Drifting Apart
Part 2
By Kellie
It was nearly midnight when Michelle made it back down to the on-call room. She walked over to her locker to change into a fresh set of scrubs. She opened the door to find a note from Danny taped to the shelf.
Hi!
I guess you finally got out of the ER. That little surprise I had for you
is in the fridge. Enjoy!
All my love,
Danny
"I wonder what kind of surprise goes in the fridge?" Michelle asked herself as she changed clothes. Michelle looked in the refrigerator and found a takeout box from Company with her name scrawled across the top in Danny's familiar handwriting. Michelle opened the top and saw that Danny had gotten her one of Buzz's famous chicken salads.
As she took the box and walked over to the table, Michelle looked up as she heard the door open. Rick walked in and headed for the coffee pot. "Hey! You have a meal that's not mystery meat from the cafeteria. I hope you're going to share. I really don't want to see what Cedar's version of the Soup Nazi has mutilated tonight."
"I don't know, I'm hungry enough to eat a horse. You really can't expect me to share this."
"Come on. I know you had dinner with Danny a few hours ago. You can't be that hungry."
"Rick, what are you talking about? Danny and I didn't have dinner together. You and I have both been tied up in ER for hours. Wait, that's why Danny was here earlier."
"Yes, I loaned Danny the key to my office so he could surprise you and have dinner together."
"Well, my pager went off right after he got here. He must have left this in the fridge for me after I left."
Michelle swatted at Rick's hand as he snatched the pack of crackers that came with her salad. "Hey! Those are mine."
Rick gave Michelle a dramatically sad puppy dog look, "Come on, you have to share with your favorite brother."
"As I recall, you're my only brother." Michelle grabbed the pack from Rick's hand. "Besides your shift is over and you can go home and raid your own fridge."
"Michelle, with all of Abby's trips to talk about her implant, the only thing in my fridge are attempts to grow our own penicillin."
"Lonely, brother dear."
"Yeah. From what I could tell when I spoke with Danny, I'm not the only one."
"What are you talking about?" Michelle asked as she ate.
"Well, he told me he was bringing dinner here to you because the two of you haven't had much time together lately."
"I know. You remember what residency is like, never a free moment between hours at the hospital, papers and reports to write, and trying to grab some shut eye."
"Yeah, but I didn't volunteer for extra shifts or offer to do extra case studies."
"How did you know about that?"
"I asked one of the supervising doctors how you were doing. He started going on and on about what a go-getter you were. Whenever they needed an extra resident on duty, you were the first to volunteer. Michelle, it's one thing to go all out. It's different story when you take on all this extra stuff. I'm worried that you're burning the candle at both ends and it looks like Danny's the one suffering for it."
"Rick, I can handle it. I wouldn't take on so much if I couldn't."
"Michelle, when was the last time you took your day off and did nothing associated with the hospital or med school."
"Okay. I get the point, maybe I am taking on too much."
"Maybe? Try definitely. Why are you doing this to yourself?"
"I don't know."
"Michelle-"
"Okay, I guess I do know. Sometimes I just feel like I have to go above and beyond to meet the expectations of everyone here at the hospital. I feel like I have to be on top of everything because I'm Ed Bauer's daughter and your sister."
"Michelle, I remember trying to live up to those expectations because of Dad. I did the same thing you are; I volunteered for all kinds of extra duties. It was a big mistake. Dad managed to keep this quiet after he found out, but I ended up hooked on speed during that time."
Michelle's eyes shot up, "You what? I had no idea."
"Sweetheart, I don't want to see you repeat my mistakes. Would you just slow down; stop taking on all this extra stuff. You'll get a lot more respect if you take just what your required to do and do an excellent job with it than you would if you just did an adequate job on a bunch of extra stuff. I also think your husband would appreciate having more time with you."
"I surrender, you're right. I talk with my supervisor before my shift starts Tuesday."
"Good. I expect you to start taking my advice when this shift ends. Go home on time for once and stay away from those report and papers until Danny goes to work Monday."
Michelle nodded as she took another bite of her dinner.
"I guess I'll get going. Sure you won't share that salad."
"Rick, get out of here and find your own dinner."
Part 3