A/N: Pointless fluff. Very short one shot. Just something to hold you peeps over until I start having a chance to write again. I'm working on another DxA story and I'm getting back into AB. So . . . yeah. It kinda sucks but enjoy!

Pressure

That was it. Angie's head was going to explode.

She hissed an irritated sigh through her clenched teeth and pressed the patient files she carried against her chest, where her heart pounded furiously within. Had every single person in the Angeles Bay area decide to get sick or injured that night? The never ending flow of cases certainly suggested so, as did the mounting paper work that slowly consumed the office she and Derek shared, which only seemed to grow with every pass she made of the room in between surgeries. Though Caduceus did not normally take on standard emergencies, they simply could not ignore the overflow of patients from the general hospitals.

Neither could she of course. She was only too happy to help out though as the night grew longer she felt the strain of the emergencies and her normal duties beginning to take their toll on her. It was only natural to be a little stressed. She and her colleagues could barely take a substantial breath before rushing off to the next operation. But now, as the late night turned to early morning, the only thing she wanted to do was scream.

It was not the workload that distressed her. Nor was it the complete lack of breaks, even if her body did whimper for sleep and food.

Truth be told, the cause of the violently churning stress was a mystery to her – and that was what frustrated the nurse more than anything.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she growled under her breath. "I should be used to this. I've dealt with way more stress than this! Why do I feel like I'm about to flip out?!" Her strained breathing grew uneven as she all but stomped through the hall, gritting her teeth further when she received questioning glances from the other staff.

'Great! Everyone else is handling this just fine! Why can't I?'

"Angie?"

Her flats drew a sharp squeak from the floor as she whipped around. There was a visible wince from everyone in the hall at the sound, though the nurse that caused it was too busy trying to keep from hyperventilating to care. Her efforts were futile as there was no hiding it from the doctor that addressed her. "A-are you all right?" Derek asked. "What's wrong?"

"D-Dr. Stiles, I'm . . . I . ." she clenched her eyes shut, unable to stop her face from contorting angrily. "I don't know! I just don't know!"

'Dammit!' She cursed herself inwardly at having purged the stress she tried to keep under control. She blinked her eyes open, her surroundings blurry as tears began to well up. She was ashamed at having let her weakness in such a crucial time be seen, especially in front of him, and her anger only grew . . . but there was no stopping herself. Her lungs all but ruptured with heavy, uneven breaths as she continued against her will.

"I don't know what's wrong with me! I just . . . I'm so stressed out! This is ridiculous! I'm a nurse! This is my job! I should have it together . . . but I don't! And I can't even-"

Her irate breathing froze as she blinked in surprise. Derek pressed his lips against hers, murmuring a gentle kiss as he wrapped his arms around her. Slowly and caringly, his hands rubbed her back and worked out the tension from her tight muscles. Angie felt the pressure in her skull dissipate as she closed her eyes. The stress and frantic beating of her heart calmed as she breathed in his kiss, a sigh pouring from her lips when he gently pulled back.

"Better?" he asked as he brushed her hair behind her ear.

She looked up at him, her mouth slightly agape at what he had done. "Dr. Stiles . . ."

"Kissing a nurse while on duty. So unprofessional . . ."

Before her temple even had the chance to spark with rage, Derek's eyes had already set a nasty glare upon the doctor that had muttered the comment. "In case you didn't notice, Dr. Longe, we're in the middle of an emergency. Get back to work!"

The elder doctor's brow flared at the reprimand but he relented to the order, grumbling to himself as he walked away. Derek looked back at her with a small smile. "That goes for us too. I actually came to tell you we have another patient, but then I noticed you were so tense . . . "

"I'm sorry." The surgeon's brows rose at her sudden apology. "Everybody's stressed and overworked tonight. I shouldn't have gotten so worked up." She sighed, meeting his eyes with a shameful glance. "What kind of a nurse am I if I let it get to me? I'm sorry, Doctor."

"Are you kidding?" Derek said. "I feel like punching a hole through the wall! You aren't any less of a nurse just because you get overwhelmed every now and then. You're still human. Besides, the only reason you're so much more stressed than the other nurses is because you actually do your job-" his glare returned as he threw his gaze to a small grouping of young to middle aged women. "-while the rest of them just stand around and gossip instead of working!"

There was a collective gasp among them, each one huffing slightly before scurrying off to see to their duties. Angie giggled slightly at their reaction, before a sudden realization sent a heated blush through her face. "Uh . . . Dr. Stiles? You still have your arms around me."

"Huh?" Derek looked at her, blushing himself when he realized she was correct. He quickly let go, favoring the back of his neck as he rubbed it sheepishly. "A . . . anyway. We really need to get back to work too. Are you ready?"

Angie smiled. "More than ever, Dr. Stiles."

He grinned and nodded to her. "Let's get ready for surgery. It's gonna be a long rest of the night, but I think I can handle it if I have you at my side."

She allowed herself to giggle, closing her eyes as another, more tame blush painted a pink hue on her cheeks. "I think you can too."

--

A/N: Yeah, it's a bit OOC but the idea of Derek snapping at doctors and nurses to do their jobs is really funny to me. He was such as slacker in the beginning, but he's matured and takes his job seriously now. I can see him doing that. So yeah, it's total cheese but there ya go.