Thank you so much for the reviews. I adore these two characters so much so am enjoying writing this story.
Rita groaned. Her head was banging. As she began to come round she felt something pushing against her face, over her nose and mouth. Feelings of panic ran through her as she felt her mouth being covered and crushed; she couldn't breathe.
"Rita," came the soft voice from beside her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You're ok, you're in resus. Just relax."
Rita forced her eyes open. She couldn't recognise the voice which spoke so calmly and seemed to give her confidence and hope. She needed to see who it was.
"Uh," she tried to move away from the brunette who was looking down at her. She tried to scramble from her grasp – as gentle as it was. Connie could only be here for one thing. She knew what was coming to her. That was the reason she'd taken the overdose in the first place. Panic began to set in. Her breathing became shallower and faster. She had to get out of here. Out of the hospital. Away from everyone who she let down. Nurses were people who others depended on, who they looked up to. No one would look up to her. She was useless. A shameful excuse for a nurse.
"Rita, I need to you try to slow your breathing down," came Connie's voice, bringing her back to reality. "Look at me," continued the voice, "Breathe in, and breathe out….that's it." Connie said as she tried to get Rita to match her own breathing. Rita glanced up at the brown eyes peering down at her. As she focused on her breathing, she gazed into the eyes boring down at her. As she looked into them, she found she saw compassion and sympathy. As she looked again she saw a look of kindness and concern that she'd not seen before. Something had changed; Connie had changed. As her breathing began to slow and calm, Connie took her hand and gave it a very gentle squeeze. Rita felt herself begin to relax into the bed beneath her. There was something remarkable about this moment that they were sharing. Two closed souls were on the verge of opening up to each other – desperation bringing them closer and closer together.
Rita's breathing began to relax into a normal rhythm. Connie kept Rita's hand in hers, gently squeezing and massaging it to provide them both with the comfort they needed.
"How are you feeling?" Connie asked tentatively, not letting go of her grasp on Rita's hand.
"I've been better," replied Rita honestly. Her eyes looking away from Connie, not able to give the clinical lead eye contact as she remembered the events of the past 12 hours.
"You know, there are people who can support you," Connie began.
"I'm not some nut-job that needs locking up!" Rita retorted, raising her voice slightly.
"I know. I just think," Connie paused, "that it might help for you to speak to someone, that's all. I'm not going to force you to do anything. I can't. I just want you to know that I am here if you need anything, anyone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, or whatever."
Rita looked away and closed her eyes. Everything was getting a bit too much to deal with again. She understood and could almost cope with grumpy Connie. Boss-like Connie. Connie who you didn't want to get on the wrong side of. But this. This was different. This was compassionate Connie. Connie who cared. Connie who had feelings and emotions and made you feel as if you were worth something. This she wasn't sure if she could deal with.
With a final gentle squeeze, Connie let go of Rita's hand and checked on her vitals in order to complete the regular checks and fill out her chart. She worked quietly without putting pressure on Rita to talk if she didn't want to. She knew that Rita was recovering, for want of a better word, from a traumatic experience and she would need time.
"Why didn't you just let me die?" came the questioning voice that brought her thoughts back to reality.
"Because you are special, because you are worth so much, because you are loved and respected and," Connie paused, "and because of so many different reasons, I just can't list them." Connie's voice was level throughout. She seemed to be speaking from the heart but all the while maintaining a level-headed approach. Connie knew that she was opening up – something that didn't usually happen. She couldn't pinpoint why she felt comfortable enough to be completely honest with Rita, but she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Like being honest would be the best thing for her, without the negative repercussions that normally happened.
Hope you like the updat