Sara led the way down the hall to her office. She was just opening the door when a loud rumbling sound intruded. She turned to look at Ava with a raised eyebrow.
"I was running late this morning and didn't get any breakfast." Ava blushed. "I haven't had lunch yet either."
"We can talk later." Sara stepped just inside her office doorway and turned back to face Ava. "You want to meet back here after you get some lunch?"
Ava started to speak, then hesitated.
Sara tensed in anticipation. She's going to want us to go to lunch together.
The smile dropped off Ava's face. Shoulders drooping, she took a step away from Sara. "I can just grab something from the vending machines and eat in your office. That is, if you don't mind me eating while we talk?"
With an inward scowl, Sara forced herself to relax. Would going to lunch be such a bad thing? The sight of Ava's withdrawal filled her with a sense of determination. Laurel was right. People were going to gossip no matter what she did. To hell with them. "I haven't eaten either. Why don't we head to the cafeteria? We can talk while we have lunch."
Ava's mouth dropped open. She stared at Sara for several moments.
Sara quirked her mouth in a little half smirk. "You okay? Do I need to get the crash cart?"
Eyes sparkling, Ava grinned. "Maybe just a little jolt to get my heart going again." She playfully shoved Sara's shoulder. Her eyes widened at the realization of what she had just donde. She quickly pulled back and cautiously glanced around. Ava's expression turned serious. "Are you sure? I don't want to start any gossip."
Beautiful and thoughtful. Sara smiled. With each passing day, her trust of Ava grew. "Yes, I'm sure. Let's go."
Ava followed Sara allowing her to choose their table at the cafeteria. Realizing what a big step Sara had taken in asking her to lunch at work, Ava wanted her to be as comfortable as possible.
It was lunchtime and the cafeteria was rapidly filling up. Sara set her tray down on a table on the outskirts of the main seating area, but well within view and hearing of nearby tables.
Wonder why she didn't pick one of the more secluded corners so we could talk without worrying about being overheard. Ava set her tray down and then glanced at one of the tables tucked in the corner. She realized why Sara had not chosen to sit there. The tables were small, meant for two people. The hospital workers currently occupying the space were holding hands and seemed oblivious to anything but each other. Despite the hospital setting, it looked very romantic. That's all we need to set the gossip flying.
As she situated herself at the table, Ava realized their presence had already attracted some attention. Feeling eyes on her, Ava looked around.
Cindy, the ER nurse who had been gossiping about Sara a few weeks ago, was sitting off to her left with several other women. When Ava met her gaze, Cindy smirked at her. Ah, crap. I bet she can't wait to get back to the ER and blab that she saw us together.
"Just ignore her." Sara said.
Ava jumped, startled out of her thoughts. Her head snapped back around to face Sara. "I'm sorry. Maybe we should just go back-"
"No." Sara gently cut her off. "There's nothing to be sorry for. People are going to gossip no matter what we do. There is nothing wrong with two colleagues having lunch together." While Sara's words were calm and logical, her hands clenched on the sides of her tray belied her words.
She's trying so hard. Barely resisting the urge to reach out and touch Sara's arm, Ava resigned herself to offering a warm smile instead. "You're right. It's best to ignore it. So what did you want to talk to me about?" She asked, knowing Sara would be more at ease discussing work.
Sara took a deep breath. She let go of her tray and clasped her hands together on her lap. "I wanted to ask you to consider coming to work in the ER full-time. You're a great asset to the department. You work well with the staff and residents. We could really use someone of your caliber working in the ER on a daily basis. I wanted to see how you felt about it before I approached Phillip."
Ava knew her mouth was hanging open. Sara had managed to floor her twice today, once with the invitation to lunch and now this. So much for your worry about asking her what she thought of you working full-time in the ER.
Mistaking Ava's silence, Sara shifted uncomfortably. "Um… I want you to know that you are under absolutely no obligation to agree. If you're not interested, it won't change anything as far as I'm concerned either in the ER," Sara hesitated, visibly struggling for words, then continued, "or anywhere else for that matter."
Huh? Anywhere else. Realization hit Ava like a ton of bricks. Sara is worried I'll think she's pressuring me to agree because we're friends. Ava could only wonder once again about Sara's past. Who made you so unsure of yourself? Your ex? Pushing away the irrelevant thought, Ava turned her attention to the matter at hand.
"I understand if you'd rather not." Sara said. Her voice had taken on the more reserved tone she frequently used in the ER.
Ava silently cursed herself. Her lack of immediate response had made Sara assume the worst. Ava smiled. "Actually, working in the ER is what I wanted to talk to you about."
Sara's brow furrowed. "It was?" She finally managed.
Nodding, Ava said "I spoke to Phillip on Monday. I planned on talking to you about it to make sure you were okay with it before he announced the change at our next staff meeting."
"You really want to come work in the ER full-time?" Sara asked.
"You look so surprised." Fair play. You surprised the hell out of me today. "That's what you want… right?"
"Yes. Of course." Sara said. She ran her fingers through her hair. "I just thought it would be a harder sell."
"Well, it did take me a while to sell it to Phillip." Ava smiled warmly. "Personally, I very much enjoy working in the ER. As I told Phillip, I actually considered a position at a psychiatric ER before accepting the job here."
"So when can you start?" Sara asked.
"I've got another week on my current rotation. Our monthly staff meeting is the Monday after the end of my rotation. Phillip will announce at that meeting that I'll be officially taking over covering the ER exclusively." Ava grinned. "So I guess that means you're stuck with me from here on out."
A brilliant smile flashed across Sara's face. "Works for me."
A sense of satisfaction filled Ava. Although she understood intellectually that she had not been to blame for what happened at Memorial, emotionally her confidence had taken a blow. That Sara had approached her with the request to work in the ER gave her a much appreciated boost to her confidence.
Ava sighed as she sank down onto the couch in the staff lounge. This was her first real break since stepping foot in the ER today. The pace had been relentless. She took the opportunity to grab a cup of coffee and relax for a few minutes. Ava had hoped for a chance to explain Sara what happened earlier. The psych department had the meeting where Ava announced to the rest of the colleagues that she would be taking over the ER full-time. And when she asked one of them for the pager, she found out it was off, resulting in Ava being late to an emergency.
The door to the lounge swung open. Sara stepped inside.
A little unsure of her reception, Ava offered a professional greeting. "Dr. Lance." She said with a slight nod.
Sara winced. She nodded in return and the moved over to the coffee pot. After getting a cup of coffee, she returned to stand next to the couch. "You mind?" Sara asked, gesturing to the opposite end of the couch.
Okay, so maybe it's not as bad as I thought. "Have a seat."
Sara settled into the couch and laid her head back against the cushion. A heavy sigh escaped her lips.
"Tough day, huh?" Ava asked.
"I've definitely had better." Sara said. She sat up and took a sip of her coffee.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't get the duty pager until after our meeting was over." Ava's hand clenched around her cup. "I had no idea Harland had turned it off for the meeting." She said, her voice tight with renewed anger.
"I owe you an apology as well." Sara shifted around until she was facing Ava. "I'm sorry I didn't treat you well when you arrived. It was really crazy this morning, but I still should've given you a chance to explain. You've always been here when we needed you."
The gray cloud that had hung over Ava all morning finally dissipated. "On the bright side, it's official. I'm permanently assigned to cover the ER." Ava smiled. "I'll make sure everyone knows from now on to use my personal pager number so they can reach me at all times."
"Thanks." Sara reached over and lightly touched Ava's forearm. "And welcome to the ER."
Quiet reigned as they enjoyed their coffee. The momentary peace was broken by the sound of Ava's stomach growling.
Sara grinned, "Missed breakfast again, huh?"
A second, louder rumble was her answer.
Although Ava wanted to, she hesitated to ask Sara to lunch. They had eaten lunch together last week in Sara's office, but that was a private setting. Other than the day Sara asked her to work in the ER, they had not been to the cafeteria together again. Ava decided to take a chance. After all, I work here every day. It shouldn't seem that noteworthy for people to see us together. "Could I interest you in going to lunch?" Ava didn't miss the sudden tensionradiating from Sara. Oh well, it was worth a try. She tried not to let her disappointment show. "Well, I guess I'll just go grab myself something from-"
Sara bolted from the couch startling Ava. "No. Let's go to the cafeteria. My treat… as a welcome to the ER."
Peering up at Sara, Ava looked for any sign of hesitation. Sara held her gaze and smiled. Ava sucked in a breath at the warmth emanating from Sara's vivid blue eyes. She rose from the couch. "Great. I'm starving."
"What's new?" Sara said with a laugh.
Ava playfully elbowed Sara in the ribs. Yeah, the day is definitely looking up.