Romancing the Fangirl Read online

  Table of Contents

  Untitled

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Also by Ginny Sterling

  About the Author

  Romancing the Fangirl

  Ginny Sterling

  Contents

  Untitled

  Chapter 1

  Untitled

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Untitled

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Untitled

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Untitled

  Also by Ginny Sterling

  Also by Ginny Sterling

  Also by Ginny Sterling

  Also by Ginny Sterling

  Untitled

  Untitled

  About the Author

  Romancing the Fangirl

  * * *

  By

  * * *

  Ginny Sterling

  This is for all the shy ones that escape reality for a brief moment to meet their idols…

  * * *

  Live with no regrets, have no fear.

  Wondering if you look okay in a costume shouldn’t stop you from having the best time of your life with those around you that accept you and relish in your exhibition of creativity.

  * * *

  And to those of us who wish we would find that freedom that comes with Cosplay?

  * * *

  Do it.

  * * *

  What have you got to lose?

  You never know…

  1

  August 14, 2015

  Chicago

  * * *

  “Clear!”

  * * *

  Katherine Drake barked the order out as she raced to place the paddles on the chest she had been so delicately working on. She hated bullet wounds. There was so much carnage and destruction depending on the type of caliber used. Some tore, some shredded. In the end, it left a wake of gaping wounds that had to be quickly stitched to prevent bleed outs or worse: a code.

  * * *

  She had spent the last two hours twisting, weaving, pulling and tugging in a methodical dance of needle and thread only to hear that gut wrenching sound that every person in the medical field dreads. The sound of a flat line. The single deadly tone screams on the machine followed by an epic flurry of activity to save one desperate soul.

  * * *

  Her own.

  * * *

  It wasn’t the person on the table. Katherine wished it was. It was her own soul that got destroyed anytime she lost someone on the table and the devastation that followed was always crippling. She was one of the best in her field because of it and the refusal to accept defeat. Losing a person wasn’t an option anymore for her own sanity.

  * * *

  She hadn’t grown numb yet and seeing the families cry made her ache so much since she could still feel the loss of her own family. That bereft, hollow, dead feeling was soul-wrenching and hard to come back from. She broke out in a sweat in the cool, sterile room just thinking about that accident, once again. If she didn’t have Leslie in her life, she wouldn’t know what to do.

  * * *

  Leslie had been her best friend since her freshman year of college and she had been blessed to have her as a roommate that first semester and every time since. The counselors at the university knew the trauma in her past and easily paired the two young women together.

  * * *

  Upon graduation, Katherine moved towards her Master’s and Leslie followed, as well, in a different field. Finishing their Master’s, the two were still inseparable. But this time, Katherine stepped out alone in medical school in Chicago. Leslie followed her friend for support and to begin her own career as a teacher.

  * * *

  The two were closer than sisters and relied upon each other for support. She could hear the pep talk coming if she lost this young man tonight and refused to give Leslie another reason to try to talk her into clinicals. Katherine liked surgical. There was something so essential in having a life hang in your hands and coaxing it back from the brink. She wished she could have done that herself all those years ago. Instead, she made sure that no one else had to live with that emptiness.

  * * *

  Katherine could still hear the moans coming from her family and smell the flames from the car that pushed her into one of the hardest decisions of her life: To step back from the car and watch, horrified, as her family passed in front of her. In shock, she stared at her bloodied hands that had tried to staunch the bleeding as her father shouted at her to step back. She had tried desperately to help him, but he had been pinned and could not move. Katherine never felt the flames that had scarred her hands and, thankfully, his screams had been for her to get to safety and not in pain. That would haunt her more than anything: his face and his fear as she stepped away from the burning car.

  * * *

  That fateful accident is what drove her ambition and pushed her through college at an almost alarming rate. Counselors would tell her to rest or slow down…even denying her request to take more classes and more hours. She would never be helpless again.

  Katherine shook her head at the memories that were racing through her mind as she attempted to focus again on the task at hand. “We got him?” she asked absently as the paddles jumped to life and the faint beeping was heard. The blood loss was atrocious and this one was going to have to be a fighter, as well, to make it. The paddles were slick against her gloves as she clutched them and hovered just over his chest.

  “You have this, don’t give up because I’m not going to let you go,” she told the still body on the table, ignoring the large, gaping opening revealing intestines that lightly pumped blood out once again through the wounds she had yet to finish suturing. I’m almost finished. Don’t give up on me now she thought. Tossing the paddles carelessly back towards a set of gloves that waited, she was moving into position again to finish the task at hand.

  “Do. We. Have. Him?” she asked again loudly to the surgical assistants, standing back watching her diligence. Glad to see them moving again, Katherine looked through the lenses perched on her nose at the stitches and went to work, yet again. Weave, twist, tuck and pull the tiny needle being held by forceps over and over through the soft tissues. Her body ached from the tense position as her fingers danced repeatedly along, quickly.

  As she sewed, she listened to the faint beeping that echoed in her mind. Pulse should be steadier than that. “Give me ten ccs of amiodarone on a drip and let’s start some A positive to perk this fella up,” she said without looking up from her needlework. Amiodarone would settle his pulse and the blood would help with what he had lost so far since he had arrived. Hearing the rhythmic pulses, electronic and human, she lulled herself into a trance as she repaired the damage that was done by the lone bullet.

  Finally, seeing the blood loss had lessened, Katherine calmly, with a
sigh of relief, could see the end in sight for this young man. “Swab,” she ordered as she finished up her last stitch on the interior and carefully washed away any debris or fluids as to prevent infection. The cool water would be a shock to the system, but you couldn’t put yourself in the patient’s position. He was under and wouldn’t feel a thing, whereas, if she didn’t do her job correctly, the results could be disastrous.

  Arching her back, she flexed her hands and rolled her shoulders. Katherine inspected her work and watched the warm pink folds of the intestines pulse with life as the blood was washed away. The tearing was finally repaired and it was time to cut her stitches. Content with the observation and satisfied there was no more hemorrhaging, she nodded.

  “Scissors and needle,” she ordered as she stretched her arms and cracked her knuckles. Barking out statistics for documentation, she proceeded to move to the final step before his visit to ICU. At least it wouldn’t be the morgue and she could sleep easily tonight. “Time to put humpty-dumpty back together again,” she whispered to herself and set about closing the large incision she had sliced in order to address the bullet wound.

  “Okay boys and girls! Clean him and dress him.” Katherine rolled her shoulders once again. She was tall and willowy but being hunched over a table for hours on end did tend to take its toll on her neck. She was pretty certain she would be cross-eyed by the time she was fifty if all she did was sutures with the magnifying loupes she wore repeatedly.

  “Let’s roll him into recovery. I want him under observation for an hour until he comes to and then he can go to his own room. No visitors until tomorrow in case we have another code. Keep him on a morphine drip for pain for twenty-four hours and then move him to codeine. I want him up tomorrow morning so he doesn’t clot. Text Matthews and let him know surgical is done and his patient will be in his room shortly,” she said, pleased, and moved to wash up.

  Damn, it was satisfying to save lives instead of seeing them pass.

  2

  Holding firmly to the cool metal brace in the large subway car that raced along the tracks, Katherine could feel the exhaustion swamping at her. The metal felt grimy but, at this point, she simply did not care. It was more to keep her from collapsing, rather than for safety. It was always tiring to be on edge for so long and she knew the moment she sat down, she was done for.

  * * *

  Staring down absently, she noticed that she had blood on her clogs, yet again, and was glad they were black. She always changed into a fresh set of scrub pants and a T-shirt before leaving the hospital. Standing in filthy scrubs on the “L” just got you stared at. Being in her medical coat garnered unwanted questions or homeless asking for money as she walked the two blocks from her subway stop to her brownstone.

  * * *

  Well, not “her” particular brownstone. They were incredibly expensive and most had been renovated into condos. It was simply the building that she leased a condo in. Katherine would love to own it, but it was pricey to own property downtown. Leslie and she had waited patiently for a pair of condos in one house to come available for rent in the highly desired Lincoln Park suburb of Chicago and when it did? They snatched up the pair quickly. Katherine lived on the third floor of the building and Leslie on the first.

  * * *

  They lived apart but could meet up easily at any time and could watch each other’s homes or even carpool if needed. Leslie had an older car that she used to get to the school she taught at, while Katherine opted for the subway, instead. It was just faster and easier to get to the hospital. There was no way she would ever burden Leslie with having to pick her up from work at odd hours of the night.

  * * *

  Climbing the stone steps that were wrapped with iron railings and decorated with ivy, she knew relief from the exhaustion beating at her would soon be close at hand. She had a date with her pillow! The warm, night air was hugging her frame as she fished out her keys. The humidity was like a comforting blanket enveloping you and she couldn’t wait to feel the real thing when she climbed into bed.

  * * *

  Double shifts were pure Hell.

  * * *

  Walking in, she methodically checked the mail and climbed the three flights of stairs that led to her home. Opening the door, she stepped in and smiled at the light, floral scent that greeted her. Man, scented plug-ins are the bombdiggity! she thought as she felt the weight drop from her and kicked off her shoes. She quickly washed off the blood from the plastic finish that mimicked leather. She preferred leather shoes or the fun-looking ones with designs, but these? These were functional and cleaned easily.

  * * *

  Her home was a sparse haven. Window shelves were brimming with plants that thrived off the sunlight and the self-watering spheres that she checked once a week. The plants would be long gone if they relied on her to take care of them. Their overgrowth of leaves was comforting and made it feel homey. A large, leather couch circled the room and held a shearling throw as well as a few pillows; more times than not, it substituted for a bed if needed.

  There had been many a night that she had fallen asleep trying to catch up on TV shows she had recorded on the DVR. Due to her hectic schedule, watching TV was almost a no-go most days. Leslie always kept her filled in on anything new and dramatic happening if she missed an episode of her favorite series on HBO: Game of Thrones.

  * * *

  Today, she would pass on catching up on the latest. Instead, she just lay down. Her mind was blank from exhaustion. Food. I need something, she thought. Gulping down a large glass of milk, she removed everything but her T-shirt and drew the blackout curtains tight in an attempt to get some rest at four in the afternoon. If she was lucky, she would get a full night and feel like a new person in the morning. Crawling into bed, she texted Leslie:

  * * *

  Katherine: just got home, beat! G2 bed, call 2morrow

  Leslie: KK, g-nite

  * * *

  Rolling over, she put her phone on the charger and unplugged the landline. No solicitors to disturb her tonight! She needed a serious bout of sleep and planned on getting it come Hell or high water. Yanking the chain on her lamp, she laid back and felt herself allowing the waves of exhaustion to pull her into sleep.

  * * *

  Ding!

  * * *

  Leslie and the hospital emergency line were the only favorites she had on her iPhone that could get through the “do not disturb” function. She rarely put that feature on because she was on-call quite a bit, but after the double shift? She was free for the next three days, which was practically unheard of for Katherine. Everyone at the hospital knew she would take shifts or show up if needed. Glancing at the phone, dazed from exhaustion, she saw it was Leslie again.

  * * *

  Leslie: U wrking 2morrow? It’s important!

  * * *

  Katherine: No, off 3

  * * *

  Leslie: 3 days? Sweet! Got plans?

  * * *

  Katherine: sleep.

  * * *

  Leslie: Nope, C me ASAP 2morrow

  * * *

  Katherine: what’s up?

  * * *

  Leslie: FUN! Get some rest-bye!

  * * *

  Groaning, Katherine simply shut off her phone and rolled over. There was no way she was going to get any rest if Leslie decided to text all night and, thankfully, she was the understanding sort. If it was an emergency, Leslie would be at her apartment in no time flat. Until then, she was sleeping undisturbed. Yanking the coverlet up over her head to hide from the world, she closed her eyes once again.

  3

  “Katherine, I know you are in here,” Leslie called out after unlocking her friend’s door with her key. She was incredibly excited and would not let Katherine dampen the mood! She had been patiently waiting all morning long, well, maybe not ALL morning long… but long enough.

  Her alarm had gone off and she texted Katherine first thing. After her shower, she figured Katherine had eith
er shut off her phone again or let it go dead overnight. She had plans for the two of them. Katherine was just going to have to get her butt up and out of bed. There was no way she was missing meeting David Duchovny or Alexander Weber at the convention today.

  She had bought tickets the day she heard the two would be present and prayed Katherine would be off. But knowing her, she would be working and Leslie just assumed she would be either going alone or with a coworker from the school. The coworker idea sucked because then all they would do all day long would be to compare notes on past students, homework and the rest of the staff. She really didn’t want to discuss work on a Saturday. School hadn’t started yet and she really didn’t want to think about the upcoming year.

  She wanted to drag her stick-in-the-mud buddy with her and see her “live a little” instead of killing herself slowly at the hospital. Katherine was always working and, frankly, it was almost scary the number of hours she put in. It wasn’t like she needed the money. Instead, it was like she needed to punish herself for living or hide away from the world. Leslie knew why and understood. But her childhood friend needed some fun in her life, too. She needed to move past things. Hearing Katherine was off of work was a relief. But knowing her, she would be back at the hospital, regardless, after a day or two off – it was unheard of for her to take longer than that. Unless she was bodily occupied by aliens or dragged miles away, she would always end up back in scrubs in the operating room.