Bit late today so apologies about that, hoping tomorrow's installment (or is it today's now?) will be up earlier than this one. I know I said no angst but I sort of couldn't help myself so this one is a little bit angsty. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and also to those that left suggestions, I will definitely be incorporating those at some point. Really pleased that you liked the first one - would you like me to write more in a similar style to the way the first one was written?
Disclaimer: I own nothing, Casualty belongs to the BBC. No copyright infringement intended.
Enjoy and if you have time, it would be awesome if you could leave a review. Thanks!

2: Mistletoe

Nick Jordan cleared his throat before speaking, instantly shattering the peaceful silence that had settled over his office. "What's the verdict?"

His partner who was currently perched on the edge of the desk, her legs stretched out in front of her and her left foot resting delicately on top of her right foot, exhaled deeply and placed the palm of her hands on the wooden desk as she tried to articulate her thoughts in a coherent manner. "It's not good. I wouldn't like to speculate but going on past experience, I reckon she's probably looking at least three years, possibly more. It all depends on a number of factors in the end. We won't be opposing bail so at least she might get to spend Christmas at home but whichever way you look at it, their Christmas is ruined with this hanging over her head." Frustration was dripping from her tone, seeping through every pore. Punching something certainly seemed like a viable option right now.

He shot her a sympathetic smile. It had been one of those awful days where everything just seemed to go wrong, more so for her and although they had spent the majority of the working day together, he wished it had been under slightly better circumstances. "You know, you did everything you could. There was nothing more you could have done."

Yvonne was silent for a few moments, her gaze locked firmly onto her lap before she eventually answered him. "Yeah I know." She rubbed a hand over her face tiredly, uncrossing her legs and sitting up properly. "It's just...oh, I don't know. We try and help but sometimes we just make things a whole lot worse. What happened today is a prime example of that."

Nick placed his hand on her knee, his thumb moving in soothing circles along the soft material of her dark grey trousers. "For what it's worth, you handled it all brilliantly today."

"Maybe."

"There's no maybe about it, don't be so hard on yourself." He told her insistently, removing his hand from her knee, instead taking her hand so that he could entwine his fingers with hers. He guided her hand up to his mouth, placing a soft kiss against her knuckles as his eyes met hers properly for the first time since she had wandered nonchalantly into his office. He could quite clearly see how tired she actually looked now that they had stopped rushing around and had some time to reflect on the turbulent events of the day. "You look exhausted love," he observed, swiftly changing the subject. "Are you going straight home?"

She answered with a slight movement of her head before elaborating. "Via the station, yes."

Somehow, he had known that she was going to say something along those lines before she had actually said it. It was so typically her and he was fairly sure that she meant she would be spending at least another hour, if not two at the station before eventually getting home at some obscure hour.

"See you there then?" Unfortunately, he still had an hour left before his shift ended so he couldn't take her home at a relatively normal time as he had hoped he might have been able to. He was planning on being home or nearly home in an hour and a half and he was definitely going to be keeping his fingers well and truly crossed that nothing major happened between now and then so he could escape near enough on time.

A tiny smile flickered upon her features. "I hope so." She tightened her grip around his hand momentarily before releasing it and standing up. Nick watched as she picked up her bag and then headed for the door. Just as she was about to leave his office, he spoke, his words stopping her in her tracks.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

She spun round to look at him and as she locked eyes with him, he noticed a glimmer of amusement in those grey orbs of hers. "Am I?" Her tone was light, almost bordering on flirtatious. It was certainly a complete contrast to the way she had been barely five minutes ago but in his eyes, that could only ever be a good thing.

Nick didn't reply, instead deciding to show her what he meant rather than tell her. He could feel her inquisitive gaze on him as he leant down and pulled the bottom desk drawer open, scrabbling around inside until he located the item he wanted. With a smile playing on his lips, he closed his drawer and then straightened back up, letting her see what he had in his hand. He twirled a sprig of mistletoe around his fingers, raising one eyebrow at her, his meaning clear as he waited expectantly for her reaction.

He always surprised her and even when her mood was at rock bottom whether it be after a bad day or something else, he always managed to pull something out of the bag that cheered her up immensely. In this case, it was him waving a piece of foliage at her with a daft grin on his face that lightened the atmosphere in the room considerably which sounded more ridiculous than it actually was. Yvonne simply dumped her bag on the floor and walked back over to where he was sitting.

As she reached him, he stood up and placed one hand on her waist, nudging her closer to him. His other hand held the mistletoe above their heads, their lips touching leisurely at first. The kiss was soon deepened, both of them getting lost in the other; the trials and tribulations of the day melting away. Their embrace was brief – over sooner than either of them would have liked but both were conscious that they had to be professional – a stolen but very welcome reprieve following the turmoil of the day and in those few precious minutes, everything was ok again.

They pulled apart soon after, her hands resting on his upper arms. She looked at him, tilting her head slightly to the left, surveying him curiously. "Why do you have mistletoe in your desk drawer?"