Family Matters
All characters belong to BBC's Casualty, fiction is purely my imagination. Okay, so I said I wasn't sure if I would do a follow-up to Return & Depart as I think the pregnancy storyline was wasted, but here is the way I would have seen the story panning out. Also features Zoe and the character Carly as introduced in Return & Depart.
Confession
Fletch paced his kitchen thinking about what he was about to do. The kids were staying with his parents and he had spoken to a lawyer regarding his options for future access to his children, but now the hard task of telling Natalie was here. He heard the front door as Natalie entered. 'Sorry I took so long...' she called. She entered the kitchen. '...The kids were very excited.' she said and approached Fletch. She attempted to kiss him but he took her hands and prevented her. 'What's wrong?' she asked.
'We need to talk.' he said, sadly.
'Why don't I like the sound of this?'
'Sit down.'
'No, I'm fine.'
'Please.'
'Fletch, just tell me what's going on.' she said and Fletch inhaled deeply, attempting to settle his nerves. He knew what he was doing was right, but he still cared for Natalie and did not want to hurt her. 'I don't want to hurt you or the kids, but I can't lie anymore. I've been having an affair.' he said and chanced a look at Natalie who collapsed into one of the dining chairs, her hand covering her mouth and her eyes staring ahead as she attempted to digest the news. He watched her and tried to touch her shoulder, but she shook him off. 'Don't touch me.' she said. He backed away and she looked up at him. 'Who is it?' she asked.
'It's not important.'
'It's important enough for you to lie to me.'
'Nat, this isn't about her. Things haven't been right with us for a while.'
'And talking is what normal people do when they have problems.'
'Nat-'
'Is it someone at work?'
'Natalie, please.'
'That's where you spend all your time.'
'I work hard to look after you all.'
'And now I know why you've put in all the overtime.' she said, standing and starting to pace the room. She stopped pacing and looked at him. 'How long?' she asked him.
'We don't have to do this.'
'I want to know.'
'It was gradual, but about three months.' he said. Natalie's eyes swam with angry tears and Fletch approached her. 'Natalie, I am so sorry.' he said. Natalie shook with anger and slapped him.
'Get out!' she shouted. Fletch knew they needed to talk more, but this was not the time. He passed her and headed upstairs to pack a bag. Natalie wiped her tears as she grabbed a bottle of brandy, a glass and poured herself a drink.