all i have to do is dream

[ janet montgomery, cis woman, she/her ] - was that PAISLEY DUNCAN i saw by the lighthouse today? i heard that the THIRTY-FIVE year old who has been in nightrest for THREE YEARS and works as a ER HEAD DOCTOR AT GRIGGS GENERAL has a reputation of being PASSIONATE, but also STUBBORN. they reside in ASHMORE & people in town usually associate them with NEON COLORED SNEAKERS MISMATCHING HER SCRUBS, HER HAIR IN DIFFERENT KINDS OF BRAIDS SURVIVING 12-HOUR SHIFTS, A PACK OF MALTESERS IN HER POCKET, A CUP OF COLD TEA LATTE. let’s hope the killer doesn’t go after them next.

FULL NAME: dr. paisley duncan, m.d. NICKNAMES: pais, duncan, dunk AGE: 35 / august 2nd, 1987 GENDER & PRONOUNS: cisfemale, she/her FACECLAIM: janet montgomery HEIGHT: 5’6” SEXUALITY: bisexual OCCUPATION: ER head doctor at griggs general

tw: pregnancy

he waves a hand, brushing off the question. “no worries.” he meets her eyes, slightly confused as to why she seems to be studying him. “i bet,” he nearly forgot the other woman was a doctor, “it’s been kinda crazy in town recently. wardwell’s been fine, though. a bit more paperwork but.” he shrugs. “nothing outstanding.”

LOCATION: rhee’s, towards the end of the first game CLOSED: @drpduncanfms​

Kage didn’t care at all for basketball. He was smart enough to pick up on when things were looking good for the supposed ‘home team’, despite the distance between Nightrest and Texas being clear over a thousand miles. “Does the ER have an over-under on alcohol poisoning for the night?” he asked, his gaze directing away from a couple of guys racing to finish a fresh pint of beer to the doctor occupying a space beside him.

--

paisley’s eyes have been focused on the television as the game plays, not because she knew how the mechanics go, but it was because she was trying to understand it all, until she was interrupted by the man who was sat beside her. “we’re always ready for such thing, kage. and with a phone close by while we do the first aid treatment, i don’t thing there’s anything to worry about.” she explains in response, then follows his gaze towards the men almost fighting over beer. “that’s definitely going to be a lecture.”

closed \ @drpduncanfms location : rhee’s bar and grill

“oh—wait, you’re not who i thought you were.” he chuckled, quickly taking a step back. “sorry, similar hair color. and style. well—” he took a deep breath, shrugging. “we’re here now. how have you been?”

It was a set in stone routine for Malcolm to finish his shift and then go for a drink at Deadlights. It wasn’t necessarily that he needed the alcohol, but that going straight home from the hospital always felt like there was no break - no time for him. He had clocked Pais coming in, her order going through his mind before she even spoke it to the bartender. Honestly, he didn’t even realise he was staring at her until she said something. “Oh, no, just er– figured Queen’s or Spirits would be more up your speed,” he remarked, glancing around the beat up dive bar.

--

paisley stares at the man who she thought she was going to be with for the rest of their lives not that long ago--a few years, give or take, until part of her, for some reason, just thought that it wasn’t going to work, that she was always meant to be alone, something she has been used to for years after she left windsor and had a life of her own, until laurel came, and had become paisley’s life. but at the same time, she is a part of malcolm too. whether she liked it or not, she’ll always be reminded of him through her eyes. “a drink is a drink, malcolm.” she gives him a shrug, her expression so neutral as she takes a sip of her drink. “thought you were still on shift?”

she eventually realized that the man from earlier was someone with bad intentions towards the doctor. the said person immediately left the vicinity as soon as hye-jin was joining paisley. he probably realized that she has company and attempting something would be more trouble. if anything, it really takes one to know one. “oh, that makes sense. you make… the world a better place.” hye-jin says, sounding genuine as she continued listening to the stories paisley was sharing. this situation somehow brought her back to the very first night they met, where she was wounded terribly and every other hospital in the nearby towns are all full. “wait… how exactly did this lego piece fit inside a kid’s nose…?” the younger’s brows were now furrowed against each other, curiosity and confusion was written all over her face. “oh, no. it’s just me tonight. i just wanted to grab a drink before i head home. it was pretty hectic at work too. anyway, what about you, doc? waiting for anyone or it’s a solo flight tonight?”

--

what hye-jin says next makes paisley smile, a slight hint of pink now spreading on her cheeks as she stared at the younger woman. it may have been the first time she’s smiled for the first twelve hours, add that to the fact that their first meeting had been so unique over others, paisley coming to hye-jin’s aid with no question, and now here they are a month later, the doctor still without a clue what has caused for the other to be in such situation. “that...something most of us still are wondering about. but it was a little piece, a square-like tile, i don’t know if that lego piece has a name to it.” she shrugs. it was a little scene in the emergency department in the middle of the afternoon, a crisis which was quickly averted when paisley pulled the piece out herself. “that’s...what i was also planning. i just wanted to have a drink and relax, before i come home to the little one.” she lets out a sigh, it was something she’s always looked forward to after such a long day working in the busiest part of the hospital. “no...not waiting for anyone at all. though, it is much better, having drinks with you.”

ruby smiles, nodding to the stone. “take it.” at the other woman’s face, she rolled her eyes. “please. we can buy these by the dozen for, like, fifty bucks.” that was just not even close to true—rose quartz was usually double that—but paisley didn’t need to know that. kage wouldn’t miss one stone. “and the pleasure is all mine, doctor,” she grins.

--

“ruby--” paisley protests at other as some of the crystal was now in her hands, her glance switching between them and the woman before her. “you know i refuse to let you do that--whether a bunch is just fifty bucks or not.” the doctor bites on her lower lip, contemplating as the offer--one that looks like paisley doesn’t even have a say in the first place, was something she couldn’t deny. “i don’t think there’s any possibility for love to happen to me right now, so don’t let such crystal go to waste...”

“well, thank you,” she smiles, tossing a lock of hair over her shoulder. “i’ve always thought so, myself.” her grin fades slightly as she listens, nodding along to the other’s words. “i get it.” they sigh, shaking their head. “it feels like if i drop my vigilance for even a moment, something horrid will happen,” they murmured. “definitely not the air I expected to feel coming back to nightrest. i expect that from my family, not the town,” she remarked dryly.

--

“it’s hard to be assured that this thing wouldn’t happen again, and it’s actually more terrifying that whoever this is, they’ve gone so quiet all of sudden--regardless if they had any connection to the fires or not.” it was hard to ignore that feeling in paisley’s gut that in some way, it won’t be surprising at this point if they actually did have something to do with the fires around town and it’s aftermath, the injury and once more, a sudden death. though, she didn’t come to this place to dwell, she just wanted to relax. “is it awful for me not wanting to think about it, even just for the night, ruby?”

“or maybe i was trying to get your attention, doc.” hye-jin smirked, as if that was her plan all along. she was staring at the person right behind the doctor, who seemed a little too familiar for her. “it’s… a little weird to see you here– not that it’s a bad thing, of course.” she says as she now sat across the woman, allowing her to have a better view of the person behind paisley. luckily, it was a complete stranger. “another one of this, please.” she tells to the bartender, sweetly smiling before turning to the woman next to her again. “you look like you just got out of a very stressful hospital shift.”

--

“oh my attention you got, hye-jin.” paisley gives the younger woman a playful grin, eyeing her up as she sits down in front of her. she has met a couple of strange people over the years due to her job, even before she decided to settle down in nightrest, yet hye-jin has just this different aura surrounding her, something that makes the doctor curious, a feeling she had ever since they met that one night, a time she hasn’t forgotten with everything else that has been happening in town as of late. “i cannot remember the last time my shift isn’t stressful.” she chuckle lightly, shaking her head to herself. “we had a lad with a lego piece stuck up his nose, which was...a struggle to take out.” she tilts her head to the side, eyes still on the other. “you don’t have any company with you?”

   guess not everyone dressed to impress whenever they went out.. or at least made themselves presentable—which was all she could expect from the residents of nightrest, but taking a good look at the woman at the bar. clearly, not the same logic applied to her. it would explain the set of scrubs that adorned her body and the bags under her eyes that lacked coverage. obviously, the woman must’ve had a long day .. wherever she worked. being caught staring only forced jieun to paint a fake smile onto her face.  “ i wasn’t trying to be subtle. you look like you need some concealer, ”  head tilting slightly,  “ and maybe a brush. i’ve got both, but i can’t promise the makeup is going to be a good color match. ”

“Perhaps subtlety wasn’t exactly the word for what I was going for,” Ruby grinned, stepping over to the stool near her. “What’s got you on edge?” she teased, sitting down nearby. She could see the exhaustion on the other’s face, and sighed in response. “Work hard today?” There had been an uptick of injuries recently—that is, as long as it wasn’t a murder—and the fires hadn’t helped matters. Working at the hospital had to be tiring.

--

“bold fits you better, darling.” paisley eyes the woman from head to toe with a smirk on her face as the other takes a seat beside her. a sigh then leaves her lips at ruby’s question, in a way, not expecting it. “well...everything.” she couldn’t quite keep the answer to herself, having this feeling that she could talk about what’s on her mind to the other. “it’s been...calmer than the weeks before. but at the same time, it’s what makes it more unsettling, you know?” she glances down at her drink for moment. “so i have to make sure everyone’s up on their feet at all times.”

Ruby smiles coyly, letting the comment fly past. “There’s extensive knowledge on the subject, or so I’ve heard,” they smirk, nodding to the counter where the display is. “Hmmm…a specific one? Depends on what you’re looking for.” She bent down to grab a handful of crystals out of the counter. “Tourmaline and obsidian—good for protection.” With all the murders, perhaps they all should’ve been wearing some of that. “Amethyst, moonstone, rose quartz—better for love.” She glances up at her with a slow smile before pushing a few more stones around. “Jade, malachite, adventurine: best for luck.”

--

paisley listens attentively as ruby shows her the crystals, scattering them on the counter whilst she spoke. her eyes immediately lands on the ones that are good for protection, it would be no harm having some with her and at home for the protection of her daughter. she shakes her head at the next ones, “i don’t think i’ll need those, ruby.” she chuckles lightly, though she does pick up the rose quartz, just admiring how beautiful it looks like. “i believe i should at least get a couple of these...since you have been giving me more than your time of day.”

Coming back to Nightrest, Analu expected to be pushed into uncomfortable situations with people she wasn’t ready to face. It didn’t stop her from hoping somehow to steer away from Paisley. Or at least until she found a way to fix every other relationship that was hanging by a thread. She could feel Paisley’s eyes on her, a burning feeling that brought back all the emotions she felt that night. The night a decision was made without an ounce of input from Analu. She finally gathered the strength to tear her eyes away from the glass. “Oh you know, running off as usual,” she wasn’t one to dwell over things that didn’t work out, but she couldn’t help the feelings that overtook her the second she locked eyes with her. Analu didn’t give out her heart easily, she saw first hand that love is nothing more but a lie, and when she finally tried to give it her all it backfired. Further proving what she already knew. “It’s my thing, isn’t it?”   

--

paisley knew she should’ve given analu a chance when she made the decision of ending things between the two of them, but it was the instinct to protect laurel that has clouded her mind from doing so. she only wanted what was best for her daughter, and she couldn’t just let people in their lives when it wasn’t guaranteed that they were going to stay. she didn’t want laurel to have so many temporary people in her life. “analu...” she sighs, letting her next words feel like her heart was being stomped on again and again until it disintegrates. “that’s not...that’s not what i meant.” she responds, referring to the night when she made that decision know, turning her back on the other as if she was driving a knife into her own heart. “i was just...i am protecting laurel, ana.” even though she yearns for the happiness she had with the other, it has been her default for the past three years to put her daughter first. “if i had a choice...if it’s not for my daughter...i wouldn’t decide to do such thing.”

location: any bar open to: @drpduncanfms​

going to the bar after work was a rare thing to do for yasmin. though every once in a while, she would go with a few co workers for a drink.  making her way inside the bar, her eyes wandered around before spotting paisley. making her way over to where she was, she sat on the open bar stool next to her. “today was honestly the first day for me to not have to do any surgeries at all.” a rare day for her too. most of the time, she had at least one or two scheduled. but not today. and for a change, it was nice. it meant less stress if that made any sense at all. “was the ER busy today?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked over at her.

--

paisley rests her cheek against her palm, propping her elbow on the bar counter, drink in her hand while she watches the other doctor taking on the empty stool beside her. “we have been having it rough the past couple of weeks, yas. it’s honestly...hard to get used to it this way.” she still couldn’t help but think about the aftermath of the murders, the attack and the fires that recently happened in town. “not as busy as usual.” she didn’t even need to elaborate, recalling the people who were rushed through the doors of the emergency department for the past couple of weeks. “had to deal with an accident--an old chap fell the stairs and had to be monitored. so you’d only been in your office?”

Analu didn’t over-think, she didn’t question and second guess herself. She jumped at opportunities head first, the outcome never something she worried about. And the one time she did it? Turns out she wasn’t good enough for it. Those thoughts invaded her mind as her eyes landed on Paisley, the train of thoughts coming to a stop when she spoke. She kept her eyes on the other for a few more seconds. “Didn’t mean to. I was in my own head, you just happen to be in my line of sight.” Analu cleared her throat grabbing her drink for a long sip. “How you’ve been Paisley?” she questioned, focusing on the glass like it was the most entertaining thing she’s seen as she ran her fingers along the rim. 

--

seeing analu again after quite some time...it has brought feelings for paisley, ones stuck between unwanted, ones she prefers to forget and ones that she’s longed for, ones that sometimes have kept her up at nights, making her wonder how it would’ve been if she just didn’t decide to end things with her that one day. she wanted love, craved for it for some time yet she’s always believed it wasn’t in the cards for her. at first, paisley’s sole reason for it was her career, until laurel came, that meant she had to be careful with welcoming people not just into her life, but her daughter’s, too. that protectiveness came into play of not only their relationship, but the other ones she’s shared with others, which results to all of them not lasting long. yet with analu...just looking at her makes paisley’s heart ache. “i...i’m alright. i’ve been busy with the hospital and all...” she responds, eyes on kept on analu whilst she looks down on her drink. “...how have you been?” she asks, curiosity evidently laced in her tone.