back from the dead
VERY SHORT LITTLE BIT! but it's something.
She is just about to sleep. Sleep, to a med student, to a med student nearing forty, no less, is like a miracle. Abby can feel it in her bones, feel it in the very bottom of her body, in each of her millions of joints... joints she has memorized the latin names for and locations of, no less.
And she is getting there.
"Abby?"
"Hnnnmmnn..."
Neela's pajamaed form mirrors the doorway. She looks like a small child, flannel pants cuffed double at her legs, sleeves rolled nearly to her elbows. It takes a moment before Abby realizes that these are Eric's pajamas, left over from a long-ago visit. Where Neela found them Abby cannot imagine and, bristling slightly at her roommates growing brashness--leaving dishes in the sink, drinking all the milk, taking too long in the bathroom--she locates and turns on her bedside lamp.
Neela blinks, startled at the sudden light, but her eyes are clear, free from fatigue.
"I am really about to lose it," she says.
Abby stares.
"Excuse me?"
"I--"
"Neela, it's three o'clock in the goddamned morning!"
"I know," Neela says in a soft voice, looking sheepish suddenly, brown doe-eyes angled at the floor, "but I can't do this anymore, I just, I..."
She looks up.
"I can leave if you like," she mumbles, not quite meeting Abby's eyes, "come back in the morning."
Abby considers this.
"No," she sighs, "no, it's... It's fine. What's up?"
Neela shrugs, small shoulders moving under the mass of excess fabric, instantly looking a third of her age.
"Dunno," she mutters.
Abby lets her arms drop, smacking the coverlette with a dull thump.
"For Christs sake, Neela..."
"I'm just so tired," Neela breaks in, voice cracking slightly, "I can't do this, I... I can't stay awake, I can't do proceedures, I can't stay out of the way, I... I... I don't know what I'm doing, I'm not..." she pauses. "I'm not like you."
MORE COMING--> NEED TO SLEEP
She is just about to sleep. Sleep, to a med student, to a med student nearing forty, no less, is like a miracle. Abby can feel it in her bones, feel it in the very bottom of her body, in each of her millions of joints... joints she has memorized the latin names for and locations of, no less.
And she is getting there.
"Abby?"
"Hnnnmmnn..."
Neela's pajamaed form mirrors the doorway. She looks like a small child, flannel pants cuffed double at her legs, sleeves rolled nearly to her elbows. It takes a moment before Abby realizes that these are Eric's pajamas, left over from a long-ago visit. Where Neela found them Abby cannot imagine and, bristling slightly at her roommates growing brashness--leaving dishes in the sink, drinking all the milk, taking too long in the bathroom--she locates and turns on her bedside lamp.
Neela blinks, startled at the sudden light, but her eyes are clear, free from fatigue.
"I am really about to lose it," she says.
Abby stares.
"Excuse me?"
"I--"
"Neela, it's three o'clock in the goddamned morning!"
"I know," Neela says in a soft voice, looking sheepish suddenly, brown doe-eyes angled at the floor, "but I can't do this anymore, I just, I..."
She looks up.
"I can leave if you like," she mumbles, not quite meeting Abby's eyes, "come back in the morning."
Abby considers this.
"No," she sighs, "no, it's... It's fine. What's up?"
Neela shrugs, small shoulders moving under the mass of excess fabric, instantly looking a third of her age.
"Dunno," she mutters.
Abby lets her arms drop, smacking the coverlette with a dull thump.
"For Christs sake, Neela..."
"I'm just so tired," Neela breaks in, voice cracking slightly, "I can't do this, I... I can't stay awake, I can't do proceedures, I can't stay out of the way, I... I... I don't know what I'm doing, I'm not..." she pauses. "I'm not like you."
MORE COMING--> NEED TO SLEEP