Because I'm a nerd, I'm bored of revising, and I'm sincerely regretting not taking Further Maths last year.
Yes, I'm aware the ending is similar to that of Of Pandas and Pompoms; I think I need more sleep.
Kudos if you spot the somewhat tenuous link to the title xD
Feedback greatly appreciated, hope you enjoy!
Newton's First Law of Motion states that an object moves at constant velocity or remains at rest until acted upon by an external force.
"Rita," a voice whispered. "Rita." Rita swatted in the direction of the voice. Hot air tickled her cheek and she mumbled something unintelligibly. "Rita, time to wake up, sweetheart."
Letting out a humph, Rita grabbed the top of the duvet, wrapped it round her head, and rolled over. The voice seemed to follow her.
"Rita, don't make me pull the covers off you."
Rita let out a little whine.
"Rita, come on."
The bed creaked as the owner of the voice shifted their weight. Rita cracked open an eye and peaked out the top of her little cocoon to be met by a sheet of brunette framing a familiar freckly face.
"Connie," Rita croaked. "Lemme sleep." Connie laughed, gazing in sleepy adoration at the tuft of blonde hair sticking out at her.
"Not if you want to be on time for work, Freeman," she said. She rolled over so she was crouched over her girlfriend, who was still adamantly trying to sleep. Leaning down, Connie hunted out a pale forehead and began to pepper it with kisses. Rita squirmed underneath her.
"Gerroff, I wanna sleep!"
"Oh," said Connie, sitting back with a smirk. "No morning kiss, then?" She felt Rita move under the covers and a head shot out from the duvet, dived forward to press dry lips to hers, and returned at the speed of light to its warm nest.
"Morning," came the muffled greeting.
"Good morning," Connie replied cheerfully. "Tell you what, I'll bring you coffee in bed if you think you can be out of the door in twenty." A noise of agreement sounded. "I'll be back in a moment, then."
In the five minutes it took the consultant to make two mugs of steaming, French coffee, Rita had emerged and was propped up against her pillows, dozing gently. Connie rounded the bed and put her girlfriend's mug down, before drawing Rita's chin up to capture her lips in a long, deep kiss. After a moment, she pulled back, caressing Rita's nose with her own, enjoying the heat radiating from the small body beside her.
"That's more like it," she murmured, voice still husky with sleep.
They just about made it to work on time, Rita tightly wrapped in her coat and scarf and barely managing to keep the yawns at bay.
"Late night, ladies?" Max chirruped, catching sight of the clinical nurse manager's dreary eyes. Rita scowled at him.
"Unless you're about to bring me another coffee or tell me I can go back to sleep, I suggest you shut it." Max held up his hands in apology and spun off, leaving an amused Connie to watch Rita stifle yet another yawn.
"Go on, go get changed," Connie said gently, dropping a quick kiss onto Rita's nose and encouraging her towards her office. Rita complied, giving a little wave and sticking her nose back into her scarf with a sigh.
Rita was on her last break, nursing a cup of coffee in the staff room. She had no idea why she was so tired, and it didn't help that the day seemed to be going at a snail's pace. The door opened a smidge, and she looked up to see Connie poke her head in.
"Rita, listen, I'm afraid I've got a rather large pile of papers to sort before leaving tonight, is that okay? I don't know how long I'll be, but you're of course welcome to wait for a lift."
Rita nodded, taking another gulp of coffee. "Are you alright?" she asked. Connie sighed.
"More or less. One day this ED will run itself, but until then - " she gestured hopelessly. "I should probably get back to supervising these children who call themselves doctors."
"See you later then," Rita smiled.
Finally, her shift was over. Rita had toyed with the idea of walking home, but in all honesty she wanted to be near Connie, and she wasn't sure she could get home without falling asleep on her feet. Placing a fresh mug of coffee on Connie's desk, she toed off her shoes and curled up in the corner of the sofa, spying her girlfriend's NHS hoodie on the other side and wrapping it around herself, breathing in the soft scent.
She must have dozed off, because she was suddenly shocked to her feet by a thundering clatter as the office door slammed open.
"How dare you behave like that in my ED," Connie shouted. "Your personal problems do not come through those doors. You will sort this out, and you will sort it out fast. Take the rest of the shift off."
Whoever she was yelling at tried to interrupt her, and Rita winced in sympathy as Connie spun back to point her finger at them.
"Go," she ordered. The victim scuttled off obediently. Rita reached out a hand to touch Connie's arm. Connie jumped. "What are you doing here?" she snapped. Rita withdrew her hand and her face hardened.
"I'm waiting for a lift," she said frostily. "But I can just as easily walk."
"No – I'm sorry." Connie sank into her chair and rested her head in her hands. "I didn't mean to snap, I just – it's been a long day."
"I made you coffee," Rita jerked her head in the direction of the desk.
"Thank you," Connie murmured. Rita put her hands on her hips and watched her girlfriend, frowning. The sheer number of files in front of Connie would tire her out in minutes, she knew.
"Right." She made a quick decision. "You get your things together, I'll pack up the files. You can do the paperwork at home."
"Rita - "
"No. You're exhausted, I'm exhausted. It's better for both of us if we go now. Come on, chop chop."
Rita turned on the light and pushed Connie gently towards the living room.
"Go, I'll get us something to drink." Connie made her way through to the sofa, collapsing onto it with a sigh and letting her Louboutins fall off. She pulled out her work and scattered it on the coffee table. Gazing at it tiredly, she closed her eyes until she heard footsteps approach.
"Here." Rita put two glasses of wine on the table and dropped a pair of fluffy slippers by Connie's feet. "Thought you could use something more comfortable than those killer heels." The nurse settled next to her girlfriend and patted her knee. "A couple of hours of work, then we can go to bed."
They didn't make it to a couple of hours before their eyes drooped and their breathing slowed, Rita falling asleep on top of Connie, whose pen had drifted across the page in a large scribble. When she woke with a start in the morning, Connie was astonished to find biro on Rita's forehead, and guiltily tried to scrub it off before the nurse woke – but not before taking a photo.