"Everything I possess
Given with tenderness
Wrapped in a ribbon of glass" - Annie Lennox (Cold)
Part Three
December 9th
Sophie sat looking out of the huge picture window watching the snow settling on the lawn. It was nearly dark but the light from the house illuminated the first few yards of the garden creating a magical scene of swirling flakes. The lake, just at the bottom of the sloping lawn was quite invisible in the darkness but Sophie imagined the little flakes landing on the water, dissolving silently on it's shimmering surface. She shivered in anticipation, knowing she would soon have to leave the warmth of the house and drive into the city. Dr Weaver had scheduled her for a night shift and given the inch of snow already built up on the windowsill it would be prudent to make the drive sooner rather than later.
Reaching for the remote, Sophie turned off the CD player reducing the house to an eerie silence and hurried towards the door. At the last moment she hesitated and then went back and retrieved the disc from the machine. It was a recording of Pucinni's 'La Boheme'. There would be time to listen to the final Act on the drive into County.
The roads were much better than Sophie had expected and she found herself in the parking garage well ahead of time. The warmth in the car was much more appealing than the incipient blizzard outside so she decided to sit a while longer and listen to the very end of the opera. Even when the last few bars of exquisite music had died away she didn't make any move.
Her eyes shut tight she relived the night that her Father had first introduced her to the magic of the opera. She'd been just 16 and the whole experience had been overwhelming - from her first 'official' taste of champagne in their private box waiting for the curtain to rise to the tumultuous noise as the entire audience rose to their feet at the end to cheer and applaud. The tears had poured down her face unabated and she had turned to her father surprised to see glistening trails on his cheeks too. They had just smiled at one another recognising the shared emotion and continued to clap for all they were worth.
The sound of another car entering the garage broke the spell and Sophie glanced in her rear-view mirror in time to see a tired looking Saab pull into a space nearby. She checked her watch - not much point putting it off any longer. If she ran she could be inside the hospital in less than two minutes. The cold would barely have time to penetrate her overcoat. She hesitated, catching sight of the driver of the Saab locking his vehicle. He was tall - so she couldn't see his face in her mirror - but something about his posture was familiar. She waited a moment longer and was rewarded with a clear view of his profile as he strode towards the exit: Dr Kovac.
She had seen him several times over the last few days as he did rounds with Dr Weaver at shift changeover. He had not spoken directly to her of course but his deep soft voice intrigued her. A couple of times she'd caught herself trying to place his accent - somewhere in Eastern Europe was as far as she'd got - instead of paying attention to what he was saying. Luckily no one had asked her any questions and she had gotten away with the lapse of concentration. She didn't have much to go on as he kept his rounds brief and to the point but she had got the impression that he didn't socialise with the other staff - was in fact somewhat remote.
Exiting the car, Sophie pulled her soft velvet hat down over her ears and dawdled towards the hospital. She didn't much want to catch up with Dr Kovac. She still felt a bit awkward about their first meeting in the lounge. She couldn't forget his look of horror when he had found her in the lounge with the Brodrick baby. She knew she must have looked a bit of a sight but his reaction seemed to be all out of proportion - he had seemed actually frightened. Nothing had been said about it of course - in fact he seemed not to even have noticed her as she accompanied Dr Weaver around the ER.
Despite her slow pace she ended up almost tripping over the enigmatic senior doctor in the ambulance bay. He had dropped the pile of paperwork he was carrying and was crouched down in the snow picking up the last few folders. Sophie automatically stooped down beside him to offer to help. Before she could say anything he glanced sideways at her and smiled briefly.
"It's OK - I've got it I think." He stared hard at her for a beat before straightening up. He looked around as if uncertain what to say next and, for the life of her, Sophie couldn't think of anything to say either. After what seemed like an age he moved to open the door and then held it open so that she could pass through under his raised arm.
"Thank you." Sophie mumbled as she passed by, careful not to make any bodily contact. Once inside she didn't look back but headed straight for the doctor's lounge to shed her outer layers. She had it all carefully stowed away in her locker and was dressed in the regulation white coat complete with the stethoscope wrapped around her neck before Dr Kovac entered the room.
Ignoring her, he opened his locker before shrugging off his black pea coat and hanging it up. Sophie, who realised that she'd been staring at him broke off her reverie and started towards the door.
"It's Miss O'Neill - isn't it?" His question caught her off guard.
"Er..yes. Sophie O'Neill, Dr Kovac." She'd spun around but his back was still turned towards her.
"If you see Dr Greene, Sophie - tell him I'll be out in two minutes." Still he was fumbling with something in his locker.
"Oh OK, Dr Kovac." Sophie slipped out into the hallway. This wasn't getting any easier.
As the lounge door swung shut behind Sophie Luka let out a long sigh and leant his forehead against the cold metal of the open locker door. Damn, this was not going to be easy. Ever since he had first clapped eyes on this girl he had been struggling to get her out of his thoughts. They were not thoughts of a professional nature and as such were forbidden - both by the rules of the teaching hospital and of his own making. He had thought himself immune to feminine charms having deliberately withdrawn from all but the most necessary interaction with his colleagues. But looking into Sophie's eyes he'd experienced a feeling he could only describe as vertigo. He was both terrified of the depth of emotion he saw in them and at the same time inevitability drawn in - compelled to dive into the abyss. To swim in their dark pools. The sensation was almost paralysing.
Avoiding her completely was not going to be an option as Kerry had asked him to personally supervise her. He would just have to strengthen the wall he had so carefully built around his heart lest the emotions he struggled to keep in check rose up and consumed him. He sighed again - he could not hide in the lounge forever. Oh well, 'once more into the breach' he thought ruefully as he slammed the locker door shut.
It had not been so bad after all. Luka had handed Sophie a couple of uncomplicated medical cases to get her teeth into and had relied on the very competent nursing staff to keep him appraised of her progress. The hours had passed quickly and it was now a little after 2a.m. - only five more hours before the end of the shift. Luka drained the cup of black coffee that had gone cold whilst he went over the charts of the previous night's shift, grimacing at it's bitterness. He let his mind wander for a moment and it inevitably returned to the slim young medical student in his charge. He indulged it for a moment - her face, with its dark brown eyes framed by dramatically arched brows configured in his mind's eye.
"Dr Kovac." It was her voice and Luka started guiltily. He opened his eyes to see her standing before him a worried expression on her face.
"Yes." He blinked slowly checking that he wasn't imagining her presence.
"Dr Kovac, there's a teenager coming in - in active labour. Should I have her sent up to Obstetrics or.." Sophie's voice trailed off, distracted by the way that he was staring at her. She rubbed her mouth with the back of her hand wondering whether she might have something stuck there.
"No." He rose to his feet. "We'll check her out here first. But you can phone and warn them she's coming in." He watched her as she walked off to follow his instructions - noticing again her exposed slender neck. He could imagine that if he laid the heel of his hand on its nape his fingertips would almost meet across her throat. Pulling his thoughts back from the abyss he strode off towards the ambulance bay. The cold air would hopefully sharpen his fuddled brain.