Chapter Text
Therese pulled into the parking lot, tires squealing as she rounded the corner and turned into a space near the hospital entrance. She threw the car into park, grabbed her purse and keys and stumbled out, walk-running towards the double doors of the main entrance. It was 11:26 p.m.
There weren’t many people about as Therese half-jogged through the foyer, following the bright red signs for Emergency. She took the stairwell at full speed and ran down the final hallway, past the security desk and through the packed waiting room full of people, barely seeing their faces. 11:29 p.m.
Therese opened the office door with her keycard and found Dannie twisting around, side to side in the wheeled office chair. He was checking his phone absent-mindedly, but glanced up as Therese dumped her purse on the desk and let out a sigh of relief. Dannie put his phone down.
“Way to go, girl! On time for once,” Dannie joked, smiling broadly at Therese. He was a new friend, but a good one. He had her back at this job, and he remembered how tough it was when he had first started working in this environment. Long hours, busy shifts, and often overnights were what the newbies had to work. Not to mention the sometimes-grumpy or sensitive patients, overworked nurses and temperamental doctors. It was a good job for Therese, but it was exhausting a lot of the time. Having Dannie there most nights with her made things a lot more bearable.
“I slept in again… these hours are so weird; I just can’t get my sleep right,” Therese said apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it. I’d cover for you. Besides, it’s just you and me tonight. And it is rammed in here. This is going to be brutal ‘til we clear things out,” Dannie said.
“Perfect,” said Therese. Dannie threw his hands up, as if to say, What can you do?
“Okay. Where should I start?” Therese asked. There were tons of administrative tasks to get done in the Emergency Department at all times; it was a never-ending machine of healthcare bureaucracy. As a part-time administrator, Therese had to do her best to keep that machine running; all non-medical tasks fell to her and Dannie tonight, and the whole department had to be caught up and ready to face the next day by the time their shift ended in the morning. And still the patients kept rolling in all night, sick and injured and worried, and the team in Emergency did their best to help them.
“You take care of tomorrow’s Ultrasound and Fracture appointments first, there’s a backlog of those requests in the clinic,” Dannie said. “I’ll see which patients are admitted and get all that shit done so they can go upstairs to the floors. After that, I dunno… we’ll see what’s next on the list. I’ll cover the phones for now, too.” Therese nodded and walked over to the in-house clinic.
For Therese, this job at Southern Memorial Hospital was far from her dream gig. It paid the bills, though, as she had been in school for years now and it had become an untenable financial situation recently. She was working towards her Master’s of Fine Arts at the local university with a focus on Studio Photography. But a few wedding or baby photoshoots on the side or TA’ing a class simply wasn’t cutting it anymore, so Therese cut her course load back to part-time and started working here at Southern 4-5 nights a week. Now she could pay her rent and buy food or camera equipment or cigarettes without panicking about her bank account.
Therese carried her camera with her everywhere. Sometimes she was able to take a few shots here at work, but of course she had to ask permission. There were so many poignant and emotional moments that happened here, though, that the job constantly inspired her art. So many stories were told here; even if she couldn’t always take a photo, she could picture the moments in her mind’s eye… flashes of grief and shock, as well as memories of relief and joy in people’s faces when the news was good. Therese also felt like a part of something here; even if she wasn’t the one saving people’s lives, she was still part of the team. She felt welcomed and valued, and that wasn’t something she had often felt before in her life.
Therese reached the clinic section of Emergency, which was empty and silent since it had closed a bit early tonight at 10:00 p.m. Therese quickly sorted through the pile of appointment requests, entered them all into the computer, and filed all the paperwork away. She tidied up the desk for the morning, and was about to leave to go find Dannie again when she heard the door click open.
“Hello?” a voice called out.
Therese walked over to the corner of the office and peeped her head around. “Hi… Can I help you?” she asked timidly. Only half the lights were on in the clinic and the reception area was flooded in darkness. Therese saw the shadow of a woman standing there but didn’t recognize her.
“Yes… Dannie sent me over. I’ve just got one more request for the morning. I need an abdominal ultrasound for this patient for around 11:00 a.m.” The woman walked towards Therese, holding out the paperwork and coming into view as she approached the desk. “Would you mind, terribly? I’d really appreciate it. Then I can send this patient home.”
Therese stared at the woman stupidly for a few seconds. Holy Christ, she's a knockout, Therese thought. The woman had brilliant golden hair pulled back into a loose bun, and her face was absolutely stunning. She didn’t seem to be wearing much makeup, just a touch of mascara and some tinted red lip stain. Her skin was perfect and her eyes were a striking blue-grey colour. She was wearing the standard light green scrubs that most of the staff wore in the department, and Therese wondered what kind of shape she might be in underneath the loose-fitting outfit.
She noticed that suddenly the woman’s arms had crossed across her chest and when Therese glanced up, the woman had raised one eyebrow and was smiling at her, seemingly entertained. She was waiting for an answer. Oh my God, how long was I gawking at her for? Therese thought, embarrassed. What the hell is wrong with me?
“I… uh… of course. Not a problem,” Therese said at last, trying not to stutter. “I’ll do it right now. It’ll only take a minute.” The woman smiled warmly and actually moved to sit down in one of the office chairs behind Therese.
“Great. Thanks. I’ll just wait for it, if that’s okay. I need to take a breather for a second.” The woman sighed, and leaned back in the chair, breathing out heavily and staring blankly at the ceiling. She looks exhausted, Therese thought.
Therese quickly sat down and logged back onto the computer, entering the appointment request and printing off a confirmation sheet for the woman, who was still gazing vacantly into space. Therese got up and took a few tentative steps closer, trying to think of what to say. She wanted to know who this woman was. She wasn’t sure why, but Therese wanted to know everything about her. Why had she never seen her before? Therese wasn’t even sure if she was a nurse or a doctor.
“Um… all done. I was just wondering… so… are you… new here?” Therese folded the appointment paper in half nervously. The woman lifted her head and their eyes met, the woman’s intense look seeming to appraise Therese in an instant. She stood up and closed the space between them.
“I am so sorry! Dr. Aird. I’m one of the new staff doctors. I don’t believe we’ve met…? Have we? So many new faces.” The woman extended her hand and Therese noticed her perfectly manicured red nails.
Therese reached out her hand and gripped Dr. Aird’s, trying not to let her hand tremble. What the fuck, Therese? she thought. Get it together; this is your new colleague, try not to act like a complete lunatic.
“And you are…?” Dr. Aird asked. They were still shaking hands, and it was going on for a few seconds too long. Dr. Aird was still watching Therese closely.
“Right! I’m… I’m Therese. I’m one of the admin people here,” she said. “Mostly night shifts. Maybe that’s why we haven’t met before.”
“Therese? Not Theresa?” Therese shook her head nervously.
“Just Therese… Therese Belivet. It’s Czech.” She doesn’t care that your name is Czech, idiot, Therese thought. And are we still shaking hands? Is this the longest handshake ever?
“Therese Belivet. That’s lovely.” Dr. Aird said, finally releasing Therese’s hand. Therese blushed a little. The way Dr. Aird said her name was somehow so much more interesting than when anyone else said it.
“Anyway! I’d best get back to it. I’ve got about 50 people waiting for my expert diagnosis,” Dr. Aird said brightly. “Thanks for doing me that favour, Therese Belivet.” She winked at Therese and took the appointment paper from her hand. “I’ll be sure to make it up to you.”
Therese let out a nervous laugh. “Oh, that’s not necessary. Um… it was nice meeting you, Dr. Aird,” she said as the beautiful blonde woman started making her way out of the office back to the department. Before she got to the doorway, Dr. Aird turned back around, her voice calling out from the darkness.
“Therese? … Actually, it’s Carol. You can call me Carol.” With that, the door opened and she was gone.
Therese sat down heavily on her chair and let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. What just happened? Therese knew that she should get up and get back to work, but she couldn’t seem to move. She stared at the clock.
It was 12:15 a.m.
Carol.