After dinner, Roz pulled Lillian aside, her tone more serious than usual. “You okay, kid?”
Lillian hesitated, torn between the impulse to confide in her sister and the need to keep her secret buried. “Yeah,” she lied. “Just a long week.”
Roz didn’t look convinced but didn’t press the issue. Instead, she gave Lillian a knowing look. “Don’t let Cat get into your head. You don’t have to be her. You don’t have to be any of us. Just…be you.”
Lillian nodded, her throat tightening. She wished it were that simple.
As she walked out of the house that night, her mind returned to Rebecca, to the secret they now shared. She didn’t know how long she could keep up the façade, but one thing was clear: this was only the beginning.
Lillian hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Rebecca since that night in the OR prep room. The kiss, the heat, the orgasm she had had that was better than anything she had ever felt, the way Rebecca had told her it couldn’t happen again, yet something in her eyes told a different story. Every interaction since then had been colored by an underlying tension, a simmering connection that neither of them would acknowledge outright.
But Lillian had noticed small cracks in Rebecca’s icy demeanor. Moments where Rebecca’s professional mask slipped, just for a second. A lingering glance, a brush of fingers during surgery, a hesitation in her voice that hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to pull Lillian in deeper, leaving her desperate to figure out where they stood.
It was late on Wednesday night, well past the usual shift change. Lillian had just finished assisting on a particularly challenging surgery, her body aching from hours on her feet. She scrubbed out, exhausted but buzzing with the adrenaline of a successful procedure. Rebecca had been in the OR with her, guiding her through the more complex parts, but as usual, Rebecca had kept her distance. The tension between them had been there, lurking beneath the surface, but nothing had been said.
As Lillian finished drying her hands, she noticed Rebecca standing by the sink, her eyes fixed on the water swirling down the drain. For a moment, Rebecca seemed almost tired. Vulnerable, even. It was a rare sight; Rebecca was always so composed, so in control. But now, in the dim light of the scrubroom, she looked...almost human. Strands of dark hair had escaped their elastic to fall around her face.
"Long night," Lillian said softly, not expecting a response.
Rebecca’s eyes flicked up to meet hers, and for a moment, the usual sharpness in her gaze was replaced with something softer. Something almost tender.
"It’s always a long night," Rebecca replied, her voice lower than usual. She glanced at Lillian, and for the briefest moment, her hand brushed against Lillian’s arm as she reached for a towel.
The contact was fleeting, but it sent a shiver down Lillian’s spine. There it was again—that crack in Rebecca’s armor. The touch lingered longer in Lillian’s mind than it should have, and as Rebecca turned to leave, Lillian found herself wanting more.
“Dr. Lang,” Lillian called after her, the words escaping before she had a chance to stop them.
Rebecca paused at the door, her hand resting on the handle, but she didn’t turn around.
“Do you need help with the post-op notes?” Lillian asked, knowing full well Rebecca didn’t.
Rebecca stayed still for a moment, her back to Lillian, the silence stretching between them. Finally, she turned, her face unreadable.
“Come by my office,” she said quietly. “In fifteen minutes.”
And with that, Rebecca left the scrub room, leaving Lillian standing there, her heart pounding in her chest.
Fifteen minutes later, Lillian found herself standing outside Rebecca’s office, her hand hovering over the door handle. She wasn’t sure what to expect. Was this just another meeting?Or was there something else lingering beneath the surface? Something neither of them had been willing to address.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked softly before pushing the door open.
Rebecca was seated behind her desk, papers scattered in front of her, but her attention wasn’t on them. She looked up as Lillian entered, her expression guarded, but there was something in her dark eyes that hadn’t been there before.
"Close the door," Rebecca said softly.
Lillian did as she was told, her heart racing as she crossed the room and sat down in the chair opposite Rebecca. The tension was palpable, the air between them thick with everything that hadn’t been said.
They discussed the case at first, Rebecca’s voice as measured and professional as ever. But Lillian could feel the undercurrent of something else, the way Rebecca’s eyes kept flicking toward her, the way her hands fidgeted slightly with the pen.
And then, just as they were wrapping up, Rebecca’s voice softened.
"Lillian," she said quietly, and the use of her first name made Lillian’s heart skip a beat. "You need to know…this is a mistake."
Lillian’s throat tightened, but she couldn’t bring herself to agree. She didn’t feel like it was a mistake. Not when every touch, every glance, made her feel more alive than anything else.
"I know," Lillian whispered, her voice barely audible. "But I don’t want to stop."
Rebecca’s eyes darkened, a flicker of emotion crossing her face before she quickly looked away. She stood up, walking around the desk until she was standing directly in front of Lillian. For a moment, neither of them moved, the weight of their decision hanging in the air.
