Matilda fed the tube into the bag of painkillers, set it on the hanging stand, and took another glance at the life sign monitors. The patient, an elderly woman, was stable. She recalled she had been hit by a bus; pushed into the street while standing on the curb. Her sadistic side snickered and wished she could meet whoever had pushed.
She straightened the blanket absentmindedly. "Can I help you, Doctor Cuddy?"
Said doctor grumbled to herself. This Matilda, this painted nurse, was sharper than she looked. "No, not really. Just wanted to warn you about something."
Matilda wiped her hands on her skirt and placed them on her hips. "Fire away."
Cuddy cringed at the flicking tongue that concluded the sentence, but proceeded with firmness and just a hint of anger: "If you blow up my hospital, I swear – "
"Hey, hey!" Matilda raised her hands in a gesture of innocence. "I won't! That'd be too easy anyway."
"How can I trust you?"
"I'm a – ahem, woman of my word."