Who: Quatre and Nina Where: the hospital When: What: Random encounter Status: closed/in progress
Quatre walked through the halls of the hospital, trying to figure out where exactly he was in the large building. One would think with all the signs on the walls it would be impossible to get lost. But here he was in the middle of what looked like the pediatrics wing when all he wanted to do was get out. It was admittedly a bit embarrassing.
He had come to the hospital at the request of his father. Apparently there was a request for funding on a new research project and the elder Winner thought that since his son lived in the area he could take the meeting in his stead. Not that the blonde haired young man minded that much. But it was clear that the person he was talking to didn't appreciate going over such things with some kid. But the meeting went on anyway and Quatre left with a fairly good idea of what they were trying to achieve.
As he turned yet another corner, Quatre finally gave up on trying to find his way through the maze of a building. Coming across one of the nurses he gave a friendly smile.
"Pardon me miss but Im afraid Im a bit lost. Could you help me out?"
Nina had started her shift in the emergency room until she'd been called to another department. In the time she'd been here she had made herself invaluable. She had the most experience across different specialties and didn't balk at any of the work that came her way.
Currently she was making her way to collect some blood test results for an end of life patient. Stopping she smiled back, "Of course" she said, "What are you looking for?" she asked politely.
"The exit actually" he said with a sheepish smile. "I seem to have gotten a bit turned around. I spoke to a lovely girl on i think the third floor but i still seemed to have wound up here."
He was sure that the nurse he was now speaking with thought he was an idiot. He was thinking the same thing himself. But still it was better to ask for help rather than wander the hallways like some weird ghoul.
Nina smiled and chuckled a little, “Oh don’t worry. It’s easily done around here” she assured him, the number of people who got lost was surprisingly high. Nina thought they could do with a few more signs or maybe some ‘you are here’ maps. “I could try and tell you but it’s probably easier if I just show you” she offered.
“Well it’s nice to know that I’m not just directionally challenged. Thank you.” He said, smiling over at the young woman. “Only if you don’t have anything more pressing to do. I would hate to take you away from your patients.”
The one plus side of getting lost had been it had given Quatre a chance to look over the hospital a little bit. Paperwork and word of mouth so far. One of the factors his father looked at was how the places were run. And so far this hospital seemed to be a well oiled machine. “Have you worked here long?”
“It definitely isn’t just you” she promised, “I’m collecting routine test results so I can assure you that you aren’t taking me away from anything imminent”
The hospital was definitely well run and that was very much thanks to the front line staff who all worked well as a team, “I’ve worked here just over two years now. I started as bank staff, just called in when they were short staffed but I’m one of the head nurses now” She was rather proud of that without being big headed about it.
"Oh that's wonderful!" he commented with a sincere smile. He knew that the real workers were the nurses in hospitals and it always made him glad to see them get recognition for it. "You must be very good at your job."
As he followed her through the twists and turns of the hospital, he decided to use this time to ask her a few questions. Gain a little more insight in a way. "It seems like everything runs smoothly around here. Do you enjoy it?"
“Thank you I do try to be” Nina said, nursing was her passion and she had known from a young age that she wanted to help people.
“I do. It’s not always perfect but we’ve got a good team here. Especially the front line staff, we get things done” she smiled, it was definitely different than the UK but she enjoyed it once she’d adjusted to the way things worked.
"Are there things you would like to see changed? Or improved on?" he asked curiously as they walked. It was easy to see that the young woman loved her job. It was nice to see. Nothing was worse than being taken care of by someone who didn't enjoy what they were doing.
"I'd like to see nurses being allowed to spend more time with patients who need it. But time is money according to the hospital board" Nina smiled wryly, "I believe the end of life patients are sometimes overlooked" Nina spent a lot of time with them, even off shift too just so they didn't feel alone or abandoned.
"Unfortunately boards tend to forget their bedside manner." he agreed with a slight roll of his eyes before smiling at her once again. He nodded slightly at her mention of the terminal patients. It was sad to die and not have anyone be there with you at the end. "If you could, what kind of suggestions would you make to change that?"