A/N: Here it is! Chapter 4. Dedicated to all my Holby twitter followers.
Thank you to everyone for their lovely reviews and messages. Once again a big thank you has to be said to Michelle for being my beta. Who is currently a tad upset with me!
This chapter is aptly named after a song by Duran Duran of the same title.
Can't ever keep from falling apart at the seams
Can I believe you're taking my heart to pieces
Lost, in a snow filled sky
We'll make it alright to come undone
Now we'll try to stay blind to the hope and fear outside
Hey child, stay wilder than the wind and blow me into cry
Who do you need?
Who do you love?
When you come undone
~Come Undone – Duran Duran~
Let me know what you think good, bad or ugly I don't mind. Enjoy.
Chapter 4
Come Undone
Greg quickly threw on a clean top and promptly left the locker room trying to calm himself as he walked, flattening his ruffled hair where her hands had been moments before. He turned onto the ward where what looked like a welcoming committee had formed.
"What's going on?" He said in hushed tones to one of the nurses in front if him.
"Major incident alert, all wards". She replied at the same volume.
"Great! Always happens when I'm about to finish my shift" He said as he rolled his eyes.
The nurse turned and playfully laughed at him and in return, he shot her a half-hearted mischievous smile.
Looking around, his gaze stopped on Sahira, who had clearly been watching him from across the room, evident from the fact that she quickly averted her eyes downward guiltily when their eyes met.
He set his focus back in front of him as Hanssen appeared out of nowhere and commanded the room's attention, informing them of an explosion at a nearby factory and that all available staff would be required until further notice.
After a short briefing, the majority had dispersed to get ready for the impending casualties, which only left the senior staff to receive their instructions.
Hanssen turned to Sahira. "Ms Shah you will be needed at the site of the explosion with the mobile CT unit."
"I will need someone with me". She said confidently.
Just as Greg was about to volunteer himself, Jac piped up.
"You can take Valentine". She said with a smirk.
Hanssen immediately nodded in agreement before commencing with his orders.
"Ms Naylor you and Mr Douglas can take any incoming casualties and Mr Hope you will be one of the on-call consultants to assist in the Emergency Department and AAU".
"See you on the ice," he said rather jovially before marching off and disappearing like a magician behind the lift doors.
Greg was on the phone to the paramedics entering information onto the computer when Sahira and Oliver emerged in their jumpsuits a few minutes later.
Sahira headed towards the desk and handed a piece of paper to one of the nurses.
She glanced across at Greg who did a double take and would most likely have laughed aloud and made a jibe at the fact Sahira was wearing green in public if it had not been such a serious situation.
Trying his hardest to ignore her presence he focused on the task at hand but was distracted as he listened in to her on her mobile, telling someone, Rafi no doubt she would not be home for a while and to kiss the boys goodnight. Ending the call with the three words he had always yearned for her to say to him.
"Rafi" he spat with anger to himself, a slight pang of jealousy hitting him in the gut.
Sahira and Oliver had entered the lift and were out of sight before Greg had the chance to hang up the phone and say any goodbyes to them.
He sat in silent defeat for a moment wishing he had been stronger and kept his distance from her as he had promised himself. Knowing that once again the whole situation had come full circle, but before he could dwell on it any further, the ward burst into life with Elliot at the forefront accompanied by the first of the incoming casualties.
"Mr Douglas, I need you to assist - theatre one now please," he said a little out of breath.
Greg swiftly moved from the chair and followed Elliot down the corridor to the theatre.
"What have we got?" Greg asked taking the handover notes from Elliot.
Greg glanced down at the man on the trolley who had a large shard of glass embedded in the upper left side of his chest and for a moment wondered if the pain the man felt mimicked his own in a sort of ironic way.
As he scrubbed up for theatre, he tried to put Sahira out of his mind knowing his full attention would be needed for the next 2 hours at least.
Elliot and Greg entered the large sterile room after the patient was prepped to make a start on the intricate procedure of removing the glass from the patient's chest and also repairing the damage caused.
There was always something calming about surgery when Mr Hope was there. Nothing seemed to faze him. He was an amazing surgeon and he made it all look effortless.
Once the surgery was underway, Elliot started to converse with Greg noticing he was slightly tense.
"Are you alright Mr Douglas?" He asked concernedly looking over the top of his glasses.
"Fine. " Greg answered a little more harshly than he intended.
"Sorry. It's been a long day… night." He added apologetically.
Elliot knowing Greg did not respond well to being probed with questions let it be and quickly changed the subject to one relating to the man lying in front of them hoping to distract him from whatever was on his mind.
Sahira and Oliver travelled to the site of the explosion in silence. Staring out of the window at the now heavy snow, Sahira let the events of the last hour catch up with her as she started processing everything that had happened. A montage of thoughts flooded her, all of him and she knew what she would ultimately be faced with on her return but right now, she was in a way glad to be removed from the situation.
Within minutes, they had arrived at what looked like a scene from a disaster movie. Every available emergency service from the surrounding areas was present. She jumped out of the ambulance first followed by a scared looking Oliver as they both stood for a moment, taking in the madness in front of them and the intense smell of burning mixed with smoke and the diesel fumes from the many vehicles catching in their throats.
It wasn't long before they were catapulted into a production line of relentless 'patch them up and ship them outs'. They had just stabilised yet another patient and sent them off in an ambulance to Holby General, finally giving them time to stop for air.
The wind had started to get up blowing the snow into her now stinging face like tiny needles making her job all the more difficult. Sahira turned to Oliver "We need to get back in there Ollie there are still people trapped who need our help". She said the effects of adrenaline clear in her eyes.
"We can't, you heard what fire and rescue said, it's not safe," He said shouting over the noise of sirens and groaning engines.
"We can't just leave them Ollie. It might be too late by the time fire and rescue get them out to us."
"They said they would let us know when it was safe," He said, almost pleading with her.
"The whole point of the mobile CT unit is for exactly this type of situation," She said hoping to change his already made up mind.
"Not if you get yourself killed in the process it's not," he said defensively.
Before the debate was won, a paramedic called out for assistance a few metres away and Oliver rushed over, eager to help.
Sahira, noting Oliver's distraction, saw her chance to go before he could physically restrain her. She grabbed her medical kit and ran dodging the chicanes of hosepipes, people and vehicles. However, something stopped her for a moment as she pulled her mobile from her pocket and with the adrenaline coursing through her, she dialled his number. Holding the phone to one ear and covering the other to drown out the background noise she listened to it ring three times before it switched to voicemail figuring he would be too busy to answer, she took a deep breath, said her piece and hung up. Feeling a small weight had been lifted, she continued on through the chaos.
Greg and Elliot finished up in theatre three hours later, triumphant in their efforts to save the man with the chest wound. They made their way back to the ward to meet the next onslaught of patients.
On their return, a small group had gathered around one of the computers where a nurse had pulled up a live news feed from the site of the explosion on the internet.
"What's all this? You're not looking at porn again?" Greg said laughing as he skipped over.
His smile quickly faded when he saw the grave looks from the spectators.
He walked around behind the desk and like the others watched the horror unfold. A second explosion had ripped through the area.
Greg's stomach lurched knowing Sahira's overwhelming urge to save others no matter the cost to herself meant she would no doubt get caught up in the moment and put her own life in danger.
Looking around, he stopped an unusually flustered Jac.
"Any word from Sahira and Oliver?" Trying to keep his voice calmer than he felt.
"No, Mr Douglas can you not see I'm a little busy right now.
There is a patient in Bay 3 who needs a chest drain," she said harshly.
He stood there still for a moment feeling as if he was in slow motion only to be hauled back to reality by Jac shouting at him.
"Bay 3 Mr Douglas. Now!" She hollered.
Luckily, the patient he was performing the chest drain on was in so much pain and discomfort, it distracted them away from his unsteady hands. Once the chest drain was inserted, the patient's difficulties lessened. Just as he was about to finish up, he saw Oliver walk past the window.
"Can you finish up here; I will be back in a minute," he said to a nervous looking nurse standing next to him as he flew out the door before she could object.
Greg caught up with Oliver in the toilet where he was leaning over the sink looking dishevelled his face and clothing blackened.
"Where's Sahira?" he asked intensely bypassing any pleasantries.
"I don't know," he said meeting Greg's wide-eyed stare.
"What do you mean you don't know? She came back with you. Right?" He asked angrily.
"No. We got separated. She wanted to go back into the building to help the people who were still trapped. I told her not to because it wasn't safe. I...I turned round to help someone, the next thing I knew she was gone and then all hell broke loose" He said his voice shaking.
"You just left her there!" He said grabbing hold of Oliver and shaking him violently.
"I didn't have a choice, they wouldn't let me go anywhere near the building after the second explosion, they started clearing us out". He said tears welling in his eyes.
Greg loosened his grip as a shockwave hit him. He staggered back as he realised he did not need Oliver to reaffirm where Sahira had been when the second explosion had gone off because his face said it all.
He started to feel a little unsteady on his feet. He had to get away. Get out. He took off in the direction of the stairwell.
Once through the doors and away from prying eyes he grabbed the handrail for support to stop himself from shaking as he tried to stave off the internal panic forming within him.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his mobile, switched it on as he impatiently watched it come to life in his shaking hand. He dialled her number and held his breath. The call diverted straight to voicemail so he hung up, frustrated his panic now snowballing. He tried again instantly, straight to voicemail. Overwhelming emotion took over every part of him as he threw his phone at the adjacent wall.
He gripped tighter to the handrail with both hands, his knuckles turning white - closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing when he heard a voice behind him.
"Mr Douglas. Are you alright"? Elliot said quietly behind him having just witnessed his emotional display from the stairs below.
"Yeah fine, just taking a breather." He lied unconvincingly, as he glared over his shoulder at Elliot behind him picking up the phone now in pieces on the floor.
Elliot smiled sympathetically, as he handed the broken bits of plastic to Greg.
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be. Mr Douglas." Patting him on the shoulder, as he walked off.
Greg looked down at the broken pieces in his still shaking hands knowing this would not be the only thing broken if his worst fears about Sahira turned out to be true.
Hope you all enjoyed my little cliffhanger. I'm such a meany.
The "Elliotism" I used in the last scene was a quote by Kurt Vonnegut. I thought this was rather fitting to the character and the scene.
The big question is... Will Greg's heart be broken?
You will most certainly find out in Chapter 5. Emma xoxo