Thick smog made an autumn morning even more chilly and it seemed all the angels were crying given how heavily it was tipping down. Richard looked at the window but could not see out through the condensation, probably coming from the fact that he had the great idea to have a fireplace in his bedroom but the probability of him getting up to greet the world on one of his rare off days was nil.
He was fine right where he was...he had been wishing to be in his own kind of heaven with Isobel for years. His body was snuggled up against her soft, warm, smaller one. His arm was folded along side hers, his fingers intertwined with hers while the other pillowed her lavender smelling head. Dr Richard Clarkson was in his own version of paradise as he buried his nose in her chestnut curls and ran his lips along the elegant line of her shoulder.
He learned to be thankful for every moment he got to spend with her, especially since he knew he almost lost it before he could have it.
Flashback
Summer was a good season. No illnesses attributed to winter like colds, pneumonia and flu...dehydration of a mother who was too busy running after her five children to drink a glass of water was the biggest case Richard Clarkson had had that month and apart from the few old and dying and Mr Sterling with his broken leg, they were empty and he only attended a few births. He knew he should be thankful and felt guilt as he missed his first days as a doctor in Edinburgh where he was always on the go with some complicated case or even during the Boer war where his services were so needed he barely remembered getting any sleep. The rush, the adrenaline were part of attracted him to the job - though that might not be as good for him now that he was a an old man, at least that did not prevent the most beautiful woman in the world from liking him he thought ruefully setting his eyes on the lady sitting at his desk, occupying herself with paper work.
They had been dancing around one another and he could feel that they were getting closer. They almost kissed the previous week before the moment was interrupted by nurse Marcs, damn her. But Isobel kept giving him these big eyed looks, begging him to do something - show he felt the same way but he was hesitant to do so for some reason and they have been living in tense silence ever since She always knew how to make him aware when she was ticked at him.
His thoughts were interrupted by the phone. Isobel looked up as he reached for it, curious to hear anything that would end the frustrated mood she was in.
"Clarkson." Barked Richard down the line "Yes. I see...already on my way, I'll bring the ambulance."
Isobel got up but he stopped her with a hand on her arm "No. You stay here, I need somebody in charge should there be multiple traumas and I can't get in with the first one. The school they're building somehow collapsed and some might be trapped."
The brunette desperately wanted to follow him but knew not to contradict him when he used that voice. It was his soldier voice, he'd probably got it during the Boer war and he did not even realize how his manner changed from a couple of minutes ago. Instead she got up and fetched her medical apron while he grabbed his bag and headed for the door.
"Richard!"
His name stopped him in his tracks and turned to look at her, his hand already on the doorknob.
"Be careful...we need to talk when you get back." she said firmly but the expression on her face betrayed her worry.
Richard gave her a small smile before he dashed out of the hospital, into the ambulance waiting for him outside.
Isobel was close to feeling overwhelmed. Dr Bern was in surgery and so was Dr Baker, leaving her to deal with the patients either waiting for surgery or simply in pain from injuries which did not require such invasive treatment. Most nurses who happened to be there were student nurses she had been teaching for the few previous weeks who were nowhere near prepared to deal with this kind of trauma - worst of all, she couldn't shake the feeling in her stomach that something was wrong.
She found herself looking for Richard as wave after wave of patients got in and asking after him as the patients were carried in.
At first, they said he could be seen working on the most urgent patients but than they started telling her they could not see him. She kept asking until Timothy Black who was one of the builders who got away as the building collapsed and was helping the ambulance men told her he saw him entering the building with the firemen as they tried to rescue. She felt intense anger fear and admiration at the same time but her world spun round when she heard the remaining part of the structure has collapsed and nobody could tell if Richard had got out in time.
She had to sit down beside her patient for a moment and collect herself, thanking everything that's holy that he was unconscious at the moment. She distracted herself with work and resisted to throw up on whoever she happened to be treating. Her mind was reeling with fear, conjuring up memories of them from years past and their dance round one another - she just wanted to see him ,tell him about her feelings and have him hold her and tell her it was going to be okay. Apart from her son, he was her world.
And then he was there...blood all over him, his hair his clothes, his face. None of it his. He helped carry a patient on the stretcher and instructed the nurses to prepare him for a procedure before heading to his office presumably to clean his face and hands and grab his surgical gown.
She angrily washed her hands in the nearest basing and followed him like a wild cat following its prey. Slamming the door she marched towards him as he looked up to see who dared slam the door of his office - just high enough for her hand to land across his cheek with a smack he would remember all his life. "What the hell?!"
His eyes were wide with puzzlement and anger while hers had just filled with tears and relief - or that was what he thought before her lips landed on his. It was just as well he had washed his hands because his arms went around her immediately holding her in place one of his hands cupping the base of her skull so he could deepen the kiss. He felt her shaking, realizing the torrent of emotions which must have been going through her.
When they had to come up for air, they looked at one another and smiled took over their fine features...they did not need their big mouths in which they often put their feet in to show one another how they felt. Suddenly Isobel became bashful and looked down but Richard tipped her chin up with his index finger.
"What's wrong Isobel?" he asked.
"I never meant to slap you - I'm so sorry Richard!" she cried, totally ashamed of her actions as she ran her hand along the cheek which ended up as her victims just moments ago.
"That's all right - you did tell me to be careful..." Richard chuckled as he let her bury her nose in his neck.
The moment was interrupted by a knock on the door and they sprang apart as Marcs told them the patient was prepared in the theater, eye them with suspicion. Isobel and her never had a very good relationship, Isobel had the sensation that the junior nurse was jealous of her and her close relationship with Richard. Whether it was professional or sentimental or both she could not decide but she was too elated at the moment to care.
They did not leave the hospital until early morning the next day but Richard took her to his house instead of hers though she barely even got to look around as he led her directly led her to his bedroom. They both had good vision in the dark and did not even need the lamps to remove the other's clothing, exploring more and more. It was a good thing he lived at the end of the village and that the house was somewhat isolated as he did not give up until she was screaming and writhing beneath him in ecstasy as he held her before the exhaustion of the previous hours caught up with them as they succumbed to dreamland.
End flashback
Richard felt her breathing change as she woke up, her brown eyes big and confused as sh looked around her until they landed on him. He would remember that smile she gave him until his last breath. She turned her body so her chest was touching his and he could feel her pulse as he pulled her ever closer. "Good morning..." he whispered, almost afraid that his voice might shatter the perfect moment life had given him. Her eyes left his as a tapping sound from outside entered their bubble "It is...it's raining." she grinned before wrapping her arms around him again and laying her head on his chest breathing him in, letting his hand run through her long mane soothingly.
It truly was a perfect rainy morning.
AN: I hope you enjoyed this and I'd like to give a shout out to ericajane who prompted me. I guess it can be read as a one-shot but I do have a second and last chapter if you folks are interested. Anyhow, let me know what you think if you have the time :)