It All Comes Down To Love
By zeilfanaat
Category: Friendship
Ratings: G or K, depending on the rating you use.
Warning: A/U
Disclaimer: "Doc" is not mine. It's produced by Dave Alan Johnson & Gary R. Johnson. No infringement intended. Any characters that are not from the series are mine.
Spoilers: Get Me To Church On Time
Challenge: i2Eye Fan Fiction Summer Challenge 2007; several titles were given, of which I chose "It all comes down to…" and you had to finish the title yourself.
Archive: i2Eye Fan Fiction, Please ask first if you want (me) to post it elsewhere.
Summary: Sometimes it is so easy to forget what life is all about. Luckily we're given plenty of reminders.
A/N: I almost had this story finished, when my computer decided to delete it. Luckily I had printed most of the story the day before, and the other half I still had in my notes, so all I had to do is retype it. And here it is. I hope you'll enjoy.
A/N2: This story is not beta-read, so any and all mistakes are mine. If you see one, please let me know, so I can change it. Thanks!
Chapter 1:
It was raining. It had been for the past two days, and the whole of today so far. The rain drops just kept on pouring down from the sky relentlessly. Nancy sighed as she looked out of the window, and saw the people hurrying through the streets, trying to stay dry, or at least get to their destinations as fast as possible. Not the most charming weather to be outside. This was the kind of weather she would like to sit at home, on the couch in front of the fireplace, with a good book.
But, one had to work, earn money, otherwise you'd get nowhere. If you thought about it, or even just looked around you, 'money' was no longer just a means of earning a living, it had become a lifestyle for a lot of people.
If you asked someone whether they would like to come over in the weekend for a cup of coffee or lunch, people would answer 'no', saying they had something to do for their job, so rain check? And if you then offered a date for a rain check, they couldn't come, because there was a conference they just had to go to. And once you'd finally agreed on a date, they'd cancel last minute, because the boss had called them, saying there was a problem at work, and if they didn't get there soon, they could start searching for another job. Meaning, another source of income.
If you went somewhere with a friend, it couldn't be too expensive – or should it be, it should be cheap – otherwise the well-earned money ran out too quickly. Unless of course, you paid, hint, hint.
And if you asked someone for a favour, they would ask how much it would earn them.
People just seemed to have become more and more oriented at themselves. Even now, people were hurrying through this wonderful weather, walking past each other swiftly, without giving notice to anyone around them, just to get to wherever they needed to be, because "time is money".
'Ugh, it's all about money these days,' Nancy thought. With some effort, the nurse returned her attention to the folder waiting for her in the filing area. Quick footsteps approached, and Tippy Williams-Doss walked in.
"Hi Nancy!" Tippy said cheerfully, as she put the stack of medical files on the desk in the middle of the filing area.
"Hi Tippy," Nancy replied. She waited for a moment, taking in Tippy's appearance, before adding, "How come you're so happy?"
"Hmm?" the receptionist asked, a pen in her mouth. With a quick look at the first folder, she walked to one of the cabinets and filed it away.
"It's been raining for the whole of two, almost three days, and you're as happy as if you've just heard that Major Doss is getting promoted," Nancy continued, then abruptly looked at her friend. "He's not, is he?"
Tippy smiled broadly, but she shook her head. "Nope, it's not a promotion."
"Ah!" Nancy sat up, a smile on her lips. "But there is a specific reason for your cheerfulness!"
The other woman looked down, and bit her lip, before looking back at the nurse with radiant eyes. "Steven's coming home from his assignment abroad four days early!"
Nancy gasped. "Oh, Tippy, that's great! When did you hear?!"
"Just last night. Oh, I'm so glad he's coming home sooner!" Tippy hugged a file to her chest, and thought of the night before. Nancy watched the other woman. She could see the enormous amount of love she held for her oft-gone husband.
"Isn't there something you people are supposed to be doing? Like working perhaps?" Oliver Crane's voice cut through the comfortable silence that had descended upon the two women, and Nancy rolled her eyes. 'Thank you for ruining the moment!'
"We are combining work with bonding, something which you're not familiar with I'm sure," Nancy snapped back. Doctor Crane's lips thinned. "I believe we have a coffee area where you can take a break, during which one can bond without it interfering with work. Now, who's my next patient?"
"Eh…" Tippy quickly walked to the front desk and picked up another folder, putting her pen in her mouth so she could look inside. "Iws wsis wurwinzhaw iw woow fwee." She noticed the incredulous look Doctor Crane was giving her, and quickly took the pen from her mouth again. She chuckled nervously like only she could, and repeated, "It's Mrs. Burkinshaw in room three."
Casting his eyes heavenward, Doctor Crane accepted the file that Tippy held out to him, and left. Nancy and Tippy shared a look and shrugged.
Just then Ms. DeWitt walked in, her coat over her arm and her purse in her hand. "Hi Ms. DeWitt," Tippy greeted the clinic's director with her usual charm.
"Hi Tippy, Nancy." Donna nodded at the two women. She put her purse on the desk, and shrugged into her coat.
"You're leaving early today," Tippy observed, checking the clock and then her watch, just to make sure she had the correct time. The small woman nodded once more.
"I'm going to visit Brian and Emma this weekend," she explained.
"Oh, that's sweet of you! I hope you'll have a good time." Tippy immediately went over to Donna and gave her a hug.
"Yeah, say 'hi' to Brian and Emma on our behalf," Nancy added smiling, as she remembered the adorable girl whose father had cancer. With an appreciative smile, Donna took her purse from the desk and left.
Tippy watched her go with a sad smile. "That's so nice of her. It can't have been easy. I mean, first you think you are going to marry but you're just engaged, then you're moving up the wedding to within two weeks, and then there is no wedding because the guy wanted to marry you because he knew he had cancer, and wouldn't be able to provide his daughter with the care she needed, because he couldn't get along with the parents of his deceased wife, so now all you do is go and visit him and his daughter every once in a while. It's sad, but also very admirable." She shook her head and continued with her stack of files, while both Nancy and a patient who was waiting for her appointment blinked. Their eyes met, and Nancy shrugged. 'Tippy at her best.'
TBC
A/N: Well, that's the end of the first chapter. Hope you like it.