"Connie? What on earth is going on?! Rita is in the staffroom writing her resignation letter!" Charlie exclaimed as he barged into Connie's office, allowing the door to fall back against the wall causing a clattering to echo around the room.
"Yes Charlie, do come in" She muttered sarcastically before sitting back in her chair as though she hadn't a care in the world. She grinned at the older nurse, making him feel uneasy and uncomfortable.
"What's going on? You're supposed to be saving jobs, not cutting them" Charlie cried although he got the feeling that the clinical lead wasn't exactly bothered by what he had to say.
"I'm not cutting jobs, merely having a little clear out of staff who are not meeting the standard that is expected in this department. Nurse Freeman just happens to be at the top of the very short list"
"A list? There's a list! Who else is on this little list of yours then?" Charlie spoke angrily as he looked at Connie with utter disbelief in his eyes.
"Just the one. Why, do you want to make it two Nurse Fairehead? "Connie enquired as she twirled her pen between her fingers. It was all a game to her, manipulating and taking out her pain on others. Charlie could see straight through it all and although he felt complete and utter anger and hatred towards the clinical lead he also felt sympathy and care for her.
"Oh come on! This isn't you! You would never force a member of staff out without good reason! Nurse Freeman is a valued member of the nursing team, everyone likes her!" Charlie argued hoping he could get through to the brunette who was sat stubbornly with a pout.
"It's not about popularity though is it Charlie. This is about respect, and Nurse Freeman has a lack of that and I will not have that here!"
"I'm starting to think that this is some sort of vendetta, what has she done so awful that makes you want her out so badly?" Charlie questioned.
"Are you questioning my professionalism now, because I can assure you that if you are, I will have you out of here faster than you can blink! Now is that all?" Connie sat forward in her seat, her eyes daring the older nurse to say something more.
"Why can't you just accept that we want to help? This is such a rubbish time for you, but pushing away the people who care is not going to help, please Connie…" Charlie pleaded. Connie looked at him for a second, the words sinking into her head. She was about to thank him for making her see sense but instead she cleared her throat and pointed towards the door with the end of her pen.
"Close the door on your way out…"
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"Robyn can you chase up the bloods for my patient in cubicle three please… also if you could persuade them to allow me to do a vaginal swab, I suspect that little miss sunshine's problem is to do with some form of sexually transmitted infection rather than anything else" Connie spoke as she pulled the curtain to the cubicle shut and moved over to the nurses station where Robyn was stood with a pile of patient notes beside her.
"Yeah, course. I'll do it now" Robyn replied as she picked up the phone from the receiver and dialled in the correct number. Connie looked down at the pile that had mounted up beside the young nurse and began to flick through the top set of notes. They were Zoe's. Connie flicked through the pages quickly before shutting it again and tucking it under her arm.
"Mrs Beauchamp…"
"Not now Doctor Hardy, I'm busy…"
"It's Cal…" Ethan's words grabbed the clinical leads attention. She stopped in her tracks and looked intently at the young man.
"What? Is he ok? What's happened?" She panicked, images flashing through her head of Cal lying in a mortuary or being sat in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
"Well you're not actually going to believe this but I've just had a call. He managed to walk all the way to the toilet and back on his own, unaided "The young doctor was smiling, a genuinely happy smile that Connie mirrored as relief filled her body.
"That's… that's…" Connie began, but before she could finish her lip began to wobble and that's when Ethan realised that Connie Beauchamp was crying. He looked at her awkwardly, watching as she desperately tried to wipe the tears away.
"Urm, you ok?" He asked nervously. Connie nodded quickly, a small smile turning on her lips.
"Just ignore me. I have so many hormones that I don't know whether I'm coming or going anymore" She laughed lightly as she wiped the underneath of her eyes once again to ensure there were no traces of tears.
"Perfectly understandable. I must admit I too feel a little teary" Ethan smiled a warm smile that reassured Connie.
"It's all going to be ok now, he'll be there when my niece or nephew is born, plus he'll be able to do the nappy changes, so that's you off the hook!" Ethan joked. Connie looked at the young man for a second and like a light bulb going off in her head, a flood of realisations hit her.
"Thank you" She said before enveloping Ethan into a hug, taking him by absolute surprise. He awkwardly hugged her back trying to work out what he had done to earn a sudden burst of sensitivity from one of the scariest women he had ever met.
"Urm, you coming up to s-"He babbled as Connie eventually let go.
"I have to do something quickly, but I'll be up in the next half an hour…"
"Yeah course. Guess I'll see you up there…"