mountain rain

"Oh honestly, Chief if you think I'm best fit for the job then you 'ought to have lost your marbles." Remus said tiredly, watching the sun peek over the clouds early that Monday morning. Her office faced the rising sun, giving her a reddish glint in the morning light. 

Minerva raised her eyebrows and Remus instantly regretted saying she lost her marbles. Even at fifty nine, she was more qualified than any young bright surgeon in this hospital and probably the state too. 

"Remus," She said in a clipped voice. "do you really trust Doctor Malfoy or Doctor Crouch instead?" 

He bit his tongue to retort that if she didn't trust Malfoy or Crouch like he didn't, then why did she keep them around? Crouch was a boring, yet determined general surgeon and Malfoy was a ruthless plastic surgeon who was so focused on perfection that he cut out any room for error. And having room for error in plastic surgery was something needed too. 

"No but-" 

"Then case closed," Minerva said coldly, adjusting her spectacles. "you have five interns and there are only five." 

He frowned. There had been around twenty interns when he had been one himself and he was the only one from his class still standing in the same hospital. He had done his fellowship year here, he had stuck around to land a nice attending job. Some of his former colleagues weren't even doctors now. 

"Only five?" 

Minerva nodded and shuffled papers and charts in her hands. Her office was neat and orderly with awards on every wall and a framed photo of her cat too. But her desk was an awful large mess, being chief of surgery and all. "Yes only five. I've decided that cutting down our interns might fuel a bit more fire between them. Give more life to the hospital." 

"And what if it doesn't?" 

Minerva chuckled and adjusted her glasses again. Her graying hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her white coat didn't have a single crease in it. "Oh there will be plenty of competition between them. I can promise you that much." 

"Planning something again, Doctor McGonagall?" 

She shrugged and handed him two charts, presumably cases she wanted him to work on with the interns. "Maybe. But I believe in you Doctor Lupin. I think that you have the ability to teach them not only how to be good surgeons but great doctors to their patients." 

He felt himself go red and he shuffled a bit backwards. His interns where probably changing in their locker room and waiting for him. Oh lord he couldn't believe how terrible his luck was. He wasn't a good teacher, he was a good surgeon that was it. He preferred to keep to the ER, keep to his favorite OR(which was number three by the way because he believed the best things came in threes) and away from interns. 

"Alright, I can't promise I'll be the best teacher though, Minerva." 

"I'm not asking you to be a great teacher, I'm asking you to try your best Doctor Lupin." Minerva sighed. Did she ever go home? He had gotten a glimpse of her heading towards the surgery wing of the hospital before he left with Marlene last night. "And besides you're the most qualified surgeon I have on my staff." 

Remus rolled his eyes. He wasn't that qualified. Sure he had his double certification as a trauma surgeon and general surgeon, and yes he practically ran the ER by himself most days but there were better doctors in this hospital and the next. He was awful at plastic's and always faltered when it came to neuro. Good and quick on his feet he was. It didn't mean he was the most qualified. 

"Look I'll do my best. But if they get out of hand, I'm handing them over to you." 

"You where an out of hand intern, if I remember correctly." Minerva mused, her green and brown eyes starting at him pointedly. He felt himself get redder and redder too. He remembered being a surgery hungry intern who would have done scut for months to scrub in on high risk and dangerous surgeries. Now he got to pick and choose what he wanted without having to worry if his fellow interns would jump him in the locker room. 

He smiled grimly. "Well we all start somewhere Chief. But I'm serious, if even one of them decides to do something stupid and reckless, I'll give them to Malfoy, I don't care." 

"You say that now." Minerva started up her ancient computer. He stepped back, afraid of the whirring noise that it made. "but you'll love those interns like they're your own children." 

"I don't even like children." 

"Yes, I'm aware." Minerva peered at him. "I remember your rotation on pediatrics. I won't make that mistake again." 

"Good. But the interns are adults, not children." 

"Oh please," Minerva scoffed loudly. "even you're still just a child. Children running around with scalpels you all are. You'll love them." 

Remus really doubted that. He didn't want this new teaching job. He wanted to spend his hours and days and weeks in the ER. He wanted to feel the thrill of hearing there was an incoming trauma and be able to jump right in, so that he felt his blood rush to his heart and every cell in his body buzzed. He loved the high of getting to slice open skin with his scalpel and sew it back together with his hands. Interns would only get in the way of that. They would want to know running whip stitches and scrub in on appendectomys and gall bladder resections and want to see every surgery possible. 

"Mhm. You owe me, Chief." 

"Do I now?" 

"Yes." Remus held his chin high. "And when I come to collect your debt it better be in the form of a good surgery. I could go for a nice heart liver transplant." 

Minerva raised her chin too, looking up with those cold eyes. She was a hardened woman and not a storm he wanted to whether in the slightest. 

"That could be arranged, Doctor Lupin." She spoke slowly, her hand reaching for a notepad and pen. "but first I want you to teach these interns well. I already gave them their tour." 

"So they're expecting me then?" He sighed, running a hand over his floppy, graying curls. 

Minerva nodded as she penned something down and just simply raised her eyebrows. Remus sighed again, feeling his shoulder droop and his mood shift into a downwards spiral. He didn't want this, he had never wanted this. He had become a surgeon because he had a void and was desperate to fill it with helping people and healing people. If he couldn't heal the scars on his face, then he might as well try to heal someone else's. 

"Yes," She said shortly. "And you're late to your first day as a mentor, Doctor Lupin. I suggest you walk. And fast too." She pointed to her open door with one hand and returned to her ancient computer that had to explode any minute now. 

He turned around and found himself back in the long and winding halls of Hallows Hope. The hospital was one of the largest in Seattle and Washington for that matter. It sat just on the north end of the city, where the outskirts met the urban hell. They got more than just the mid city wrecks but the ferry boat incidents and tractor crashes. Because yes those still happened nowadays. 

He passed pediatrics and the cardio wing as he made his way to the residency hall, where there where on-call rooms and the locker room for interns. Residents and attending's got their own large common room like area, with cubbies and a real bathroom to use. Remus honestly wished he had the choice to walk the other direction and to his beat up old car. Maybe he would just take a nap until he got paged to a trauma or to an exciting surgery to wake him up from this nightmare. 

He hand steadied on the door to the intern locker room, where he assumed they would all be waiting. Five people, five fresh out of medical school children who where blood thirsty and eager to cut. Well he couldn't just stand there like a moron with his hand on the door forever right? He had to just rip off the band aid and get it over with. That was how these things worked. 

Remus opened the door, and the large locker room was taken up by yes, five people. All crowded into one row with the lockers open, stuffing bags and purses into the tight spaces. They where all chatting among-st themselves and Remus felt a tug of recognition for a moment as his eyes landed on a girl with bright red hair and decisive green eyes. A guy with short clipped blonde hair and was a little larger than the rest of his skinny interns, but had a kind face. Another man with thick black hair that stuck out in every direction, with round glasses. Another man, but he was skinny and pale, with greasy black hair that was slicked back and a crude looking face. As if he had been beaten a few times too many as a kid. 

The fifth person was turned around, but he could tell it was a man, with shoulder length black hair tied back into a small pony tail and tattooed arms hanging at his side. 

"Ahem." He cleared his throat, holding the charts awkwardly in his hands. He hoped he didn't look as awkward as he felt. All but the man who was turned around froze and looked to him. 

"My name is Doctor Remus Lupin and I'll be your attending, your mentor for your first year in residency." He watched as the four newly minted doctors watched him carefully, eyeing the heavy charts tucked under his arm and maybe the graying curls and the age lines deepened into his face. He hoped he didn't seem that old, he was still young, right? Was 36 still considered young? 

The greasy looking one frowned. "You're our mentor?" 

He grit his teeth, already feeling frustration build in his chest. "Yes. And you are?" 

"Snape," The greasy one said coolly. "Severus Snape." He crossed his arms over his chest and puffed out his chest a little. The guy with the hair and glasses rolled his eyes in annoyance and the red haired woman huffed a irritated breath. Apparently they where over this greasy wad of space already. Pony tail was still turned around, bent and tying his shoes on the bench of the locker room. 

"Well then," Remus said, biting back his irritation. He had to remember these where practically children in medicine. Right out of the womb of medical school. "that leaves four of you for me to know now." 

Instantly the fresh faced man with glasses stuck his hand out in greeting, which Remus clasped onto firmly. 

"James Potter. Pleasure to meet you Doctor Lupin." James said warmly. He had kind hazel eyes and a gentle disposition, yet Remus could spot mischief from a mile away. Snape rolled his eyes at the greeting like he too, was over James Potter. For some reason this made Remus like James Potter all the more. 

"Lily Evans," Said the woman with bright red hair and a swath of freckles across every inch of skin. Her hands where soft when he shook them, nimble and he knew she would be delicate and careful. Every movement would be one made with precision. She would be nothing short of excellent. 

"Peter Pettigrew," Said the round man, his bouncy blonde curls fell across his forehead. He seemed eager, curious and excited, and he had an awful handshake but Remus didn't really mind. Remus already knew he would be excellent with patients, excellent with caring for people. Maybe it was a sixth sense but he just sort of knew. 

All of them seemed eager, well they where interns, it was in their nature. Greedily waiting to get their hands on a surgery to be able to cut and sew it all back together. To feel the rush everyone talked about in the OR. He remembered the feeling of scrubbing in on his first surgery, how he had breathed it all in, the smells and the tastes on his tongue and everything. 

"And you are?" Remus said stiffly, at the man who was still turned around for some reason, his back facing the group. He turned, tying off his orthodic's and Remus felt his mouth dry up. 

Icy grey-blue eyes, stubble running down high cheekbones. Thin arching black eyebrows and a sloping nose that fit his face just perfectly. Handsome and beautiful, with broad shoulders covered by the pale blue scrubs and the shoulder length black hair tied back into a pony. He felt his heart lurch into his throat and he froze just for a moment. He saw the flare of recognition in the mans eyes as well. 

"Sirius Black," He stepped forwards, clearing his throat and sticking his hand out. "Pleasure to meet you, Doctor Lupin." 

"Likewise," He said, and when he clasped onto Sirius's hand, he felt a tingle of electricity shoot up his hand and jostle his heart like the hospitals most powerful defibrillator. Sirius's eyes where a little confused, a small unsure frown stretched across his lips. Even frowning with his brow creased, he was wonderfully handsome. 

Oh you've got to be kidding me. 

He did say his friends where celebrating their new jobs. At the bar. Across from the hospital. I should have fucking known. 

"Alright then," He said, swallowing the lump in his throat and gutting out his brain. "Follow me." 

He turned on his heel and heard the hustle of the five interns behind him, eagerly on his heels. 

"I have a couple of rules," He turned down the west hallway towards the post op wing of the hospital. "So if you want on my good side you'd be smart to follow them." 

"And those are?" He heard the snarky drawl of Snapes voice behind him. He bit his cheek in irritation again. He had just the faintest feeling that this particular intern would be a right hot pain in his ass for the next year or so. He would for sure be telling Minerva this. 

Remus turned again, dodging a rolling gurney and flashing a smile at passing nurse. "The first rule is to do what you're told. You're interns. Bottom of the surgical food-chain and if you ever want to climb that food-chain and become a shark, you follow orders, never give them." 

"The second rule is to take care of yourself." Remus pointed to a nearby on-call room, the door propped open just slightly to show the two bunk beds pushed against the wall and the shuttered blinds. "Eat when you can, sleep when you can. The most dangerous surgery is one with an overworked, tired and hungry surgeon." 

"The third rule," Remus glanced at his eager inters following in his step. He could see their faces drinking in every word, even Snape who seem displeased at him being their teacher, their attending. "Is to page me," He lifted his little black pager with all the different dials and buttons on it. They all should have gotten one now when they arrived. "When you have an emergency, when something isn't going right you page me, Doctor McKinnon or Doctor Meadowes." 

"And why those Doctors, if I may ask?" Said James, running a hand through his hair which seemed to stick in every direction possible. 

"Because I trust them. Doctors McKinnon and Meadowes are excellent surgeons. I don't trust any of you." He said bluntly, but he meant it. They where babies holding scalpels and Remus was in charge of five freaking babies. Honestly, who's idea was that?

They stopped just before the post-op wing, which wasn't all that busy for a Monday morning. Most surgeries didn't happen on the weekends like many people might have thought, they happened during the week, when doctors where the busiest. When Remus was the busiest, it seemed. 

"And the fourth rule," Remus cleared his throat, glancing over the five of them, trying to overlook the fact that Doctor Sirius Black had those impossibly mischievous blue eyes fixed onto him intently. It made him shiver. "is not mine but Chief Minerva's. The hospital has a strict no dating policy when it comes to your fellow nurses, surgeons and other staff members." 

Remus could have sworn a disappointed look flashed across Sirius's face for just a split second, but it must have been his imagination and the little sleep he had gotten last night thinking about the rules he was making for today. 

"Wait," James frowned. "So we're supposed to spend over a hundred hours a week here and still try to have a life outside of the hospital?" 

He shrugged, he hated the rule himself but wasn't about to cross Minvera McGonagall. "Yes, yes you are." 

"Well that's stupid," Grumbled James and Remus also swore he saw him glance towards Doctor Evans, who had her brow furrowed and mouth sloped into a firm look. Remus already could sense something brewing between them and it blurred the lines of attraction and disgust. 

"Mhm." He mused, and his eyes flickered over the group again. He could see himself in their young faces. Excited, ready, greedy. And his eyes latched onto Sirius's for just a split second, a fraction in time and his heart made a odd noise in his chest, thumping wildly against his rib-cage and he didn't know exactly why. Maybe it was the hazy memory of meeting last night, flirting and smiling at each other. 

"I mean you just seem full of secrets." Is what Sirius has said last night, making his blood feel hot beneath his skin and his throat constrict in a painful way. 

He felt full of secrets, he felt the glances the interns gave him, looking at his marred face, the white and red scars that where slashes across his cheeks, his neck and over the bridge of his nose. And yes, he didn't carry those secrets around in his pocket like he had told Sirius last night but sometimes he felt like he was clutching them so tightly in his hands that it strangled him. 

"So," Remus handed Lily Evans one chart and James Potter the other. "Evans and Pettigrew I want you on Mrs. Johnson. One day post-op from a colostomy. She'll need a full lab work up and she's quite the chit-chat so I expect you to come back with a story or two from her." 

He looked to James now. "Potter and Black, you will be with Mr. Edwards. He's two days post-op from a hepatectomy and he's a real pain in my rear. I want both a lab workup and for you to check for any signs of post-op infection. These are your assignments for now, you will report anything and everything to me." 

Snape frowned and butted his way to the front of the group, his chest puffed out. Up close he looked greasier than Remus had expected. "And my assignment is?" 

A broad smile stretched across his face and he felt a surge of happiness run through his blood. Maybe being a teacher wouldn't be so bad after all, right?

"Oh you'll be on scut duty, today Doctor Snape." 

~-~

He was grateful to have brought a lunch today because the crap they where serving in the cafeteria shouldn't even be fed to prisoners. His turkey and cheese sandwich with a thin layer of mayo in between was the only thing stopping him from strangling his interns because now they where getting on his last fucking nerve. Well just Pettigrew and Snape really because Evans, Potter and Sirius seemed just fine. 

Remus had quickly and deliberately decided that out of the five interns, only three would become nothing short of excellent. Maybe it was because he worked in trauma that he made quick decisions but he was almost always sure of them. 

Potter was kind. A little funny too, he made jokes, remarks and retorts that toed the line of what was appropriate and what wasn't. Quick on his feet and he knew what he was talking about. He had only known the man for a few hours but Remus knew with a certainty that Potter would be great, the way his eyes studied scans and how he already knew what post-op colostomy labs should look like. 

Evans was smart and had a fiery personality that went well with the freckles and the hair. Yet like Potter she had an indescribable kindness, a sort of gentleness that didn't come often in surgeons or even many people for that matter as well. She knew how to talk to patients and deal with Mr. Edwards who yes, was a hot pain in his rear and had been when resecting that stubborn tumor of his. Evans was nothing short of something to be marveled at. 

And Sirius? Well apart from his waxy handsome features, Remus knew with a steadfast confidence that Sirius Black would be one of the greatest surgeons to walk the halls of Hallows Hope and he hadn't even been in an OR yet before. He was ambitious, confident, calm and quick. He wondered if the last name meant what he thought it meant, but there where over four hundred million people living in the United States. But how many had that last name and happened to be surgeons? 

And Sirius Black was also trouble. 

He was a work of art. Long nimble fingers and a trouble-maker smile always toying on the edge of his lips. Yes, Sirius Black was trouble and Remus knew it very plainly yes. 

He's your student now. He chided himself. Maybe he should have done something more than just seem like a mysterious stranger last night in the bar. Or maybe that would have been worse. 

You're his teacher. You can't be fawning over beautiful interns. 

It's wrong. Just wrong. 

You only follow Minerva's rules. Because if you don't, then you're fuckin' screwed. 

As he swallowed the last of his turkey and cheese sandwich, both Potter and Sirius approached him, their arms crossed over their pale blue scrubs and curious looks on their faces. 

"So," Potter started. "We heard a rumor."

"Yeah, a really good rumor too." Sirius threw in. 

"That the best intern, the most capable one you deem best is getting to scrub in on a surgery tonight." James finished, looking positively hopeful this rumor was true. Remus would have to let them know not to bother him during lunch. Even Marlene and Dorcas left him alone, always huddled in a corner and chatting quietly. Like schoolgirls. 

Remus hummed, tapping the table. "That's a good rumor." 

"Yeah, we thought so." 

"And it may be true," He shrugged, pushing away his napkin. "I may have an appendectomy lined up for tonight. But it could be just a rumor." 

He watched their eyes light up. To him, an appendectomy was forty-five minutes to an hour of his life and a mostly boring one too, but to interns? Oh that was almost an hour holding a scalpel and an hour of getting to cut and make calls. 

"Of course," Remus continued on. "only the best intern gets to scrub in with me. Maybe even get to take the appendix out by themselves." 

Minerva had told him this, that he had to choose one intern out of the five to scrub in on a surgery and he had chosen one so simple and routine that they couldn't mess it up if he was there. But he missed the ER. If this teaching gig limited his time from doing what he loved, which was being a trauma surgeon then he might just have more than a few words with the Chief. 

"Well," Potter smoothed out his wrinkled scrubs and ran another hand through his mop of hair. Clearly it was a nervous tick of his. "Thank you for letting us know about this so called rumor, Doctor Lupin." He flashed a smile that would have melted any girls heart and sped back over towards the table he had with his fellow interns. Sirius however, stayed put, his eyes trained on Remus. 

"Do you have something to say, Doctor Black?" Remus crossed his arms over his navy scrubs and looked right back into those icy eyes. A smile tugged on the edge of Sirius's lips and there was a glint in those beautiful eyes. 

"No." He said quietly. "It's just that you seem to get more intriguing by the day, Doctor Lupin." Sirius winked and walked back to the intern table. Remus felt his cheeks grow hot and his blood start to heat up. 

You're his teacher. 

He's your student. 

You're at the least ten years older than him.

You can't be attracted to an intern.

It's against the rules. Your rules. 

Yeah Sirius Black was trouble alright.