The first chapter in a new Freechamp storyline.
I have lots of ideas for this one and would love to know what you think.
Enjoy.
Beth x
Rita rushed frantically towards the hospital; she looked at her watch 'crap' she exclaimed. When she looked up she saw Cal, 'late too then…' she huffed a little relieved that she wasn't the only one. 'Yeah, got caught in traffic' Cal explained 'What's your excuse?' Rita shrugged. 'You'd better come up with one no doubt Connie will be on us like a ton of bricks as soon as we get in' Cal pointed out.
They stride swiftly into the ED. 'Cal! Rita!' Connie called them, her arms crossed, looking displeased. Cal and Rita share a look then follow Connie into her office. 'You are 10 minutes late. What do you have to say for yourselves?' Connie questioned, 'I was caught in traffic…' Cal tried to explain but was interrupted by Connie 'I expect more from you, please do not disappoint me again today. Cal you can go. Rita this is the second day in a row you've been late' Connie switches focus to Rita as Cal left the room. Rita was about to say something in her defence but Connie spoke first 'I don't want to hear you're excuses just get to work and I expect you to be on time tomorrow or there will be consequences. Do you understand Nurse Freeman?' Rita nodded wanting to leave the room as quickly as she could without argument, she just wasn't in the mood.
Rita left the office and went straight to the pile of notes finding her next patient. Connie watched Rita through her blinds, Rita was completely oblivious, her eyes traced Rita's face then lingered on the way she was biting her lip in concentration. Connie bit her lip but for a different reason.
Rita finds a patient in the waiting area and wheels her into cubicles. 'Can you pop on the bed for me Mrs Grant' Rita asked her politely, the older woman sits on the bed as Rita takes a look at her head. 'You've got a nasty cut there, it will need stitches but I'm going to clean it up first' Rita informed her then started cleaning the wound 'Sorry it may sting…' Rita apologised. Zoe popped her head round the corner of the curtain 'we have a patient coming in via ambulance that I would like your help with, meet me in resus in 10 minutes' Rita nodded, Zoe left. Rita resumed her attention to her current patient 'So how did you manage this then Mrs Grant?', 'I tripped and caught my head on the side of the cabinet, I can be quite clumsy sometimes' Mrs Grant laughed, Rita smiled understanding all too well. Once she had put the stitches on she called Lofty over to finish off and discharge the patient.
Rita checked her watch to see if she had time to for a drink; she hurried to the staff room and filled up a plastic bottle. She took a massive gulp; the cool liquid waking her up, making her feel more alert. She began to worry about Connie 'I'll have to keep my distance from her today, don't want to give her another excuse to lecture me' she thought. The bottle was wet on the outside, it slipped out of her hand. She sighed and bent down to pick it up and cleared up the spilt liquid. Rita was too busy to notice Connie standing just outside the doorway watching her. Connie's head tilted sideways as she checked out the blonde, a little smile forming on her lips. She walked away just before Rita turned round.
Rita hastily made her way to resus. Her mind was focused on the next patient and the procedures she had to follow. As she turned round the corner she walked straight into Connie. The paperwork Connie was holding flew into the air and fell in disarray all over the floor. 'I'm so sorry Mrs Beauchamp' Rita apologised quickly bending down to pick up the paper. Connie stood there watching her with her hands on her hips, she looked annoyed but it was all an act, she had planned the whole thing. As Rita passed the notes back Connie touched Rita's hand for a brief second. The contact didn't register with Rita but the feeling of her soft skin affected Connie. 'You should watch where you're going Nurse Freeman' Connie stated before walking away with an amused expression in her face. Connie was rather happy with how her cunning plan turned out 'Well, that went better than expected' she thought. Connie wanted to take the next step, wondering what that would be, she wanted to tease Rita but without her knowing that it was all deliberate.
Rita walked into resus looking for Zoe; the patient hadn't arrived yet so she calmed herself and waited knowing they'd be there any minute. After a few seconds she heard Dixie approaching, informing Zoe of the patient's status '…Craig, he's 18, came off his motorbike doing 70, was K.O'd at the scene. GCS was 8 but is now 12, query fracture pelvis, compound fracture to his left tibia and fibula. Pulse is 95, BP 110 over 80, SATs 96% on O2. He's had Entonox and 10 mg of morphine and 500 of saline.'
Zoe thanked Dixie then turned to her patient 'Hello, I'm Doctor Hanna I'll be looking after you' 'Everywhere hurts…' he moaned. 'Right, Rita I want another 5 mg of morphine' she instructed. As Rita was getting it ready Connie came in 'What have we got?'
Zoe recited Craig's vitals as Connie approached. She squeezed past Rita deliberately making sure her body was close behind her. Rita apologized 'Sorry, Mrs Beauchamp' believing she was in the way but accidently stepped backwards into Connie in an attempt to get out of her way, she ended up pressing her body against Connie's. Connie did her best to hide how turned on she was. Rita looked embarrassed and slightly worried that she was about to get told off but Connie turned her full attention to the patient. 'Right I want a full trauma CT and make sure the pelvis is stable' she instructed.
After the results were back Connie told Craig what the next steps were. Rita held the young boy's hand who looked terrified. 'You have an open book pelvis fracture but it's stable, the orthopaedic surgeon will be down to assess you for surgery, it is likely that you'll need skin grafts and external fixtures to realign the fracture' Connie informed the patient. The young boy looked even more terrified, Rita tried to calm him down and gently explained it to him without the jargon 'external fixtures is where they put metal pins on the outside of your leg to hold it in place and help it heal.' 'Will I be able to…walk? Will there be…scarring?' he asked nervously. 'I'm afraid there could be scarring but should be able to walk again after some muscle building exercises' Rita assured him, Connie interrupted '…the quicker you get seen the less chance of amputation. You will be taken to theatre in 20 minutes.'
Rita smiled at the boy trying to reassure him 'you're in good hands, Craig. Is there anyone I can call for you?' 'Yes, my mum she's at work though' he replied. 'Okay I'll go and call her now' she told him before leaving.
Later on that day Rita felt dead on her feet. She yawned looking forward to the end of her shift, Rita saw Robyn grinning at her. 'I just saw this good looking guy wearing a leather jacket' Robyn beamed, her eyes twinkling. 'Nice! I think leather jackets look so hot' Rita admitted, Robyn nodded in agreement. She looked over Rita's shoulder and her face dropped instantly. 'Good to know Nurse Freeman but I suggest you divert your attention to your patients.' Connie recommended with a hint of amusement.
It was the end of her shift, Rita had just changed out of her scrubs into a pair of jeans, a black low cut top and a brown leather jacket when Robyn came in. 'Hey, Mrs Beauchamp wants to talk to you' she warned. 'Okay, let's get this over and done with' Rita sighed, Robyn smiled in understanding. Rita knocked on the door and entered the office. 'Mrs Beauchamp, you wanted to see me?' Rita asked. 'Yes, take a seat; I just wanted to quickly go through these new rotas with you' Connie moved the paper to the middle of the desk. Rita leaned over scanning the chart; she then looked up and caught Connie looking down her top. 'Were you checking me out?' Rita questioned in disbelief. 'No…that's quite an accusation Nurse Freeman' Connie lied, pretending to be angry, trying to hide the fact she was blushing. When Rita left Connie closed her eyes and pictured the blonde, biting her bottom lip.