After All These Years

Twenty-Four

Elizabeth and Jason spent the next year of their lives passing like ships in the night. They had only two nights together where they could sit down and have dinner together weekly and the dates changed from week to week due to their shift rotations.

She'd been looking forward to one night in particular for several months, a movie was being released, an installment in a series they were both dying to see, and for the first time in what felt like ages they had made plans in advance. Their ability to plan things more than a few weeks in advance were typically reserved for their friend's weddings, them always being eachother's plus one.

After the previous night's shift leaving her rattled with a sound that added to her internal treasure box of trauma, she needed the break from reality now more than ever.

As she was driving to that day's shift, her head was a bit in the cloud's wandering back and forth between the excitement of the evening ahead to the previous' shift's unforgettable scream that echoed through the hallways from a mother that had just lost her young son.

She was startled back into reality by the flash of red and blue lights and a siren, as she pulled to the side thinking she was moving out of the way, she was shocked when the officer's car pulled up behind her.

At first she thought that Jason had spotted her on the road and had decided to take the opportunity to say a quick hello, but when the man that approached her car was taller, and had more muscular build, she realised that she was in fact, in trouble with the law.

Elizabeth opened the window of her car door and a firm tone spoke to her requesting her license and registration. She reached for her registration out of her glove box and dug her license from her wallet and handed them to the officer.

"Do you know why I pulled you over today?"

She sighed nervously. "Honestly, I have no idea." She admitted. "My head was a bit in the clouds after not sleeping well after my shift yesterday."

"Well traffic laws state you should have your eyes on the road, not in the clouds." He teased. While she couldn't see his eyes through his sunglasses, she watched as his chin turned ever so slightly south as he took notice of her scrubs. "Though it explains why you didn't read the sign that clearly said, stop, in bold, white, letters."

She looked at him in shock and horror. "I blew through a stop sign???"

He was not expecting her to be so concerned, so he clarified. "No, not like that. You just kind of rolled through it. You never really stopped."

She sighed with relief. "Oh thank god. I mean, I'm sorry for not actually stopping but I'm glad I wasn't so careless as to just completely ignore it altogether. Especially after yesterday of all days."

"Yesterday?"

"I work at Tampa General Hospital. We had an 8 year old boy that was hit by a car yesterday and we lost him to his injuries."

"Yes, I heard about that call. The responding officer is still a little shaken up, he has a young son of his own. One of the perks of being in careers like ours, extra burdens to carry." His voice had a soft and joking tone though the comment was indeed very serious. He excused himself for a moment to run her information before he returned her license and registration back to her.

She had not anticipated when he arrived to her window for his sunglasses to be removed and his striking green eyes to take her breath away. "It seems like your record is pristine, not even a traffic ticket."

She smiled proudly at that. "I've always been a bit of a rule follower, so much so that when I tell my best friend about this, I will never hear the end of it from him."