Chapter 2
As it was coming to the end of my shift I headed to the staff room to change my clothes before heading home for a well deserved bath and a glass of wine. I had already changed my trousers so I took my top of. Normally, when I am changing in the staff room everyone else is working so I don't get disturbed. I heard the door open and rapidly turned around to face the person. To my luck it was only Fletch and I sighed when he noticed me without a top on.
'Ahhh, heading of already are we? You still have approximately 5 minutes to go' He said, grinning at me like a Cheshire Cat.
'Yes I am, I need a bath after running around all day' I replied while getting my top out of my locker. Fletch walked closer to me and put his hands on my bare waist. He then kissed the top of my head, my nose and then my lips to which I responded to immediately. The kiss was getting passionate so I pulled away.
'You know what Zoe said, no kissing at work' I said arguing against my thumping heart
'Well, in a few minutes we won't be at work will we' he said matter of factly
'Hmmm, good point. Now can you let go of me for one second while I put my top on please?'
'If you want but once we go back to yours it's not going to stay on very long' he said flirtatiously
'You're coming back to mine?' I asked confused, since he'd made no plans with me before hand.
'Yes I am'
'What about Natalie?' I asked while putting my top on.
'You know what Tess' Fletch said taking my hands, 'I've had about enough of her. Every time I try and talk to her it ends up in a shouting match and she shouts in front of the kids and sometimes at the kids. They actually told me that they are scared of her. What child should be scared of their own mother?' This made Tess think about Sam and Saskia and how they were doing. 'She calls me all the time and you know that, she calls me at work, when I'm shopping and even when I wasn't with you she was doing the same. There is no love in our relationship and I can't stay with her. I love you Tess Bateman and i want to be with you. I want to be close to you and to be able to protect you and worry about you when you're not with me. Me and Natalie don't have any of that. When I go home tonight I can guarantee she'll be sat in the kitchen drinking and waiting for me, so I am going to tell her. Not that it was you but I want to tell her. I need to tell her.'
When I heard all of this; fletch pouring his heart at me, I felt guilty. Guilty for everything I have done. He noticed my look and it was like he could read my mind since he said, 'None of this is your fault Tess, you can't help who you fall for' he said while smiling at me
'No, you can't' I said smiling back at him. He kissed me, turned his phone off and said, 'lead the way boss.' We walked out of the ED together, unnoticed by everyone; well that's what we thought. After a 5 minute discussion we thought that we should take my car and leave his in the ED car park overnight.
The drive back was a silent one but not unpleasant. Fletch was driving because my feet were throbbing since I hadn't sat down all day. I was staring out of the window thinking about Sam and Saskia. I was wondering how they are doing, and how Sam is dealing with his bi-polar. After a while of thinking about my children, I thought about Mike. About how he left me with two children -one suffering with a mental condition - and didn't even help me to cope. At one point I thought of giving up, about leaving them just like Mike left me. But I fought instead, I fought for my children. For the two people I love more than anything in the world. He left me for another woman, just like Fletch is going to do for me. I love him, but I've never told him yet. It's hard to find the right moment in a busy ED, and when I want to tell him when we are alone, we always end up being busy. As I come back out of my day dream I am crying silently. I can see him glancing at me sideways, obviously he can tell something's wrong. Probably because I am shivering as it's freezing, since my head is turned so he can't see me crying. He pulls over at the side of the road, near a wood and cuts the ignition. I looked out the window and without turning around 'I thought we were going to mine?' I say my voice cracking.
'We were. Until you started crying.' He says softly and sadly. I sigh loudly, enough for him to reach over and pull my hands to his lap, forcing me to turn around and reveal my blotchy skin and puffy eyes.
'Oh Tess...' He says and envelopes me in a hug. I can hear his heart beat on my cheek as the tears flow more heavily. I start crying uncontrollably and he wraps his arms tighter around me. When my sobs subside he releases me and pulls my chin up so my eyes meet his. He moves his hands up to my face and wipes my tears away with the pads of his thumbs. I shut my eyes and take some deep breaths to steady my racing heart. He looks at me sadly and embraces me again placing a tender kiss on my head. He lets me go and looks in to my eyes, searching them for a glimpse of hope.
'What's wrong Tess?' He asks carefully
'I was just thinking... About Mike... About you... About everything'
'I'm not going to leave you Tess, not now, not ever. I love you with all my heart, you know that.'
'But you're leaving your wife. For me. Just like Mike did. What about your kids? It'll break your heart to be away from them and I can't do that to you.' I say as a tear escapes my eye. He is quick to brush it away and I take a sharp breath as he comes into contact with me.
'Tess, I would do anything for you. I can still see my kids, I'll miss them but I'll still get to see them. My wife and I have no love between us. She shouts and isn't even a proper mum to the kids. She even let them go to school without any food until I realised and gave them it just before they got to school.' He said passionately.
'But...'
'But nothing Tess, I love you and I should've realised about Nat sooner. Mike was an idiot to let you go. You are compassionate, amazing, intelligent, decisive, feisty, professional, assertive and absolutely bloody gorgeous! It won't always be perfect for us, but we'll get through it. Together, like we always have. We're a team right?'
'Yes, we are' I say smiling. He smiles back and kisses me softly. I kiss him back and then pull back slowly. After a few seconds I realise that this is an opportunity I can't miss.
'Fletch...'
'Yes...' He says looking over at me from the drivers seat, still holding my hands.
'You do know that I love you right?' I say, stealing that sentence that he said, as he declared his love for me for the first time.
'...That's the first time you've ever said you love me' he said in shock and I nodded in response.
'And you stole my line too' he said cheekily as a big grin spread across his face
'But I do, I love you Adrian Fletcher' I said with a smile, and laughed at how easy it was to say 3 words, after I had said them once.
'Oh I love you too Tess Bateman' he said as he leaned and kissed me. The kiss began to progress, and I had realised that I was freezing and we were in my car in the middle of nowhere. I pulled away from Fletch.
'Fletch, we should go to mine, I am freezing' I said whilst looking him in the eyes. He took his jacket it of and wrapped it around me, then placed a gentle kiss to my lips.
'I suppose your right' he said as he turned on the ignition and lights and looked at me one more time before placing his fingers on my cheek and running them down my cheek.
'God, you're beautiful' he said quietly. I could feel heat rising to my cheeks as he said this and I smiled. He put his indicator on to turn back onto the road, and then waited.
While Fletch waited I smiled as I thought to myself that I had actually done it, I had told Fletch I loved him and it was simple. I don't understand why I didn't say it sooner, because now I realise I would lay down my life for fletch. Give anything and everything just to make sure he is safe. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Fletch then the steering wheel as the thoughts surrounded my mind and then I heard a horn and everything went black.
