Authors Note: I don't own Casualty. It belongs to the BBC along with most things.
For my friends Phantomreviewer. A cute little Ruth/Jay ficlet.
Not an Emergency.
Ruth tumbled through the door of her flat, dumped her bag unceremoniously on the floor and screamed. It had been a hell of a day. She had been pulling double shifts for the last week (perhaps to put off going home to an empty flat), she was exhausted, a three car crash had come in just as she was preparing to come home and to top it all off, when she had asked Jay if he wanted to go for a drink he had brushed her off.
She collapsed on the sofa and looked around the darkened room. She had thought (or hoped) that they could at least be friends and for a while it seemed as if Jay felt the same. But today he had been cold and distant. Kicking off her shoes, Ruth curled up on the couch and quickly fell asleep.
She was woke what felt like minutes later by the sound of her phone going off. Sitting up groggily she rubbed her eyes and reached for her phone. Glancing at the number, she saw it was Jay calling her. Curiously she answered, "Ruth."
"It's Jay," came the hurried reply, "Look I know you're off duty, but there's been an emergency just round the corner from you. We could do with your help."
"Are there any Paramedics there?"
"Yeah. But they don't think this guy can make it to the hospital."
Ruth was on her feet before a thought occurred to her, "What are you doing there?"
"I happened to be passing by. Look are you coming?"
"Of course," Ruth replied, "Give me the address."
He did, "Thanks Ruth," he said before ringing off.
Ruth smiled, before picking up her bag and heading back out the door.
A few minutes later, she rounded a corner and stopped outside the address he had given her, a rather fancy restaurant. To her surprise there was no sign of Paramedics or any emergency at all. In fact all she could see was Jay causally leaning against the door.
"There's no emergency," she said stiffly.
He smiled and moved towards her, "I had to get you here somehow didn't I?"
"You could have just asked?"
"Would you have come?"
She sighed and looked away, "Probably not."
He smiled and took her hand, "Well then. Will you join me?"
She sighed again and looked up at him, "Sure. Why not?"
They walked into the restaurant and were immediately seated at a table right in the centre of the room, "I made a reservation," Jay revealed.
Ruth laughed, her first genuine laugh in a long time, "You were that certain I would show up?"
He smiled and began to flick through the menu, "Never doubted you would."
The meal was just the same as ever, with the pair swapping jokes and stories, occasionally pausing just to look at each other. As the evening progressed Ruth began to wander if the pair of them could ever really be friends, or if like that night there would always be something just under the surface, that neither of them could explain or talk about.
Soon enough though the evening came to an end and Ruth and Jay found themselves standing outside her flat. "Well," she said rather nervously, "Thanks for this evening. It was…fun."
Jay nodded, "It was wasn't it? Anyway. I should go." He began to turn away.
"Or you could come up," Ruth said quickly, "Have some coffee."
"Okay. Why not."
Ruth let them in and dissapered into the kitchen, while Jay wandered into the living room. On the shelf next to her medical texts was a picture of the two of them together, standing in a park, the sun shining brightly over head, both of them smiling. As he looked at it a familiar feeling of longing welled up inside his chest.
Ruth returned a few minutes later bearing two cups of coffee, to find Jay sitting on the couch holding the picture in his hands, "Ruth," he said looking up at her, "I'm sorry."
"What for?" she asked putting the cups down on the table, "You didn't do anything wrong Jay."
He shrugged, "I'm still sorry Ruth. I can't be your friend any more."
She looked shocked, "Why not?"
"Cause I still love you. I never stopped loving you. And I'm not sure if I can be around you while I feel this way. It'd be too hard."
Ruth sat down next to him, "Jay I." She didn't manage to finish that sentence as suddenly she felt Jay's lips pressed against hers and quickly lost herself in the kiss.
Her day was beginning to look up. And the days to come as well.
Please Review. It helps me improve.