Update! Apologies, I forgot on Tuesday again but I was at Chester Zoo all day and didn't get back until late :(
Hope you enjoy and reviews are welcomed! -Sophie x
The end of her shift came all too soon, and it was time to face the music.
Connie stood outside the doors to the pub, coat pulled anxiously up to her neck. It was windy, possibly the windiest day they'd had that month but the clinical lead didn't mind. It soothed her slightly, the calm before the storm as she stepped into the warm, busy pub. The ED staff had taken over their usual tables by the wall, and there was a spare seat in the middle of them all, between Tess and Noel and opposite Charlie.
Everyone looked up as she came to sit down.
"I said we'd all be meeting, but I didn't say it was about you." Charlie whispered as she sat down and pushed a glass of lemonade in front of her.
"No wine?" She asked, half out of desperation. He shook his head firmly.
"Steroids and alcohol don't mix, you know that."
"Mmm. Lemonade it is then." She muttered, sipping the cool liquid and imagining the bitter taste was actually her favourite white wine. She took a long, deep breath before clearing her throat.
"Ok, can I have your attention please?" Connie called, waiting until the noise had quietened until she began to speak. She remained sat down in order to not draw too much attention to herself, and underneath the table her hands twirled her phone over and over on her knees.
"Some of you I know have noticed my absences recently," she looked to Ethan at the end of the table, "and there's a reason behind all of them which I'll get to in a moment. But first I just wanted… I just wanted to um, to thank you all, really. For taking over my lost hours without any reason to. I know most of us haven't seen eye to eye for a lot of the time I've been working within the department," from the corner of her eye, she noticed Rita shift in her seat, "but this really does mean a lot. So thank you for that."
It was then that she started to feel her stomach drop as the whispers started up. She heard the hushed mutterings of "leaving" and "sacked" and "pregnant" before she shushed them all again. Trying as hard as she could to stop her voice wavering, she carried on speaking.
"The reasons behind them all are all linked." She looked to Charlie for support who raised his eyebrows. Beside her, Tess placed a gentle hand on hers and the mobile sat still on her lap.
"The reason is… I've recently found out that… Well it seems that… Oh Christ I don't even know how to say this." She paused again, closing her eyes and taking another deep, shaky breath before opening them again.
"The reason is, I've recently found out I've developed a brain tumour." She spoke slowly, her words jutting to only just form a coherent sentence. "And it's at Grade 3- so it's also… it's also cancerous."
As soon as she finished speaking, she sat back and downed the rest of the glass of lemonade. Her staff, bar Charlie and Tess, avoided her gaze and sat in an uncomfortable silence until she stood up.
"Thank you for your time. I'll see you all tomorrow." She mumbled as a goodbye, picking up her bag and leaving as quickly as possible. Tess shot Charlie a questioning look, as if to ask whether she should go after her or not. After hesitating, he nodded and she followed the taller woman's footsteps, leaving the pub just as the chatter started up again.
"Connie!" She called half jogging to catch up with her. "Wait!"
She kept moving, her legs noticeably shaking as she made her way to her car. Eventually the smaller woman reached her boss and she coughed slightly.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No. I'm fine Tess."
"I think you're far from it. At least let me drive you home?"
"I said I'm fine!" Connie exclaimed irritably as they reached her car, and she opened the driver's side door and climbed in.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Don't gossip too much." She muttered, slamming the door and starting up the engine. Tess moved out of the way and watched as she left, speeding out of the car park and onto the main road, saying a silent prayer that she got home safely before going back inside to her colleagues.
…
"She's gone home." She told Charlie, sitting down again. "Refused to let me go with her or drive her, which I suppose I half expected. I think she's starting to regret telling everyone already."
"Better sooner than later. Like she told me, if anything happens now and neither of us are there they'll have a vague idea of what's going on."
Over at the left hand side of the table, just past Tess sat Robyn, Ethan, Lily, Rita, Lofty, Max and Zoe.
"Well that explains why she collapsed in resus last week." Lofty commented, tapping his glass.
"And why Charlie wanted to do a head CT." Robyn added.
"And where she disappeared to the next day- she must have taken the day off for her biopsy."
"Yeah, she had the full day off didn't she? That's why we had to do those extra shifts." Rita sighed, stirring her Malibu and coke with a straw.
"Poor Connie. She's not had an easy time of it recently has she?" Zoe sighed, before getting an elbow to the arm from Max.
"I knew you were going soft." He grinned, and she pretended to smack him on the knee.
"I'm not going soft, I just feel sorry for her. She's lost Grace, she's lost her friend, she's been in prison for god's sakes, nearly killed in Bucharest; someone up there has it in for her." She glanced up to the sky through the window.
"She's strong, the woman won't go down without a fight." Lily said firmly.
…
At the other end of the table, Cal, Dylan, Noel, Big Mac, Louise, Dixie and Ian were sat also discussing their clinical lead.
"She sends shivers down my spine and has a glare than can probably kill, but even then I wouldn't wish this on her." Louise declared. "It's cruel, not even your worst enemy deserves it."
"I know. And a brain tumour too, out of all of them. She might be a bitch most of the time but she's also one of the best consultants around." Cal sighed. "I loved her talks at uni."
"Yeah, so you could get an eyeful." Dixie grinned. "Trust me mate, I've been there."
"No seriously, it wasn't just that. She always managed to motivate me, actually make me want to learn. She helped me get to where I am now."
Dylan looked up from his phone screen and blinked a couple of times, looking at the doctor that had just spoken.
"That makes me feel nauseous. If you're so besotted with her then why don't you plan something to help her? Some ridiculous charity event or, or come-to-work-in-fancy-dress day. Just let me know beforehand when that is and I'll take my holiday." He muttered, getting up and pulling on his jacket.
"Party pooper." Noel shook his head as the consultant left. "But he did have a point. We should do some fundraising, maybe for cancer research?"
"Ooh. I could do a parachute jump! I've always wanted to do one of those." Big Mac grinned.
"Or we could sell off some donations- see if Zoe or Mrs B herself will give us some heels. I've had my eye on her grey Louboutins since she started here- I can't afford £550." Louise sighed happily. Dixie prodded her, eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Hey, just because the woman's got a tumour doesn't mean you can start bags-ing her stuff!" She exclaimed. "How about a fashion show instead? But a male one- with our donated clothes. That would be a laugh."
"Oh my god, yeah- and auction off the men afterwards!" Louise's eyes lit up with inspiration, before realising who she was talking to.
"And maybe a couple of women too." She added, and the paramedic nodded happily.