The Exception by Lauren H. Mae
Nine
The next morning, Sonya made sure to get to work early enough to talk to Abi before her shift started. Talking it out with the girls—well, mostly Cat and Emma because they were the only ones not focused on the fact that her intern was hot—had put everything into perspective, and stepping down as Trav’s—intern Travis’s—preceptor was the right decision. She felt lighter already knowing she would soon be free of him.
Sonya was pretty sure he was the most annoying human being on the planet, though she’d begrudgingly admit how hard he was willing to work and he seemed to care about their patients already. Besides ending this arrangement being the best choice for her own mental health, he deserved a fresh shot at passing with someone unbiased.
She was relieved to see light pouring out of Abi’s open door
“Good morning, Abi. Can I talk to you about something?”
Her words trailed off when she noticed the man sitting in the chair across from Abi’s desk. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll come back later.”
She was turning to leave when Abi smiled and motioned for her to come inside.
“No, come in Sonya. Your timing is as impeccable as ever. Do you know Dr. Travis?”
Sonya stiffened. Of course she knew of Dr. Jack Travis. He was the predominant neurosurgeon on the east coast and their hospital got most of its funding because of his presence on the board. He never ventured far from his expansive office with the river view and he definitely never came down to psych.
Sonya pasted on her most professional smile as Dr. Travis rose from the chair and turned around to face her, and it froze there as everything clicked together in her mind.
Holy shit…
The resemblance was nearly uncanny, from his height and build, to his sandy brown hair that was only greying at the temples. He had deep crinkles around his eyes but they did nothing to dim the almost navy blue just like his grey beard did nothing to hide the same cocky smirk she’d come to know well over the last few days.
Dr. Jack Travis couldn’t be anyone besides Intern Travis’s father.
Careful to keep her shock masked, she extended her hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Dr. Travis.”
Unease bubbled up in Sonya’s stomach as she tried to wrap her mind around this revelation and its implications. If Dr. Travis was slumming it down there, it could only mean that Trav had gone crying to his daddy about her going too hard on him. He’d probably led a charmed life on his dad’s highly inflated salary and was used to being handed anything he wanted.
Sonya was still trying to figure out how joining the army fit into that backstory, but there had to be a reason beyond a desire to serve his country. It just wasn’t what guys from a prominent doctor’s family did, and they especially didn’t become paramedics instead of second generation doctors.
Then again, Trav’s backstory didn’t matter to her because she was about to be freed from her responsibilities when it came to Ben Travis. Now she couldn’t figure out if that relieved her or pissed her off.
“No, the pleasure is all mine,” Dr. Travis drawled, looking her up and down dismissively before gripping her hand in a firm shake.
Abi spoke up from behind her desk. “Sonya is the most senior nurse on this ward and she volunteered to be Ben’s mentor.”
Dr. Travis raised a greying eyebrow and frowned.
“You’re a little young, aren’t you?”
Sonya bit the inside of her cheek to keep the snide comment on the tip of her tongue from slipping out.
“I’m the youngest nurse manager in this hospital, so what I lack in age I make up for with a lot of hard work.”
“You have ambition, drive,” he stated almost appreciatively. “Two qualities I tried to instill in Ben but it never quite took. Tell me. How is he doing?”
Apparently, he wasn’t there to rail against the mean preceptor giving his kid a hard time, but that made this whole conversation even more confusing. Dr. Travis didn’t seem like the type to just want to check on his son’s progress, and there was also a sharpness in the way he’d talked about him. She was going to have to tread lightly in this conversation until she decoded the situation.
She cleared her throat and answered, “Intern Travis is performing well in his rotation. ”
Instead of being pleased by her satisfactory report, he squinted like he was trying to read more into everything she’d said.
“Well, that is encouraging,” he said, his tone sounding more almost disappointed at the news. “At least he’s actually trying this time, but it’s a shame it won’t last.”
Sonya was still trying to figure out how to respond to that when Abi frowned and folded her hands together on top of her desk.
“Dr. Travis? What exactly are you implying?”
He sighed dramatically like he was about to reveal some deep, dark secret and the same irritation that only Trav inspired in her started bubbling up inside of her. Getting on her last nerve must be a Travis family trait.
“My son doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to following through. He’ll quit as soon as things get too hard or he’ll find a way to screw it up.”
“Excuse me, sir, but wasn’t your son recently discharged with honors from the army?” Sonya asked. “That doesn’t sound like a person who doesn’t follow through on things.”
The tone of her voice startled her. Since when was defending Trav something she was inclined to do?
“That only proves my point,” Jack said. “He could’ve stayed in and made a career out of it. He could’ve been an officer someday, but instead of reenlisting, he decided to get out and become a paramedic. He’s always good at something up until the minute he gets bored with it. And he always gets bored.”
Sonya glanced over to Abi and the confusion written all over her face echoed everything she was feeling as well. She couldn’t figure it out. Was he there to ask her to go easy on Trav, or to fail him no matter what he did? All she knew for sure was that Dr. Travis was an asshole and that gave her a tiny bit of empathy for his son.
Dr. Travis didn’t give either of them time to ask for more explanation. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his grey slacks and turned all of his attention to Abi.
“Nurse Chen, I have a consult upstairs in a few minutes. Do you mind if Nurse Pope walks with me?”
Sonya looked to Abi and gave a slight nod to indicate that she was okay with taking a walk with Dr. Travis. He’d sparked her curiosity over the true purpose of his visit. There was no way he’d come all the way down there just to trash his own son. There had to be more to it.
“Of course,” Abi replied. “Sonya, come back once you’re done so we can talk about why you came in to see me.”
She followed Dr. Travis out of Abi’s office and fell into step beside him.
“Nurse Pope, you can be honest with me. Is Ben truly doing well? It’s no reflection on you if he’s not.”
“I assure you that he is performing well within expectations.” There she was defending him again, but it was true. Annoying or not, Trav was capable.
“That is a relief. I’m happy to hear that he’s at least upholding the family name while pursuing this path. It would be a shame if he managed to bring down the reputation I’ve worked so hard to build at this hospital.”
She wanted to tell him that his son hadn’t mentioned to anyone that his dad was the Dr. Jack Travis. If anything, he’d tried to distance himself as much as possible by just introducing himself as “Trav.”
“You can rest assured that the family name remains intact.”
“For now. Let’s see that it remains that way,” he said. “Nurse Chen spoke very highly of you. It sounds like your aspirations extend past the psychiatric floor.”
“Nurse Chen is my mentor and my advocate. I owe a lot to how hard she’s pushed me both in and out of my comfort zone.”
“If you can continue pushing Benjamin to succeed, perhaps we can talk about finding something for you that would stretch you even further. Neurology is always looking for good nurses.”
And there it is. He’d taken the scenic route, but the implication was clear and she bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from getting up on her soapbox. She’d been brought up with a mother who’d instilled a good work ethic in her since birth. People like Jack Travis who navigated through life on their privilege, frustrated her to no end.
“I’m nothing if not fair, Dr. Travis. If your son passes this rotation, it’ll be because he earned it.”
His smirk said he thought she was just saying what she was supposed to say when offered what equated to a bribe. He was used to people dropping everything to kiss his ass; people who would do anything to look good in his eyes to advance their careers. Maybe there were other sycophants who would do that, but unfortunately for him, his son was assigned to her and she’d be damned if she gave Trav an easy time just to advance her own career.
She’d just opened her mouth to tell him that when the sound of hard, fast-moving footsteps made her look at her watch like some sort of Pavlovian response. It was 7:55 and her intern marched from the elevators with his backpack slung over his shoulder, a Virginia Tech travel mug in one hand, looking down at his phone in the other.
He looked up after dropping his phone into his pocket, and his feet came to an immediate halt as a strange mix of surprise and resignation washed over his features. The weariness in his eyes was easy to read as they darted back and forth between her and his father. “Dad? What are you doing down here?”
“Good morning to you too, Ben.”
“Good morning,” he greeted. “Now will you tell me why you’re here?”
Dr. Travis smiled and placed a hand on Sonya’s shoulder. It took everything in her not to shrug it off.
“I was just having a parent teacher conference of sorts with your preceptor. Looks like you’re in good hands down here.”
“I am,” Trav hedged like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’d never seen him so tense, like every muscle in his body was on defense. This wasn’t the easy going guy she’d been working with for the last week. This was the soldier; the man who’d spent years in a war zone watching his back at every step. He even looked taller—bulkier, like a cat trying to intimidate its opponent before a fight, and those usually warm and friendly eyes of his were ice cold.
“I would love to talk with you both more but work beckons,” Dr. Travis announced, making a show of looking at the expensive gold watch decorating his wrist. “I expect to see you at dinner soon, Ben. Shelly says she’s been trying to invite you for weeks but she keeps getting your voicemail.”
“I’ve been busy,” Trav said.
His father scoffed. “Always make time for family.”
Trav nodded once, but from the murderous look on his face, Sonya could tell he was biting his tongue.
Dr. Travis gave her shoulder what was supposed to be a meaningful squeeze, and his condescending smile made her want to gag.
“Remember what I said, Nurse Pope. If you need anything at all, let me know.”
“Have a nice day, Dr. Travis,” she said, summoning the smile she’d been using ever since she was old enough to understand its power. It was the smile that handled mansplaining, being interrupted and spoken over; it was the smile that hid how she really felt because if her true feelings were revealed, it might reduce the person on the receiving end to ashes.
She and Trav stood side by side and watched as Dr. Travis strode down the hall. He’d disappeared into an elevator when Trav finally spoke up. “No matter what he said to you, don’t go easy on me.”
She glanced at his profile, his jaw tight and his eyes burning a hole into the spot where his dad had been standing.
“Excuse me?”
“He never went to a parent teacher conference in his life, so I know he wasn’t here to check up on me. He probably spent the last ten minutes telling you what a screw up I am, and if you’re feeling sorry for me, don’t.”
She moved to stand in front of him, breaking whatever trance he was in, and his eyes flicked to meet hers. “First of all, I’m not going to go easy on you because no one ever went easy on me and therefore I don’t know any other way to go.”
“I—”
She held up a hand to cut him off. “Second, I know your father was here to manipulate me into giving you a glowing review, but if you want to pass this rotation you’re going to have to work for it. If you can’t keep up, I will have no problem making that clear on your eval no matter who your daddy is. Are we clear?”
“Crystalline.”
“Good.” They stared at each other for a moment, Sonya waiting for that cocky smile of his to return. When it didn’t, empathy crept in behind the hard look she was trying to maintain. “So are you going to take him up on that dinner?”
Trav blinked, clearly shocked at the concern she’d let slip. “Uh, I don’t think I have much of a choice.”
She nodded. She had a family meal of her own this weekend that she was dreading. Not for the same reasons, but he’d happened to catch her in a moment where she understood what that was like.
In a move that surprised both of them, she found herself reaching for his shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze. “Good luck, soldier.”
“Thanks.”
She cleared her throat, dropping her hand back to her side. “Now that we’re on the same page, I need to go check in with Nurse Chen. I’ll meet you at the nurse’s station in five minutes.”
She walked back toward Abi’s office. Giving up her role as Trav’s preceptor wasn’t an option anymore. He would just end up assigned to someone who would cave to an offer like the one his father had just made, and she couldn’t let that happen. She’d meant what she’d said; he was going to have to earn a passing grade and the only way to ensure that happened was by keeping him as her precept.
As she stepped into Abi’s office to sell her a story about coming in early just to check in, she prayed she didn’t come to regret that decision.