I had the title for this earlier, then I got the idea for a snippet of conversation between Rita and Connie, then the idea just kinda spiralled from there...
Hope you enjoy (it's a little longer than I expected) and reviews would be lovely :D -Sophie x
(P.S- If it's your last day at school tomorrow then I hope you all have a great day!)
Connie was sat alone in her favourite bar, stirring her vodka and coke with a small plastic stick. She liked this bar in particular for many reasons; because there was other seating other than the actual bar, and it was out of the way of the ED, meaning she was much less likely to bump into anyone. Plus it cost £3.50 for a small lemonade, which was way beyond NHS wages. And she was known personally by the regular staff so she was treated just as she liked. Well, she usually was anyway.
Connie crossed her legs and sat back, placing the icy glass on her knee and looking round. It was relatively quiet, compared to what it had been recently and she wasn't sure she liked it. When it was busy, her presence went unnoticed by the usual bar staff and she was able to sit in peace for a few hours, rather than having their extra staff who didn't recognise her ask every few minutes if she'd "like to sample the new cocktail range" or "purchase something from the wide variety of snacks on offer". It was tedious.
Just as she put her empty glass down and went to pick up her second full one, a young waitress in around her 20's practically shot to the table like a bullet from a gun, eager for something to do to keep her from going insane with boredom.
"May I get you anything else Miss?" She asked, cheeks rosy against her pale skin and long blonde locks. Connie glanced her up and down and sighed.
"Are you new?" The clinical lead asked. Slightly taken aback at the question, the girl hesitated before nodding.
"Full time?" Another nod.
"Right. Well, let me just give you a few pointers; my name is Mrs Beauchamp and I come in here to relax, not to have waiters and waitresses fluttering round me like a bunch of twittering birds. Once I've ordered my drinks I sit and I consume them, then I leave. I'm only to be bothered if it's a matter of urgency. Is that understood, Miss…?"
"Oh, um, yes and it's Green. Mrs Rebecca Green." She smiled slightly, feeling very intimidated by the authority the woman had mustered up out of thin air. "Understood Mrs, uh, Beauchamp. Enjoy your evening."
"Well that's not really in my control is it." She muttered, watching the figure scuttle away. Connie sat with her back to the rest of the room, and unbeknown to her, a small woman had just turned around in her seat, eyes nearly popping out of her head when she realised who the loud, obnoxious voice belonged to.
"Connie?!" She exclaimed, swaying from the alcohol, and immediately the clinical lead span round, her mouth dropping slightly as her gaze fell on the small blonde.
"Nurse Freeman?!" She replied in an equally surprised tone. From the bar, Rebecca watched the scene with slight amusement.
"Do you two know each other?" She asked, just loud enough for the two women to hear her. Connie glared at her.
"Yes, and what did I say about bothering me?" She snapped, head slowly moving back to face her head of nurses.
"What the hell are you doing here? I'd have thought these prices were way beyond your budget?"
The woman's face was slightly red, half from the shots she kept ordering and half from anger.
"I get a discount-" She jabbed her thumb behind her in the direction of Rebecca. "That's my sister you just barked at."
The brunette's mouth dropped again and her eyebrows rose.
"Excuse me but I do not bark-"
"-yeah you do because you're a bitch." The smaller woman slurred the words. The alcohol she'd consumed was obviously starting to take effect properly, and she began to show her true colours.
"A no good, on your high horse bitch who doesn't give a flying monkey shit about the well-being of your staff." She declared, watching with glee as her boss' face darkened.
"How dare you." She hissed, standing and picking up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder so it smacked her square on the back, and stalking out. She had just reached the end of the pavement in her loud, intimidating heels when she heard another set of loud footsteps that weren't her own, coming towards her.
"Please, Mrs Beauchamp wait a sec!"
It was Rebecca, and her face was red with effort when she finally caught up with the clinical lead.
"What." Connie said curtly, crossing her arms.
"Please, that wasn't her usual self… She usually limits her alcohol… Please can't you do something?" She puffed, looking up at the taller woman who frowned.
"You're her sister, why don't you do something?"
Still panting, the blonde shook her head.
"She won't listen to me, says it's a work thing and I won't understand. Please, I'm practically begging you, I'm worried about her!" The girl pleaded. Connie looked her up and down for the second time that evening and sighed.
"Fine. But I want free drinks for a week."
"Consider it done. Thanks, it really means tonnes." Rebecca smiled widely at her before they walked back to the bar, side by side.
…
"Right." Connie abruptly sat herself opposite the pixie figured nurse and dumped her handbag by her feet. "What's going on."
"Well I was having a nice drinking session before you sat yourself down." She crossed her arms and sat back, stretching her legs out under the table.
"I meant why are you drinking so much." Connie rolled her eyes. Rita mimicked her.
"Buy me a drink and I might tell you." She winked. Connie rolled her eyes again only more dramatically, before putting up her hands as if in defeat.
"Fine, fine." She glanced at the empty shot glasses that littered the blonde's half of the table and looked up to Rebecca behind the counter. "4 shots of tequila please."
She nodded and brought them over, alongside a salt shaker and some pieces of lime. The taller woman frowned.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with those?"
"Oh. Well they make the taste more bearable I guess." The waitress shrugged. "I don't know, I'm not a fan of tequila."
"Fine. Come on then Rita, drink up." She nodded to the tray, but the nurse grinned devilishly.
"You take one too."
"What? No. Hurry up, I don't have all night."
"I do, and I'll wait it all until you take one." She raised her eyebrows and suppressed a drunken giggle. Connie saw that she meant business after a few moments of intense starting.
"You know what? Whatever. If it will get me home and in front of my television then fine." She picked up a tiny glass and Rita grinned, licking the back of her hand and sprinkling some salt over the saliva before doing the same and picking up the glass nearest her.
"3, 2, 1- go!" The two women downed the tea-coloured liquid, with the smaller one taking advantage of the salt and lime after. Despite her best efforts though, Connie's face contorted into some hilarious shapes, causing the nurse opposite her to break out into a fit of giggles.
"Quick, quick- lime and salt!" She said between laughs, and the brunette grabbed a piece of lime and bit it hard. The sharp, yet warm feeling instantly eased and she shuddered, sitting up straighter in her chair.
"That's disgusting." She muttered, wiping her mouth where a stray piece of green fruit lay sat on her bottom lip.
"Just you wait." Rita grinned, but Connie continued to speak.
"That could possibly be the-" She stopped mid-sentence as a wave of calm spread over her, and she felt her muscles relax. Her brain became delightfully at ease, and a small smile appeared on her face.
"-best drink you've ever had?" The blonde finished off the sentence, grinning in an "i-told-you-so" kind of way. Taken aback, Connie nodded slightly.
"Um, yeah actually."
"Down another couple and I'll let you in on why I'm here in the first place." The nurse winked, swaying happily from side to side as she motioned to her sister for more drinks.
…
Needless to say, after the effects of the second, third and fourth shots that Rita persuaded down Connie's neck, there wasn't a sober thought between them.
"You know what I'm gonna do with my life?" Connie slurred, trying to rest her head on her hand, but missing each time. "I'm gonna become the first female president of Amelia."
The now extremely off-her-face head of nursing laughed loudly.
"Don't you mean America, Amelia is a name, dumbass."
Connie shrugged, looking around with wide, glazed over eyes.
"Could be a place for all we know." She gasped as a sudden realisation hit her and her eyes widened. "It could be in space!"
Both women looked shocked, taking the conversation very seriously.
"Yeah like- it could be on mars or something. The aliens could have called it that. I bet there's sign posts and everything."
"Damn right." The brunette nodded decisively, as the two descended into silence. Rebecca had long since started denying them more drinks, after the last two other staff members left due to the noise they were making. Plus the two medics didn't seem to want to leave, despite the fact the clock had gone 11pm ages ago.
"So, Rita-pateeta," Connie grinned, attempting successfully to put her head on both her hands this time, "you still need to tell me why you're here."
"You really wanna know?" Her eyes glinted, and the woman opposite her nodded.
"I really wanna know." She confirmed.
"But, do you really really wanna know?"
Connie nodded playfully, now grinning even wider. Rita seemed satisfied and began to talk.
"One of Becca's mates told me you hung out here after work. I wanted to like try get to know you better so maybe like, like, maybe we could get closer than just boss and nurse." She flung her arms up in the air, before Connie spluttered into laughter.
"What?" The smaller woman pretended to be wounded and confused.
"You mean you wanna get into my pants Miss Freeman. You know you should change your name to Miss Freewoman, because you're not a man… At least, I don't think you are…" Her voice trailed off seductively and she arched her perfectly plucked eyebrows. Rita took in her boss' face, as best she could in her drunken state, and loved every inch of it. From the stray brown hairs tickling her forehead, to the smudged mascara from where she'd cried with laughter, to the freckles that littered the tops of her cheeks, to the smooth curves of her painted lips.
Before her mind registered what she was doing, Rita leant in and their lips collided in a haze of pent up, tequila induced love. And Connie enjoyed each and every second of it.
"Alright alright, that's enough. It's half past one in the morning and I want to go to bed." Rebecca stood next to their table with her hands on her hips, watching the couple break apart and giggle. "Come on Reets, I'll drop you and your, um, friend home."
"My home?" The small blonde looked innocently hopeful, and her sister just rolled her eyes.
"No, Bill Gate's home. Yes yours you dimwit. Hurry up."
…
With some difficulties and plenty more giggling fits, Rebecca managed to get the two drunken women into her car and safely deposit them in Rita's hallway. She went back out to the car and sat in the driver's seat, waiting for the front door to be locked before she started up the engine.
"Like babysitting a pair of toddlers." She muttered, putting the car into gear and driving home. She sped away from Rita's small bottom-floor flat, where her sister and newly-acquired lover were tearing off their clothes, silhouetted by the moonlight streaming through her bedroom window as they fell on top of the double bed, becoming but a tangle of hair, limbs and love…
