Outfit

She paused and took a breath before entering the familiar halls of St. Mungos.  Seeking employment at the hospital once more was a rather large step for her and it marked the official close of the old chapter of her life.  Almost a year ago things had started to unravel around her, and it seemed as if it all began within this very place when an attempt was made to implicate her in runespoor smuggling.

She had began her sabbatical from St. Mungo's at that time, under orders from the Ministry.  After all, it was believed her engagement to the then Minister of Magic was the reason for the trouble.  It wasn't very long after that she was kidnapped.  She had been released and tried to return to Marcus and her former life, but things continued to fall apart.  She would forever be thankfully to her parents for stepping in and giving her the time she needed to figure out her life once more without the pressures of work.

Now though, she felt as if she had healed many of her old wounds and it was time to start living her own life again.  She wanted to start building a life again.  She had given up her flat and her freedom, settling into a comfortable routine of being taken care of.  It had done her mental state a great deal of good, but now she wanted to feel like an adult once more.

This was the first step, an attempt at getting back to work.

Approaching the reception desk she gave a small smile to the witch on duty and said, "Hello, my name is Moira Randall.  I need to speak with someone regarding my employment status with the hospital.  I've been on an extended leave of absence and I was hoping a position was still available for me."

The witch directed her to sit in the waiting area while she found out if anyone was available.  Seating herself in one of the chairs, Moira pulled a book from her slightly oversized bag opening to the spot she had marked.  Thankfully a year's distance from her troubles meant she was relatively anonymous to most of the wizarding world and this time she hoped to keep it that way.  A little bit of the spotlight was plenty in her opinions.

Flynn felt like a big, macho, head-hauncho type man. He felt lik ehe could rule the world! He could run around and heal all sick people with just a flick of his wand! He could save all the patients! Becoming the head of the fourth floor had inflated his ego and increased his self esteem-- and right now he was still envisioning all the things he could do with his new title. Over time, he would relax a bit, but he was still feeling a buzz from that promotion. He made his way to the reception area, with every intention to somehow disturb or alienate the receptionist. However, he saw a familiar face in the waiting area-- one that hadn’t been on this floor in what felt like ages.

“Moira Randall!” He exclaimed, not at all trying to mask his surprise. Flynn sat on a chair next to her and crossed his legs, propping his head up with his hand while his elbow rested on his knee in an attempt to look like a suave-beastly fellow.

It didn’t work. He just looked creepy.

“We’ve missed you here! Are you back for good?” Maybe someone had hired her back? If not, he would have been very happy to have her on his floor. She was a hard worker, and he was sure that many of the long term patients would appreciate someone who would be able to give them a high quality level of care.

At the sound of her name, Moira looked up from her reading.  She gave Flynn a smile as he crossed to her, placing the book back in her bag as he settled in the chair next to her.  It seemed as though she had known him forever.  Despite being a few years older then her, he had been in her house at Hogwarts and they obviously had a few things in common.  If she hadn't known him she might have been a bit concerned by the expression on his face, but she took it in stride, knowing a bit about the man next to her.

"It's good to see you, Flynn," she said.  "I'm actually here to inquire about the possibility of resuming work.  I know I've been gone for a while...but I'd like to come back.  I've missed it, especially being able to help people."

Admitting she needed to take a step back from her professional life was perhaps the most difficult part of the last several months.  It had been work that had carried her through when she had first returned to London after a rather difficult romantic situation in America.  It had been work that kept her focused when the spotlight had turned on her after her engagement to Marcus.  Staying away had been the worst experience of her life, but sometimes what one needed to do was far more important than what one wanted to do.

"I hear congratulations are in order," she told him, shifting in her seat so she was facing him a bit more.  "I heard from another mediwitch you were recently promoted.  That's wonderful news."

She had been a bit surprised at first, naturally, given he was only a couple years old then her.  But, it made sense in so many ways.  He was good at what he did, and wonderful with patients.  Those two things were key in the medical profession.

“Yup, I was just promoted!” He said gleefully. In fact it was one of his first days working Healer-in-Charge. He leaned back in his chair, sitting in a more relaxed position than before. Moira was a good worker—he had heard nothing but good things about the way she treated and cared for patients. He thought that she really did deserve to have her job back. Sometimes, people simply needed a break from their professional career for a while, and everybody deserved a second chance. 

“Moira,” he started, “I would be happy to have you on my floor. As you already know, there are many long term patients in spell damage, and I think that sometimes they need some more care than other patients might.” Long term patients often had so many deeper problems that could only be treated, not completely cured. Moira had the right bedside manner to deal with these patients and get to know them without becoming too attached.  “I know you were on this floor when you worked here, but maybe Spell Damage will be a nice fit. You could try it, and I am sure that everybody will be happy to see you back.”

The quick offer to return to St. Mungo's as part of the Spell Damage floor caught her a bit off guard in a good way.  She had expected to have to state her case before various heads of the hospital and after such an extended absence she had assumed their would be conditions and a trial period.  Her features brightened with a large smile, thankful that Flynn had recognized her work ethic and was willing to give her a shot on his floor with virtually no questions asked.

"That would be wonderful," she told him.  "Thank you, Flynn.  I really do appreciate this...after being away for such a long period of time, it will be really nice to be back here and feel like I'm making a difference in some small way again."

The last several months she had felt rather useless.  Moira was the type to dive into work, and the void left by a lack of employment had been noticeable.  There was also a certain amount of personal pride involved.  After all, she had managed to find a way to fully support herself once she had finished her training.  To have to move back into her childhood home felt like a huge step back.

"I was assigned to many of the long term patients when I was doing my training at  St. Dymphna's  in the States," she added.  "It can be extremely difficult sometimes, but also very rewarding."

She seemed so happy that he wanted her back. Good—she should be! He thought he was a rather wonderful coworker, even if he constantly liked to pull pranks on the receptionist. They were little pranks, nothing malicious or harmful, though he doubted the receptionist appreciated it half the time. Flynn patted Moira’s shoulder in a friendly manner. “We’re glad to have you back. Our long term patients will love you.” Flynn insisted. Her bedside manner was a sweet one, and that was something that chronically ill patients needed.

“Did you enjoy your training at St. Dymphna's? I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard good things about it.” He tapped his finger against his chin in an attempt to look pensive and intelligent. He looked at Moira, knowing that there was another question that he was supposed to ask, but he wasn’t quite sure what it was. “err.” He hesitated, “Is there anything I can do for you, to make coming back a bit easier? Or should I just put you on the schedule for next week? I might arrange for you to do a little bit of training to get used to things again, but it won't be much because of your previous experience here.”

"Over all being in the States was a good experience," she told him.  "I'm partial to home, of course, but the training at St. Dymphna's is first rate.  I did a little bit of everything over there....and I learned a lot."

Her time in the states hadn't been all bad.  It had ended with a bit of a thud, but she was still fond of the staff at St. Dymphna's.  Moira had been a bit of a novelty while she was there.  It didn't take much for one to identify her accent and it was an easy conversation starter.  It had helped the shy bookworm develop a confident bedside manner.  She could talk to nearly any patient without much hesitation.

“Is there anything I can do for you, to make coming back a bit easier? Or should I just put you on the schedule for next week? I might arrange for you to do a little bit of training to get used to things again, but it won't be much because of your previous experience here.”

"I think I remember my way around for the most part," she told him with a smile.  "Perhaps a day or two shadowing one of the other mediwitches might be good.  I was on the Spell Damage floor a few times when they were short staffed, but a few reminders couldn't hurt. "

There was a moment of hesitation and then she added, "At some point I'll probably stop by Jason's office...I should probably go talk to him myself about by decision to move to a different floor."