Home.

Mollie met Jonah for the first time during one of the worst scenarios imaginable.

In a small trauma bay in February 2014 nearly a year into her stint at John's Hopkins Mollie found herself doing chest compressions and CPR on a ten year old little boy when he burst through the door.

Her eyes already full of fear and adrenaline grew wide as Dr. Jonah Halstead appeared in the room gowned up in a yellow protective gown snapping gloves onto his hands as he walked.

Immediately he was shouting orders at the others in the room. "Continue compressions."

"Where's the crash cart?" He asked the nurses. 

"Pushing one of epi." He told them all injecting the child with a dose of the drug.

As the situation became clearer he yelled out, "Call for an OR." to anyone who was listening.

It was like a scene from Grey's Anatomy and Mollie, although she was in shock at running her first code did as she was told.

Once the shocks were being administered she moved out of the way lingering in the back of the room watching the scene unfold. She was amazed at the man doing work on the patient, now intubating the child with ease, it was impressive to her how calm he was and how well he took control of the room.

The longer she watched him the more she noticed his thick stylishly cut auburn hair and his piercing dark brown eyes of his.

He was attractive, and just the thought of him made Mollie's stomach lurch. She hadn't so much as looked at another man since she'd moved to Baltimore but here he was storming into the room and throwing her entirely for a loop.

When the patient was stable and on his way to the operating room Mollie, the two nurses who had stayed through the end of the trauma, and Dr. Halstead were all that was left in the shambles of the once sterile space.

Mollie, a bit timid in the small space with her hands stuffed in her lab coat pockets watched as the nurses excused themselves. Trying to decided whether or not to leave herself her eyes flicked over to the man wearing dark red scrubs that matched her own.

Her admiration was cut short as the man quickly caught on that she was staring at him, clearing his throat before he spoke the man extended his hand towards Mollie. "We haven't had a chance to meet yet, I'm Jonah Halstead. Pediatric Trauma."

"Nice to meet you, Mollie Holden. General pediatrics." She slid her hand into his with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Dr. Holden. Thanks for all the help, you ran a great code."

No code was great but they were able to bring back the patient so Mollie would have to say it was a win for the home team. "Thank you, you were, well that was incredible." Mollie blushed as she tugged on her stethoscope that hung around her neck.

"First one?"

Mollie teetered her free hand, she'd seen a few unfold during medical school and been a fly on the wall once or twice but this was her first time actually being hands on. "Sort of, first save at least."

"It's a rush that's for sure. Where did you do your schooling?"

"Undergrad at Penn State, med school at U-Pitt." That earned a smirk out of Jonah and Mollie felt her stomach warming.

"Ahh, a 'Burgh girl, would you hate me if I told you I was from Philly?"

Only if you're a Flyers fan Mollie thought to herself but she only shrugged her shoulders in response. "Not particularly, we just won't discuss sports."

"Deal." Jonah smiled at her and Mollie was sure she was going to melt into the floor. Before she could say anything else a voice boomed over the intercom, "Dr. Halstead to trauma 3, Dr. Halstead to trauma 3."

With a rise of his eyebrows Jonah briskly walked towards the door, "I'll see you around, Mollie." and he was off before she even had the chance to respond.

Their meetings after were similar to the first; consults here and there, running into one another in the elevator, a quick hello in the cafeteria. Nothing more than a minute or two, until the day they were sat side by side in alphabetical order for some conference neither wanted to be attending.

By the third speaker he was leaning over the armrest whispering in Mollie's ear, the close proximity had the hair on her neck standing up. "I need a drink after this, are you in?"

Without even looking at him her eyes remaining focused on the speaker at the front of the room Mollie simply nodded.

And that was all the answer he needed.

Three hours, two lectures, and one awkward meet and greet later the two finally escaped the confines of the Hyatt hotel in downtown Baltimore. It was early April and the air was refreshing so they chose to walk until they found a bar suitable for such occasion.

They settled for a booth in the back of a brewery avoiding the swarm of Orioles fans that had taken over the front cheering on their team through the TV's. When their drinks came Mollie tapped her pink painted nails against the glass of dark ale. "So, Mollie tell me about yourself."

She twisted her lips, "Born and raised in Pittsburgh,  my dad's an oncologist, he started out at Hopkins too, I graduated magna-"

"Tell me about you, not your education. " Jonah interrupted and Mollie blushed taking a sip of her beer.

"Well I love golf, I played at Penn State and I'm a national champion. I'm terrified of spiders, I drink way too much caffeine, and if I could eat one thing for the rest of my life it would definitely be French fries." She laughed as she told him four of the strangest things about herself but the smile on his face told her that was exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Spirit animal?" He countered and Mollie gave him her best thinking face before blurting out "Lorelai Gilmore."

Jonah's eyebrow raised, "Is that a rare breed of dog?"

"No, oh my God have you never seen Gilmore Girls?" Mollie asked a bit taken back.

"Guilty."

She then shook her head, "You're missing out there, Halstead. It's a television masterpiece."

Peering at her over his glass of stout Mollie could tell he was smiling, "I guess I'll have to give it a try."

"You should, but you should also tell me about yourself. Fun facts only."

He ran a hand through his perfectly styled auburn hair with a smirk, "Well, I personally suck at golf. But I played lacrosse growing up and at Cornell, I really hate Chinese food, and if the world ever runs out of peanut butter you can just count me out."

"Peanut butter, really?"

The man held up his hands, "What can I say it's delicious and nutritious."

"What are you five?" She giggled taking a sip.

"More like 30, but I'd rather be 5." Well, that answered one of Mollie's many questions he was only 4 years older than her.

"Also, how can you hate Chinese and be a doctor? We live on that stuff, they're like the only people who deliver at 2 am." Mollie leaned back into the seat, with half her beer down and the conversation busted open she felt more at ease all of a sudden.

"It's terrible for you, and made out of cat and stuff."

Mollie rolled her eyes, "Oh please, it's fantastic."

That first evening together was full of getting to know one another and by the time her head hit the pillow that night back at the Hyatt Mollie knew more about Dr. Jonah Clay Halstead than she ever could have dreamed.

He was born and raised in Philly, did his undergrad at Cornell, med-school at Harvard, came from a large family, had 3 brothers and 1 sister, 4 nieces and 2 nephews, a dog named Deke, and had less than one year left at John's Hopkins' Hospital.

The last part made her weary, she knew getting involved with someone who was heading to God knows where in 9 months time wasn't safe but Mollie was still in the mindset of throwing caution to the wind.

Now was the time to be risky, have fun, rootless, and her own person. And that's how she wound up in a no-strings, no labels, just fun "relationship" with him.

They were two months into it when the Holden's made a surprise visit to Baltimore and discovered the doctor shirtless in Mollie's kitchen.

To date it was it is still the most embarrassing moment of Mollie Holden's life.

She had given her parents a key just in case they were visiting and she would happen to get stuck at work, she never dreamed they'd use it to let themselves in without warning.

So that's how they caught Jonah in the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand with Mollie strolling in wearing no more than a pair of socks and a very large Cornell t-shirt that clearly wasn't hers.

The look on Elliot Holden's face was priceless and Pierce still wishes he'd had his phone ready to document the very moment. The stare down between Mollie, Jonah, and Elliot was stone cold, and Mollie stopped dead in her tracks frozen like a deer in headlights. It took her a moment to even form words to address the situation, eventually all she got out was, "DAD?"

Ever the helpful little brother Pierce spoke before their father had a chance, "Pants, Mols. I'd just start with some pants."

The girl only nodded jogging back into her room to grab a pair of sweats out of her drawer, in record time she was back in the kitchen where silence was still lingering. Standing in the space between the island which Jonah was hiding behind for protection and her family Mollie gave a sheepish smile, "Well, uhh guys, this is Jonah," she motioned her hand to the slightly scruffy man who waved to the crowd in front of him. "Jo, this is my family. Elliot, Renee, and Pierce."

As he always did with any boy Mollie brought home even Sidney Elliot cleared his throat and approached the younger man with an outstretched, firm hand, "Dr. Elliot Holden."

This time he wasn't prepared to be met with equal strength, "Dr. Jonah Halstead."

Mollie met Pierce's wide eyes as the two men were trying to out grip one another, eventually Jonah gave in and Mollie was glad. Her mother stepped forward then offering a much smaller and softer shake, "Nice to meet you, Dr. Halstead."

"You as well, Mrs. Holden." Jonah's voice was softer as he cupped the outside of her mother's hand with his left hand .

Pierce, last as always shook Jonah's hand quickly never one for a power trip or test he just gave a simple, "Hey man," and a head nod.

After they were acquainted Mollie bounced on her heels, this was so not supposed to be happening. To her surprise however her parents did not criticize or pass judgment, they only asked one hard hitting question. Were things serious?

When Mollie answered them with "not at all" the Holden's left the two be, knowing that what Mollie needed most was her space as she navigated her new life. 

The Holden's met up with Jonah a few other times when they visited Maryland but Mollie always refused to bring him home to Pittsburgh.

Because he knew.

One Google search of Mollie's name and Jonah knew everything about her and Mollie's breakup with the NHL superstar. She was sure that after he read all the slander, headlines, and tabloid bullshit he would want nothing more than to tell the whole hospital just what Mollie had been keeping to herself.

But he didn't.

Jonah, who was admittedly a Flyers fan only laughed at Mollie and squeezed her hand joking that she should have at least dated Giroux if she wanted to date a good hockey player. And Mollie was thankful for that, it broke the, no pun intended, ice.

And they went back to normal.

Well, whatever normal was for two doctors who were just having fun and falling into each other's beds whenever their schedules happened to lineup.

Things with Jonah were fun and easy, movie dates and quiet nights in. Helping one another study for their boards and spending way too much time trapped inside the hospital together. Things were never suffocating and Mollie felt herself lightening up. Being with Jonah was simple, there were no cameras, no one commenting on the way she looked, or the amount of time she spent with him.

Something she could never say about her time with Sidney.

It was all fun and games and Mollie also enjoyed having someone in her corner in Baltimore that wasn't competing in the same specialty. Until the time came for Jonah to make his next move, to a hospital that would utilize his John's Hopkins training and allow him to be the trauma God he dreamed of being.

That hospital, ended up being in the windy city thousands of miles away.

The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, Illinois scooped him up and made Jonah an offer he couldn't refuse.

His fellowship ended in January of 2015 and Mollie helped him pack his things into the moving truck. She hugged Deke his Australian Sheppard tight one last time before placing him into his crate, and turned back to the man she'd spent far more time with than she anticipated. He stared back at her with his hands in the pockets of his sweats, "So this is it."

"This is it, kid." Mollie said with a smile trying to keep the mood light.

Jonah however wasn't trying quite as hard, "It's been a good run."

"The best." She moved closer to him pulling her coat tighter around her body until his arms were wrapped around her. "I'll miss you, Molls."

"Me too," she mumbled pressing her face into his shoulder.

Jonah let out a huff as he pressed the girl tighter against his chest, "I should really hit the road."

"Yeah, okay."

He started to loosen his hold on her just enough that they were able to look at one another. That's when he noticed that her green eyes were glassy and tear filled, moving his hands up he held her face running his thumbs under her eyes. "Can I kiss you one last time?"

As much as she could Mollie nodded her head closing her eyes as his lips attached themselves to hers. The kiss was bittersweet and Mollie would always remember it, when they parted she sniffled and ran her hand through his hair one last time. "I'll se you around, Jo. You'll do great things."

"As will you Dr. Holden, even for a Pittsburgh girl." He gave her hands one last squeeze and a grin that was contagious before letting go and backing towards the moving truck. She followed him as he walked to the driver's side pulling the handle and climbing inside. He looked back to her as he settled into the seat, "Goodbye, Mollie."

Unable to mutter those words to him in the same way she had done Sidney Mollie only waved and stepped forward shutting the door for him. She slapped the metal door a few times and the truck roared to life.

And for the first time in her life, Mollie Holden was left standing in someone's rearview mirror.

In twelve months time that man had given Mollie a new view on life. She had fun, she saw and tried new things, she wasn't just "the captain's girl", she was just Mollie, she was the only Dr. Holden.

And she was happy.

Jonah was like coming up for fresh air at a time when Mollie needed to re-learn how to breathe on her own. Their relationship might not have been practical but it was exactly what she needed and Mollie was going to be forever thankful for that man even if he was a dirty pigeon fan.