The Flying Doctors – Goodbye Cooper's Crossing
'When the path before you split into two it is for you to choose the best course of action.'
/I've taken the liberty of letting Sr. Annie Rogers arrive a little earlier than in the series so that she meet Sam and Emma. /
Chapter One – Alone
Emma Patterson sighed in frustration as she gathered herself. Frustrated she reached for the old and worn cup on the table and threw it hard against the wall. Tears spilled from her eyes as she watched the porcelain shatter into a million pieces before her. She was lonely and tired of talking to herself. She was tired to keep up appearances while in town, tired of being on her own. Sam was supposed to have been back hours ago. He was on duty at the Flying Doctor's base the next morning.
Emma started to sob silently as she sat down at the table, resting her chin in the palms of her hands. She didn't have the energy to worry anymore, to think that something might have happened to her husband. She'd missed him terribly while he'd been away even though she didn't like to admit it. She had become dependent on him and that was the one thing she had promised herself never to be; dependent on a man.
She jumped and hastily removed her hands from her face as she heard the light switch being pulled and then a curse as the light never came on. She couldn't help but to break into a wry smile as a very familiar voice carried over the room.
"Not again," he complained wearily and threw the bag and leather satchel down on the floor.
"Everything is broken around here," she mumbled dejectedly as he walked over and put an arm around her shoulders.
Sam said nothing he just sat down next to her and held her gently as she turned to rest her head on his strong shoulder.
"I wish we'd never bought this place," she whispered.
"Hey," he said softly and gently leaned in to give her a kiss.
"I've had too much time on my own lately, too much time to think," she admitted. "I miss the old days back in town. When we had time for each other."
"But we both wanted a place of our own," he protested lightly.
Emma chuckled without mirth. "I don't think we had time to think it through properly," she replied softly as she gently reached up with her hand to his chest.
A sheepish smile spread on his lips.
"I feel isolated here, Sam. Even though we have managed fairly well and been able to fix a lot of things there are still a lot left to do before everything is tip top," she reasoned. "And it's not like I can take the car and go into town for a while. It takes hours to drive. Everything has to be planned. And the garage-"
"Emma," he whispered.
"Ever since Marty left I've been swamped with work. I can't do this Sam. I can't combine the business with the garage and the farm and the care for all our animals. There's only twenty-four hours a day," she whined.
He pulled her close to him, unable to watch the strong woman slowly fall apart before him.
"You're never home, Sam," she whispered as she buried her face against his shoulder. "Never here when I need you."
"I'm doing it for us," the pilot reasoned softly. "I give lessons to others, work in Sydney occasionally and manage my permanency at the base in Cooper's Crossing for us, Emma. To fund this place – our home."
"I know you do. It's just that I never see you nowadays," she returned sadly. "When you're in Sydney I am totally on my own and when you're in Crossing you're flying that damn airplane."
Sam chuckled suddenly. "That's the spirit, now I recognize you," he said.
Emma chuckled too, then sobered and straightened to look him in the eye. "When I came here a few years ago I never planned on staying long. However, I came to like the outback and to work at my uncle's garage. It was such an easy going way of life, not crowded like Sydney. The people here, they're special to me even though life here has been like a rollercoaster at times. So much has happened, it feels like a lifetime has passed," she reasoned.
"I can assure you, it hasn't," Sam returned seriously as they sat looking at each other in the semidarkness.
"I don't like being tied down, Sam. I wanted to travel, to take one day at a time, I still want to do that. I am tired of commitments," she admitted with a sigh.
"Don't say that Emma," he said and gently squeezed her shoulder. "Are you tired of me too?"
"No, I'm not tired of you, dopy," she returned amusedly at the hurt look on his face. "I've become too dependent on you."
He straightened and kept her at an arm's length while he shook his head in mock disbelief. "And here I thought you loved me," he said with a smirk.
"Come here," she whined miserably and leaned into him, sneaking her arms around his neck. "Don't leave me alone again."
OOOOOO
"Hi, Vic! Do us all a favor and stop the singing would you," Jack said in annoyance as he walked up to the bar.
"If you're going to be rude the door is behind you," the bar owner muttered as he put down the old and worn ukulele.
Jack raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Look mate, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm a bit sensitive at the moment. I've just come back from that music festival they're arranging outside Windoona."
"That's right," Nancy said as she walked up to them from the kitchen, having heard the last of the conversation. "They requested you as a backup didn't they?"
Jack nodded wearily.
"Well, was it good?" Nancy pushed curiously.
The constable huffed. "Damn noise, that's what it was," he let on. "And loud too."
"Are you sure it's just not you getting old, Jack?" Chris hollered in amusement from a nearby table.
He smirked at her and refocused on the bar owner. "A pint please, Vic," he ordered.
"What are you doing out here by the way Nance?" Vic asked.
"I tried to tell you I had food ready to serve but the noise was too loud out here for me to get through on the speaker," she told him dryly.
Jack chuckled but immediately put on a straight face as Vic turned to him indignantly.
The sergeant quickly took his beer and moved over to the doctor. "Chris, what are you doing here all alone?" he asked.
"I was deserted only minutes ago Jack," she assured him kindly. "Tom's on the morning shift so he needed some sleep, Kate was tired and Geoff walked her home."
Jack studied her for a moment. "You are mulling over something," he stated.
Chris chuckled and shook her head slightly. "You've always been good at reading me," she let on.
"I've had plenty of opportunity to learn," he said with a smirk and then added seriously. "There were times back in Sydney and that awful hospital when I wished I hadn't been able to do that."
She looked away for a moment. "Those weren't the happiest of times," she said hollowly. "I was really scared, Jack."
"You seemed so strong. I can't believe you-"
"It was an act," she said abruptly. "I was waiting for you to see through it every second."
"I'm glad you made it," he said sincerely as their eyes met. "You're a great friend, Chris."
She gently reached over to squeeze his shoulder. "Our friendship means a lot to me Jack," she said happily. "I drew strength from it. I still do."
He gave her a sheepish smile. "So, what's on your mind?" he asked curiously.
"It's about a patient," she said sadly. "It's a bad prognosis. I have approached the problem from several angles but I can't come up with a solution that is acceptable."
Jack glanced down at his hands and sighed. "Not everyone can be saved, Chris," he finally managed.
"I know that," she reasoned hollowly.
OOOOOO
DJ yawned tiredly in the early morning and glanced up as he heard the door open behind him and a familiar voice greet him.
"Hello, DJ," the pilot said.
"Well," he began teasingly as he walked over to the duty room. "If it isn't our missing flyboy."
Sam chuckled as he sat down behind the desk.
"It's been so long that I nearly didn't recognize you," DJ added jovially.
The pilot glanced up at him and made a face. "Very funny, DJ," he mused.
"Wow," Chris said lightly as she and Tom walked through the door. "Who let this stranger in?"
"Cut it out, Chris," Sam complained lightly yet he looked amused.
She shrugged. "It's just that we've missed our star pilot that's all," she teased.
Sam looked at Tom but the doctor just shrugged. "Don't look at me, mate," he said.
"Okay, what am I supposed to do now?" Sam asked suspiciously as he focused solely on Chris.
The female doctor amusedly handed over a list of three papers. "Debbie was called away prematurely as there was a crisis over at Point Cook and we had to let her go," she informed.
"This is-" he trailed off slightly upset at the workload specified on the paper. "I'm only one person."
"The faster you start the faster you'll be finished," Chris said happily. "We have a patient transfer in one hour so you'll have to log a flight plan and see to it that the Nomad is ready to go then."
The pilot sighed and sagged in the chair.
"I guess I see you when I see you!" DJ hollered over his shoulder from where he sat behind the radio.
"Emma is going to kill me," Sam mumbled as he got out of the chair and began to collect his stuff.
Tom looked regretfully at him. "Sorry mate," he said truthfully.
"Before you leave Sam, there is a clinic this afternoon. We had to postpone it since we were left high and dry without a pilot two days ago," Chris hollered from her office.
"Wonderful," he mused as he made to leave and stopped short just inside the door to avoid a collision with Kate and Geoff.
The nurse broke into a smile and gently hugged him. "Sam! Great to have you back," she said while Geoff patted him on the shoulder.
"Yes, well. Hello and goodbye," he returned enigmatically as he threw a hasty salute and quickly disappeared.
OOOOOO
"Hey Annie!" Nick hollered as he ran up to her.
She gave him a pleasant smile as he fell into steps with her.
"Look, I was wondering if you wanted to come and ride," he said.
"Sure," she agreed. "But I'm on duty at the hospital in ten minutes."
"After your shift then?" he wondered aloud.
"Yeah, I just don't know when I get off," she said and then added. "There's supposed to be a clinic round today and I'm scheduled for it."
"The one they canceled the other day?" he asked for clarification.
Annie nodded. "Now that our regular pilot is back maybe there will be order to chaos," she suggested with a sly grin.
"So, I'll just look out for you then," he suggested coyly.
OOOOOO
Jack glanced up in annoyance at the shrill of the phone. He sighed, closed the folder before him and put down his freshly brewed cup of coffee.
"Cooper's Crossing Police office, Sergeant Carruthers speaking," he said.
"Good morning sergeant," a stern voice greeted him at the other end. "This is Captain Waters at the Broken Hill headquarters."
Jack unconsciously straightened in his chair. "Good morning, sir. What can I do for you?" he asked.
"I've received a rather disturbing phone call from a high member of the politic establishment in your area," he began.
"George," Jack muttered under his breath. "Still causing me trouble even though he's never around nowadays."
"It has been reported to me that you're having trouble with cattle thief's in the area," the superior police officer said.
"I have it under control, sir," Jack assured him.
"I'd like to believe that you do sergeant but if I get another ring I'll have to send someone to check it out for me," he hinted.
"It won't come to that, sir," Jack replied. "Was there a particular incident you had in mind?"
"It appears several fences has been cut in the south east part of your patch. One landowner is particularly troubled about this."
"I've been acting as a backup for the music festival for the last couple of days, sir, as you're well aware of. I'll drive out to investigate the thefts today."
"Good," the voice drawled. "I'll call back at the end of the week to take a report from you. Have a good day sergeant."
"Yes, sir," Jack returned as the call was terminated.
The police officer put down the phone and huffed. "Cattle thefts my ass," he muttered. "It's probably old Larry Winters again trying to get back at Baxter for making his life miserable."
OOOOOO
To be continued
