A month passed without any word from Rose and Kate was beginning to think that she might have gotten off the hook after all.

Sure enough she had received a chewing-out by the hospital director and a stern warning to triple-check her e-mail the next time. Along with the insinuation that the director might reevaluate her stance on Kate and disciplinary hearings if the same thing occurred a second time. But that talk had been three and a half weeks ago and the topic hadn't come up again after that.

Bright sunlight filtered through the windows as Kate made her way to operating room four to get ready for her first case of the day. In a few hours, the same hallways would be bustling with people. The white walls and smell of antiseptic made her feel at ease and focused on the upcoming procedure. It was nothing too challenging, providing things went according to plan. She could already hear the sound of a faucet running, probably her assistant scrubbing in.

She stopped when she noticed a figure standing next to the door. Her mood turned abruptly when she realized who it was. Rose, in the same snappy outfit as the first time they had met. Suddenly, the smell of antiseptic made her want to gag instead and the sunlight seemed to burn in her eyes. Any thoughts she might have had about Rose's good looks were suppressed by the massive unpleasantness of the situation.

Rose stepped forward, making sure to block the door to the operating room as she did. Her smile looked more fake than that of a barbie doll. "A good morning to you, Kate. I made sure to check with the hospital director this time, so your questionable typing skills wouldn't disrupt our plans."

Kate felt her stomach lurch. This flower had sharper thorns than she had given it credit for.

"This is no good." She balled her fists. "I can't possibly do a surgery under observation at this short of a notice."

The fake plastic smile stayed in place. "Don't be alarmed. According to the director, it's the same type of surgery you were willing to let me observe last time around. I also hear the patient's condition is better this time around, so it should be nothing you can't handle. The director assured me of that."

Kate inwardly cursed the both of them for ganging up on her in this way. She saw no retreat. The glossy table in the room where the disciplinary committee held its hearings flashing into her memory, complete with stern-faced men and women surrounding it. If she had the choice she'd rather not risk a hearing. She would have to do the surgery and hope the patient held up well enough for her to not need her magic. Which happened a decent amount of the time, she tried to reassure herself. Her clammy hands disagreed.

The surgery started off decently enough. The anesthesia team managed to put the patient under without too much trouble. Kate didn't know much about the anesthesiologist other that his name was Dennis and he rarely spoke unless the patient was in major trouble. She decided that was a good thing given the stress she'd be under. Rose found herself a spot on the side of the room from where she observed scribbled the occasional note on her clipboard.

Kate went over the standard checklist with the rest of the team, then she made her first incision. So far so good. Her assistant chattered with the nurses, though their talk was more restrained than usual because there was an observer. It was a reminder she'd rather have done without, but telling them to shut up would only further increase the tension so she kept quiet. Thirty minutes into the procedure, things were still going well. Dennis was glued to his chair, which was always a good sign. An anesthesiologist standing up in the middle of a procedure typically meant trouble was about to hit.

The minutes passed by and she worked in concentration, no magic used. She made precision cuts, gave out orders, and kept the rest of the team updated on the state of the procedure. Until she heard a creak. She begged that it would just be Dennis adjusting in his seat, but her hopes were dashed as she saw his blue-capped head rise above the drape separating him from the surgical side.

A moment after, the surgical field filled with blood. Dennis said something but she was too stressed to parse the words. If she couldn't find the source of the bleeding fast enough and fix it, she might be forced to use magic. Both Kate and her assistant searched frantically. The suction struggled to keep up with the blood that kept gushing forth and the view worsened by the second. Dennis kept them updated on vitals and announced that he was starting a transfusion, but that he wouldn't be able to keep up if they didn't fix the leak soon. The search went on, no more successfully than before. At that point, Kate decided to risk it. The chance that Rose would be able to spot her magic in the sea of blood should be minimal.

She drew a deep breath and focused, and sure enough she was able to locate the defect. To make things easier on herself she applied a dose of healing magic to reduce the leak, after which she was able to do the rest of the job manually. The whole team breathed a collective sigh as the view cleared and they were able to finish the procedure. While it happened occasionally, a patient bleeding out on the table was never a good experience for anyone involved.

Once her assistant began closing up the patient Kate glanced over to check on Rose. The woman stood in her spot, still scribbling notes on her clipboard. She didn't appear too shaken by what had just transpired. Perhaps a critical situation like this was exactly what she'd hoped to see. Either way, she showed none of the unusual responses one would expect from a person who had just witnessed magic, so Kate reasoned that she was safe. When the final stitch was in she declared the operation to be over and left the room.

She'd done it.