Dr. Levi Schmitt M.D.

Larissa didn’t need to be asked twice when it came to coffee. She drank far more of it than she knew she should, but it was exactly the pick-me-up she needed to get through the rest of the night. “Coffee would be great. And I think the walk down to get it would do me good, if you don’t mind the company?” She asked with a smile, swinging her legs off the desk and standing up quickly. “That sounds ominous. Need to chat?”

Levi smiled when she got up from the desk, saying she wanted to come for the walk with him.  “I would love the company,” he said honestly.  It was always better to have someone to talk with on the way downstairs and back up again.  It helped to break up the shift.  “Nah.  I’m just the runt of my intern class,” he shrugged as they headed for the elevator. 

Ryleigh nodded and smiled as he squeezed her hand. “It’s okay, really. Link’s okay so that’s all that matters.” Ryleigh didn’t let it get to her because Link was okay. He didn’t have cancer anymore. “Thank you, Levi.” 

“That is all that matters, and I’m glad for you, for Link, for your family,” he said softly giving her hand another squeeze.  

Levi headed into the bar after a long shift at the hospital.  He knew he should head home, grab a shower, and get to bed.  He had an early day the next morning, but he just didn’t feel like sitting in his apartment alone.  Levi grabbed a stool at the bar and ordered a beer when the bartender passed.  He noticed Emmett a few stools down and gave a small wave before taking his jacket off.  

“That sounds like hell but you won’t be an intern forever.” She shrugged and tilted her head at his question. “When I was little Link had cancer. I loved watching the nurses take care of him. I knew from a young age I wanted to become a pediatric nurse and then as I got older I decided to become a nurse practitioner.” 

“Oh Ry,” he whispered, reaching for her hand and giving it a squeeze.  He couldn’t imagine how hard that had been to face in childhood.  Even if she hadn’t been ill herself.  “Well, you do a damn good job and those kids are so lucky to have you.”

April quickly buckled herself into her seat, her hands resting gently on her knees as she waited for Levi to get them going off to the restaurant. “She is. She’s tough, but that’s only because she cares and it’s the best way to learn. At least in my experience anyway. Miranda Bailey was a force to be reckoned with, and a doctor that April could do nothing but admire. “Oh wow, it must be nice then if they go every year. How long have your parents been married?”

He nodded as she spoke about Dr. Bailey.  She was right, Bailey was an amazing teacher, she was fair, but she was tough.  She wanted things done right the first time.  “I actually enjoy working with her,” he admitted softly, glancing over at April as they stopped at a red light.  “31 years this past spring,” he answered with a nod.  “It’s kind of amazing, you know?  They are amazing.  I uh admire it,” he said, not wanting to say too much and make the conversation awkward.  

Within 10 minutes, they arrived at the restaurant.   Levi parked and got out of the car, going around to open April’s door.  He offered her his arm once more before they headed inside.  He gave his name at the stand, and they were immediately taken to their table.  A table for two with a view of the water.  He thanked the host and moved to pull April’s chair out.  He had watched enough rom-coms to know what to do here at least.  

Larissa’s hand rubbed gently at her eyes as heard the other, knowing that she should probably be a little less quick to jump down other people’s throats, especially when if she’d had a hard night on the floor, they were likely too as well. “Rough night, and four more hours at least to go. You must have had a rough ride on this floor too tonight?”

He nodded when she said it had been a rough night for her.  “Would a coffee help?  I was actually going to run downstairs and grab some for myself,” Levi offered.  Coffee was like the universal love language in the hospital.  “I’m used to rough days,” he shrugged.  

“Wow, I only asked for a·complication, but yes, that’s all right,” Cristina pointed out, turning back to the patient.·“He’s right. None of those things will happen because your septal defect isn’t that severe and your pre-ops looks fine, so it should all go very smoothly and as planned.” She said her last words before leaving the room.·“You did alright in there. If you finish all the labs and paper work I asked you to do by the end of the day, I might let you in on the surgery. To observe, of course.”

“Thank you Dr. Yang,” Levi said honestly as he tucked the chart under his arm.  He had a few more notes to finish up along with labs and charts for other patients.  “I’ll work on that right away,” he added with a nod before going to the nurses station to collect the items he needed.  Maybe, maybe he had done alright today.  

“Not always…. unless you plan on staying an intern forever.” She shrugged. “Yeah, it was so sweet. I guess I did. Sometimes kids make me things I keep them all in a box.” 

Levi laughed.  “No.  I do not want to be an intern forever.  That would be awful,” he said honestly and ran a hand through his hair.  “That’s adorable.  What made you go with peds?”

April’s head nodded slowly,  recalling the events of her most recent shift in her head. “At this second, the patient is stable, but who knows how they might make it through the night. I think cardio are keeping a close eye on him.” She added with a shrug, though she knew herself that she’d be back on the ward and checking them as soon as she got to the hospital. “Bailey is always a good one to watch, she’d very good at what she does.” She agreed, spending hours in Bailey’s OR had been half of her residency so far. “So you said you booked a table on the water? What sort of place is it?” She asked, thanking him for opening the door as she moved to sit inside the vehicle.

Levi closed her door once she was settled into the passenger seat and walked around to the drivers side.  He climbed in, buckling his seat belt and turning the car on.  “Well hopefully the patient makes it through the night and remains stable,” he said honestly before focusing his attention on backing out of the parking space.  “Bailey is amazing,” Levi agreed with a nod.  “It’s the steakhouse down by the water?” he offered.  “My dad always takes my mom their for anniversaries and stuff.  It’s nice.  I honestly can’t remember my parents not going there.”

Ryleigh nodded. “One day, Levi. One day you’ll be one of those doctors and you won’t be doing scut.” She smiled. “My day was good. A little girl made me a friendship bracelet which was super cute.” 

“I’ll probably always be doing scut Ry,” he pointed out.  “Oh my gosh.  That is adorable.  Really super sweet.  You must have taken excellent care of her.”

Larissa rubbed at her temples, her feet propped up on the desk of the nurses station in front of her. Somehow she’d managed to be closest nurse for the last four codes in the cardiac ward, and that in combination with what felt like the longest shift of her life, the brunette was exhausted. Her eyes had found themselves closed as she took a moment for herself, an attempt to somewhat centre herself, knowing there were still a couple of hours left before she would be able to go home. The feeling of another hovering near her had her looking up slowly, her eyebrows coming together in a slight frown. “Did you need me for something, or just watching a girl rest her eyes?”  (@traumasstart​)

“Just putting a chart back actually,” Levi said with a smile as he replaced the chart back to the holder.  She looked like she was having a tough day, and he knew all about tough days.  “You doing alright?” he asked her.  

“Everyone has their own preferences so each their own.” She smiled. “So how was work sunshine?” 

“The day was decent,” Levi said with a nod.  “Did a lot of charting, but that’s an interns job.  What about you?” he asked looking up at her.  

“I know that. I’m just helping you since you’ve never been on a date before. “ He said as he grabbed another chart from the station. “So, have you told anyone else about your planned date?”

“Thanks?  I think?” Levi said when Andrew claimed this was all to help him.  Some of his advice had been helpful.  “Ryleigh and Sam.  That’s it.  Well, and I guess April?  Because you know I asked her out,” he shrugged.  

“Good. You’re growing on me, even though you’re not… growing.” Cristina quickly looked up and down at the young intern. “Don’t worry, puberty’s just around the corner.” She led the way to the patient’s room, greeting the patient with a polite smile as she stood directly in front of him. She began describing the patient’s condition, pre-op results and the final procedure, ever so often glancing over at her intern to make sure he was paying attention. “Pot–Dr. Schmitt, what is a complication that can occur during the septal defect repair?”

Levi sighed softly.  He knew she enjoyed the jabs.  Hell, everyone did, and he couldn’t blame them.  He left himself wide open for them.  “Complications that could occur from the procedure are residual shunts, embolization, device-related thrombosis, erosion and perforation of the heart, infective endocarditis, and rarely, death,” Levi said.  “Although, we are going to take great care of you and monitor you closely, so hopefully no complications,” he assured the patient.  

April felt slightly uneasy about misreading the whole evening - had she really been so stupid to assume it was the same kind of dinner she attended with any number of her colleagues? That, and it wasn’t like any of them ever asked her to go on dates with them either, so it was entirely unprecedented for the redhead. Nevertheless, she had promised him an evening and dinner, and she always made good on her promises. “It was… busy. This huge trauma came in and we had to try and plug bullet holes while cardio tried to not let the guy on the table it was all hands on deck.” She explained with a laugh, attempting to lighten the tension that seemed to have come over the both of them. “How was yours, Levi?”

“That honestly sounds thrilling.  How did the patient do after the procedure?” he asked honestly as he pulled his keys out of his pocket to unlock his car.  “My day was good.  I got to watch Dr. Bailey’s spleen repair.  Very interesting,” Levi told her with a nod as they came to his car, a modest sedan.  He unlocked the vehicle and opened her door for her.  

Andrew rolled his eyes again. Levi was like an anxious little mouse. “Don’t tell her about your past, but you do have to at sometime. I would like to know if the girl I was dating was a virgin, It’s kind of important so I know how far I can go so she is comfortable.”

Levi waved him off.  He was positive they weren’t going anywhere near a place where that needed to be discussed.  Not yet anyways.  “I’ll cross that bridge if and when I get there.  Not everyone has to have sex on the first date.”

     He let go of his arm with a smile, not thinking much of the gesture. He was a physical person, he always felt it connected him to the person. “You weren’t intruding, not one bit,” again he assured the intern. “But I should apologize, I’m keep you away from your lunch with your friend, so I release you from my company, but don’t feel like being a stranger to my office… I’m only a knock away.”

Levi couldn’t help but smile as Emmett spoke about coming to his office.  He nodded along as he continued to speak.  “Yeah, that would be nice.  I would extend the same offer, but I am merely an intern.  You could probably find me in an exam room doing charts anytime though.  Have a great day Emmett!” he said with a weave as he walked off to find Sam.