[attr="class","drea"]

[attr="class","drea b"]

[attr="class","drea i"]she doesn’t hear the door at first. there’s soft rock playing from a bluetooth speaker in the corner, masking the slight creak of the door.

she feels the presence within moments, however.

her eyes drift up for a second to check. his form is familiar, sure, but surprising all the same. it’s not every day he stops all the way down here. she expects he needs something of her. why else would he pop in to see her elbows deep in a body cavity?

”this is a surprise,” she murmurs, lips quirking upward while her attention stays on her work. ”to what do i owe the pleasure?” funny enough, her hands never stop probbing lung tissue.

Rory Faust

[attr="class","drea"]

[attr="class","drea b"]

[attr="class","drea i"]”did you now?” her hands still for a moment. her head rises to look at him head on, to raise an eyebrow and flash mild teeth. it’s half a smile. and them, bloody gloved hands are resuming the examination.

it could wait, realistically… the corpse is unfortunately not going anywhere.

”i can finish after if you’re busy?” his schedule is packed compared to hers. when she’s not pulling out organs to weigh and examining body tissues, she’s merely finishing reports. besides, this is one of the last bodies of the night. her hands still once more. ”i wouldn’t want to keep you from getting somewhere.”

Rory Faust

[attr="class","drea"]

[attr="class","drea b"]

[attr="class","drea i"]her nose scrunches, eyes drifting up to stare at him once more.

”you want to help..?”

it’s rare enough to find another medical examiner, let alone a regular doctor willing to assist with an autopsy.

”aren’t you done for the day, though?” she doesn’t give a yes or a no. instead, she tilts her head in the direction of gloves and a spare lab coat.

Rory Faust

[attr="class","drea"]

[attr="class","drea b"]

[attr="class","drea i"]right, he knows the schedule limits… late nights in the morgue are seemingly a thing of the past. she’ll miss the six cups of coffee and leaving after the sun rises for two hours of sleep.

”yes,” she begins, eyes darting up to follow him for a moment before returning to her work. ”but there’s still autopsies that need to be done.”

realistically, they could probably wait until tomorrow but oh well.

he rejoins her in moments and she shifts her hands to make room for his.

”have you done an autopsy before?” they’re necessary, sure, but med school focuses on cadaver work for surgical purposes, not this. she flashes the ghost of a smile in his direction. ”i’m almost done with the visual exam if you’d like to start prepping to take tissue samples.”

hopefully this autopsy takes two hours instead of four like the last one…

Rory Faust

[attr="class","drea"]

[attr="class","drea b"]

[attr="class","drea i"]she says fuck schedule limits now but when she’s falling asleep over reports after two days of barely any sleep, her tune will be different. her work ethic speaks for itself, sure, but she’d rather get everything done herself than rely on others with their penchant for screwing shit up.

”really? most steer clear of autopsy work,” her hands are by the intestines now, slowly running them through her hands to check for any abnormalities. ”it’s not as thrilling or glamorous as surgery. definitely just as rewarding, though.” for her, anyway. others tend to have a different perspective on her work.

while he’s prepping for tissue samples, she finishes her visual exam on the organs. her eyes drift up to meet his as she retracts her hands to change gloves.

”if you’d like, you could start at the lungs,” drea returns with fresh gloves and a couple of vials. fluid and blood samples come after tissues. and then, finally, organ extraction.

Rory Faust

[attr="class","drea"]

[attr="class","drea b"]

[attr="class","drea i"]”unfortunately,” she murmurs. some simply don’t like what the job includes while others have a plethora of reasons. she, herself, had started out as a surgical resident and made the switch to medical examiner during her first year. it’s a different kind of rewarding than surgery, anyway.

she observes him for a moment while he works. there’s an ease to his movements. practiced, precise, skilled. it brings a small smile to her lips.

while the lungs are in his capable hands, she steps up to the table to begin working on fluid samples. mucus, blood, and eventually stomach contents once the organ is properly weighed. as she goes, she makes little incisions where she sees discoloration, scraping the tissue off and into a dish. and by the time she shifts on to collecting tissue from the heart, he’s asking a question she almost hates.

”permanent help?” her eyes drift up for a moment, observing him, before retreating back to the chest cavity. ”why would i need that?” is she not capable of running the show on her own?

Rory Faust

[attr="class","drea"]

[attr="class","drea b"]

[attr="class","drea i"]she blinks at the concept. and then, a soft snicker escapes.

”maybe i don’t want to go home,” it’s supplied as if that’s obvious, as if she prefers the morgue to her own apartment.

she focuses on shifting from the heart to the stomach, then. the gentle smile makes her almost awkward, hands stilling for a moment before returning to tissues.

”i don’t like leaving things unfinished,” it bothers her, really. besides, if her reports are still immaculate then does it really matter when she goes home?

Rory Faust