Retreat then Restore...Revisiting the Past
She went away, and now she's back...but how does she explain the fact that she wasn't dead, and didn't kill herself?
'Thanks Ric, that would be lovely,' she said gratefully. 'You really are one of the best friends I'll ever have.'
'I'd like to think I'm more than that,' said Ric. 'Especially after everything that's happened in the past. Everything that we've tried to ignore but failed to do.'
'I know,' replied Diane. 'A lot has happened in the last 5 or 6 years. We'll talk later, I promise. We can't really talk about it here, walls have ears.'
'And so does Michael,' replied Ric with a grin.
'Him too,' said Diane, smiling back at him. 'He's got more arrogance than Dan for sure. I only spoke to him for a minute, but it's plain to see.'
Laughing, Ric said, 'Yep, that's Michael. Right, should we get going?'
Looking at the clock, Diane nodded and said, 'Yes we should. I should be getting Cassie in the bath and putting her to bed. I don't know how badly the jet lag has affected her.'
'What about yours?' asked Ric.
'I was holding on so I could see you, so I didn't feel very tired. But now, well, I won't be holding on for very long. Just long enough to get everything sorted,' said Diane.
'I tell you what,' said Ric, standing up. 'We'll stop by the Chinese takeaway and get some food, I'll help you bath Cassie and put her to bed, and if you're feeling up to it, we can talk.'
'Okay,' said Diane, standing up and laying Cassie in her pram. 'Let's go.'
Standing by her side, Ric began to walk with Diane out of his office and back onto the ward. Nurses began to stare, and Michael walked back over, looking suspicious.
'Ric, who's your friend?' asked Michael curiously.
'Michael, this is Diane Lloyd, an old friend and colleague of mine,' said Ric slowly.
'Wait wait wait a second,' said Michael in confusion. 'Diane Lloyd as in the Diane Lloyd, the Diane Lloyd that killed herself almost 3 years ago?'
'You say all the right things,' said Diane with a smile. 'I was a witness to a murder, a trafficking ring were involved, I was in danger, so they faked my death and I moved away.'
'You know what?' asked Michael. 'I thought that you were gonna say you were a secret spy.'
'Oh, not quite,' said Diane.
'Ever killed anyone, Miss Secret Undercover Spy?' asked Michael.
'Michael that's a horrific thing to ask!' exclaimed Ric.
'Ric, it's okay,' replied Diane. 'Yes Michael, I did, but only to save my life and my daughter's life. Now we're going, so no more secret spy talk, you might find that we have to silence you.'
'Okay okay okay,' exclaimed Michael. 'Don't set the FBI on me.'
'It's MI5 here Michael, we're not in America,' said Diane, reminding him.
'Awww shucks, really?' asked Michael. 'I had no idea.'
Before he had time to say anything else, Diane and Ric had left, leaving him behind.
'Aww man!' said Michael.
Walking back to the car, Diane and Ric received some very confused and freaked out looks from other people. Diane was beginning to think that it was a mistake to come back, she didn't want to have to explain it to everyone every 5 seconds why she wasn't dead.
'Don't worry Diane,' said Ric quietly into her ear. 'Ignore them, I'm right her beside you.'
She carried on walking with her head held high, what Ric said giving her the confidence to let the looks pass her by, to simply ignore them.
They arrived at the car and saw Elliot pulling into a nearby parking space. Once he had got out of the car, his face dropped then lit up when he saw Diane.
Running as fast he could, Elliot came over to Diane.
Breathless, he said, 'You're alive.'
'Yes I am Elliot,' she said happily. 'Alive, safe from harm, a mother, life's good.'
'How are you alive?' asked Elliot, still breathless. 'I got the phone call from the Police, Ric sat by your body bag in the morgue.'
'It was a fake,' said Diane honestly. 'I saw something I wasn't meant to see, it linked to organised crime, they faked my death and I moved away. The ring that were behind it have been locked away, so now I'm back.'
'To cut a long story short,' said Ric.
'Wow, that's so out of the ordinary,' said Elliot. 'You never hear stories like that around here. I have to be going, Connie's already been on the phone complaining.'
Laughing, Diane said, 'That sounds like Connie alright. I'll catch up with you later.'
'Okay, I'll give you a call,' said Elliot, walking away.
'Let's get you home,' said Ric with a smile, opening the door to the back seat for Diane to put Cassie in.
