Now that the operation had concluded without incident Kate was feeling better, but her body temperature was still higher than it ought to be. It would normalize given some time. All things considered, Kate was pleased with her efforts. She had evaded the trap Rose and the director unwittingly set for her. A cup of coffee before the next surgery sounded good about now. She sure deserved it.
She settled on getting coffee from the break room, which was mostly better than the one found in the cafeteria anyway. When she stepped inside she found herself alone in the room. While she had been working at the hospital for a considerable while by now, she still occasionally got caught up on the color of the walls. It was a pale blue, the sort you'd see on baby blankets.
Given that most of her surgical colleagues would not appreciate being likened to babies in any measure she found it surprising that there hadn't been a staff uprising yet. Then again she hadn't uttered the thought aloud and the others might have different associations to the color. She toyed with the idea of what might happen if she were to bring it up in casual conversation. If an uprising did occur, possibly more trouble with the administration. Now that was one thing she didn't want, and the idea lost its previous appeal.
She decided to not waste any more time on that train of thought and turned to get the cup of coffee she came for. On a shelf next to the coffee machine sat an assortment of differently-colored mugs, most of them printed with surgery jokes. There were two she refused to touch because she deemed the jokes too crude, but a some of the others still elicited chuckles from her on a regular basis. She settled on one of her long time favorites, filled the mug to the brim, and slid down onto the couch at the far end of the room. Her posture was worse than that of a sedated sloth, but it sure helped drain the tension from her body.
When she had emptied half of her cup, she saw the door handle move. She expected it to be one of the other surgeons stopping by for the same reason she had, so she didn't adjust her posture. The clacking sound of high heels on the linoleum floor made it obvious that she had miscalculated. She quickly sat up in an attempt to preserve some pretense of presentability, but moved too quickly and most of her remaining coffee spilled onto the floor.
Great. Now she had doubly embarrassed herself.
Rose looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Sorry, did I startle you?"
"This room is reserved for staff," Kate huffed. She realized the moment after she said it that she wasn't sure whether a visiting researcher would be counted as part of that category.
"Don't worry, I won't be long. There was just one thing I wanted to confirm with you."
Kate looked wistfully at the stain she'd have to wipe up. "As long as it's quick."
"I don't think it should take too long." Rose smiled and sat down next to her, but her expression clouded over the next moment. "What you did when the patient nearly bled out... that was magic, wasn't it?"
Kate hoped that was just a turn of phrase. She was going play it cool, as usual when the topic came up, and offered a nonchalant shrug. "Well, they do say I'm fairly skilled. But I wasn't expecting a scientific type like you to praise me in terms better suited to mysticism."
Before Rose had time to respond, Kate stood and indicated the stain. Seemed like her clumsiness was going to do her some good after all. "I appreciate it, but I've got to clean this up before I start preparations for my next case. So if you'd excuse me."
Kate was about to head for the paper napkins in the corner when Rose grabbed her arm. It was a grip that seemed too strong to concern anything trivial. She tried to twist away but that only led Rose's grip to tighten. Kate felt her neck heat up, both due to the physical contact and the general situation she was in.
"No. I'm taking about actual magic." Rose's voice had an edge to it that hadn't been there before.
This time Kate tried to shake her arm free. When that also failed she forced a derisive laugh. If escape didn't work, she had to intensify the denial. "Please don't waste my time with such drivel. The existence of witches is no more than an urban legend. Only an impressionable fool would believe that."
Rose's grip tightened to the point where her flawless nails dug painfully into Kate's arm. "I saw it. During the massive hemorrhage. There was a golden glow in the air."
As Kate tried to formulate an objection, her pager beeped. Whether it actually was an important matter was of no significance, and it wasn't like Rose would be able to tell. "I'm needed. I have to go."
Rose frowned and looked utterly displeased, but to her credit she did let go. Kate decided to make her exit before Rose had time to ask for specifics. Or simply changed her mind.
She resented having to leave the coffee stain on the floor, but a quick retreat was more important.