The next morning and Connie was in a much better mood, but both women were slightly tired.
Neither slept well the night before, disturbing one another before finally snuggling off into a restless sleep.
Connie sipped happily at her coffee as Rita made herself and Connie sandwiches for lunch.
"You finishing at normal time today?" Rita asked as she passed Connie her packet of ham salad sandwiches.
"Hopefully, why?" Connie asked as Rita let out a huge yawn. "You want to come home and go straight to bed?" Connie guessed, Rita nodding, smiling at how well Connie could read her mind.
They made it to work, Rita making note of her achievement for not falling asleep in the car.
The two women kissed goodbye, Rita seeing several people from last night and thanking them for their lovely gifts.
Rita once again cracked on with her paperwork, trying to get through it as quickly as possible so she actually had some more time for actual patients today, rather than those she had already seen and discharged.
She had just finished the small pile of paperwork and was about to reward herself with a cup of tea, when Charlie rushed into her office.
"We need you in cubicles." Charlie told Rita.
She pushed herself up from her chair as quickly as possible, dashing after Charlie who led her to where she was needed.
"Connie?" Rita questioned as she saw her girlfriend sat on the bed, pushing away Tess and Cal who were desperately trying to treat her.
She had a large gash on her upper arm, a very red cheek and a series of small scratches on her neck.
"Rita, I'm fine, I told you not to go and get her!" She seethed at Charlie, who put his hands up and edged out of the cubicle.
"You need your arm stitched up." Tess told Connie who shook her head.
"I'm fine, will you all just let me get on with my job?" Connie begged, looking to Rita who smiled sadly.
"I'll make sure she gets sorted, leave the stuff, ok?" Rita asked, Cal sighed, throwing his gloves in the bin.
"You make sure you stitch that arm up." Tess said to Rita who nodded.
"What have you been up to?" Rita asked, placing her hand on Connie's shoulder and getting her to lie down on the bed.
"Will you just let me go and finish treating my patient?" Connie asked, trying to gently push Rita away.
"No I will not. Connie, people are trying to help you and you just keep pushing them away." Rita told her, reaching up for a pair of gloves and snapping them on her hand.
She then carefully wiped the large cut on Connie's arm with a piece of sterile gauze.
Connie winced, biting her lip as Rita investigated the wound, to make sure that it wasn't contaminated.
"You want some anaesthetic?" Rita questioned, but Connie shook her head bravely.
"What happened then?" Rita asked, trying to distract Connie from the pain of her piercing the needle through her skin. "Connie, I will pester you about this until you start talking." Connie sighed, knowing Rita wasn't lying.
"Just a patient, it wasn't his fault. He has autism, and he didn't like so many people touching him, but he took it all out on me." Connie said, closing her eyes as Rita inserted the needle again. "I don't mean to push everyone out, I'm just not used to it…" Rita nodded, she knew Connie's vulnerabilities all too well.
Connie had confided in Rita about her childhood, where she had constantly felt out of place, like she didn't belong.
She had struggled with anxiety and mild depression when she was younger, and even in her early 20's.
Medicine had given Connie the platform to be who she wanted to be, the confident, sassy woman she was today.
But Rita was familiar with Connie's alter ego, which resurfaced only when she was alone, or with Rita.
It was the part of herself Connie hated the most, but she sometimes found it impossibly difficult to keep it at bay, Rita always there to help her deal with the aftermath.
"I love you Connie, all of you. I will always be here for you, just remember other people are as well." Rita finished the stitching wrapping a piece of bandage around the arm and checking none of the smaller cuts were infected or in need of any other treatment. "You are all done." Rita kissed Connie's cheek, then holding Connie close.
"I love you too." Connie smiled, pulling back and standing up. "Back to work Nurse Freeman." She teased, Rita raising her eyebrows and folding her arms on top of her bump.
"I see how it is, Mrs Beauchamp." Rita tipped her rubbish in the bin, before walking out of the cubicle.