The wide road and tracks allowed them to make good time to the hospital, but it lent them a sense of vulnerability too. But out here, they seemed lonely a small, exposed in the meadows, dwarfed by the location. Landmarks on the road itself were few, and their appearance almost hypnotically fascinating to her. She stared as shapes spied distantly slowly resolved as these lonely objects came closer. Miserably, she could identity with it all too well.
Already, there was no question of stopping or slowing because of the rain. They moved quickly and steadily. Surgeon Nina, ever the pragmatic thinker, had insisted on covering Soren and herself with her raincoat. She dearly wished they had an umbrella.
At least he didn’t pay the price for their punishing pace. Soren’s stopped the fits and they’d made a good job of walking to the hospital without making frequent stops. Was it trauma? she thought so. An extreme reaction. This poor man was very sick, sick in a way that was hard for her to understand.
She thought hard. He needed her help. She was going to give it to him. And she wasn’t going to make him feel bad either. Last thing he needed to feel was that she’s somehow against him. Soren had spoken with passionate conviction about Morven “an old friend” as he called her. It had seemed to Nina then that Soren held her in a special regard. He was a cold, bitter and hunched man, but Morven was somehow dear to him. Finding Morven, it was a wild idea, but one that smacked of sense and truth.
Problem is she was breaking the rules. I gotta play it careful. She suddenly felt painfully guilty, but it was too late to change her mind. She walked back to the ER and rejoined the fray.
Despite her assistant’s best efforts, another one of the patients had died. Nina nodded when he came to tell her and made an entry in her chart. it was only when they were underway to her office that she realized her assistant’s reaction at seeing Soren. Crap, he’d definitely seen them dripping wet and shivering, and was confused, but…
“When did you last sleep?” Nina asked Soren, offering him a chair in the tiny space that she’d taken as her office. She should be getting back to the ER and Soren needed rest. To be honest so did she. She threw him a towel and started to dry herself off as well.
A wallet chimed to itself in the corner next to the table where her charts were laid out. Grey light poked in at the window. They sat a moment in silence hearing the occasional shouted order or chatter outside.
She poured two generous glasses of vodka from a bottle the chief had given her and handed one to Soren. She raised her glass to Soren and took a sip of liquor.
She sighed, sitting down and kicking off her wet boots. Nina sat back and stretched out her legs, gazing down over her chest at her cold toes as she wiggled them. The cotton socks were worn through at the toes and heels. She massaged her foot through a threadbare sock and then realized what she was doing.
“I’m sorry,” she said. She paused and sipped again. “It’s been a long day. Please relax. It’s alright here. I just think you’re interesting. To finding your old friend.” She smiled and raised her glass again in a toast to Morven.
Already, there was no question of stopping or slowing because of the rain. They moved quickly and steadily. Surgeon Nina, ever the pragmatic thinker, had insisted on covering Soren and herself with her raincoat. She dearly wished they had an umbrella.
At least he didn’t pay the price for their punishing pace. Soren’s stopped the fits and they’d made a good job of walking to the hospital without making frequent stops. Was it trauma? she thought so. An extreme reaction. This poor man was very sick, sick in a way that was hard for her to understand.
She thought hard. He needed her help. She was going to give it to him. And she wasn’t going to make him feel bad either. Last thing he needed to feel was that she’s somehow against him. Soren had spoken with passionate conviction about Morven “an old friend” as he called her. It had seemed to Nina then that Soren held her in a special regard. He was a cold, bitter and hunched man, but Morven was somehow dear to him. Finding Morven, it was a wild idea, but one that smacked of sense and truth.
Problem is she was breaking the rules. I gotta play it careful. She suddenly felt painfully guilty, but it was too late to change her mind. She walked back to the ER and rejoined the fray.
Despite her assistant’s best efforts, another one of the patients had died. Nina nodded when he came to tell her and made an entry in her chart. it was only when they were underway to her office that she realized her assistant’s reaction at seeing Soren. Crap, he’d definitely seen them dripping wet and shivering, and was confused, but…
“When did you last sleep?” Nina asked Soren, offering him a chair in the tiny space that she’d taken as her office. She should be getting back to the ER and Soren needed rest. To be honest so did she. She threw him a towel and started to dry herself off as well.
A wallet chimed to itself in the corner next to the table where her charts were laid out. Grey light poked in at the window. They sat a moment in silence hearing the occasional shouted order or chatter outside.
She poured two generous glasses of vodka from a bottle the chief had given her and handed one to Soren. She raised her glass to Soren and took a sip of liquor.
She sighed, sitting down and kicking off her wet boots. Nina sat back and stretched out her legs, gazing down over her chest at her cold toes as she wiggled them. The cotton socks were worn through at the toes and heels. She massaged her foot through a threadbare sock and then realized what she was doing.
“I’m sorry,” she said. She paused and sipped again. “It’s been a long day. Please relax. It’s alright here. I just think you’re interesting. To finding your old friend.” She smiled and raised her glass again in a toast to Morven.
Nina