Vincent's POV
I got an offer to continue working at the same hospital where I completed my residency. I accepted, and was given my office today. Mum had wanted to throw a huge party, but I refused. I didn't need all that attention. This made her pout all day, so I decided to take her out to dinner during the weekend to make it up to her.
The new office was spacious with decent interior design and quality furniture. I didn't have time to properly settle in though, because my schedule was already full. I looked around a bit, grabbed my stethoscope and some files, and headed out.
I'd been told earlier that a group of med lab students would be helping out today as part of their project, and we were to assist them however we could. It brought back memories of my own school days. My father had used his influence to place me in his hospital for my projects. He drilled me like a soldier. Once he was up, I was up. Wherever he went, I followed. It was a bittersweet memory.
I left my office and headed down the hallway toward my first task of the day.
I hadn't made it far when someone ran into me and sent papers scattering in every direction.
"I'm so sorry!"
She was already crouching, gathering the sheets from the floor. "Don't worry, I'll get them all," she said when she saw me bend down to help.
I straightened and watched her collect the last few papers, then stood and carefully held them out to me, her head slightly dipped.
"It's okay," I said.
She looked up at me with a smile that died the second our eyes met. I was equally taken aback. This was the third time I'd run into her unexpectedly.
“Hello Dr. Sawyer,” she greeted, no trace of hostility this time.
“Hello, Miss Scott.”
She went quiet, looking everywhere else but at me.
“Uh, Dr. Sawyer…” she began.
Just then, someone called out to her down the hallway. She turned and looked back at me, hesitating a bit before sprinting off, dropping a quick apology.
“Wait, I'm coming!” She yelled.
An older nurse shuffled out of one of the rooms and shushed her. “And no running in the hallway,” the nurse reprimanded.
I watched her stumble a bit, bowing with an apology before slowing her pace the rest of the way.
I continued down the hallway when a doctor stopped me. He'd wanted to run something by me.
As we talked, I looked over and noticed her glancing back in my direction.
“Anne, write attendance,” her partner said, sensing her distraction.
“Uh …Dr. Sawyer?” the doctor called. I caught myself and returned my attention to him.
“Sorry.”
He had already caught on and was looking in the same direction, with a raised eyebrow.
“She's beautiful. Do you know her?"
"Sort of," I said evasively. "That should be all, right?"
"Yeah..but," he said, obviously trying to push further.
"Later, Doctor." I said dismissively. I wasn't about to go down that route with him.
I took a breath and continued down the hallway. I had made it a few steps when my name rang out.
"Dr. Sawyer!"
I turned. A few heads in the hallway turned with me, patients and staff alike, locating the source of the voice before quietly returning to their business. She was already on her way over, moving with the focused purpose of someone who knew she had just been too loud and was trying to compensate by being very calm about it.
"This is a hospital for crying out loud, stop yelling," the same nurse admonished.
"Sorry," she said bashfully, dipping into a small bow that seemed to extend to everyone in the general vicinity who had looked up.
“Oh, these students,” the nurse said in exasperation, walking off.
I felt the corner of my lip stretch into a small smile. That was genuinely funny.
I watched her walk quickly to get to me, with her hands clasped in front of her.
"Hello again, Dr. Sawyer."
"Miss Scott."
“Uh… we're here on a school project.”
“So I heard.”
“Can I help you with those,” she offered, gesturing at my files.
“No, it's fine, Miss Scott.”
She nodded, shifting from one foot to the other. Her mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, as if the words were stuck in her throat.
Whatever she was trying to say was clearly making her uncomfortable.
"I've got to go, Miss Scott. If you need anything, I'm at your service, okay?" I said, giving her the out she clearly needed.
"Yea… alright," she said, and hurried off.
I watched her retreating figure and couldn't help the smile that stretched across my face. I had a faint idea of what she’d been trying to say.
The sound of something clattering made me look sideways.
A nurse was standing completely still, staring at me with the expression of someone who had just seen a ghost. Two other nurses nearby followed her gaze and went equally still. A fourth, who had craned her neck to see what the fuss was about, nearly walked into a patient on crutches.
Almost simultaneously, all of them seemed to remember where they were and began shuffling back to their stations, muttering and whispering amongst themselves.
“Dr. Sawyer, why do you have nurses swooning on duty,” the same elderly nurse teased with a smile as she walked past. “You should smile more, it suits you.”
“Got it Matron,” I said with a nod.
***
By half past nine that night ,I had seen more patients than I'd been scheduled for, and eaten almost nothing since morning. I dropped into my chair, exhausted and hungry.
The unpredictable weather of Albana had been threatening to let loose all day. It looked like it was nearing its limits, so I gave myself exactly one minute of rest before I began packing up the documents I wanted to go through at home.
On my way out, I greeted the night staff, declined a few conversations that were being extended in my direction, mostly by the female staff, and made it to my car in the open parking lot, just as the sky finally made its decision, almost getting me drenched.
"You could have waited a little longer," I said to the clouds.
They responded with lightning and thunder.
I started the car and pulled out. Within moments of hitting the road, the rain became a distant memory. My mind had already moved somewhere else.
To a certain brown-eyed girl.
Her conversation with Andrew must have dampened her disdain for us. It was refreshing to see her looking better than the last two encounters.
As if on cue, she appeared right there at the bus stop, clutching a tiny umbrella that had long since surrendered to the downpour. The rain was going straight through it. She stood under it anyway, soaked and clearly unimpressed with her situation.
I swivelled toward the bus stop and screeched to a halt in front of her.
"Anne, get in!" I swung the door open.
She flung her umbrella in shock and took two quick steps backward, ready to flee, then she recognized me.
She stalled for a second, then made a run for it, jumped in, and banged the door shut.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly, her teeth chattering. "Thank you, Doctor."
I turned up the heater and pulled back onto the road. I watched her visibly relax as the warmth reached her.
"For a moment there, I thought you were going to refuse," I said.
She glanced at me. I could almost hear her brain working on a reply.
"Honestly, I wanted to but who would I be kidding, it's almost ten o'clock and I was soaking wet under this annoying rain, freezing my butt out. I couldn't let a ride pass me by, could I?" She let out a breath. "And besides, if I'd wasted any more time, we'd both be swimming in here."
I let out a chuckle. Her honesty was something else.
She turned and stared at me like I'd grown a second head.
"What?"
"I didn't know you had it in you to smile, let alone chuckle," she said, still staring.
I felt my lips stretch further, which apparently only made it worse.
“See!” she said, wide-eyed.
I laughed, making her gasp.
"Well," I said. "I was told to do it more often."
“Whoever said that is right,” she said with a smile, slowly turning to the window.
The car fell into a comfortable silence. The only sounds were the rain against the windscreen and the low hum of the heater.
After a while she turned back, that earlier hesitation returning as she worked herself up to speak.
"I owe you an apology,” she finally said.
"You don't."
"I do, Dr. Sawyer." She sighed. "I was rude to you. I misjudged your intentions. I'm sorry.”
“That was what you were trying to tell me,” I said, glancing at her.
"Yes,” she said, looking down at her fingers. "I lost my nerves at the last minute."
I smiled. It surprised me how easily it came. I had smiled more today than I could account for, and most of it was because of her.
"It's okay, Miss Scott. It's all behind us," I said. "And you can call me Vincent."
She turned to me and gave me the brightest smile, "Only if you call me Anne," she said. "Or Anny."
"Fine, Anny. How have you been?" I asked with all sincerity.
“Peachy,” she cajoled, and we both burst out laughing.
I was genuinely surprised by the sound of my own laughter. I hadn’t laughed this hard in a long time.
The rest of the drive was spent in a peaceful quiet. By the time we reached her hostel, the rain had eased enough for her to make a run for it. I watched her jump over potholes, nearly lose her footing on a patch of mud, correct herself with great dignity, then stomp directly into a pothole, sending a spray of dirty water straight up her trousers.
She threw her head back and laughed, turning to look at me.
I was laughing the entire time.