Stella took her lab coat off and hung it in her locker. She took her hair out of the pony-tail and shook it loose. This was one of the times that she was glad for wavy hair; it hid the unavoidable bump from having her hair up all day. Hair taken care of, she changed into a pair of jeans and replaced her blouse with a hoodie.

No longer looking the part of a medical professional, she slid out of the hospital unnoticed family members and patients that might have otherwise stopped her. A quick check of her phone confirmed that she and Howie were still on for their dinner date at their favorite pizza place. She pulled her hood up against the late February chill and walked the two blocks as quickly as she could.

Her mind free to roam now that her day was done, she remembered the heart racing kiss from earlier. Keith Park was someone she had not expected to see anytime soon, but could not say that he was an unwelcome sight. She would have to figure out how to get Howie to tell her who was coming to their combined birthday party Friday, maybe his college friend had plans to attend.

She ducked into the pizza shop, the heat thawing the tip of her nose. Looking around the hole-in-the-wall shop, she spotted the familiar Chinese man in their usual corner booth. Stella ducked into the booth, the ripped vinyl seat and scratched wood table a welcome change from her day.

Despite the toe-curling kiss, her day had been one code after another. The oncology patient who had needed a neuro consult coded as she entered the room and took their sweet time coming back to life. She kept her complaints about trying to assess their brain damage from not breathing for a solid fifteen or so minutes in addition to their post-operative neurological issues to herself. At least they were alive to see another day. So too were the slew of stroke patients that filled her workday. The patients who had seizures today would be fine too.

Stella reminded herself of this as she took the first gulp of her Corona with lime. Having a friend like Howie, who knew her preferred beer, made her day a little better.

"Slow down, else I might think you're an alcoholic."

Stella showed him her middle finger in response. It was a running joke between them – she'd guzzle down the first half of her beer in one fell swoop and nurse the rest. She could never explain it, but that first bit was always the best. "Yes, I'm doing fine. How are you? Glad to hear your great! Been only a month since we've had time to do this." Finished with her bit of cheekiness, she grinned at her friend.

Howie rolled his eyes at her antics. "Like we don't text all the time. You still good to come to our party Friday?"

"Hey, we're turning thirty! My plan is to get drunk, get laid, and not get manic."

He snickered, reaching for a cheese fry. "I predict that you will accomplish df those three. I put in an order for a cheese and mushroom pizza before you ask."

"So who's all coming to this thing, anyway?" Stella eyed the pile of fries. She knew they were incredibly unhealthy, and combine their nutritional value with pizza, Howie wanted her to have a heart attack. The idea of the gooey, hot cheese combined with the salty fries tantalized her, taunting with how wonderful a heart attack tasted.

"If you had Facebook you'd know."

Stella gave into the fries, shoving two in her mouth and delighted in their taste. "If you'd change your password back, I'd have one." She ate a few more fries as Howie sighed at her.

"You lost that after you posted the weirdest shit ever on it. Um, hold on, lemme check." He pulled out his phone, making sure to keep it well away from Stella's wandering eyes. "Adam."

"That goes without saying. You gonna propose soon?"

Howie shrugged his shoulders. "The moment hasn't been right, you know?" He turned his attention back to his phone. "Oh, Sam said she'd be there! You two haven't seen each other in ages."

Stella bit her tongue; there were reasons she and Sam didn't talk anymore. Obviously, she forgot to tell Howie about those. "Who else?"

"James, Nick, Liz," Howie said as he scrolled through, "Oh, Keith will be there. Didn't you flirt with him every time you came over to our place?"

Stella smiled, letting Howie think it was about the memories she had of flirting with her patient. "I used to come over just to see him shirtless. Dance did amazing things for his abs."

"And horrible things to his feet" Howie countered as he shuddered at the memory.

"Worth the exchange." Stella closed her eyes and remembered the way he used to walk around his apartment. Loose baggy sweats and no shirt were his preference then and years of dance made him lean and muscular. Maybe she could convince him to take off his shirt again; just for comparison, of course. "Is he seeing anyone?"

"He wasn't when we caught up just before V-Day. Don't know if that's changed any."

Stella masked her smile with a sip of her beer. Valentine's Day was only two weeks ago; chances were high he was still single.

Then she remembered he had a concussion. As much as she would love to screw him all night long, that would probably get in the way. As a neurologist, she knew his injury wouldn't agree with vigorous activity. Orgasms counted.

A devilish thought crossed her mind. If she could somehow get his number, then maybe she'd be able to do something with him later. Stella could use Friday as her gateway to continuing this morning's ever so delightful kiss.

The arrival of their pizza snapped her out of her plotting. Howie and Stella dug in; the piping hot cheese was exactly what she needed.

"So, what does your mom want to do with us Saturday?" Howie asked around a bite of pizza.

"Chew with your mouth closed!" she scolded as her stomach rolled at the sight of his half-mashed pizza. "Luna has a swim meet in the morning, so we're going to meet them there. Then we'll meet Jesse and Maria with their kid to see Captain Marvel. And then Melissa promised her world-famous dumpling soup. Followed by cake. Or brownies – she said she might make her brownies with wine glaze this year instead."

"If you don't tell her to make those brownies, I will not speak to you again."

"That's bullshit and you know it." Stella pulled her own phone out, ignoring the string of texts from her brothers. She sent a quick text to her mom relaying Howie's request for brownies instead of cake.

"I mean it this time!"

"And if you did stop speaking to me, who would you tell all of your romance drama to?" Stella watched Howie open his mouth, likely to list off a string of names. Then he closed it. "That's what I thought."

Sulking, he stuffed another bite of pizza in his mouth.

"Don't worry; I'd have no one to tell my lack of life to without you."

"So, is your dad and his family going to be there Saturday?"

Stella put down the half-eaten slice of pizza. Her stomach churned at the thought of Billy and his sons. Despite having connected a few years ago, she couldn't help but feel like they forced themselves to see her. She remembered the string of texts on her phone that she'd ignored a minute ago. They'd likely been discussing it in a group chat and now wanted her to respond. 

"Jesse said he'd be there. With Maria and their kid. And Luna will be there too."

Howie looked at her, in a way that meant he was not putting up with her dodging topics tonight. "Stell, you know he tries."

He being Billy. The man who spent one night with her mother magically managed to knock her up, then didn't have contact with her until last year. When her mother had given her some information about him. It had been just enough for Stella to find him and convince him to take a paternity test. No, she doesn't have a good relationship with him, why do you ask?

The sigh Howie let out was heavy enough to sink the Titanic. "Stell, you know you're too hard on him. You can't magically expect him to know everything about you in one go."

Stella took her eyes off the slice of pizza and snapped out of her thoughts. "I don't need a therapist tonight, Howie. I need my friend."

He closed his eyes, muttering something to himself. Stella couldn't quite decipher it; it was likely in Mandarin. Maybe Cantonese if he was especially frustrated right now. She could feel a gap between them, one that only seemed to get bigger every time they saw each other. The notion that she and her best friend were drifting apart almost made her heart stop; she really didn't want to lose him too.

"Sorry," she muttered. Stella let her gaze sink back onto her half-eaten slice of pizza. What had happened to the good mood a few minutes ago?

Right, she had. She had opened her mouth and inserted her foot. Again.

Howie looked at her, the distance that separated them closed just a little bit.

Stella felt like if she reached her hand out now that they still wouldn't be able to touch.

"It's not your fault. I just forget you're not a client, sometimes." He smiled at her, a half-smile before it vanished. "Fuck. When did we get like this? We used to be able to read each other like books."

"Sometime during med school, I think about the time I threatened to become a neurosurgeon." Her voice came out light, a reminder of an old joke between them.

"I still maintain I did not need my head examined then!" he replied, eyes alight with her mood.

"I'm not the one who thought it'd be a good idea to finish a bottle of tequila in a single night!"

"You helped!"

"I did not drink anywhere near as much as you did that night!"

"It was a small bottle!"

"I'm still not the one who was convinced I had aliens in my head!" A sound that was somewhere between a giggle and a snort escaped Stella.

"I'm not the one who thought neurosurgery to investigate was a good idea!" Howie smiled, this one lit up his face.

Stella felt her own grin spread – she wasn't going to lose this, though. "And I didn't go around asking everyone to smash my head open to get the aliens out."

Howie choked down a sip of his beer, refusing to give in to the laughter. "I didn't start asking strangers for anesthesia. I'm pretty sure those officers still remember you as the crazy anesthetic girl."

"I'm sure they remember me as the girl who offered to give them the best night of their life."

Howie choked on the sip of beer he took right before Stella said that. His face turned red as he coughed the stray liquid. "Fuck, Stell, you were probably their third offer that night. At least."

She grinned in triumph. He had broken down into laughter first! Unable to resist the urge any longer, she collapsed into her own fit of giggles. When she managed to regain control of herself, her ribs hurt from the laughter. "Ok, let's get the rest of this boxed up. And I want you to help me figure out what I'm wearing to our birthday bash."

"You? Want me to help you figure out what to wear?" He arched an eyebrow at her, disbelief etched on his face.

"By help, I mean I want to model different outfits and have you take pics to send them to Adam for a second opinion." She took in his too-large video game t-shirt and jeans. "You, my friend, have no idea what fashion sense is."