Chapter 14
Jane
Atotal of thirty-six patients had been admitted to the hospital that day.
It was more that the emergency room would see in a week sometimes.
Jane’s eyes burned with exhaustion, but things were finally beginning to slow down in the ER.
Rosalind had performed several surgeries already, and there was one left on the board.
Jane jumped in to assist. It wasn’t completely necessary, but the thrill of working alongside Rosalind was something she couldn’t resist. It was like they were a perfect match, their movements in sync with each other, and the surgeries themselves couldn’t go smoother.
This one was relatively straightforward; the patient needed some reconstruction on her arm.
She had actually been one of the first ones in the hospital but had been pushed back to make space for the higher-priority patients.
Still, Rosalind had not lost a single patient that day—something that was almost unheard of in this type of situation.
Jane smiled as she entered the scrub area and started washing her hands. “So, about that dinner?” she joked. It was almost four in the morning, and they had not stopped yet. They were both exhausted, but it had been a very successful day.
“Breakfast, maybe,” Rosalind said, “but only after a couple hours of sleep.”
“Agreed,” Jane smiled again as she looked at Rosalind.
She could tell that Rosalind was still trying to hold back, but something had broken through during all this.
Perhaps Rosalind was finally starting to see what they could be together.
It was probably just wishful thinking, but Jane was going to enjoy the fantasy for as long as Rosalind let her.
The surgery itself was uneventful. Rosalind reconstructed the ligaments around the arm, and Jane applied dressings and medication that would help the muscles to regrow as best they could.
The patient would still need a lot of recovery time, and would have a lot of significant scarring, but as long as she put in the effort she would still live a long and fulfilling life.
Considering she statistically shouldn’t be alive at all, that was a massive success as far as Jane was concerned.
Rosalind’s work was almost an art form, and Jane found herself mesmerized with each cut, each stitch.
Rosalind’s practiced hands moved deftly through the surgery, aligning and arranging ligaments and reattaching blood vessels. It was a beautiful thing to watch.
They finished the surgery and headed down to the locker rooms. They were both wearing hospital-issued scrubs, something they weren’t entirely used to, but Rosalind still looked amazing.
Her strong arms and legs strained against the soft fabric, and though the circles under her eyes gave away her exhaustion, she looked fulfilled, almost happy.
“Rosalind,” Jane said, glancing around to make sure they were alone.
Rosalind turned to look at her with slightly glazed eyes.
“You were amazing out there,” she said.
“So were you,” Rosalind admitted, and her eyes softened.
“We work well together.” Jane smiled at her.
“We do,” Rosalind said with a return smile.
“I… I just want to tell you that,” Jane said.
“Thank you,” Rosalind said with a slight flush to her cheeks.
“Listen, I don’t want you to feel any pressure,” Jane said, “but I know there’s something here, between us.” Jane’s chest tightened in apprehension. She didn’t want to scare Rosalind away from her.
“I…” Rosalind began but the words got caught in her throat.
“I don’t want to shut it down before it begins, is all I’m saying,” Jane said. “If you need time, that’s okay. If you need space, just tell me, but I’m very attracted to you and I don’t want to lose you from my life completely.”
“Jane, I…” Rosalind seemed to be fighting with something.
“I feel the same way, but it’s terrifying.
I don’t want to be held down, to be held back, and I know it wouldn’t be your fault, but I would stay behind for you, I would stop doing all the things that I do best to keep you safe from it all, and I’m scared of where that might lead. ”
“You feel the same way?” Jane asked. Her heart felt like it was going to burst.
“That’s what you took from that?” Rosalind asked and lifted an eyebrow.
“Yes, earlier today you were trying to convince me that you didn’t have those feelings,” Jane said and attempted to mask a snicker.
“I’ve tried denying it. I’ve tried shutting it down, but I have feelings for you, too, Jane.
I admit it; I like you. I want to be around you, the thought of losing you is already frightening whether that’s because we decide not to pursue whatever this is or worse something happens to one of us.
” Rosalind took a deep breath. “I think I’m falling for you, Jane, and I have no idea how to handle it. ”
Jane fought to keep the smile from breaking out on her face but failed spectacularly.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Rosalind said, though a smile crept across her lips, too.
“I’m sorry,” Jane said, though she wasn’t.
“I just need time to process all this,” Rosalind said. “Between this, and this job and my family, I’m just overwhelmed right now.”
“I understand,” Jane said and lowered her eyes.
“You take whatever you need. I know I want something with you, but what that looks like or how it all plays out, I have no idea, and for some reason, I’m okay with it.
For once in my life, not knowing what lies ahead of me is…
exciting.” Jane surprised herself with the admission, she hadn’t even admitted it to herself before now.
Rosalind smiled in surprise. “I guess that is something I can’t quite understand. With the military, I never knew where I would be by the next day. Everything was sort of up in the air, and with you I don’t want that. I want this. I want the five-year plan, I want the thirty-year mortgage.”
“Really?” Jane said and furrowed her brows. That was the opposite of what she had been expecting.
“No,” Rosalind said with a chuckle, and Jane almost sighed with relief. “That sounds awful, but not nearly as awful as if you’d asked me a month ago. But, not knowing if I will be able to see you again tomorrow, that’s… that’s just…”
“I get it,” Jane said, though her heart was still singing in her chest. This was the closest Rosalind had come to admitting that she wanted a relationship with her. “It’s fine, we can take our time.”
“Thank you,” Rosalind said and grabbed a towel, heading for the showers.
Jane stood there for a moment staring after her; her chest felt like it was about to burst. She had thought Rosalind was lying to herself, trying to say that there was nothing between them, but she had been afraid that Rosalind would never be able to admit it, that she would hold on to the lie to make herself feel safe.
The knowledge that Rosalind felt the same about her was enough to send her flying.
So much so that Jane made an impulsive decision.
She grabbed a towel and headed into the showers.
Shift change wasn’t for another couple of hours, so they were alone in the locker rooms, and it was simple enough to figure out which stall Rosalind was in.
Jane quickly stripped off her clothes and pulled open the curtain stepping quickly inside.
Rosalind turned, her hands in her hair dripping with suds, and her eyes went wide.
Jane didn’t even give her a chance to think, she wrapped her arms around her and kissed her deeply, pressing her naked body against Rosalind’s while the hot water flowed over them.
Rosalind responded with her soapy hands flying to Jane’s face and kissing her back.
Jane ran her hands over Rosalind’s wet body, tracing her curves and muscles as she kissed her.
The water made it difficult to breathe as she swirled her tongue around Rosalind’s, deepening the kiss.
Jane slipped her hands down Rosalind’s back, cupping her ass and digging her fingers into Rosalind’s firm flesh.
Jane’s skin felt like it was on fire, sizzling beneath the spraying water.
Rosalind’s hands touched everywhere, spending time on her breasts, her nipples, the tiny pinches sending electric shocks through her core.
Jane pushed her against the shower wall and pushed her legs open.
She began to quickly stroke Rosalind’s clit, moving in quick circles and forcing her to gasp.
Heat pooled in her core, and she wanted more than anything to feel Rosalind’s touch there, to stoke the flames burning inside her.
Jane pushed two fingers inside Rosalind and kissed her neck, and when Rosalind’s hand slipped between her legs, she opened herself for her.
Rosalind hooked her arm beneath Jane’s knee and lifted it into the air, sliding her hand down between her legs.
Jane rolled her hips as Rosalind’s fingers plunged into her, fighting to keep her own thrusting pace in Rosalind.
Jane could feel her climax rising in her core, her walls tightening around Rosalind’s fingers.
Suddenly, Jane heard giggling outside their shower stall, and she started to pull away, but Rosalind spun her around and pushed her against the wall, driving her fingers in deeper and adding a third.
Jane gasped in pleasure, forgetting about the snickers coming from outside of their tiny world and the orgasm crashed over her.
She tried to hold her breath to keep from crying out, but Rosalind just pounded harder, eliciting moans from her lips and swallowing them with kisses.
Jane began to pump her fingers into Rosalind fervently as Rosalind grunted in pleasure, spilling her own moans into Jane’s mouth.
Waves of pleasure scorched through only getting higher and hotter as Rosalind approached her own climax, her walls tightening around Jane’s fingers as she thrust harder.