now. “I knew him, yes… but I don’t know him the way I know you, I… I never… had anything with him in the past, if you were wondering. I’m aware that he has quite the reputation but, James and I… we never… in case you thought it was awkward.” Millie felt the need to clarify that she’d never hooked up with James, only to find out the following week about Gabrielle’s situation. “Well, I grew up in a penthouse in the Upper East Side and a manor house in Kensington so… I guess I can’t really relate to that.” She admitted, laughing softly as they made their way up the stairs. “Money was the only thing that both of my parents were able to give me. But that wasn’t what I wanted from them.” Leading him towards the wall of her childhood photographs, Amelia motioned towards them. The only photo she’d had of her younger self with William and Margaret - she’d only kept it up on Annette’s insistence. Then of course, there were photos of her with Annette, some with her half-sister when they were younger, some with her step-brothers Alex and Leonard, and of course, in the center of it all was a photo of the premature baby Amelia with the nurse who had kept her alive in the NICU for almost two months. Khristina Ivanov, but unbeknownst to her, the woman was now Khristina Crawford. “I don’t know why I wanted to show these to you… but this is everything you need to know about Amelia Walker, the product of William Walker and Margaret Walker-Jones’ loveless marriage. You already know about my mother’s side of the family. But my father… William, he was a world renown neurosurgeon and the former dean of Columbia Medical School. He passed four years ago. He remarried Annette… she raised me as her own after Margaret took off. I gave her a hard time, you know… drinking, doing drugs, falling in love with the first person who gave me the attention and having his child at seventeen. The woman stuck with me through it all. She’s a saint. And of course, her son Alex… the closest thing I had to a sibling. He’s married and got two kids of his own in New York, the kid I was telling you about the other day.  I don’t know why I have this last photo but Annette made me… this is her stepson, from her marriage after she divorced my father. Leo, a complete asshole… the brother I never asked for. This is my messed up family.”

“Wait, it’s not weird.. is it? You know.. us.” He has a wide smile glued to his lips despite how off it sounded, ‘us’ meant they hooked up once and kissed in two situations, but at the same time it all felt too mutual to deny it and dismiss it as simple attraction. “People will often think rich people have it all, won’t they? ‘You’re rich, what’s your problem?’ and they will be blind to the fact that money can’t buy everything.. you know, love. It can’t buy love.. How was your childhood in here with your father?” Noah happily follows, instinctively linking his hands behind his back as soon as she makes a full stop in front of the wall exhausted with memories and plenty of faces he didn’t know with only her face in them to link them all - it was a lovely thing to have, a wall full of relationships, he only wished her life had been that wholesome too. Noah is attentively listening to her as she goes through the pictures, nodding his head as a sign of understanding as she unveiled the people in the pictures, but his eyes stop right at the centre, a picture in itself impossible to miss as it was clear that it had plenty of meaning to her, but it wouldn’t be her baby self in the NICU that would drag his attention to it -- it would be one of the nurses. Eyes widely open fighting the need to blink a few times, he’s leaning forward and closer to the picture as he squints his eyes, not sure if it was a trick of his mind at that point -- was it possible that his life had become a genuine plot for a thriller movie in a matter of weeks? It would be something he would accept if that was truly his own mother. “Hold on hold on, do you know the name of this nurse?” He points at one of the first faces he remembers in one last shot of hope that his life wouldn't have turned into a bunch of twisted facts.

gabi smiled and looked at him. “you know what they say, if you don’t remember anything, it probably wasn’t important.” she teased him, she knew it was a night to rembmer but she could joke about it. “of course, why not?” she replied. “it is important to me that my clients stay fit and healthy.” she added.

“ah wow thank you, gab.. that.. totally didn’t hurt my feelings.” he frowns but there’s a vivid smile on his face. “it would look extremely bad if your clients walked around out of shape i get it, when would you have the time?”