After copying down Michael Firth's address from his patient file Sam hurried out of the ED, aware that she only had about 15 minutes until her shift started. Luckily for her his home was only a couple of streets away, and was in the exact opposite direction to Sandown Road.

As she walked up the street his house was located on she slowed her hurried pace a little as she realized she hadn't got a clue what she was going to say. Her mind briefly went back to her failed apology back when she had unintentionally broke Keith Parr's neck, and she wondered of Zoe was right.

Sam snapped her mind back to the present with a deep breath. No time for doubts now.

She was able to knock on the door twice before she heard loud footsteps and the door swung open to reveal a totally different person to the one she had met in the hospital. Sam had been expecting someone off his head on alcohol but instead a man with a clean shaven face and a suit was stood before her.

It appeared to take him a moment to recognise her, but when he did the almost pleasant look on his face turned into something that was making her doubt her decision to try and apologize even more than Zoe's stern warning against this course of action.

"What exactly do you want?" He said coldly.

Sam's jaw worked as a shudder went down her spine but she still stood her ground.

"Good Morning Mr Firth, I was wondering if we could-" Sam began in the most cheerful voice she could muster.

"You were wondering if you could sweet talk me into dropping the charges. Well you've had a wasted journey. Go back under whatever rock you crawled out from and leave me the hell alone."

Sam's jaw worked once more, she didn't want to appear rude but the phrase 'sweet talk' instantly got under her skin. Sweet talk wasn't her thing, she didn't get where she was in the army by sweet talking her way up to the top.

"Mr Firth I assure you that I have no intention of sweet talking you or anyone else." Sam replied, struggling to keep her voice level.

"Look, I don't have time for this and I'm sure too busy dumping patients on other people to see that some of us actually have work to do."

"Mr Firth-"

"For gods sakes women give it up! And for your information it isn't 'Mr' it's lieutenant."

Sam's eyes widened. "Lieutenant?"

"Yes, or it was. I was discharged after my PTSD got too bad for me to function properly as a soldier." He said before shaking his head. "Why am I telling all of this to you? Get out of here!"

"Is that why you were drinking?"

"What?"

"I knew many soldiers who turned to drink because of what they saw out there. I was lucky enough not to be one of them." Sam replied, meeting his stern gaze.

"Yeah right girly. You really expect me to believe that they let some women-"

"You better watch the sexism. Yes, they let some women into the Army. I was an army medic." Sam replied, keeping her voice as level as she could.

"You were an army doctor?!"

Sam sighed and smiled. "Yes, I was."

"Why are you not back out there?"

"I- that's a long story." Sam replied, realizing as she spoke that everything that had happened that led her to staying at Holby.

For a moment Sam thought about what it would have been like have returned to the army and continued her life as though her time at Holby had never existed, or if she had stayed away from the army and worked at the different hospital.

"Are you... alright?" Firth asked, looking at her awkwardly as she became lost in her thoughts.

"What? Oh, Oh yes I-I'm fine." Sam stuttered. "What about you?"

"What?"
"Are you still drinking?"

"I'm not an alcoholic, you know. No I'm not still drinking." He said in an affronted tone.

"Look I'm sorry. I had to ask, if you were then I could get you some help and-"

"Since we've already established that I am not an alcoholic there is no need to continue this line of conversation." Firth said flatly.

"Right, of course. Sorry."

"You say sorry an awful lot."

Sam's lip curled. "I don't normally."

"Yes I had a feeling you would say that."

Sam was surprised to see a small smile forming on the man's lips as he said this.

"Bah!" The man shouted suddenly, making several passers by jump in surprise. "

Sam stared at him in confusion and waited.

"Before you came here I was intent on making sure you lost your licence. But now I see that there's something about you Dr Nicholls that makes me feel fortunate that we have people in our own country that are like you. I was the one in the wrong that day and for that I am truly sorry. I will phone up your Dr Hannah and drop the complaint."

…

He stared out of the window for the longest time, waiting the return of his brother. If he ever found out the line of thought that was going through his mind at that precise moment he would have probably killed him.

He was having doubts about this while situation. He had only agreed to be involved in this because the man who had raped Dr Nicholls was his brother, but now he realized the true implication this could have on him if they were caught.

For a moment he did consider walking out of the nearest door and never looking back, but then he realized that his brother would not rest until he had hunted him down and he was more than capable of framing the entire attack on him, or whatever other crime came to mind.

A slamming of the front door and the usual clopping sound his brother's leather heels made on the wooden floors announced his presence.

"So, did you get it?" He asked as he fixed his expression to its usual emotionless state.

"Yes. I got the damn notepaper and no I didn't touch it with my bare hands. No DNA, no fingerprints. Happy?" He said in an irritated tone.

"Well as happy as I can be with this. Just make sure that you don't get caught getting the address."

"And where do you suppose I get that from?"

"From the hospital patient files, idiot."

"Ok you're mad."

"Sneak in there, note down her address and post the note. If she still doesn't drop the charges then we'll have to step things up a notch."

"Fine."