Mind the Bleep

10 | Better With Time

TW: Mild descriptions of a deceased body in the latter half of the chapter.

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"Arsenic or cyanide?"

"What are you talking about now?" Isaac groused, his voice thick with fatigue. He'd handed out smouldering mugs of heavily caffeinated beverages, and collapsed down upon the leather sofa, a sharp indent formulating where he sat. Caliana couldn't help but notice the grossly large space he'd left between them, opting to sit closer to Dawn than to Caliana.

Perhaps, it had been an unconscious decision on Isaac's part, but Caliana couldn't deny that she'd been consciously doing the same thing since their shift began nearly six hours earlier. Ensuring a more-than-breathable distance was always present.

Now, she held her mug at arms-length, gaping at the ceramic glass with sheer trepidation, inhaling several protracted sniffs. "What did you poison my coffee with, Doctor Rhys? Arsenic or cyanide?"

"With any luck, a couple of shots of tequila," Dawn interjected, taking a large (and rather noisy) slurp. "Damn it, not a single drop in here."

Caliana's vaseline-glossed lips converged into a weak smile, as she toiled the mug towards her open mouth, finally garnering a response from Isaac. "Frankly, I find that insinuation insulting. I'd never be that much of an amateur. I tend to go for Maitotoxin with my victims — faster acting, and far harder to prove." Caliana all but spat out the brown liquid in response.

"Isaac," Preeti warned half-heartedly, angled a few metres away from the three, eyes glued to a set of lab results on a computer in the Doctors' Mess. "What did we say about terrorising the new doctors on their very first night shift?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't recall saying anything about it."

Preeti rolled her eyes; twirling the wheeled chair around to face them and emitting a small yawn in the process. "I am sorry for what's happened tonight," she addressed all three of them, but namely the two girls. "It's a real shame, not to mention unfair that the two of you had to start your nights when we're so poorly staffed. I mean, the four of us looking after the majority of the hospital isn't right."

"It's not your fault, Doctor Chopra," Dawn replied sweetly. "It's just something that we're going to have to get used to. Little Oaks isn't the only hospital to be hit with staffing issues."

"Even so, it's not something we should have to grow accustomed to. It's wholly unsafe for our patients." Isaac differed.

The recognisable shrill sound blared, causing all four of them to peer down at Preeti's bleep which was hooked upon her scrub pocket. She exhaled an exasperated sigh, answering the call. "There's a sick patient that needs a review and a repeat arterial blood gas on Maple ward. Shall we head up now, Dawn?"

Dawn bobbed her head in agreement, before gulping the remainder of her coffee and sauntering out of the door behind Preeti.

"You remembered." Caliana teasingly uttered, consequently shattering the agonising silence that ensued after Preeti and Dawn's premature departure. She tapped a teaspoon against the ceramic mug's handle with a thwack. "You remembered I like vanilla syrup in my coffee. Although, I usually only take a dash."

"I did only put a dash of the syrup."

"Actually, this was a smidge." She replied, causing Isaac's brows to curve upwards in bemusement. "There's a subtle difference."

Caliana's bleep sounded just then, and she was almost appreciative of the interruption it offered. She clamped an index finger down on the button on the left side of the device; her chipped lavender polished fingernail fell into view. "Hi there. This is Cal—"