Taking a shower while Nathan slept seemed like the logical thing to do. It was early morning, around 6am and despite having barely had any sleep the night before I was up and full of energy.
I enjoyed feeling the warm water pouring down my body. Waking up stiff was no surprise, I'd gotten used to the after effects of nights like that. I enjoyed being with Nathan because he was he one guy in about the last couple of months that I'd been with who hadn't mentioned anything about feelings or a relationship.
Out of the corner of my eye I spotted some movement. Instead of freaking out and remembering every horror movie I'd ever seen in my life, I calmly slid the shower door open, while the water kept running. A rush of cold air hit me as I peered out the shower into the steam-filled bathroom.
I was beyond relieved to see Nathan standing at the sink brushing his teeth. He turned around to look at me and smiled, toothbrush still in his mouth.
"You scared me." I chuckled. He smiled and continued to brush his teeth. After some time he rinsed his mouth with water and put his toothbrush away.
"You didn't look very scared." he said raising an eyebrow. He was just wearing some sweatpants and he looked so good. "You know..." he started as he walked towards me, "...you're wasting a lot of water." he said.
I smirked. "Then let's save some water, come join me." I said seductively. He leaned on the frame of the shower door. "You know you want to." I coaxed.
Nathan lazily pushed the shower door open, letting more cold air in. His eyes ran over me, taking me in. I stood under the water and turned to face him and I could see him trying to suppress a smirk.
I put my wet hands on his waist and moved him a couple of steps back as I got out of the shower at the same time. We kept eye contact as he put his arms around my naked body. I was aware of what I was doing.
I kept us moving, my eyes on his, slyly manoeuvring out of his kisses until I had him right where I wanted him. When water suddenly poured over Nathan's head and onto his face he gasped. I laughed and pulled him down into a kiss.
"Get rid of these." I said against his lips as I tugged at the waistband of his pants.
"Then what?" Nathan asked.
"We finish our shower and go start something else."
And we did because two hours later I was getting the room service at the door wearing nothing but one of Nathan's button-up shirts. The guy wanted to roll the trolley in but I assured him that I was more than capable of rolling it into the room.
I handed him a twenty dollar tip and then closed the door. I could smell the food as I rolled the tray into the bedroom. Nathan was still in bed.
"I'm so hungry." I chuckled. I left the trolley with the food at the foot of the bed and jumped onto the bed straddling Nathan.
"I'm not surprised. We worked up an appetite... you made me work up an intense appetite."
I gave him a quick peck on the lips before getting off of him. "Come on."
While we ate our massive breakfast that consisted of fruits, yoghurt, toast, eggs, sausages and too much bacon for two people, Nathan and I made relaxed conversation.
It was amazing that through the whole hour while we ate he said nothing about feelings of relationships, it was like someone had warned him not to speak about stuff like that. Our meal was interrupted when his phone rang and he excused himself to answer it in the living room.
I didn't mean to eavesdrop but it was hard not to listen when his voice went from barely audible to basically yelling.
"Then he'll deal with me face-to-face!" That was the last thing I heard Nathan yell before he came back into the room. His face was slightly red and his breathing was a little heavier than normal.
"Everything okay?" I asked him. Nathan didn't say anything so I got onto the bed and crossed my legs, waiting for an answer.
He started looking for clothes as he spoke. "Yeah." he said but then changed his mind. "No, I actually need to go. It's a work emergency."
"Oh, then I should probably head home." I said, ready to get off the bed and get dressed.
"No." Nathan said quickly. He started getting dressed. "I'll be back in an hour or two and I still wanna see you later."
"Are you sure?" I asked. He nodded. I was impressed with how fast he getting dressed.
"Yes, I'm sure. I just need to sort something out real quick. While I'm away you can go to the spa downstairs if you want to, just charge everything to my room." he offered. I nodded.
By the time our interaction was done, Nathan was all dressed in a dark brown suit, looking dapper and determined. He slipped a watch onto his wrist and then put his phone in his pant pocket.
"Come here." he said to me. I shuffled off of the bed and stood in front of him. He kissed me, a soft kiss that I wasn't expecting. "I'll see you later?"
I nodded.
Nathan left the hotel suite and I suddenly felt awkward. It was weird to be in his suite without him and after about 30 minutes of lone awkwardness I decided to take up Nathan's offer to go to the spa.
I'd always wanted to have a mud bath but never had the time or energy but now was my chance. I made sure to remember Nathan's room number for the spa payment and although the process was simple, the woman at the counter made it difficult.
"So you want me to charge it to room 17G?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.
"Yes."
"Nathan Foster's room?" she asked. I nodded. She pursed he lips tightly before looking down at the computer and typing something. "There's a slot for ten minutes from now. You can sit there." she pointed to the plump white couches opposite her counter.
Time passed by quickly and before I knew it I was sinking into a tub filled with probably the smoothest mud ever. The thick substance was lukewarm and felt unbelievable against my skin. My hair was up in a bun and my arms didn't make it into the mud because I kept them outside the tub.
I closed my eyes and listened to soft instrumental music that was playing through the speakers in the room.
I wasn't the only one enjoying the mudding experience because there were a couple other tubs in the room, all of them occupied by people looking to relax a bit.
I hadn't been in the mud for 10 minutes when my phone vibrated next to me. I sighed and decided to ignore it the first time. Almost immediately after it stopped ringing it started again.
"Hello?" I answered without looking at the Caller ID.
"Dr Clarke, we have a crisis on our hands." I recognised the voice as one of the charge nurses from the hospital.
"It's not a crisis unless it's life or death."
"It's life or death." she snapped. "One of the patients you treated, Anna Markham, destabilised last night and we've been fighting to keep her stable since then. She won't let anyone operate on her without your say so."
I remembered Anna, she was the stabbing victim.
"Get her on the phone." I said to the nurse.
"She wants to see you in person, we need you down here." I sighed.
"Alright." I said. "I'll be down there as soon as I can." I was about to hang up when the nurse spoke.
"And Dr Clarke... she's running out of time."
Hearing that brought a chill to my spine and with that I was up and out of the mud. I asked one of the ladies working at the spa to hose me down in the showers which she thought was the funniest thing ever.
I went back upstairs and gathered my things, leaving the hotel in a rush. I got into my car barefoot and started for the hospital. As I sped on the road, honking at every car that was actually driving according the speed limit, I called Nathan.
His phone went to voicemail and I left a voicemail telling him why I had left.
When I finally made it to the hospital and I must've looked like a crazy person running in with only jeans, a half buttoned oversized men's shirt and no shoes on. I got to the reception and spoke to the nurse who called me.
"Is she still in her room?" I asked. She nodded and I made a beeline for the room.
When I got in, the weak woman was hooked up to a different IV and she had an oxygen mask on. She was much paler and much weaker than the last time I saw her.
"Dr Clarke." she said through the mask, her voice hoarse. I took her cold hand in mine and smiled down at her.
"Miss Markham." I said softly. "How do you feel?"
"Honestly?" she gave me a weak smile. "Terrible...they said I was doing terrible too and that I needed to be operated on."
I nodded, moving to the foot of the bed to get her file out. Someone should've written down what was happening with her. I scanned through the file and when I read what happened I knew she was in critical condition.
"Yes, you need to be operated on, and very soon." I told her. She nodded.
"I just needed to know that you approved." she added.
"I do. I'm gonna get Dr Black in here, I see she's the one that was taking care of you last night. In the meantime, I'm gonna get the nurses to prep you for the theatre."
"Dr Clarke." The hoarse voice kept me from leaving. "Promise you'll be there during the surgery?"
"Of course." I nodded. I offered her one last smile and left to get everything ready.
While Anna was being prepped for surgery and Dr Black was getting ready too, I was in the locker room changing out of my clothes and into the scrubs and shoes I kept in there for work.
I was going to sit in on the surgery because it wasn't my place to operate which is why I positioned myself near the operating table but I was far enough to not get in the way. All Anna had asked for was my presence and I was giving it to her.
As she got sedated, falling into a deep sleep, she turned her head to the side, her eyes locking with mine and then they fluttered closed.
The team got to work on her.
15 minutes in, as they started to finish up on her, there was a sudden beeping from the EKG and I felt the intensity in the room rise.
"BP is falling." one of the nurses said.
"What's happening?" Dr Black asked.
"She's losing blood."
"We need to close her up." Dr Black instructed. "Now!"
This was a routine surgery done by seasoned professionals... I needed to remember that to keep myself from freaking out.
Everyone shuffled around hastily, working to keep her stable.
"Heart rate is dropping, fast." Another nurse said. I felt the panic in my body rise as I looked at the green line on the EKG to see it stop pulsing as high as it should be. It got lower and lower and then the dreaded beep.
A high-pitched sound that I never wanted to hear, ever. The green line flattened and I watched them get the defibrillator out to try and kickstart her heart.
I watched intensely as they tried once.
Twice.
Three times.
Dr Black stood for a second and put the paddles down.
"Time of death-"
"No." I interrupted her. I pushed past everyone and started giving Anna CPR.
"Clarke."
I kept going, doing my best to compress and bring her back to life.
"Clarke, she's gone."
"No, no, no, no, no, no." I kept repeating it as I desperately pumped.
"Clarke, it's over, she's gone!" Dr Black pulled me away from Anna and I felt tears fall down my cheeks.
"No! She's not! You didn't try hard enough!" I cried.
"I'm gonna call it..." Dr Black said softly. I sobbed intensely when she finished her sentence, the tears blurring my vision of the body on the operating table.
The world seemed to slow down as Dr Black spoke.
"...time of death, fifteen o'four, December 17th."
A/N Oh no