Introductions

It had been a long, trying day for Ganesa Eversteen. The hospital she worked at was always busy, but nothing like this shift. Apparently, her charge nurse was picking on her today; the 26-year-old nurse was just finishing up her third admission tonight. Things were busy all over the unit though, so she couldn't complain that she was the only one getting hammered. So far there had been 2 Code Blues, one that they hadn't been able to save while her second admission was rushed up from the emergency room, their long-term patient had fallen, and there was a slew of confused patients that kept calling for help for things that were already taken care of. The sheer amount of charting that all of the nurses were doing to stay on top of this shift was unbelievable. It looked like another day of not getting out of the hospital until after midnight. Sighing that this was thankfully her last shift in this particular stretch of shifts, she got back to work.

Ganesa - Nesa to her friends - looked up from her after-work charting at the feel of someone's eyes on her. What she saw when she did froze her in place. There before her stood the most attractive man she had ever seen. His five-foot-ten lean frame was muscled even under royal blue scrubs that identified him as part of the housekeeping staff at the hospital. He had long shaggy dark brown hair, high cheekbones, and a chiseled jaw that looked as if it could be stubborn. But right now she was trapped in his clear blue eyes. They brought to mind her firm belief that eyes were the windows into the soul.

Realizing that she was staring, she looked down and away. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to stare. That was rude of me," she told the floor. A finger was suddenly under her chin, sending a shock through her system. The man blinked, then smiled encouragingly at her. She returned the gesture, though her smile was a little more rueful and lopsided.

"Night Nesa," her coworker, Jessica, said as she passed by her desk. Then she stopped and tapped the man on the shoulder. Once she had his attention - and her coworker's by extension - she made a few quick hand gestures and nodded at the man. He smiled at her and Nesa found herself jealous of her fellow nurse.

"Wait, he can't talk?"

"Can't talk, can't hear. Nick just started working at the hospital a few months ago. I'm surprised that you haven't heard of him. He's from the States as far as I know." Nesa's head whipped back to the man in wonder.

"Really? You're from the States?" she elaborated at his confused look. At his nod, Nesa giggled and bounced in her seat. "That's awesome! I just knew that I couldn't be the only one! I'm a Philly girl. Where in the US are you from?"

Nick regarded the woman in amusement; this was not how this conversation usually went. Usually, people focused on his disabilities, not his nationality. Slowly he pulled out his trusty writing pad and wrote that he was from Caslin, Nebraska. Her beautiful smile widened in glee at that and he couldn't help his silent laughter. Someone had once told him that a friend was one that saw through you and still liked the view. Here was an extraordinary woman, one that might be able to see through him if he gave her the chance. Her pretty brown eyes widened in delight as if this was the news of a lifetime. He chuckled in his silent way and waited for her to surprise him again. This had been a pretty crappy start to the shift for him. He was supposed to be working on unit 58 instead of this unit. He'd worked in the Mental Health unit since he'd been hired, that was how he knew Jessica in the first place. She was one of the few people on that unit that understood sign language. His supervisor had told him that he was being switched to this unit permanently and he'd been planning to go over his head first thing Monday morning to complain about it. He thought he might owe Darren a handshake and a beer now. Just meeting this sweet woman was making his night worth it.

"Holy crap! I've never met anyone from Middle America before. What's it like there?" She actually looked excited and interested, causing his grin to widen as he took her in. Her features were adorable; button nose, small ears, smooth honey-golden skin, and braided hair that fell to her waist even while in a ponytail. She had the look of a woman that had recently lost a lot of weight. Her smile was as warm as her intelligent brown eyes. He found himself liking that smile, possibly wanting it for himself. Unfortunately, he had work to do and the girl herself seemed to have forgotten that she did as well. Sighing, he wrote a note on his pad and handed it to her.

I would love to tell you about Nebraska sometime, but right now I have to collect the trash.

Perhaps we can meet up sometime when we both don't have to work?

When's your next day off?

Nesa sprang out of her seat after reading the note, overbalancing as she tried to get out of the man's way so that he could collect the trash. Nick grabbed her hand before she could fall and wondered at the jolt of electricity that rocketed through him as he held her. Giving a pull, he caught her when she crashed into him. The girl looked up at him in awe, her pretty brown eyes large and startled on her face.

"You're so strong," she shivered, imagining all that strength focused on her. He only nodded slowly, imagining the same thing. Jessica cleared her throat and Nesa pulled away.

"I'm sorry, I was just… Just trying to get out of your way," she said, putting word to action as she moved so that he could get to the trash can. He was still smiling broadly as he collected the trash. He left without looking back, not wanting to embarrass the girl too much.

"You've got a thing for Nick, don't you?" Jessica grinned.

"N-no," Nesa automatically said. "We just met. Besides, why would he ever be interested in me? He's, like, lava hot and he's so… wow! He'd never go for a fat chick like me," she finished dejectedly.

"Nesa! Nick's a great guy. He's not so shallow that he'd rule you out for being overweight. If you were overweight, which you are not anymore, remember? And you have a wonderful personality no matter what. He'd be lucky to have you."

"You really think so?" she asked, hope blooming in her gaze.

"I really think so," the woman confirmed. "I need to go now, but have a good rest of your night, okay?" She left her coworker to her charting at that, giggling as she went. Nesa and Nick? She'd observed the man to be thoughtful, quiet, and subdued. Everything that Ganesa wasn't. The girl was an innocent as far as she could tell. She didn't actively seek out conversations with her coworkers but participated eagerly when engaged. She was funny and smart and compassionate almost to a fault. Yeah… Why not Nesa and Nick? They had an 'Opposites Attract' thing going for them that would be interesting to see play out. Not to mention that they seemed adorable together… She would have to figure out a way to alert her deafmute friend to her coworker's attraction. That is, if he hadn't already figured it out himself. Nesa hadn't been very subtle just now.

"Well, you sure look like the cat that caught the canary," the charge nurse for the night shift grinned, shuffling through her paperwork.

"Just reveling in the joys of young love," Jessica said blissfully, noticing that Nick was close by. "I think we might be receiving wedding invitations from Nesa and Nick soon."

"The deafmute?" Rachel asked, pointing to him before Jessica could stop her.

"Rachel! Don't be rude!"

'It's alright, Jessica. I'm used to it,' Nick signed, going back to his work.

"No, it's not alright," the woman said vehemently. "You're a human being, not an oddity to be pointed out and laughed at. Nesa would never treat you like that." Both the charge nurse and the housekeeper were staring at her in shock. The woman pressed on with the conversation, fighting down a fierce blush. "What did you think of Nesa, Nick?" The man blinked and shook his head, gathering his thoughts. Then he answered her quickly, a telltale blush on his face. Afterward, he walked away, mopping the floor like he was supposed to.

"What did he say?"

"He said that he wouldn't mind continuing their conversation at some point."

"Oooh! Somebody's got it bad! That wasn't a blush-worthy statement."

"I know, right? And Nesa is just as flustered. She called him 'lava hot'. I've never seen her so worked up over a guy before. Not even Carlos last year, and he had all of us in a tizzy. She rated him 'kinda hot' and he was the hottest thing to walk onto the unit! There was practically lamentation when he got transferred to distribution."

"'Lava hot'?" Rachel said skeptically, looking over the man as he worked. "He's attractive enough, I guess, in that 'roguish hero' way. But I don't know if I would call him-"

"It doesn't matter if you would or not. Nesa thinks he's lava hot and judging from the way she was blushing like a shy maiden just now, she means it. I gotta go. But if Nick is staying on as our unit housekeeper, I think he should know. Goodnight." With that, Jessica walked off the unit.

Rachel went about her business, forgetting about the conversation altogether as a couple of sick calls came in along with bed placement trying to force extra patients onto the understaffed unit. The charge nurse looked up to see Nesa holding an overtime request in her hands. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was an hour after the girl's shift.

"It was a doozy of a shift, eh, Nesa?"

"Oh my gosh, yes! Three admissions in one shift is way too much for one person to cope with. Especially when two of them are on isolation precautions and another is deathly sick. I thought I would never finish the paperwork."

"Well, at least you made a friend after the shift." Nesa gave a start, looking around nervously. She was also starting to blush much as the housekeeper had been blushing earlier at the mention of her name. Interesting…

"Well, goodnight, Nesa. Bet you're happy that you're not working tomorrow."

"It'll give me a chance to wash my scrubs," Nesa nodded tiredly. "I'm back in three days anyway. God, I love my 0.81 line! There's actually time between my stretches now. Goodnight. Have a good shift."

"Have a good sleep," Rachel replied, doing her best not to be too giddy. Finally, some good gossip to spread!

By the time Nesa came back from her three days off, it was all over the unit that she was in love with the deafmute housekeeper. She spent the entire shift fending off embarrassing questions about wedding dates and trying to shush people before the object of her affection heard about this. She also tried to discreetly learn more about her crush. The smirks she got whenever she casually brought up the man almost made her give up, but she was getting the information she craved, so she persisted. Nick Andros was a 24-year-old from America. He was a full-time night shift housekeeper who was taking IT college courses in his spare time. As far as anyone knew, he'd been born deaf and dumb. That was all anyone seemed to know about him, to her frustration. It was a whole week before she got to see him again; she'd been working days and hadn't seen him at all, looking so disappointed when her 'casual' searches didn't find him first thing in the morning that it caused all kinds of giggle fits for her coworkers.

She spied him just as she was leaving for the night now that she was back on evening shifts. "Hey, Nick," she waved, feeling the weight of her whole crappy shift lift at the sight of him. The man looked up from where he'd just finished cleaning up a spill and smiled, taking her breath away. God, this man was attractive. Trying to school her features into something a little less 'needy puppy-dog', she approached him.

The deafmute watched her approach, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. He'd been hoping to see her for days now. That smile of hers was going to get her into trouble if she wasn't careful. Carefully pulling out the sheet of paper he'd been holding onto since their first meeting, he handed it to her.

I never got to answer your question from last night. Nebraska's very different from Calgary, little one. There's a rhythm to this city that just isn't present in the country. My father died before I was even born. My mother died before I was 10. I grew up in an orphanage and let me tell you, kids are cruel to those that are different. I was teased and picked on and bullied for years until I stopped caring about everything. Luckily for me, my mentor, a fellow deafmute man named Rudy Sparkman, taught me to care again. He taught me to read and write, how to read lips, and speak in sign language. He even helped me get a GED and my first college credits before he moved away four years ago. Something about an opportunity he couldn't pass up. It's been much easier to finish my degree since I moved away from 'them good old boys' in my home state. I came to Calgary to start over. Not too bad of a start, eh?

Nesa read the letter, pointing out the part about kids with an emphatic nod. "Growing up in Philly was rough for me and I fully agree that kids suck as a rule. It's hard to be an intelligent black girl. You're considered 'too white' for the black kids because you know syntax. And your skin tone makes you 'too black' for the white kids. You exist as a kind of subspecies, isolated and alone. I think part of the reason I was always such an avid reader was that… well… You don't look lonely when you're reading. But I was so lonely growing up. The Lord was protecting me from all the nonsense and drama surrounding school life. But sometimes I would have given anything to be a part of the nonsense and drama. I came to Calgary on a partial scholarship. Some of the best friends I've ever had are in this city. I feel like I've finally found a place I belong! My family isn't happy about it, but they've finally gotten the memo that I'm serious about staying here after 8 years."

"I get what you mean about the rhythm of the city too. This place is so small and cozy. Philly is busy and frantic; this place is more relaxed. I enjoy the difference, though I would give anything for a real Philly cheesesteak from time to time," she finished up with a grin. Nick was nodding and writing quickly on his pad, looking as if he were afraid that she was going to walk away. Placing a hand over his lightly, she smiled at him. "I'm not going anywhere, Nick." He smirked at her and she felt her entire face heat up as she removed her hand.

'Isolation' is the word I was searching for. I was isolated as a kid. It's like I wasn't even a real person because I couldn't talk or hear. I was all alone. And it was like the more alone I felt, the harder it was to care about anything.

Nesa nodded rapidly. "I think that I was set apart by God from all the drama and nonsense of my peers. I could see things objectively and make the right choices. But sometimes I wished I could be a part of the nonsense and drama. It's isolating to be the voice of reason no one listens to." Nick was nodding again. She smiled at him. "Thanks for listening. It's not often that someone really listens to me without judging me."

Anytime, little one. Want to talk about something less depressing?

She giggled and wiped her eyes, nodding. "What I'd really like to do is talk to you sometime when we can both sit down and relax. I've got time now that my shift is over, but I understand that you have to work." His work pager started ringing just then as if to prove her point. "Sorry. I feel like I jinxed you." The two laughed.

I do have to go right now, but what are you doing on Wednesday?

We could meet in the light of day at the cafeteria here are talk more

He had to work not to grin foolishly when her face lit up at the prospect of a date with him. "Sure, that would be great! Wednesday, say around noon?"

How about closer to four? I work the next night and don't want to get too far off my sleeping schedule

"That sounds absolutely lovely, Nick. I'll see you then." She all but floated away from him after that, not noticing that her fellow nurses were giggling and pointing at the couple. Nick groaned as he did notice the stares, getting back to work before anyone could question him. The man grinned after answering his page, feeling giddy as he mopped the floor where someone had spilled a whole glass of water on it. He had a date in three days' time!

Welcome to another Nick Andros-centric AU story! This one has been in my mind for a long time and I've finally gotten it just right. See ya next week! :D