Post by Bella on Jun 22, 2008 20:32:38 GMT 1
Hi everyone,
Apologies if I appear to be jumping on the bandwagon so soon after Pam’s excellent fanfic, but as we are now having to endure three weeks without Doctors, this is my attempt at writing an episode of my own (but with thanks also to LP for editing assistance).
Bella
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Friday lunchtime (Part 1 of 5)
Vivien tutted, more to herself than to anyone in particular. She had just got herself comfortable in one of the easy chairs in the staff-room, her sandwich neatly cut into four and laid out on a plate, when she realised that she had left her newspaper under the desk in reception. Putting her lunch to one side, she got to her feet and went to retrieve the paper. Before she could return to the staff-room however, a movement outside caught her eye. A black cab pulled into the car park and came to a halt. The passenger door opened. Vivien frowned. The surgery always closed for lunch and in Vivien’s opinion, patients or visitors of any kind were not welcome at this time of day. A man carrying a suitcase stepped out of the cab and turned to settle the fare with the driver. Vivien’s frown turned to a beaming smile. She hurried over to unlock the door and then went outside to greet the new arrival. The man turned to pick up his case and saw Vivien, heading his way, still with a broad smile on her face.
He smiled back. “Hello Vivien.”
“Dr Fenton! This is unexpected. What a lovely surprise to see you. But we had no idea that you were coming.”
“No... I’m sorry... it was all a bit last minute actually. I didn’t have time to tell anyone... not even Daniel. Is he here today?”
“No, I’m afraid not. Dr Granger has a paperwork day. He’s working from home.”
Joe nodded. “No problem. I’ll catch up with him there later.” He looked up at the Mill. “So how is everyone?”
“Oh they’re fine. Absolutely fine.” Vivien reassured Joe. “Everyone is going to be so thrilled to see you. It is lovely to have you back with us.”
Joe smiled. He was a little touched by how pleased Vivien was to see him, and even briefly considered whether to give her a quick peck on the cheek but promptly decided that it would be inappropriate. He was not a man who made a habit of showing affection, other to members of his immediate family, and he did not intend to change that habit now.
“Here, do let me help you with your luggage,” Vivien offered. “Are you back with us for good... or is this just a flying visit?” she asked.
“Er... well, that’s one of the things that I’m here to sort out.” Joe did not want to go into detail right now. “It’s alright, I can carry my suitcase, thank you Vivien.” He followed her into the surgery.
In the staff-room, Archie was making himself a coffee. The only other person present was Nick, who was sitting at the table reading a magazine.
“So what time do you want me to pick you up tonight, then?” Archie asked Nick.
“Well, the concert kicks off at eight o’clock, so if you get to my house just after seven , that should be plenty of time. That sound OK to you?”
“Yeah, no problem. I’m really looking forward…”
Archie was interrupted by Vivien, who breezed into the staff room.
“Everyone.... oh...” She was disappointed to find that only Archie and Nick were there. “Well anyway... look who’s here!” She spoke with a flourish. Nick looked up and Archie turned round. Joe appeared in the doorway.
“Joe!” Archie stepped forward to shake Joe’s hand in a friendly gesture.
“Hey... look who it is!” exclaimed Nick. Both he and Archie were surprised but delighted of course, to see their colleague.
Joe then extended his hand to Nick. “Good to see you both.” He noticed immediately that Nick was not seated in his wheelchair. “So how are you, Nick?”
“I’m good, thank you.” Nick smiled.
“It’s marvellous to see you out of your chair.” Joe nodded towards Nick’s legs. “You... er...?”
“Not yet. Still got a way to go. Not managed to get rid of the chair altogether but I am making progress though.” Nick pointed to his crutches propped up against the wall. “They’ve let me loose with a pair of these things… so I’m getting there… slowly.”
“Well that’s great news to hear.”
Whilst this conversation was taking place, Vivien had hurried along to knock on the doors of the other staff members present at the Mill that day. “Dr Woodson.... Dr Bell... can you spare a few minutes... we’ve got a visitor!” She then knocked on Julia’s door and entered without waiting for a reply. “Julia... do come... come and see who’s just arrived...” Vivien smiled a knowing smile.
Julia was slightly annoyed at having been interrupted. “Alright... alright... who is it?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Vivien commanded and left the room, not wishing to miss out on any action in the staff-room. Julia got to her feet and followed, as she was now curious as to who the visitor could be.
“So... are you back here to stay?” Archie asked Joe.
Joe pulled a face. “Not exactly… well, no. I’ve decided that...” He did not finish his sentence, as George was the next to arrive in the staff-room. Like the others, she was delighted and surprised to see him.
“Joe! This is fantastic! You’re looking well.” Less reserved than Joe himself, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. But this was nothing compared to the next arrival onto the scene.
“Joe!!!” There was a squeal of delight from Melody, as she threw herself upon him, throwing her arms around her colleague. Joe himself was surprised and slightly embarrassed, to the mild amusement of everyone else present.
Vivien appeared. “Dr Bell!” she admonished. “Please, do show some restraint!”
“Sorry.” Melody looked a little bashful and drew back.
Vivien was closely followed by Julia, who like everyone else, was delighted to see Joe again.
“Do sit down,” Vivien ordered Joe. “I’ll make you a nice cup of coffee.”
“Thank you, Vivien.” Joe did as he was told.
With everyone gathered, and with all eyes on him, Joe knew that it was time for an explanation behind his unexpected arrival. “First, I just want to reassure you all, as I know that you’re going to ask me, that Emily is doing fine. Yes, it’s taken some time for her to come to terms with her condition, and we’ve still got a way to go, but she’s made a few lifestyle changes, and I think that she’s beginning to see the future in a more positive light. Obviously, the ARVC is always going to be present, at the back of not only her mind, but her mum’s and mine, but we are both encouraging Emily to go out and try and get on with living as normal a life as possible.” He paused. “But... and I know that this is a big but which is going to affect you all... Emily’s mum and I have decided that it would be better for Emily if both her parents are around to support her at all times. Which means of course, that I’m going to be moving to Boston permanently.” He looked around at his colleagues. No-one spoke for a second or two.
“Well, of course, whilst we’re all very sad to hear that, we understand your reasons entirely.” It was Julia who voiced the thoughts of everyone and the others murmured their agreement. Only Melody said nothing, instead biting her bottom lip, trying to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. She had been pinning all her hopes on the return of Joe, believing that only he would be truly supportive of her progress. It was all very well having to make do with Nick as her temporary mentor, as she had believed him to be, but she had found it difficult to have faith in Nick in the way that she had in Joe, seeing Joe in the same way that an adoring puppy might worship its owner. If Joe had been coming back for good, she would have had no problem with her training period being extended by another six months. But now, she was devastated to hear that Joe was not coming back for good.
Joe continued. “I’ve been lucky enough to find myself a job in a new practice in a suburb of the city. True, it’s not the Mill, and I know that it’s going to take a bit of getting used to, but if I’m going to settle over there, I need to be doing something. I think they see me as some sort of ‘quaint English doctor’ but hopefully, they’ll come to accept me.” Everyone smiled at Joe’s comment. “Anyway, I start next month, which gives me just enough time to wrap up any unfinished business. Hence the flying visit… I managed to get a standby ticket this morning… so I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you advance warning of my arrival.” He turned to Nick and Julia. “This means of course that there are going to be some partnership issues to sort out, I’m afraid.” Julia and Nick just nodded. Nick accepted this without question, but Julia, always the one to feel more heavily the responsibilities of the job, felt concern about an increased burden of work. Losing Joe meant losing not just a friend, but a partner and a doctor, and having to recruit a new member of the team would likely cause her even more of a headache on top of all her other problems at work. She sighed to herself.
“Anyway, what’s been happening here in my absence? Joe asked, changing the subject. “What have I been missing out on?” He looked around the room, wondering who was going to fill him in on the details.
But before anyone had a chance to comment, there was a rattling sound coming from reception. It was the first patient for afternoon surgery, who had unknowingly arrived slightly early and was now wondering why the door could not be opened. Everyone had been so absorbed in seeing Joe again that they had forgotten the time. Vivien got to her feet and went out to deal with the patient. Joe stood up too.
“I mustn’t keep you all from your work.” He turned to Julia. “Seeing as Daniel is out today, I don’t suppose that I could use my... Daniel’s room... I’m going to have to start going through some paperwork... and I’ll need to see both you and Nick about that too.”
“Of course.”
Joe made his way down the corridor and into his room... only it wasn’t really his room any more, he reflected. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it was pretty much how he had left it, although of course, Daniel would have presumably made the assumption that his uncle’s absence was only temporary. He hoped that Daniel would be kept on by Julia permanently now. That was something else which Joe knew he was going to have to sort out with Julia. There was a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
The door half-opened and Melody’s head appeared.
“Joe...”
“Ah, Melody, come on in.”
She entered the room, determined not to appear weepy and upset, although that was how she felt inside. “Joe... I really just wanted to say... how really sorry I am that you’re not coming back to stay... I am so going to miss you... I mean, I’ve missed you heaps since you’ve been gone anyway.. but now... I mean, I don’t know how I’m going to manage without you...” She could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes and tried to blink them away. “Anyway... I only wanted to say that... I just wanted to ask you... if you could talk to me about my progress... it’s just that I’m not really that sure about how I’ve been doing and because you’ve worked with me since I started here... well, I know that you think I need to continue my training for another six months… Nick told me that, but if you could just give some pointers as to the areas that I need to focus on… it’s not that I want to complain… about Nick… or anything like that... it’s just that I think you have a much better idea of my strengths and weaknesses, and whether you think that my patients are happy with me and...”
Joe smiled and held up a hand to interrupt her babbling. “Slow down Melody... there’s no need to get upset.” He was amused but managed not to show it. “Of course I’d be happy to sit down with you and discuss anything you like.” He looked at his watch. “We can even make a start now, if you want, unless you’ve got patients waiting.”
“Now?” Melody sniffled back her tears. “Oh... right.” She thought for a moment. Joe’s arrival and his news had been so unexpected that she hadn’t had time to really think about what she wanted to say to Joe. As usual, the words had just come gushing out before she had really had time to clarify her thoughts. “Well.. later might be better. I was just hoping that before you leave, you could give me a more detailed evaluation of my work here... I mean, I’ve been here coming up for a year... and I know what Nick said at my appraisal, but I’d really value your opinion too.. so... er... anything you could give me, either verbally or in writing, would be really useful... I mean... you are... were... my mentor... and I was really hoping that I’ve improved, well a lot... since then...”
“Yes, of course.” Again, Joe put his hand up to stop Melody in her tracks. “I’ll give it some consideration over the weekend, and I’ll give you and Nick a proper written report before I leave, I promise.”
“Oh...good, thank you so much...” Melody wanted to hug Joe again, but managed to stop herself. Joe had always taught her so much and she would have been happy to work alongside him for another six months, continuing to learn from him under his guidance. Melody knew however that she couldn’t say the same about Nick though. She didn’t feel as if overall she’d learnt much at all from him in the time since Joe had been away.
“So what’s the problem with Nick then? As your mentor now, he’ll be able to provide a much more up-to-date report on your progress, won’t he? Don’t you think that you should be having this conversation with him?”
Melody hesitated. “Well... I will of course... it’s only that... oh, it’s nothing...” She suddenly felt awkward.
But Joe’s curiosity was aroused. “It’s only what, Melody? If there is a problem, perhaps I can help with it?” he asked, kindly.
“Oh... I don’t know. It’s just that...” she paused, and decided to be honest. “I’ve sometimes found it a bit difficult working with Nick. I mean, he’s a lovely man, and all that, and we get on really well together, and he’s given me some brilliant advice, like whenever I’ve had a problem with a particular patient, and I know that he’s got a lot of things going on in his life at the moment, and I really don’t want to be a nuisance to him... but...” Melody paused again.
Joe smiled. “So what exactly is the problem with Nick, then?” he asked sympathetically.
“Well... it’s just that I don’t think he wants to be my mentor. It’s like, when I try and pin him down, to arrange a time to go over my notes together, he always seems to have other things to do. I mean... and can you believe this, a couple of months ago, I actually had to follow him to his physio session... at St Phil’s in order to get him to take notice of me... I don’t think that he was too pleased with me for doing that, though.”
Joe pulled a face, as he could easily imagine that indeed, this hadn’t gone down well at all with Nick, but Melody didn’t seem to notice.
“Hmmm. Well, maybe that wasn’t the most tactful thing to have done. Nick’s recovery is important not just to him, but the practice as a whole. And you, being a doctor, should know that the healing process cannot be rushed.”
“Yes, of course... I know that, Joe.”
“Did you tell him any of this when you had your appraisal with him?”
“Not exactly…no. It…er… didn’t go very well. He accused me of allowing my personal life to interfere with my work… I mean honestly… talk about pots and kettles and all that…” Joe decided to let this comment pass. Melody continued. “… and that just made me really upset… so I had to leave the meeting… it was just too much… and I was having a bad day as it was… not that I was letting personal things get in the way, you understand…” she added hastily, knowing that this was not the time to mention the saga concerning her brother JJ.
Joe held up his hand. “It’s OK Melody, don’t get upset. Why don’t I have a word with Nick, suggest to him that it would be helpful to you if you could both sit down together at times agreed beforehand. I’ll explain to him that you need reassurance, and I’ll ask him to make time for you. How does that sound?”
Melody nodded. “I suppose so. I was just wondering though, do you think that George could be my mentor instead? I mean, we get on so well... and I know that she’d be so supportive...” She wanted to add ‘more supportive than Nick’, but held back.
Joe shook his head. “I’m sorry. George has got more than enough on her plate overseeing Daniel. It really wouldn’t be fair on her to ask her to take on mentoring you as well.”
Melody nodded. That was what Julia had told her as well, but it had been worth a try. She knew as well that they were both right, it would have been an unreasonable demand on George. She sniffed. “I understand. Anyway, thank you Joe, for listening to me.” She looked at her watch and gasped. “Aargh… I’m late for my next patient… and Vivien’s going to be on the warpath…” Melody dashed out of the room. Joe smiled to himself. She was a sweet but scatty girl, he thought affectionately. In time she’d make a good doctor, and he couldn’t fault her commitment and dedication to the vocation… but it was just going to take a while.
Joe sighed and open the bottom drawer of his desk, the drawer that held reams of paperwork, all carefully filed away. It was all just as he had left it, not that he had expected it to be otherwise. He pulled out a folder that was neatly labelled “partnership” and sifted through some papers inside, but they were mostly just minutes of past meetings over the years. Julia must have what he was looking for, he decided, but he had only just stood up when there was a knock at the door….
(to be continued...)
Apologies if I appear to be jumping on the bandwagon so soon after Pam’s excellent fanfic, but as we are now having to endure three weeks without Doctors, this is my attempt at writing an episode of my own (but with thanks also to LP for editing assistance).
Bella
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Friday lunchtime (Part 1 of 5)
Vivien tutted, more to herself than to anyone in particular. She had just got herself comfortable in one of the easy chairs in the staff-room, her sandwich neatly cut into four and laid out on a plate, when she realised that she had left her newspaper under the desk in reception. Putting her lunch to one side, she got to her feet and went to retrieve the paper. Before she could return to the staff-room however, a movement outside caught her eye. A black cab pulled into the car park and came to a halt. The passenger door opened. Vivien frowned. The surgery always closed for lunch and in Vivien’s opinion, patients or visitors of any kind were not welcome at this time of day. A man carrying a suitcase stepped out of the cab and turned to settle the fare with the driver. Vivien’s frown turned to a beaming smile. She hurried over to unlock the door and then went outside to greet the new arrival. The man turned to pick up his case and saw Vivien, heading his way, still with a broad smile on her face.
He smiled back. “Hello Vivien.”
“Dr Fenton! This is unexpected. What a lovely surprise to see you. But we had no idea that you were coming.”
“No... I’m sorry... it was all a bit last minute actually. I didn’t have time to tell anyone... not even Daniel. Is he here today?”
“No, I’m afraid not. Dr Granger has a paperwork day. He’s working from home.”
Joe nodded. “No problem. I’ll catch up with him there later.” He looked up at the Mill. “So how is everyone?”
“Oh they’re fine. Absolutely fine.” Vivien reassured Joe. “Everyone is going to be so thrilled to see you. It is lovely to have you back with us.”
Joe smiled. He was a little touched by how pleased Vivien was to see him, and even briefly considered whether to give her a quick peck on the cheek but promptly decided that it would be inappropriate. He was not a man who made a habit of showing affection, other to members of his immediate family, and he did not intend to change that habit now.
“Here, do let me help you with your luggage,” Vivien offered. “Are you back with us for good... or is this just a flying visit?” she asked.
“Er... well, that’s one of the things that I’m here to sort out.” Joe did not want to go into detail right now. “It’s alright, I can carry my suitcase, thank you Vivien.” He followed her into the surgery.
In the staff-room, Archie was making himself a coffee. The only other person present was Nick, who was sitting at the table reading a magazine.
“So what time do you want me to pick you up tonight, then?” Archie asked Nick.
“Well, the concert kicks off at eight o’clock, so if you get to my house just after seven , that should be plenty of time. That sound OK to you?”
“Yeah, no problem. I’m really looking forward…”
Archie was interrupted by Vivien, who breezed into the staff room.
“Everyone.... oh...” She was disappointed to find that only Archie and Nick were there. “Well anyway... look who’s here!” She spoke with a flourish. Nick looked up and Archie turned round. Joe appeared in the doorway.
“Joe!” Archie stepped forward to shake Joe’s hand in a friendly gesture.
“Hey... look who it is!” exclaimed Nick. Both he and Archie were surprised but delighted of course, to see their colleague.
Joe then extended his hand to Nick. “Good to see you both.” He noticed immediately that Nick was not seated in his wheelchair. “So how are you, Nick?”
“I’m good, thank you.” Nick smiled.
“It’s marvellous to see you out of your chair.” Joe nodded towards Nick’s legs. “You... er...?”
“Not yet. Still got a way to go. Not managed to get rid of the chair altogether but I am making progress though.” Nick pointed to his crutches propped up against the wall. “They’ve let me loose with a pair of these things… so I’m getting there… slowly.”
“Well that’s great news to hear.”
Whilst this conversation was taking place, Vivien had hurried along to knock on the doors of the other staff members present at the Mill that day. “Dr Woodson.... Dr Bell... can you spare a few minutes... we’ve got a visitor!” She then knocked on Julia’s door and entered without waiting for a reply. “Julia... do come... come and see who’s just arrived...” Vivien smiled a knowing smile.
Julia was slightly annoyed at having been interrupted. “Alright... alright... who is it?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Vivien commanded and left the room, not wishing to miss out on any action in the staff-room. Julia got to her feet and followed, as she was now curious as to who the visitor could be.
“So... are you back here to stay?” Archie asked Joe.
Joe pulled a face. “Not exactly… well, no. I’ve decided that...” He did not finish his sentence, as George was the next to arrive in the staff-room. Like the others, she was delighted and surprised to see him.
“Joe! This is fantastic! You’re looking well.” Less reserved than Joe himself, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. But this was nothing compared to the next arrival onto the scene.
“Joe!!!” There was a squeal of delight from Melody, as she threw herself upon him, throwing her arms around her colleague. Joe himself was surprised and slightly embarrassed, to the mild amusement of everyone else present.
Vivien appeared. “Dr Bell!” she admonished. “Please, do show some restraint!”
“Sorry.” Melody looked a little bashful and drew back.
Vivien was closely followed by Julia, who like everyone else, was delighted to see Joe again.
“Do sit down,” Vivien ordered Joe. “I’ll make you a nice cup of coffee.”
“Thank you, Vivien.” Joe did as he was told.
With everyone gathered, and with all eyes on him, Joe knew that it was time for an explanation behind his unexpected arrival. “First, I just want to reassure you all, as I know that you’re going to ask me, that Emily is doing fine. Yes, it’s taken some time for her to come to terms with her condition, and we’ve still got a way to go, but she’s made a few lifestyle changes, and I think that she’s beginning to see the future in a more positive light. Obviously, the ARVC is always going to be present, at the back of not only her mind, but her mum’s and mine, but we are both encouraging Emily to go out and try and get on with living as normal a life as possible.” He paused. “But... and I know that this is a big but which is going to affect you all... Emily’s mum and I have decided that it would be better for Emily if both her parents are around to support her at all times. Which means of course, that I’m going to be moving to Boston permanently.” He looked around at his colleagues. No-one spoke for a second or two.
“Well, of course, whilst we’re all very sad to hear that, we understand your reasons entirely.” It was Julia who voiced the thoughts of everyone and the others murmured their agreement. Only Melody said nothing, instead biting her bottom lip, trying to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. She had been pinning all her hopes on the return of Joe, believing that only he would be truly supportive of her progress. It was all very well having to make do with Nick as her temporary mentor, as she had believed him to be, but she had found it difficult to have faith in Nick in the way that she had in Joe, seeing Joe in the same way that an adoring puppy might worship its owner. If Joe had been coming back for good, she would have had no problem with her training period being extended by another six months. But now, she was devastated to hear that Joe was not coming back for good.
Joe continued. “I’ve been lucky enough to find myself a job in a new practice in a suburb of the city. True, it’s not the Mill, and I know that it’s going to take a bit of getting used to, but if I’m going to settle over there, I need to be doing something. I think they see me as some sort of ‘quaint English doctor’ but hopefully, they’ll come to accept me.” Everyone smiled at Joe’s comment. “Anyway, I start next month, which gives me just enough time to wrap up any unfinished business. Hence the flying visit… I managed to get a standby ticket this morning… so I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you advance warning of my arrival.” He turned to Nick and Julia. “This means of course that there are going to be some partnership issues to sort out, I’m afraid.” Julia and Nick just nodded. Nick accepted this without question, but Julia, always the one to feel more heavily the responsibilities of the job, felt concern about an increased burden of work. Losing Joe meant losing not just a friend, but a partner and a doctor, and having to recruit a new member of the team would likely cause her even more of a headache on top of all her other problems at work. She sighed to herself.
“Anyway, what’s been happening here in my absence? Joe asked, changing the subject. “What have I been missing out on?” He looked around the room, wondering who was going to fill him in on the details.
But before anyone had a chance to comment, there was a rattling sound coming from reception. It was the first patient for afternoon surgery, who had unknowingly arrived slightly early and was now wondering why the door could not be opened. Everyone had been so absorbed in seeing Joe again that they had forgotten the time. Vivien got to her feet and went out to deal with the patient. Joe stood up too.
“I mustn’t keep you all from your work.” He turned to Julia. “Seeing as Daniel is out today, I don’t suppose that I could use my... Daniel’s room... I’m going to have to start going through some paperwork... and I’ll need to see both you and Nick about that too.”
“Of course.”
Joe made his way down the corridor and into his room... only it wasn’t really his room any more, he reflected. He was pleasantly surprised to see that it was pretty much how he had left it, although of course, Daniel would have presumably made the assumption that his uncle’s absence was only temporary. He hoped that Daniel would be kept on by Julia permanently now. That was something else which Joe knew he was going to have to sort out with Julia. There was a knock at the door.
“Come in.”
The door half-opened and Melody’s head appeared.
“Joe...”
“Ah, Melody, come on in.”
She entered the room, determined not to appear weepy and upset, although that was how she felt inside. “Joe... I really just wanted to say... how really sorry I am that you’re not coming back to stay... I am so going to miss you... I mean, I’ve missed you heaps since you’ve been gone anyway.. but now... I mean, I don’t know how I’m going to manage without you...” She could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes and tried to blink them away. “Anyway... I only wanted to say that... I just wanted to ask you... if you could talk to me about my progress... it’s just that I’m not really that sure about how I’ve been doing and because you’ve worked with me since I started here... well, I know that you think I need to continue my training for another six months… Nick told me that, but if you could just give some pointers as to the areas that I need to focus on… it’s not that I want to complain… about Nick… or anything like that... it’s just that I think you have a much better idea of my strengths and weaknesses, and whether you think that my patients are happy with me and...”
Joe smiled and held up a hand to interrupt her babbling. “Slow down Melody... there’s no need to get upset.” He was amused but managed not to show it. “Of course I’d be happy to sit down with you and discuss anything you like.” He looked at his watch. “We can even make a start now, if you want, unless you’ve got patients waiting.”
“Now?” Melody sniffled back her tears. “Oh... right.” She thought for a moment. Joe’s arrival and his news had been so unexpected that she hadn’t had time to really think about what she wanted to say to Joe. As usual, the words had just come gushing out before she had really had time to clarify her thoughts. “Well.. later might be better. I was just hoping that before you leave, you could give me a more detailed evaluation of my work here... I mean, I’ve been here coming up for a year... and I know what Nick said at my appraisal, but I’d really value your opinion too.. so... er... anything you could give me, either verbally or in writing, would be really useful... I mean... you are... were... my mentor... and I was really hoping that I’ve improved, well a lot... since then...”
“Yes, of course.” Again, Joe put his hand up to stop Melody in her tracks. “I’ll give it some consideration over the weekend, and I’ll give you and Nick a proper written report before I leave, I promise.”
“Oh...good, thank you so much...” Melody wanted to hug Joe again, but managed to stop herself. Joe had always taught her so much and she would have been happy to work alongside him for another six months, continuing to learn from him under his guidance. Melody knew however that she couldn’t say the same about Nick though. She didn’t feel as if overall she’d learnt much at all from him in the time since Joe had been away.
“So what’s the problem with Nick then? As your mentor now, he’ll be able to provide a much more up-to-date report on your progress, won’t he? Don’t you think that you should be having this conversation with him?”
Melody hesitated. “Well... I will of course... it’s only that... oh, it’s nothing...” She suddenly felt awkward.
But Joe’s curiosity was aroused. “It’s only what, Melody? If there is a problem, perhaps I can help with it?” he asked, kindly.
“Oh... I don’t know. It’s just that...” she paused, and decided to be honest. “I’ve sometimes found it a bit difficult working with Nick. I mean, he’s a lovely man, and all that, and we get on really well together, and he’s given me some brilliant advice, like whenever I’ve had a problem with a particular patient, and I know that he’s got a lot of things going on in his life at the moment, and I really don’t want to be a nuisance to him... but...” Melody paused again.
Joe smiled. “So what exactly is the problem with Nick, then?” he asked sympathetically.
“Well... it’s just that I don’t think he wants to be my mentor. It’s like, when I try and pin him down, to arrange a time to go over my notes together, he always seems to have other things to do. I mean... and can you believe this, a couple of months ago, I actually had to follow him to his physio session... at St Phil’s in order to get him to take notice of me... I don’t think that he was too pleased with me for doing that, though.”
Joe pulled a face, as he could easily imagine that indeed, this hadn’t gone down well at all with Nick, but Melody didn’t seem to notice.
“Hmmm. Well, maybe that wasn’t the most tactful thing to have done. Nick’s recovery is important not just to him, but the practice as a whole. And you, being a doctor, should know that the healing process cannot be rushed.”
“Yes, of course... I know that, Joe.”
“Did you tell him any of this when you had your appraisal with him?”
“Not exactly…no. It…er… didn’t go very well. He accused me of allowing my personal life to interfere with my work… I mean honestly… talk about pots and kettles and all that…” Joe decided to let this comment pass. Melody continued. “… and that just made me really upset… so I had to leave the meeting… it was just too much… and I was having a bad day as it was… not that I was letting personal things get in the way, you understand…” she added hastily, knowing that this was not the time to mention the saga concerning her brother JJ.
Joe held up his hand. “It’s OK Melody, don’t get upset. Why don’t I have a word with Nick, suggest to him that it would be helpful to you if you could both sit down together at times agreed beforehand. I’ll explain to him that you need reassurance, and I’ll ask him to make time for you. How does that sound?”
Melody nodded. “I suppose so. I was just wondering though, do you think that George could be my mentor instead? I mean, we get on so well... and I know that she’d be so supportive...” She wanted to add ‘more supportive than Nick’, but held back.
Joe shook his head. “I’m sorry. George has got more than enough on her plate overseeing Daniel. It really wouldn’t be fair on her to ask her to take on mentoring you as well.”
Melody nodded. That was what Julia had told her as well, but it had been worth a try. She knew as well that they were both right, it would have been an unreasonable demand on George. She sniffed. “I understand. Anyway, thank you Joe, for listening to me.” She looked at her watch and gasped. “Aargh… I’m late for my next patient… and Vivien’s going to be on the warpath…” Melody dashed out of the room. Joe smiled to himself. She was a sweet but scatty girl, he thought affectionately. In time she’d make a good doctor, and he couldn’t fault her commitment and dedication to the vocation… but it was just going to take a while.
Joe sighed and open the bottom drawer of his desk, the drawer that held reams of paperwork, all carefully filed away. It was all just as he had left it, not that he had expected it to be otherwise. He pulled out a folder that was neatly labelled “partnership” and sifted through some papers inside, but they were mostly just minutes of past meetings over the years. Julia must have what he was looking for, he decided, but he had only just stood up when there was a knock at the door….
(to be continued...)