Participants:
| Scene Title | Time Off |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Abigail catches up with Eileen outside the nursery in the maternity ward. |
| Date | April 5, 2019 |
The nursery in the maternity ward at St. Luke's Hospital is separated from its viewing area by sheets of glass seamlessly patched together into one elongated window that spans from one side of the room to the other. It's here that new parents gather, expectant, and marvel at the tiny shapes swaddled in blankets on the other side of the pane. Tea rose pink for the little girls, cornflower blue for the little boys — it's a tradition that goes back further than any of the hospital staff can remember, Nurse Eileen Gray included.
Dressed in subdued periwinkle scrubs, dark brown hair swept back into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, she stands by the window with her fingertips brushing the glass and her chin inclined at an inquisitive slant. She's been spending more and more of her free time here, apparently content to either wonder in silence or inspect the ghost of her reflection staring back at her, but without an intimate working knowledge of the way her mind is put together, it's impossible to be certain what she might be thinking, or what supernatural force has compelled her to waste her smoke break here, admiring other people's babies.
This said, it isn't that hard to guess.
"Is it ticking again?" Abigail's on her break too, though she was up here for an entirely different reason. It's a daily trip through the NICU to give the preemies a daily boost and a little more to the really small ones. "Bai-Chan's going to be out of the house soon, and it's going to be quiet" The blonde, identical in hairstyle falls into place beside Eileen to watch the squirming and still bundles on the other side of the window. A styrofoam cup of coffee is offered up to Eileen, her usual is in the other cup and not likely to be enjoyed by Eileen.
The corners of Eileen's mouth curve into an apologetic smile as she lowers her eyes to the proffered cup of coffee and takes it off Abby's hands. "I like things when they're quiet," she reminds the other woman gently, raising the drink to her lips. "Thanks." One slow sip later, her gaze has returned to the viewing window, attention divided between their charges and the outline of Abby's slender likeness in the glass. "Every day, every hour, every minute, every second. It's always ticking away." Eileen wrinkles her nose — if she had a mouse's whiskers they'd be twitching with unrest. "Life, I mean. Not my— you know."
"I wasn't meaning life" Abby's left hand slides into her scrub pockets, watching some parents picking up their daughter, moving over to a rocking chair. "If you guys need help with Bai-Chan's schooling, let me know. I think I know a few scholarships that he'd qualify for. I have the bar as well" There's a soft sigh. "Peterson kid on third's not doing so well. Can't do a thing for him" She can keep him alive, each time he comes in, but she can't cure him. Leukemia patients suck. "I need to cancel dinner this week. Flint and I are.. I think we need a quiet week. You okay with this?"
The mention of scholarships gets a small nod from Eileen, as does the update on the Peterson kid on third, though the mild expression on her face doesn't change until Abby brings up their dinner date. Dark brows crease with worry, and this time she turns her head to give her friend an assessing look, gray-green eyes searching Abby's much more vibrant blue ones for a sign. A sign of what, she doesn't know — only that she should be looking for it. "Is everything all right?"
"I ran into your favourite person" Twitch. "Ivanov. Apparently he felt the need to tell me that Flint tried to kill him a few times and succeeded one time. Though he's still alive, don't ask me how. I think it was Bai-Chan's biological Mother, not sure. But we had a bit of an argument last night. I think he almost left. Just need a week without anyone coming over for dinner. I think I need to do a lot of things, like say goodbye to Johan too"
The couple are rocking their daughter back and forth, both of them practically glowing. "How are you and Gabriel? Tell him healing lessons are being skipped this week too"
Anger isn't an emotion Eileen wears well, and it's very rare indeed these days to see it creeping into her eyes. There are only a few names that inspire such a reaction — Felix Ivanov's is one of them. "I'd take anything Ivanov says with a grain of salt," she advises Abby, her features growing cold and marble-like. "Ten years is a long time to wait to accuse someone of murder. He'd ruin Flint if he thought he could." And while they're on the subject of her husband— "Gabriel, too."
Speaking has helped work some of the built-up tension from Eileen's jaw, and slowly, gradually, her expression becomes a little less rigid, the line of her mouth not quite as stern. "Our schedules are contrary to each other so I don't see him as much as I'd like, but that isn't anything new. Separate people lead separate lives. Sometimes we come together, most of the time we're apart."
"You should take some time off. So should he. Go camping in the Adirondacks. Maybe we should all go. Be good, before Bai-Chan goes off to college and before Joseph stats school. I haven't gone camping in a dogs age. Do us all good to get away from the city" Abby's lips close around the straw and suck up some of the non chunky portions of her sludge. "Or we could leave the men with the children and we can go to a spa and just, you know, pamper ourselves" The corner of her mouth turns up. "Ivanov has become an ass. He's not the man who helped me after Staten. I take everything he says with a grain of salt just, Flint seems to think that I.." Abby shrugs her shoulders. 'I have former and present criminals at my dinner table once a week. That hasn't changed since 2009 and it's not likely to change anytime soon and if certain people don't like it, they can go.." her next word whispered. "Fuck themselves" Another pull at the straw as a new baby's brought in to be placed in his plastic bassinet, blue information card slid into place. "We really need to go camping, the lot of us. Think Gabriel would agree?"
Hearing Abby curse draws a bubbling snort of much-needed laughter from Eileen — she almost claps her hand over her mouth to keep it from escaping but ends up choking instead. She taps her knuckles against her chest, clears her throat and shakes her head. You heard it, ladies and gentlemen, straight from the mouth of a flaxen haired angel: Felix Ivanov can go fuck himself.
She'll file that one for the next time she's in desperate need of a smile.
"All I can promise is to ask," Eileen says as soon as she's recovered her composure. "SCOUT takes up most of his time, and to be honest I think Magnes benefits more from his company than I do. If he's been tossing people up into the atmosphere again, Gabriel probably won't want to come, and I wouldn't blame him for it either."
"Oh good Lord. Magnes is doing that still? I thought he'd have grown out of that by now. I was sure it was a bloody phase" Now the scowl is on the blonde's face. "Need me to go talk to Magnet? And asking is good. Even if it's just a weekend. I'd invite Magnes, but he be at Deckard's throat the entire time" There's a nudge for Eileen to turn away from the babies in the nursery, time for them to start heading down the hall to their own floor. "I need to make some more casseroles and pies for him. Maybe it'll calm him down."
Eileen takes Abby's cue, looping her arm around the other woman's and falling into step beside her. "Believe me, he really doesn't need the encouragement." Medical clogs click against the linoleum tile under foot as the pair departs the maternity ward and makes for the interconnecting stairwell that links St. Luke's together. "It's best we give him some space, leave Gabriel to his work — they make a good match, Gray and Varlane, but I'll tell them both you said hello the next time I see them. I'll even broach the Adirondacks, I promise."
"We'll see. It's just a thought. I don't think Flint would like it anyways, camping. A girl can dream. If you need me to cover a shift so you can have some time with Gabriel, let me know. I can pull a double" Abby's a little more relaxed about the whole touching thing too. "So, Bai-Chan decided what he's going to go through for? Any acceptance letters come? Inquiring minds want to know…"
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