Dr. Mark Gardner (sleeplessdingo) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-03-22 02:16:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-07-07 |
I know I could love you but I don't know why
Who: Mark and Morrigan
When: Noon-ish
Where: UofM Hospital
Running down the hall as quietly as he could, Mark took a quick sidestep into an empty room hiding just behind the door. Making sure to be just visible enough so that he wasn't impossible to find. He was currently playing with a few kids who seemed a little restless staying cooped up in bed all day, normally he would have taken them outside but the rain made that a little impossible, so he settled on hide-n-seek. The kids were all roughly between the ages of 5-7, all very hyper and, because of certain rules, were all seeking him. He tried to stifle a laugh of excitement as he waited for the little thuds of their tiny feet to approach the room he decided to take shelter in. They had just finished counting to 20 when he had run around the corner and popped into this room so it surprised him when he heard the much heavier steps of an adult approach.
Morrigan had been sent up to the Pediatrics Ward during a lull in the Emergency Room’s rush, delivering the personal affects of one of the younger patients who had passed through the ER earlier. It was a simple job, one that they could have sent one of the lowly interns to do, as their primary occupation was being gofers, but one of the supervising doctors had decided that a nurse was a good equivalent. She might have gotten aggravated with the decision as the doctor had dumped the backpack and jacket in her arms, if she wasn’t glad to be out from the man’s presence for a short while.
She had expected it to be a short visit, but she hadn’t expected that, after she had dropped the things off with the main nurse on the floor, while passing one of the rooms on her way back to the elevators, she’d find a doctor hiding behind one of the doors. Her even footsteps stuttered to a halt as she took a look inside the room in confusion.
The woman, he could tell, first by scent and then sight, stopped and there was a skip in his heart beat as he heard the little foot steps running down the hall behind her. Without much thought he pulled the woman into the room with him, closing the door enough to hide them both and holding a finger to his mouth as the little group of kids ran past noisily. They'd find him eventually, but he didn't want to give up that easily. The woman was pretty and the look of confusion in her eyes made him smile, she was vaguely familiar and right away Mark could tell she was nurse. If not for the scrubs she wore than the scent that hung around her. Mark didn't speak until he was sure the kids were out of earshot. "Hey, sorry 'bout that," he said with a half smile. "Playing hide-n-seek with a few of the kids. I'm Mark, or Dr. Gardner if you want to be professional." He held his hand out for her to shake.
If she was confused by him hiding in the room at the first place, his fingers wrapping around her wrist and tugging her inside the room was enough to completely surprise her. The first thought that occurred to her, of a tall, attractive doctor pulling a nurse into a room, was that she'd somehow unintentionally stepped into an adult film. Morrigan opened her mouth to ask what was going on, only to close it again as he indicated she stay silent, and she heard a pack of what sounded like children run by the other side of the door. It took her longer than it should have to realize what might be going on, that either he was playing with them, or that they were a pack of gremlins on the loose and he feared for his life. Perhaps she shouldn't have been investigating retro horror films lately, it led to strange thoughts. "It's okay," it was of course the first thing she could think of in answer, letting her confusion dissipate, "Morrigan," when she took his hand, she did her best not to consider the difference between their hands, or that she liked that his was a good deal larger than her own. "I think we might be a little beyond professional at the moment."
It didn't really occur to him that tugging an attractive nurse into a deserted room could have come straight from an adult film, Mark was in play mode. His thoughts at the moment were 'hide!' and 'don't get caught!' with excited fervour, he was more childlike than adult. It happened when you hung around kids all day or if you played with them. Standing up straight he flashed her another wide grin as she grasped his hand, immediately he noticed the difference in size and feel. Mark had always liked feminine hands, the softer and more delicate feel was in direct contrast with his own. The thoughts were unabashed, he liked her and if he got the feel that she liked him, it was probably a given that he'd ask her out. "Morrigan? That's an interesting name," there was a thoughtful look on his face as he tried to remember if he'd ever heard it before. No dice. With an internal shrug he moved on, his ears still perked for the sound of small feet. Mark laughed, pulling her into a room unexpectedly probably didn't scream 'professional' like, at all. "You've got a point there, sorry about that again. Didn't want them to find me that easily!"
He was very bright, and she didn't mean intellectually, although he could hardly be lacking in that department and be working at a University hospital. Just, the playfulness in his thoughts rolled off him nearly physically. Morrigan had to look up to meet his eyes, there was a vast difference in their heights, in general size, but it wasn't a bad contrast to find. She had nothing against her name, not exactly, she had come to quite like it, but at least one of its meanings was one that was all too fitting. "My mother," she explained, "Had a love of our lore, and mythology," the sound of her voice was curved with the accent of her birthplace, as much as his voice spoke of his. His laugh was exactly that bright, she liked the way it sounded, and let herself relax into the moment, strange as the current moment was. "That would be....bad?" it came out as more of a question than she expected it to be.
Simple things like height and accents were mostly lost on Mark in his current state of childlike giddiness, it wasn't until he realized how far she had to crane her neck that their heights were vastly different. It amused him momentarily and he felt like a giant, which was pretty normal for him. He worked with children after all and on more than one occasion, did he actually play a giant. "Morrigan," letting the sound and feel of it roll across his tongue he smiled down at her. "I like it, it's very beautiful," He wasn't familiar with a whole lot of Irish lore (That's where her accent was from!) but he'd vaguely recalled in University coming across gods and goddesses from various mythologies. That was probably why he'd felt like he'd heard her name before. Mark gave her a slightly disbelieving and amused look. "Well of course, the game can't end five seconds after it's started!" he chuckled. "Don't mind me, I play more children games then I should at my age."
Being placed alongside her namesake, that of the Goddess of War and Death, wasn't exactly a choice Morrigan would make, and so she was quite grateful that he didn't immediately understand its meaning. While she knew that she really should extract herself from his presence, and the room, she couldn't quite get herself to leave just yet. The excuse of not wanting to ruin his game, just yet, was the first tangible one that came to mind, and she let herself use that to explain away why she simply didn't open the door and go right then, "Of course." In actuality, she wasn't entirely clear on the rules of 'hide-n-seek,' her understanding coming from only from movies watched or books read, it wasn't anything she'd played. Not in its current form, at least. His smile seemed to come easily, and his laughter just as easy, and it was a strange sort of tempting, luring her in, the easy happiness so close to the surface. "You're a doctor on this floor?" keeping him talking seemed to be the best bet for distracting him, and likely her as well, from her lack of excusing herself.
Pulling her deeper into the room suddenly he placed a finger to his mouth again and waited, the pack of tiny children running past their room and giggling loudly into the room beside them. He had to stifle an excited laugh as they ran down the hall to another room, letting it turn into a full on laugh when he was sure they wouldn't hear him. It never even crossed his mind that Morrigan had never played hide-n-seek, he just assumed that everyone had played it before in their childhood or at least witnessed it first hand in some way. "Sometimes I can get a little invested," he explained, his laughter dying out. "Yeah, I am. I work mostly with the younger ones, 2-7 and occasionally the older ones. But you're not a nurse on this floor, I think I'd recognize your face." He didn't mean for it to sound like an advance or like he was trying to purposefully compliment her, but his voice softened on it's own accord and he smiled crookedly. Not that he wouldn't compliment her, he just didn't want to push anything and make her uncomfortable.
Morrigan was far more interested in the up close and personal viewing of his laughter, than in the game that he was playing with the children. She'd had a love of a game that was roughly the equivalent of Tag, when she had been a child, and always loved running as fast as she can, in order to prevail. Her memories of her own childish laughter and that of the other children in her village had become faded, the corners of those memories now rounded and softened with time, but they were closer to her fingertips at the moment, in hearing the giggling of the young patients as they ran by. She'd nodded at his words, "I'm one of the E.R. nurses," it was a profession she'd found a liking to, over the years, one of the many she'd filled. Mark's smile sealed it for her, even if it was only sealing a chance meeting that was left just as a standalone event, it appealed to her in a way that had nothing to do with the hidden darkness in her life, "I think I've seen you before on a Pedes consults."
There was something satisfying in reliving your childhood, or at least a part of it. Mark didn't feel as old as he was and rarely acted like the almost 40 year old Doctor he was, instead he was more interested in adventures. Or playing hide-n-seek with the children of his ward, it made life more fun and interesting. "Really?" It didn't surprise him, but he had to think hard to try and recall her face. It was a whole different ballgame in the E.R., something Mark wasn't really used to. He could vaguely remember the small, redheaded nurse. "I'm sorry if I never introduced myself, the E.R. is something else entirely." he smiled at her apologetically. He was sure, if he'd been in the head space, that he would have remembered her immediately. There was something about Morrigan that intrigued Mark, the sterilized scent of the hospital that clung around her and something else, something older that he couldn't quite place. The ivory quality of her skin and despite her height, the sturdy determination of her body told him she could take of herself, that much was obvious.
"I promise, I didn't take offense," Morrigan did well in the chaos and fast pace of the E.R., preferred it, even, at least when it came to her work. On more than one occasion, she had served as a nurse during wartime, and sometimes the E.R. felt as if it were an echo of those times. Especially during the initial wave of demon attacks, where no one had known what was going on. But, even as she did well in the chaos, she understood that not everyone felt the same. Mark's height, and good looks, had attracted the attention of several of the nurses when he had been called down, and she vaguely remembered looking over to see him with some young patient, but they had not interacted at all. Her task on the floor was finished, and without the children running outside the door, she knew that she needed to get back down to the E.R. and return to her duties, as reluctant as she was to leave. As silly as that was, to her mind, "I really should be going back, I think."
Her hair was the only thing Mark could really remember and it made him smile. He really wasn't used to the chaos of the E.R. and so it was easy for him to overlook nurses or orderlies who weren't in his immediate vicinity. Mark didn't like being rude to people, overlooking them or coming off as a jerk, but it happened a lot in the E.R. where everything moved too quickly and his senses were constantly on edge. It was why he loved pediatrics. Quiet and calm except for the laughter of children. He'd just opened his mouth when he heard it, the quite muffled sound of laughter stopping him momentarily until he caught her words. "Really?" he asked, his face falling slightly. The laugh he'd heard being pushed from his mind. It didn't surprise Mark that he'd wanted her to stay, he liked her almost immediately and the fact that they'd hardly spoken at all only succeeded in heightening his desire for her to stay. "I hate to be forward bu--" In his preoccupation with Morrigan, Mark had forgotten about the children and his question was cut off by the loud laughter and calls as they ran into the room, tackling him. Stumbling backward he managed to keep himself upright, laughing as they continued to barrage him one at a time. "Alright, alright! You've found me!" he yelled over their high little voices, looking over at Morrigan. They stood at his feet, looking up expectantly. "Kids, I'd like to introduce you to Nurse Morrigan." The children turn on Morrigan and smiled broadly. "Is she gonna play with us?" one little boy asked excitedly, the others nodding. "Please?" this time a little girl. Mark just shrugged his shoulders. "Nurse Morrigan was just returning to the E.R., unfortunately." A small chorus of 'awws' answering him.
The reluctance in her to leave only doubled with the cheerfulness draining from his expression, Morrigan already missed the smile now that it was gone. She was plainly a workaholic, at least when it came to working as a nurse in the last few years, but she was tempted to go on her lunch early. The first time she had actually considered it for matters that weren't an emergency. It seemed better to nod, her lips pressed together, with an attempt to remind herself that just because she was attracted to the tall, broad shouldered, Australian doctor, she should not shelve her responsibilities.
The redhead caught herself leaning forward, curious, as he began his cryptic statement, only to be cut off as the door opened and a pack of small children rushed into the room. It was partially luck that she managed to avoid being caught in the onslaught, stepping back as the little patients attacked Mark. Not that he seemed to be complaining, and the return of his laughter kept her where she was. She met his eyes over the heads of his patients, and was about to quail under the sudden attention from the whole group of assorted children, even if their excitement was adorable, Morrigan was not used to children at all. Especially in a group. "I have to go," although she wasn't used to them, she still couldn't quite resist the idea of playing with them, particularly if Mark was involved, "I could come back on my lunch, maybe?"
"Please Nurse Morrigan?" said the same little boy, his eyes big as he clasped his hands together. Mark could tell that she was uncomfortable, it seemed only mildly strange to him that she was awkward around little children and she shot her an apologetic look. "Alright, thats enough Johnathan," he said a little sternly, the boy going silent and looking sad. "I want Nurse Morrigan to stay too, but she's got to get down to the E.R." He turned to her again and smiled, it was lacking this time not nearly as bright. Mark had intended on asking her out, but it didn't seem very professional to do it in front of an audience of children. "Sorry 'bout these little rascals. They get sore when I win," he looked down at them and few stuck their tongues out at him. "It was a pleasure meeting you though, if you'd like to join us at lunch I'm sure we'll still be up here annoying the other nurses." The kids laughed, an inside joke between the patients of the floor. Mark had gotten them to start pulling small pranks and nearly all the nurses wanted Mark's head on a stick because of it.
Morrigan liked children. Or was, she thought, quite likely fond of them. It had been a long time ago that she had resigned herself to never having one or any of her own, not wanting toshadowpiranha13 risk passing on what she was to any daughters she might have, and it had always seemed easier to try to avoid reminding herself of one more thing she could not have. Outside of a few incidents, here and there over the years, she hadn't interacted one-on-one with children in numbers greater than two since she had been one herself. Between the lure of the attractive man in front of her, and the young patients with their huge eyes and pleading looks, Morrigan couldn't help but give in. "I suppose I could always take my lunch early," and have the head nurse die of shock, of Morrigan not trying to get even more hours in than she was even scheduled for, "If you promise to give the other nurses a break for a short while." She doubted that whatever annoyances they were up to, they were anything major, but it was always better to err on the side of caution, if only for solidarity's sake.
The thought of having his own children didn't cross his mind very often, Mark wasn't much for relationships after Tara and tried to keep his mind off that track. It had the power to make him sad and mopey. The huge grin that spread across Mark's face really couldn't have been helped at all, not at the prospect of spending a little while longer with her. Even the kids smiled and cheered, shooting out of the room and into different directions. "I guess that means we're it." he said with a laugh, looking over at her. Mark was truly ecstatic that she'd decided to stay and was tempted to take her hand and drag her through the ward trying to hunt down tiny children. "I promise, scouts honour." he answered disbelievingly with wicked smile, it was in his nature to cause trouble. Most of the nurses didn't mind him so much, he kept the kids preoccupied and happy.
Any reserve she had had about calling it an early lunch and deciding to call down to the nurse station in the E.R. to doublecheck that it was fine with the Head Nurse, it melted away with the beaming smile that he sent her. And the accompanying cheer from the children before they disappeared with a speed that rivaled some athletes she had seen. There had been enough darkness without letup lately that Morrigan was even more easily drawn into staying around the Pediatric floor for at least her lunch hour. It really didn't make much sense, not for her, but she couldn't help it anyway. Help wanting to be around him for at least a little while longer. The turn his smile took after he promised to give the nurses a break had her lips in a temporary moue of disbelief, but as she had little stand in the matter, she let it pass without comment, "I just have to call down and then we can be...it."
He laughed playfully at the little face she made, still fighting the temptation to grab her hand and instead lead the way out of the room, toward the nurses station. "There was something I wanted to ask you, before we were mobbed by screaming kids," he said pausing and trying to decided it this was at all acceptable. Mark didn't mind such things half the time, but they were at work still and he was supposed to be searching out hidden children. To ask or not to ask, that was the real question. "I don't want to be forward and if this is out of line, feel free to tell me but... I was wondering if you'd like to go out?" There was only the mildest hint of pink that formed on his cheeks and he cleared his throat. Normally he wasn't so shy with a woman, but there was a huge difference between asking a woman out and introducing himself as a prelude to sex.
Morrigan smiled when he laughed, truly and honestly smiled, and she wasn't sure she could pinpoint the last time she had smiled for a reason that wasn't simply because she had felt she was supposed to smile at a joke or a comment made by someone else. It wasn't a beaming smile, nor particularly big or broad, something small, in fact, but it was an honest smile all the same. She had been about to head to the nurse's station, or at least to find an available phone to call down to the E.R., when he spoke again, pausing her in place, "Yes?" And the cryptic beginning of before, the mystery was solved as to what he had meant to say, when he asked her out. "Go out?" it was only to buy herself some time to at least let the thought settle, let alone absorb, and she knew that while she really ought to say no, to stay uninvolved, she just did not want to. Asking what the harm could be was an idiotic thought, for she knew exactly how badly things could go and get, but she honestly did want to see more of the man and his grinning face. "Yes, I'd like to," and, because she knew she had let it pause too long, and didn't want him to think she was uninterested, Morrigan did at least give a true, but not complete, explanation, "Sorry, I just don't get asked out much."
Until she had actually smiled, it didn't hit Mark that it was the first time he'd seen her do it. Although it was small, he liked the way it looked on her and it sparked his own smile, this one softer than the others. He waited, nervously he found and it was then that he realized it had been a very, very long time since he'd asked someone out. Her prolonged silence stung, Mark found his mood falling, he shouldn't have pushed it, his head lilting and his gaze shifting to the ground he tried not to look upset. Sometimes his overeagerness tended to mess things up for him and he was about to excuse her, save her from having to reject him when she spoke. The words had formed and he was about to respond when it hit him. She had said yes! The smile that had faltered ever so slightly light up again and he could feel himself soaring with a successful date under his belt, well, at least a successful date invitation. "Great!" he said enthusiastically, unable to stop smiling at the moment. "Really? I find that surprising." Someone as gorgeous as her, with red hair and a delicate face, any man was a sucker to not ask her out.
It would have been far more honest to point out that she rarely socialized with men for longer than a single meeting, outside of work, but honesty in that case was not something Morrigan could wield. She felt a measure of the need to apologize for the gap in his question and her answer, with the way she watched his light mood dim further. There was much for her already to feel guilty for, leaving a man hanging on a date request should not number among them, even if this one hedged on an area that had an apologetic lilt to her expression. "I spend most of my time at the hospital, I admit, I don't socialize much," and when she wasn't at the hospital, she was at the clinic, with her sole day off usually devoted to books or movies, as much to keep as current as possible on the current culture as simply for the fact that she enjoyed reading classic novels. "But I really would like to go out, sometime, with you," looking up to meet his eyes, her second small smile of the encounter was edged with hesitance but still true.
Now that she'd accepted, Mark didn't care much about why she'd taken so long. As long as she wanted to go, that's all that mattered to him. He beamed at her and immediately tried to think of a place to take her, there wasn't much in the town of Scarlet Oak and he decided that maybe he'd just take her somewhere in Ann Arbor. Mark was getting a head of himself again and wasn't quite paying attention. "Nah, it's alright. I spend a lot of time here too." he looked sheepish, because Mark had just gotten off a three day break. That was after working 8 straight days, so he was no stranger to long days and little time off. He himself loved socializing though, but that's because he was a social creature and so all his time spent off was meeting knew people or in the company of a friend. The reason he spent so much time around the hospital was quite simply, because of the kids. "That's great," another big grin. "Um, are you free tomorrow night?" Tonight he'd be stuck in the shape of a dingo all by himself, but at least he'd have something to look forward to.
There was a hundred, maybe a thousand, reasons why she should not be getting involved with anyone, not even a date. Or, rather, one enormous one. Just once, just once she wanted to just enjoy herself and be able to at least really pretend to be normal. Do something normal. And if doing something normal included a date with a fascinatingly attractive doctor whose smile she was drawn to, than so be it. Morrigan smiled again, still only a small upturn of her lips as she looked up at him, when there was at least the commonality of them both spending a good deal of their time in the hospital. Likely for different reasons, at least in part, but she could appreciate a connection and dedication to work. Especially a work she believed to be so beneficial. Was she free? She had considered signing up to be on call the next night, but there was no real reason to do so, not when she could actually have other plans. And the expression on the supervising nurse's face when Morrigan told her that she would not be coming in for yet another extra shift, would be priceless indeed. "I am. I just have a shift in the daytime."
Currently he was at the point where he was excited that they shared common interests or, rather, habits. ('You like salad? No way, so do I!') Sure it was a little juvenile but when you liked someone, regular thought sort of got tossed out the window. Mark liked the way she smiled, though they were small and far between, unlike his own. That fact only made them more sweet, he relished in the glow of her smiles that seemed to kick start his own. Now that she had accepted his offer, there was less anxiety and more anticipation, Mark was practically buzzing with it. He sincerely hoped that she was free because he wasn't sure if he'd be able to wait longer, when he set his mind on something it was hard for him to have to wait for it. Yet another large smile as she explained that she only had a shift during the day. "Perfect, I get off at around 5:30 so I can pick you up at around 7?" It was still a little late for him, but it seemed too eager to say six.
Morrigan nodded, one strand of her hair coming loose from the ponytail that she carefully kept it in, to keep it hygienic and in line with hospital policies. She brushed it back with the fingers of one hand, her fingertips brushing her cheek with the slow swipe, tucking the length behind her ear. "Seven would work, yes," she was off at four, starting early as her day was supposed to the next day. His question neatly obstructed any attempt to simply meet him somewhere besides her home, a natural inclination that came with instinct to keep herself from being tracked back to where she lived now. "I can give you my address after we play?"