Chapter Zero —
The Replacement

Maisie Graves had been chronically early for everything in her life.

From a premature birth at 36 weeks to exams, dates, and parties, to now, her first day of work, sitting outside of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in the red-rusted beater car that had faithfully driven her from Boston only a week prior.

She had left it running, sitting in the comfortable heat flowing from the vents as she lounged sideways in the driver's seat, the back of her head against the window and legs draped across the centre console as she flipped through a medical magazine.

Instead of reaching for the pack of gum that she jammed into her bag on her way out the door that morning, she opted to graze her teeth across the skin around her left thumbnail while reading, both a concentration method and a nervous tick as she continued to glance at the clock on her dash every few minutes.

When she noticed other hospital personnel finally beginning to arrive for their work days, dressed in scrubs or dress shirts and slacks, she packed away her things quickly and turned off her car's engine before throwing her keys into the mess of her work bag.

Upon entering the front doors of Princeton-Plainsboro, she followed her path from the last time she had been there and found her way to the Dean of Medicine's office in the hospital's clinic. She peered inside to find Lisa Cuddy already sitting at her desk, reviewing paperwork on the surface with a look of disdain on her face.

She knocked lightly on the glass, loud enough to gain Cuddy's attention but hopefully not startle her so early in the morning. Cuddy's expression lightened into a smile when she looked up and promptly gestured for Maisie to enter the office.

"Good morning, Doctor Graves," Cuddy greeted as Maisie stepped in and shut the door behind her. The increasing volume of the day shift silenced as the latch clicked into place. She turned to find Cuddy still observing her. "Don't be nervous, come sit. I know the first day can feel like a lot, but this one is more of a formality so the real first day will hopefully seem less daunting."

"I appreciate that," Maisie responded as she moved closer to Cuddy's desk, sitting in one of the empty chairs and placing her bag on the other. "So, the doctor I'm taking over for, do they have some files I can review today? I was hoping to get a start on medications and chemotherapy protocols."

"You're eager. I love it," Cuddy responded, and Maisie felt a wave of relief wash over her at how genuine her new boss seemed. It was easier when you felt like you had someone in your corner. "He should drop by your office today with them. He had started to send copies of patient records to other oncologists before I hired you, so he should have the originals on hand. Now, how about I show you around?"

For the next hour, Cuddy showed Maisie around the hospital as the halls became bustling with activity. Between transporting patients, nurses passing medication, and visitors arriving to see their loved ones, Maisie couldn't help but feel like she was right where she belonged. As they moved floor to floor, Maisie jotted down the information and places she wanted to remember in a small brown notebook she had used throughout medical school. It had been gifted to her by her father before she had left England for the States, handbound in his free time after a stroke had put him out of a job.

Stepping out of the elevator and onto the hospital's fourth floor, Cuddy led her directly down the hall to a closed door. The words "James Wilson, M.D." were lettered in white across the dark brown wood with "Department of Oncology" underneath. Cuddy unlocked the door.

"You'll be taking over Doctor Wilson's office for the time being," Cuddy explained as she turned on the overhead lights, illuminating the space. Maisie glanced around, finding that all of Dr. Wilson's belongings were still present. Cuddy noticed Maisie's hesitant expression and continued. "Don't worry, he knows you're here. He offered to pack up if you wanted him to."

"Oh no, it's fine!" Maisie reassured, wanting to ensure that Cuddy knew she appreciated even being given an office for the presumably temporary position. For all she knew, she could have been forced to work at an empty table in the cafeteria. "It's nice, honestly. Now I don't have to worry about decorating."

Cuddy chuckled at the statement before diving into a formal explanation of the role she would play as Maisie dropped her bag off at the desk before returning to the door, both of them walking out and back down the hall. Cuddy paused at points during her speech to direct Maisie's attention to areas they passed, including the Department of Diagnostic Medicine where she cautioned Maisie about the department's head, asking the new hire to report to her personally if she had any issues with him.

The tour finished back in front of the elevators. Cuddy offered for Maisie to ask any questions back in her office on the first floor or to get settled in her own space. Maisie opted for settling but agreed to call Cuddy if she needed anything before the Dean of Medicine disappeared behind the elevator's sliding door, and Maisie was left by herself for the first time.

The freedom felt suffocating. Decisions that Maisie made in patient care were her own now; there was no one to correct her errors anymore.

She closed herself into her office with her thoughts, roaming around the room as she tried to pace her breathing and remain calm. She turned her attention to the gifts and teddy bears that decorated the bookshelves around the room, some accompanied by personalized cards from patients thanking Dr. Wilson for his care. The man seemed to care deeply for this job and his patients, and Maisie couldn't help but wonder about the circumstances leading to him stepping down.

As she stopped in front of one of the framed movie posters, this one casing Vertigo, she noticed movement reflected in the glass. She turned around to find two men outside of the office, standing behind a stone barrier that divided the balcony between the two offices.

One of them, a brown-haired man, instantly flustered at her eye contact and dropped down behind the barrier like his sitcom-adjacent disappearance would make her forget he was staring in the first place. The other man remained standing, staring back at her as he lifted a mug to his lips. She raised a hand to wave, and he waved back, his lips moving as he looked down to where Maisie presumed the other man was still hiding out of view.

She couldn't help the laugh that slipped past her lips, shaking her head as she turned her attention back to the interior of the office to unpack her bag for the day.

And when she eventually glanced back outside, the men were gone.

⭑

There was a soft knock on the closed office door in the afternoon. Maisie called out, and the person on the other side of the door turned the knob, pushing it open and letting themselves in.

"Hey, you're the guy who was watching me earlier," Maisie teased, a smile pulling at her lips as she witnessed his cheeks go bright red at being recognized. She then noted the piles of manila folders tucked under his arm and realized he had a reason for staring, seeing as she was his replacement. "You must be Doctor Wilson. I'm Maisie Graves."

The two shook hands after he set the files down on the edge of the desk, exchanging pleasantries for a few moments before their attention turned to the lengthy handover ahead of them.

As the sun began to set over the horizon, the two had moved from the chairs around the desk to lounging on the floor, files scattered between them as Maisie sat cross-legged, her heels discarded next to her as she wrote down everything Wilson told her about his patients.

He had mentioned wanting to make the transition as seamless as possible and, after seeing all the gifts around his office and hearing the in-depth details about his patients from his own assessments, Maisie found herself admiring his dedication and passion for his job. Her mind wandered back to the question of why he stepped down but she bit her tongue from asking about it, knowing it wasn't any of her business. And she couldn't help but worry about not being enough to compensate for the loss.

Distracted by her insecurity, her gaze focused on Wilson as he spoke, his tie undone around his neck and his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he leaned against one of the sofas in the room, his arm resting on a bent knee as his free hand shuffled through the files on the floor. Her attempt to divert her gaze when he looked back at her was pointless because he caught her, unable to contain a smile as he watched her try to cover it up by scribbling down whatever she could remember him saying in the time she was staring.

"If you have any questions, feel free to reach out," Wilson offered, helping organize the manila folders back into a neat pile which he handed to Maisie to put back on the desk once they had finished. She nodded, still struggling with all of the information she had assimilated. Did he doubt her ability to handle these cases? Did everyone? Even she was doubting herself.

"Thank you, Doctor Wilson."

Wilson bid her a quiet good night and as soon as the door closed behind him, Maisie sat back against the edge of the desk, releasing a shaky breath.

Was she really ready for this?

♯ AUTHOR'S NOTE !

listen i'm just as shocked as you are that i managed to not only post a new fic but also write an entire prologue in the span of like... a week? i am absolutely insane about this show and this oncologist unfortunately.

as of posting this chapter i am currently on season six of house m.d. and i am dreading the end of it already, like thinking about the spoiler i know makes me insanely nauseous but that could also just be the remnants of the respiratory illness(?) i had that allowed me to binge watch multiple seasons of the show over the past week. so shoutout to the outbreak at work!!

anyways, i hope you all enjoyed this little sneak peek into wilsongraves and i will see you all next chapter!! thank you for reading about my mental illness <3

﹙ Word Count : 1660 ! ﹚