A/N: as requested, this is Connie and Jacob (ft Grace), but it's as near to a one shot about them as I have right now. I will try to write one purely on them but I'm one of the few people who doesn't really ship them *hides*
thank you for reading and reviewing, always very much appreciated. We are half way through now! x
Advent Calander
12. Baubles
"Grace?!" Connie paused in her steps, the click of her trademark red soled shoes halting abruptly. Squinting momentarily, a scowl of perplexity and irritancy adopted her feature when she identified the young girl hastily scurrying through the chaotic department to be her daughter.
"What are you doing here?" Sincerity and assertion edged her question, perfectly manicured fingertips clasped on the girl's shoulders, attempting to steer her through the clusters of people and to her office before noticed.
"I was expelled-" The mini brunette responded nonchalantly, the regularity of the situation becoming increasingly - and concerningly - frequent.
The clinical lead parted her lips, ready to articulate a stern reprimanding, but while she cleared her throat, she was interrupted.
"Ah! So you must be the famous Miss Beauchamp!" Jacob had perceived the arrival of Grace and refused to miss the chance to finally meet this fiery yet unique nine year old, "Nice to meet you." His jubilant manner simply caused the girl to raise her shaped eyebrows - a perfected copy of the gesture her mother habited on a daily basis.
"Who are you?" Blunt and rude, she swivelled her dark orbs to look the nurse up and down, eying him suspiciously.
"Jacob Masters." He beamed proudly, "Your mother's boyfr-"
Connie instantly cut in, "He's no one. Just a friend." Her glare was ominous, "Gracie, please go wait in my office. I'll be along shortly."
"He's your boyfriend?!" The words were spat bitterly, screeched from her lungs and created gasps and murmurs as other nurses and doctors spun round to watch the commotion.
"Now, Grace. Please."
Grace was already scampering away, darting through the obstacles in her path following her latest discovery. Raging anger saturated her petite frame, fists clenched while she ran.
Connie's cheeks flushed a rosy red, burning harshly compared to her pale complexion. The staring eyes prickled her back like cutting thorns. But she maintained composure, pirouetting sharply with a barked order, "Get back to work! The show's over!" She hissed with venom.
The staff scurried back to their patients and attended to duties, leaving Jacob and the clinical lead standing awkwardly in the centre of the ED.
"Sorry...I thought you were going to tell her?"
"I am!" She argued defensively, subconsciously twirling a glossy curl of chestnut coloured hair around her fingers, murmuring, "I just haven't found the right time." The subject was dismissed with a jerk of her shoulders in the approximation of a shrug.
Nurse Masters nodded, biting back all he had to say regarding the topic, "You should take the rest of the day off and go home with Grace. The ED is no place for a hyperactive nine year old. She needs your full attention and supervision."
The brunette rolled her eyes with a scoff, "I can't." She muttered, "We are incredibly short staffed, there is an influx of casualties and resources are stretched to the absolute limit! It would be irresponsible of me to leave. Grace will be fine waiting in my office until my shift ends-"
"Mrs Beauchamp!" The distressed tone of Robyn's high pitched voice captured her attention, "We need you in resus right now! It's an emergency!"
"I'll be right there." She nodded in acknowledgement, inhaling a deep breath and straightening her stethoscope that suspended around her neck. Her heels collided harshly with the tacky floor, strutting towards the mechanised doors for her next medical challenge.
Jacob sighed and marched towards the office, shutting the door behind him. Someone needs to keep an eye on the young girl and ensure she stayed out of mischief.
"Go away!" Grace yelled spitefully, arms enveloped around her knees as she rocked tentatively in the curled up position, "I hate you!" She barely was able to spend much time with her mother as it was due to her demanding job, so the idea of having to share that precious time with somebody else too was exasperating.
"Well, let's see if we can change that then." He flopped onto her leather swivel chair with his arms folded across his muscular chest.
"Your mum is having a really hard day, so why don't you - we - do something nice for her. Like...I don't know...decorate her office nicely with Christmas decorations since she's too busy to do it herself?"
The youngest Beauchamp contemplated fleetingly before hesitantly nodding, "I guess so...it'll give me something to do otherwise I'll be bored." She shrugged.
"Good girl," Jacob grinned and began to remove the miniature artificial tree from it's box and assemble it on her desk, "Why don't you see what decorations are in the box?"
Grace started emptying the contents of the cardboard box, choosing her favourite pieces of sparkling tinsel in purple, red, gold and blue. She located the star to deck the very top, and pulled out a large cylinder containing a vast number of glittery baubles.
"Jacob, we need your help." Louise poked her head round the door, "We've got a patient who's refusing to be treated by anyone but a male."
"Can't Lofty help instead?"
She shook her head, "Lofty's busy and you're the only male nurse free. So please?"
With a sigh, Nurse Masters agreed, "I'll be back as soon as I can, Grace. I can't wait to see how far you get with decorating the tree! Behave." And with that, he followed Louise to the patient.
The tree was up and the fairy lights had been twirled around the fake branches and pine leaves. Grace groaned in frustration as she couldn't get into the contents that she could see so visibly because a generous quantity of sticky tape had been added at the end of last year's festive season to seal the baubles securely.
Equipped with the crate of sparkling decorations, she departed the office and went in search of a tool to aid her in gaining entry, or someone more skilful to help. Wandering through cubicles allowed her to steal a set of surgical scissors from a trolley and she perched in the corner, beginning to snip away at the tape.
Grinning contently, Grace jumped to her feet snd clutched the cylinder of baubles after successfully freeing the lid. She skipped off in the direction of the office, leaving the scissors, excess sticky tape and the cut up lid abandoned on the floor. But during her journey back to the office, she crashed into someone much taller and bigger than herself, resulting in her dropping the box.
The baubles gushed out the pot promptly, rolling in various directions and gaining momentum as they spilled out everywhere. There was sparkly spheres everywhere. The girl simply made a rapid retreat for safety, making no effort to fix her mess.
In correspondence, Connie and Jacob emerged from their separate areas where they had been treating patients, simultaneously groaning at the mayhem that had unfolded as people haphazardly dodged the baubles and slipped in all directions. Before a warning could be issued, poor Lofty tumbled on the baubles, plummeting to the floor.
In union, the consultant and nurse shouted, "Grace!"
