The scene in Serena's office with Jac made me wonder what might have happened if Jac found Jasmine after Serena had hit her, so here is my imagining of it! Reviews much appreciated!x
Jasmine burst through the door to the toilets, and stopped short at the sinks. She turned to run the taps but paused at the sight of herself. The welt from Serena's hand was reddening before her eyes. Jasmine gripped the edge of the sink to stop her hands from shaking and squeezed her eyes shut. She could see Serena's hand flying towards her, and wondered why she hadn't moved out of the way, tried to dodge it. Hindsight is a marvellous thing.
She opened her eyes, and stared down at the taps. She'd never been hit that hard by anyone before. And for it to have been her boss dealing the blow was mortifying. Not just for Jasmine, but for Serena. The visible mark on Jasmine's face would be incriminating. It was physical evidence that screamed 'Serena isn't coping'.
Jasmine switched on the cold tap, and ran her fingers through the stream of water, one by one, playing with it like a child. She should have realised when Serena had pushed her. It had been a shock, but she wasn't hurt, so she continued to defend herself. It was her fault. She'd pushed a grieving woman too far.
She cupped her hands together to collect some water, and splashed handful after handful into her face. The shock of cold stung her burning cheek.
As she looked up from the sinks to the mirror, the door slammed open. Jasmine turned, still gripping the sinks, and came face to face with her sister.
Jac stopped short in the doorway, and took in the droplets caught in Jasmine's eyelashes; the way she was gripping onto the sinks as if to stop herself from collapsing; the pallor of her skin. She was used to bumping into Jasmine around the hospital; that was part and parcel of sharing a workplace. She was even getting used to watching Jasmine explode emotionally on various different wards – Jac still felt a sliver of shame run down her spine when she thought about the dispute on Darwin – and to watching her cry. But she was not used to seeing Jasmine with an angry red mark on her cheek. Jac had experienced enough slaps in her lifetime to know exactly what she was looking at.
"It was Serena, wasn't it?"
Jasmine was glad that Jac had broken the silence. She'd been trying to work out how she could explain it away, and while it crushed her that Jac had immediately suspected Serena, there was no longer any point in trying to lie.
"Yes. But I provoked her."
Jac folded her arms and briefly smirked "I don't doubt it."
Jasmine looked away, clocked her white knuckles gripping to the porcelain, and let go of the sinks. She stood up straight and turned to the door.
"Let me look at it." Jac said.
Jasmine walked past her, unconsciously touching her stinging cheek with her fingertips. Jac reached out and grabbed her elbow.
"Jasmine."
Jasmine shook her off.
"No, I'm fine!"
She reached for the handle, and opened the door slightly, but Jac reached out a hand and forced it shut.
"Don't make me trap you in here."
"Is that not what you're doing now?" Jasmine muttered.
Jac leaned towards her, dabbing the water droplets away from her face with a paper towel, Jasmine wincing under her touch.
"That's nasty. She must have been furious."
"Yeah, well. I resigned."
Jac dropped the paper towel to the floor, all thoughts of the injury forgotten.
"You did what?"
"I'm sick of trying to impress her and failing. I'm sick of being treated like dirt, and I keep thinking about how I've just screwed everything up here, with Morven, and Serena, and you, and all that stuff with Ric, and Isaac…so I might as well just go."
Jac picked up the paper towel and threw it in the bin, before rounding on Jasmine and crossing her arms.
"That is the most pathetic thing I've ever heard."
"Look, I don't need your validation, your approval, to resign. It's my life. Up until now you've wanted nothing to do with me, so what gives you the right to criticise my choices?"
Jac gave Jasmine another infuriating half smirk, and shrugged.
"I didn't say not to do it. I just said it was pathetic. Now," Jac started pacing down the row of cubicles and back again. "I'm no psychologist, but that tells me that you don't really want to resign. You're trying to project it onto me, and that's fine, if that's how you want to deal with it."
Jasmine closed her eyes. Jac was possibly the most irritating woman she had ever come across.
"But at least have the courage to admit that you don't want to leave."
Jasmine opened her eyes and regretted it immediately. Jac was standing right in front of her, in her personal space, and was staring at her, unblinkingly.
"What do you want, Jasmine?"
Jasmine looked Jac in the eyes. And immediately felt her own fill with tears. She reached up to wipe them away, and was shocked to feel Jac take her hand. It was a connection that Jasmine had been craving, she realised. She just hadn't known it.
"Listen," Jac said "You need to work out exactly what you want to do. If you want to take some time out, that's fine. If you want to move somewhere else, that's okay. But the best thing you can do is stay. Resilience is what made me a good doctor, and it will be what makes you a good doctor too."
Jasmine took a deep breath and nodded, as Jac continued.
"Take a week off; find somewhere else to live. I spoke to Morven, by the way, and I know you've been living in the on call room. That's not healthy, you need an escape from this place. If you really need to, you can stay in my spare room for a few days. Once you've found somewhere, call your friends and do some socialising, with normal people who don't work in the medical profession. Watch Netflix, go to the gym, do some baking, whatever people like you do for fun. This is basic self-care, Jasmine."
Jasmine desperately tried to remember the last time she'd done something that wasn't directly work related, and failed.
"Point taken. I do have a question, though. Why are you doing this?"
"What, telling you to move out of the on-call room?" Jac snorted and dropped Jasmine's hand. "Because I'd be a terrible consultant if I didn't make sure the on-call room is a facility available to anyone when needed."
"No, I mean…you know, offering me your spare room, telling me to watch Netflix. Why are you helping?"
Jac reached for the door.
"Because whether I like it or not, we're half-sisters, and it reflects badly on me as a person if I don't look out for you. Now. I'm going to see Hanssen"
Jasmine opened her mouth to protest, but Jac put up a hand "Before you start shouting like an overemotional teenager, remember that I'm following protocol, and also remember that your mentor hit you across the face because you tried to resign. You can either let me sort it, or you can come and fight your corner. It's up to you."
Jac gave Jasmine a quick smile and stepped over the threshold into the hallway. The door swung shut behind her, and Jasmine stood for a few seconds smiling to herself, before shaking out her hair, wiping her face, and following her sister to Hanssen's office.
