Turned
Title: Turned
Characters/Pairing: Millais Culpin, Ethel Bennett
Rating: G
Wordcount: 679
Warnings: None
Summary: A doctor couldn't let his head be turned by a pretty nurse.
A/N: Set at the end of Episode 3 of Casualty 1907, so spoilers for those episodes.
A doctor couldn’t let his head be turned by a pretty nurse. There were many around and always had been, from his medical school days onward, but it wasn’t smart or wise, not to mention not permitted. That didn’t stop some of his colleagues from enjoying the company of a nurse or two, but he’d always kept himself apart in this as in many other ways.
Probationer Bennett wasn’t just a pretty nurse, though. There was drive and intelligence in her eyes along with a slightly wicked sense of humor. He was only just getting a sense of how much she understood, but he had a feeling her observations on the world would be most definitely worth hearing. When she’d admitted her desire to be a doctor, he’d known he had a responsibility to his profession to encourage her in it. The medical world would be poorer without Dr. Ethel Bennett in it. His world, too, would be poorer without her.
He hadn’t realized the extent of his interest in her until she’d nearly died, but then one never did know the value of a thing until it was lost. His relief at seeing her awake and improving had nearly made his knees weak and it was only the mask and the presence of Sister Russell that prevented it from being more obvious than it was. She of all people would have understood a doctor having developed an interest in a nurse, but it was still best for all not to show it. Instead he sat by the bed and exchanged banalities until it was clear that Probationer Bennett was falling asleep again.
He’d been more careful after that. He had avoided the Isolation Ward beyond what he’d actually thought he could bear. He hadn’t asked Sister Russell for any news. He had even tried not to listen to hospital gossip about Probationer Bennett’s prognosis, as hard as it was to do in an atmosphere that whispered about everything. He was startled, therefore, to see her sitting in the convalescence yard. She looked almost well, with color in her face and a few pounds added back to her very nicely shaped frame. She was even playing with a kaleidoscope, and that was a good sign too. She was always curious about how things worked and how they changed when one looked at them in a different way.
She put the kaleidoscope down when he blocked the light, looking everywhere but at him, and he flattered himself to think that she was affected by seeing him as well. She was clearly still weak, but she stood as she warned him about her continuing contagion. He wanted to help her stand, but knew she would not appreciate it, and not just because of the contagion. At this moment, he didn’t care one bit about contagion. The analytical portion of his mind reminded him that she wasn’t particularly contagious at this stage as long as she didn’t sneeze on him. Even if she had, he just wanted to touch her, to know concretely that she was alive and would be well.
She put her hand up to shade her eyes unselfconsciously and his rigidly held self-control gave way. He moved carefully, allowing her to step back or sit down, allowing her to decide if this was something she wanted. She didn’t resist when he gently grasped her arm and moved it, although her face was still clearly uncertain about what he was doing. Another moment, though, and she knew what he was doing, was in his arms.
Her arms went around him and he rested his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes and sighing with relief as he felt her do the same. He could feel her heart beating a steady rhythm at approximately seventy-five beats per minute, could feel her back moving with unlabored breaths, could feel the cool skin of her nape underneath his hand. She was alright. She would live to be a doctor. He would live to help her become one.
His head had certainly been turned.
Characters/Pairing: Millais Culpin, Ethel Bennett
Rating: G
Wordcount: 679
Warnings: None
Summary: A doctor couldn't let his head be turned by a pretty nurse.
A/N: Set at the end of Episode 3 of Casualty 1907, so spoilers for those episodes.
A doctor couldn’t let his head be turned by a pretty nurse. There were many around and always had been, from his medical school days onward, but it wasn’t smart or wise, not to mention not permitted. That didn’t stop some of his colleagues from enjoying the company of a nurse or two, but he’d always kept himself apart in this as in many other ways.
Probationer Bennett wasn’t just a pretty nurse, though. There was drive and intelligence in her eyes along with a slightly wicked sense of humor. He was only just getting a sense of how much she understood, but he had a feeling her observations on the world would be most definitely worth hearing. When she’d admitted her desire to be a doctor, he’d known he had a responsibility to his profession to encourage her in it. The medical world would be poorer without Dr. Ethel Bennett in it. His world, too, would be poorer without her.
He hadn’t realized the extent of his interest in her until she’d nearly died, but then one never did know the value of a thing until it was lost. His relief at seeing her awake and improving had nearly made his knees weak and it was only the mask and the presence of Sister Russell that prevented it from being more obvious than it was. She of all people would have understood a doctor having developed an interest in a nurse, but it was still best for all not to show it. Instead he sat by the bed and exchanged banalities until it was clear that Probationer Bennett was falling asleep again.
He’d been more careful after that. He had avoided the Isolation Ward beyond what he’d actually thought he could bear. He hadn’t asked Sister Russell for any news. He had even tried not to listen to hospital gossip about Probationer Bennett’s prognosis, as hard as it was to do in an atmosphere that whispered about everything. He was startled, therefore, to see her sitting in the convalescence yard. She looked almost well, with color in her face and a few pounds added back to her very nicely shaped frame. She was even playing with a kaleidoscope, and that was a good sign too. She was always curious about how things worked and how they changed when one looked at them in a different way.
She put the kaleidoscope down when he blocked the light, looking everywhere but at him, and he flattered himself to think that she was affected by seeing him as well. She was clearly still weak, but she stood as she warned him about her continuing contagion. He wanted to help her stand, but knew she would not appreciate it, and not just because of the contagion. At this moment, he didn’t care one bit about contagion. The analytical portion of his mind reminded him that she wasn’t particularly contagious at this stage as long as she didn’t sneeze on him. Even if she had, he just wanted to touch her, to know concretely that she was alive and would be well.
She put her hand up to shade her eyes unselfconsciously and his rigidly held self-control gave way. He moved carefully, allowing her to step back or sit down, allowing her to decide if this was something she wanted. She didn’t resist when he gently grasped her arm and moved it, although her face was still clearly uncertain about what he was doing. Another moment, though, and she knew what he was doing, was in his arms.
Her arms went around him and he rested his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes and sighing with relief as he felt her do the same. He could feel her heart beating a steady rhythm at approximately seventy-five beats per minute, could feel her back moving with unlabored breaths, could feel the cool skin of her nape underneath his hand. She was alright. She would live to be a doctor. He would live to help her become one.
His head had certainly been turned.