OUTBREAK: ZERO is a semi post-apocalyptic pandemic roleplay set in the fictional city of Lethford, USA. Current season: Winter, 20/21.
March 2020. The world is in pandemonium as one month ago, GHNv-20 was confirmed, five months after the beginning of norovirus season. The number of the infected are in the higher hundred thousands, and the death toll is at an estimated 250,000, with about seventy percent of the rest of the population experiencing mild to moderate illnesses connected to the S. pyogenes bacteria.
The fear of the unknown has caused mass hysteria and panic.
In an attempt to provide a semblance of safety and control, military personnel patrol the streets, even here in Lethford City, and the police force is trying to keep up with the rising street violence, assault, and theft.
Welcome to OUTBREAK: zero. Will you survive?
HAYANA
SITE OWNER + HEAD ADMINISTRATOR
Hi! I'm Haya. I'm pretty much your girl for everything! If you have any questions regarding our plot, membergroups, etc. don't hesitate to ask me. I'm also in charge of coding, graphics, anything skin related, and advertising/affiliates.
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ADDI
ADMINISTRATOR
Hey! I'm Addi. Hit me up if you need help with anything. I'm always for plotting so don't be shy. I like coffee, booze, and working out. I'm back from a long hiatus the dead so if you need anything, best ask the others until I get back into the groove of things!
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FINNLEY
GLOBAL MODERATOR
Hi hello! My name is Finnley, or Finn, call whichever and I'll be there for you (yes like the FRIENDS theme song). I am in charge of the claims and helping with miscellaneous things. Let me know if you have any questions!
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outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
there is a swelling storm and i'm caught up in the middle of it all
1307. Thirteen oh seven. How long had she been there now? Everything was done military time for medical records. Couldn't afford to have someone transcribing think you wrote an A instead of a P. It was the afternoon, and Brynlee could feel her eyelids growing heavier and heavier by the minute. These brutal shifts were going to be the death of her. She had probably slept a total of five hours over the past 4 days. And the fact that she tries to walk to and from work every day, well her whole body was exhausted.
She refocused on the machine in front of her, being the hospital's full time Biomedical Engineer kept her busy. She wasn't sure what those nurses and doctors were doing, but she was about sick of fixing the same x-ray machine. She swore she would track down whoever kept breaking it and slap them around a little. There was no need to be so rough with it, this was not the machine to be rough with. She pulled open a panel above the bed and placed it next to her knees. It wasn't really a bed. It was a table, hard and unforgiving so it could take the best possible pictures.
The earbud in her ear shifted and she lifted a hand to quickly readjust it to her ear before she lifted her flashlight to light inside the panel. To anyone else, they would have stared at the wires and wondered what in the world was going on. But Brynlee, she knew. She traced each wire until she found the one she was looking for. Externally it looked fine, so she ran a hand down the wire and felt for the connections. This was her job, fixing and maintaining machines, creating prosthetics and artificial organs. She loved it, creating something that had greater purpose was quite exciting.
A cheerful tune thumped through her earbud as a new song played. She gave a small smile as she looked down at the tool box in front of her and started shifting through the box, looking for something in particular. Her hair had been braided tightly at the beginning of her shift, but with face masks on and off, her falling asleep for 20 minutes on a break room table, and not to mention the plenty of layers in her hair, the two braids now were messy and had odd ends coming out here and there. She wasn't going to bother with them. After this machine, she was going home. No one had called out so far, and no reports of anything needing immediate attention meant she could go home and actually sleep.
Normally she would go home restless, but it was catching up with her. She would probably hit the floor inside of her one bedroom apartment and sleep for the next ten hours. So fixing her hair? Not happening when she was leaving soon. Her warm brown eyes locked onto the wire replacement and she made quick work of switching them out. She screwed the panel back on and hopped off the bed. Moving to doorway and looking up and down the hallway. She really needed to test it, make sure that her assumption of whoever was using it wrong was breaking it. And not that something else was broken causing the wires to burn out.
She needed a test subject. Anyone would do, all they needed to be was willing. And then she could go home. Her freckled face broke out into an innocent smile as she spotted the person who came around the corner, walking towards her down the hallway. Perfect. She removed one of the earbuds as they came closer.
"Hey there buddy," she said, exhaustion making her voice a little rougher than normal, but she tried her best to sound charming.
Kane had spent the entirety of the morning at the police office. He had gotten a notification that the local force in the area had received his paperwork and he needed to go in. It was all forged of course, but they didn't know that. He had been sent a copy of what his bosses had sent into the station. They had kept his name the same which had been a slight surprise. Normally they changed it up a bit. He had been Carson, Kevin, Caleb, the full rundown of male names that had that hard K sound. He assumed they allowed him to keep his name for this one because he'd be working with the police. On most of his other assignments, he could be a little lax with the response timing. When it came to dealing on the daily with civilians, it was always best to be sharp, and his real name would allow for that.
He had read over his history and past. No sign of military work listed, nope he had gone to mechanic school and then joined the police department in Herrington, a town about 50 miles away from Lethford. Good standing, nothing spectacular nor memorable. Just another set of hands to help out. At least that's what came across to anyone reading the bogus file. So he had shown up early that morning and shook hands with his new 'boss'. The guy also had no idea who he was and that Kane himself outranked him by a good few hundred in the chain of command. Nope, he had shaken hands and smiled, obliged them with taking his picture for an ID badge, signing paperwork for a police badge, uniform, and weapons check. The day had been almost done for by the time they gave him the all-clear and handed him his first and only assignment for the day: bringing a drunk guy to the hospital.
It was grunt work, temp work, but he didn't care. He was the new guy to them. Actually worse than that, he was the outsider new guy. He hadn't expected anything less than the worst job they had at the moment. He had nodded and rounded up the drunk guy who had apparently jammed his fingers somehow between the bars and gotten his hand broken. Kane had taken him to his newly assigned cop car and put him in the back. The guy sang a horribly off-key version of Journey the entire way there and Kane found himself wondering if any of his SEAL team buddies were having as fun a day as he currently was.
Kane had then walked the guy in, signed him off as he transferred him to the hospital staff. He radioed into the precinct to let them know and before he could say anything more, dispatch informed him that the guy had been released on bond and Kane was free to go home for the day. He had signed off and couldn't help the feeling of disappointment that settled in him. It wasn't that he liked action, but today had been all but a waste of time. He had come here to settle in and do his job, but he also came here to help and playing taxi driver wasn't his ideal version of that.
He got a coffee from the waiting room and began to make his way to the exit. As he walked along, however, a female voice called out to him, a girl with fire-red hair smiling at him. He looked back to see if she was talking to someone behind him but when he found no one he looked back at her questioningly, "Me?"
there is a swelling storm and i'm caught up in the middle of it all
Was this a brilliant idea? No. Did she really care? Also no. She knew that technically she should finding an actual technician to come run some tests, but with how spread thin they had been lately… She’d never get home. Which meant she was going to take matters into her own hands and just real with the reprimand later, if there even was one. Because the first thing coming out of her mouth would be how she had assisted on a surgery last week that she was no where near qualified for.
Brynlee almost felt bad as the man she selected, well he was the only one around so maybe he selected himself? Whatever that may be, she almost felt bad as he looked behind him before looking back at her. Especially as she took in the uniform and radio attached to him. Oh, this was a bad idea. A police officer? But she was tired, and that was pushing her to cut corners.
“Me?”
She smiled brighter if possible, as if he was an old friend that she hadn’t seen in years. She pulled the other headphone from her ear, tucking it into one of her scrubs pockets. “Of course you, blondie. Can I possibly borrow you for a moment?” She asked, never leaving the doorway that she was peaking out of. Brynlee has always been told she can be almost overwhelming with her friendliness and ability to make people feel like they needed to help her out.
She wasn’t trying to manipulate anyone, but sometimes it just worked in her favor. She hoped this was one of those times. “I’d owe you one.” She pressed on, hoping he’d take the bait.
Kane turned back to look at the girl who had called for him. For a minute he almost gave another look behind himself to double-check that she wasn't talking about someone else. She was smiling deliriously, as if she knew him, and his brows knit together in confusion. He most definitely did not know her. Had she not been smiling he would have jumped into his police officer role, assuming she needed officer assistance with something. Her smile and demeanor, however, said otherwise. He watched as she pulled an earbud out of her ear and continued smiling at him like they were old friends.
When she called him blondie, his confusion gave way to an amused smile. He didn't know what she was up to or if she had him very confused with someone else, but he didn't have anything else to do today. Following a girl down a rabbit hole seemed better than sitting at his apartment by himself so he nodded, "Yes ma'am." He walked the remainder of the distance and glanced into the room she was peeking out of before he walked in.
It looked like a testing area, a few machines scattered about that he couldn't identify to save his life. There were no bad guys with guns meeting him, no surprise party that was meant for someone else though, so he walked on in. She mentioned she'd owe him one and he raised his eyebrow, a grin on his lips. "I would say you don't owe me anything, but I guess I should reserve judgement for that until I know what you need from me."
He looked over at her, putting his hands in his pockets. She looked like a nurse or maybe a doctor. He didn't know how in the world he could possibly be of any assistance, but he'd at least try to help out. He had worked with the medic team only a handful of times in combat so if it was something medicinal he would be all but useless. He was good at following orders though. He himself had a bare rundown of medical training, but it was specific to emergency trauma. Sometimes he was sent into places where he and his team were the only specialist in the area. If an accident happened, which it often did, a doctor visit wasn't an option. He turned his attention back to her, "So what can I help you with?"
there is a swelling storm and i'm caught up in the middle of it all
Brynlee had a way about her, she was one of five children, and she was not the oldest, nor the youngest. But she was the oldest daughter, her sister falling behind by only a few years. So to be heard in the Valentine household, you had to be loud and charismatic. And she definitely had those two things in her pocket, but what others didn’t know was in the other pocket she was smart and had the capabilities to make things that kept human beings alive and working in every day tasks. And she enjoyed shocking the hell out of people with that as well.
Her current victim gave her an amused smile after she gave him a pet name, something she really did because she didn’t know his real name. And couldn’t quite read his last name that would be printed on his uniform top. His yes ma’am had her grin wider if possible as he made his way to her. She made sure to give him plenty of room as he entered the room without actually moving. Brynlee was always that touchy friend but she reserved that for once she got to know the person, not when she was trying her best to convince them to help her out. He looked around the room as if scanning it, very officer like.
“I would say you don't owe me anything, but I guess I should reserve judgement for that until I know what you need from me. So what can I help you with?”
She stepped into the room as he turned towards her, hands in his pockets. “Handsome and clever. I think you will do just fine with me.” She said, amusement covering each word. She walked over to her bag of tools and picked it up off the hard bed that was under the x-ray machine. She walked it near the door, placing it just on the inside before she turned back to him, brushing back a few stray pieces of hair behind her ears, the braids falling over her shoulders. “How comfortable are you with letting a stranger see inside of you?”
She knew it was an odd way of asking and she said it more to gauge his reaction more than anything. She walked back over to the machine and turned the light on, that set up crosshairs on the dark gray bed beneath. She worked on moving the light to where she needed it. “I just fixed this x-ray machine, and I need a test subject. I can’t quite test it on myself as I need to stand over there to take the x-ray,” Her hand motioned to the door where she would stand just outside to hit the button to take the picture. Brynlee turned and pressed her back against the bed, her arms crossing over her chest as she tilted her head at him. Her body language screaming casual and relaxed.
Raising an eyebrow at him she looked him over once. “You might need to loose the belt, and a boot. Won’t cost you anything except your time, and I’ll even give you an awesome copy of the picture.” Was she trying to charm him? Yes. Was it working? Well she certainly hoped so. “But if that doesn’t fill the payment requirement for you, then we can work something else out. Perhaps a better cup of coffee than the crappy stuff from the lobby.” She mused, flashing him a smile, “What do you say, officer blondie?"
Kane watched her as she laughed at his quip, her eyes lighting up. A small part of him pleased that he could make her laugh. He wasn't normally a flirt, and he wasn't even sure if making a girl laugh even counted as flirting but he enjoyed it. Making her laugh seemed a whole hell of a lot easier than trying some godawful pick-up line he had heard the soldiers in his unit use before. They were so bad he sometimes got second-hand embarrassment from them. He laughed lightly at the notion of needing a CAT scan, jokingly raising his hands in surrender, "I make police officer salary ma'am. Let's keep the tests to a minimum."
She murmured a thatta boy to him before walking towards the other side of the room. He felt a little awkward to be standing in a room half-naked with a stranger, but he supposed she was in the medical field and seeing him shirtless wasn't probably anything special. His medical experience had all been in the military and privacy wasn't a factor. It was common to stand in a room in only your skivvies with a few hundred other soldiers in theirs while waiting for exams and shots. Privacy and modesty wasn't something that was considered where he was from. He glanced over in time to see her come around the wall, yawning. A pang of sympathy hit him.
Sure soldiers were on the front lines, but they weren't the only ones. Men and women in the medical field were working just as hard, sometimes harder and with as little rest as he and his buddies got. It was fine for them. He had signed up for this, he was trained for this, but civilians weren't. They had found themselves shouldering more than they should have ever had to and he hated it for people like her. "End of shift huh?" She answered him back oddly after he asked if he was alright how he was and he found himself nodding, "Well alright."
Kane moved to the place where she had stepped forward earlier as he watched her. The quiet was nice but allowed the odd feeling of being nervous to seep into his thoughts. He hadn't had much experience in having tests done unless something was bad. They were typically assessing damage and that old anxiety about what they'd find crept into his senses for a moment while he waited. He had been lucky, luckier than most but he knew the day would come. The day where the damage would be too much to fix. He snapped out of it when she laughed, telling him her name and asking for his. "Shelby. Kane, Shelby. Nice to meet you miss Valentine."
The corners of his lips pulled again as she told him to hop up on the table. He did as instructed, pulling himself onto the table. His eyes watched her as he waited for further instructions. He hoped she wouldn't glance too much at the scarring he had scattered over various parts of his body. Sure he could blame the uniform, but he doubted she'd quite believe him. She didn't seem like she missed much of anything. "So are you a doctor?"
“Now I'm a little worried. When's the last time you had your eyes checked?”
Brynlee let out a laugh, flipping one of her red braids over her shoulder. Brynlee wasn’t exactly running around looking for attention from men, hell she spent her high school years trying to just get out from her three older brothers shadows. Not a lot of boys then wanted to give her the time of day because of the protective three. She used to say they were the deathly hallows, there to kill her chances of having any kind of love life. And the few that had tried to come home with Brynlee? Well they made it over once. And didn’t come back.
Cowards. But that was when she took to the dating scene in college as almost a secret from her family. Though after a few really bad dates, she didn’t think it was so bad to have brothers to help weed out the bad ones in the bunch. But what she did know, was a handsome man when they were in front of her. “If you think my eyes are bad because I see a handsome man, maybe I need to put in orders for a CAT scan as well?” She raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. “Perhaps too much time in the field has messed with your mind?” She joked. Police officers had a tough job. She had helped fit a few for prosthetics after bad calls, and she always thought that they didn’t get paid nearly enough for what they ran into. Same with firefighters.
As she worked the last few adjustments, she kept her attention on the task at hand when he mentioned the technique she was planning on using. Knowing that it would make sense in a moment. Which with his ‘gotcha’ she figured that she had yet to hear him object to the task at hand.
“Hmm. Coffee and an x-ray image, how could I say no to that?”
Her smile widened as he grinned back at her. She liked this one. She hadn’t met him before, but he had a boyish charm to him and she hoped that she wouldn’t ever have him wheeled through those doors. It’d be a shame. “Thatta boy,” she agreed before heading over to the door and grabbing some slides for the X-ray machine. Her attention elsewhere as she let out a small yawn, the back of her hand covering her mouth as she let it wash over her. She might even need that coffee before she tried to drive home. She didn’t need to be falling asleep at the wheel. Or maybe she would just sleep in her car in the lot.
“Is this alright?”
Her attention turned back to him and she let her eyes widen, as she was not ready to be laying eyes on a topless handsome cop. Though she let out a small laugh as she realized that he had a badge and everything on the top. Not one that made fun of him, but one of amusement and surprise. “More than alright,” She commented loud enough for him to hear, a small nod from the redhead before she walked over and placed the slide under the light that was on the table. At the mention of weirdest way to be asked out she let the laugh fall from her. Well he was just what she needed as a perk me up. “Well I am honored to have taken that spot. Just go ahead and pencil in Brynlee Valentine there for me, officer…?” She hadn’t been awake enough to look at the name on his uniform top, so she was hoping he would willingly give her his name.
She stepped to the side and patted the table, “Hop on up.” She directed. “I promise to be gentle.”
"I make police officer salary ma'am. Let's keep the tests to a minimum."
Ma'am. She immediately groaned at that and shook her head, more red strands out of the braids than in it at this point. Or so it felt. "No, please don't ma'am me. I am not old enough to qualify as a 'ma'am' yet. I've got at least one husband to get through before that. And to even start that journey to ma'am, I'd at least have to find someone to take me as their mate," She joked. She always felt like the woman who wanted that respectful ma'am were the ones with the Karen haircut and have been divorced at least once in their lives. And she was far from that. Was this also a subtle way of dropping that she was single? Possibly. But she wouldn't admit to that. "Besides, I'm sure we could work out the cost if needed." She laughed lightly.
As he asked her about the end of her shift, she gave a lightly, tired smile. Letting the peppiness drain from her for a moment. "Was it the bags under my eyes or the rough gravely voice?" she said, watching him with curious eyes. "We've been pulling ridiculously long shifts, part of the job I guess during an outbreak like this. But I guess I'm not one to complain to an officer right now." They already worked long shifts, so she couldn't even imagine the demand that was being put on them right now. Though at the moment he looked to be in better standing than herself. Maybe his shift had just begun though.
Though she was normally unfazed by bare skin, she felt that small rush as he got closer to her. Normally she would be almost mechanic in a way, nudity was part of the job. And she's come across all different body types and shapes over the years, and when doctor mode was on, she didn't feel any certain way about them. This was a bit different though, so she tried her best not to stare. Especially since her tired mind was the one that was driving the ship of Brynlee. "Well Shelby, the pleasure is all mine. Thanks for being my victim this hour." Even though technically it was the middle of the day.
He took instructions well, getting on the table in a flash and she might have done a once over at his back as he got himself up. It was something she always found extremely attractive in a man, the broad, strong back that some of them had. Kane seemed to have that going for him. Once he was settled, she went into autopilot, adjusting the machine over the table to the right spot. Brynlee reached forward and grabbing his ankle lightly, moving it so that it was in the right position under the light. "Don't move, or else we will be here all day." She paused to look at him in the eye. She noticed the scarring on his chest and such. It seemed a bit more intense than a normal officer, but she also knew that he wasn't really a patient. So to ask about it, made her only linger for a moment.
She also trusted he was smart enough to warn her if he had a stint or something that might be issues. But when she looked at his neck and shoulder, she didn't see any scarring to suggest otherwise. As he asked the question about her being a doctor, if her clinical look over didn't give him a clue, she laughed a little and moved towards the door. Before she got out the door she turned and looked at him over her shoulder. "Oh, I just found this outfit in a closet. Figured it'd be fun to play nurse or doctor to the first attractive man I came across." And with a wink she disappeared behind the wall to go and take a picture. She cleared her throat for a moment before she yelled out a countdown so he could hear her. After the machine whirled to life and took its picture, she waited to see the confirmation and printing out the picture.
She re-entered the room and flashed him a bright smile. "Everything looks good," as she handed him the photo that was secured in a sleeve. "I'm a Biomedical Engineer. I fix all the things basically, and if you ever lose a limb," she knocked on a chair that had a wooden arm, showing that she was trying not to jinx him. "I'd be the one who would fit you, make the prosthetic, and then help make sure its properly used. Inside or out." She hopped up on the table where his feet would been and let her legs swing lightly. Her freckled face turned towards him with a small smile, knowing that the machine was fixed she was now officially done. "So, how about that cup of coffee?"
An amused smile came to his lips again when she groaned in protest to his calling her ma'am. She wasn't the first person of the female variety to call him out on it and she wasn't going to be the last. The many years of the military had all but instilled and bred it in him, it was almost an instinct. A knee-jerk reaction when he spoke to women. The same when it came to men, especially civilians. It was a hard habit to break. "Sorry, I've been with the department for a long time. It's not about age or anything, I assure you. Though, you don't have anything to be worried about in the ma'am looks department, believe me." The words came out before he could stop himself, his cheeks burning like fire as he tried to back-peddle, "Not that, my opinion on the matter..." He shook his head, "I mean, you know, I was just stating that it wasn't a reflection on you, the...is it always this hot in here?" He looked around, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. He was damn near half-naked and he felt like his blood was running red hot. He wasn't the best with women. Unless he had a clear objective he tended to be a little lost when it came to flirting or apparently speaking like a rational human being.
He gave a small laugh when she spoke about the cost. He hadn't had to worry about a medical bill in years. That was part of his job, tucked in right next to the possibility of never coming home again. In actuality, he wouldn't have to worry about anything financial wise for a very, very long time. That was another perk of having the kind of job that he had with no personal life tying him down. There was no lodging to worry about, no bills, no family to support. The paychecks came in and 90% went right into his savings account. During the nights where he was sitting alone on some rooftop waiting for something to happen or the days when he stepped off the plane and watched as other soldiers ran to their families, he thought about retiring. He thought about leaving that life behind and moving on, to try, but in the end, his sense of duty always won out.
She asked if her voice or appearance gave her away and he shook his head, "Nah." He repeated the phrase, 'do not comment on her appearance' over twice in his head before speaking, "I don't do anything more than donut and coffee runs, I'm sure you work circles around me." He couldn't imagine the kind of pressure that nurses and doctors dealt with every single day. Sure there were many times when he'd consider his job more demanding, when he had lives in his hands, but they did that every single day. They had to fight for lives every single day for hours on end. It wasn't anything small.
He gave her a small smile when she thanked him for being her victim. With her fiery red hair and brilliant smile, he doubted anyone would have been able to tell her no. She was ridiculously charming and if she would have asked him to move a mountain he knew he'd have his rear end finding a shovel before she could utter out a please and thank-you.
He sat on the cold table, awaiting his instructions. He tried not to stare as her face took on a look of concentration, moving the dials and buttons near him. She moved his ankle over and he obliged, nodding when he told her to be still, "Yes ma'am." The words coming out before he could stop them again. "Ah, Sorry." His eyes found hers and he was a little surprised to see that her eyes had been on him. He found himself breathing more shallow, wishing he could read her mind. He didn't have tattoos or anything else that he suspected might have caught her attention, excluding maybe a few bad scars here and there. He didn't truly know what to think so he shook the idea away, laughing when she made the joke.
"Guess I've got to take you into custody then huh?" He sat very still as she disappeared behind the little wall. Before he knew it she was back again, handing him a black and white image. He took it, standing up from the table and slipping it into his pant's pocket. When she told him her job title he raised his eyebrows, letting out an impressed whistle. "Wow. Talk about impressive. You sure you want to get coffee with a boring cop? Don't you have some handsome surgeon friends you'd rather hang out with?" He was joking of course, but in a way, the possibility was undoubtedly there. He watched as she hopped up on the table, kicking her legs. He couldn't help the grin that came across his face watching her smile. She asked him about the coffee and he tilted his head to the side, an idea popping into his head, "You want to go for a ride?"
Oh, she liked watching him squirm. That was what ran through her mind as he dropped a compliment about her looks and then suddenly found himself backtracking. And not backtracking like he didn’t mean it, because clearly he had been speaking his mind when it slipped out. Backtracking as in he was trying to reword it because he was embarrassed that it slipped out. His hand rubbing the back of his neck expanded his chest in a very nice way and she let her stare linger for a moment as he was trying to look around the room at anything but her currently. She let a laugh fall from her mouth, before she brought the back of her hand up to her mouth to try and stifle the laughter.
“Oh you are just delicious,” she said between laughter. Once she settled herself down, she flashed him a smile. “But thank you, I am glad I am not approaching the ma’am looks department.” She wasn’t going to linger on it, unless he did. Which judging by the heat on his cheeks, he probably would be avoiding it as best as he could. Though that didn’t mean when he made the the comment of him only doing donuts and coffee, she gave him a ‘boy have you lost your mind’ look. Her brows pulling together in disbelief. “Alright, I really do think I need to order you that CAT scan.” If he thought all he did was eat donuts and drink coffee, then he had hell of a metabolism. Or he had found the magically donut shop that made you lose weight instead of gain in.
She’d need directions to that if that was the case. He let her move him around easily on the table and she shot him a deadpan look that didn’t last too long when he slipped out that ma’am again. Though her smile and light shake of her head let him know that she was not angry. She got it. His parents probably raised him up on yes ma’am’s and no sir’s. She was willing to bet that he was also the kind of man who would hold the door open for her or insist on walking on the street side of the sidewalk as well. And they said that chivalry was dead. As he met her eyes, she noticed the way he locked on to her. It was enough to make her shift slightly without breaking the eye contact until she needed to.
When he tossed back a joking question at him, she shouted to him, unashamed of who heard, “Oh Officer Shelby, I might just like offer.” It was a joke. Maybe. But she had a feeling he wasn’t going to pry into it as she came back into the room with him. He easily took the X-ray and overly seemed impressed as she explained what she did. Most men found it intimidating that she had the career she did. The mechanic of the medical world, as she liked to put it.
“Wow. Talk about impressive. You sure you want to get coffee with a boring cop? Don't you have some handsome surgeon friends you'd rather hang out with?”
Her small hands reached up as she sat on the table, slowing tugging out the elastics that held what was left of her braids together. She slowly started combing through one side. “Surgeon’s tend to be jerks,” she stated. And from her experience, it had been true so far. She had tried to date one, they last two dates and she easily found herself putting distance between them. Every one since seemed to be no better. “Don’t tell me that you are having second thoughts about ‘hanging around’ me now that you know how kick ass I am professionally?”
As she worked on her second braid, her feet swinging lightly still, she peered over to him as he gave her a different suggestion. Her eyes lit up at the idea, “Haven’t been in a cop car before.” She said with a grin. With a push off the table she faced him and motioned to his clothes behind him. “As much as I’d enjoy watching you stroll out of here without a shirt, I’d suggest you re-dress to keep our residents from having heart attacks,” she flipped one side of her hair over her shoulder as she grabbed her bag of tools from near the door before she turned to him. “I’ll go get out of these scrubs, and meet you near the entrance.” It wasn’t a question or suggestion. Brynlee was simply stating the course of actions that she was going to go forward with. And with that, she was out of the door and headed towards the staff room to gather her things.
