SURPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!!! :D Happy birthday, roadrunner1896. I did it! I did it! For you! Ta-daaaa!!!

Title Change of Scenery
Fandom The Golden Hour/Sirens (Ashley/Dr Alec Track)
Word Count 1,011 completely unbeta'd words
Notes: This is a tiny pre-slash-ish snippet that won't make sense to anyone but me and roadrunner1896. It's roadrunner1896's birthday today and for a long few months she's requested this crossover unaware I would rise up to the challenge. HAHA. Happy birthday, hon. And also, this isn't the greatest fic but whatever, you requested it :-)
EDIT: Now with bonus amazing COVER ART from elli.

Change of Scenery
by Steffi


The car crash on the motorway is a particularly nasty one; fifteen vehicles in a mass collision with three of them blown to pieces and a lorry that has crashed into the whole lot for good measure. Ashley’s seen some gruesome, horrible things in all the years he’s worked as a paramedic, but even so, when he climbs out of the ambulance he stops, halts, takes the sight in and forces himself to remember not to be scared. People need him not to be scared. He goes on autopilot then, dimly aware that Stuart is standing beside him and for the next couple of hours the most Ashley takes in are the injured people and what he can do to help them. He doesn’t see the wounds, not really, he sees blood and bone and flesh, but they’re all individual things that he knows how to handle, like pieces of a puzzle, and that helps not to get scared.

After they’ve brought the past patient--multiple fractures and laboured breathing--to the hospital and Ashley gets to have a few minutes for himself, he knows he’ll be sent to the shrink sometime this week. They will be concerned about his mental well-being, considering the amount of death and the degree of injuries he’s seen today, babble something about traumatic experience. It’s not the first time Ashley’s been through it, but that doesn’t mean he likes to go. Waste of time, is all.

He goes to the cafeteria, pours himself a cup of coffee and finds a seat by the window. The cafeteria’s on the fourth floor and the view from here is actually quite nice, or would be nice if the sky wasn’t hung with grey clouds. It’s November and the roads are slippery, and that’s what caused the collision on the motorway in the first place. Even a child died there. Barely three years old. Ashley pushes himself not to think about it and wraps his fingers around the cup but doesn’t actually take a sip from the coffee. He just forgets.
"Someone sitting here?"

Ashley’s eyes snaps up.

One of the doctor’s standing in front of him, cup of coffee in his hand, and looking at him expectantly. The cafeteria is empty, there’s plenty of room, and Ashley can’t help but wonder why the guy would want to sit with him. Particularly since he’s a doctor and thus far above him in the food-chain. But he just shrugs, and the doctor eases down into a chair. For a while, neither of them speak but from the corner of his eye, Ashley studies the man.

He’s new, that much’s for sure, and Ashley thinks he remembers having seen the doctor at the collision site. He’s got black hair and piercing blue eyes, but there is kindness in the way he glances at Ashley, a smile barely curving his lips. He must be in his late thirties, but there’s something boy-ish, almost cheeky about him.

"You were there today, right?" the doctor finally asks, leaning forward, and Ashley can see the name tag on his scrubs now--Alec Track.

He nods. "Yes."

"Horrible accident."

Ashley raises his eyebrows and he half wonders whether this is some kind of test, whether the shrink-lady is now working by use of spies rather than confronting her patients on her own.

"I’ve seen worse," Ashley shrugs.

Dr Track takes a sip from his coffee. "You’re from Scotland?"

Okay, Ashley’s getting confused now. Of course, his accent is pretty prominent but what does it matter to the man where he’s from? He’s just a paramedic.

"Aye," says Ashley, making sure to sound as Scottish as he possibly can, adding just a hint of sarcasm to his voice.

But Dr. Track seems unimpressed--rather genuinely interested. "What brought you here?"

"The question should be ‘What made you leave Scotland’."

He wonders if Dr. Track will start prodding now but the man just nods. Either he doesn’t care or he is too considerate to ask further questions. Given by his previous enquiries, it’s probably the latter. Ashley can’t help it. He’s warming up to the guy.

"What brought you here?" he finally asks. Dr Track smiles. He’s got a nice smile, Ashley decides. Very honest.

"Change of scenery?"

"So of all possible places in the world you chose Leeds?"

"It’s not Scotland, I admit."

Oh, he’s a charming bastard, too. Ashley smiles and he feels his stomach doing the slightest of somersaults. Oh no. No no no no no.

He wonders why Dr Track’s come here and suddenly, he wishes the man would tell him, confide in him. Even though it makes no sense at all because they’ve only just met, are barely sharing a coffee, and he’s just a paramedic, not a doctor like Alec Track.

Ashley leans back into the chair and says nothing. Suddenly, his head is bereft of all thoughts and clever words. He feels the man’s eyes resting on him and wonders why the heck he always makes things so complicated for himself.

"It was a horrible accident," he finally admits, blurts out, and he can’t even say where that sudden flash of honesty is coming from. Must be Dr Track’s voice. It’s soothing. Enchanting, really.

Dr Track tilts his head ever so slightly and nods.

"Yes. Are you--okay about it?"

Ashley clears his throat and decides to allow himself another moment of honesty. "I will be."

"Good to hear," Dr Track says and Ashley thinks he detects a bit of actual, genuine relief in his voice.

The man empties his coffee in one big gulp and rises from his chair, giving Ashley another smile as he says "See you around" and leaves.

"Yeah," Ashley says. He watches the man leave the cafeteria, notices he’s got broad shoulders and uncannily long legs, and his heart skips a beat.

Whatever his reasons--Ashley’s damn happy that Dr Track’s change of scenery has taken him to Leeds. Even if all Ashley can do is to admire from afar. It’s enough.

For now, it is enough.

--end