Nurse Jackie

Over the Influence

2

-x-

All Saints Hospital was doing well.

They never really thought this day would come - as much as they'd wanted it to, and as much as Akalitus pulled puppet strings daily to make it happen sooner, it somehow did happen. Somehow they were here without wishing they weren't. Somehow their patients were here without wishing the ambulance driver had chugged down one extra Sangria that night.

The changes were attributed to many factors. One of which was Jackie's own return after sobering up. The twelve steps were a challenge for many, but with a quick mind and a little harmless cheating along the way, they went pretty fast. Oh, she was sincere for certain, it was just much harder to face the world when your brain was coated in 'kill me now.'

Other nurses came and went while she was away. Other doctors came and went while she was away. Zoey and O'Hara called weekly to make sure she was keeping up with the 'system', but they were too indulgent for Jackie's independent liking.

A higher power let her move on with as much force as was not necessary. She had never been one to give in to the grudge. It had taken fist fights and angry words and a great golden surrender on her part - what a moment that was - but she had made it over the fence alive.

Her scratches were still healing, but that was the best part.

Returning to All Saints was a crazy adventure indeed. They really hadn't expected her to come back at all, and she found it rather like walking into the movie set of a tacky sequel where all the characters were predictably stunned to see their counterpart resurrect from the ash left behind by the old director's boots.

Jackie had been pleasantly surprised to find Dr. Cooper had transferred, Eddie still had his job, and Zoey no longer fumbled with the IV tubes. O'Hara was thrilled to have her best friend back, though they had never really been apart. It still felt special. Even Jackie could admit that.

It was even a little comforting when less than a month into it, things started turning back to the same old, irritating routine. But it was a hospital for fuck's sake. If she ever thought the tiles would gleam flawlessly forever, she would have been an idiot.

For the first time since she'd received her nursing degree, Jackie remembered why she had been so into this scene in the first place.

It was raw and rough. She could get high off of healing people instead of drugs. This was what getting high was all about.

This was the healthy high.

For a while it was enough. But everyone knows the crises come back. A stain of the past addictions was still there - like an embarrassing tattoo on her belly she just couldn't completely cover up.

It wasn't a big deal. At least she didn't write it off as a big deal. Everyone wishes they could fall of a bridge or get wasted when bad stuff happens. It's part of being human. The sober life wasn't any more or less pleasant than the stoned life.

It was just really different. She'd forgotten what it was like.

She had to adjust.

A year after she started back at All Saints, she thought she was over the culture-shock.

Apparently she was wrong.

-x-

It was one of those weird days where the rush happened early in the morning - right when you got there, something rolled in screaming on a gurney and it was off with the coat, in with the scrubs.

There was something nice about the hectic atmosphere. Hell no, she didn't want it to be like this every day, but once in a while she needed it. Just to feel important. Every swing of her arm was significant. Every decimal recited to the doctor was a life-sentence. Every accidental bump into the nurse behind her was a mutual bonding. This was how to get high.

The rush was a fast one. They worked like ants in their well-established ant-hill, and Akalitus was glowing from head to foot, which was neither a pleasant nor unpleasant sight.

A swell of contentedness befell the hospital staff once the afternoon rolled around. They were proud of themselves for all the lives they had saved, all the good they had injected into the world, one vaccine at a time.

Lunch tasted so much better after one of these mornings.

"I told you about the replacement for Dr. Stephan, didn't I?" O'Hara asked for the twelfth time, swishing her raspberry iced tea around her glass in a not-so-discreet signal to the waiter for more.

Jackie groaned. "Yes. Yes, you told me. New doctor, big threat. It's up there."

"Well, I've been counting down the days, darling. The least you could do is be a bit supportive."

"Supportive of what? Playground bullying tactics? Welcome mat weaving?"

O'Hara tossed her long hair behind her shoulder and spoke slowly and articulately, "I want to make a good impression." She raised a pointed finger. "Nay, a godly impression."

"Hm. Godly." Jackie shook her head. "They'll love that."

"My GOD. What will it take for this poor bastard to get his arse over here?" O'Hara made a maraca out of her ice-filled glass and plastered a simpering smile on her face.

The young man stopped fumbling with the tangle of his apron to skid across the room to their table. "My apologies, Ma'am."

All it took was a foreign accent to intrigue O'Hara. Granted, that happened often in New York City. "Russian, are you?" she asked with a grin.

He nodded.

O'Hara curled her fingers seductively around her glass and lifted it for the waiter to refill. "Zapolnit' yee."

"All right, yes, thank you." Jackie shooed him away. "I think we're about done here, Roberta Lovelace." Clamping a hand around her friend's shoulder, the no-business nurse pulled the flirtatious doctor up out of her seat.

-x-

The remainder of the day was uneventful, which was a nice way to end a hectic morning.

Before she left, Jackie made sure to stop by O'Hara's office for a favor.

"Would you mind writing Grace a birth control prescription? Oh, and none of that full-dose estrogen shit - the last thing she needs is more fucked up hormones."

O'Hara was bemused.

"And why am I writing the anxiety-ridden sixteen-year-old a prescription for birth control?"

"Jesus, she's got cramps."

O'Hara's eyebrows raised elegantly.

Jackie rolled her eyes and spelled it out. "Really. Really. Bad. Cramps."

"Right. I'll take care of it tonight, then shall I? Care to join me for a cashe dinner at La Sirene this evening?"

"Ack. I have to decline."

"What, now . . . ?" O'Hara gasped and pulled her shocked face.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just Kevin wants me there tonight - I do really wanna see the girls."

"Aw, now that's a mother's true calling. Want me to bring some leftovers up?"

"Uh, I don't think Kev would appreciate that after all the work he's going through to make his signature pasta dish."

O'Hara was shocked.

"You're abandoning me for some al dente disaster?"

"Why don't you just sacrifice a first class meal for one night and come up with me?" Jackie practically pleaded.

"Well you know I would, but I'll be needing an extra sanity nudge tonight if you catch my drift. Don't want the girls wondering why Dr. O'Hara carries her own bottle of Chamborde."

"Okay. Better stay downtown, then. We don't want you to soil the suburbs."

O'Hara grinned and stood up from her desk to stretch. The stretch elaborated in such a way that her arms extended forward, drawing Jackie in for a hug.

"If you need anything, Love,"

"I will call-"

"Ah ah! Text!"

"Text. Right."

"Mmm." The doctor's brown eyes sparkled in a strangely motherly way as she considered her shorter friend. "You know he wants you back, Jacks."

Here they go again.

"Pft."

"This spontaneous string of dinner dates is a sign . . ."

"It's a sign that we made a smart decision to be apart."

O'Hara wasn't convinced.

"You don't think he misses you?"

"The girls miss me," Jackie mumbled as she zipped up her coat. "That I know."

-x-

Thanks to anyone reading. I've got a pretty good plan for where to take this, so fear not. There will be drama on the way.

Please review or message if you like it.

Elmm