Four Floor Descent- - -*

[Taylor Caroline Becks]

Taylor’s gloved hands held the manila folder that contained the unofficial biography of the now late Jamie Stevens. Born in Manhattan, had his tonsils out when he was eight, broke his arm at fourteen, diagnosed with diabetes at twenty one and died at twenty seven. Subdural haemorrhaging from a tragic fall on a construction site. Broke his leg too, but none of that mattered now. Taylor’s green eyes flicked to the peaceful looking man who was arranged neatly on her slab as though he could be asleep. The only thing that told her otherwise was the stitches along his chest and back of the skull, neatly done and hidden so that the family didn’t have to see the effects of her autopsy. The brunette sighed, pulling her pen from her coat pocket and scrawling her signature at the bottom of the death certificate.
Although she had the title of ‘Doctor’, Taylor very rarely actually saved lives or tended to the sick. Her place was in the morgue, finding out what exactly had killed the patients that didn’t make it out alive. It wasn’t the happiest of jobs and she spent a lot of time looking at the insides of people, but it was what she, surprisingly, enjoyed. Down in the basement of the hospital, Tay was left to her work, undisturbed for hours unless there was a major emergency someplace else, and that was how the young doctor liked it. Patients like this reminded her of her own mortality though, and the guy she pushed back into his silver container was only a few months older than she was, his life cruelly snatched away by botched health and safety.

Not many people appreciated life as much as Taylor did, but then not many people had a genetic mutation that, at any moment, could turn her life upside down and set the sand running in the hourglass. Although she didn’t let her HTLV-1 dictate her life, it was something that she was constantly aware of. People she had relationships with had to be taught about it and there were a lot of things that Taylor knew would be at risk if she didn’t approach life with an air of caution. The last thing she wanted was someone’s death on her conscience.

She disposed of the gloves, the loud snap of the latex just another daily noise to her as she moved to the sink, scrubbing the dusty residue from her fingers and squirting an extra helping of sanitizer onto her palms, washing her hands twice more before tearing the paper towel from the dispenser and drying slowly. Looking over the next folder on her desk, Taylor pulled on a fresh pair of latex gloves, wriggling her fingers a little to wear them in before walking across the silent room, grabbing a new batch of sterilised equipment and cleaning down the trays and table habitually, tendrils of dark hair falling from the clip at the back of her head and framing her expressionless face. She found her job easier if she didn’t think about too many things associated with her life away from the hospital. Usually, the silence of the morgue rarely helped, as there wasn’t much else down there to focus on other than the random things that flicked through your mind, but after a certain length of time, it was easy to block it out. However, Taylor’s mind occasionally drifted to the idea of zombies and the zombie apocalypse, which, if she mentioned it to anyone else, could be deemed insensitive, but when someone spent as much time around the dead as she did, it was really only a matter of time before the idea surfaced.

She heard the elevator doors creaking open down the corridor and she looked up, wondering if this was another patient. However, the dark hair and cheery smile of Doctor Drake Wilde told her otherwise and she rolled her eyes of jade and placed the medical equipment down, waiting as he searched for his key card and authorised his access to the enclosed room. “And to what do I owe this pleasure?”

[/color] She asked, her eyes resting fleetingly on him before pulling out the next trolley with the tag that matched the folder she had skim read moments before. “You’re one of the few live ones I get down here.”[/color] She said, setting him up on the table before turning to give Drake her full attention. Not all doctors were comfortable with what Taylor did; saving lives was why they paid the bills to get through school, not to see them pale and still in a room that could almost act as a freezer.


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• • •

TAGGED! Paging Doctor Drake <3
WORDS! 816!
OUTFIT! Doctor, Doctor
LYRICS! No Better - - - Kids in Glass Houses
NOTES! <3

[drake lochlyn wilde]

THE SUN IT LIGHTS THE BLADES OF GRASS

[/color]
it‘s not like she knows the difference or cares
she‘s stupid and cold somewhere in the waves of doubt
IT‘S NOT LIKE SHE SWAM AWHILE AND FADED OUT[/color]
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Dr. Drake Wilde was more than happy to take a break from the ER, even if he had to swap the hectic atmosphere for the still of the morgue. He took pride in his work, and almost always walked through the hospital with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. He was a hopeful face for the anxious families who were waiting to hear the good news from the doctor in charge.
It wasn’t an easy job and he hated those times when the news was bad. He felt the pain of the families and struggled to compose himself afterwards. It was harder than most people believed and losing a patient was one of the hardest things that Drake faced on a daily basis.

Which was why he enjoyed running errands like this one, even if it could be uncomfortably personal. It was a fresh break from the pressure of having to save lives in such a short space of time and Drake had often considered transferring his cardiology skills out of the ER and to a more calmer region of the large hospital. Maybe he would, one day. Once he felt too old to be racing around and once the adrenaline rush from saving a life had faded, maybe then he would find a home in a cosy office somewhere and only see patients by scheduled appointment.
Then, maybe Taylor would transfer out of the most depressing place in the hospital and actually start mingling with those who were still breathing and put her skills to the real test. From the few times she had provided an extra pair of hands in the ER, Drake knew that she was more than competent enough to handle saving lives, rather than dissecting them for official purposes. Still, he would continue to tell her that and she would probably continue to smile that gorgeous smile at him and simply shake her head, tousling those thick, natural curls of hers.

God, she was beautiful, but she was a complete enigma too him. She very rarely provided much insight into her own reasoning and thoughts and the only reason he knew one of her biggest kept secrets was because he was a doctor, with access to a file that she trusted him completely with. Alas, thus was the reason for his descent to the basement of the hospital. It may have been his job and he was well paid for it, but there was something awkward about needing to remind her about it and then proceed to treat her for it.
She was clean and always had been, but she herself had insisted on these things as a precaution for her own wellbeing. Drake hoped that he would never have to break any news to her other than; ‘all clear’.

He had received the order from his old mentor, Dr. Romanski, who was the doctor in charge when he and Taylor were both residents at the hospital. Even though both of them were old enough and skilled enough to look after themselves and take the blame for their own mistakes now, he still kept a caring eye out for them, and every other intern who had worked under him.
Drake had snapped the latex from his fingers and then made his way to the elevator, a small bounce in his step at the excuse to see the mesmerising Dr. Becks. He was a flirt with most of the women in the hospital, but Drake had a soft spot in his heart for the long legged brunette, who he had befriending the moment she had walked into the hospital and somewhere along the way, he had developed one heck on a crush on her.

His eyes caught Taylor’s as she looked towards the sealed door of the morgue. His key card slit into the slot and he heard the small click of the lock as the door unlocked and he pushed it open, striding in, still smiling. Drake’s eyes travelled to the corpse laying on the slab next to her. The patient had been one of his, and it was a little unnerving to see them so…still. But, as Drake often did, he laughed it off. “That’s a little creepy Tay.”

[/color] He moved closer to the gorgeous doctor and his smile faded. “Romanski sent me. You’re due your tests again.”[/color] His voice remained soft, caring as he spoke.
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Drake is talking to Taylor Becks with a little inspiration from Ryan Adams when he sings about She Lost Total Control. There are 878 things on his mind and this on his back. His strings are pulled by Chastity, his heart is pounding caringly.

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[Taylor Caroline Becks]

Taylor wasn’t the kind of girl to take life for granted. Working down here and seeing just how cruel the hands of fate could be was enough to be thankful for each day that she made it through. Her own personal experiences added to that gratitude too and she wasn’t about to forget everything that had ever been done for her and everything that she had managed to successfully achieve in her young life.

Whilst it wasn’t something that she told to everyone in her life, Tay knew that select people needed to understand what it could mean. Whilst the chance of mutation was rare and there was a vast majority of the world who carried the HTLV-1 gene unknowingly, she believed it was valuable information to share with people when she was in a relationship or extremely close to them. Drake knew because she was one doctor, and a friend, who she trusted to run her diagnostic tests every six months to keep her mind at ease.

Drake was a charmer. There was definitely no arguing with that. Plus, he was an attractive guy with a heart of gold; even if that heart was slightly broken after his divorce. He was a great friend to her and that was a welcoming thing when she was alone in the city. In college, you made friends with a lot of people, but once graduation came around you found yourselves scattered across the country with only the likes of Facebook and text messages to keep in touch. Taylor couldn’t really remember half of the people she had hung out with from her graduating class, and so meeting someone as loyal and as genuine as Drake had been a great pleasure. For doctors, social lives were a little difficult, which meant that maintaining friendships were a little harder. Drake and Taylor though were amazingly close, and she tolerated his flirtatious comments and kept her voice soft whenever she had turned down his previous advances.

Was he all that bad? No, not really. He was one of the good guys and Taylor had a tough time finding them. Still, she valued Drake’s friendship too much to ruin it with a failed relationship. It was a tough thing, and loneliness did creep into her life after a long shift when she returned to her empty apartment, to nothing but the scutter of spider’s legs on glass and the beep on her answering machine from another missed call that was too late to return.
Even Tay, the independent girl that she was, occasionally longed for a pair of strong arms to wrap around her and provide her with a glass of wine.

Her jade eyes flicked to Drake and she chuckled. Not every doctor was comfortable with hanging around the dead for too long. “Well, maybe I’m just a creepy girl.”

[/color] She did have a fascination for the macabre and Halloween was one of her favourite days of the year. The smile lingered on her face though as she watched her fellow doctor move further into the room.
At the mention of her tests, she sighed softly and gestured towards her small office.

She took her coat off and perched on the edge of her desk, offering out her arm to Drake. “Let’s get this over with then.”[/color]
Taylor brushed the dark hair from her eyes and looked up at him with a flicker of fear. The chances of anything being wrong were slim to none, but it was still nerve-wracking for her; the wait between this point and the results coming back in a fortnight usually brought about a bout of insomnia that annoyed the hell out the Jersey girl. The sleeping stimulants in her bathroom cupboard usually left her drowsy and crabby the next day too. However, this was something that needed to be done, and so she bit her tongue, grinned and went with it.

“And here I was thinking you’d just come down to see me for a chat.”[/color] She joked, shaking her head and feigning disappointment. It helped not to think about the virus whilst these tests were being done and the blood was extracted from her body. The more she thought about it, the sicker it made her and the more she thought about her mother. Neither of them were good things when she still had another five hours left to go before the shift finished. She could happily cry in the privacy of her home, but not down here and especially not whilst Drake was standing in front of her.
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• • •

TAGGED! Paging Doctor Drake <3
WORDS! 898!
OUTFIT! Doctor, Doctor
LYRICS! No Better - - - Kids in Glass Houses
NOTES! Sucky >.< but it provided me with epic thoughts! <3

[drake lochlyn wilde]

THE SUN IT LIGHTS THE BLADES OF GRASS

[/color]
it‘s not like she knows the difference or cares
she‘s stupid and cold somewhere in the waves of doubt
IT‘S NOT LIKE SHE SWAM AWHILE AND FADED OUT[/color]
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After his divorce, Drake had spent a lot of his ‘freedom’ behaving like quite the eligible bachelor. Even now, last minute hook ups still happened and the walk of shame was a common stroll to work for the tall, handsome doctor. It was also one of them things; you say “I’m a Doctor,” and they flock to you like you’re a rockstar. He knows that most of the girls are using him, trying to get a free night out of him and Drake honestly doesn’t care that much about it.
One day, he’d like to find the girl who would actually stick with him, but his ego and heart were still freshly bruised from his divorce and there was no way that he was about to jump headlong into a committed relationship, not unless the girl was seriously one to die for.

He had tried, countless times, to charm Taylor, but to no avail. The girl politely shut him down several times, but wouldn’t give a reason other than “it’s not a good time,” though, that did provide Drake with the encouragement that maybe one day he would invite her on a date and it would be the right time. He never pressed the matter. He knew Taylor was wary about who she allowed herself to get romantically involved with and she had heard more than her fair share of “Wilde” stories, most of them from the man himself, to find it hard to believe that he’d treat her any differently from a girl in a nightclub.
Drake knew that he would though. Whilst he lusted after the girls in the clubs with their tight dresses and short skirts, his feelings for Taylor were totally different. It was like a teenage romance all over again, only this time he was older and wiser and had a better idea of how to deal with it, rather than with silly insults and crude comments.

Still, he wished that she would give him a chance to prove it. He grinned at her, his instinctive reaction to smother her with charming words and truths possessing him as she spoke. He moved until he was standing in front of her, realising just how tall her heels made her - she had a least an inch on him, which was a little intimidating. “Creepy, but gorgeous as ever. Has anyone ever told you that you could be a supermodel?”

[/color] He queried, smirking slightly as he made sure he stood to his full height to try and claw back some credibility.

He watched as she walked ahead of him, still mesmerised with how amazing she looked and almost getting very distracted as she slipped out of her white doctor’s coat, revealing the figure hugging red shirt and slender arms. It was almost a crime to have to pierce her unblemished skin with such an ugly needle. Drake knew that she was used to it though, so he shook the guilty thoughts from his mind and resisted the urge to apologise. “It’ll be over before you know it.”[/color] He smiled, searching for the right spot before carefully drawing the blood from her arm. This was not a job he enjoyed and it was usually one the nurses did, but when it came to Taylor’s case, it was almost always handled personally by him or Romanski.

“If I could get away with sneaking down here for a chat, then I’d do it all the time,”[/color] Drake flicked his eyes to meet her emerald pools, “I know the situation isn’t the nicest, but seeing you, right now, may have just made my day complete.”[/color] He smiled softly and then carefully sealed the syringe, swiping one of the spare vials from the stand on her desk. “I’m sure we can spare a few minutes of idle chitchat though. I’m not the only doctor running the hopsital.”[/color]
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Drake is talking to Taylor Becks with a little inspiration from Ryan Adams when he sings about She Lost Total Control. There are 889 things on his mind and this on his back. His strings are pulled by Chastity, his heart is pounding caringly.

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[Taylor Caroline Becks]

Taylor hadn’t really had the best luck when it came to relationships. She fell hard and fast for the bad guys; the leather clad smokers with the seductive Harley’s. They were trouble for her and she knew that she could do so much better than them, which was why she usually broke it off after a few dates. The good guys, she tended to ignore, or simply consider her friends. The good guys were the ones who probably wouldn’t just let her break up with them and run, no, they’d probably chase her and they wouldn’t be chasing her into the strong, warm arms of Damien.
Whoa, where did that come from? Damien?

Taylor’s oldest friend had also been, potentially, her first love, though she was still confused about that. Her emotions that night had been clouded, but she knew what she had wanted and she’d gotten it. Ever since then though, romance had never been where Taylor belonged. A few dates here and there, but never anything serious or anyone who really got her heart racing for something more than casual dinners and trips to the movies. Maybe, she just wasn’t that kind of girl. No, the truth was that Taylor was too fussy. She didn’t want to waste years on a relationship that meant nothing or would end in a messy divorce; this girl wanted forever.

Which was easier said than done, unless you were a fairytale princess, and the last time she checked, no Disney princess had worked in a morgue, poking around corpses and chilling with the dead folk. No prince really searched that far for the girl who would fit into the glass slipper. All hope was not lost however, and she knew that. She was young, barely in the profession a year and with plenty of options when it came to her future. Why rush them? There was years before she’d be declared a spinster and it wasn’t like the good guys weren’t interested in the statuesque brunette.

Like Drake, for example. She knew he had charmed more than his fair share of girls for careless flings and one night stands, but she wasn’t about to become just another notch on his bedpost. She didn’t really play it like that and especially not with someone she saw on a regular basis. He was a good guy though, sweet and considerate, even if he masked it with a joker’s personality at times. It was rare to find in their profession and Tay honestly found it refreshing from the cynical doctor who usually shared the morgue down here with her.
“Give it ten years sweetheart and then you’ll be the same as me.”
No, no way. Give Taylor ten years and she’ll have found exactly what it is that she needs to maintain that perfect balance between work and life that was dangerously slipping from the fingers of her and of every doctor in the hospital.

Her green eyes rolled and she fought off the small smirk that threatened her glossed lips. Drake had been down here all of a few moments and already he was laying on the charm and turning up the heat of the conversation. The guy was smooth, but far from flawless. “I’ve heard it before.”

[/color] It was a small known fact that she never openly shared with anyone, but Taylor had tried her hand at modelling when she was younger and in college. It paid the bills and allowed her to live a great student life, but it wasn’t something she’d ever pick as a career.

Taylor studied him as he prepped to take her blood. She appreciated him doing this. Sure, a nurse could easily do this and save him the time and effort, but Taylor preferred to keep her condition a secret and sneaking off for blood tests every six months would only arouse suspicion. It was better this way and it kept her name out of the rumour mill; something that she worked hard to achieve almost every day. “This bit will, but the rest sticks with me.”[/color] She sighed, not meaning to sound so defeated by the virus that may never actually harm her at all. Sometimes, she wondered if she’d have been better off not knowing that the genetic disease had passed onto her and was laying dormant in her cells, waiting for the right mutation, the right catalyst to kick it into gear.

She smiled, thankful that he was willing to stick around for a few moments. They both really shouldn’t, but it was nice to have some human company for a quick chat. “Are you always this smooth, Doctor Wilde?”[/color] She asked, a slight mockery in her flirtatious tone that she made no attempt to hide.
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• • •

TAGGED! Paging Doctor Drake <3
WORDS! 906!
OUTFIT! Doctor, Doctor
LYRICS! No Better - - - Kids in Glass Houses
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[drake lochlyn wilde]

THE SUN IT LIGHTS THE BLADES OF GRASS

[/color]
it‘s not like she knows the difference or cares
she‘s stupid and cold somewhere in the waves of doubt
IT‘S NOT LIKE SHE SWAM AWHILE AND FADED OUT[/color]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/size][/center]

He didn’t know how to convince Taylor to give him a chance. He knew that she had heard plenty of details about his hook ups and his flings with the girls who were probably still in college and living off of daddy’s money, but Drake didn’t know how to convince her that there was more to him than just that. He genuinely wanted to know Taylor better, to find out all those secrets that she deliberately kept hidden and he wanted to be the one to solve the mystery behind the private woman that stood before him. The desire to know more about her, to find out the reason behind the twinkle in her emerald eyes was one of the reasons why Drake allowed himself to get shot down and rejected by her time and time again, because he knew that there had to be a point when she’d surrender to at least one movie date with him.

The modelling comment didn’t surprise him. There were times when Drake honestly thought that Taylor was using the hallways as a runway and there were no flaws in her stance or posture, ever. She was in good shape, great physique and had an amazing exterior to please the eye, so it was rather surprising that she hadn’t chosen modelling as a career option; she’d probably go far and make it big if she ever decided to give it a shot. She was a beautiful woman, even on the days when she wore the blue scrubs and her hair didn’t fall the right way. To Drake, those were the days when she was the most enchanting; she was exposed on a level he never quite noticed on days like this one, when she had the independent, strong feminist character going on. Her guard was down though and whilst those days were rare and infrequent, it was still nice to see her as more vulnerable, more human. With her job, he needed to see that side of her to make sure that she was really alive. “Yet you chose to be a doctor, or more specifically, a mortician. Now tell me, how does that work?”

[/color] The twinkle remained in his soft blue eyes and he smiled playfully. One of these days, Taylor would open up to him and he wouldn’t give up until that day came.

His smile quickly faded though when he heard the deep sigh and took in the tired expression on her face. The virus sample contained in the small vial had been the same one that had killed her mother and at the time, Taylor had insisted on being examined to see if the virus had passed onto her. However, the worry in her eyes right now was probably unnecessary. There was a slim chance of these results ever revealing the worse theory that was probably spinning through her head and Drake wondered why she put herself through all of this anxiety and stress when she really had no reason to. There was a strong possibility that she’d live into ripe old age without anything related to this virus springing up and hitting her and those around her. Drake moved closer, resting a caring hand on her arm and gazing down at where she perched on the edge of her desk. “Hey. You know the chances of surviving this and you’re a strong woman. Plus, you have plenty of folk around you who care about you. Like me.”[/color] He had no idea how she coped, knowing how so much could happen in her future, but even if he couldn’t be linked with her romantically, then he could still be there to support her whenever she needed him. That’s what friends were for, right?

He grinned at the flirtatious tone of her question, and it took all of his self control not to throw some sexual innuendo at her. If he wanted to convince her that she wouldn’t be just another conquest, then he had some serious trust to gain. “Only when I’m talking to a beautiful lady.”[/color] He said, keeping his voice low, but his tone light. She was beautiful and he wanted her to know that before their conversation continued. Just because he had a reputation for being a bit of a playboy, it didn’t mean that somewhere, deep down, he wasn’t a gentleman. He just had to convinced Taylor of that.


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Drake is talking to Taylor Becks with a little inspiration from Ryan Adams when he sings about She Lost Total Control. There are 875 things on his mind and this on his back. His strings are pulled by Chastity, his heart is pounding caringly.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify][/font]

[Taylor Caroline Becks]

Taylor knew that Drake put more effort into charming her than he did with any other girl who caught his eye, but that didn’t mean that she would believe he thought of her differently. She refused to become another conquest of his that he’d talk about down at the bar with his buddies on a Friday night after shift was over. She had worked hard and put more than enough effort in to build up a respectable reputation for herself in a profession where usually things weren’t so glamorous. Taylor was not about to throw that away just because Doctor Wilde had an obsession with getting her into bed. She wasn’t that kind of girl and she never would be. It was already bad enough that on the rare occasion when she worked with the living that people passed comment about how she didn’t look like she should be a doctor.

Evidently, that was a thought that rippled amongst her co-workers too, judging by Drake’s latest charming remark. However, she was a simple girl. She had hated the backstabbing ways of the modelling industry and the thought of being part of that for the next fifteen or so years was enough alone to make Taylor contemplate homicidal thoughts. The short lived job had increased her confidence and looking back on some of the shots did make her feel good about herself after years of bullying at the hands of high school debutantes, but this was her dream. She smirked softly at Drake, used to his nosy nature when it came to her life. Taylor had always been a private person and clearly, it was her one trait that irked Drake so much, considering her constantly pushed her to find out more about the young doctor. “Well…dead guys don’t talk for starters.”

[/color] She teased, loving how she could toy with him, just enough to get under his skin.

She always overreacted when it came to these tests. Taylor had read every report and analysis of her condition and all of them had given her plenty of proof that should have reassured her, but knowing that her mother was in the minority of those who HTLV-1 killed, still filled her with her own fear and panic of the possibility of one day hearing the worst. However, Drake and the words he said were exactly the things she needed to reassure her. Not many knew about Taylor being a carrier of the virus and so the few who did were her strongest form of comfort. Her father couldn’t bear to hear about how she was doing with it, because it roused too many painful memories for him and Taylor never wanted to put him through that again. Though, she herself never reached out for help off anyone else. Like today, she’d wallow in her worries alone and never consider speaking to anyone about them, but right now, she had Drake and if willingly stuck around, then maybe, just maybe, she’d confide a little more in him. “Thanks Drake.”[/color] She reached up to where his hand rested on her arm and squeezed his fingers with her own. She didn’t want to talk about this for much longer, so this small gesture should be enough to let him know that she really was grateful, but not used to people knowing about her fears.

Flirting with Drake Wilde was dangerous territory and the kind that a girl usually couldn’t retreat from. However, his words filled Taylor’s cheeks with rosy blush that her pinned up hair had no chance to hide. So, she looked away, fixing her emerald eyes on the stack of files she had to return to administration before the end of the day. There were only a handful of people in the world who had ever called her beautiful, and whilst she usually remained pretty level headed, it was the one thing that sent her defences crashing to the ground. If she wasn’t careful, she’d let Doctor Wilde in more willingly than she’d like to, and that was not a good thing in her eyes. “I…uh…thanks.”[/color] Suddenly, Taylor realised the danger she was in; vulnerable from her paranoia about HTLV-1 and weakened from the use of a word that today was so often replaced with ‘gorgeous’ or ‘hot. “I should probably get back to work.”[/color] She mumbled, keeping her eyes averted as she pushed herself off the desk and moved towards the door.

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• • •

TAGGED! Paging Doctor Drake <3
WORDS! 779!
OUTFIT! Doctor, Doctor
LYRICS! No Better - - - Kids in Glass Houses
NOTES! <3

[drake lochlyn wilde]

THE SUN IT LIGHTS THE BLADES OF GRASS

[/color]
it‘s not like she knows the difference or cares
she‘s stupid and cold somewhere in the waves of doubt
IT‘S NOT LIKE SHE SWAM AWHILE AND FADED OUT[/color]
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Taylor wasn’t being her usual self right now, and Drake could see that. She may have been a complete mystery, but it was obvious that there was something playing on her mind, distracting her and throwing her out of character. He’d seen it before. It was the way she’d been every time these tests came around for as long as Drake had her as being a carrier. He could sit and reassure her for hours, but he knew that she’d still be the same, almost numb, woman who locked herself away with only her own demons for company. He didn’t want her to do that, not this time when he could really be there for her and prove that she meant more to him than just some casual fling.

This was his chance. She was vulnerable; he could see that by the way she was currently acting, unable to meet his intense gaze. If he could show her that he could be there, be a friend and lay his heart on the table for her to take, then maybe she’d give him the opportunity he’d be wanting since the moment they had met; a relationship. Standing by her through this would show Taylor that her HTLV-1 was something that wouldn’t chase him away, despite the amount of statistics she could reel off to him. Drake wasn’t going to give up on this and Taylor needed to know what she truly meant to him before it was too late.
“I can be quiet too, you know. In fact, I could just listen to you talk and be a happy man.”

[/color] It wasn’t his best line ever, but the whole idea of this being his chance was nerve wracking. Being just honest was a fairly new thing for Drake, who usually spoke with innuendo and smirks, but he didn’t want to do that with Taylor, not right now, not when she was clearly out of sorts.

As her fingers entwined with his, Drake felt a soothing sensation course through him. It was only a simple gesture, but it was more than enough to unleash the stomach flipping sensation that he hadn’t experienced since the time when he met his ex-wife. It was completely unexpected for him. He had known for some time that he had feelings for the tall brunette doctor, but he didn’t know that she could have this effect from such a simple and innocence gesture of gratitude. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes briefly, savouring the moment just in case it never came again. He opened his blue eyes and gazed deeply into her green eyes. “I’m here whenever you need me Tay. I always will be.”[/color]

The blush on her cheeks was adorable, but when she refused to meet his eyes, there was something that sobered the moment right up. He wanted to be more than this with her, he wanted to make her happy in ways that only romance could do. Drake had been hurt by love before, and he had suspicions that Taylor was the same, but he wanted to give cupid another chance. He had this moment to make his move, the right move, before he’d be back at square one and with a Taylor who’d rebuild her walls the minute she stepped away from him. As she moved, so did he, grabbing her hand and pulling her back towards him gently. “Taylor, please,” [/color] Drake paused, looking into her soft eyes and reaching up to brush some loose strands of hair from her face. His fingers lingered softly on her blushed cheek before he continued, “Tay, don’t do this alone. Come out with me, for dinner or a movie or even just a walk after we’re finished here tonight. What do you say?”[/color]

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Drake is talking to Taylor Becks with a little inspiration from Ryan Adams when he sings about She Lost Total Control. There are 773 things on his mind and this on his back. His strings are pulled by Chastity, his heart is pounding caringly.

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[Taylor Caroline Becks]

She didn't want to get hurt by Drake or anyone else. She had worked hard to keep her own heart protected from harm and she didn't want it all to go waste, especially not on some guy who would easily stroll away the moment he had what he needed. Drake was a good guy though. Despite his nature for flings and meaningless nights of passion, he was always true to his word. He had always been there for her, even when she wanted to push him away. He edged around her sarcastic tones and forced her to talk when she was more content with remaining silent and in the morgue. Surely, if this was all about lust and sex, then he wouldn't go through all of this hassle with her, when he could go to any nightclub in the city and pretty much take his pick of the girls in there?

The silence that rained over the morgue was far from comfortable. She could see the nervous disposition in the sapphire eyes of Drake, his adams apple bobbing as he swallowed hard and the twitch of his lips as he gave her a sincere, but anxious soft smile. Was it worth the risk? Sure, he'd flirted with her before, but Taylor had never seen this level of affection in him before now. Usually it was a 'we'll paint the town red' accompanied with a boyish smirk, but this was so different that it completely caught Taylor off guard. Usually, she was so calm and composed that rejecting someone was easily, but politely, done and now she didn't know what to do or say.

Worrying about her HTLV-1 did make her vulnerable and her worries broke down her strong independence, but did Drake know that? And was he trying to use that knowledge to trap his prey? No, he wasn't that kind of guy. He was a good friend to Taylor and by now he should have known better than to try and use her like some dumb bimbo.

Her hand was encased in his, her whole body frozen to the spot and her eyes glued on his as he reached up, brushing her hair from her face. Just the touch sent unfamiliar shivers up her spine. It had been so long since someone had done something so gentle that prompted her legs to turn to jelly; usually it was a mind-blowing, passionate kiss that did that to her, yet all Drake did was allow his fingertips to brush against her soft skin and she was ready to melt into a hopeless puddle on the floor of the morgue.

Finally, she was able to move her feet and she turned to face him fully. She never thought this would happen or that she would ever speak these words to him, but nevertheless it was happening and her heart was outweighing her brain for what she should do. Licking her glossed lips, Taylor briefly glanced down at her boots before flicking her eyes of jade up to meet his. Her finger squeezed his and a small smile turned the corners of her lips upwards before she spoke. "Yeah, that sounds nice. How about you pick a place and I'll meet you there, say, eight thirty?"

[/color] She couldn't believe it, but she'd just agreed to a date with Doctor Drake Wilde, despite her mind screaming warnings at her. What scared her more though, was that she didn't care about them...she was, strangely, looking forward to it. "But now, I really do need to get back to work."[/color] She pulled her hand away from his and turned, deliberately swaying her hips slightly more than usual as the flirtatious side of her peeked through once more.
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• • •

TAGGED! Paging Doctor Drake <3
WORDS! 741!
OUTFIT! Doctor, Doctor
LYRICS! No Better - - - Kids in Glass Houses
NOTES! <3