Running Lines [open]

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God bless whoever had put phonetic pronunciation guides in brackets amidst all the medical jargon littered throughout the Code Blue scripts.

Imogen sat cross-legged on the reception desk in the "hospital"'s ER, waiting for her turn in make up, a hoodie pulled on over her pale blue scrubs and one earbud dangling from somewhere beneath her hastily-scraped-back-into-a-ponytail hair as she went over her script with a highlighter and a ballpoint pen woven between her fingers like wattle fence-posts.

"...thyrotoxicosis...oh, they have got to just be making this up, now," she muttered to herself, frowning lightly at her line. "Shouldn't a doctor be saying all this? Why is Kat having to spit that one out?"

She drew a neat line under the section and an arrow to the margin, where she just scribbled a large question-mark.

Sighing, she tossed her script for the episode down on the desk beside her and reached for her cup of coffee--strong, dark roast, cream and two sugars. Everything and lots of it.

She loved her job--her role, the cast, the crew, all of it--and she was pleased to have been fairly well-received as a part of the ensemble for the past two seasons. Talk-show circuits, promoting the show, Imogen really didn't mind any of it. She was used to traveling, and didn't have much to tie her down apart from her work schedule. Her New York agent was even talking to a few producers about some film roles she could consider auditioning for, if they could fit in around the filming schedule for the TV show. There was the rub. TV work was pretty consistent, as long as the show didn't get cancelled or the actor's contract get dumped. Which was great...except...consistent meant commitment. Imogen had no problem with that--after all, what was a few years?

Then she had to consider that if these types of dramas got popular, they could run for well over a decade. Would she still be playing Kat Foster well into her forties? Did that prospect excite her or alarm her? Imogen wasn't entirely sure.

For now, she took another gulp of rapidly-cooling coffee and picked up her script again.

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Another day on the daily grind. William was, as always, tired from a short night of sleep. He had worked the graveyard shift the night before, and had gotten off just in time to get to the studio and be in makeup when he needed to. It was sometimes tough balancing the EMT work and being an actor, but he wasn't about to give up being an EMT, and he needed to save up money in case he got the chance to go ahead with his dream of studying to actually become a doctor, instead of just playing one on the TV show. Although he had enjoyed the last three years on the show.

Once the makeup was done he wondered onto the set. He had on a pair of scrubs, and was carrying the white coat his character, Dr. Reynolds, wore. He was glad that this episode let him wear scrubs, especially after the long night. Sure it was more professional for a doctor to wear more business casual clothes, but this was, after all, supposed to be in the emergency department. He knew first hand that that could lead to quite a bit of blood and gore.

Carrying his coffee cup he walked over to where his character would first be in the scene they were going to work on today and put the coat down. No need for him to be carrying it around set. He heard Imogen mutter a medical term and how a doctor should be saying it. He knew the term, and wanted to comment right there, but he needed to go and grab his own script first. Once he had done that he came back and said "Thyrotoxicosis is when there is too much thyroid hormone circulating. Basically hyperthyroidism." He had heard of a case involving it and had looked it up. "And nurses probably would say it to other staff." he added with a smile. He had always given these little tidbits to the cast when things like this came up. After all the doctor that gave them advice wasn't always there. "Kat got anything interesting going on this episode?" he asked changing the subject.

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Imogen looked up as William explained the term and had to laugh a little at being caught out of her depth, sharing a smile with her coworker (both in-character and out-of-character.) William Skyler and Christopher Reynolds had been instrumental in helping Imogen Hale and Kat Foster to settle in to their new positions, two seasons back.

"Thanks," she said, grinning as she yanked her earbud free and coiled her headphones away, hitting pause on her phone's music app, feeling it would be rude to continue listening with one ear during a conversation. "Kat had better know what she's doing, if she's going to give orders."

Flipping over a few pages of her script, she skimmed the following scenes and nodded briefly.

"...not bad," she said. Of course the 45 minutes (not including commercial breaks) had to address all the lose plot-points left in the last season's finale, and bring new characters and narratives into play across the ensemble, so there wasn't anything earth-shattering for her character just yet, but in an ensemble drama everyone was pretty patient and understanding that there were times for their character to be the focus of attention, and times when they were more naturally in the background, providing support to other plots. There wasn't much room for ego in the world of ensemble TV, and Imogen appreciated that. "Encouraging a battered woman to press charges without scaring her off...tricky...but sadly, always a relevant story."

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William wouldn't expect most of the actors on the show to know what the terms were. Even he had to look up a few terms. He was always willing to help them understand what they were talking about, especially as he found knowing what was going on helped him know how to play the scene. Of course he had had a couple co-stars express their wishes to not be told, and that was fine by him. He'd respect that. "You're welcome" he said returning her smile. The pair of them got along on and off the screen. When Imogen had joined the cast, William's character was in his last year of medical school and freaking out, and Imogen's character had helped smooth that over. Their relationship had gone on from there. "Kat has always seemed to know what she has been doing." Sometimes it was hard to dumb it down to the level of the majority of the viewers, but make it accurate enough for the medical professionals that were watching.

It was interesting to see everyone else's plots unfold. It was a lot of fun to be part of an ensemble like this one. His character had had a couple of fun story lines over the past couple seasons, and it looked as though he would be getting some this year as well. "There's quite a few new characters so I'm sure a lot of the episode will evolve around introducing them." he said with a nod before adding "I think Chris is involved with that story line too, just treating her. Haven't read far enough to see how big of a role he plays." He saw that scenario too often as an EMT. Get called out on a 911 and come to find a woman, obviously beaten, claiming to have been clumsy. It was a shame. Even once or twice was too many in that case. "I hear Chris might be getting a love interest this season though." It would be interesting to see more of his backstory and personal life. Most of his personal life thus far had just really been going home and sleeping. 

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"Mmm, well that's the primary difference between Kat and myself," said Imogen with a laugh. Kat had her vulnerabilities, but she hid them reasonably well...Imogen could only hope she had half of that skill at seeming as though she knew what she was about. Fortunately the stakes weren't quite so high in acting as in nursing.

...well, except that acting was all about seeming other than you were.

She had to let out a hearty chuckle at William's hint that his character might be gaining a love interest. Attractive people, long hours, intense and emotional situations which got the heart pumping and adrenaline flowing...and readily-available on-call rooms and empty hospital beds. What was a medical drama without its ill-advised and heady affairs?

"About time," she said. "I was wondering when they'd be putting your chiselled jawline to good use," she teased. "Better you than me, honestly--naturally the press are going to adore dropping heavy hints that all on-screen romance must be a mirror of something genuine. Though I suppose that must be considered a back-handed compliment to chemistry and believable acting. Any idea who they've got in store? Anyone we know, or some new mystery lady?"

She only paused half a moment before she tilted her head to one side and reconsidered.

"...or mystery man."

Now that would set primetime TV gossip magazines into a delicious spin.

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"Please you know what you're doing. You wouldn't be here if you didn't." It was true. Code Blue was the top rated drama on the network at the moment. They could get the best people to play the roles. He was probably luckier than her. He had been cast in the first season before anyone knew what it was. He had gained traction and had survived the shake up that most dramas underwent after the first year due to chemistry reasons. Imogen had been brought in after that.

"I'm just curious to see a bit more of his backstory and his personal life. It is, of course, completely fair that he as, for the most part, been holed up in the hospital with no social life as a med student and first year resident." William saw those positions when he was bringing in patients for them. Of course he also knew that his character had gained a following, so what better way to build on that then giving him more than just hospital scenes to do? Plus it would probably end up with his shirt off, and he was sure they thought that would bring in more fans, even though he wasn't as sure of that aspect.

He shook his head when she was talking about his jawline. He never thought of himself as really being that good looking, but apparently many disagreed (though he was sure there were plenty who couldn't stand the sight of him, and that was fair). "Well that is if there is that on-screen chemistry. But I'm not looking to hook up with a co-worker anyway." No that would be too messy for him. Plus he was way too busy anyway. "I have no idea who they have in store. I'd assume it would be a new hire, but I'm not sure who." There were quite a few new cast members that season, it could go anyway. "I'm not sure they'd go for the man thing this early in the show, but who knows." He also didn’t need rumors flying that he fancied men. Even if he did. Of course that was very, very closeted. And he was bi anyway.

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"Gosh, wouldn't that be something, though?" mused Imogen, now cupping her coffee with both hands and leaning her elbows on her knees. "It's the twenty-first century, honestly. And more than just making it a one-off Very Special Episode kind of tokenism, letting a same-sex relationship take center-stage as a proper romance..." She trailed off as she considered the possibility. She knew it was the kind of dramatic courage and representation she wanted to see on television--and in film, and literature, and on stage, and all sorts of media--and she knew she wasn't alone in thinking so, but surely as the sun would rise there would be outraged calls from people who took no issue with bare breasts or gobs of blood on their primetime TV but God forbid anyone other than a man and a woman express something beyond platonic affection.

She shook her head with a sigh and a shrug, taking a sip of her coffee.

"...I have to wonder if the producers would even dare."

Tapping her fingernails against the side of the cup, she smiled a little at William. The character of Chris was such an integral part of the hospital, and his journey in his career had so far taken centre-stage in many of the episodes. A few throw-away references to relatives or past experiences, and that was all. It was the people that surrounded a person that made them who they were, though, so it would be fascinating to see more of the formative influences in Chris' life. His colleagues could only provide so much context for what made him tick.

"I'm just going to assume Kat's in for another few rounds of tension with her parents. Which shouldn't be hard to play--doesn't everyone have some kind of strain on their relationship with their parents once they're no longer children. You have to learn to related to them as adults, but then it's impossible to entirely leave behind whatever dynamic you had with them as a kid. That must mess up everyone, just a bit."

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"I would agree that it would be something, but I'm sure the producers are wary. Especially given it would be one the first big sort of romance on the show." There had been a couple flings over the past few seasons, but the show had been establishing the show and the characters. Plus he personally would be nervous with that being the set course. He didn't want that to be the talk on the show, because he worried about not being able to keep his personal life under wraps, even if he wasn't active in that lifestyle. But if that is what was given to him, he would do his job. "They probably would love to do that sort of story line, it's just whether they feel as though the show can pull it off at this point in the show's run." He was sure they didn't want to lose their jobs either.

All that had been really revealed about his character's life was that he had had a normal upbringing with 2 siblings, had been closer to the top than the bottom (but not the top) of his class, and that he lived with a friend from school who was an engineer. Of course there was a lot of space to explore more of his life and what was really going on in his life. William was excited to explore the character, and was glad he was getting more of a chance to play scenes outside of the hospital. He was especially curious as to his character childhood and how he got to where he was at the moment. All in due time he supposed.

"Isn't that the truth. I haven't met anyone who hasn't had something going on with their parents. My dad is still disappointed that I can't sing and therefore I couldn't go into his world of theater." No that was his younger sister. Plus there was the whole fact his dad had been an alcoholic, and had pushed William to be in the world of acting and therefore often forgoing things like birthday parties and sports. It hadn't been the greatest childhood, but it wasn't the worst either.

"I will say it's good to be back on set and being back on the daily grind." He had spent his summer off in a couple of college classes. He was still driving to at least get his bachelor's degree. At least in the summer he had been able to pick up more EMT shifts and get more experience.

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Imogen sipped at her drink and nodded along with all that Will was saying. Bold as such a plot choice might be, it would be bolder still to make it the flagship romance, even two seasons in. Not that there wasn't plenty of material to tantalize audiences already--Imogen had, almost regrettably, seen some of the fanfiction (which was both flattering and disturbing in almost equal measure)--but nothing overt. Subtext could only get people so far, and so now the network and writers had to give the viewers something more concrete to go on.

"I wouldn't say theatre is overrated," said Imogen. That would seem like biting the hand which had not only fed her, but given birth to her and brought her up, and given her a somewhat privileged life into the bargain. "...but while it's a completely different animal to film and television, in some ways, I feel like film and TV aren't always given their due, in comparisons. People seem to have this unshakeable notion that being live on a stage is somehow superior to a recording on a screen, but it's just...different." She shrugged,  sticking her pen into the messy half-ponytail she'd dragged her hair into with an elastic she'd found at the bottom of her handbag. Sighing lightly, she picked up her coffee again. "...it's so great to have regular work, though. I mean, I don't think I know many people who have had long-term roles and dependable pay. Like, of course there was always something coming next, and agents make sure of that and all, but to have a guaranteed job--for a while, at least--is both nice and also weird."

Imogen had been lucky she'd been able to schedule in something for the break, just enough to refresh her, mentally, in a short run appearance in an off-Broadway play. It had had decent reviews, and Imogen felt it had been a job well done. Naturally too many allusions to her mother's roles or her father's work whenever critics had made any mention of her, but she'd almost gotten used to that. Not tapped for any awards, but Imogen almost didn't want any recognition like that until she could be certain her parents' legacy had nothing to do with it...and it wasn't likely that would happen any time soon.