"Ouch!" The little boy with the snooty up turned nose and angry brown eyes glared at Tamara like he was trying to be intimidating, not realising that one, he was six, and two, she had been up since four and was really not in the mood for rich peoples little ones.

"Mummy! She's hurting my arm!" He whined, and Tamara fought the urge to roll her eyes at the little shi-boy, then glanced at his mother, who was frowning down upon her like she was the one who had broken his arm in the first place.

"It has to be slightly uncomfortable for a moment, sorry, while the cast sets." Tamara replied, concentrating down on what she was doing.

"Well be careful, that's his good arm. Make it quick too, I have an appointment in an hour that I cannot be late too."

"Mummy, she's making it more broken!"

Oh, so falling out of the damn car when the door was opened unexpectedly and landing on it was all her fault? Yes, Tamara thought bitterly. It was her fault, considering the mother was the one to yank the car door open and now she couldn't care less that her son had a broken arm, just the fact that she had an appointment in an hour.

Well, Tamara thought rudely, your friends and their coffee could wait until she was done.

"Everything okay here, Jacobs?" Josh asked, and Tamara nodded without looking at him. Her back warmed from where she knew his eyes were, and she tuned him out as she finished up on what she was doing.

"This nurse is taking far too long, Dr. Munroe." She mother whined, and Tamara saw the resemblence instantly. Watching Josh's face carefully, hiding her smirk because she knew he hated whiners, she watched for his reaction.

"Oh, Jacobs might be a little slower because she's a trainee. It's been about a month, right Tamara?" Josh asked, his grey eyes latching onto hers with a challenging twinkle in them. She narrowed her eyes, pretending to go along with it.

"Oh, yes, but I'm learning so much everyday!" She replied with fake enthusiasm, patting the little boy on the back and trying not to laugh at the mothers obvious horror of her being a trainee. As they walked out from the room, Tamara groaned, hearing Josh chuckle behind her.

"We could get in trouble for that, you know." His voice was smooth, his accent apparent, and Tamara had to admit it wasn't exactly a turn off.

"Somehow I don't think she'll risk signing the complaint sheets if it means being late for her appointment."

"What do you reckon, botox or laser?"

"Probably both. Her wrinkles were far too fake looking to be natural."

Josh chuckled, and grabbed the clip board that lay beside her. She ignored his tanned, muscular forearm that brushed hers slightly, rubbing her head because of the sudden headache in her temples.

"You look pale."

"Really? Guess it's true."

"What?"

"That I really am a vampire."

Josh sent her a flat look. "That was really lame, even for you."

"Gee, thanks." Tamara rolled her eyes, but was aware of their conversation. For the past week, her and Josh had been...civil. There had been the odd bickering, but other then that, they had toned down on their fighting. Tamara knew she should feel better about that, but since one of the nurses called her in because Rose hadn't made the early shift, Tamara wasn't in the best of moods.

"I heard you filled in this morning." Josh said, flipping through some of the notes she'd scribbled down about the boy with the broken arm.

"That'd be right."

"Any chance you know where Rose would have been?" He asked casually, and Tamara shrugged, her anger growing towards the other woman.

"Considering we're not friends, no."

"No need for snippiness, just asking."

"Why, did you take her up on her offer after all?" Tamara snapped, and closed her eyes instantly. God, she had such a big mouth. He narrowed his eyes in her direction, the tension amping a little. Resting his backside on the table right beside her, she could smell his cologne, and regretted liking the smell.

"Someone jealous?"

"No, and what are you wearing, Justin Bieber?" She replied, holding her nose and pretending to not like his smell, when in reality, it was pretty damn good.

"Well actually, clothes. But you don't need to say any more, considering you look a little jealous..."

"I'm not jealous! I'm angry because Rose is the reason I had to get up at three this morning when my shift didn't finish until eight last night and know you keep bringing her up like she's needed or something." Tamara sighed. "Just forget it, okay? I'm sorry." She mumbled, slipping out of the private patient room and walking down the hallway to her favourite ward.

As soon as she saw Grace, her mood lightened. Then she saw the drips that hadn't been there yesterday and the wrists that looked even bonier then last night. Skin like the sheets she lay in, the only thing that looked alive was her eyes. Sparkly, playful, never failing to make her think twice about her day when Grace's was so far from normal.

Thinking back to the conversation with Josh, she felt slightly guilty. He hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, and she had snapped at it. Was she jealous? No, Josh had his head too far up his ass for her to think that way about him, and for that she was grateful. She thought back to the few moments they'd had, and the arguments and fights over little things. Hell, she should hate him really.

Why didn't she?

"Hey Grace," Tamara smiled, plopping down in the chair beside her. The little girl smiled eagerly and waved, too excited to speak.

"What's happening?" Tamara asked, and Grace rose her hands in the air, waving them about.

"I get to go home!" She said, excitement and enthusiasm highlighting her pale face, making her look healthier. Tamara beamed and hugged the small girl, careful of the wires and drips hanging out from all over the place.

"Mummy and daddy are coming to get me at lunch time. Will you please come and say goodbye?" Grace said, her eyes hopeful, and Tamara knew at that moment if Grace had asked her to stand up and jump on the nurses table, she would have. Anything to make her smile and laugh more. Live more.

"Sure, I'll be here right before my lunch break. I'll see you then, okay?" Tamara smiled, and Grace waved at her again, her thoughts already somewhere else.

Heart lifted, Tamara began walking again when she heard muffled sounds coming from one of the rooms beside her. One was a woman's, the other a mans, and the accent sang through loud and clear.

Don't even think about it, Tamara warned herself, but before she knew it, she pressed her ear to the door and listened in, smacking herself for the inappropriate position she was in but not being able to pull away.

She still couldn't hear anything, and groaned when pressing her ear harder against the door just made her headache worse.

About to pull back, Tamara gasped when she realised she didn't have to. The door was removed, rather forcefully, from her ear and she shot up straight, staring guiltily at a glaring Josh.

"Oh, hey." She said lamely, attempting a smile.

"Figures," he muttered, wandering away. She frowned, and grabbed his hand, before realising and dropping it. He turned, looking at her suspiciously.

"Who-who were you talking to?" She asked, knowing it was none of her business. He just looked at her like she was a nut case, which Tamara wasn't about to deny very quickly, when she door was pushed open again to reveal Rose, looking disheveled and flustered. Tamara stared at her, opened mouth, before looking back at Josh.

"Oh, I see." She said slowly, not wanting to make the moment any more awkward, so she walked away. Feeling the anger well up inside her, she scolded herself. Of course he'd take he up on her offer. Rose wasn't ugly, not by any stretch of the imagination. And, Josh was a single, attractive guy.

So why was she mad?

Maybe because you kind of like him. Tamara shook her head. No she didn't.

Not even the tiniest bit? No, stupid little voice.

Are you sure, because it does seem that way- No. Tamara shook herself out of her thoughts, wondering seriously for a moment if she really had gone insane. She was arguing, with her own thoughts.

Idiot.

She had rounded to the next hallway when a strong hand grabbed her upper arm and dragged her into a small, private room which Tamara quickly realised was the cleaning supply closet.

"What are you doing?" She hissed, staring up at a defiant looking Josh, who stood not an inch away from her. Her back was pressed to the wall, making it hard for her to get away, and he placed his arms either side of her head, blocking her in.

"Trying to explain to you, but you starting walking away and I was surprised by how fast you can move." He hissed back, and Tamara bit her lip to keep herself from thinking about the other way that sentence could be used for. Josh caught on though, and rolled his eyes. "Not like that, you sicko."

"Oh, you were referring to Rose? I'm sorry Josh, I just thought quickie's were below you. At least you did it in a sterilized place instead of a public bathroom, I mean. Good for you for thinking only partly with your dick."

"My dick would like to be left out of this conversation."

"Oh, so it has a voice now to? Do you talk to it and everything?"

"Damn it, Jacobs!" Josh growled, his breath rolling over her cheeks and mouth, Tamara's heart rate picking up a little. "I didn't touch Rose!"

"So what were you doing in there-"

"Talking! Which you would have realised if you were a good eavesdropper."

"Hey-"

"She had tried sneaking in and convincing me to not nark that she was late to work when I was checking the room for a patient who's due to arrive. She already looked like she'd been up against a wall before I saw her. I was just on my way to tell Sullivan when I found you snooping, and then you jumped to conclusions, so I had to chase you down the hallway just to explain!"

Tamara stared at his face, not wanting to speak. She knew he was telling the truth, but she couldn't figure out why he was even bothering to explain it to her, and why she wanted him to, considering they could barely call themselves friends.

His eyes darkened, as if he just realised what sort of position they were in, and Tamara watched as he glared down at her, all ice and coldness and burning hot gazes. She knew she should have pulled away, shoved against his chest or something, but touching him wasn't a good idea and she wasn't sure if she would want to push him back anyway.

He made a sound in the back of his throat, kind of like a strangled groan, watching her with intense focus, the air feeling like a sauna when Tamara's heart began to pound like a drumstick.

Then his pager beeped.

They both jumped, and Josh cursed as his head connected with a nearby mop and bucket. He yanked the door open, getting ready to step out, Tamara still catching her breath when they both looked down to see the little frog man shaking his head at them slightly before continuing on his route around the hallway.

Josh walked away without a backward glanced, leaving her feeling confused and slightly amazed that the old man always saw her in strange predicaments.

As Tamara walked towards the children's ward again, she spotted Grace's parents and walked over to them, when her mother turned, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

"Oh, hello Tamara dear. Are you coming to see Grace before we leave?" She asked, trying hard to find her composure, her husband wrapping an arm around her for extra support. Tamara nodded, not sure of her voice.

"Well, we just want to thank you for looking out for her during her stay. We know she'll miss you."

"You make it sound like she's not coming back." Tamara said softly, and with that the woman who had been so strong in the month she had known her, broke down in sobs again.

"That's the thing. She's not. Doctors said it was no use paying for more treatment. This isn't a visit home, Tamara. It's her chance to say goodbye." Grace's mother turned her face into her husbands chest, and he rubbed her back reassuringly, although his eyes looked slightly wet as well.

Grace's mother straightened up, readjusting her shirt and wiping her eyes with a kind of determination that made Tamara admire her all the more.

"Right. Let's go get our little angel." She said quietly, a braveness in her tone.

Tamara nodded, leading the way, knowing that whatever happened to Grace, she would always be in her heart know. Tamara was too attached to the little girl to see otherwise.

"She's an angel, alright." She muttered, before walking towards Grace.

****

This isn't the best chapter and I'm not the proudest of it, but I wanted to post something so here it is! I promise something a little better will be up soon. :)