Love Contractually

Chapter Two

It's halfway through my third twenty-four hour shift the following week where I get the email that my mother's debt is paid off. In the little overflow room I can't help but squeal and jump around happily. I instantly get on my phone and go to the staff rota portal.

"Good news?" Thomas asks, coming in our little room with a smile and a lunch box. I smile and nod, seeing him still in his green scrub's trousers and a loose grey t-shirt from home. His hair is messy from the scrubs cap, and I like the look, he looks less intimidating.

"Very." I say as I move my things from his usual chair. "How was surgery?" I ask.

"It was good. It was pretty straightforward, so I managed to do some teaching which I enjoy." He says as he pulls out a glass Tupperware bowl with what looks like katsu curry with chicken, but with spaghetti for the carbs.

"Noodles?" I ask.

"It's actually really good." He says. "And I am also offended by your measly sandwich and coffee every break, so I made you one too." He says, pulling out another glass Tupperware bowl for me. "Don't worry, yours is vegetarian. I asked Chloe if you had any allergies yesterday and she told me." He says, passing me a fork. "But you need protein, so you have Quorn."

"That's so nice Thomas, you didn't have to." I tell him. As I open my bowl, groaning at the gentle, subtly sweet smell of the curry. I sit back on my chair and take a second to just smell it. "Wow."

"You're going to want to eat it while you can, and while it's still warm." He says, but even through his firm posture and stoic eyes I see him take the compliment. I nod and copy him, mixing the sliced cuts of Quorn and the sauce with the pasta and eating it like that. I usually don't eat quickly, but it tastes so good I want to keep the flavour fresh in my mouth. I devour the bowl in the time it takes him to eat half of his. Then he does something which surprises me.

"No way you have Capri-sun." I say as he passes me one of the pouches I remember from my childhood. "And apple flavour, I haven't seen these ones in ages." I gasp gently as I quickly pierce the pouch and take a sip. "I think you're my best friend ever Thomas." I mumble, making him chuckle.

It becomes a little routine. Whenever Thomas and I are on shift together we try and time our breaks for the same time. Even if it doesn't work out and one of us is called into surgery, he has food for me, heated and ready on my chair in our room. I enjoy sharing my breaks with him, and we talk if we can, if we see each other in the wards. It's not long before it's real, and we are true friends.

"You look stressed today." I say as he unpacks his lunch box, passing me my stir fry. "Not the normal type of stressed." I add. "Want to talk about it?" I ask.

"It's my parents." He sighs. "We've had a disagreement." He adds, then takes a deep breath and sits back in his usual proper posture. "It's okay."

"I wouldn't say so, it looks really tough. Personally I would say being a heart surgeon is enough stress." I say, trying to make him give me one of his small smiles or even a little chuckle. But he doesn't seem to process my words. I look over at him and I want to reach over and put my hand on his shoulder. I start to reach over to offer some support, but our pagers start bleeping.

"A&E" I say, checking the little screen.

"Me too." Thomas says as we jump up and we run to A&E to get handover from the doctors there keeping the man on the bed alive.

I'll never get over the smell of blood. I can ignore it in small amounts, but this is so much blood. The man looks maybe a few years younger than me, he is thin, which unfortunately means the stab wounds are extra deep.

"Do we know what he was stabbed with?" I ask, looking at the wounds to try and tell.

"Police say it was a serrated kitchen knife. A long one, about eight inches." Someone says.