Magic Touch

Chapter 19 - Phase Shift

The steady beeping of the monitors was accompanied by chatter and pop music. Rose stood in a corner of the operating room holding her clipboard and a pen. The rest of the team had gotten more used to Rose observing them and would even direct the occasional quip at her.

It was Kate's riskiest case of the week, though that wasn't saying much after she had canceled the remainder of surgeries she couldn't perform without magical aid. Informing that many successive patients face to face had been even more harrowing than doing it on the phone. She hoped she'd never have to go through that again.

The operation concluded without any need for magic, but guilt was gnawing on Kate. Rose approached her once they were out of the operating room.

"Didn't you say this was the most risky case you had scheduled at the moment? It sure didn't look the part to me."

Kate frowned. "It's the truth. I don't only treat the super difficult cases. If you had a look at my track record you'd see that some periods have a less remarkable case mix than others."

She had checked for herself last night and made sure. It was true - albeit only for short periods of time. Few surgeons were willing to take on patients in as bad condition as she did, and people came from all across the country to see her. Even then, there were times she found herself with only standard cases for a week or two.

"Just before you had too many risky cases for you to be able to pick one for me to observe. How does that work?" Rose shot her a glare.

"Time passes. Patient conditions change." When she came to see them she'd found that one patient on her list had actually deteriorated to the point where she wouldn't be willing to perform the surgery even with her magic at hand. So it wasn't as if she was telling a complete lie.

"I'm still skeptical, but I suppose I can't prove anything." Rose said before crossing her arms with a huff.

Kate forced a smile. "We're cooperating now, remember? Should you really be accusing me?"

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm the one who said we should start over, so I should act accordingly." She glanced to the side and rubbed the back of her neck. "How is the rest of the week looking? As well as the next one?"

"More of the same, I'm afraid." Kate had made sure of that, even though it pained her.

Rose sighed. "Can't be helped, huh. Well, I'll see you around." She gave a wave of her hand before she turned and walked off.

***

The following days Kate noticed a change in Rose's behavior.

She had made no new requests to observe any surgeries. Instead, she seemed to appear in the hallways with an unlikely frequency. Almost as if she was following Kate. But that couldn't possibly be the case because Rose was around for the sake of observing Kate's surgical skills. Right?

Kate found herself doubting the notion as Rose ran into her right in front of the cafeteria, and not for the first time that week.

"Kate, what a coincidence. I was just about to have lunch too." Rose was practically beaming at her. No trace of her earlier upset remained, though Kate wasn't sure whether that was genuine or just an act on her part. Rose motioned to the right side of the cafeteria where the window row of tables was basking in sunlight. "Wonderful weather today, isn't it? Why don't we grab something and eat outside?"

Kate's initial thought was that it sounded like a nice suggestion. Her next thought was the more skeptical part of her brain cautioning her that it might be a ploy for Rose to rope her into something, or try to force an admission while it was just the two of them. Rose might be attractive, and fairly cute when she wasn't angry, but... Risk avoidance. That was the current goal. She forced a smile and shook her head.

"Sorry, it's still rather cold out. I think I'll stick to the cafeteria for now."

Rose's smile faltered just a bit. "Oh. That's a pity. In that case I trust you won't mind me joining you in here?"

"No, not at all." There were plenty of others inside so she figured there would be a limit to the topics Rose could bring up. "Mind you that I'm a bit behind on my surgery schedule for the day, so it's going to be a quick lunch." It was the truth, though she'd use it to leave earlier if things turned sticky after all.

Kate made her way over to the counter where she picked up a portion of lasagna. Not her favorite but not terrible either. Rose followed her example and they found themselves a free table over by the windows. Kate's chair creaked when she sat down but seemed solid when she gave it a nudge by quickly shifting her weight to the right.

"I'm guessing this place doesn't receive a lot of budget, eh?" Rose commented. "I mean, the plastic tables already suggested as much but a chair coming apart could actually be harmful."

Kate shrugged. "Sounded worse than it is. This one seems fairly stable to me." She swallowed a bite of her meal and waved her fork at Rose. "You know, I heard the other day that they might actually be considering replacements. Given how these aren't exactly aesthetic."

"Yes, and not very inspiring of confidence." Rose chuckled. "On the other hand I suppose it means more money going toward the medical side of things. Even so, there's the psychological effect. Most people find hospitals less scary when they're comfortable and not painted white all over."

"I can't offer a comment on that, for obvious reasons."

Rose leaned over the table, to the point where her hair was almost hanging over Kate's lasagna. While she didn't mind the close-up of Rose's face she still cared about hygiene. Kate resolved that she would put her hand up to block Rose if she moved any closer. It didn't happen.

"Oh come on. If you were hospitalized I'm sure you'd prefer the place to be painted in warm colors and feature art on the walls. Rather than some sterile white box."

Kate frowned in confusion. "I don't see how it being a sterile colored box would change things. I'd still be sick, and it wouldn't change the quality of treatment."

"You're weird." Rose sat back with a huff and crossed her arms. She relaxed her arms and brought a finger to her lip. "In that case, would it make a difference if I were the one treating you? Hypothetically speaking, as I'm not a nurse."

The mental image that followed had Kate's cheeks heating up. Entirely without her permission. Cheeks were rude that way. By the coy look on Rose's face she concluded that it must be showing.

Rose leaned in again and grinned. "That's a good response. I think it means the two of us ought to spend more time together."

That wasn't how it had been supposed to go. Kate could feel sweat forming on her neck. Sure, it wasn't a bad offer by any means and she found herself entertaining the thought of what might happen if she took Rose up on it. At the same time it was the very risk she had been supposed not to take.

But as long as you don't let her ask you about magic, what harm could it do? In that moment, the argument her emotional side was making seemed like a compelling one. It took a good amount of effort to turn her thoughts back around. Of course it wasn't a good idea. She had turned all those patients down so she could avoid the risk. Accepting the proposal would only serve to jeopardize that.

She shoveled the rest of her lasagna into her mouth and gulped it down. Then she rose from her seat and left with a hasty goodbye. All the while, her emotional side implored her to stay.