"Nadine, you are not going home on your own!" Elizabeth exclaimed after the rest of the staff had filled her in on the conversation that was taking place. They were all sitting in Nadine's hospital room, having pulled chairs from who knows where, and settled down around the bed. Nadine leaned back on a pile of pillows that Elizabeth had insisted on providing. She had complained at the time, but they were actually coming in quite handy.
"I will be perfectly fine, ma'am," Nadine responded firmly, emphasizing her use of the word ma'am.
"I don't doubt it. But it's still ridiculous to insist on being alone when you have people around!"
"Yes, people who all have lives. I cannot interfere with their lives so that they can help me with things I am perfectly capable of doing on my own." Nadine was slightly irritated, but was not about to yell at her boss.
"Nadine, out of all of the people in this room, I'm the only one with an intact family, and only two of us have children. Well, children at home, I mean. Besides, I keep you ungodly hours at the Truman Building, so it's not like any of you can really maintain a personal life…" Elizabeth trailed off, and Nadine smirked. The woman wasn't wrong. As far as she knew, none of the people in the room, save Elizabeth, had dated outside of the government in the last year, and their nights off were next to none. But still…
"It's still entirely unprofessional, not to mention unrealistic. Nobody could logistically stay at my place for any length of time."
"I could!" Daisy called out.
"See?" Elizabeth asked smugly.
"That is incredibly unnecessary. I can manage alone." Nadine tried again.
"But here's the thing: you aren't alone this time," Daisy pointed out, and everyone else in the room nodded. They had been filled in earlier. Nadine sighed.
"I'd still feel more comfortable if you went on with your lives as normal."
"Too bad," Elizabeth stated.
"And besides," Daisy added, "the office won't be normal for a few weeks anyway." That earned a smile from Nadine, who finally nodded.
"Fine. But if you ever decide that…"
"Nadine, it's fine. I'm glad to be helpful!" Daisy reassured her.
"So," Matt broke into the conversation, "when will you be discharged?"
"The doctor said later this afternoon, most likely," Nadine informed him. "I told him that I could go home last night, but…"
"Nadine, last night you could hardly move without pain. I can't say I blame him!" Elizabeth exclaimed. Nadine let out a small groan.
"Don't remind me…" she complained.
"Okay, I'm gonna go pack up some clothes, and I'll be back by noon, alright?" Daisy asked.
"Yes, that's fine Daisy, if not completely unnecessary."
"Okay, you're not going to convince us, so I'd suggest you stop trying," Elizabeth advised her, and Nadine huffed.
"Whatever." Nadine crossed her arms, which made the room burst into laughter as Daisy excused herself and closed the door behind her.
"Okay, now I feel bad," Nadine commented.
"Oh, don't," Jay broke in. "I think she's glad to be able to do something. She was freaking out about how she should have noticed sooner. That one," he added, pointing at Elizabeth, "wasn't much better. She spent the entire time you were in surgery pacing the office, until Blake finally gave up and dragged her here…" The whole group burst into laughter at their boss's expense.
"Hey! You guys are ones to talk! I've been told that a certain group of people camped out in the conference room while I was in Iran!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"We thought you were dead!" Blake pointed out, chuckling.
"And your point is…?" Elizabeth continued.
"I was having minor surgery, ma'am, not missing in a country that was going up in flames. The two situations are completely incomparable!" Nadine explained, though she couldn't hold back a smile.
"Fine, whatever. And, for the record, your surgery does not count as minor!"
"Comparatively, ma'am?" Nadine said hesitantly. "This was a walk in the park."
"Well, you just focus on recovering. We need you back at the office. You've been gone less than twenty four hours, and I don't think Blake likes covering for you. He's almost gone into full-blown panic like, what, three times?" They all chuckled. Blake broke into a cold sweat, and Nadine placed her hand on his knee.
"Hey, only three weeks more. That is, unless this boss of ours decides to be reasonable and let me come back sooner." Both Nadine and Blake looked hopefully at Elizabeth, who smirked.
"Not a chance, you two!" Elizabeth called out, reaching into her coat pocket to answer her buzzing phone.
"Hello? Okay, you have the intel? I'm kind of busy right now… Fine, I'll be there soon." She hung up. "Guys, we have to get back. InterPol finally came through on the identity of that French terrorist leader." Elizabeth looked apologetically towards Nadine. "Sorry, I wish we could stay longer…"
"No, it's fine. Duty calls. Just… would somebody please keep me posted? I know I'm not supposed to be working, but I'm going to go crazy if…"
"I'll have Blake or Daisy keep you updated. But no actual work, okay?" Elizabeth gave Nadine the same look that Nadine had seen her give to pesky and unruly diplomats.
"Yes, ma'am." The group filed out of the room, leaving her on her own for the first time since this had all started. The silence didn't last, however. She heard her own phone buzz from the bedside table, and picked it up. She had a new text message.
To: Nadine Tolliver
From: Angie Milton
Message: I'm in DC this weekend. If you're up for a visitor, just text.