Mrs. Emfan

"Abbie, get in the car!" Tyr Anasazi shouted, his patience gone for his coworker of two years. He could just barely be heard over the wind of the late Spring blizzard. Everyone knew that the twenty-six-year-old took the bus after shifts and usually Tyr was… not okay with it, but accepting of the fact that she wanted nothing to do with him. But after the shift they'd just had… "It's freezing out here. Get in the car! Please?"

The young woman being addressed seemed to consider his request. "I'm not cold," she blatantly lied, teeth chattering. Tyr blinked at her in shock and then laughed out loud at the obvious untruth.

"Fine," he snorted once his hilarity died down. He pulled away from the bus stop and into the non-existent flow of traffic. Truly, who would be driving at two in the morning on a Tuesday but the unfortunate souls who'd had Mrs. Emfan on the day she'd finally died and escaped her tyrannical son's hold on her. The two had been partners on the unit for the first time, working awkwardly together due to Abhaya Brecknor's fear of him. She wouldn't look him in the eye, dropped things when he was in the vicinity, and generally displayed all the classic signs of attraction. After two years of this type of behavior, he was used to it.

Tonight's shift had been the worst for it, though. Winston, a low-level police officer with delusions of grandeur, had been yelling at his mother as usual, when her heart just… gave out. It had taken the evil man two full minutes to realize that she was dead. After another minute of screaming 'Answer me," he'd finally called for help. A nightmare of three hours followed as Abbie and the code team attempted to revive the dead woman. She hadn't been allowed to leave the room for the first hour and a half to tend to her other patients per the son's 'request', doing near-constant CPR on the corpse until the site manager got involved. Winston insisted that things be done to his mother that no sane doctor would ever do to bring a person back, threatening to sue the entire time. Finally, after three hours of this ridiculousness, the doctor called it. The man had actually refused to accept that, pounding on the 89-year-old's chest and screaming at her until security had to escort him from the building. The entire time he bellowed for revenge.

The paperwork had been a mess, everyone scrambling with CYA (cover your ass) charting just in case it went to trial. Tyr had helped his partner as best he could by basically taking over her other patients on top of his own in the busy hub. Everyone had insisted on reading over her charting, insisting that she add more background and details to her reports until her charting resembled a dissertation. She'd only now been allowed to escape the unit with firm instructions not to come in for her shift tomorrow. She was to 'go home and get some rest' according to her manager. Which the girl was obviously trying to do. But the bus just wasn't cooperating. She'd just missed the 2:04 and the next bus wasn't due for another hour. She shivered, seeming to be punishing herself for that night's death when a warm body huddled against hers in the little shelter.

"T-Tyr!" she shouted, backing away from the wonderful heat of him. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I have it on good authority that it's not cold out here," he said firmly, bracing himself against the icy wind. "So I thought that I would see you home safely at this time of night." He ignored the look of panic in her beautiful brown eyes and came closer for warmth. Abbie tried to think of something, anything to say to that, but came up empty.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally managed after a small eternity of gawking at him and shivering - not entirely from the cold.

"Because I care about you and I want to see you home safe," he said gently, pushing one of her braids behind her ear. Normally she wore her braids in a giant, severe looking bun. But after the incident, her headache had been too severe to keep the mass up. It was hanging loose at present, long past her hips and swaying in the gusty winds that were whipping into the bus shelter.

"Where's your car?"

"I parked it in the underground parking lot," the devastatingly attractive man shrugged. "I figure I'll get you home and then call a cab to get me back here for it."

"That's just silly," she grouched as she shivered.

"Yes. It is," he agreed. He looked the shaking woman over speculatively, his gaze still intense on her. This was the most conversation the two had ever had. He shivered, careful not to move closer to the girl and inadvertently drive her out of the bus shelter.

"Okay, you win!" The women suddenly shouted into the silence of the night. "It's freezing out here!" Tyr stepped up to her with a stalking gait, pushing more of her loose braids behind her ear.

"And?"

"And may I please have a ride home?" she asked humbly, trying to look anywhere but into his chocolate eyes. Now that he had her gaze, though, he wouldn't let her look away. He waited until the silence had reached a breaking point to answer.

"This way," he said, gesturing for her to go first. He led her to his Jag, letting her put her scant belongings in the trunk before helping her into the car.

"Wow! You drive this? It looks like the cockpit of a starship!" she gushed, pretty brown eyes impossibly wide as she took it all in. Tyr watched her with a soft smile on his face for her innocence, watching her fasten in as if she was about to go on an amusement park ride.

"Thank you," he said as he turned the engine over. "Now… Where to?" They ended up using Google maps to find directions to her house. Turns out that the poor girl didn't have a license and tended to take transit or walk to wherever she was headed. And she wasn't close by either. She lived halfway across the city; it would have taken her hours to get home on the bus, train, and bus she had to take to get home. Tyr turned on the heat and some soft music for the girl's nerves. It wasn't long until she was fast asleep, snuggled against his arm and drooling. He grinned foolishly as he drove her home, happy with this breakthrough in their non-existent relationship. All too soon it was all over and he had to wake her. Resisting the urge to kiss her awake and ruin his progress with the girl, he shook her gently.

"Wake up, Bliss. We're here." When she still didn't wake, he leaned over and caressed her soft cheek with the back of his hand. She stirred and settled against him more firmly to his delight. "Time for bed, little one." He opened the car door and got out, the urge to cuddle her almost overwhelming. Looking around him, he frowned at the well-maintained, but run down neighborhood she lived in. Her actual apartment looked no less run down. Was this a safe place for his lady? He was almost tempted to bring her to his house for the night, purely for her safety, of course. Shaking his head to clear off these thoughts, he grabbed her things from the back, slinging her plaid purple backpack onto his back and grabbing her purple lunch bag and purple purse. If needed, he was determined to carry her into her apartment, but he didn't really think it would be necessary, especially once she got a taste of the bitter bite of the outside air. Opening her door and frowning a drunk away from his car, he shook her shoulder. "Bliss, it's time to wake up." He groaned at seeing her luxurious stretch against his synthetic seats. Thanking God that his interior wasn't leather, he called her again. A shake of her head, and she was fully awake. The flash of panic in her expressive brown eyes made him happy that he'd done things the honorable way.

"Ready, Abbie?" She looked at him dumbly and the urge to kiss her pouting lips was rising. Instead, he settled for a chaste kiss on her hat. "We're at your apartment. Ready to go in?" She nodded, seeming to have gotten her bearings at last. The girl stood out of the car and shivered against the cold. Then she led the way into her basement apartment, turning on the light as she went. The place was meticulously cleaned, but not the sort of place his woman should ever have to be associated with. There were plastered cracks in the walls that indicated leaks and the ancient washer and dryer likely sparked when she used them. There was a crooked countertop in the middle of the kitchenette area. The place was also bitterly cold. In fact, he was sure that if he looked around, he could have found a dozen safety violations. But he was a guest here, so he kept the disgust of her little hovel off his face.

She tiredly turned on a couple of space heaters in the bedroom and living room that barely put a dent in the cold. Did she really live like this? She then turned to him, mind seeming to have just woken to the fact that she'd just let a strange man into her apartment.

"Um… Thank you for driving me home, Anasazi. Goodnight."

"Wait a minute!" he called before she could force him out of the house to lock the door. She paused and he thought fast. "Why don't you have a car? You're a long way from the south end of town."

"I… I don't have a license," she admitted, shamefaced. "This place is kinda… well kinda bad, but I'm saving up for a house of my own, and having a car would eat into those savings. Goodn-"

"I could drive you home all the time," he offered easily. "It's really too far to take transit. Especially late at night."

"Jesus walks with me. I'm perfectly safe," she told him flippantly.

"Well, maybe Jesus has other plans," he returned, used to this kind of talk from his sister. "Abhaya, please let me bring you to your apartment from now on. At least on evening shifts. Now that I've seen your neighborhood, I only want to know you're safe." She stared at him for a long time, seeming to be weighing him. Hoping that he would not be found wanting, he stared back.

"How much would I owe you? Transit may not be the safest or fastest way to get around, but it's cheap."

"What's cheaper than free? I just want to see you home safely. I don't need your money."

She looked shocked at that. "You don't even want gas money? I've heard that gas is ridiculously expensive. I could-"

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad that you didn't force me to be on the train at three in the morning. Goodnight, Abbie." He walked away at that, happy to have successfully resisted the urge to kiss her or hold her close. Tonight had gone exceptionally well for him. Making his way back to his house, he thought about her housing situation. Honestly, he had a basement apartment that she could easily move into. One with the latest, environmentally-friendly appliances. But he was having a hard enough time just trying to convince her to accept rides to her rattrap apartment.

On the other hand, she hadn't argued about accepting rides from him. She'd only talked about compensation. His smile suddenly had too many teeth in it. He was almost happy that Little Abbie wasn't there to see it. Oh yes, she would be his given time. It had been quite a good night.

Welcome to another Tyr-centric story. This time I'm going all out with the nursing theme. Mrs. Emfan is a combination of a couple of nursing cases where the overbearing family is much worse than the patient themselves. It's horrifying when it happens and often requires the Ethics department to get involved. Hope you enjoy it. :D