Defy Desire

Chapter 44 - Maia

The next day at work flew by so fast. I scrubbed in for all of our cases and I was completely exhausted. The amazing thing about having Ava as a mentor was that I wasn't feeling like a student and she certainly didn't treat me like one. She very rarely gave me instructions or tasks to do and she never breathed down my neck or jumped in to take over from me if she thought it was something I couldn't handle. She gave me free reign as a staff nurse and she allowed me to behave as if I were a fully qualified, registered member of the team.

She was right in doing so; I didn't need anyone to tell me what to do. I was a couple months from being a qualified nurse and I had worked enough time in theatre to know what I was doing without any help from anyone. I was learning so much from her and I found myself naturally getting on with the job without running to Ava for permission to do something or advice on making decisions. I used my initiative in everything I did and it always paid off every time. She praised me every second of the day and I knew that the experience I was having was making me want to come back here after I achieved my degree.

Today we were on Tom's list and it made my day even better getting to see his face in theatre all day. He and I worked so well together as surgeon and scrub nurse and it didn't take me long to figure out the way Tom liked things done. I quickly became accustomed to his ways and his habits and I could tell by his smirk behind the mask that he realised I was figuring him out. It killed me that I couldn't just touch him or smile at him in certain ways that I usually would and it took a lot of concentration to remain professional.

It was late afternoon now and we had gotten through two cases successfully. I was removing my gown and mask and washing my hands and Ava was praising me again for a successful procedure. I knew my trays so well now and I was completely into the swing of things. It helped having Tom there. I was completely comfortable assisting him and I worked so much better when it was with him.

'You're doing so well, I'm so proud of you,' Ava said to next, as we scrubbed our hands at the sinks.

'Thank you so much,' I replied, as I dried my hands. 'You're literally the most amazing mentor.'

'Well, I don't usually mentor but I made the exception for you because you're not annoying like most students,' she chuckled.

'I'm so lucky,' I laughed.

'You really are, don't forget it,' she said. 'Now go get a coffee.'

I nodded and headed towards the door, noticing Tom was gone and I headed down the corridor to the coffee room.

He was sat at the back corner reading a paper and I quickly made a coffee and joined him.

We had gotten over the worry of being seen together. At the end of the day, no one was going to suspect Tom and I; we were so different. If we worked together on a list then we sat together, if we were separated for the day, we would stay that way fully, that way if anyone questioned why we were sitting together, our reasoning could be to discuss one of the cases on our list.

The coffee room was pretty empty anyway and the fact I only had a few more days of working with him made me want to make the most of every minute of it.

'Another job well done,' Tom said, as I sat opposite him.

'Thank you,' I replied.

'I'm proud of you,' he said.

'Oh god, don't start this again,' I laughed. 'You say that like every day.'

'Because I am,' he stated. 'You've overcome so much. This department is most certainly going to offer you a permanent job. I hope you take it when they do.'

'Well,' I sighed, happily. 'I'll have to have a long hard think about it won't I. There's a lot of reasons to stay and a lot of reasons not to.'

'What are those?' he asked, raising a brow.