CHAPTER ONE: LOVING FRESH

DESCRIPTION: Its a new year at Edenbrook Hospital and with it brings new challenges. The interns have officially began and it's Verity first day as Director of the Dignostics Team and she couldn't be more nervous.

Venus starts her first day as an Pediatric Resident along side Sienna. With the three girls starting the next chapter of their lives, they all agreed a little girl time was due.

As Ethan continues to navigate being Cheif, he realizes just how stressful being the Head Administrator is. When he goes to see Verity during their lunch break and remembers her lunch date, he runs into Mama Attwood; who helps him deal with the stress of his new job.

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Verity

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Standing in front of her mirror, Verity Salem Attwood brushed her skirt for the billionth time before adjusting her hair and huffing affirmatively. She grabbed her reading glasses from her dresser and her black purse before exiting her bedroom

As she steps into the living room, she sees Sienna typing away on her phone and Venus exiting Aurora's room from down the hallway. Verity smirks to her younger sister as Venus acknowledges her.

"What?"

"I take it things between you and Aurora are going well?"

Venus blushes slightly before gently slapping her arm.

"Come on you two, big day remember?!" Sienna calls to them

Verity and Venus giggle before walking over too her.

"You both look gorgeous!" Sienna says to the Attwood sisters'.

Verity turns her attention to Venus to acknowledge her outfit. Colored in whites and creams, Venus' outfit looked almost similar to the black leather one Verity was wearing.

"25 years later and still accidentally matching."

Venus laugh slightly throwing one arm around Sienna and the other around Verity. The trio heads out the door and towards Verity's Dodge Challenger Convertible.

"You know Sienna, you look gorgeous as well."

"Yeah! I love your sweater, it really brings out the fall in the air."

The girls push open the apartments' exit doors and begin to walk down the sidewalk. Verity pulls put her keys from her purse and unlocks her car as they approach. She runs her hand along the white paint job as Venus speaks.

"Speaking of fall...Verity your going to be Thirty in a couple of weeks!" Venus says excitedly

"Ugh. Don't remind me."

"What. Why? You are the most successful almost thirty year old I know."

Verity rolls her eyes as Venus climbs into the back of her car and Sienna takes the front. Verity pushes her foot on her brake slightly before cranking her car and pulling out towards the highway.

"Because this isn't...really how I imagined my life to be like."

Sienna and Venus both gave her curious looks, urging her to continue.

"I thought that by now...I would be married, expecting a kid...but I just don't see that happening."

Sienna and Venus give eachother a look before turning back to her.

"Well, what is Ethan's view on it?" Sienna asked

"He doesn't really seem to like the idea of marriage, nor does he want kids."

"Well...things change. Didn't you say he didn't believe in love when you first met?" Venus questioned

"Well yes...but-"

"Then there is a good chance he'll come around to the idea then."

Verity sighed, not wanting to argue about it.

"Yes. Maybe. Anyways, we're still meeting for lunch right?"

"Yes we are. We'll met up in the third floor lounge." Venus says

"You really like that spa, don't you?"

"Don't tell Ethan, but I love it! I worry your boyfriend will disapprove."

"Oh he definitely does. He'll be getting rid of it soon enough so enjoy it while it last."

Venus let's out a groan and dramatically throws her head back. Sienna and Verity laugh at her before turning their attention back on the road.

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As Verity pulls into Edenbrook, she parks in her assigned spot before turning off her engine and saying goodbye to the others. As she steps out of her car the three go in opposite directions. As Verity steps towards the side door in front of her, she sees three familiar figure turn the corner.

"Hey Salem!" Rafael calls out

Bryce stood next to him, smiling sheepishly as always. Ethan towered over the two, and his eyes were trained on Verity as she walked up the guys. Bryce let's out a whistle, earning a glare from Ethan.

"Hey guys! Hitting the gym?"

"Yeah you wanna join?" Bryce asked her

"I can't. I have to prepare myself for today."

"Oh yeah! Well, good luck!" Bryce says to her

"Your going to make a great director." Rafael says to her before following Bryce towards the gym.

Ethan remained silent as he stood, patiently waiting for the two boys to leave. Verity smirks as his arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She wraps her arms around his neck before placing a gentle kiss to his lips.

"Good Morning, Cheif."

"Good Morning, Director."

Verity let's out a slight shiver at the name.

"That feel incredibly weird to hear. I still can't believe I'm the new Director of Dignostics."

Ethan places his forehead to hers before kissing her crown.

"You've earned it. There's no body else in this hospital who deserves it more than you."

"You mean besides you?" Verity questioned

Ethan let's out a quick chuckle before shaking his head slightly and kissing her hand.

"Really Verity. You have nothing to be worried about. Tobias and Harper both know and respect you."

Verity nods, still unsure. Ethan sighs before kissing her forehead once more.

"I gotta go." She says to him as she checks her phone.

"Alright. I'll see you for lunch?"

"Oh shoot. I made plans with Sienna and Venus."

"That's okay love. I'll see you tonight then?"

"Yes. I am coming home with you if I'm not mistaken?"

Ethan let's out a husky chuckle that sends a shiver down Verity's spine

"That's the plan."

Verity nods before kissing him one last time and heading off towards her office.

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Thirty minutes later, Verity is placing the floors of her new office. It was filled with cardboard boxes and unhanged pictures. The office chairs were pushed against the wall, the round table on its side.

Verity almost didn't hear Harper and Tobias enter, but when she looked up; they stood looking at the room around them.

"I see you have a lot of cosmetic adjustments for this place. Did you hire your own personal office designer?" Tobias question jokingly

"I figured I could brighten the place up some. Make it more...welcoming."

"I think that's a great idea Verity." Harper says to her.

Verity let's out a breath she was holding.

"Hey, kid listen. I know I gave you a hard time about all of this during your training, but you going to do just fine." Tobias says

He walks over and places and hand on her shoulder. Harper follows him and stands beside him.

"I appreciate that Tobias, really. I just...got some big shoes to fill. Ethan left a really high standard."

"What was it Naveen was always saying about shoes to fill?" Tobias asked Harper

"Get a new pair." Harper responded, remembering the phrase well

Verity laughed quietly

"I'm going to be honest with you Verity. Your not going to meet Ethan's standard.-"

Harper turns and looks at him confused

"Because you not Ethan Ramsey. Your Verity Attwood. Set your own standard!"

Verity smiled at him before placing her left on his left shoulder.

"Thank you Tobias. Thank you Harper."

Harper gives her a nod, as Tobias responds

"Ah its nothing. Can't have the boss stressed out on her first day."

Before Verity can respond, Harper's buzzer goes off. She quickly looks down to check it.

"I'm need down in Neuro. I'll see you tomorrow, Verity."

Verity nods at her before Harper exits the office.

"Alright, I'm going to go do my rounds. What will you be doing?" Tobias asked her

Verity looked around at her office before responding.

"Putting this place back together."

Tobias chuckles before nodding. He says his goodbyes and exits the Dignostics Office.

Verity placed her hand on her hip before moving over to the first box and began to unpack it.

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Venus

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The halls of the Pediatric wing were quiet as Venus passed through them. Sienna had a meeting with the Head of Pediatric's to discuss how much longer until she is completely finished with her residency, meaning Venus was walking alone today.

As she walks over to the nurses station, she sees Dr. Young, her mentor from last year, leaning over the counter.

"Dr. Young!" She calls excitedly

The middle aged man turned around and smiled at her.

"Good morning Dr. Attwood, lovely day is it not?"

"Yes, it's a beautiful day."

"Are you nervous?"

Venus sighed silently before slightly nodding her head. She had to admit, while Dr. Young was only meant to be a guide; he became a good friend.

"Oh there's no reason to be. I wouldn't have mentored you if I didn't think you were going to be great."

Venus laughs slightly before leaning beside him on the counter.

"Your like the Ethan Ramsey of Peds. Only nicer of course."

Dr. Young let's out a chuckle before encouraging squeezing her forearm.

"But really Venus. You're going to be just fine kid."

"Thanks Robert."

He nods at her before grabing his chart and pager and walking off down the hall. Venus sighs before grabbing her pager and chart and heading the opposite direction.

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Sienna
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Pacing nervously outside Dr. Dawson's, the Head of Pediatrics', Sienna tried to calm herself. She mind however betrayed her, jumping to the worse possible conclusion.

But she is cut from her thinking when the office door opens.

"Dr. Trinh! Please come in."

Sienna nods slightly before following her in. Dr. Dawson closes the door behind her before motioning to the chair in front of her desk.

"Have a seat, Dr. Trinh."

Sienna gives her a small smile before sitting in the mustard colored chair. Dr. Dawson walked around, and sat in her, rather large, black office chair.

"So Dr. Trinh. I'm sure you know why you're here."

"Yes.. Dr. Dawson, to discuss my residency length."

"Yes, Dr. Trinh. I understand that you began originally in Internal Medicine. Thankfully for you, Internal Medicine applies heavily to being a Pediatric physician. You successfully completed your first two years, correct?"

"Yes Dr. Dawson."

"And last year you completed the 'internship' of Pediatric medicine, right?"

"Yes Dr. Dawson."

"Then I see no reason to keep you for another 2 years. I think that you will be more than ready to take the exams in May."

Sienna's eyes widen in shock.

"I...I...thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet Dr. Trinh, you still have the test to take."

"Yes Dr. Dawson, I know."

"Now, I would like to go over some other details with."

"Of course."

Sienna sat up a little straight, glee in her eyes as she listened to Dr. Dawson.

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Verity
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With a happy sigh, Verity stepped back to admire her hard work. Her office was finally complete. The large windows had tall plants on both sides, which added to the brightness of the room. She had moved the desk a little further down and placed the large round table in front of the windows. The teams table was no longer an oak color, but stained an refinished to a dark wood finish that Verity had done herself.

The white desk that Ethan and Naveen had both used during there reign was replaced with a white desk that had a soild black top. On top of it was Verity's Apple computer and MacBook. Verity also replaced the worn out black office chair with a new white one that was sized to perfectly fit to Verity's liking.

On the wall, aesthetic black and white pictures(which the occasional sage green mixed in) hung perfect across the wall that housed the door.

She smiled from infront of the door before walking behind her desk and sinking into her chair. She smiled at the picture of her and Ethan from Ines' honeymoon in Hawaii before finishing the last bit of paperwork for the day.

A while later, there's a subtle knock at the door.

"Come in!" She responds, not looking up from her computer.

Verity heard the door open and footsteps come close.

"Wow, this place looks great!"

Verity smiled and looked to her guest.

"Thanks Si. I'm really happy with it."

Sienna looks around happily before sitting down in front of Verity.

"So director, you still have time to have lunch? You didnt show up to the lounge"

"Yeah I just finished the last of my load. Let me grab my purse."

Sienna nodded but remained seated. She smiled once more as she looked around the office. Verity gets up and grabs her purse from beside her desk and nods at Sienna, who gets up and follows her out the door.

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Ethan

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A sigh escapes the Chief's lips as he looks too the interns in front of him. He pinches the bridge of his nose as he speaks.

"The next time you think it's a good idea to allow a patient to simply walk out of the hospital. Remember that your job is on the line. This is your only warning."

"Yes Dr. Ramsey." They say quietly

"Now get out of my sight."

The two interns quickly rush down the hall, hoping to escape the Chief's wraith. He sighs once more and looks down at his wrist to check his watch.

He smiles slightly when he sees that it's 12pm, meaning lunch. He makes his way to the elevator and puts in the 3rd floor. He waits patiently as the elevator door dings and reopens before exiting and practically racing down the hall.

He stops just short of Verity's office before knocking gently. He waits a few seconds, but there was no response. Thinking that Verity simply didn't hear him, he pushes open the door.

"Verity?"

As he steps into the office and realizes she wasn't there, he looks around at the changes she made. It was definitely her style of decorating. From the plants to the pictures, the office definitely screamed Verity Attwood.

He walks around her desk in search of her planner. He finds it laying perfectly in line with her clock and pen holder. He opens the small book to September 1st and reads her schedule. As he made it to 12pm, he red 'Lunch Date w/ Ve & Si.'

That's when he remembered their conversation from that morning. She told him specifically that she was going to have lunch with Sienna and Venus.

Ethan let out a sigh before placing her planner back in its spot. He turned his attention to the skyline and looked to the many buildings surrounding the side.

His head turns towards the door when he hears a quiet knock. But before he can respond, the door pushed open to reveal Meredith Attwood: Verity's mother.

"Oh Ethan! How lovely it is to see you!"

"Hello Mrs. Attwood."

"Oh please. I wish you'd call me Meredith."

Ethan let's out a slight chuckle

"I wouldn't want to be disrespectful towards you Mrs. Attwood."

Meredith motions her hand outwards, showing distaste for his statement.

"Nonsense. But I won't push you on it."

"Anyways, do you know where my girls are? I brought them lunch." She says showing him the large brown bag in hand

"They went to lunch with Sienna."

"Ah, well that's to bad. I made my famous Chicken Alferdo."

Ethan laughs before moving a little closer to her.

"Verity will be upset that she missed it."

Meredith hummed in response

"Here. Let me take that from you."

Meredith smiled at him

"Thank you. I'm glad to see Verity's taste in men has improved drastically."

Ethan chuckles before setting the bag down on the Dignostics Team table.

"I try."

Meredith laughs

"Are you on your lunch break?"

"Yes ma'am."

Meredith smiles, Ethan could practically see a light bulb shine next to her head.

"I have an idea. Why don't we have lunch together? I haven't got the chance to properly get to know you yet."

Ethan stops to think for a moment before responding

"I wouldn't want to impose-"

"Nonsense Ethan! I'm an old woman, I don't have anything better to do. If anything, you'd be doing me a favor."

Ethan chuckles lightly at her response

"Alright Mrs. Attwood, I'd love to have lunch with you. We can eat in my office."

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Verity

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With the click of their glasses, the girls toasted. They laughed and smiled at eachother before taking a sip of their wine.

"We should do this more often." Sienna comments

"We really should! I feel like it's rare that we ever get to just hang out." Venus adds

"With work and our separate lives, I guess it's just more complicated now." Verity states

"Well I think that we should make this a tradition! Once a month we meet for lunch!" Sienna suggests

"I love that idea." Verity tells her; Venus nods in agreement

Verity takes a bite of her sandwich as Sienna and Venus continue to talk. Verity looks down at her phone, debatingon whether or not to text Ethan.

"Hey Salem, you okay?" Venus asked before taking a bite out of her sandwich

"Yeah I'm fine. I just...wanna check on Ethan. I've been worried about him."

"Oh?" Sienna asked, wanting her to continue

"With everything that's been going on, preparing for my first day of being a director, I feel like I've been neglecting him."

Sienna hums in response and Venus gives her a weird look.

"Maybe you should talk to him tonight. See if he's okay?"

Verity pushed her food forward, letting out a silent sigh.

"I shouldn't have waited this long. I've been so wrapped up with me, that I haven't been there for him."

"Salem, you've been there for him since he returned from the Amazon." Sienna states

Venus looks between the two, not really sure where she was going.

"When he needed your help to save the Dignostics Team, you helped. When he was in that lawsuit, you helped."

"You don't have to feel bad for taking a few weeks for yourself. I'm sure that he doesn't mind and that he understands."

"I know but..."

"Verity you have to start loving fresh."

"What?" Venus finally asked

"Loving Fresh. Enjoying a new beginning, not being discouraged from it."

"You just came up with that didn't you?" Venus poked

"Well..yes..but-"

Venus laughs as Verity shakes her head before taking another bite of her sandwich.

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Ethan

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"And that's how me and Gabriel discovered Verity's love for chocolate."
Meredith finishes

Ethan chuckles as he takes his last bite of Alferdo. Meredith was telling him a story of five year old Verity and chocolate chip cookies.

"It explains alot. I thought my sweet tooth was bad, but then I met Verity who can devour an entire chocolate cake..."

Meredith laughs and nods.

After a while, silence passes over the two; revealing to Meredith the same overworked wrinkles that she had noticed early.

"Are you alright dear? You seem...stressed."

"Oh I'm fine, Mrs. Attwood." He lies

Meredith detects this admitly.

"Ethan honey. I have three children. I know when somethings wrong."

Ethan chuckles, leaning back in his seat.

"I guess...work...has just been...well work."

"Being the Cheif of Medicine can be hard." Meredith states in agreement

Ethan gives her a curious glance, turning his head slightly to the side.

"Oh. Did Verity not tell you that I was once Cheif of Medicine at Maine Medical Center?"

"No, she never mentioned that."

Meredith chuckled

"Well I was. From the time Venus was five, until she turned fifteen. I was Cheif for a long time. Ten years."

Ethan looks to her astounded.

"Thats...quite incredible Mrs. Attwood."

"Yes, I like to think so. But anyhow. My point is, that I understand the pressure your under."

Ethan nods quietly at her as she continues.

"There is alot expected of you. Alot at stake. One wrong move and the whole hospital pays the price."

"But you also must remember to breathe. The pressure only becomes unbearable if you allow it."

Ethan remains silent for a moment, taking in her words.

"Yes... Mrs. Attwood. You are right. Thank you."

"Of course, Ethan. If your going to be dating my daughter, you should know that I enjoy a good conversation."

Ethan smiles slightly at her and nods, understanding the true feel of a mother's love.