“Well I’m Used To It - Then Again I’m Preaching To The Choir. You All Work Incredibly Hard, We’re

It was strange, knowing she was a mother but not being a mother, something Julia struggled with on her lowest days. Many would question why she worked so closely with children if this was the case but it actually brought her a lot of comfort ironically. Getting to help them in a way she didn’t get to help her own son or daughter was a weird way of her silently repenting for her failure to them. She was grabbing some food, actual food rather than something out of the vending machine for once, mid yogurt when Elliot came into sight. Returning his smile with a small one of her own she lifted the spoon to give it a little wave, nodding to the chair in front of her as a silent invitation to join her at the table. Waiting patiently for him to pass over his phone so she could read it, letting out a small chuckle at the question. A shake of her head as she started to reply. “I wish I could, but she’s going to carry on partying between 1 and 3am, it’ll just be out of the house when she’s older. No I’m joking - she should hopefully start sleeping better soon. Have you got much of a routine for her?” @elliot-appsley

Who: @drjuliarebeiro Where: The Hospital

Ever since becoming a dad, Elliot did his best to try and not work night shifts. Wanting to be home to take care of Sawyer and put her to bed for the night. But there were also times where it couldn't be avoided, where he would have to pull an overnight and that was where he currently found himself. Between a rough previous night with Sawyer, who flat out refused to sleep it seemed like, he had barely caught up on sleep during the day. So when his break finally rolled around, he made his way to the cafeteria. Grabbing the largest coffee he could get his hands on and a hot sandwich to hold him over. Looking around at the tables, he saw Julia not too far off, and made his way over to her. Giving her a tired grin in greeting as he sat and pulled his phone out. Even if you have to lie to me, I need you to tell me that at some point in her little life, Sawyer will want to stop partying from 1 am to 3 am. Letting out an amused huff as he slid his phone over to her.

Julia didn’t comment on her helping because if the roles were reversed the last thing she’d want was another person drilling down on how they’d had to lend a hand. Too many people took pride in their independence for her to risk saying the wrong thing. Instead she just gave her a small smile with an incline of her head, picking up the handle nearest to her. 

“I don’t know if this can be considered a walk of shame, I mean what part of being well read is meant to be shameful?” If that was the case then maybe she should just bury her head in the sand right now because she’d much rather spend time with a stack of books than another human most of the time. “Or you could get one of those ones that old people take to the grocery store, the old lady shopper bags. Then no one would even know what was in it.” A shrug of her shoulders as they headed into the library, realising that Zahra didn’t realise that she was arriving rather than leaving. “Oh you know me better than that, I’m on my way in to pick up a couple I’ve had set aside for me. Don’t worry - I’ve not been replaced by an alien.” Julia joked softly. @ofzahras

While she had never been great at accepting help, Zahra was grateful she had run into Julia, and even more grateful she seemed to be more than willing to offer a helping hand. "Thank you," she sighed, still catching her breath.

Zahra pulled an amused face at Julia's suggestion. "That's not a terrible idea. Although I hope I won't have to do this sort of a walk of shame anytime soon." Yes, she could have made multiple trips to the library, but somehow that had sounded even more laborious before she had actually started her perilous journey. Now she wholeheartedly regretted making said decision. "But I will definitely keep that in mind if I do end up in a similar situation." Glancing at Julia, she managed a brief yet knowing smile. "I see you're leaving empty-handed."

Looking up from the chart she was reading as she headed into her next patient’s room she noted that they were there for a consultation regarding a set of twins that weren’t yet born, not that this was unusual. Sure the OBGYN team would be closely monitoring this too but she was no doubt brought in to discuss something to do with the actual baby care after they were born. Most likely in the event they came early so that everyone was on the same page. “Miss Bjork, it’s lovely to meet you. I'm Doctor Rebeiro.” She gave her a warm smile, offering her hand in greeting, beside manner very much switched on. “Well, I wouldn’t worry. Let’s just see what we have going on here. So you’re coming up to seven months - is that right? How have you been feeling?” @bjorkn

𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 her trust commented about Doctor Ribeiro's excellent job, and she wanted the best for her unborn children. Normally to all doctor appointments, Neva goes with her fiance. Today, this is not the case because this is one of her 'impulses attack'. ⎯ The blonde came to ask some doubts. Once her name was announced she entered the room, introducing herself. ❛ Hi doctor, I'm Neva Björk. I heard a lot about your work, and I'm not really sure why I'm here. They aren't born yet. ❜ Fucking hell… This is starting badly.

@drjuliarebeiro

If anyone else had told her that everything was okay, the child was in a good place, the parents were happy, she probably would have double checked herself but hearing that from Rhys allowed Julia to believe it. To let out the tension she’d been holding in her chest even during sleep to give him a smile, nodding her head. “Okay, alright great, thank you. I guess that means we need to have a drink to celebrate your handiwork and I can set it to one side until I check on her in the morning.” Knowing full well she’d be in at least an hour before her shift started in order to check in on patients before she was pulled to all directions by emergencies. “That works, give me five.” Holding up five fingers before heading off towards the locker room to collect her stuff. 

Throwing on her civvies in record time Julia looked at her hairbrush in the locker considering pulling through her hair really quickly, but then deciding against it. Instead just making her way to the front of the hospital where Rhys was waiting for her, feeling a little more relaxed than before. Which for her was saying something since Julia was never truly relaxed at all. “Where do you fancy tonight? My drinking future is in your hands.” @tctteredwings

Shit indeed, Rhys thought, but he didn't voice it, instead he merely nodded his head and offered her an encouraging smile. They'd all done it every once in a while, it came with the territory, especially so if you adored your job, if it meant absolutely everything to you. It did to him, it did to Julia, he'd known that the moment he met her. "Well her parents are bouncing off the walls with happiness right now, so you're off the hook," he answered her kindly. "You can relax. For tonight, at least." At her words, he shook his head, shrugging it off —- all in a day's work. He'd never really accepted compliments all that well. As she gathered herself once again, agreeing to join him for a drink, he nodded his head. "Okay, you go change, grab your stuff and I'll meet you outside in ten? That work?" he queried with a smile.

Julia had her head buried in her phone as she tried to catch up on text messages she’d ignored over the last few shifts, though the lucky thing about having very few friends to speak of was there weren’t that many to answer anyway. Jumping slightly as the box was thrust out towards her because she hadn’t realised Daniel was so close to the door. Laughing a bit she put her hand to her chest illustrating the fright, taking a breath. “Oh my god, you’re going to give me a heart attack. Then you’d be dealing with me in the ER.” Quickly lifting the lid of the box to cast her eye over the amazing selection of baked goods, feeling her stomach grumble as she remembered she hadn’t actually eaten since long before they’d set said fracture. “Yes…yes I really want to do that a lot. Also thanks for saving me some, you didn’t have to do that.” She really was touched and made a mental note to pay for the coffee to further illustrate her thanks. “Inkwells? I can’t drink anymore of the cafeteria coffee today.”  @dannyhq

for: @doctorjuliasato where: pediatric ward

small box cradled carefully to his chest ( it was very precious cargo, after all ) daniel leaned casually against the wall as he waited for julia to reappear ready to go home. when she finally did, he sprung into action, holding out the box for her to see before he began explaining. "so... you know the cute kiddo with the wrist fracture we saw earlier? well, turns out his mom owns a bakery and she brought us literally tons of stuff as a thanks for lookin' after him today. everyone in the er's had their pick and i didn't want you to miss out. 'specially 'cause you were so great," a slightly mischevious smile blossomed. "and i'm not leavin' this stuff for the next shift. so. you wanna grab a coffee and clean this box the hell out?"

It was fairly rare that Julia had time to(or allowed herself) to talk about things that weren’t in some way relating to medicine or her patients which meant whichever poor sod was saddled with her when the inclination struck was forced to listen to her musings. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Mostly I just have to lock myself in an on call room if I want some quiet, even then people end up knocking on the door to get me to do something. It’s not quite as calm as out here.” She half smiled, knowing it was her own fault since she was the one who remained at the hospital even when she didn’t have to be, it helped occupy her brain. “Sometimes the quiet isn’t really…that good of an idea so maybe it’s for the best I don’t get out here that often.” @tctteredwings

"Let's hope so," Anna answered with a smile cast in Julia's direction, her shoulders lifting in a shrug a moment later. She wasn't all that bothered if her friend continued to ramble about things, it didn't make any difference to her, she'd listen all the same to whatever she had to say —- it couldn't be any worse than when she started talking about her gaming. At Julia's words, as they walked, she nodded her head. "Exactly why I come out here," she admitted simply. "In the mornings it's my thinking place. Quieter then, y'know?" There was a reason she loved to sit out there and watch the sun come up, enjoy the silence as a bunch of crazies jogged past.

Julia smiled softly, understanding the issue being described because she’d been there herself - more times than she’d care to admit because you’d think she’d have learnt her session after the first. “We’ve all been there.” As they headed into the vast library Julia was relieved to feel the familiar wash of calm the old building brought with it. A place that housed so much knowledge with no expectations on it apart from that you feasted to your hearts content, she could slip away in here for hours on end. Reading while the outside pressures melted away until it was time to walk back out the doors again. “You have a cat stroller for her? Oh my goodness, I’ve only ever actually seen those used on television. Is it common for people to take their cats out for walks? I thought they were more inside pets. Especially in the city.” Not that she’d ever had one, though they were very cute and occasionally the thought had crossed her mind to keep her company in the times she wasn’t at the hospital, before she remembered that those hours were extensive and it wasn’t really conducive to looking after a pet. 

The offer of help was one she’d happy accept though, enjoying Zahra’s presence because it felt like they had a lot in common, even if the information they’d shared with each other was limited. It was just a sense the doctor got. “I’d love that, thank you. Why don’t we put yours all back in for return and then we can head up to the medical section?” Her voice lowering as they were now in the confines of the library. @ofzahras

"Not all of them, no. I guess I bit off more than I could chew. Thought I would save myself a few library trips, you know. Didn't really think what would happen when I had to return all of them." She had always been bit of a book hoarder, most comfortable when she knew the information she might need was within arm's reach, but she had previously also been able to take pride in being a fast, motivated reader with the ability to get lost in text even if she wasn't particularly interested in the subject. She had tried to get back to that routine, often re-reading books or research papers she had already deemed fascinating in one way or another, but the results had been less than satisfactory. She knew talking about it with someone might ease the shame, but unfortuntaly Zahra had never great at that. Still, she appreciated this little chat with Julia, especially since it allowed her to gush about her beloved cat. "I have to admit if I already got a cat stroller for her but I am still trying to figure out if I'm confident enough to take it out for a spin. Might garner some weird looks."

Her head tilted to the side as Julia explained what she was looking for. "Oh? I see. I'm not doing anything at the moment if you need help finding some books," she offered, hopeful to pass a few minutes with a clear goal in mind. "It sounds interesting. I'm sure you'll do great."

Julia didn’t know Zahra well - they were both in the library together on multiple occasions seemingly browsing or reading the same section, meaning she recognised her face as they came across each other at the door of the public library. As for judging her for this many books? That would be the pot calling the kettle black so instead she just gave her a small smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Here, you take one handle and I’ll take the other.” Luckily she didn’t have any books with her right now due to being on the way to pick one up, so her hands were free to attempt helping. Not that she was particulaly strong. 

“You need to invest in one of those wagons they put kids in to pull them along.” She joked lightly. @ofzahras

where: outside of the new york public library open: to anyone!

A drawn-out sigh escaped Zahra's lips as she stared at the massive, blue Ikea storage bag filled with books to the point where it would be a miracle if the bag remained intact for the last few steps. It had become evident she would not be finishing - or even opening - most of them in time, and paying late fees for the lot didn't exactly appeal to her. So, there she stood, trying to steady her breathing before entering the building. Evidently she needed to invest in a gym membership if she were to start lugging dozens of unread books on a weekly basis.

Feeling someone's presence next to her, she glanced at them almost sheepishly. "Don't ask," she muttered before flashing a nervous smile, "please."

Truth was Julia had seen a lot in her career as a doctor and an expectant mother wanting to have a drink after being deprived for almost nine months was hardly the most shocking. In fact it was probably far more common than the blonde in front of her realised, but her attention had been entirely swayed towards something else. The mention of symptoms that could contribute to something more serious. “I’m so sorry to hear about your first trimester struggles, do you feel you’ve managed to find coping mechanisms for that? If not I’d be happy to refer you to one of our wonderful members of the mental health team here. You just let me know.” A soft smile before turning back to the iPad and scribbling down a quick note with the apple pen. “Unplanned things can often be stressful, having children is a huge undertaking so there is no shame in taking a while to get your head around that fact. There is no judgment in the room, so please feel free to say what you need to, everything stays between us.” Offering an encouraging smile because you never know what a patient might say that could be related to their condition even in a way they didn’t expect to be relevant. Her eyebrows rose slightly the next time Neva spoke, not because of the answer to the issues she was having because truthfully she’d expected that, but no it was more because of her statement that she planned to have her babies in Sweden - meaning a long flight would be involved. “You have a transatlantic trip planned prior to your babies being born? Due to the things you’ve told me in the last ten minutes I really must advise that that’s a bad idea. I want to get some tests run on you for pre-eclampsia and if they come back conclusive we’re going to need to think about putting you on bed rest. A long flight could be catastrophic, the list of risks are extensive.” Her look of concern was genuine as she tapped a couple of buttons that would register Neva for the appropriate tests that needed to be done to confirm or deny what she suspected. Although Julia was pretty sure - this was arguably textbook. “I would be remiss if I didn’t urge you to consider changing your trip until after the twins are born.”  @bjorkncaddel

𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 hesitated in answering some of the questions, which explains why she had a second or two to respond to them. She feels utterly bad for not having her husband by her side in this impromptu appointment. She did not want him to think she wanted to hurt their babies by sipping an alcoholic beverage. On the other hand, the Swedish is a lot overthinker, maybe she was worrying too much when she shouldn't. This is why she is here, to consult and ask for professional guidance. The blonde did not trust Google and didn't want to read about pregnancy in books, because she knew both sources would stress her out. ❛ I was advised to not be too active. My activities were radical. I did a few others that I was capable of doing. 'Soft' activities. Besides my first trimester was stressful for me, I didn't want them, and I was in a deep depression. ❜ The phrase sounded kind of bad, but she corrected it. ❛ I didn't want them now. I don't like unplanned things. It gives me a lot of stress. And I would like to this be our secret. My husband would be sad to hear it. ❜ In truth, she didn't want to have them at the moment, but her husband was so happy, and she knew what his desires were, and the thought that she was just like her mother haunted her mind, the fact she didn't want them. As she grew further with the pregnancy, she learned to like them. This was the first time she admitted it out and loud for a doctor. Maybe deep down, Ryan knew or kind of suspected it. This is a topic she would never bring to him, nor she reckons he would never bring to her. ⎯ Neva rested her back on the chair, and she thought she couldn't omit information forever. Her gaze dropped to her wedding ring, where she continued toying anxiously. ❛ Yes, yes, and yes to the majority of all the things that you said. I want you to know, that my babies will be born in Sweden, so I have a trip planned. ❜

"I...I am rambling..." Julia conceded, a small smile on her lips as she sat down because eh knew it was something she had a tendency to do. More often than not it was when she was talking about something medical related but apparently it could also be to do with lighthouses. "I know what you mean...there is something much more whimsical. Then again the wind farms are more practical, so it depends which takes precedence at any one time in your mind." Always one to undercut herself when she was worried her notion held too little practicality because she had been brought up to believe if she spoke it needed to have an actual purpose.

"We could do that - maybe. Sure, if they have snow cones I could go for one of those. Come on, i'll come with you." Moving to stand up, dusting the sand off her clothes. @tctteredwings

"You're rambling," mused Ana, her brows lifting in amusement as she wagged her finger at the other. Not that she really minded, of course, but she couldn't help but tease. "I love lighthouses, though, I kind of wish it was one..." A pause and she frowned thoughtfully. "We should go on a mission sometime to see as many as we can around here." As Julia got herself comfy, she smiled. "It might be... or a slushie."