Author Note:

I love Casualty, especially Dylan, and I thought that he could use a little potential romance in his life, mixed in with a good dose of healthy Holby melodrama, of course! I'm going to start with a flash forward scene setter and then work towards that in later chapters.

I don't own any of the Casualty characters, I just like to play with them! All original characters are my own.

Hope you'll read and review!

Prologue

18th July 2015

They had certainly picked a great day for it, Laura Wilson thought as the bus slowly pulled out of the community centre car park and headed out onto the main road. The temperature had been in the high teens by seven thirty that morning and had continued to climb to the point where it was now twenty five degrees at least, more inside the bus. Glancing up, she saw that all the upper windows had been cranked open and the air conditioning was on full blast at the front but it was still warm enough for beads of sweat to start forming on her brow.

Looking across the aisle, she couldn't help wondering how Emily wasn't slowly self combusting, given that she was wearing a jumper, jacket and had a scarf wound around her neck. If she was in discomfort, her sister gave no sign of showing it. She was smiling as she talked to the boy sat next to her and, just for a moment, Laura was able to forget Emily's condition and see her as a normal seventeen year old being flattered by the attentions of the opposite sex. As if sensing she was being thought about, Emily's gaze left her companion and rested on her older sister. Laura inclined her head and raised her eyebrows in a gesture of concern, but Emily merely smiled and turned back to the object of her attention.

Satisfied that all was well, Laura sat back and tried to relax. They were moving more quickly now, having passed through the traffic in the centre of town and were headed towards the motorway that would take them to the park. It had taken a lot for her to agree that Emily should go on this trip, not least of all Emily's own pleas on the subject. Given how ill her sister had been recently, Laura's instinct was to keep her at home, cocooned in a blanket of safety, untouched by the outside world. But Emily had insisted that she wanted to go, that she was looking forward to getting out and forgetting about her illness for a day. And then, of course, Dylan had weighed in and given her that look that indicated he thought she was completely overreacting to the situation and told her, rather bluntly, that her sister was dying anyway and that spending the day at a safari park wasn't going to kill her any quicker.

She smiled as she thought back on the conversation. Trust Dylan to put it in the most obvious terms. Three months ago she might have been offended at his words, now she just found them amusing and comforting as though they gave her permission to see some humour in the grim reality of her situation. She found him amusing too, in a way that she could imagine others wouldn't, and though she had done her best to ignore Emily's teasing on the subject, she had to admit that a part of her did find him attractive. It had been that part of her that had responded the other night when it happened and it was only a shame that he had found himself so embarrassed and awkward afterwards. It had only been a kiss after all...

"So, how's dishy Doctor Dylan? And don't tell me you're not thinking about him. You've got that silly little smile on your face."

Not having realised she had even closed her eyes in the first place, Laura opened them to see her friend Danielle Hughes looking at her over the headrest of the seat in front, a mischievous look on her face. "He's fine as far as I know."

"As far as you know? And there was me thinking this was going to be Holby's next big romance."

"I doubt that," Laura turned her head as Emily suddenly started coughing. "We're just friends."

"If you say so. He's a pretty good friend though if that's all it is," Danielle persisted.

"Yes, he is. Anyway, you should have your seatbelt on. We're supposed to be setting a good example to these young people...Ems, are you all right?" Her sister nodded, but continued to cough and the boy next to her turned to Laura with concerned eyes. "Does your chest hurt?" Emily shook her head, but sisterly instinct told Laura she was lying. "Ems..." she unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up as Emily stopped coughing and started to hyperventilate. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she dialled Dylan's number. "Danielle, can you get them to stop the bus?" His phone rang out three, four, five times and then clicked onto voicemail. "Dylan, it's me. Can you call me? Emily's not well and I don't think we should carry on to the park. Ring me back. Bye."

Danielle traversed her way back up the aisle and stopped beside her. "The driver says he'll pull up on the hard shoulder just before the next junction. Is she all right?"

"I don't know," Laura replied, trying to keep calm, for Emily's sake if nothing else. "She was coughing a lot last night but...ok Ems, just try and slow your breathing down. Has anybody got a paper bag?" As if by magic, one was passed back from the front of the coach and though it smelled as though there had been some ripe cheese contained within it, Laura passed it to her sister and instructed her to blow into it. As she did so, she felt the bus slow and then come to a stop.

"I don't...want to go...to hospital..." Emily gasped.

"Just keep breathing," Laura said.

"I want...to go to...the park..."

"We're not going anywhere until I know you're ok. Do you need some of your pills?" Emily shook her head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes..."

"Ok." Glancing at her phone, Laura saw Dylan's name flash up on the screen. She moved her finger to press the 'accept' button...then there was an almighty bang, a scream and then silence.

XXXX

"It wasn't even my idea to go to the ski slope. I mean, who wants to do indoor skiing when the weather's as nice as it is today? Honestly, she gets the most ridiculous ideas in her head. We're not even going away until November."

Dylan Keogh looked up from the notes he had been studying and surveyed the woman in front of him who was cradling her left arm and wincing every now and then. "And you fell how, exactly?"

"I lost control of my skis when I was coming down the last slope and bang..." the woman shook her head, "First time I've ever been on the bloody things! I can't believe this. I'm supposed to be at work tonight!"

"Well, we'll need to get you x-rayed and then, depending on the results, fit you for a cast or sling which you'll have to wear for six to eight weeks."

"I can't wear a sling!" Her eyes grew wide with horror. "I work in a bar! How am I going to pour drinks one handed?"

"Well...I'm sure you could develop some sort of technique," Dylan replied helpfully as he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. "My experience is that most drinks in bars are served very sloppily by staff anyway." She stared at him. "I'll get a porter to take you to x-ray."

"And how long is all this going to take?"

"As long as it takes. This is a hospital. There are sick people here." Without waiting for any response, he turned and walked back towards the admin desk, rolling his eyes and accosting Max Walker as he did so. "Uh...can you arrange for the woman in cubicle three to go round to x-ray?"

The younger man paused and Dylan saw he had an apple in his hand. "Well, I'm a bit busy..."

"I thought the general consensus was that you didn't do anything much around here?"

"Well..."

"Good. You can do this then." Dylan took his phone out of his pocket and checked the screen which revealed a missed call from Laura and a text indicating she had left a voicemail. He hoped it was to tell him something about the trip that day, and not another attempt to discuss what had happened between them a few nights ago. Before he could do anything with it, however, he heard Zoe call his name and turning, saw her coming towards him waving a file.

"Did Laura and Emily get away to the park all right?"

"As far as I know. I think Emily was looking forward to it, I'm not so sure about Laura."

"She's got a lot to consider," Zoe said. "It's a lot of responsibility, caring for a dying teenager, and it can't be easy for her."

"No."

She cocked her head on one side, "Are the two of you...?"

"No," he replied shortly.

"Sorry I asked. Anyway, could you take a look at the bloke in cubicle one for me please?"

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"I'd like a second opinion. I think I know what the problem is but..."

He took the notes from her and skimmed over them, pausing halfway through. "Uh...I think this may be a misprint."

"No," she said, "it isn't."

"Butt plug? You're not serious."

"I am. Let me know what you think once you've spoken to him."

"Uh...Zoe...but..." before he could protest any further, she was gone, no doubt laughing all the way at the thought of him discussing anal play with anyone. "Unbelievable." Turning his attention back to his phone, he clicked into his messages.

"Dylan, it's me. Can you call me? Emily's not well and I don't think we should carry on to the park. Ring me back. Bye."

Instinctively, he pressed the redial button, only for her phone to ring once and then go straight to answer. "For heaven's sake!" he exclaimed, after the beep. "What's the point in asking me to ring you back if you then don't answer when I do? Call me when you get this." Thrusting his phone back into his pocket, he turned towards cubicle one and steeled himself for the task ahead.