Testing 1-2-3 ((Maribeth))

[dave]

Annnnd.... There it was. The look. He knew it was coming. He could tell from the minute he saw her that she was a 'looker.' That oh-so-innocent glance that could have been an accident but clearly wasn't. When their eyes locked on his and they flashed that smile, Dave knew they were one of those types of women. This particular woman was just leaving the coffee shop, sipping on her hot tea as she passed. Dave had been watching her since he entered the small space and was waiting in line to order. He flashed a smile back, his normal 'nice-guy' grin that could melt almost any girl on the spot. Flirting was fun, and Dave was quite good at it.

"Mocha, no whip," he ordered, stepping up to the cashier and paying for his drink. He grabbed a cup collar to prevent the beverage from burning his hand and he walked over to the side table where the sugar and other necessities were located. There, he added one cream and two packs of artificial sweetener to his drink. The real stuff wasn't good for you. Too much sugar would rot your teeth, his mother had always said. As he was about to walk away from the table, the bell at the door indicated another customer, and his gaze was drawn that way.

A woman walked in, and she was equally beautiful as the 'looker' who had just left. However, Dave's intuition told him right away that this woman was not a 'looker' but she was something a lot more. He couldn't put his finger on it, but this woman had something about her that made him stare for more than just a second. Then her eyes caught his. Instantly, he knew he had seen the face before. But where? St Mungo's! He was sure of it. Even if it was only his first week, Dave recognized her face. She was a Healer, and he remembered seeing her frantically running the halls in her green robes. Dave casually approached.

"Dr...." he stopped, indicating that this was the point she should fill in her last name. Instead, he proceeded to introduce himself. "I'm Dr Lane," he said smoothly. I'm new at St Mungo's." His voice lowered a bit, making sure that the nearby muggles would not catch his reference to the magical hospital. Even if they had, they'd have no clue what he was talking about, but he still did his best to keep it low. Working for Embry had taught him all the tricks of keeping his magical ability a secret. Since his job revolved around secrecy, he had learned quite well how to act around muggles such that they'd never know he was a magical healer and not just a muggle doctor. "Coming or going," he asked. The statement was vague. "To work, I mean. It seems this is a frequent stop for many of the doctors coming and going from the hospital."

[Maribeth Grayson]

It was 6am and Maribeth was getting ready to go to work. She got off work yesterday morning at 9:00am, and slept all through the day and through the night. She was going to be pulling a 48 hour shift today and into tomorrow. She wasn't excited about it, but who in their right mind would be? She just hoped something exciting would happen to keep her on her toes though the hours. As she stepped out of her room, she was dressed in jeans, tennis shoes, a white tank, and a navy sweater over top. She wanted to dress comfortable on her way to work. She wouldn't be caught dead in her scrubs walking the streets. Lime green really wasn't a good color for anyone, and especially in a muggle town, it was quite rare to see a grown woman dressed in such a color. Muggle hospitals, nurses or doctors dressed in different shades of blue or dark green, the bright lime green color really wasn't accepted. It reminded her of the stickers muggles put on cleaning supplies, Mr. Yuck was it? Walking to her upstairs hall closet, she grabbed her black book bag from the floor. Un zippering it, she pulled one of her scrubs down from it's hanger and stuffed it into her bag. Zippering it back up, she made her way down the stairs.

As she stepped down the stairs she looked out her front window and realized something major happened while she was sleeping. "Bloody hell." She mumbled with a dreaded tone under her breath. There was at least half a foot of snow outside, and it was still falling. Mar didn't live far from St. Mungo's, so she chose to walk every day. But today was going to be one hell of a walk. Throwing her bag down beside the door, she went over to the coat rack and grabbed her black pea coat. She buttoned the four front buttons and checked for her wand to be in her pocket. Since she went straight to sleep when she came home yesterday, she didn't have time to put her wand away. Thankfully, it's place was still safe in her coat pocket. Walking to the door she eyed up her bag on the floor. Deciding against bringing it along, she figured she would just use the 'Accio' spell to bring it to the hospital, since she didn't feel up to carrying it. Checking her watch, it was 6:30. Her shift started at 7:30. An hour before she had to start, but she was already up for work. Opening up her front door she looked down the street. The cars on the roads were driving slow due to muggles afraid of the traction of their tires on the icy roads. With this thought, Mar smiled slightly to herself. "Maybe this would bring in more patients due to backfired spells from trying to clean up the snow." The sadistic thought crossed her mind as she shook her head. Of course any doctor would think that.... anything to keep them busy right?

After walking out her door, she started on her usual path toward St. Mungo's. The snow was falling lightly, but still it continued to pile up. By now, Mar was regretting the fact she chose to walk today. Her pants were soaked by how deep the snow was, and how the city didn't seem to shovel the sidewalks. The cold winter chill started to make her insides freeze. She could tell her finger tips were starting to lose blood circulation because of the temperature, and how the blood moved closer to the vital organs when the body became cold. Just because Maribeth was a witch, it didn't mean she wasn't human and didn't know what happened to the body biologically. Standing at the street corner, she dug her hands into her coat pockets trying to get them warmer. Waiting for the crossing light, she spotted a coffee shop on the other side of the street. She had stopped there a few times before, but today it looked extra special. Maybe it was because of the warm smoke that escaped the chimney on the roof. The coffee shop seemed to call her name as she waiting, freezing outside. Who would turn away coffee in weather that felt like it was 10 below.

After crossing the street and making her way into the shop, it was just as she had imagined- warm. She instantly let out an exhale as she finally started to regain feeling in her finger tips. There was a line about two or three people in front of her as she entered the room. The line didn't bother her, but the guy who just got his drink did. From the moment she walked into the room, she saw him glance at her. She wasn't dumb to looks, but tried to keep her attention away from him and at the menu on the wall. She already knew what she wanted but she wasn't in the mood to deal with a guy right now. Of course he was attractive, and he seemed very put together, but that was probably just a cover up to get girls. Mar was so used to the lines and the lies guys used these days. She was far from naive and wasn't about to be treated as something she wasn't. She was attracted to him, but she wasn't going to let that be the only straw she picked from. She smiled to herself as she thought that most likely all he had going for him was his good looks, nothing more. No job, no house, no friends; too much of one thing makes everything else uneven.

As another person was waited on in front of her, the line moved forward. And as Mar stepped forward the guy walked closed. He greeted her with a shocking title. "Dr." Mar was used to acting like a muggle, that the greeting half caught her off guard. She looked up at the guy as he introduced himself. Though his whispers, she changed her thought in her mind; maybe he did have a job. Inside she laughed at her change in opinion, but kept her composure on the outside calm. And narrowed her eyes as she glanced up and away from him. "No first name? I thought all of the smooth guys introduced themselves in a 'James Bond' sort of way..." Mar's tone was sarcastic but to be taken with a grain of salt. She emphasized the word smooth as she spoke, as well as mocked the muggle movie. The introduction she refereed to was 'Bond, James Bond.' She figured being in a muggle town for so long, he might be able to catch the joke. As the next person stepped away form the cashier, it was Mar's turn to say her order. "Just a medium coffee." She said as she pulled out a muggle bill and paid. Stepping out of line, she walked over to the counter where she waited for her drink. "I'm going." she finally replied to Dr. Lane's question, as she grabbed her coffee from the counter and immediately took a sip of the black liquid. Sugar and cream weren't her thing; the plain, original, unchanged. Black coffee was her morning weapon of choice. After taking a sip, she felt the warmth of her drink through her cup and on her hands, perfect. Looking up at Dr. Lane, she asked, "What brings you to the hospital?"