Chapter Text
Roslin stretched, and massaged the kinks out of her body as she let out a small sigh. She was the charge nurse for the ICU unit at St. Thomas and her shift was almost complete. It had been a calm day (she refused to use the other word…every nurse knows the second that word is mentioned all hell breaks loose) and she looked forward to going home and unwinding. It was at that moment a new patient was rolled into her unit. While looking at his chart, and talking to his doctor, she managed to take a good look at the man who lay in a coma before her. The longer she looked the more attracted she became.
Roslin had been a nurse for a little over a decade and not once in all that time had she been even remotely attracted to a patient. Sure, there had been a few coworkers she had found attractive but she knew better than to date where you work. She had seen too many disasters of nurses and doctors who had decided to date each other or worse a patient and the chaos that ensued with a break up. However, the man in front of her was causing her to lose a bit of her professionalism. He had longish dark hair that looked so incredibly soft that it took all of her strength not to run her fingers through it, a strong nose, facial hair (a personal weakness if she were forced to admit it) and scars that adorned both cheeks.
As the talk with the doctor concluded, and she went about her shift she was left with two questions: How had he gotten these scars and why was a mechanic that worked at Teller-Marrow involved in a car explosion? As soon as that last thought crossed her mind she snorted. Her mother had grown up here in Charming, and was a year behind Gemma Teller at school. She had gone to university at Stanford but had come home on breaks. While Roslin had grown up in New York, her mother had told her countless stories of Charming and how much she had loved growing up there. She also told how it had changed when Gemma and John Teller came back to start the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club (or as it was better known SAMCRO). So, while Roslin might not have known the finer details of why the car bombing happened, she was not entirely surprised.
Roslin spent the next several days spending every spare moment with Filip Telford, even her much cherished lunch breaks were spent with the man. She found herself quietly talking to him, telling him things she had told no one else (she mused it probably had something to do with the fact that he was in a coma) and reading her current book out loud to him.
She also watched from afar as the members of his club came to sit with him. It was clear he was a well loved and respected member of their club. She had taken on the duties of being his primary care nurse and while attending to him, overheard their quiet conversations. In her years of being a nurse she learned to move about quietly and to hear the quiet parts of conversations as well as reading between the lines to best help her patients. She learned that he went by the nickname of “Chibs” and he was the clubs liaison to a group in Ireland, but the club members were cagey to say which one in public. Although, it didn’t take much to put two and two together to realize they were talking about the IRA and that they were the ones that had caused the explosion.
As the days went on and the more information she learned, her attraction to him grew and a part of her was worried. She knew this man was trouble but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
On the sixth day of Filip’s hospital stay he finally woke up. She was on her lunch break, curled up in the recliner in the corner of his room when she was startled from her book. She heard a raspy voice say, “What is an angel like you doing in my hospital room?”
She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face, as she went into nurse mode. As she was looking him over, she responded, “Your clubmates didn’t tell me what a flirt you are.”
“I hope the lads didn’t embarrass me too much,” he replied with a wink.
“As a daughter of a Scotsman, and who spent every summer and holiday in her fathers homeland there's not much that can surprise me about you sir.”
As she was about to update him on his health, she heard a cold, Irish voice from the doorframe, “I would kindly ask that you don’t flirt with your patient, who also happens to be married to me.” A chill went through Roslin. Damn it, it never even occurred to her that he might be married - that's what comes of fantasizing about a patient.
“Fiona, please,” he begged (Roslin got the impression he didn’t do that very often) “does Jimmy know you’re here?” As Roslin watched the interaction she noticed the woman did look slightly chagrined at the question, and he looked uncomfortable so she decided to try and regain control of the situation. She looked at Fiona when she spoke, “I was just about to update Mr. Telford on his health and situation.” She turned to Filip, asking, “Would you like her to stay while I update you?” He nodded and Fiona came to stand by his side as she gave the update. Afterwards, she left the room to give them privacy and to mentally kick herself for being so stupid as to have developed a crush on a patient.
A few hours later, after his visitors had left (including his wife) she went to check on him. She could see he was worn out by the visitors but she had to apologize before he went to sleep and she went off shift. “Mr. Telford,” she said quietly, “before my shift ends I just wanted to apologize about what happened earlier. I didn’t mean to cause any problems between you and your wife. I acted unprofessionally and I am sorry.” She gave him a little nod before she turned to leave but was hindered when he grabbed her hand.
“Please don’t blame yourself,” he responded, “Fi and I have been estranged for many years. You did nothing wrong. I am surprised she came here at all, considering who she is living with.” He seemed to get lost in thought for a moment before he made eye contact with her again and squeezed her hand, “Thank you for handling that situation and for being so kind. You read a room well.”
She squeezed his hand, gave him a small genuine smile, and responded, “Good night Mr. Telford, I’ll see you in the morning.” He brought her hand up and kissed it, causing Roslin to blush before gently removing her hand, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Chibs watched her retreating form and allowed himself a genuine smile, yes he liked this nurse and was looking forward to seeing where it went.