Black and Blue

Chapter 1

This is my first Casualty Fanfic so be kind :) I'm not really sure where I'm going with it but I hope you enjoy it.

It was a normal day at the Holby City Emergency Department. The doctors and nurses of the hospital were getting ready for the day ahead of them. All except one.

Rita had not shown up to work for a couple of days now and her friends were beginning to grow worried as it was very unlikely for her to miss a lot of work because she loved her job so much.

The one person who worried the most about Rita was Ash. Over the past couple of weeks Rita and Ash had been working together more and more. Ash had a great bond with Rita and often wondered if they were just more than friends but he knew nothing could happen because he was married and because he knew that Rita would never see him in that way.

"It's not like Rita to miss so much work. I'm really worried about her. Do you think I should phone her or go see her?" Robyn asked.

"She'll be fine Robyn she'll be back in no time." Lofty said whilst putting his hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her.

This made Robyn smile and blush a little, she had always fancied Lofty but just didn't know how to express herself without being embarrassing. Noel and Louise noticed Robyn smiling and just smirked at each other.

Then, in the distance they could hear footsteps coming towards them. They all looked at each other with fear in their eyes as the heels clicking on the floor became more apparent.

"Haven't you lot got work to be getting on to?"

"Uh. Yes Ms Beauchamp." Robyn and Lofty replied with panic in their voices.

"Well get on with it then."

And with that Robyn and Lofty scurried off into cubicles and all you could hear was a bang, a crash and a "sorry".

Rita recently visited her husband in prison to ask him for a divorce. This was her second attempt now but he just wasn't giving in. She desperately wanted to get him out of her life, how could she carry on with her life knowing that she is married to a sex offender. Mark on the other hand didn't want to lose her as he still loved her very much and he knew what he had done was wrong and if he could he would go back in time and change it he would. He hoped and prayed everyday that she would forgive him and when he is released they could try living a normal life. But he knew Rita and he knew how stubborn she could be, if she wanted something done she will make sure it is done. He also knew that deep down she still loved him even though she might not say it, he knew. That is why he can't get a divorce unless he knows for certain that she is over him, he his not ready to give up on something that still has a chance of being something.

She hated him. She hated how he made her feel this way. She just wanted to get him out of her life and off her mind. Getting him off her mind was much easier than getting him out of her life. Then only way she could get him off her mind was by turning to the bottle. Every night for the past week Rita has been drinking any alcohol she could lay her hands on. Whether that be vodka or wine. Anything to get her so drunk that she would forget about him.

Every time she would think about him it would be another swig from the bottle. She would take swig after swig after swig until she had finished the bottle. Once she had finished the bottle she would move onto another. Then she would start thinking about work and how she hasn't gone in for the past week and what will the staff think of her knowing that she was married to a sex offender. This gave her another reason to drink.