Chapter 1 A challenging project

Disclaimer: I do not own The Night Shift, nor any of its characters or plots. I just own my storyline and my OC Erin.

Life on an army base just in the middle of a war zone was something Erin was not definitely prepared for, and she noticed it the minute she set foot on the base. She was an adult, she knew from firsthand experience what real life was, but this military routine had nothing to do with anything she had seen or experienced before. She was thankful she was new at her job so she had to be extra focused during the first weeks, spending most of her spare time working late hours, but both luckily and unluckily for her, she was used to deal with all kind of paperwork and she had it under control in no time. That was certainly a relief, as she did not want to give her new boss any excuse to question her suitability for the job. Her new life was hard enough without having to deal with a moody boss beyond what was strictly required. But it also meant that she had spare time again. Practicing sports had always helped her to clear her head and disconnect from the world, but this time no golf courses were around, and jogging outside the base was out of the question, so she had to give up two of her dearest hobbies.

As it was quite a big base, there was a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) big tent, which had amenities such as an Internet café, a DVD library, video game consoles, pool tables, and so on, and also a gym. So she started spending time at the MWR and the gym, and Drew was a regular there.

At first he would just nod his head as a form of nonverbal greeting from a distance when he entered the MWR or the gym and saw her there, usually with some of the doctors and nurses that worked with them. Most of them were younger than her but they really got along from the get-go. She was thrilled to see that she had a lot in common with these people that were in their twenties (even the younger ones were nearly the same age as her sons), and soon started to enjoy her spare time.

On the contrary, Drew dreaded his. He was still reeling from what now seemed a definitive break up with Rick and all he wanted to do was to keep his head away from it, and if it could be doing overtime, so be it. What a pity that he found his new assistant to be the most efficient person he had ever met (he had to give her that credit), and that left almost nothing for overtime (just incoming injured soldiers). Most of his acquaintances from prior tours had left and certainly he was not in the mood to make new friends. All he wanted to do was grieve for his broken marriage quietly during his time deployed; perhaps this way he would be able to face Rick and the aftermath of their breakup at the end of this tour.

Having that in mind, he almost jumped for joy when, having been called to his superior office first thing in the morning after a long shift, he was appointed to carry out a new program pursuing global solutions to improve the day-to-day work of healthcare personnel on the base, given the limited resources they had and the special conditions under which they worked every day. Not only was he going to be able to make a difference to their current patients, but it will also help him to keep his mind busy. It also happened to be a part of a major pilot plan on army resources that could lead to a whole new frame of medical work organization in the military, so a great deal was at stake, and he felt the weight of the responsibility on him.

He already had some ideas about the main aims that should be addressed and preferably achieved with his project, he knew his job well and he knew how it could be improved after so many years being an army doctor. This time he did not call or text Rick as he didn´t want him to ruin this moment; he just emailed his friends in San Antonio. And suddenly it hit him that a huge part of this challenging task also involved gathering information, doing research, writing reports, and eventually public speaking. He was well aware that he was not good at any of those, so he needed help.

And as he was thinking about that he entered the MWR and there she was, laughing at some lame joke one of her friends was telling her while getting coffee on her way to her desk at the main office. He then remembered that when she first arrived he had been told that she was a well-known lawyer back in Texas with almost twenty years of experience in court. Her resume had been sitting on his night table since the day she started working as he never felt the urge to read it, always being too tired and not too much interested in reading it. He then realized that she might be the right person for this new job. Not only was she very efficient and diligent with paperwork, but she had also wide experience in negotiation and litigation. And it also crossed his mind that she was also a discreet person, she kept the information she handled while working to herself and she was not fond on gossiping either. He realized then that she was the right person for this job. Well, he thought, let´s talk to her.

"Good morning Kane. A word, please?" he said as he approached her pouring a coffee for himself. She quickly passed him over the sugar before he even thought about it. That was also something he was beginning to be aware of, she seemed to be always head of this thoughts and foreseeing what he needed to make things easier for him whenever they crossed paths. He just hoped she would be also willing to help in this huge task. "Good morning, Major. Of course", she quickly replied, trying to think if there was something that she did wrong during the last days, not being able to find anything and preparing herself for the first exchange of words with her boss after weeks working together.