Prompt 36: "Well, this is awkward."

Summary: THE MODERN DAY COFFEE SHOP AU. Okay, Ginchy, it's happening. You're getting your coffee love! I'm slightly changing it from the traditional coffee shop AU, but it's still going to be fluffy and cute, just with more medicine thrown in, lol!

A/N: You guys were LIT for the coffee shop AU, so I hope this lives up to expectations!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"No, no, no, no, no." she muttered to herself as she ran down the hospital corridor. She counted the room numbers on the doors. "206, 208, 210, 212!" She skidded to a halt outside patient room 212 and felt her heart drop at the sign that read Section A is rescheduled to Room 315 for 8:30 observations. "Crap!"

Shelagh Mannion was hideously late and she was never late. It wasn't even her fault. Her roommate's alarm clock had broken and rather than asking Shelagh if she could borrow hers, she just took it when she rolled in at 2am, so Shelagh overslept. Then, she had to wait an extra 20 minutes for her bus because she missed her normal one and of course the following bus was late.

Then of course, to top it all off, she'd crashed into one of the doctors on her way in and spilled his coffee all over both of them and now she smelled like the hideous black coffee from Nonnatus Brews a whole six hours before her barista shift started. She couldn't understand how anyone actually drank their coffee, but she supposed hospital scheduling made people desperate. She still stuck to her reliable tea.

Tea wasn't going to change the fact that her observation seminar started at 8:30 and it was now 8:35 and she was on the wrong floor. Not bothering to catch her breath, she sped off up the stairs and darted out of the stairwell only to collide once more with oblivious-doctor-coffee-stain. Really, how was it possible that her day was still getting worse?

"Will you watch where you're going?" she snapped, exasperated. She didn't bother to check his response to her behavior, although if she had, she would've been shocked to find it was more amusement than anger. Instead, she nearly pushed him out of the way and ran to her seminar.

Outside room 315, Doctor Patrick Turner shook his head in bewilderment. Truth be told, he wasn't always the most observant about his surroundings, but this was the second time that morning he'd bumped into the pretty young nursing student and only the second time was an accident. Patrick had noticed his mystery girl about a month ago. He'd been covering in the General Ward while she'd been seeing to charts and vitals and he'd been struck by how she took time to check in with each of the patients. Most of the other nurses and residents did their jobs as quickly as possible in the hopes of a moment in the break room, but not this one. The small, petite, nurse with the beautiful dirty-blonde hair actually cared about her job and it drew him to her like a moth to a flame. He didn't see her frequently as he was largely sequestered to obstetrics, but whenever he did, he fell more and more infatuated. He had yet to learn her name or say two words to her, though, which was why when she got off the bus that morning, he hurried over to introduce himself. He hadn't noticed that she was in a terrible rush and not paying attention until it was too late and his coffee was seeping into both their clothes. He'd only just gotten over than embarrassment when she burst out of the stairwell and nearly sent them both to the floor. He didn't know what the universe intended for them, but he didn't think it was going well.

4:30pm saw Shelagh miserably filling to-go cups with seemingly-endless putrid coffee at Nonnatus Brews. Doctor Ursula McGinnis, as expected, had no tolerance for tardiness, even though she'd been early and attentive for every single moment of her life at the hospital until that point. Doctor McGinnis wasn't a yeller, but at the end of the observation, she took the time to calmly explain to the entire group that she would not tolerate slackers and that anyone who couldn't be bothered to show up on time should consider never showing up again. The rest of the nurses had been rather offended on her behalf, knowing she was easily the hardest working of them all, but Shelagh had never felt worse about herself and it was all she could do now to pour drinks without crying.

"Shelagh, can you cover the register for a moment?" Shelagh looked over and saw Trixie desperately crossing her legs and pleading with her eyes.

"Sure thing, Trix. Go ahead." Trixie barely squeaked out a 'thank you' before she ran to the back. It left Shelagh alone for a moment, but 4pm was never a very busy time, so Shelagh didn't mind. With no one in line, she turned her attention to counting the register. She didn't need to do it yet, but numbers and order would take her mind off Doctor McGinnis and Shelagh's new-found certainty that she was going to be let go. She was so entranced with counting that she didn't hear the bell above the door to the shop ring.

"Excuse me." A man's voice tried to grab her attention as gently as possible, but it still startled her and when she jumped, her wrist slammed into the open drawer of the cash register.

"Ow, shit." she swore under her breath. She looked up and instantly hated Trixie's guts with her entire being for leaving her alone. Of course. It would be him. "Oh, um, I'm sorry sir." She looked up at him and actually took him in for the first time that day and she felt a rush of warmth through her veins. How had she not noticed how handsome he was until now? Oh lord, that made everything from before even worse.

"It's you." he smiled before realizing how odd that sounded. "I mean-"

"I'm sorry for-"

"I've seen you around-"

"I was late and-"

"Not that I've been following-"

They both stopped and looked at each other.

"I, um, didn't know you worked here." he tried again.

"Oh, yeah, um, part time. When I'm not at the hospital." she stammered lamely.

Trixie skipped back through the curtain to the staff area, immediately noticing the handsome doctor biding his time with Shelagh.

"Hello Doctor, what can we get for you?" Trixie asked flirtatiously, keeping one eye on Shelagh's reaction. She was immensely satisfied to see Shelagh's lips thin in subconscious irritation.

"Oh, um, just a black coffee if you please. Have a bit of a caffeine headache." he requested, his eyes barely leaving the Scottish nurse. Trixie beamed.

"Absolutely, that'll be 1.5 pounds-"

"It's on the house." Shelagh insisted. "It's the least I can do since I'm the reason you didn't get your first cup of caffeine." she spoke softly, and kicked herself for being so unsure. She worked with doctors everyday, why did this particular, disheveled one get under her skin like this?

Trixie was looking at her like she had two heads. She never gave discounts to anyone.

"You know, Shelagh, you're due for your break and you covered for me. Why don't you grab a tea and take a seat for a few minutes?" Trixie suggested knowingly, making eye contact with Patrick.

"Trixie, you know I never take my break. I'm fine." Shelagh tried to insist, now very nervous and hating the fluttering feeling in her stomach.

"Nonsense. Take a seat, Doctor. Shelagh here will bring you your coffee in a moment." Shelagh glared as Trixie grinned triumphantly.

"Um, thank you." Patrick smiled awkwardly and made his way to a small corner table.

"What are you doing?" Shelagh hissed as soon as he was out of hearing range.

"What?" Trixie asked innocently as she put together Shelagh's favorite tea.

"You know what." Shelagh replied. "I can't take my break now, he'll try and talk to me."

"Would that be so bad?" Trixie asked. "He's clearly noticed you."

"Of course he's noticed me, I nearly ran him over twice today." Shelagh grimaced.

"I didn't mean like that. Did you notice the way he looked at you? He clearly didn't mind being run over…" Trixie suggested with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"I don't know him." Shelagh sighed.

"And now is the perfect time to change that!" Trixie exclaimed happily as she handed Shelagh her tea and Patrick's coffee. "Now, go. I don't want to see your apron back on for 15 minutes."

Shelagh took a deep breath and made her way over to Patrick's table. She tried to subtly take him in as she walked. He really was handsome. Not in the clean-cut way that many of the doctors were, but in a more careworn way. He clearly worked long hours - possibly longer than his colleagues if he was here this morning and drinking black coffee at 4:30 this afternoon. His hair was unkempt, but it looked so soft and she had the sudden urge to run her fingers through it and smooth it back from his forehead: an urge that quickly died as she got closer and saw the giant coffee stain on his lab coat.

"One black coffee, Doctor…"

"Turner." he readily supplied. "But we're not in the hospital, you can call me Patrick if you like." She really would like, but an equal part of her just wanted to sink through the floor and die. "And you are Shelagh…?"

"Mannion." Okay, apparently she'd decided to talk to him. "Nurse Shelagh Mannion."

"It's nice to meet you in less dramatic circumstances, Nurse Mannion." he held out his hand and she took it hesitantly. The minute their skin touched, she felt every nerve in her body soar and had she not been distracted by how lovely his dark eyes were, she would've chided herself for acting like a love-struck fool. She didn't know how long she just stood there holding his hand like an idiot.

"Well, this is awkward." she sighed, humiliated that she had nothing to say.

"Would you care to join me?" he asked hopefully.

"Really?" she asked in disbelief. He nodded earnestly and she took the chair across from him. Perhaps her day was looking up after all? "I am truly sorry about this morning." she apologized.

"It's alright." he insisted. "I've had far worse than coffee on this coat."

"I'm not so sure about that, I think I might take blood over Nonnatus coffee." she lowered her voice conspiratorially. He laughed out loud.

"Are you allowed to say that?" he asked, absolutely taken with the confusing combination of shy and sassy before him.

"Well, I'm on break right now, so I don't think it counts." she blushed.

He took a drink of his coffee before broaching a slightly more serious subject.

"I hope Doctor McGinnis wasn't too hard on you." Shelagh's face fell.

"She, um, certainly doesn't mince her words." she admitted sadly.

"I'm sorry. She can be a right pain the arse." Patrick sighed. Shelagh's eyes shot up. "I don't know what she said, but don't take it to heart. You're a wonderful nurse."

"How would you know?" Shelagh asked a little more honestly than she would've liked. She hated undeserved praise almost more than undeserved punishment. Luckily her snark didn't seem to phase him.

"I saw you when I was working in the general ward. You truly care about your patients. It's a rare trait around here, so I noticed immediately." he admitted.

"I've always wanted to be a nurse." Shelagh agreed modestly. "My mother passed when I was a child, but she was sick for nearly a year before hand. I remember visiting her in the hospital and seeing how cold and unfeeling everyone was. I remember thinking that maybe, if someone had been there for her when my father and I couldn't be, then maybe she would have lived longer. I know it sounds silly...and I don't know why I just told you that, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." he insisted. "It's wonderfully refreshing to find someone who's here out of passion instead of money or ambition." Shelagh blushed again, she really needed to get that under control. She hid her face behind her tea as she drank.

"Shelagh, I hate to interrupt, but Julieanne's across the street and she can't catch you sitting with a handsome doctor!" Trixie shouted out. Shelagh buried her face into her hands.

"Your friend is quite, um, outspoken." Patrick laughed.

"I'm sorry, I should go." Shelagh reluctantly apologized.

"Of course, I'm sorry to keep you."

She stood and started towards the counter, but in a moment of bravery turned back around.

"Will I see you around?" she asked hopefully.

"I usually go to Violet's, it's a little closer to the hospital," he paused, "but I think I might have a new favorite place."

Shelagh smiled happily.

"By the way, if you haven't chosen a specialty yet, obstetrics would love to have you. You'd be a natural." he put his empty coffee cup back on the counter before heading out the door and back to the hospital, holding the door for Julieanne as she hurried inside.

"Everything running smoothly today, girls?" she asked Shelagh and Trixie.

"Smooth as can be." Shelagh replied as she gazed out the window, following his retreating figure.

36 down, 14 to go! Hope you enjoy!