Chapter 1 – Luc's replacement
Eddi had been having a pretty hectic morning, and so was pretty annoyed when she looked up from her computer to see a scruffy looking man pressing the abdomen of a patient. What part of 'leave it to the doctors' didn't people understand?
"Excuse me!" Eddi called loudly as she hurried over to the man. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked, as she pulled his hand away from the patient. The man smirked at her "My job." Eddi continued to look confused, so he held his hand out and said "Max Schneider, I'm the new locum. I'm here to replace Luc Hemingway. And your name is?" Eddi didn't respond, so he asked again "Your name is…" She looked up "Oh, I'm senior nurse Eddi Mckee." She replied distractedly, before walking away, leaving his hand hanging in mid-air.
'"I'm here to replace Luc Hemingway."' Eddi replayed the words in her head. This guy was replacing Luc. Everyone had known, from the moment that Luc had first left 5 weeks ago, that he wasn't coming back, and AAU had been really struggling with understaffing, so it was only a matter of time. She'd known that, but that didn't stop Max's arrival from being a shock, it had suddenly become real. Luc really wasn't coming back, and things were moving on. The ward had a new doctor, and so Luc's absence would no longer be a problem for them, her workload would go back to the manageable amount that it was before. Except that Eddi's recent problems had nothing to do with her increased workload, and everything to do with the emotional consequences of Luc's sudden departure. She knew that she was of no use to anyone in this current state, she needed to go somewhere to clear her head, and so she made her way to the only place that made her feel truly calm.