A/N: Glad to see people are enjoying this! Chapter 2 is now up! It's short but i'm not really into writing long chapters.
Bonus points to anyone who spotted the line I borrowed from American Horror Story in the last chapter! Also double bonus points to anyone who knows where I got the title of this fic from ;)
The procedure went off without a hitch. Afterwards Jac gave an obligatory thanks to all the surgery team who assisted in the typically cold and professional manner they had come to expect from the consultant. Zosia however, high on the adrenaline of the novelty of the experience was somewhat disappointed that Jac didn't acknowledge that landmark in Zosia's fledgling career with so much as a pat on the back or a murmur of congratulations.
Disheartened, Zosia backed away from the nurses who prepared the patient for transfer back to the ward and peeled her gloves off solemnly. Zosia watched as Jac shook her silky copper hair free from the scrub cap, the unflattering surgery garments positively swamped the tiny woman, Zosia hated herself for finding it endearing.
Back on the ward, the other F1's were abuzz with the news. Shaking off the disappointment, Zosia puffed out her chest. Jac Naylor might not have given her ego the boost she personally craved but she had certainly given her epic bragging rights among her peers.
"So? How was it?" Expectant faces crowded Zosia at the nurse's station, patients and charges neglected.
She was about to launch into a blow by blow account when she caught Jac Naylor staring through the partially open slats of the blind in the window of her office. Their eyes met and Zosia's mouth all but dried up, the words dying in her throat before she could speak them aloud.
"What's the matter Zosh? Ice Queen stole your tongue?" Giggles erupted.
Jac blinked slowly and regarded Zosia with an ever so slight tilt of her head before breaking their gaze and closing the blinds. Zosia's heart soared.
"Don't call her that!" She snapped, folding her arms and forcing her colleagues to abandon their interrogation and slope off back to their patients. Zosia knew not what to make of that brief encounter, had she imagined the nod of approval? Projecting her own desires onto an innocent and meaningless tic or twitch? The most likely answer was probably, but Zosia's heart clung to it nonetheless.
For the rest of her shift, Zosia stayed close enough to Jac's office that she could gaze upon the closed blinds in the hope of catching Jac's eye again. Her efforts were futile, one of the nurses confirmed that the consultant had requested not to be disturbed for the rest of the afternoon while she returned important phone calls and caught up with paperwork.
Her acute interest in her boss' firmly closed door didn't go unnoticed by the other F1's.
"Zosia stop, you're pining like a little lapdog."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Zosia's nostrils flared.
"You've been surveilling Naylor's office ever since you got back from your little surgical jaunt. Did something happen, do you want to talk about it?"
"No nothing! It was just a routine procedure, nothing to tell!" She huffed, shuffling the files in front of her in an attempt to dislodge the sudden visions of Jac Naylor's hair cascading down her back, much in the same manner as she had watched it this morning. The file shuffling just made her appear more flustered.
"Anyway, don't you have patients to see to?" She said crossly.
"Don't you?" Her colleague replied smugly. Touché.
"Ms Naylor!" Zosia tailed her through the carpark.
"Ms Naylor! I was won.."
"What is it, F1?" The consultant sighed exasperatedly. She'd reached her car and wanted nothing more than to go home.
"Hi, I was wondering if you could give me some feedback on my performance in surgery earlier? It's just.. Well you didn't say anything?" Zosia clutched her little black notebook to her chest.
Jac stared at her, her face fixed with an unreadable expression.
"You see, if you don't give me any feedback then how am I to learn?" Zosia pressed, her initial confidence faltering with every second.
"It was a routine procedure Doctor March, carried out without complication. Both the operation and your performance were unremarkable and thus not worthy of further comment."
Zosia shifted uncomfortably.
"I am here to teach you not to inflate your ego."
"Well someone must have inflated yours."
With that the older woman got into her car without a further word. Zosia was shocked by her own courage, she bit her lip and slipped her notebook back into her bag. Fuck. She wished she had been content with the head nod and not probed further.