Many thanks again for the lovely reviews. I had a version of how the scene between Eleanor and Jessie would go in my head but what actually emerged is something completely different. All errors are my own and unintentional. Love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!
Chapter Ten:
Slowly she walks into the living room, feeling almost condemned. She really isn't in the mood for one of Eleanor's lectures but it's unavoidable, she has been gone for most of the day. She must face the sermon that is sure to follow.
She sees Eleanor standing in front of the fireplace and Jimmy is seated on the sofa beside her. Jessie rolls her eyes and she knows what this is about. She deliberately hardens her expression.
"Been telling tales again have we Jimmy?" she drawls as she strolls into the living room.
"Sit down" Eleanor instructs her. Jessie folds her arms and regards her and she affects a bored expression.
"I'd rather stand. I hope this isn't going to take long because I'm knackered, been a long day." She watches how Eleanor's eyes narrow as she regards her.
"I'd like to know where you've been Jessica." She enquires in crisp, precise tones.
"I've been out, didn't he tell you?" Jessie replies. She then looks at him again and she widens her eyes as if a thought occurs to her and then it softens to a sly smile.
"Couldn't you find me then Jimmy?" she drawls. The other vampire scowls at her.
"You've been missing all afternoon and most of the evening, I need to know where you've been." Eleanor interrupts impatiently and Jessie turns her head very slightly to stare at her.
"Why? I didn't realise that I had to account for every moment of my day to you Eleanor." She answers in a chilly voice. She sees how her eyes narrow very slightly.
"And you don't but you went completely off the radar. I was worried that you were stalking Mitchell again," She glances back at Jimmy "but we know that you weren't." there's a self-satisfied gleam in her pale blue eyes.
"You don't know that for sure."
"Oh don't I? I've had John Mitchell under observation for most of today. You were so quiet and secretive earlier that I thought you were going to ignore my explicit instructions to leave him alone so I know you didn't go anywhere near him. You did your disappearing act in the middle of Marks and Spencer's." Her voice is clinical.
"One minute you were there then alarms went off and you were gone. Very clever, I underestimated you today." Is it Jessie's imagination or is there a smidgen of admiration in her voice? Instead Eleanor takes a breath.
"I won't ask you who you were with because you'll tell me when you're ready." Her confidence rankles with Jessie and she frowns; she doesn't appreciate being spoken to as if she's a child. Memories of posing for Cutler, of their dinner and sharing a grown up bottle of wine together flash through her mind. She clings to it with single-minded determination.
"It's of no importance. I learned something of great interest earlier today. Don't you want to know what it was?" she waits and after a long moment, Jessie finally nods. Eleanor's smile is slow almost triumphant and despite herself, Jessie is curious. She watches as she slowly approaches her and then pauses just in front of her.
"Mitchell seems to have found himself a companion, a human nonetheless. That's who he spent most of this afternoon with. He seems quite taken with her."
"She works at the hospital." Jessie replies and Eleanor regards her, her head tilted slightly to the side.
"And how would you know that?" she enquires curiously and Jessie stares at her. She won't admit to returning to the hospital prior to meeting Cutler or to the gig on Friday night and she won't admit to stalking them there because then Eleanor will know that she went against her express wishes to keep away from him. An uncomfortable silence stretches out between them.
"That nurse you tried to snack on?" Jimmy interrupts and Jessie looks at him. Her nod of affirmation is barely perceptible. Eleanor's expression sharpens.
"Really? Well it does make sense; he was the one who went to her aid after all. Oh this is good." She smiles again.
"I wonder whether she knows what he is yet." she muses. She turns to look at Jimmy.
"Perhaps she'd appreciate a hint." Her smile is broad but there isn't a hint of warmth or affection in it.
"Oliver did say they looked quite charming together. They went back to her flat together with wine and pizza, she might get the shock of her life if things progress." She laughs and it sounds like shards of tinkling frosted glass. Jessie listens and she watches as Eleanor returns her attention to her.
"Oliver was watching them?" she asks in amazement. Oliver is one of Eleanor's newer recruits and she watches as her smile evaporates.
"I had planned on asking you but you slipped out and it was all Jimmy could do to keep track of you for what it was worth."
"You told me to stay away from him." she retorts.
"And if you'd stuck around and not been in such a hurry to leave the house then you would've known that I'd changed my mind. I worry about you sometimes Jessica, you can be so…wilful." The two women stare at each other before Eleanor turns her back on her.
"Go to bed Jessica, we'll talk further in the morning." she informs her and just like that, she's dismissed.
Mitchell is more of a night owl and that has nothing to do with him being a proverbial creature of the night. He's always been like that. It takes him a while to get going in the morning but by the time the sun is high in the sky then he's more with it, more in control. He feels sharper and more observant by the time night falls. Everything is far more interesting by nightfall.
He watches his colleagues as they slowly change into their scrubs. They all look so knackered, so worn down by their lives. He thinks about Shannon and he's barely able to bite back a smile. After their misunderstanding yesterday morning, things have thawed and progressed and while there hasn't been a repeat of earlier, she's definitely warmed to him being there. She's on nights this week too and it has been a complete fluke that their shifts have coincided like this. He hopes that he can grab a quick cup of coffee with her sometime through the shift though he knows that it all depends on how busy it gets in accident and emergency. He wants to see her, even if it's just for five minutes.
Shannon stares at her in stunned mute surprise. Abby lifts hesitant fingers and slowly touches the not quite shoulder length ends.
"Don't you like it?" she asks her. Her eyes are wide and she's uncharacteristically anxious. Shannon continues to stare at it. She gives her head a little shake.
"It's…it's…I thought you liked being a blonde?" Abby huffs out a sigh and drops her hand to her side.
"I do…I mean I did but I fancied a change…is it too much?"
"It's red Abby, I didn't think you'd go for red…but no, it's not too much, it actually suits you." she watches the smile of relief blossom on her face. She links her arm as they walk along from their locker room to accident and emergency.
"My hairdresser suggested it, I didn't want you to think that I was copying you." her expression becomes hesitant. Shannon smiles at her.
"Of course not, I'm not the only redhead around these parts and it's nice, you look nice." Ahead she sees a door open and her heart gives a traitorous leap when she sees Mitchell emerge, he's fiddling with his ID badge at the waistband of his scrubs. He lifts his head and sees them. A smile begins to form then quickly disappears and he stares at Abby with slightly startled eyes.
"Hey Mitchell," Shannon greets and he glances at her as he falls into step with them.
"Hey yourself, just started your shift?" he steals another glance at Abby before fixing his attention on Shannon's face. She just nods.
"Yeah."
"Me too, see you later?" he doesn't wait for a reply as he veers off in a different direction. Shannon barely refrains from stopping to watch him. Abby tugs her arm.
"I'm sure he fancies you. Did you get up to anything at the weekend?" Shannon looks at her and ignores the traitorous heat that flares in her cheeks.
"Get up to…like what?" she sounds slightly breathless even though she's trying to sound cool and casual and failing miserable.
Oh yeah, she's had a weekend to remember alright but she isn't ready to divulge any details, not just yet. Abby shrugs.
"I don't know, anything. It has to be better than my highpoint which was a visit to my hairdressers." She grumbles.
"Oh I don't know, how does washing and sleeping sound to you?" she keeps her tone light as they go through the double doors of accident and emergency and into the organised chaos. Abby chuckles as she lets go of her arm.
"Not my idea of a good time, all of a sudden my weekend wasn't such an abject failure." she teases and Shannon rolls her eyes and chuckles at the same time.
"Oh good Mitchell there you are, you're needed in A and E. How quick can you get in there?" Mitchell pauses and he looks down at the damp floor that he's just mopped.
"Ummm…now if it's an emergency?" He replies. Charlie Andrews, his supervisor looks harassed and he nods distractedly.
"Yeah, it's an emergency and it's all hands on deck. A family of four just rolled in, victims of a stabbing… horrible neck wounds, the place is awash with blood and they need people in there to clean up, it's bedlam and we're short staffed. You're not bothered by the sight of a lot of blood are you?" Mitchell freezes and his brain scrambles for an explanation. He then takes a deep breath and shakes his head quickly. If Charlie has come looking for him then it's an emergency alright.
"Good man. Just stop what you're doing here and get down there pronto, it's a nasty business in there, be warned." Mitchell nods again and watches him hurry away. He looks down at his trolley and sighs shakily. He remembers the last time he had been in accident and emergency and become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of blood. He straightens and takes a deep breath. He needs to get over this, to get in there and face this head on.
There is a sense of quiet urgency about the place as Mitchell enters, pushing his cleaning trolley in front of him. The bedlam Charlie has told him about doesn't seem to be in evidence. His eyes take in his surroundings. There's no loud laughter or belligerence as befitting an accident and emergency department at this time of the night. He's used to the noise so this quietness is strange. As he moves further into the area he smells the coppery tang of the blood that he's been warned about and he pauses as his stomach lurches.
"Oh God." he whispers and he screws his eyes tightly shut for a moment. The scent of it teases at his darker senses and for a moment he struggles to contain it. He takes a deep breath, filling his lungs and he fights for control. He has to be able to do this or it will be his complete undoing. He opens his eyes and looks around. Some of the cubicles are cordoned off and hidden from public view by pale green curtains. The floor beneath them and the trolleys they conceal is slick and red. His hands tighten around the handle of his trolley as he pushes it towards the mess.
Everyone is subdued, pale and shocked and Mitchell frowns. He gets on with the task at hand, cleaning and mopping and trying to breathe through his mouth but it waters at the scent and he makes himself swallow. He empties his mind of the images that the smell evokes. He feels a prickle go up and down his spine and he pauses. Even after close to a century of this life he has an inner sense about trouble and he turns his head. He sees the black uniforms of the local constabulary and he scans their faces and waits for him but he doesn't appear as he expects him to. They move past him but they don't look at him, don't make eye contact. He follows suit and gets back to work. One of the curtains is then drawn back and automatically Mitchell turns his head. He recognises one of the porters and his expression is sombre as he manipulates the trolley heading his way. Mitchell's eyes go down and he sees the small wrapped shape on top of it. It's a body, a child's body. Shock ripples through him and his eyes widen marginally. He stops what he's doing and everyone else does the same as the trolley is moved out of the department. It looks so tiny and Mitchell surmises that the kid couldn't have been very old. He slowly swallows and he watches two other trolleys follow the progression of the first one. One of the bodies is larger, the other is small and Mitchell remembers Charlie telling him that a family of four had been brought in. He wonders where the fourth victim is.
It's then that he hears it, senses it. The change in the air, the ripple of tension and he feels the accompanying sense of urgency. There are people seemingly crammed into a cubicle, working on someone. He can barely hear what is being said but this is where the tension is coming from. He watches the police officers as they mill around nearby. He sees their tense watchful expressions, how tightly their arms are folded around their bodies and how they just watch.
Mitchell straightens as they seem to stop and then take a step away. The atmosphere changes, the police officers seem to sigh and their heads go down to stare at the floor in defeat. He sees the man then, standing beside the trolley. He's pale and disbelieving in his rumpled pyjamas and dressing gown. He turns his head and sees Mitchell staring at him. His eyes widen with surprise.
"You can see me?" the man advances almost desperately towards him and Mitchell takes a half step back. He can see the blood from the gaping ragged wound in his neck. He glances around quickly but everything is as it should be and it's only he who can see this spirit approaching him. He swallows and grips the handle of his mop a little bit tighter. His answering nod is quick and he lifts the mop from the bucket and begins moving it around the floor again.
"What's happened to me? Where is my wife, where are my kids?…Harry is just a baby…just a few months old." Mitchell hears the fear drenched words, understands the confusion he must be feeling. He lifts his head very slightly and he looks at him.
"I don't know…I can't help you." he mutters back to him in a low voice. The man's eyes go wide.
"But I don't understand…it all happened so quickly. I was about to lock up for the night…my wife was in bed already and I was watching some late night telly." He pauses and looks around. Mitchell straightens up some more and looks at him.
"Someone knocked on the door…a woman…she said her car had broken down and could she use my phone. I know it was late but I was raised to help others so I said yeah, of course, come in and she did, only she had a friend with her too, some bloke." He frowns and when he looks back at Mitchell there are shiny tears in his eyes.
"Their eyes turned black." he whispers. Mitchell swallows. He opens his mouth to speak but as he does, a bright white light appears behind him. He turns in its direction and he sees the door that has materialised. For a moment he stares at it before he looks back at the man.
"I think that's for you mate, you probably should to go through it." He instructs him in a quiet voice. The man looks at him and he frowns.
"It is?" Mitchell just nods.
"Your family will be waiting for you. Go on, it'll be okay." He doesn't mention the men, the ones with the sticks and ropes. His own memories are a bit hazy, a little nightmarish and he hopes he doesn't go through what he did. He watches as the man slowly approaches the door and his step is hesitant and reluctant. He watches him open it and peer inside. Then despite himself he smiles and before he goes through he glances back at Mitchell.
"They are, they're waiting. Thanks." Just like that, he's gone.
Mitchell sighs shakily and resumes cleaning. He used to ignore the doors that appeared, feigned disinterest in what lay behind them. Now he can't because they make him wonder.
Their eyes turned black. First the attack on Shannon and now this. He frowns. The vampire who'd been guarding the door that first time had said they'd been looking for him and he still hasn't figured out who they are. He wonders whether they are connected somehow.
The blood has been cleaned away. Mitchell works quickly and efficiently and deliberately doesn't think, doesn't ponder. He watches the man's body being wheeled away to the mortuary and he considers who he could have been, what his history was. He wonders whether Shannon has been involved with what has happened. There were four of them brought in at the same time so the chances are that she was. He wonders where she is. He hasn't seen her yet.
He sees Abby standing with another nurse that he doesn't recognise. He blinks at the new red hair again; it is so similar in colour to Shannon's now that it's disconcerting. He takes a breath and leaves his trolley somewhere out of the way. He's due a break but he's concerned that he hasn't seen Shannon anywhere since he was called down to help.
Abby watches him approach her. Her expression is tense and stiff and unconsciously he clenches his fists. He knows that Shannon's friend isn't crazy about him but right now he doesn't give a toss. The other nurse present melts away, just leaving them both.
"Have you seen Shannon?" he enquires in a low voice and he watches how she frowns almost suspiciously.
"Why do you want to know?" Mitchell stares at her and for a moment he can't speak.
"Because she's a friend?" he replies tartly. Abby's blue eyes narrow on his face.
"You're always floating around her, she won't see it but I don't trust you." she tells him and he frowns at her this time.
"To be honest Abby, I don't care what you think of me but Shannon is a friend. I've just spent about an hour cleaning up a shit load of blood from a quadruple…stabbing so I really don't need your crap right now. I was wondering if she was okay, that's all." He hisses back. He sees how Abby's eyes go wide at his tightly spoken words. She then seems to give pause and eventually she sighs.
"She's taking her break but she won't be in the cafeteria." She tacks on as he goes to move past her. He pauses and waits.
"Out front." She tells him.
"Thanks." He replies and strides away.
He emerges from the front of the hospital and he pauses and looks left and right. Ambulances are still arriving and unloading their patients and Mitchell scans the faces of the people milling around to see if he can see her. Parallel to the front of the hospital are rows of wooden benches. Throughout the day they're in constant use, patients waiting to be picked up and taken home, sitting with visiting family, staff using them to sit outside in the nicer weather. At this time of night they're virtually empty.
He sees her sitting on the furthest bench away from him and he walks towards her.
"Shannon." She turns her head in his direction and then just as quickly she turns back and he sees how she surreptitiously wipes at her eyes. He doesn't wait for an invitation to sit as he lowers himself onto the bench beside her. He watches her, careful to keep a safe gap between them. She doesn't speak.
"How are you doing?" he asks quietly and watches how she shrugs.
"I'll be okay." She whispers. He moves closer to her but still doesn't touch her. It's then that he sees the dried blood on the front of her scrub top. He stares at it for a moment and swallows.
"By all accounts it was a tough case." She looks up at him.
"I got called in for the clean-up." He explains. She just nods.
"How is Mr Fisher?" Mitchell frowns "the dad… the police thought that he'd done it, that he'd gone crazy and knifed his whole family and tried to kill himself."
"But you don't think so?" Shannon shakes her head.
"He could barely speak but he kept… asking for his little boy…he was just a…baby." She frowns fiercely but Mitchell sees fresh tears brew. He reaches for her hand and just holds it and he watches her.
"I'll be okay." She repeats more to herself than to him. He gently squeezes her hand.
"It's fine." He whispers back. She glances at him.
"There were two children, the little boy…and there was a little girl, she looked barely three years old. How could someone do this to someone so innocent Mitchell? It was horrific!" He watches her but doesn't respond, he doesn't know how to. He knows exactly why, it's all about the blood; it's always about the blood. It doesn't matter if the person is young or old, male or female, for a vampire it's about wanting the blood that they have. He never went near children though. He's watched and he's wondered of course but there's something…obscene about draining a child, something almost cowardly about it.
"She was going into cardiac arrest as the ambulance pulled in to the bay so I just picked her up and ran with her. I've never run so…fast in my life. And we tried…but it was too late, the blood loss was too catastrophic…" Mitchell quietly sighs and he slides his arms around her and he draws her up against him.
"You did your best Shannon but like you said it was too much, it was too late. You tried and that's all you can hope for." He feels her head rest in the hollow of his shoulder, her perfume rises with her body heat, mixing with the dried blood on her scrub top.
"I should toughen up…"
"It was a child Shannon, lost under horrific circumstances, I think I'd be more concerned if you didn't show any kind of emotion." He informs her quietly. She moves her head away from his shoulder and she looks at him. He smiles softly and using his fingers, brushes away the tear traces.
"You're human, that's what makes you special." He bends his head and kisses her. It's a brief contact but it helps her in that moment. Her hand comes to rest on his chest.
"You'd better not do that in public Mitchell…people like to talk…and gossip, it's the lifeblood of this place." She frowns briefly and gently pats his chest. She looks at him and her smile is gentle but it disappears when she looks down and sees the state of her clothing.
"I'd better go and get changed. Thanks for this."
"Anytime and listen, when you're next due for a break, come and find me okay?" he suggests and she lifts her head and looks at him.
"What? Is it a crime to share a cup of coffee together now?" he enquires when he sees the doubt in her eyes. He then shakes his head.
"You know what, it doesn't matter, I'll be around and I'm sure you'll find me if you want to." He stands up and pauses as she reaches up and captures his hand.
"I'm sorry Mitchell, okay, I'll find you." she promises.