Whale was pretty sure he had to be the only one left in his hospital, given how late it was. Alright, he knew that wasn't true. There were plenty of patients nestled in their beds, and the nurses as well as the night staff were ever-present, just in case an emergency hit. But he wasn't supposed to be there- he had gotten off his shift hours ago. Somehow, though, he couldn't go home just yet.

Something about working really helped him feel alive. When he was saving someone, or even when he was just filling out paperwork in his office, he felt like everything was how it was supposed to be. Like that was his lot in life. He didn't have to worry about what was going on around him or the fact that he couldn't remember many definite details about his life before coming to Storybrooke. Or had he always been there?

It was always so blurry. Which was why it was nice to know that he didn't have to worry about it when he was busy with his job.

However, happy or not, he couldn't stay there all the time. He would work himself to exhaustion, and more than that, he would never have any time for the ladies. About the only thing better than working at the hospitals was going on a nice date with a pretty girl. In order for that to happy, he needed to make sure he MET girls outside of the hospital.

So leaving was going to have to occur.

Sighing, he pushed away from his desk and got up, stretching his arms up over his head. He sighed heavily and moved out of his office, making his way down the hall towards the non-emergency section of the hospital. It was quiet, mostly empty now, so it only surprised him more when he spotted someone there with him. He smiled faintly to himself, watching for a moment. Mary Margaret. She was as pretty as she was kind, and someone he'd had an awkward one-night stand with. What on earth was she doing there so late?

"I didn't know volunteers had to stay so late," he offered the woman, slowly making his way over as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his white lab coat.

---

Mary Blanchard

Perhaps the date she held only nights ago was awkward. Perhaps Mary Margaret had sex with her boss, which made her feel extremely sick inside. However, there was a part of her that actually wanted to still be at least friends with the man, despite what had happened.

She couldn't say that she didn't have any feelings for the man. He was just not what she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Trying to lead him on further would be destructive to both of them.

She wanted to resign more than anything in the world. But for as long as she had remembered, she had been volunteering at that same hospital. Many people were depending on her love and encouragement. Perhaps she'd come and visit sometime.

Mary Margaret usually stayed at the hospital late, but never really saw Dr. Whale, as she tried to avoid him. She heard Dr. Whale's sarcastic, but somewhat sexy voice. 

"I was thinking about resigning. I don't think it was a good idea to...you know..." She couldn't say the words that came to mind, but hoped that Dr. Whale understood. She didn't want to leave, but she felt she had no choice. 

Dr. Whale

NOTES

THANK YOU MALIA TATE FROM ADOXOGRAPHY

Whale watched Snow, tilting his head slightly to one side. He could tell she had been avoiding him. She hadn't answered his phone call and she hadn't responded to the flowers he had sent to her. It seemed she was likely a little freaked out by what had happened to them, which was probably more than understandable.

Normally, the cute, innocent girl in town didn't have one night stands with someone- this was probably a lot more strange and exciting for her than it was for him, a man seasoned in the art of non-commitment.

When she said she was thinking about leaving, he offered her a smirk. "What? It wasn't a good idea to have sex with me? I don't know, I think it was probably a pretty good thing. Unless I'm not as good as I think I am," he chuckled lightly, waving off the topic, as he knew that wasn't exactly what she was talking about.

"Don't leave," he told her firmly, though his tone was a friendly one, "the hospital seems like it's always had you as a part of it. I think the patients here would be really unhappy if you left, and besides, you do a lot of good work here, don't you? Is what happened between us really so bad that you're willing to abandon all these people?"

---

Mary Blanchard

Dr. Whale was charming to her, but that was probably more of lust than love. That wasn't what she wanted in a relationship...or whatever it was. It certainly wasn't something she was happy about. 

She thought that the flowers was nice, but Mary Margaret just assumed that Whale was trying to get into her pants again. Why else would he try doing something kind like that to her? It just didn't seem to be in his character.

Mary Margaret sighed and put her hands on Dr. Whale's shoulders. "I am attracted to you, Dr. Whale...which is why I want to go. It is a bit weird seeing you every day. I don't know my emotions for you. But I certainly know that I love the patients in this hospital."

That was all that mattered. Spending time with the patients was a passion of hers. Comforting, helping people as they're ill made her feel warm inside. There was much more to life than searching for her true love. It just made her feel sick to remember Whale checking out Ruby. Was she just jealous? Did she really actually like Whale? 

Dr. Whale

NOTES

THANK YOU MALIA TATE FROM ADOXOGRAPHY

Whale offered her a grin when she said she was attracted to him. "Hey, don't fret about it," he offered smugly, "lots of women are attracted to me. It's the eyes, I think. Or maybe just the fact that I'm a doctor. And, you know, I'm attracted to you, too. Who wouldn't be? You're beautiful and kind. Everyone in the hospital loves you."

He smiled as he watched her, though really he was feeling a bit awkward himself. It was so easy for him to cover his emotions with a layer of smug asshole. Mary didn't have that luxury- she was much too nice to do something like that.

"The patients are more important than how we act around one another, you know? So we should probably figure this whole thing out so we can move on and you don't have to do something you'll regret later, right?" He wasn't using the same cocky tone this time around, watching her with a softer expression than usual. Somehow, it did feel like he needed to work things out with her so she didn't leave.

A lot of people would be unhappy if she quit, that was for sure.

"I think what happened between us was great, but it doesn't have to be more than a one night thing, right? We could just agree to move on from here, no big deal."

---

Mary Blanchard

One night stands. The concept of something of the sort bothered Mary Margaret. Why had she even thought about it? And with Whale? Well, there was loneliness. But she didn't feel lonely being with the entirety of the hospital. So many patients were there. And she was able to take care of all of them, just with her kind words and nurturing nature. Why had she thought to quit in the first place?

She looked at Dr. Whale and smiled. "I am just...not too experienced with all of this. I am searching for love, for true love. And I know that might not be realistic in this world. We don't live in fairytales that have magic and whatever else that gives it its unique element. But here, we have hope...and love...which are definitely things that are closest to that magic."

She wanted to quit, she really did. But she wanted to spread that love and hope throughout the hospital even more. People were sick, and some were dying. That wasn't the way to go. Being stuck in a hospital bed, some with barely any visitors, if any. They needed love and hope. Because that is what she had to give. Mary Margaret should have never expected that from someone such as Dr. Whale.

Dr. Whale

notes

THANK YOU MALIA TATE FROM ADOXOGRAPHY

“Well, I can’t say I really know what you’re talking about,” Whale chuckled lightly, “true love, and finding the one person to spend the rest of your life with… that’s not me. I like living life- experiencing it for all its worth. But I guess I get that the way I do things isn’t for everyone. I’m not shocked this kind of thing is new for you.” He smiled and continued to watch her, his arms crossed over his chest and his stance a very casual one.

However long she had been battling her feelings, it didn’t seem as though Whale was nearly as bothered as she was about how things had gone. He even managed to grin at her.

“I’m sure you’ll find your Mr Right, Mary Margaret,” he told her after a thoughtful moment, “if you think love and hope is what’s going to get you through, then I’m willing to bet that’s just what’s going to happen. We all have our own versions of happiness that we’re reaching for. Doesn’t make someone right and someone wrong.” He offered her a kinder smile, to show that even he was capable of being sincere every now and again.

“You don’t need to worry about being awkward around me, you know. I get that I’m not the true love you’re looking for. We’re just two friends who happened to have a really nice night together once, how about that?”

---

Mary Blanchard

It was difficult for Mary Margaret to fully comprehend what Whale was saying, but she could still somehow find peace without having to listen to him. She let her emotions get the best of her, it wasn't her fault or his fault, it just happened sometimes. She never really tried to be emotional or careless, but it happened at times. Professionalism was important to her, and seeing Whale was everything but that.

In reality, she had been trying to force herself to have the slightest bit of interest in him. But it was totally difficult. Her vision of her knight and shinning armour didn't try to sleep with every woman in Storybrooke. Or, well, at least think about it. She wanted security. She wanted to feel like she had a man to start a family with. Whale was not that person and it hurt her, because she felt like she'd never be able to feel the same about him again.

Having sex wasn't something she could just see two random friends doing. It wasn't something she felt comfortable about remembering. She wished that she had some magical potion to forget about that moment in time. She wanted to help patients and make them feel great, because she felt great doing it. She wanted to feel the same, but it was just so difficult.

With Whale's reply, Mary Margaret almost ignored what he said, taking very little to what he said to heart. Because he was far from being close to the grasp of her love and care. But it could be possible being friends again, it would just be difficult. But that didn't mean she had to leave all of these people in the hospital alone because of her petty mistakes. 

"I'm sorry, Whale. I am just not the casual type. You've crossed a boundary that most people don't get close to. I told my friend, Emma, to keep her walls down because it keeps the bad, but also the good out. But it's exactly what I'm doing now. I need to stay here, despite what has happened in my life, because it's a distraction that keeps me happy...again...I'm so sorry."

Dr. Whale

notes

THANK YOU MALIA TATE FROM ADOXOGRAPHY

Boy, she was kind of like a brick wall. It seemed she wasn't interested in listening to him or, indeed, reason in general, and he was kind of getting annoyed.

He had no idea what to say to her, and he was getting quite angry with the circles. It wasn't hard to show someone else a little bit of respect, even if you didn't think very highly of them. But it was clear Mary wasn't the type of person to try and be nice to people, even if she didn't like them personally. Interesting- he had been told she was a kind person.

Apparently he didn't meet the standards needed to grant him visitation to this nicer side of her personality.

He rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know what you want from me," he told her flatly, "I told you to go be happy. I told you not to worry about what happened between us. I told you there were no hard feelings. But you still want to act like I'm some kind of bad guy. I crossed a boundary? I don't do things without an invitation- I'm not that kind of guy. Don't blame me for a mutual mistake, just to make yourself feel better, alright?" He waved her off, deciding he'd had enough. He'd done everything in his power to try and make her feel better and she had, in turn, treated him like shit.

She could go to hell for all he cared.

---

Mary Blanchard

It seemed as if Mary Margaret's apologies were invalid for the doctor. But she was too emotional at this point to see his annoyance. All she wanted was some comfort, some faith, some hope. But she didn't have it, not now. Love was her greatest strength, and Dr. Whale had only seen her selfishness. She had wanted to believe that she could love him in a way that he hadn't been loved before, but she didn't.

And she was mainly only thinking of her own experience. This was something that he probably commonly did. But she had only did this once, with him. She just needed to stop thinking mainly about herself. But she had put a vision of love for herself. She had never believed she'd ever do this with someone, and definitely not only one time.

She nodded at Whale and smiled at him. She felt terrible that she made him feel this way, but there would be no way for him to forgive her. She loved being with the patients, it's what made her happy. And she didn't want to lose the happiness it brought her from helping people just because she got slightly emotional.

"I guess I got in over my head. I did let you do those things to me, and I enjoyed it. I still want to be your friend, Dr. Whale. I'm just so selfish sometimes...I'm sorry."

Dr. Whale

notes

THANK YOU MALIA TATE FROM ADOXOGRAPHY