Connie closed the door to the office with a gentle 'click'. She stood for a moment, arms by her sides, just surveying the ward before her, her eyes searching...

Members of staff milled about, cheeks flushed, all busy to get to wherever it was that they were heading to, some pausing briefly, glancing across at Connie, eyes wide as though expecting her to pounce, though for now she remained still, feeling the throb of blood within her lips.

Eventually she spotted what she was looking for, the blonde head that was bobbed almost out of sight behind a curtain and with her eyes set and focused on her target she moved off across the ward to cubicle 3, tossing back the curtain, sending it rattling and swishing against the far wall.

Rita looked up from where she was bent over positioning an oxygen mask on the patients face.

"Everything OK?"

Connie asked, her face expressionless except for the slight pinch of her lips.

"Of course?"

Rita said quickly and she turned her attention back to the elderly man on the bed.

"Mr Wright here is absolutely fine. I thought he was having a nightmare, but..."

"I'm sure he is with you as his nurse."

Connie murmured, her words so quiet they were barely audible, but Rita stopped mid sentence to look up at her, her brown eyes wide, her lips parted.

"I'm sorry?"

She whispered, her words thick in her throat but Connie refused to look away from the man in the bed. She drew in a breath through her nose.

"When you're finished here I'd like to see you in my office."

She said and Rita exhaled a breath of disbelief into the air between them and Connie slipped from the room with the patient barely noticing she'd been their at all.

She made her way back to the office, and even before she'd reached the door she knew that Rita was following. She opened the door, her hand resting on the door handle, and with the door open she just stood, waiting, looking straight ahead until the blonde nurse moved past her into the office without a word.

Connie closed the door and for a moment there was silence.

Rita drew in a breath and turned to look at her.

"Just what have I done that is so terrible that it warrants being humiliated by you...in front of a patient no less! Not very professional..."

"Sit down."

Connie said, her voice low and without thinking Rita sat down and Connie made her way to the opposite side of the desk, where she stood, her hands on the back of her chair.

"Don't you wish it was electric..."

Rita murmured and she caught the gentle purse of Connie's lips and the flash of her glass green eyes.

"So, do I get an answer? Because right now I can't see that your methods of getting what you want have changed since you were six."

Rita asked, her jaw set, the tendons tensing in her cheeks and Connie allowed herself a slight half-laugh of incredulity.

"I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you came unarmed."

She spoke as though she were bored and she tapped a finger briefly against the chair.

"God! What is wrong with you?!"

Rita shook her head, her lips parted, eyes wide.

"You're manipulative, stubborn, selfish..."

"Why did you do it?"

Connie asked, interrupting once again.

"Why did I do what?"

Rita asked, sighing, rubbing her fingers against her forehead.

"Kiss me! Why did you kiss me?"

Connie exclaimed, and she leant back slightly from where she stood against the chair.

Rita frowned, contemplating her answer for a moment until Connie began to look impatient.

"What else was I supposed to do, you were behaving ridiculously."

She said eventually and Connie raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, show some respect!"

She murmured and let go of the back of the chair, folding her arms tightly across her chest.

"Respect?! How am I being disrespectful? By kissing you?!"

Rita laughed, unsure of what else to say, and she stood up, the metal legs of the chair grating horribly against the floor.

"You know..."

She said quietly, standing opposite Connie, mirroring her.

"Just because you're beautiful, doesn't mean that you can treat people like they don't matter."

She said, and Connie looked momentarily startled, the word beautiful taking her by surprise.

"I show you the respect that you deserve, and I think you know that deep down."

She added quietly.

Connie inhaled slowly, glancing about the room before settling her gaze again on Rita who stood, unmoving, her breathing quick and her cheeks faintly flushed.

"It's not because I'm beautiful...I don't..."

She pushed her fingers into the space between her eyebrows, for the first time she was flustered and her words didn't seem to be coming out in the order that she had hoped for.

"I don't think I'm beautiful...It's not that..."

She gave up trying to explain and she ran a hand through her hair, sighing.

"Well you are."

Rita said with a shrug of her shoulders, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"But this isn't about you, it's not about whether you think you're beautiful or not, though you are, and if you paid enough attention to your staff you'd see everybody thinks so, that's partly why you're so intimidating."

Rita paused, Connie finally seemed to be listening, though there was the slight flicker of disappointment when Rita said mentioned how everyone thought it...

"It's about why you behave like you do."

She said quietly and Connie expelled a breath, shaking her head very slightly.

"If you can't tell me now, then that's fine."

Rita said suddenly, and she folded her arms across her chest, tucking her fingers into the folds of her elbows.

"But you can tell me later."

"Later?"

Connie repeated and Rita nodded slowly.

"Meet me for a drink after the shift, there's a bar on the high street, The Table? Meet me there."

She said.

"A drink?"

Connie repeated again and Rita smiled a small triumphant smile.

"After the shift."

She confirmed, and she made her way back of the room.

After several reviews and messages asking me to continue this I thought I'd give it a go...I'll keep continuing if people would still like me to :) xxx