I can see Will's glasses at the edge of the screen when Emily opens the door. So that better be Micah's shirt she's wearing.

„Seriously, how long has it been since you saw her?" AJ asked with a playful and teasing smile.

Micah just frowned, while checking out the interns who slowly showed up one by one for rounds on Monday morning.

"What are you talking about?"

"Emily." AJ pointed out. "I swear, you're more nervous than you were on your first day as an intern."

Micah just glared at him, blushing slightly. "Shut up." He looked around, making sure everyone else was too far away or too tired to listen. "And it's been five days." He murmured.

AJ just snickered. "You're hopeless, man."

Micah ignored him. He could not, however, ignore Cassandra and Will as they joined the waiting group at the nurses' station. They were arguing in hushed tones, immediately falling silent as they reached the group and did their best to avoid eye contact with anyone.

"What's with them?" Micah asked AJ quietly, feigning an interest in the chart in his hands.

"Arguing ever since they broke up." His friend answered under his breath.

Micah's head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes at his friend.

"Good morning, let's get started." Dr. Bandari breezed in just as Micah wanted to ask AJ what was going on.

They had broken up?

When?

Did Emily know?

He scolded himself for that last thought. Of course she knew. Not only was she Will's friend, but apparently their break-up was common knowledge for everyone.

Well, everyone but him.

He spotted Emily's blonde hair and Tyra's unruly curls hurrying around the corner just as the group simultaneously made their way to the first patient. He wanted to let himself fall back to the end of the entourage but AJ tugged on his lab coat. When he looked dup to meet his friend's eye AJ just shook his head and mouthed 'not now' at him with a small nod at Gina's back.

It took every ounce of Micah's willpower, but AJ was right. Gina was in a mood today, nearly making one of the interns cry in the second patient's room, when she didn't know the patient's exact lab results and reprimanding a nurse in the hallway for dawdling when they passed her by.

Micah had merely been able to share a small smile with Emily in the third room and was glad there had only been four new admissions over the weekend, thus cutting morning rounds rather short for today.

He sidled up to her as soon as Gina took off, leaving everyone to their work.

"Dr. Owens. You were late." They walked over towards the nurses' station and Micah was quite relieved to see most of the interns leave.

Emily smiled widely at him. "Good morning, Dr. Barnes. The way I saw it I arrived just in time."

He smiled back. Probably stupidly so, but he didn't care. He was just glad to see her again.

He cleared his throat. "So, Mrs. Edwards." He said and gestured towards the file Emily had put down on the counter in front of them. "You should probably check her bilirubin and hemoglobin. She lost a lot of blood during the operation. And she might develop jaundice."

Emily nodded, not saying anything.

"Which you already knew." Micah said with a chuckle and a embarrassed look.

Emily nodded again.

"And already did."

"Yes." Emily admitted sheepishly. "But it's good to have you back, anyway."

Micah shook his head. AJ had been right. He was hopeless. Completely hopeless.

"It's good to be back. Oh and congratulations on becoming Gina's new research assistant. You deserve it."

"Thanks." Emily beamed at him. "Oh, do you want to see my office?"

"Sure."

"Well, it's more like a supply closet, but I'm working on that."

Micah just chuckled. "I want to see it."

::

"Okay."

Emily nudged his shoulder with her own. "I told you I'm working on it."

"Well…" Micah tried to think of something diplomatic. "It's cozy." He stepped further into the room, turning and taking a look at everything.

Emily laughed. "Just be glad I already got rid of some of the shelves and discovered some windows behind them."

"You mean there were more shelves in here?" Micah teased good-naturedly. He quickly tried to appease her when he caught her rolling her eyes at him. "No, seriously. It's…" He grimaced. "Well, it's…"

"It's okay. You don't have to say something nice. Emily stepped further into the room and closed the door behind her.

He watched her quietly.

"So, how are you?" Emily asked tentatively as her face grew serious.

Micah took a calming breath. He had dreaded that question all morning, dodged it from AJ even. But now that Emily was asking with warm and comforting eyes…

"I'm okay."

And it was the truth. Right now, he didn't feel the burdening and heart-aching loss of his mother so much.

Emily glanced at him, obviously uncertain as to whether to believe him or not. Micah stepped closer to her, nervously tugging a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm okay." He repeatedly quietly and shrugged. "I don't think about it all the time. And sometimes I even forget that she's dead. Or I find myself laughing and then feel bad for laughing. Which is ridiculous."

"It's not" Emily tried to reassure him. "How did it go with Chloe?"

"Okay, I guess. She's leaving tonight." Micah searched her face, no longer able to not think about it.

"What?" Emily asked apprehensively.

He hesitated only for a second before deciding to just say it. This was Emily. And they had always been able to talk to each other. Actually, when he thought about, it really had been always. Right from her very first day here.

"Why didn't you tell me Will and Cassandra broke up?" He immediately felt like an idiot for asking. And even more so when he met her hurt gaze. Her eyes widened imperceptibly and Micah had to look away.

"I didn't tell you because it didn't matter." Emily's soft but confident voice cut through his thoughts.

"Of course it matters."

"Micah. Your mother just died. And all the rest is just... I mean who cares?"

"I care. And it matters, because you were in love with Will."

"Micah." She took a decisive step towards him, putting her hand in his forearm. "I didn't tell you because for me just the idea of losing my mom is crippling. So I can't really imagine what it must be like for you. I didn't want to keep anything from you. I didn't tell you because it doesn't change anything for me. Or for… you know… us." She said tentatively.

Micah just heaved a deep breath and looked at her. Really looked at her, beyond her ready smile and the slight blush on her cheeks. She was exhausted. It was only Monday morning, but he could see it on her face. Could see the dark circles under her eyes and a tiredness that could only stem from working ten days straight.

"I'm sorry."

"No." Emily quickly tried to reassure him.

"Yes, I'm sorry." Micah said decisively. "You see… My mom died. She died just last week and although I'm still coming to terms with that, I… God." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't stop thinking about you. Or the kisses we shared. Because-"

He was cut off when Emily grabbed the lapels of his coat. His mouth barely had time to drop open in surprise before her lips were on his, pressing lightly, gently. And he suddenly realized that he had actually missed this. This connection they shared.

Emily drew back and shot him a timid smile. "I missed you, too."

Micah chuckled and pressed another quick kiss to her lips.

::

"Hey, Emily, wait up."

Emily turned around in the corridor and smiled widely at Will. "Hey."

"So." He said as he reached her and they continued walking. "How is the little girl with the hemangioma doing? I would ask Cassandra, but…"

Emily nodded in understanding. "Janie's good. Proudly showing everyone her battle wounds. Her parents have been here every day so far."

"Good. That's good." Will said distractedly. "Listen…" He trailed off and drew in a sharp breath. „I wanted to apologize."

„What for?"

„You know… giving you a hard time about Dr. Aquino. You told me there was nothing going on and I should have believed you."

Emily smiled appreciatively. "Thanks. What changed your mind?"

Will grimaced and huffed. "Just, let me first say that yes, I agreed to more space between us. But we've been friends for years."

"Will?" Emily asked cautiously. It was true that he'd agreed to her plea for more space. But since he and Cassandra had broken up it had been harder to maintain than she'd thought.

"So, since we've been friends for years, I just want to remind you that I care about you."

"What are you talking about?" Emily frowned.

"You and Micah."

::

[A/N]

Normally, I'm not one for personal author's notes. But you have all been so wonderful and kind with your reviews that I feel I owe it to you.

First: I'm sorry this chapter is so short and yet took so long for me to post.

But second: It will be a few days until I'll post again. My finals start on Monday and I have a lot pending on them. (Including my own internship, hopefully working with the resident I have a crush on.) So I hope you can understand that this just isn't a priority for me right now. I will write as often and as much as I can, but it might take some time.
In the meantime, I was so glad to see many new authors posting stories. Well done, you rock!
Thank you for you understanding and your support with this story! I'll be back soon!