Kate had already finished two surgeries for the day, but she was nervous about the upcoming one. Rose had already informed her that she would be observing, and nothing in her statement had left any room for negotiation. Mari was supposed to handle it. There was no sign of Rose yet, but that didn't mean that the plan would work.

Worries swirled through Kate's mind as she scrubbed in. Her concerned expression was reflected in the steel of the sink. The time it took to prepare passed at a crawl, and each time she heard the sound of someone arriving she expected to see Rose. Not so. Not yet. Just blue scrubs, monitors, and cables snaking across the room.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the clack of high heels. When she looked around there was still no sign of Rose, and the sound had stopped. Not heels, just preparations. She drew a deep breath and steeled herself. Couldn't let distractions like that throw her off during surgery. Loud music should mask it. She'd tell them to turn it all the way up.

Party in the operating room, she knew one of the nurses would remark with a chuckle.

Nerves, so much nerves. She felt as if her senses were on fire, each little impulse that somehow reminded of Rose setting her on edge. One of the nurses had a similar nose. Her assistant made an eerily similar gesture. All those little things she wouldn't usually notice were pouring into her brain, lapping at her composure like waves eroding cliffside.

***

On the outside, Mari was going about her task. She wasn't entirely sure where to find her target so she had been combing the most trafficked areas of the hospital. The green plastic benches of the general waiting area was starting to fill with frail elders, wailing children with their parent, and the occasional twenty-somethings. She scanned the area over by the vending machines, but only spotted a surgeon grabbing himself a bag of chips. Not here either.

Now that the time of the surgery was drawing near she figured it was time to narrow her search to the immediate surrounding area. She nodded at a pair of ambulance workers who stood in their red jumpsuits next to an empty stretcher and were chatting leisurely, and made a turn around them. Under usual circumstances she'd stop to chat. She would occasionally be called to go with the ambulance if a patient required specialized management, so she was on good terms with most of the ambulance workers.

Mari still didn't understand why Kate was so intent on having her misinform the researcher from the health department about the time of a specific surgical case. The theory she'd come up with was that the woman was a close friend of the hospital director, her son, or both. And...

No, the rest left her blank. There had to be some reason, but it eluded her. She smiled to herself. It could mean that Kate was better at misdirection than she gave herself credit for. Or that she was good at misdirection that didn't involve e-mailing and face-to-face contact. If so, getting the admirer off her neck should prove easy. Truth be told, Mari found the whole affair rather entertaining.

She checked the time on her phone and noted that it was almost time for the surgery to begin. Time to speed up her pace. She spotted the researcher in the hallway a bit down from where the operating rooms were located. No moment too soon. She clipped off her name tag and slipped it into her pocket. It would be best not to give the woman reason to remember her. Lastly, she gave her hair a ruffle - probably not necessary but it'd make her more difficult to recognize if they happened to run into each other a second time - and waved to get the woman's attention.

"Excuse me, are you the researcher from the department of health? I was asked to bring a message."

The researcher frowned. "What is the matter? I don't have much time to spare right now."

Figured. Mari felt her muscles tense. If she went wrong here there was no second chance. "Actually, I'm here about that surgery you were supposed to observe today. It's been bumped back for an emergency case."

The other woman looked unimpressed. "I've been mislead before. I'd like to confirm that with my own eyes."

She turned to face the operating rooms and Mari's stomach tightened. There had to be some way to stop her. She grabbed the researcher's arm and held her back. "Wait!"

That earned her a glare. "What's your problem?"

Mari stood her ground and put on what she hoped was a firm expression. "I can't allow you to walk in and disturb a trauma case."

That seemed to give the researcher pause. She twirled a lock of hair. "When will the planned surgery take place then?"

"Once an operating room frees up. Try again in two hours." By that time, Kate should be involved in a complex cardiac case. Mari hoped that would be enough to keep the researcher away.

"I suppose it can't be helped then." The researcher huffed and hurried off in the direction of the reception area. It would be a problem if she went to the reception to have the story confirmed. Mari considered calling the reception and asking them to lie on her behalf, but she also knew that some of the biggest gossips worked there. In the end she decided it was better not to risk Kate's admirer becoming the topic of the week.

She stuck around for a while longer to see if the researcher returned. No sign of her. They would just have to hope things would stay that way. Mari's pager beeped and she hurried off, she was supposed to be working after all.