It was a little past three in the morning when the red-haired consultant finally fell into a fitful sleep. Her hair splayed on the stark white pillows like a crimson halo, her gaunt frame curled up as if decreasing her size would rid her from her thoughts. On the bedside cabinet stood a wine glass, next to it an empty bottle.
A small groan left her mouth as she rolled onto her side. With an ethereal quality he crept into her dreams.
The sun shone brightly from the sky, refusing to hide behind the feathering of light clouds. The organised bustle which accompanied the hospital was in full flow, relatives dotted around in various degrees of misery and staff darting from one task to another.
With a soft sigh she sat down on the bench which offered a direct view to the Wyvern entrance, watching with mild interest as a patient was received from the waiting ambulance before it efficiently turned away.
Once the vehicle had moved she was free to see through the doors with an unobstructed view. Porters passed like ghosts as they ferried their cargo. Ah, and there he was. Standing close to the lift looking thoroughly uncomfortable as Sam Strachan talked animatedly. A smirk crept onto her face, no doubt he was receiving a detailed recall of the rival registrar's most recent carnal infatuation.
His dark hair sat floppily on top of his head, the style somehow emphasising his inexperience based vulnerability. Beneath the white coat (which seemed to function as a second skin whenever he was applying his vocation) he wore a neatly laundered suit, the style simple but obviously a make of quality. A stethoscope hung naturally from his neck.
She glanced down at her watch, widening her eyes as she registered the time. She'd spent longer on her lunch than she'd thought. Reluctantly she pushed herself back onto her feet- an afternoon in theatre suddenly became a lot less attractive when Mr Jordan was added to the equation.
Sparing a brief look to avoid being ploughed down she darted across the road, slowing to a walk while gracing the security by the door with a patronising smile. "Hold the doors!" She called, slipping into the lift just before the metal sheets slid shut.
She held back the smirk which threatened to appear on her face as he shuffled uncomfortably. Sam stood behind them, shooting Joseph a look of smug amusement.
"Good afternoon, Miss Naylor." He cleared his throat, straightening the edge of his white coat. "Nice lunch?"
"Yes, thank you Mr Byrne." She turned her head as she returned the niceties, a hint of mirth in her voice. "Perfectly pleasant."
"Good. That's good to here." He nodded, ducking his head in a stiff fashion. "Mr Hope often finds time to remind me that a good lunch is a necessity for a good day."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, sensing Strachan's eyes on her. Despite Joseph's large range of oddities she found herself inexplicably drawn to him. Of course he was a good contact to know if she wanted to get into the right circles, her career wasn't progressing at quite the pace she'd hoped for and a favourable light in the eyes of his father could be just what she needed to haul herself up to the next rung.
Her career was what she had to focus on. Nick's arrival had thrown a spanner in the works and her new start wasn't quite the clean slate she'd been hoping for. She needed to keep her head down and work, if she decided to take things further with Mr Byrne then it should be purely for the professional benefits.
With this in mind she stepped out of the lift as the doors opened to reveal Keller. She turned around to nod, her eyes lingering on him before she forced a smile. "Well thank you for that inspiring insight. I'll catch up with you later."
She watched with raised as eyebrows as he opened his mouth to reply, managing a flustered garble as the doors slinked shut.
Shaking her head to herself with an amused smirk she turned around and walked to the Nurses' Station, reaching for the phone as the piercing noise penetrated through the gabbled streams of conversation from the ward.
With a start her eyes flew open. The persistent shrill of her phone sending stabs of pain through her head. Moaning quietly she stumbled to pick up the handset. It had just been a dream, whoever was on the other side of the line was likely to face her wrath for making her face reality.
"Ms Naylor speaking." She barked, holding the phone an inch away from her ear as she tried to ignore her splitting headache.
"Where the hell are you!?" Came an irritated Scottish squawk. Great. She sighed impatiently. This was just what she needed.
"You dialled my home number, I answered. It doesn't take a genius to join the dots." She replied waspishly.
"I mean why you aren't at work?" He responded swiftly. She scowled into space, detecting the hint of glee which seemed to enter his voice whenever he was given the chance to criticise her actions. "You were supposed to be in two hours ago! We're snowed under here-"
"Alright!" She snapped, bringing an end to his inane rambling. Her eyes flickered to her clock and she clenched her hands into fists, bloody hell, she must've slept through her alarms. "I'll be there as soon as I can, I assume you can cope until then?"
"You sound rough." The nurse cleared his throat, his tone caught somewhere between irritation and concern. "Are you fit to work?"
This brought a laugh from her mouth. The noise sharp and unfeeling, quickly dissipating until only a cold chill remained. "I really don't need a substandard nurse questioning my competency."
"Fine!" He snarled in frustration, speaking quickly with a burst of passion "But you know what? You're digging your own grave, Jac. At some point you're going to have to lie in it."
She clenched her hands into fist, trying to supress the red wave of anger which was threatening to spill over. "That's a helpful insightful from the nurse who's determined to end his career by picking a fight with the CEO." She paused, walking to her cabinet to remove the empty bottle of wine. "I'll be in shortly, anymore smart remarks and I'll make it my personal business to ensure the day you receive your P45 is brought forwards." Before he had chance to respond she hung up, tossing the phone down onto the bed with unnecessary force.
She sighed to herself as she took a moment to survey the mess that had accumulated. Methodically she started to restore order, forcing every twinge of emotion from her mind.
Sorry, I'm awful at updating quickly! This is a result of last night's insomnia so I'm sorry if it makes no sense, at the moment I don't feel entirely happy with either chapter. As always reviews are appreciated because I'm awful at updating without motivation, any suggestions would be lovely :) x
It would be lovely if I could get a few reviews before I update but it's by no means a necessity
Thank you!