Chapter 1
Grace had finally been discharged from the hospital, four months after the car crash that her and her mum had been victims of, and Jacob hadn't heard anything from Connie since Grace had woken up. He missed Connie, despite the fact that he was angry at her for ignoring him and acting horrible to him and everyone else.
Connie had also not spoken to Charlie since Grace had woken up; it was almost as if she had disappeared. Charlie often considered going to see Connie, but he didn't think that she would appreciate the company, especially since nobody had any clue what Connie was dealing with at home.
Sam Strachan had been staying in a hotel in Holby since the crash, refusing to leave his daughter when her and her mother both needed support and quite a bit of help around the house, despite the fact that he and Connie did not get on with each other, but they were coping well under the circumstances. Meanwhile, Connie just wished that it was Jacob caring for her and Grace.
Grace was still struggling to walk unsupported but, with physical therapy, she would improve and hopefully make a full recovery, although she knew it would take months, possibly years, to get back to exactly how she used to be.
X
It had been two weeks since Grace's discharge and Jacob could have sworn that he'd seen Connie outside of the hospital, but it was only for a fraction of a second, so he couldn't be too sure.
Just as he was about to go and follow the woman, who may or may not have been the woman he loved, a patient was been admitted after been brought in by an ambulance and Jacob was beckoned to join the team treating the man.
He couldn't focus as well as usual with thoughts of Connie whirling around his head and he was eventually asked by Dylan to work in cubicles instead of RESUS, after the third mistake in less than five minutes.
In cubicles Jacob still found himself making mistakes, although not as dangerous as RESUS, and he had to take a break shortly after beginning to treat his first patient, which was a simple case of a broken wrist.
Jacob soon found himself back outside the entrance of the ED, on the same bench he had been sat on 15 minutes earlier, but this time he didn't even see a glimpse of Connie, or anyone who looked remotely like her.
X
It was almost an hour later when Jacob finally saw Connie again, and this time he was certain that it was her.
After clearing his head he had gone back inside to do his job and he had done it much better than earlier, but as he was finishing up with a young child who had fallen off her bike he saw Connie walking through cubicles. He excused himself from the cubicle he was in and followed Connie through the department.
"What?" Connie turned to him with a harsh glare and raised her eyebrow at him just outside the staff room.
"Are you kidding me? I've not seen you in ages; it's as if I don't exist in your life right now." Jacob snapped at Connie, turning a few heads in the process, as she stood in silence watching him.
"I've got other priorities; my daughter nearly died because of a car accident that I caused!" Connie didn't want to hurt Jacob, but she knew that if he was going to snap then she would have to match him if she had any hope of not appearing weak in front of him and their other colleagues. "If you can't handle the fact that you're not always going to be the only person in my life, then I don't need you!"
Before Jacob could answer Connie had stormed off, leaving the hospital at record speed. He stood, hurt, in front of his friends and patients, feeling embarrassed. Angrily, he unlocked the staff room door and slammed it behind himself as he entered the otherwise empty room.