Chapter Text
She slides the curtain open not expecting to see so much skin on the other side. Not just anyone’s skin. Jack’s skin. It was pale and freckled and stretched tight across the muscle rippling in his shoulders and back. She’s not sure how she knew it was Jack. She’d never seen him sans shirt but she chalked it up to deductive reasoning. Or maybe she’d just imagined him this way enough times. The salt and pepper curls peeking through the black fabric haphazardly moving around his head, the camo pants, the freckles, and the lean muscle. They were all Jack. Her realization has her choking on her inhale and sputtering out an “I’m sorry -um, can you just-.” She doesn’t get to finish her sentence before Jack’s gravely voice cuts her off “Dr. Mohan, give me a hand, would you?”
Samira blanches, her brain stuttering. Professional. She needs to be a professional. The side of her brain that acts with the experience and confidence she’s developed as a physician kicks in. Including her empathy and concern, which intensifies at the realization that Jack- Dr. Abbott was the one who was hurt. She quickly closed the curtain, separating them from the rest of the ER. “Dr. Abbott, what happened?” She takes in the deep red and purple bruise on his upper left shoulder. She reaches her hand out to prod at his skin but stops short, suddenly second guessing her choice to touch him. It looked fresh. “That’s not actually the issue.” He pushes out with a dry laugh, back still turned. He pauses his struggle. “It’s really not as bad as it looks. I just can’t manage my shirt with this shoulder. “ She catches his meaning and moves. She steps close, right behind him and reaches for his shirt but he keeps flailing his bent arms trying to find an opening. “Dr. Abbott, it’ll be easier if you just stop moving and let me do what you asked me to do.” she says sternly. Jack instantly stills “Yes ma’am.” She hears the smirk in his voice.
She manages to right his shirt and help his hands find the sleeves. Before he can get his arms all the way through and the shirt pulled down he takes a step forward and turns around. Samira’s eyes drop to his pale, freckled torso before she can even meet his eyes. His stomach, a soft swell covering what is still rigid muscle underneath. Her glance down was something she didn’t even have time to fight. Like an inevitable altogether unavoidable pull to glimpse something she wouldn’t have previously been able to or imagined she ever would. A blush she couldn’t control finds its way across her cheeks before her eyes snap back up to his face, locking eyes with his beautiful, hazel stare. A stare that holds such intensity. An intensity that feels like he was seeing her bare. He stares at her as if the world falls away from them and she’s all that exists.
They stand a foot apart staring into each other’s eyes with unsteady breath. He stops moving his shirt still around his neck and tucked under his arms. A small, smug smile find its way onto his previously stoic face. “You see something you like, Samira.” His voice softens to a whisper as her name slips off his tongue. It feels like a caress slowly bleeding into something more daring. Dangerous. It rattles her. She swallows thickly, her mind racing for a response. Fortunately, Jack’s matching blush slowly spreads down his neck, onto his chest betraying his smooth flirtation. Knowing she has this kind of power over him, to affect him this way is intoxicating. “Jack.” she exhales. His is the next breath to come out a stuttering mess, quickly followed by a breathy “Say it again.” Something akin to a plea coloring his tone.
Jack steps forward. His bare chest nearly pressin against hers, their mouths inches apart. Breath shared between them. Inhale. Exhale. In. Out. Decision. Indecision. Committing. Fleeing. Each waiting for the other to break. He breaks first. “Samira.” he whispers again. Something about the combination of hearing her name in a desperate whisper, seeing the want in Jack’s eyes, and feeling his breath on her lips snaps her out of the trance he’s pulled her into. She steps away abruptly and too loudly speaks his name. “Dr. Abbott.” She takes a deep breath. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” She watches as he registers her physical reaction and her cool, distant words. He steps back and pulls his shirt the rest of the way down. She hated the steel trap door that slams across his features as he processes her reaction. But she has no one to blame but herself. She was in disbelief. Did she really just shut down something she’d been dreaming of since she met the man who had single-handedly built up a confidence in her that Robby had ultimately destroyed. She had wanted him for so long and he just presented himself on a silver platter, making his intentions very clear. She would go home later and think of all the reasons she shouldn’t be entertaining this but so desperately wanted to. She would probably spend the next month beating herself up over this.
Jack steps back. A professional demeanor possessing his entire being. He wasn’t unkind, just different. She briefly sees a look of regret and panic flash through his eyes. “Sorry, Dr. Mohan. Thank you for your help. Let’s get back out there.” He steps around her, careful to avoid contact with her and slides the curtain open. He waits for her to walk through. They fall into step next to each other moving towards the noise and chaos of the ER and away from the near personal implosion they had barely escaped.
~~~~~
Jack had fucked up bad. He knows that. He was just trying to flirt but it came out more heated. Samira has a way of making him lose his footing. What started as light flirting immediately turned into something heavy and intense. As soon as he heard his name softly fall from her lips, his heart picked up speed and the playfulness was quickly replaced by desperate, aching want. To hear her say his name in a way that he had longed to hear from her sweet voice sparked an intimacy he felt in his bones. Intimacy. Something so far removed from his life. The idea and its possibility, suddenly front and center because of Samira, had him latching on. So tightly he overlooked how inappropriate it was and the pressure she probably felt from a blatant advance from her senior attending. Not accounting for all the angles wasn’t something he made a habit of. His attention to detail and catching things that others missed made him a great physician. But he overlooked that she was uncomfortable. He thought their steady flirtation and camaraderie was building towards something more solid, deeper. He was mistaken. How had he missed it. He felt sick. He had to apologize as soon as he found a spare moment.
He feels a break in the frenzy of the night and finds her eyes on him from across the room. He rounds the nurse’s station and stands next to her as she looks up at the board. He bumps her shoulder with his hoping to ground them back to where they were before he’d ruined the easy flow between them. “You got a minute?” he asks softly. She looks over at him. He watches her do the mental gymnastics of deciding whether now was a good time and whether they should even speak. “Yeah.” He cocks his head motioning in the direction of the on call rooms. They walk back side by side, in step with one another. Always in step. He opens the door to the first on call rooms and thankfully finds it empty. He holds it open and waits for her to walk through. He closes it softly behind them. He can do this.
She stands facing away from him for a moment. He waits so nervous to see whatever expression she wearing when she turns. And when she turns, her face is indecipherable. He’s so damn nervous. He takes a moment to collect himself looking at her and then looking around the room before his eyes land back on hers. “Dr. Mohan, I need to apologize for earlier. It was incredibly unprofessional and inappropriate of me and I didn’t want to see that I was making you uncomfortable. That was wrong of me and it won’t happen again. Samira,” he pauses and takes a deep breath. “You’re the smartest doctor I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. You’re brilliant, you care about every one of your patients so deeply, and I don’t want you to think that my opinion of you as a doctor could ever be swayed by some personal mess that I created. Can you please accept my apology?” He rushes out while wringing his hands together. She stares at him mouth slightly parted. Even in this moment, with all the things racing through his head, the most pressing was how damn beautiful she is. And how sorry he is that he had made her uncomfortable and the sickening feeling of not having their easy rapport because of his carelessness. He looks down at his feet. He can’t bear to look while she readies herself to speak.
“Jack” his eyes snap up at the sound of his name softly spoken by Samira. She steps forward looking unsure. “Jack, listen. You didn’t make me uncomfortable. I just- It was just unexpected and it was crossing a line that we’ve both been toeing for a while now. Not that it’s a line, I didn’t want to cross eventually.” Jack’s world stops. A sharp intake of breath at the revelation as she keeps inching towards him. “It just surprised me that’s all. The emotion of it, I guess. But I think a conversation is in order. I think we should talk about this. There’s obviously something here and I think it’s okay to explore what that might be. I think we owe it each other and ourselves to find out what’s between us.” By the time she finishes she’s standing right in front of him. A small, graceful smile on her lips. The look on her face has him tripping over his thoughts. She looks as if she was right where she wants to be. His heart is thumping against his ribs. She’s so lovely and standing right in front of him, saying everything he thought he would never hear from her.
She takes another small step towards him. His breathing picks up. He can feel his chest rising and falling quickly as he stands as still as possible. Like if he moves he’ll scare her off or she’ll realize this was all a big mistake and rescind everything, the chance she’s offering him. Her face is barely an inch away from his. “Jack.” she breathes against his lips and his eyes drops to hers as they form the sounds that made up his name. She brings her hands and lays them softly on his solid chest. He can feel the chill from her slender fingers seeping through his shirt into his warm skin. She leans in close and softly brushes her lips to Jack’s. He freezes at the sensation. He thinks he must be in shock. He closes his eyes and tries to just feel the moment of contact. It’s a soft meeting of lips that doesn’t last long. But as she retreats, he finally comes back to his body and slowly follows her, his lips chasing the kiss. Chasing her. His eyes blink open to find her deep, warm brown gaze on him, fervent and consuming. Softer than his, he thinks but no less disarming.
He brings his hand up and presses at the small of her back until her chest is flush against his. “Again.” he says so lightly he isn’t even sure he’s said it. “Please?” he barely manages. He can hear the pleading in his voice but it’s honest. She holds his eyes for a moment longer before they flutter shut and she leans in again. This time when he feel her lips it’s like a jolt of electricity through his body. A fire burning at his lips and rapidly spreading through out his body. He roughly presses at her lower back until she’s crushed tight against him as his other hand finds the side of her face, softly cradling her cheek. Her lips are so soft and moving with his. He can feel her twitch in his hands as he lets his tongue softly taste her lips. He hears himself make a low noise in the back of his throat as her lips open and her tongue slowly slips inside his mouth. Fuck. His hands find her hips and he roughly pushes her away, keeping his hands in place. He needs her away from him but he’s still aching to keep his hands on her. She continues leaning in still chasing his lips. He watches as she blinks herself back to the room they’re hiding away in. “Fuck, Samira.”
She looks confused. “Sorry” his apology rushing from his mouth. “I was about to have a reaction that would be difficult-“ he stutters out a small laugh “would be hard to hide and even harder to explain.” Her lovely eyes widen. “I’m sorry. I got carried away.” She gives him a small grin. “Not your fault. Well yes, you inspire that reaction in me but it’s just been a while for me. Wasn’t really prepared for this.” He stumbles over his words. He steps back towards her and lets his forehead rest on her shoulder. “You’re just so damn lovely.” He raises his head and they stand a foot apart just staring, smiling at each other. She speaks first “We should get back out there but-“ she pauses “walk me to my car after shift?”. Jack feels as though he’s floating. “Of course.” He brings his hand up and gently tucks a soft curl behind her ear. “Of course I will.” He hopes she feels the earnest tone in his voice and knows wherever this is heading he’s serious.