This is a fic I started years ago, and I'm still writing it! I've decided to change little of the original, apart from the odd spelling mistake, so hopefully you'll see some improvement in the writing. The parts in italics are set in the past. The parts in normal type are more the 'present'. However, all parts are still set in the Sixties. Hopefully it'll all become clear! Comments, as on all my other fics and very much appreciated. Hope you enjoy it!

Silence is Golden

Jill slammed the door closed with her foot and deposited her doctor's bag and many shopping bags on the floor of her Leeds flat. Wearily, she brushed a wisp of hair out of her eyes that had come loose from her ponytail. She sighed. It had been a long day; they'd been a doctor short at the hospital, giving them extra work, resulting in even busier than normal morning and afternoon surgeries, more ward rounds and more house calls- three of which were hypochondriacs. There had also been a bad road accident which left three people injured but stable, and a fourth person, who she'd spent four hours in surgery with, in a critical condition. After all that, she had to buy food for her empty cupboards before the shops closed and return to the hospital to do her, by then, very late evening ward rounds.

Jill looked at the clock on the wall; 11:30. She sighed again and picked up the shopping bags, intending to quickly unpack them. When she entered the kitchen however, she had to once again deposit the bags on the floor as she looked with contempt and disgust at the small work surface pilled with dirty pots, and her table covered with paperwork from the previous evening that she still had to finish for work. She deemed it pretty pointless paperwork, but still it had to be done. If not, she'd have management on her back, a man who funnily enough, reminded her of Mr Harper. That inevitably led to her thinking of Gordon. She groaned; she had to stop dwelling on what had happened. Every time she thought of something even vaguely connected with him, however tenuous the link, her thoughts would return to him and torture her with the memories.

At that moment though she was thankful for her exhaustion and the fact that she was probably going to fall asleep standing up; it prevented her from thinking properly.

She turned abruptly and shuffled out the kitchen, yawning widely in the process. The shopping could wait for the next day.

"Yes Mr Rainworth, I know it hurts, a broken arm tends to do that."

"But what are you going to do about it?"

"I told you, I'm going to send you to x-ray. Anyway, the morphine should be working soon." Jill was beginning to loose her patience. She was in casualty and had been for over an hour with the same patient who refused to accept anything she had to say.

"I want to see another doctor."

Jill felt like throttling the man but kept an outwardly calm appearance. "Why?"

"Because I want a second opinion."

"Mr Rainworth, I assure you, you've broken your arm, any doctor would agree." A hint of annoyance was beginning to enter her tone, but he didn't seem to notice as he suddenly shouted.

"Who's that?"

"Who's who?"

"Him. Is he a doctor?" He pointed to a figure visible through the doorway.

"Yes. That's Doctor Ormerod."

"I want to speak to him."

Sucking in a deep breath, and realising she had no choice if she wanted to get rid of the man, she sidled up next to Gordon who was in the corridor, having just finished talking to a nurse.

"Gordon, can you do me a big favour?"

He turned to look at her and flashed her one of his smiles she loved. "Depends what it is."

"My patient in there, Mr Rainworth, he's broken his arm, but won't listen to anything I have to say. He wants a second opinion."

Gordon's brow furrowed, showing Jill just how absurd he thought the man's request was. "Right okay."

She felt him briefly rub his hand up and down her back in a soothing fashion; he'd probably realised how frustrated she was. She followed him into Casualty as he began speaking. "Right Mr Rainworth, what seems to be the problem?"

"Finally, a proper doctor."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She exclaimed before she could stop herself.

Mr Rainworth however, ignored her and addressed Gordon instead. "I don't know why they let women become doctors; they have no idea what they're talking about."

Jill drew herself up, ready to unleash a tirade upon the petulant man. Gordon placed a hand on her arm and quickly began speaking before she could. "I assure you sir, Dr Weatherill is an exceptional doctor, one of the best doctors in the area. So kindly refrain from insulting her or anyone else for that matter because you have no idea what you are talking about."

The man sat, silently, looking slightly taken aback by the doctor's firm, calm, defence of his colleague, as he was examined.

"Mr Rainworth, you have a broken arm so I'm sending you to x-ray. A porter or nurse will be by shortly to take you." That said briskly, he headed out of Casualty, Jill in tow.

"Thank you Gordon, it meant a lot what you said."

He smiled at her. "Yes well he was talking out of his-"

He was cut off as Jill quickly kissed him, after making sure the corridor was empty.

"How about a meal tonight, my treat?" She asked, running her hand down his tie.

"I'd love to." He leant towards her and pressed his lips briefly on hers.

Jill walked into Leeds General Hospital, ready for a long busy day, thoughts of unpacked shopping and unwashed pots at the back of her mind. "Morning." She greeted the receptionist who just handed her a stack of letters, patient notes and a list of house calls, her expression not changing from a look disgust and snobbery.

Jill flashed her a sickly sweet smile and turned away. She rolled her eyes, the woman had treated her the same since she'd arrived; looking at her as if she was something she'd scrapped off the bottom of her shoe. It didn't bother her anymore; well not as much as it had when she'd first arrived anyway. She'd grown accustomed to the superior attitudes and the less than pleasant looks some people sent her way.

Although nothing had really been said, she had an idea why they were treating her like that. Some comments of 'not qualified' and 'not experienced' that she'd heard in recent days had reinforced her beliefs.

Pushing thoughts of this to the back of her mind, she proceeded to her office and smiled Dr Harris who was standing at the end of the corridor. He returned it before turning his attention back to a nurse. At least some people were nice to her.

The day turned out to be another busy one and again, very long. And even though this was the case, she lay awake in bed into the early hours in the morning, trying to convince herself love wasn't real, that it was something people imagined they felt. She scrunched her eyes shut tightly, feeling the familiar sting of tears. She didn't love Gordon, she didn't. She just thought she did because love was everywhere, everyone talked about love and so people thought it must be real. It was thought to be something special and the best feeling, that's why people kidded themselves into thinking they were in love and that someone loved them. She choked back a sob, the tears creeping out from under her eyelids and absorbing into the pillow.

Eventually, she fell into a fitful sleep on her tear soaked pillow. Her last thoughts were of how much she loved and missed Gordon.

Ironic, to say the least.