[hr][hr][center][color=gold][h1]Tami[/h1][/color][img]https://78.media.tumblr.com/4a6e158f4537a2a30f6a5b855617d2a6/tumblr_njz47hhLYl1sycsx5o4_r3_540.gif[/img][/center]
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[indent][color=darkkhaki][i]"Darling, we've only just moved here. We need time to settle and see if this will work out for us."[/i][/color][/indent] 
TICK. TICK. TICK. TICK. Lying in bed. Staring up at the ceiling. Listening to the seconds passing by. The small hours of the morning poor company for a restless mind.
 
[indent][color=darkkhaki][i]"Sweetheart, my job is hardly secure. The slightest step wrong could jeopardize everything. I need to work hard and focus or I am not going to get myself recognized and respected here. Surely you understand that?"[/i][/color][/indent] 
PING. The door of the microwave springs open and the smell of overcooked scrambled eggs wafts out with the smoke.
 
[indent][color=darkkhaki][i]"You need to consider your own job too. You've only just started and I've heard they're less tolerant of any kind of leave over here than in Britain. You wouldn't want to lose your job so quickly would you?"[/i][/color][/indent] 
POP. The reek of burnt toast assaults the nostrils as the toaster launches its contents in to the air. With a solid thud it lands on the worktop: blackened and charred. 

[indent][color=darkkhaki][i]"Not to mention how much everything would cost over here. We simply can't afford all the medical bills at the moment. We can start saving if you like. You opened a savings account last week didn't you cupcake?"[/i][/color][/indent]
PLUNK. Steam seeps out from the spout of the kettle. The bubble of boiling water is surprisingly soothing in the madness of the morning.

[indent][color=darkkhaki][i]"Let's not talk about it any further just now. You're just going to get yourself wound up. Come on, do you want to go out for dinner? I've been told there's a charming little place in town we just have to visit."[/i][/color][/indent] 
BANG. The front door slams shut; a barrier between two worlds. Footsteps stride away from it towards the street. The faint smell of burnt toast following them.

***

[b][i]"Next stop: Caduceus Memorial Hospital"[/i][/b]

Tamara Hayes jolted out of her reverie, gazing blankly out the window as the bus pulled away from its latest stop. The events of the previous evening, namely the conversation she had tried to have with her husband, were running around her head like an irritating fly that wouldn't go away. She'd hardly slept; the result being a chaotic morning where she'd managed to ruin her breakfast and forget all about her flask of tea she usually brought to help her through the day. She shook her head, trying to break the repetitive cycle of her thoughts and turned her focus on to her reflection. Dark, heavy eyes stared back at her, pinched at the corners with pale, waxen skin full of advancing wrinkles. She scowled, rummaging around in her backpack for a moment before pulling out her make-up bag. Digging around for her concealer she hastily slapped it on under her eyes, working furiously to rub it in.

A faint screeching of sirens reached her ears and she instinctively looked up, peering down the road as far as she could to see where they were coming from. Just at that moment, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She jumped, cursing under her breath as her make-up bag went tumbling to the ground, spilling its contents across the shuddering floor of the bus as it rolled to a stop. Scrambling, she tried to multi task; scooping up as many of her cosmetics as she could and fumbling about in her pocket to pull out her phone. 

"Oh come on!" She hissed, almost dropping the make-up bag again as she squinted at her phone to read the message which had popped up on her screen.

"CODE TRIAGE EXTERNAL - ALL AVAILABLE STAFF ON HAND TO ASSIST CASUALTIES" 

Tami gasped, her head snapping up to look back out the window as the noise of the sirens grew louder and louder. She leapt to her feet, stuffing her phone back in her pocket and wrestling her make-up bag back in to her rucksack. She stumbled out of her seat, rushing down to the front of the bus. 

[color=gold]"Please, let me off here, I work at the hospital. I'll run over, it's not far. There's an emergency!"[/color] She stammered wildly. The driver hesitated for a moment but seeing and hearing the ambulances driving by seemed to make his decision for him. He nodded, pushing the button for the doors and as soon as they opened Tami sprinted on to the street, making a beeline for the hospital. She wasn't triage and she wasn't a surgeon but the hospital would need everyone it could get to help with the flow of patients, the worried relatives who would no doubt arrive soon after and the patients already at the hospital needing to be cared for. She could help in her own way, even if it meant holding herself up in the cafe to make tea for everyone. 

As she rushed in to the auditorium after darting between the waiting ambulances and the beginnings of the coordination effort she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Make tea. How very British. Meanwhile, the hands of the auditorium clock swung round to the hour and if one strained their ears above the wailing sirens...

TICK. TICK. TICK. TICK