There and Back Again; Chapter 3

So, finally, the lazy fanfic writer in me completes a chapter of There and Back Again. You guys who read this fanfic are really too good to me. The amount of support I have for this piece of fanfiction is really overwhelming, and I just want to apologise for not repaying that support with quick steady updates! I'm not that good with words, so it kinda takes me longer than what your average writer would need. Anyway, since it's been such a long time since I've updated, you can use the links below to refresh your memory, if necessary. Other than that, I hope you enjoy!

Prologue
Chapter 1 - The Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 2 - You and I Collide

Chapter 3 - Out of My Element

"You make me feel out of my element
Like I'm walkin' on broken glass
Like my worlds spinnin' in slow motion
And you're movin' too fast." - Aly and AJ, Chemicals React.


Additional characters:
Mary Hon Ma Lei - Lan Yee (Auntie Lan)
Elaine Yiu Zhi Ling - Nurse Brenda Chen


Ben (Raymond Lam) walked into her room, his stethoscope bouncing around his neck as he walked over to Ka Ching’s bed. “Morning,” he grinned, grabbing her charts off the foot of her bed. “How’re you feeling today?”

“Better,” she smiled. ‘Now that you’re here,’ she added in her mind, but only she didn’t say it. It sounded way too flirty.

“Cool.”

“You must be the only doctor I’ve seen in this hospital who says ‘cool’,” she teased him.

Ben laughed, as he checked her stats. “Well, but aren’t I? Cool?”

“You don’t have as many cool points as I do, Dr. Chai.”

“Well, would this give me more cool points?” He produced a shiny fresh red apple from the pocket of his white coat.

Ka Ching (Leila Tong) eyed the apple. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Are you trying to wriggle out of your doctor duties and not come check on me tomorrow?”

“No,” he smirked. “I’m just trying to ease some of your pain of missing Dr. Chan. You said he’d bring you an apple and you’d knit him a scarf, didn’t you?”

“…oh”, Ka Ching managed to get out, taken aback by Ben’s words. She felt a blush creep over her cheeks as he scribbled something on her charts.

He laughed under his breath as he hung the charts back where it belonged. “I’ll be waiting for that scarf then.” And with that, he left the room, while Ka Ching felt herself smiling at the red apple all day long.

*

Noelle (Bernice Liu) checked her watch impatiently, tapping her heel against the cool marble floor as she waited for the lift to come. “Come on,” she muttered under her breath.

It wasn’t exactly her fault that she was late. She needed, okay, maybe wanted, a new pair of heels, and the red peep-toe kitten heels she saw in Gemini in the mall were screaming out her name. But that wasn’t the point.

The point was Ben and Ah Lei would undoubtedly be annoyed. “It’s not like it’s my fault that they both chose such busy professions,” she grumbled again as the elevator doors dinged and opened. “And make me come all the way here just so we can have lunc-” Stepping in in mid-sentence, she stopped short in her tracks. Her eyes narrowed, but the doors had already closed behind her.

“You, again.” A voice sounded.

Noelle turned her back on him, slammed an index finger against the ‘3’ button and crossed her arms against her chest in a huff. “Yeah, so?” she retorted.

He snorted, and Noelle swore she could feel him smirk even with her back to him. “Don’t you have a day job?”

“In fact, I do,” she replied haughtily. “I’m a free-lance model and actress.”

He snorted again, this time louder than the first, and in true fashion, smirked. “I see.”

Annoyed, she whirled to face him. “And what’s wrong with that, huh?”

MC (Moses Chan) shrugged. “I can see why you’ve got so much free time on your hands then. Coming here all the time, shopping,” he said, nodding towards her paper bag which contained her new shoes. “It’s no wonder you’re not getting any jobs, really, with an attitude and face like that.”

Noelle’s mouth dropped in shock, her eyes flashing indignantly. “You- you-”

“Have a pleasant day, Ms. Man,” he said smoothly, and strode out of the elevator, leaving her furious and more agitated than she’d ever been.


*


“I swear, if you guys keep on making me come here to meet you for lunch, we’re not going to be friends for much longer,” Noelle plopped down her shopping bags on a chair and collapsed into the chair next to it. “I hate him. I swear I do.”

Ben checked his watched and clucked his tongue comically. “Let’s see, you’re late, and we’re the ones who aren’t your friends anymore? Real sweet, Man Po Yee,” he joked as his best friend shot him a glare that could kill.

Suet Lei (Tavia Yeung) giggled. A day was not a day if it didn’t witness Noelle’s melodrama and Ben’s offbeat humour. “Okay, spill, who’s got you in such a twist now?” she asked as she pushed the plate of chips to Noelle, despite Ben’s protests.

Shooting her a grateful look, Noelle started. “That- that MC Lam. Who thinks he owns the earth. And acts like he’s the hottest guy on earth. And smartest. And strides around like a pompous jerk. And acts like he owns the freaking hospital!”

Ben chuckled. “I see you’ve met our famous doctor again.”

“Famous?” Noelle snorted. “Ridiculously annoying is more like it.”

“You know,” Suet Lei took a sip of her drink and nodded towards the table where MC was having lunch, complete with a flock of nurses around him. “I don’t speak for myself, but I know for a fact that plenty of nurses in this hospital would kill, and I repeat, kill, to be annoyed by him.”

“Probably shamelessly soaking up all the attention.”

Ben sniggered. “The nurses do have a thing for him, don’t they?” he noted as Suet Lei rolled her eyes and nodded. “I was walking past the nurses’ station this morning and they were all talking about who he’s going to bring to the charity ball, while Suet Lei sat there and did the Sudoku puzzle in the papers.”

“What?” Suet Lei protested. “He’s not my cup of tea. And besides, all they do is talk about him all day. I’ve heard so much about him that it’s boring, actually.”

“That’s my girl. Besides, who would actually want to date him? He might as well bring a mirror to that ball. Save him the fifty trips he’d need to make to the bathroom to keep his self-adoration quota up.”

“God, you’re good, Noelle. Sure, you don’t want to be a comedian instead of a model?” Ben laughed again. “Hey, besides, you gotta give the guy some credit. I could use a date to the charity ball too, and nobody’s knocking on my door like they are on his.”

“Why don’t you take Suet Lei?” Noelle asked, curious. “Or does our best friend have a date already?” she teased.

Suet Lei rolled her eyes. “I’m just a lowly nurse who’s unfortunately got a shift that night. Thank God.”

“Oh, too bad. Want me to go with you, Ben?”

Ben’s eyebrows raised. “Hey, that’s a good idea. Even though you’re probably ditch me for some other hot-shot doctor once we get there.”

“Hey!” Noelle reached across the table and swatted him on the arm. “That’s only like, half-true.”

Suet Lei giggled. “Why do I have a feeling there’s going to be some good stories the next day about this charity ball?”

“Yeah, Noelle’s probably going to have a war with MC again,” Ben laughed.

Noelle glared at the both of them, throwing a chip each their way, while the both of them laughed even harder.


*

“Lan Yee, come on, sit down with me and eat.” Michael patted the chair next to him fondly.

Lan Yee (Mary Hon) looked back at him, shaking her head. “You know I’ve never gotten used to eating in the main dining hall.”

Michael smiled at her. If there was anyone in the world he truly respected and loved, it was Lan Yee. “You’ve been with us for thirty years now. There’s nothing to be shy about! Come on, I haven’t had a beautiful dinner date in ages,” he winked.

“Silly boy,” she laughed, albeit sitting down slowly. “Girls are lining up from here to Macau for a chance at a dinner date with you.”

“But none who can cook as well as you,” Michael joked.

Lan Yee’s tone grew serious. “You and your brother are exactly the same. Are either of you ever going to settle down?”

Michael smiled tightly. “Settling down’s not for me.”

She sighed. “Is it something I put into the food that results in the both of you being so playful when it comes to the love department?” Lan Yee asks, peering in to the food.

Putting down his chopsticks, Michael reached out to put an arm around her shoulders. “Now, MC and I don’t always agree, but I know he won’t object when I say that we’re not being serious because we judge every woman we date against a yard stick. And that yard stick’s you!” he laughed, when Lan Yee glared at him. “You set pretty high standards you know. Can’t blame us.”

“You and your sweet mouth,” she admonished. “If you put half as much effort into finding a job as you do into females, you’ll be a millionaire by now.”

“Well, if MC would let me have that damned trust fund, I would be,” Michael’s tone darkened.

Lan Yee looked at him firmly. “You know it’s not his fault. Your parents left your trust fund in both mine and MC’s hands to decide when you deserve it.”

“Which is ridiculous,” he rolled his eyes. “People get their trust funds when they’re eighteen or twenty-one. Look at me, I’m twenty-five!”

“Then start acting your age,” Lan Yee said, in a gentle tone.

If that had came out from anyone else’s mouth, Michael would have ignored it, exchanged a few harsh words, even. God knows MC gave him enough hell when it came to being serious. “It’s not like I don’t want to, Lan Yee. You tell me to grow up and find a job. So, I think about it. Seriously,” he emphasized. “I want to start a business. But if I don’t have my trust fund, where am I going to get my start-up capital? It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Business?” she asked warily. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Michael cajoled. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was eighteen,” he said, twisting the truth a little. “Help me out here, Lan Yee. Please?” he gave her his best puppy-dog look.

Lan Yee pursed her lips. “I’ll…I’ll talk to MC about it.”

A big grin spread across Michael’s face. “You’re the best! MC listens to yo-”

“But I have my conditions!” she interjected.

He grinned, this was a good start. “Name it.”

“You could start bringing home a nice girl for once for me,” Lan Yee glared at him. “Honestly, I don’t know where you find all your girls. Makeup an inch thick, skirts five inches shorter than they should be.”

“Is that it?” Michael laughed.

Lan Yee raised an eyebrow. “Why, do you have a candidate already?”

He smiled. “Well, we’ll see.”

“Tell me!”

Nice, decent girl. She fit the description. “I think you won’t be disappointed,” he grinned, putting a piece of chicken into Lan Yee’s bowl. “Enough boring talk, let’s eat.”

*

Michael walked back into his room, a smile playing on his lips without even knowing it. Striding towards his desk, he ruffled through his top desk drawer, until he came up with a stack of name cards. Shuffling through them, he finally found what he was looking for.

Blooming’s Florist Pty Ltd. “Bingo.”

Every woman loved flowers, didn’t they? She would be no exception.

*

Ben walked down the corridors of the hospital, mentally ticking off things off his to-do list in his head. It had been a tiring day, lots of patients to check on, a couple of surgeries, paperwork. And to top it off, he hadn’t been here for long. Half his residency had been done in the States where he had graduated. Here, he had to start all over again, and put in some extra work – more than what was expected from the others. It wasn’t that he minded working in Hong Kong. This was where home was, where his life had used to be. His best friends were here. He just never thought, never expected that he’d be back.

“Night, Dr. Chai!”

Ben smiled at the nurse. “Have a good night, Brenda,” he smiled politely in return to the flirtatious glance.

“Aren’t you leaving yet?”

“Umm,” he looked at his watch, feigning indifference. 1 a.m. “I think I’ll just hang around and wait for Suet Lei. She’ll almost be done soon,” he said, lying through his teeth. He knew very well that Suet Lei had left nearly five hours ago, having to work the graveyard shift tomorrow during the hospital charity dinner.

The nurse’s face fell. “All right then. Er,” she said, stalling for time. “Night again, Dr. Chai.”

Normally, he would’ve answered with a ‘call me Ben’, but he decided against it tonight. “Good night.” Turning around, he walked away, glancing at his watch again, having to allow her ten minutes to leave the hospital grounds before he could make his safe exit. He didn’t know what it was that they taught as this particular nurses’ station, but they sure were like hyenas. The others were fine; it was just this particular one that had all the clingy nurses. “Must’ve failed with MC this afternoon,” he chuckled to himself, walking back down the hall to his office.

A light still on in one of the private rooms caught his eye. Room 839. Ka Ching, he recalled from memory instantly. Smiling, he knocked on the door softly. He heard a soft shuffling to the door, which then promptly opened the size of a crack.

“Hey, it’s me.”

The door opened wider to show Ka Ching’s beautiful smile. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Why are you still awake?” Ben asked at the same time.

“I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d play some Scrabble,” she shrugged, biting her lip as she told him. “Don’t laugh.”

“I love Scrabble. I wouldn’t laugh!” Ben instantly brightened up, grinning. “Up for a competition?”

Ka Ching raised an eyebrow, giggling at his reaction. “Are you sure? Don’t you have something else to do?”

“Relax, I’m off duty.”

“Bu- but, aren’t you tired or something?”

“Dude, it’s Scrabble,” Ben remarked, almost like a child. “Are you scared or something?” he teased.

Her mouth fell open in surprise. “No freaking way!”

She opened her door to let him in, shuffling back to her bed in her bunny slippers, while Ben walked in behind her, closing the door.

“Game on!” he grinned.

She stuck out her tongue at him. “We’ll see about that, Dr. Chai.”

He winked, and placed a few tiles on the board. This time, he corrected her, with no hesitation. “C’mon, call me Ben.”


*



So, what do you think this time (yes, especially after such a long time. Did you forget all about the characters? Lol.)? All comments, whether compliments or criticisms, are fully welcome. :) Remember to click on the comments button, or leave me a message on the tagboard to let me know! I really hope this chapter makes up for the super long wait. :-S