She Will Be Loved
"All you had to do was ask."
That simple but powerful sentence coupled with the distressed look in her eyes tore at Adam's heartstrings. He hated himself for voicing those doubts that had been at the back of his mind ever since he'd found Warren at the bottom of the stairs. It was one thing to think it, it was another to voice it.
Of course, Adam being Adam had gone and put his gigantic size elevens in it. Again. He'd practically accused of her murdering her husband, the man she'd been married to for fourteen years.
Small, delicate footsteps retreating pulled him abruptly from his thoughts and he looked up to see Kirsty walking away from him, her shoulders hunched, her head bowed in defeat. It hurt him immensely as he realised he'd caused some of that pain. He and Warren. Both as bad as one another, accusing without evidence. Assuming without fact.
"Kirsty wait."
The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Not that he wanted to stop them. He wanted to talk to her, to apologise to her, show her that he didn't really think she'd pushed Warren down the stairs. He wanted to make things right between them.
She half turned, her dark brown eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"I'm sorry." Adam said breathlessly, coming to a halt next to her. "I didn't mean to-"
"-Accuse me of murdering my husband?" Kirsty interrupted her voice cracking as a lone tear escaped from its watery prison and slid gently down her cheek, leaving a silvery-grey streak behind as it dropped off her chin and splashed down onto her neck, disappearing forever into the material of her bright blue scrubs.
"Yeah." Adam at least had the good grace to look apologetic. "I'm sorry." He raised his hand and gently cupped her cheek, his thumb grazing against the tear stain, caringly smudging it away.
Kirsty's eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment, enjoying the feeling of Adam's thumb gently caressing her cheek. A picture flashed into her mind a couple of microseconds later, forcing her to pull away from Adam and stare at the floor. Warren. His body had barely been cold a week and yet she was practically in another man's arms. What sort of wife did that make her.
"Kirst..." Adam pulled her out of her memories. Slowly, she glanced up to meet his eyes. His brown orbs full of compassion and concern were blinking adoringly at her. "I'm sorry," he found himself apologising again but this time he wasn't entirely sure what he was apologising for.
She shook her head, moving over to the other side of the corridor and leaning against the wall, thankful that unlike everyone else it could provide support. A shaky breath escaped her lips. "Sorry," she murmured, her voice barely audible.
"Don't be silly," Adam mirrored her actions, leaning against the section of wall directly adjacent to where she was standing. He could understand her train of thought. No matter how stormy Warren's and Kirsty's relationship had been, it was obvious to him that a tiny piece of her heart still loved him. No matter what Adam thought of him, he had to respect that. Warren had, after all been her childhood sweetheart. She'd had a child with him, she'd married him! He knew he could never expect that tiny piece of her heart to stop loving him. He didn't want to either. "It's ok." he smiled at her boyishly.
"C-can you stay again tonight? I don't want to be on my own."
Adam's heart jumped for joy at that simple question. Perhaps he hadn't messed things up after all. But then he remembered Nita. Would she want him hanging around the house barely a week after her dad's death? He didn't want to cause more problems between Kirsty and her daughter. "What about Nita?" he asked quietly, inching his hand over so his larger fingers brushed against Kirsty's smaller, more delicate ones.
"She won't mind. She likes having you around, she thinks you're cool. It's just I don't want-"
"-It's ok. I understand," Adam broke in. He glanced over at her again, seeing that more tears were pooling in her eyes again. He knew what it was like, having to go back somewhere where unspeakable things had happened. He, for example, never thought he'd get back in a car after the accident with his parents. But he did. He wanted to show Kirsty that that he'd always be there for her. "Come on," he took hold of her fingers lightly, moving closer towards her. "Let's get you home."
"Thank you." she whispered, gratitude evident in her voice. Adam entwined his larger fingers with her smaller ones, smiling at her reassuringly.
They walked down the corridor like that, fingers entwined in a show of support, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Adam knew then that she'd be okay, with time and patience. She was strong enough to get through it and he was going to be the one to help her to get through it. He wanted her to know that she wasn't alone. That no matter how far she pushed him away, he'd always come running back.
He wanted to show her that she will be loved again. Someday.
Look for the girl with the broken smile,
Ask her if she wants to stay a while,
And she will be loved.
Meh it's a bit crap. Please review though, it's the first thing I've written for Casualty in a while.
Note to all those that read Hope; it will be updated again. Sometime. I'm not sure when but as soon as I've worked exactly where to take it then I'll start working on the next chapter.
Lyrics are 'She Will Be Loved' by Maroon 5.