Warm, fragrant steam permeated Danica's nostrils as she raised her mug to her lips. All that broke the silence of the staff room was the ticking of a clock, the noise rebounding from the plain cream walls. Time had seemed to slow. She was only quarter of the way through her 14 hour shift, with no end in sight.

Staring at the biscuit box sat on the table, she deliberated whether 11am was too early for a chocolate digestive, before realising she really didn't care. As she plucked one from the pack and dipped it in her tea, Danica's stomach rumbled in anticipation of it's first chance at food for the day.

Tea breaks were something of an enigma in her line of work. With a heavy workload and too few hours in the day, it was struggle enough to take time to go to the bathroom. And yet that morning, she'd had the opportunity to take five minutes to breathe and have a hot drink.

A&E was eerily quiet for a Monday morning. Usually, she welcomed a day where there was less footfall - for one, it meant less people needed their services, which she was always glad of. But Janet, the administrator responsible for her blind date two nights before, had been hunting her down mercilessly. There were only so many times Danica could excuse herself with paperwork or patients when there were few admissions.

There was little else she could offer as a reason not to chat as Janet wandered into the staff room. Beady eyes searched the empty chairs from behind their spectacles until they landed on Danica, munching on a biscuit and cradling a full mug of tea.

"There you are!"

Chair legs scraped against the wood floor as Janet took a seat opposite her. With an expectant raise of her brow, she nudged Danica's arm.

"So, give me the goss."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Danica said through a mouthful of biscuit. "There's nothing to tell."

"Please don't tell me you're one of those 'don't kiss and tell' types?" Janet said with a huff. "I take it things went really well then."

It was clear from the attention the woman was paying to her in that moment that she was living vicariously through her. From what Danica had gauged in the 2 years they'd known one another, Janet was in perfectly happy marriage, although she was discontent with the monotony of it all.

"I mean it quite literally when I say there's nothing to tell. Simon was lovely, and we got on well, but that's it."

"That's it?"

"Yup."

"You weren't at all interested?"

Danica pondered it for a moment. Her date had been cute in a 90s Brad Pitt kind of way that would have had a younger version of herself swooning. But despite the kindness in his blue eyes, the fashionable way he dressed, and the confident air he had about him, she hadn't felt a single pang of attraction.

To a lot of people, it wouldn't make sense. They'd undoubtedly ask how she could get along with someone so well whilst appreciating that they were attractive, without being romantically interested. She didn't understand it herself, and had spent hours agonising over why it was difficult for her to connect with men.

Sometimes, in the latest, loneliest hours of the night, a small voice would pop out from the recesses of her mind to tell her it was because she couldn't let go of Shaun. But it disappeared as quickly as it came, silenced with whatever task could take her mind off of it.

"I think we'd make better friends," Danica replied simply.

Although it wasn't what Janet had wanted to hear, she accepted in with a solemn nod.

"I'll speak to my husband - perhaps we can find you another eligible bachelor. Someone a little more rough-and-tumble this time--"

"Oh no, please," Danica existed, raising both hands in surrender, "I really don't want another blind date any time soon. In fact, the whole thing has just shown me how happy I am to be by myself."

Despite her polite insistence, Janet smiled and patted her arm as though she were a child who was yet to understand. At 22, having only qualified as a nurse the year before, Danica was used to being patronised at work. It felt worse when it was her personal life that was being scrutinised in such a way.

"If that's what you want dear, then I respect that," Janet agreed. "Let me know wh-- if you change your mind."

People had good intentions, Danica was sure. But she was sick of the inference that she couldn't enjoy her own company and independence, or that a man would somehow complete her life.

The last man she'd been with had left her feeling broken, and she didn't ever want to be invested in someone enough for that to happen again.

Author's Note:

We're charting in Romance! Thank you thank you.

Short but sweet. Chapters like this always seemed to be deemed as fillers on Wattpad, so I'll just clarify that this absolutely isn't - I'm trying to slowly build up our Danica's background, her feelings, her character, and the way that people think it's okay to interfere in her love life. It's all for a reason!

Next chap is gonna be longer to make up for this being short.