DISCLAIMER: Not mine, no profit, just some indulgent reading hopefully...
SPOILERS: Umm, a little for s8, ep 7 (the lift scene ep), but nothing major and anyway, I think that clip's required viewing for group membership *g*
AUTHOR'S NOTE: On doing a rewatch, a clock is visible during the early parts of the clips when Teresa is getting annoyed with Esther for hovering, waiting for Maca to arrive...from this, I've decided they're on a mid-afternoon to midnight type shift. Hope that isn't too widely out of canon...
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
So now what?
By ncruuk
Closing the door to the lounge with her shoulder, Maca leant against the door in exhaustion and let out a deep sigh of emotion. Her shift was finally over and, whilst it hadn't been especially busy or professionally dramatic, it had definitely been personally memorable. Content to lean against the closed door for a moment longer, caught up in her memory of that kiss in the lift earlier, Maca removed her stethoscope from around her neck on auto-pilot, stuffing it deep into the pocket of her white coat before starting to rub the base of her neck where the instrument had rested for most of the day. Finally feeling 'off-duty', the tall doctor suddenly remembered that she was actually propped up against a door which could be opened at any moment, forcing her to move across the room towards the couch, only to notice that it was in fact already occupied by...
"Esther?" Surprised, Maca's feet stopped, as if suddenly magnetised and held to the floor...the nurse's shift had finished the hour before and, since they'd started mid afternoon, Maca really hadn't hoped she'd find the nurse still here when she finished around midnight...
"Hola..." greeted Esther quietly, turning to look towards the doctor who, despite her long shift, looked to Esther exactly like she had done hours earlier, whilst Esther herself was convinced she looked a wreck.
"I've just finished..." explained Maca, cringing slightly when she realised she was stating the obvious, but her unexpected nervousness was making it hard for her to be witty or sharp.
"Yes...I waited..." explained Esther, standing and turning so that she was able to look straight at Maca, but the couch was still between them, her own nervousness becoming apparent as she struggled to know what to do with her hands, not having Maca's luxury of deep pockets to shove them in.
"Yes..." Smiling in acknowledgment of Esther's comment, the absurdity of her nervousness finally caught up with Maca, unfreezing her feet and turning her smile into a cheeky grin as she started walking over to the back of the couch, her normal flirtatious confidence rediscovered.
"Hola..." she murmured when she stopped, her thighs touching the back of the couch, her body leaning forwards slightly, creating an intimacy between them where previously there had been awkwardness.
"Hola..." replied Esther shyly, although the nervousness was being supplanted by a flirtatious bravura and, in a desire to close the gap between them, Esther leaned forward as well, bracing herself by resting her knee on the couch, a traitorous finger reaching out from her body, as if drawn by some invisible force towards Maca's body. In a parallel reaction, Maca's right hand emerged from her pocket and her index finger caught Esther's. As their finger's touched, both ladies found their grins grow a little wider and their eyes sparkle that little bit brighter...the feeling that each one had thought she'd felt in the elevator when they'd kissed? It was still there...
Seconds that felt like minutes stretched between them as both were content to just stand, mere inches apart, chaperoned by nerves and a couch, index fingers entwined, faces lit with delight as eyes locked and hearts pounded...
Just when Maca was about to speak, she was startled by Esther's finger being snatched away from hers, sparking a fresh explosion of heart pounding in the doctor...but not in a good way.
"Esther?" before Maca could develop her question, Esther's response was heard....from the nurse's stomach...
"Sorry..." admitted Esther, her chin dipping as she cast her head down in embarrassment, looking to Maca like she was about to chastise her stomach, much like she might a small child who'd interrupted an important conversation.
"You're hungry?" asked Maca lightly, feeling a lightness return to her heart when she identified the source of Esther's sudden withdrawal.
"Did you eat supper?" continued Maca, remembering seeing Esther in the cafeteria a couple of times, but not recalling ever seeing her eating anything.
"No..." came the mumble, so quiet Maca almost didn't hear it. In an attempt to encourage Esther to relax and open up, Maca gently cupped Esther's chin and eased her head up so that once more they were looking at each other.
"Lunch?"
"No..." Before Esther could begin to explain she hadn't felt hungry before her shift because she was so nervous about wanting to talk to Maca, then she'd been too nervous to eat during her shift, Maca's own stomach let out a traitorous rumble.
"You?"
"Butter and toast this morning..." confessed Maca, reading relief in Esther's eyes as she realised she hadn't been the only one whose appetite had been a little off, "...and your coffee...."
"Ah..." Once again, they were back to being mere inches apart, content to let time pass or stop on its own whim as their gazes locked, although this time the moment was even more intimate, with Maca's hand now caressing Esther's jaw, encouraging the nurse to lean forwards, yielding to the other craving her body was currently having...Maca's lips.
"I want to kiss you..." breathed Esther when she was near enough to Maca for their noses to touch.
"Here?" asked Maca, remembering where they were and what the time was. Whilst she could only guess at Esther's desires, Maca knew exactly what her own body was desiring, and it wanted more than a chaste kiss or quick embrace in what was ultimately a public lounge, even if this early in shift it would be quiet....
"No..." agreed Esther, picking up Maca's reluctance but not pulling away.
"You want to get some food?"
"Together?"
"I'd hoped..." confessed Maca, uncertain how to continue. Whilst she would dearly love to pull Esther into her bed tonight and make tender love to her until dawn, she didn't know how comfortable Esther would be with that idea...
"Me too..." confirmed Esther, taking a deep composing breath before stepping back from the couch, her jaw and cheek feeling cold when Maca's fingers fell away.
"It's late..." began Maca, pausing to choose her words with care, only for Esther to misunderstand her hesitation
"I should let you go home...your shift..."
"...isn't until the day after tomorrow..." interrupted Maca, smiling hesitantly whilst she waited to see how Esther interpreted that piece of information.
"Ah...same shift as me..." came the soft confession, accompanied by another stomach grumble which almost ground the conversation to a halt, only for Maca to decide to be bold.
"I have food..."
"At your apartment?"
"Yes...fruit, bread, cheese..."
"Wine?"
"Uh huh..." Now it was Maca's turn to be the nervous one as Esther refound her confidence and started leading.
"Enough for two?"
"It will manage..." agreed Maca, feeling a new wave of apprehension wash over her but, unlike before her shift, this was joyous rather than nauseating.
"Ok then..." confirmed Esther, grabbing her bag.
"I'll just..." Awkwardly, Maca gestured to her clothes, implying that she'd go and change whilst Esther moved around the couch ready to leave.
"Ok...I'll wait..."
"By the bike?" asked Maca, not sure she was necessarily sure she could manage to cope with riding the bike with Esther just yet.
"No helmet..."
"Ah...taxi then..." agreed Maca, realising that Esther was now in kissing range and so inching her head forwards. It took all of Esther's determination and will power to push her hand up between them as she jerked backwards, the abrupt body movement tempered by the coquettish sparkle in her eyes and grin on her lips.
"Go..." urged Esther, earning an exaggerated pout from Maca that nearly broke through Esther's defenses...
"Spoilsport..."
"You can have it when you feed me..." bargained Esther, becoming a little more serious as her stomach growled once more. Now her attention had been drawn to her missed meals, she was actually becoming quite uncomfortably hungry, something Maca immediately recognised.
"Five minutes..." she promised, stepping away and heading for the door, eager to run to the locker room to change, but knowing that professionalism and gossiping colleagues required her to walk.
"At the taxi stand?" suggested Esther, following Maca to the door.
"Ok..." and, with a briefly blown kiss and look of smoldering desire, the playful Maca was shielded from all but Esther's knowing gaze by the professional doctor facade before Maca stepped out into the waiting area, neatly sidestepping another nurse before melting into the busy ER. Smiling, Esther pulled on her coat and emerged into the ER, heading for the taxi stand...five minutes couldn't pass soon enough...
The End