the doctor is in.

“Just a bit, I try not to be one of those people who picks apart medical shows while watching but,” she smiled sheepishly, “I definitely am, even if it’s just picking it apart to myself. I ruin my own enjoyment of them.” She handed Mia a plate, take out on the counter of her small kitchen, “I’m better, definitely improved. Went back to work like two weeks ago but no overnights so far, I think I’m getting some pity points but I can’t complain about that.”

“You never know. The world is a very complicated and mysterious place” Ramsey mused, staring off for a moment, seemingly lost in thought until the name Ruby pulled her back. “Ruby? “ She replied tilted her head as she glanced back towards the other woman. “Hmmm. Yes. Resemblance”  She muttered as she put the pieces together in her head. “ She is very talented. “ She smiled thinking of the tattoo artist she was fond of. 

“Nothing wrong with either of those things,” Oliver agreed affably. They were wildly different professions, though. Surgeons were high powered, and always on the move. Yoga advocated for a more relaxed, balance type of life. It made him wonder briefly why she had chosen one over the other, and if she had any regrets. But those thoughts were too deep to be thinking about a stranger. 

“And c’mon, can anyone really be mad when a pretty lady is talking?” he asked, raising a brow. “Anyway, I was asking.” He took her extended hand and shook it. “Oliver. Nice to meet you, Mia.” 

“You’d be surprised how similar they can be,” she mused for a moment. A small laugh accompanied a good-natured eye roll in response to his words. “I’d definitely say ‘pretty’ is a bit of an overstatement, but thank you, I think?” Always self-deprecating. She was always everything she urged her patients to not be. 

“Oliver. It’s nice to meet you, too,” she smiled, happy to put a name to the face. “You guys haven’t been here that long, have you? I mean I don’t remember this being here until last year or so and - don’t take this the wrong way, because I promise it’s a compliment - you don’t seem like a New Yorker.”

“I’m afraid you’ve seriously overestimated my combat skills. I’m a doctor. I took an oath to do no harm.”

“Secrets can be important. They can help us feel safe. But they can also leave a person feeling incredibly alone. A very important part of my job is to keep people’s secrets for them, but the most important piece, I think, is to help them notice the secrets they’ve been keeping from themselves.”

“I don’t force it on anyone,” Oliver said. People knew what they were signing up for. He made sure of that, especially for the night shifts. “Anyway, like I said, it’s all in shifts. Some people are night owls and wouldn’t be sleeping anyway,” he shrugged. He didn’t know why he was trying to explain himself to her. But he didn’t like the idea of people thinking he was taking advantage of his employees. It took all types to get things done anyway, and he had had a surprising amount of applicants for the later shifts. 

Oliver glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as they walked. He was looking, but where his eyes made sweeping glances, hers were laser focused. “I don’t know,” he commented. “I think anyone who makes it through medical school has something to brag about.” If she didn’t think being a shrink was glamorous, he didn’t even want to know what she thought of a gym owner like him. 

Mia felt her cheeks go red from embarrassment. For someone whose job was to talk to people, she sure was miserable at it sometimes. “Oh, no, I wasn’t.. That’s not what I was trying to say..” though she couldn’t figure out how to continue. How exactly could a 30-something woman say ‘Sometimes I get nervous and I talk too much’ without sounding like a complete idiot? Instead, she shook her head again, smile returning. “Really, you’d be surprised how many idiots go to med school. Doesn’t really say anything about what sort of person you are. Other than you’ve got a God complex.”  She paused for a moment, checking beneath a bench to no avail. “I don’t know. If I hadn’t gone I’d probably be a yoga teacher or something.” Something where she could still help people.

A wave of self-consciousness crossed the woman. She bit the inside of her cheek, blonde waves dancing as she shook her head. “God, I’m sorry. You probably think I’m completely self-absorbed.. Talking about myself so much. I didn’t even get your name.” She looked up at him apologetically, extending a hand. “I’m Mia.”

“It must have been a doozy then.” Bringing her own glass to painted lips, she gestured vaguely at the one in front of her company. “I asked if you planned to finish your drink since you’ve been nursing it for the better part of twenty minutes.”

“Oh!” Mia glanced back down at her glass, bringing it to her lips. “I think the wine’s turned,” she sighed, grimacing at the liquid. “Should’ve had one of what you’re having.”

Ramsey pulled the sleeve of her shirt over her hand to try to clean the spot off her face as the other woman directed her. “ Good?” She replied as she noticed her sleeve had been stained and shrugged it off. “ Oooh how interesting. Who is this sister? Maybe we are secret twins” 

“Perfect,” Mia nodded with a smile. “That would be a thought, wouldn’t it? Ruby’s stuff is a little different though. More flowers. And her preferred medium these days seems to be ink and human skin,” she laughed softly.

“Are you always this evasive? Or have I just caught you on a day when your diary’s already gotten the best bits of you?”

Mia blinked twice, focusing back on the present. She could feel heat rising to her cheeks. “I’m sorry, my brain’s still on my last session. What were you saying?”

“I’m allowed–” The witch cut Josefine short, once again insisting rudely she didn’t have a place in the Frey, which was supposed to be a place of safety and community for supernaturals excluding the more dangerous among them, here referring to her vampiric nature. Anger and hurt burned under her skin as she fought the urge to snap back and make the scene the witch so desperately deserved at this point, but she’d only be proving the offending woman right. “There’s no rules against my–” And again, the witch stopped her, practically bullying the vampire into taking a step back. 

“Don’t let her get to you,” Mia offered, insecurity creeping into her voice. “If anything, you have more of a right to be here than I do.” She only ever ventured into the Frey to see if she still could, as though they hadn’t yet realized she was only human. Before his death, her father had reassured her that she would always be able to enter, but she still couldn’t help but feel like she was trespassing in a space that could never belong to her.

Oliver took the paper and slid it into his pocket without comment. She was not in the right frame of mind for any flirting, and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable or anything. Especially since he had meant what he said about making sure everyone kept an eye out for the ring and letting her know if they found it. 

He shook his head when she protested. “Don’t worry about it,” he replied, waving away her worries. “Haven’t you heard that this is a 24 hour gym? Doesn’t matter how late you want to come in, or how early. Without another word, he gestured for her to follow him, considering the matter settled.

 “Occupational hazard, hmmm? What job has that as its hazard then?” 

Mia’s smile returned, relief once again flooding her features despite her concern for the lost object. “That’s convenient. Must kill the social life of whatever poor soul’s stuck on the night shift, though.” Even just sticking to traditional work hours, Mia still hadn’t quite struck a healthy work/life balance, despite her continually reminding her patients of its importance. It was one of those “do as I say, not as I do” situations.

She followed the man, scanning the floor for any sign of the ring. It was old, it didn’t look valuable. Just a gold circle at the front, filled with vervain. It had functioned as a security blanket for the last 18 years, rendered unnecessary by her consumption of the substance each morning. Maybe it was time to let it go.

His voice caught her attention. “Nothing glamorous,” she admitted with a self-deprecating shrug. “I’m a doctor. Psychiatrist. Surgeons are the glamorous ones.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yael sighed, sinking back into her bed because she was already tired from walking around her room even a little bit. “Too much TV,” she shook her head, laughing a bit, though, since when had she ever had time to watch more than an episode or two of something at a time. “It’s good to know Days of Our Lives is still as riveting as ever.”

“I suppose General Hospital hits a little too close to home,” she offered with another small laugh, relieved that despite her situation her friend seemed to be in good spirits. Still, it was Mia’s nature to be concerned. “How’re you holding up?” she asked, careful to keep her tone lighthearted.

Normally, Oliver would have made a smart-ass comment about of course he would like to have her contact info. He didn’t think that would go over well right now, though. And while that hadn’t stopped him before, he was at his place of business. His business. He didn’t want it to get a bad name. “Sure you can,” he nodded agreeably. “I’ll make sure we keep an eye out. Did you want to do a walk through? Check out where you were to see if you might have dropped it?” 

A warm smile lit Mia’s features, the first smile she’d offered since entering the gym. She reached into her bag, retrieving a pen and paper and quickly jotting down her info. “Excuse the shitty handwriting, it’s a bit of an occupational hazard,” she laughed as she slid the note across the counter to the man. Her face again brightened at his offer, though after a moment of thought this faded. “Are you sure? It’s getting kind of late, I wouldn’t want to keep you.”

Drawing was one of the only ways Ramsey could get her mind to focus lately. After New Years, she seemed to be debating whether or not to become a hunter again. It was an option that was plaguing her mind however. If she was hunting, the box she kept locked in her psyche would pop open again and she would have to face what was actually going on in her head. It was easier to ignore all of it and draw. That made sense to her the most in the moment. To draw and ignore the world. Ramsey looked up as she saw someone step into her light at the cafe. “ Oh hello human shaped shadow” She smiled as she wiped charcoal onto her face on accident. “ I did it again did I?” She asked trying to wipe the smudge off her but missing it. “I once did a painting and had blue paint stuck in my hair for days” She chuckled

Mia felt heat rise to her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to gawk. Something about art had always drawn her in. Though the doctor had no talent whatsoever, she’d spent plenty of time in the company of those who did. “Just a little bit more to the left,” she guided the woman toward the charcoal, voice soft. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. For a minute there you just,” she shifted unconsciously, attempting to shake some of her embarrassment. “You just reminded me of my sister.”

“You don’t look like a lunatic,” Oliver hastened to reassure her, moving to the front desk where the woman was showing the receptionist the picture. “I can understand why it would be important to you. We have the lost and found here.” Smoothly, Oliver slid behind the desk and pulled out the large box from underneath it. “Feel free to look through it if you like. I don’t know if anyone has turned a ring in or not.” 

“Oh my god you’re amazing,” Mia breathed as she accepted the box from the man, rifling through the contents - mostly sweatshirts and water bottles from what she could tell. “I don’t think it’s in here,” she sighed at last, resting her head in her hands, elbows pressing into the counter. “Can I leave my contact info? I mean, I know it’s probably gone for good, it would just make me feel a lot better to keep at least a little hope alive.”

“I’d appreciate it if you did,” Yael joked a bit before eyes widened at the sight of the white box and a bright smile bloomed, “Levain’s perfect–– thanks, Mia.” She could eat five of those cookies in a row, despite how rich they were. Just what was needed for positive healing. “Well, just got here a two days ago, ICU before that…I guess another four to five days but like, you know,” she shrugged slightly, now moving to sit on the edge of her unmade bed, preserving her already limited store of energy, “home rest too. Doctor’s orders. So I doubt I’ll be back to work before February which….sucks but, I guess rest isn’t that bad,” she spoke only half-joking because Yael couldn’t stay still for long, even under doctor’s orders.

“It’s not me you need to convince,” Mia teased, though she understood the nurse’s restlessness too well. Her left hand drifted to her lower back, momentarily allowing herself to feel the dulled pain that she’d grown accustomed to. “Better to rest now then to hurry back and seriously fuck yourself up. You’ve been through a lot.” From what Mia had been able to ascertain, it was a miracle Yael hadn’t died in Grand Central Station. “Besides, think of all the daytime tv you’ll be able to catch up on,” she laughed.