CHAPTER TWO

Fingers tapped against the paper cup, the silence of the break room becoming too much to bear. Outside the door, there was the usual hustle and bustle of the busy country hospital, with voices ranging from friendly chatter to panicked calls. With a heavy sigh, the lone occupant of the room, a trainee nurse, raised her coffee to her lips, giving a content sigh as the steaming liquid reached her lips. It was the burst of energy that came from regular coffees that helped get her through the day. It also gave her a moment of quiet reflection, which sometimes was not the best thing. There were days when Annie could imagine her usual break partner sitting across on the other side of the table. Mina was exceptionally sweet and warm, contrasting to her own more serious and introverted nature. Yet, despite her many attempts to keep others out, the neonatal nurse had managed to break through her defences.

Setting the paper cup down on the table, Annie covered her eyes with the palm of her hand, feeling the all too familiar tightening of the chest, and tears beginning to build. It had been two years since Mina's car accident, one that had sent her car spiralling out of control and into the path of a travelling truck on the highway. Two years, and still it was raw, especially since Annie had refused to seek solace, to speak her grief out. No, she carried it around, along with the silver necklace of Mina's. It was a dainty little thing, far too feminine for herself, but it was one of the only pieces she had of her love. It was sad that it was only after Mina's death that she realised just how deep her love for her was. They had confessed it, yes. Given each other sweet kisses, and even woke up with limbs tangled beneath the sheets. But, it was in the days leading up to that unfortunate incident that Annie realised… she wanted to spend the rest of her life with her.

She wanted to wake up every morning, with Mina blushing and hiding her face, groaning that she looked horrible so early, hair still a mess from the previous night's activities. Annie loved that bed hair, especially knowing that it was her fingers that had played a part in messing it so completely. Morning kisses were also endlessly wonderful, despite the morning breath, which left Mina squirming beneath her, nose crinkling in disgust. Then there were those cute little pigtails that she loved to tie her hair into. At first, Annie had pointed out how school girl-ish they were, yet after a while, she began to see them as something completely adorable and so very Mina.

Finger lightly tapped against the table top, a small smile gracing her features. It was nicer; she realised, to remember the happier moments of their relationship than focus on the end. That was how Mina would have wanted to be remembered anyway, Annie was certain. Reaching into the pocket of her shirt, she pulled out her phone. There were no messages, to not surprise at all. Yet, she sat silently tapping at icons on the small touch screen, finding herself in the photographs. Nearly all were of Mina, or at least contained Mina in some way. Annie had never been particularly fond of having photographs taken of herself, especially given her larger sized nose. Yet, almost from the beginning, Mina had made her feel good about herself. She could still remember the shock as Mina snatched the phone from her hands, pulling her close for a photograph. And, it seemed that this would be how they recorded their relationship. Beginning with cute, friendly self-photographs, moving on to pictures of sweet kisses in various locations, including the elevator at the hospital. It was clear in the first few that Annie was not happy or comfortable at all, yet over time that expression changed to a smile, somewhat awkward compared to Mina's beautiful one.

The last few were a little more personal, with Annie and Mina in bed, likely first thing in the morning. Mina was clearly trying to hide her face from the camera, no doubt making protest at the whole thing. You are beautiful, just smile. And the last photograph was of them snuggled up close together, Mina pressing a surprise kiss to Annie's cheek. That would be the last of the photographs they would take together, which was even now a bitter pill to swallow. No more early morning kisses, no more cute photographs. And most importantly, no more Mina. With a heavy sigh, she returned the phone to her pocket, slowly finishing her coffee. Time was running short for her break, soon it was back to work.

Coffee cup discarded in the trash can, Annie stepped out of the break room and was quickly dragged away to work. Due to the shortage of nurses, it was hands on work in the hospital, and she was soon on her way down to the emergency ward. Handed a clipboard, Annie was directed to one of the curtained off beds. Before entering, she made sure to know what was wrong, so there was little chance of a shock. To absolutely no surprise, the names were Petra Ral and Auruo Bossard. The pair were expecting their first child together, and being first time parents they often had a tendency to think the smallest thing could be something dangerous. Last time, the soft first kicks had sent them into a flurry of panic, or at least Auruo was. Petra was generally quite calm about the whole thing, arriving at the hospital to ease her partner's panic more than anything. Sighing, Annie shook her head in disbelief. Again? The woman was only months, two at most, from giving birth. So she could only wonder how they would manage after the child was born.

Before she could enter the curtained off area, she was joined by a second nurse, one that was clearly new to the staff of the hospital. Blonde hair was cropped short, with the slightest of waves. The way she carried herself clearly indicated that she was quite self-assured, standing with a hand on her hip as if expecting something. Annie sighed, tucking the clipboard under her arm.

"I was told I was to shadow you today, so I could see how you country nurses do things", the blonde began, voice with a slight cockiness that just made Annie want to cringe.

"Well, I suppose if you were told to follow me, you have to follow me".

"I'm Hitch, by the way".

"That's nice".

"You really aren't the most social, are you, nurse?"

"Nope".

"So what's our first case?"

Clearly, Hitch was determined to have some sort of conversation, but even though she had done nothing yet, there was something about her that just got on Annie's nerves. Perhaps it was that overflowing self-confidence. But rather than telling her about the waiting parents, she handed the folder over to her, before stepping through the curtains.

As expected, Auruo was anxiously clutching Petra's hand, the ginger haired woman sighing and looking around the room. Sometimes, she wondered how Petra put up with the man, often insufferable and irritating, but occasionally she saw the looks that he gave his fiancée, and realised that he was so completely and utterly smitten. It was quite sweet, seeing a man so in love. Yet, at the same time Annie wished he would stop coming into the emergency room every time something went the slightest bit awry.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked calmly, washing her hands with some sanitizer, settling down on a stool near the bed.

"I… I think I broke my ankle", Petra whimpered, indicating to the highly swollen and clearly bruising ankle in question. Clearly, she had done some serious damage in the fall. Moving to the end of the bed, Annie's fingers began to gently touch, prod and move the foot, checking the level of damage, causing small whimpers from the woman.

"Alright, I need you to move your toes". The look on Petra's face showed she was determined and trying, but to no avail. In that time, it seemed that Hitch had joined the three of them in the room, quietly observing what was going on. "Alright, it might be broken. But we need to get an x-ray to see what the damage is. A doctor should be in to see you shortly". The calm, professional tone kept Auruo in particular from panicking too much, which had happened previously. With a gentle smile, Annie left the room, closing the curtain behind Hitch.

"You were pretty good in there. I thought that guy was going to freak out".

Unaccustomed to compliments, Annie blinked a few times, unsure at first how to respond. "I… ah. Thank you?"

Surprisingly, the rest of the shift was a lot more pleasant with Hitch. Despite her first impression, Annie found her to be a well and truly capable member of the nursing staff, easily handling patients and stressful situations. In the quiet times, Hitch became slightly impatient, giving the strong impression she may have previously worked in a more bustling city hospital. But what exactly had brought this talented nurse to the small country town hospital? Despite asking during a second break in their shift, Annie received no answers, Hitch simply shaking her head and replying with the avoiding statement, "It's a long story". For someone so sociable, she was certainly keeping oddly quietly on the topic of her move into town, meaning Annie left for the night, her thirst for answers left unquenched.