Understandably, tensions were high between Sam and Connie in the two weeks following. Elliot had completely overstepped the mark and caused far more stress and upset for his dear friend than he would even care to admit. She was a closed book as it was but now even more so than ever. There was no warmth in her words towards him anymore, there was little to begin with since it wasn't particularly in her nature but she was cool and reserved in his presence now. Sam had somehow, miraculously, managed to contain his anger. Reassuring himself with the fact that Connie was obviously going through some awful things right now and this whole situation has probably come as a huge shock to her. He had confronted her the very next day, ultimately landing Elliot in the shit but right now he couldn't care less.
People were beginning to notice her bump now, it was fairly obvious regardless of how hard she tried to conceal it. The usual, petty hospital gossip never bothered her but now she felt everyone's eyes on her as she walked through the corridors of Darwin ward. There was a charity function on this evening and she'd been planning on avoiding it for the obvious reason of hiding a pregnancy but since everyone seemed to know now, judging by the following eyes and low whispers, she decided to attend. She wasn't one to hide away and allow small things to get her down, so what better way to silence the gossip and retake the reins on the situation.
"Oh, you're attending tonight?" Elliot asked, nervously but sweetly as he watched her hang a long black dress up in their office. It was a satin or silk-like material, lengthy and elegant in nature.
"Why? Should I be at home, hibernating from the hospital gossip that's circulating?" Her words were like tiny daggers, hitting him in the chest in quick succession. It was an obvious snipe at him and his big mouth. He blinked slowly with an audible sigh, causing her to look at him. It was an icy and uncomfortable visual exchange. "Walking from theatre to here not two minutes ago I heard two interesting possibilities about who the father could be, so far in hospital news I could be carrying Dr Rose's child or my ex-husband's."
"Connie-"
"I'm surprised you haven't had it printed on flyers and been handing them out at the entrance." Spitting angrily she moved to her desk swiftly and sat down.
"That is not fair, Connie." His words were slightly growled, angry at how hostile she was being. "How long are you going to keep this up? You know me, you know I would never purposely hurt you! I genuinely thought Mr Strachan was aware, I thought you were going to tell him." The prickliness in his voice had dissipated considerably, he just wanted this to all wash away and be gone. "I'm too tired to argue with you anymore, I don't know how else to tell you that I'm sorry." He stood slowly, placing a small envelope on her desk as he made his way around to the door.
"What's this?" She asked dryly, awaiting an answer before she even thought about reaching for the small letter.
"I don't know, it had been placed on my desk this morning. It's for you." He bowed his head sadly when she offered him no response, not even an acknowledgement that she'd heard him, she simply continued typing emotionlessly.
Until he left.
That's when she stopped what she was doing immediately, reaching for the envelope as soon as Elliot had closed the door behind himself. Turning it over in her hands, she studied the front of the letter diligently, the hand-writing in particular. Her stomach turned.
"She probably has no idea herself, let's be honest."
"Who has no idea?" Sam questioned inquisitively as he slid up to Chrissie and Mark, they were deep in conversation at the nurses station.
"Connie." She smirked. "I mean, she's bedded that many men, the father could be any male Doctor or surgeon in the hospital."
"Chrissie." Mark warned disappointedly, his brow furrowing a little with annoyance. Admittedly, Connie was difficult at the best of times but he admired her devotion and utter professionalism she showed at all times. She was an extremely intelligent, talented surgeon and he respected that.
"What? I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking."
"I think you're the only one thinking that." Sam managed to speak finally, his teeth still quite obviously clenched together with frustration. Yes, he was at odds with Connie but he still felt a rise within whenever he heard anyone bad-mouthing her. "Perhaps you should just get on with your job." Speaking lowly, he avoided both of their questioning eyes before grabbing his patient files and brushing between them both.
"He's a bit touchy this morning." Mark spoke, a slight smile on his face as he witnessed Sam disappear around the corner.
"Yeah, he's been acting weird for a couple of weeks now, I'm getting a bit sick of it to be honest." Her brow twitched and her nostrils flared momentarily as she exhaled. "Anyway, enough of him, you're still going tonight aren't you?"
"Oh God." He winced. "I was hoping you'd forgotten about this bloody charity thing."
"Come on, Dad." She huffed. "Don't be so miserable! Mum's been looking forward to it for ages."
"I know she has." His face softened, thinking about his dear wife. "I take it you're going with him then?" He motioned his head in the direction Sam had disappeared in.
"Providing his mood has improved, yes. If not, he can get stuffed." She smiled sweetly. "He's right though, I better get on with it." Glancing at her watch quickly she kissed her Dad on the cheek before setting out on to the ward. "And don't be late!"
Around the corner, Sam had taken a minute to gather himself. He'd been getting nowhere with Connie, in fact he'd probably made her become more distant if that was even possible. He was due in theatre with her in ten minutes and he was slightly dreading it.
As it would transpire, he had good reason for dreading it. The whole operating theatre was frosty and uncomfortable as they worked in cold silence. He'd only just been relieved of his light duties, the infection fully dealt with and his body more or less back to full strength. This also meant spending more time with Connie as he resumed his previous role of assisting her in theatre. She was avoiding his eyes at all cost throughout the procedure, managing not to glimpse his way even just the once. He'd spent the majority of that time trying to encourage eye contact but she was refusing flat out. He couldn't even get her to look at him, never mind speak to him. Saving his words up until the procedure was complete, he was able to catch her in the deserted corridor outside.
"Look, I know you won't speak to me but I just want to say that I'm going to be there for my child-" His sentence was sliced short as she turned quickly to face him.
"How many times do I have to repeat this to you?" She asked in a hushed manner, her words hissed viciously. "It is not your baby."
"One of them is." Their eyes remained locked, his held a glint of emotion whilst hers seemed tired and empty. "I want a DNA test doing, on both of them." His serious request was mocked immediately as she let out a dry laugh, when really she wanted to do nothing but weep.
"Demand all you want, Mr Strachan. No DNA test will be done by me willingly, not now and not when they're born." Her face softened slightly upon noting the look of pure hurt on his face, not to mention a mixture of shock. Realistically speaking, this was the first time she'd actually verbally admitted she was indeed carrying twins and it took him completely by surprise.
"Why are you doing this?" He whispered the words, each one laced with hurt. "What's so bad about me wanting to be a part of my child's life?"
"I'm not discussing this with you any further." She shook her head emotionally. "This is not your problem, you're in the clear so please will you just leave me alone." She turned on the spot, walking away from him after saying her piece but he wasn't letting her have the last word this time. He wanted the truth. Walking quickly to catch up with her, he manoeuvred around her and blocked her path. This evidently caused her some amount of frustration.
"I'm not going to stop, you know? Every day, I'll be here, asking you."
"Well then, if that's the case I'll have you transferred before you can even say Cardiothoracic Consultant, let alone become one." Her threat was definitely not an empty one, this he could tell by the deathly look on her face. In all honesty, it send a shiver down his spine. But he couldn't help himself.
"I'm not just going to let you do this, if that is my child, I will be part of his or her life."
"The audible sigh of relief you breathed when you actually believed this baby wasn't yours told me all I needed to know." Her face softened as she witnessed his expression change quickly.
"So it is mine?" He spoke softly, almost as if he was scared of spooking her with any loud noise. "You are carrying my baby?" He held his breath, his eyes flickering over her conflicted face. She couldn't answer him, she just gave him a sad sort of look that immediately answered his lingering questions before she turned and walked away. He was left alone in the corridor, his brain trying to process the news. Thinking this scenario and actually living it were two completely different things. And this was all very real now.
Having left him stood in shock, she entered her office numbly. The silence of her work space engulfing her completely as soon as the door clicked shut, her breathing was faster than normal, her chest rising and falling as her heart thumped in her ears. She hoped to God she'd just suddenly wake up and the last few months had all been some sort of surreal and terrifying nightmare but sadly this was not the case. It was all painfully real, including the latest upset to enter her life.
The white envelope.
Fixing her eyes on it in a dazed manner, she soon became aware that her body had relaxed. Perhaps with shock? Or being overwhelmed? Who could say. She moved over to the opened piece of stationary, angrily tearing it up and throwing it's tattered and torn remains into the bin beside her. Steadying herself on her desk, she inhaled deeply in an attempt to collect herself. This was a ghost from her past she could really do without right now, especially on top of everything else she was dealing with. She couldn't shake the scratchily written words from her head. Blinking hard, she rubbed the back of her neck soothingly whilst her other hand smoothed over her bump. The baggy scrubs she was dressed in becoming wrinkled beneath her touch. She felt like she'd been swimming against the tide for months, and as each day painfully passed by, another weight was added to the shackles pulling her down.
But as always, a master at disguising her pain and anguish, she put on a brave face and a confident front as she attended the charity function alone. Her palms were sweating and her mouth was as dry as a bone. But to the naked eye, she looked flawless and radiant as she sauntered over to her seat. The formality of work was gone, as were the inquisitive stares and gossip fuelled whispers. For now. The building it was being held in was nothing short of spectacular. It was huge in height, the ceilings far taller than any she'd ever seen before and it held a slightly dated feel. Each room was decorated like an art museum, odd paintings and unique sculptures scattered about and adding a regal feel to the place. With valet parking, she'd left her car in the hands of staff to be parked. Not everyone was here yet, judging by the empty chairs and tables about the large room. Up the front there was a stage set up along with a projector screen and a small podium. She could only thank the heavens above she wasn't speaking tonight, just attending. There was no sign of Elliot so far, nor Sam thank goodness. His incessant questioning was becoming a pain in her side. As for her attire, she'd selected a most appropriate dress. It wasn't super figure-hugging and nor did it emphasise her bump at all, it simply hung on her beautifully.
"Glad you could join us, Connie." Ric smiled, holding his glass up to greet her as she sat down. He was joined by Abra, Mark and Jac in welcoming her. She was greatly relieved she wasn't seated with either Elliot or Sam this evening but that didn't mean she was in for an easy evening. As time would soon tell in the next minute or so.
"Yes, very glad indeed." Jac added all too quickly. "Please, somebody grab Connie a glass - Oh, wait." She halted her false words, everyone's eye's on her with slight disdain upon knowing exactly what she was doing. "You shouldn't really be drinking in your condition, silly me." She glanced up at the stone-faced consultant. "I believe congratulations are in order?" She smiled smugly as she spoke, always one to make a situation awkward for her own entertainment. Her comment was followed by a series of some genuine and some fake surprised faces as they all uttered their well wishes. But it was Ric who clocked the discomfort in Connie's facial expression and body language, ultimately coming to her rescue once again.
"Indeed, congratulations and apologies for diverting the subject so swiftly but as I was just discussing, somebody else will have to present my speech at the podium tonight." Connie gave him a small yet grateful smile from her seat next to Jac, he dipped his head in recognition whilst continuing to speak. "I have some unexpected yet urgent business to attend to, I'll be leaving early."
"Lord Byrne is seated up the front, isn't he?" Jac questioned quickly, her attention grabbed in an instant. "I'll do it."
"Of course you will." Connie said sweetly but every single person on the table caught the threatening undertone in her voice. Ric couldn't help but smile to himself, his registrar could do with being knocked down a peg or two and who better to do it than the Connie Beauchamp. The two women locked eyes as they remained seated next to one another. "Because let's face it." She whispered lowly now, keeping the exchange hushed and private as the others began to talk amongst themselves. "You're going to need all the brownie points you can get your conniving little hands on."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." The younger female swallowed hard, attempting to conceal the obvious fear she was feeling.
"Oh, I think you do." She smiled, resting her elbows gently on the table as she breathed the words coolly. "A little birdie told me you're after the newly vacant registrar position on Darwin, but let me tell you now, do not make an enemy of me, Ms Naylor. Because I can assure you, it may just be the last thing you do in this hospital. My opinion holds a lot of weight, and let's just say you're already off to a bad start. Cross me again and you can kiss your career goodbye now before it's even started. And for the record, it's Mrs Beauchamp to you." Watching from across the table, Ric was still amused at the way she put Jac back in her box despite him not being able to hear a word of the whispered exchange. Noting how Connie's face didn't falter once from a dangerous smile, whilst Jac's pumped up bravado seemed to disappear before his very eyes. The pair finished their close knit conversation, which was mostly one-sided before Connie turned to give Ric a smile.
"Right, well that's settled then. Jac, you'll present the speech." He slid the notes over to her before grabbing his glass. "Thank you for offering, there's a fair few cue cards there, you might want to go somewhere quiet and give them a quick read through." Everyone's eyes fell upon her, waiting for her to collect them and leave.
"Good luck, Ms Naylor, I'll look forward to hearing it." She gave her one last cold smile just for good measure. That felt good, she couldn't lie. But almost as soon as the smile appeared on her face, it slowly disappeared again. Across the room just seating herself down at a table was Susan, she could only imagine she'd been invited to speak about something to do with Will. Her stomach suddenly felt like it was doing somersaults. Out of her line of sight, Sam was just arriving also, with Chrissie attached to his arm and looking as dolled up as ever. Her gleeful expression was a far sight different to Sam's, who just happened to look as gloomy as he felt.
"Oh god." Chrissie whispered. "I hope we're not sat at a table full of weirdos." He remained silent, ignoring her meaningless chatter, scanning the room for Connie whilst a waiter checked the list for their names before guiding them to their seats. They were two tables away from her, but he had a clear sight. She looked quite remarkable. Stunning really. "Sam?" Repeating his name again, Chrissie raised her brows waiting for any form of answer. "I've been talking to you for about two minutes now, have you not listened to a word I've said?"
"Hm? Sorry, sorry I'm just exhausted that's all." His well rehearsed apology wasn't cutting it with her anymore since it seemed to be exactly the same each and every time.
"You didn't have to come, you know? Especially if you're going to be like this all night." She leant back in her chair angrily before muttering under breath, making sure it was still loud enough for him to hear. "Would've preferred if you hadn't come to be honest." He felt his eyes roll back in his head involuntarily at her catty remarks, he was growing very tired of her needy nature and very quickly. But as of late he couldn't help but wonder if it was more than just that. He found himself thinking about Connie daily and not just during working hours, his mind and heart were completely conflicted and confused. Before he could spit out a quick comeback, Mark and Tricia appeared and took their seats at the table.
"I don't know how I managed it but I got him here with only a few complaints." Tricia laughed, setting her purse down on the table as they got settled.
"I'm a man of my word, I said I'd take you and here we are my love." He gave her a wink before the pair both turned their attention back to a vacant looking Sam and their less than impressed daughter.
"Well I'm more than relieved to see we're sat with you, any idea who's taking the last seat?" Tricia asked cautiously, sensing their was some underlying tension between the young couple.
"I think it's Elliot." Mark replied after taking a swig of his freshly poured wine. "We've got a good table here, some don't look as lucky." Glancing around the room he was referring to the table opposite them, occupied by Keith Greene and some other dull beings. "I imagine that table'll be a hoot later." He winced with a laugh when Tricia slapped his hand in jest and jokingly reprimanded him.
"You're awful."
A few tables away, Connie was still unaware of Sam's watching eyes as she herself was busy watching Susan. She looked about ready to give birth any day now and seemed to be shuffling papers of some sort, a speech perhaps? She guessed she'd soon find out as the evening progressed. Her heart skipped a beat when the widowed woman looked her way, locking eyes with her immediately. There was a long and uncomfortable connection between them, she looked so hateful and so angry. After a solid ten or fifteen seconds she lost her nerve and needed to get out of the situation.
"Excuse me." She jumped into action, pushing her chair back to stand and make a bee-line for the bathroom once she'd excused herself from the table. A part of her just wanted to keep walking, right through the foyer and out to the the car-park. But the fighter within was urging her to stay, pull herself together and stick it out. So that's exactly what she was doing. Following the signage to the toilets, she found herself greeted by a large wall length mirror at the end of the corridor complete with a sort of bench top in front to place personal items to make it possible for people to correct their appearance or attire. Either side of the hallway were the Mens Toilets and the opposite side the Female Toilets. And there stood Elliot, making an extremely poor attempt at putting his tie on in the mirror, his shirt tails hanging out and the clothes he'd been wearing today shoved messily into his tattered man satchel. Her heart did kind of ache for him as she slowly came to a stop behind him, their eyes meeting in the mirror.
"You've got it on backwards." She stated abruptly, watching him struggle.
"Ah, yes, Gina would always do this, you see? And Martha was my back-up but she's away." He chuckled lightly, making a complete dogs ear out of it so much so that she couldn't watch it any longer. Moving over to stand in front of him she slipped her black velvet purse under arm.
"Move your hands." As soon as her words were uttered, his hands dropped down by his sides. He was watching her expression, trying to read whether or not this meant they were on speaking terms again but she still looked vexed and her eyes wouldn't meet his.
"I am sorry, you know-"
"I know." She interrupted abrasively, her eyes finally meeting his as she finished looping his tie at the front. She looked softer now, her voice was a little louder than a whisper and full of sincerity. "I know you are." Adjusting his collar to complete his look, she rubbed his upper arm apologetically. "I know you meant well and I just-" She trailed off trying to think of how to word it. "I just sort of exploded a little bit."
"You've got a lot going on, it was only a matter of time." He smiled, his whole body beaming again now that their row was put to bed. Her small smile back seemed like an effort but he was thankful she did it, he hadn't seen her smile in so long. The silence grew louder until he spoke again with a more serious tone. "You weren't going to tell him, were you?" Their eyes danced across one another's for a few seconds before she finally answered.
"He looked a little put out about the possibility of becoming a Father." She folded her lips together sadly. "So I figured I'd save him the hassle and tell him it wasn't his." Her words were whispered now. "Besides, it's probably best for everyone that way."
"I'm not so sure about that." Elliot argued cautiously, the care and concern extremely evident in his soft face. "Most men would have run a mile, but he hasn't has he?" Tilting his head, he watched her thinking.
"Please, Elliot-"
"Alright." He held his hands up quickly. "I'm leaving it, I'm changing the subject." Reassuring her, he proceeded to step back and look her up and down slowly, taking her appearance in. "You look lovely."
"Ah, flattery won't make me forgive you any quicker." She smiled again but it quickly faded at the sight of Sam approaching them, inviting Elliot to mimic her still face before turning to see what exactly had caught her attention. Laying his focus back on her, he gave her arm a loving squeeze as he leant in close to her.
"I'll leave you both to it." His whispered words were only just heard as he quickly scurried away. She attemted to dive into the ladies room but his hand gripped her forearm softly.
"Please, Connie! I just want to talk."
"I've already said all I need to say-"
"Yes, but I haven't!" His words were loud, his stance becoming less friendly and thus inviting her to snatch her arm from his grip. "I can't stop thinking about all of this, my mind is just ticking constantly, I can't get it out of my head."
"Ah, yes, well join the club." Her sarcasm bounced off him as he continued on with his pleas.
"It wasn't a sigh of relief that you heard." He referred back to her earlier comment.
"Please." She scoffed, looking away with a cold and brief smile. "You looked as though you'd just narrowly escaped a death sentence, Sam."
"I have a son." The emotionally raw words blurted loudly out of his mouth with no restraint, even shocking himself as well as Connie. This new information just kind of sat there hanging between them for a few moments before her stark silence encouraged him to continue. "I have a son out there, somewhere." He shrugged sadly whilst talking. "Who I've never met, never seen, I don't even know his name." His brow was wrinkled with emotion, his eyes flickering over hers as her face softened slightly. "I was pushed out and never got chance to be a Father to him. I had no choice and there was nothing I could do to make her change her mind." He sighed shakily between words. "I've known about your pregnancy for weeks now, since the day I was attacked, just waiting for you to tell me but as the weeks went by I started to think you had no intention of ever letting me know. So, my reaction was not one of relief but disappointment. I'd spent all those weeks assuming it was my baby and for you to tell me it was someone else's mistake?" He scoffed slightly with a kind of despaired exasperation. "It felt like a punch in the windpipe." His sad brown eyes remained fixed on hers but she was still so cagey and closed off, as he next spoken sentence would indicate clearly.
"So, what? This will be some sort of redemption child for you? You missed out on the first one so perhaps you'll have a better look in with this one?"
"You always find a way to turn things around and into something they're not, don't you?" He laughed with ill humour. "I'm standing here telling you that I want to be in our child's life, I want to be involved, I want to be there for him or her and you but somehow you manage to twist into something negative!"
"But that's just it though, isn't it?!" She raised her voice, her temper flaring. "There's not just your child to think about!" Her words seemed to echo in the long hallway, bouncing off the tiles beneath their feet and the walls surrounding them. "Look, please, I can't do this right now." Pulling all of her protective guards up, she tried to end the conversation promptly. Pressing the palm of her hand on her forehead for a split second, she shook her head and turned to go into the female toilets but to her annoyance he followed, showing no regard for the fact that he was in the women's bathroom facility.
"What are you so afraid of?" He knew he was poking the bear, so to speak, but he was sick of the avoidance. She'd easily keep this up forever but he was growing so tired of it.
"You're just not listening, are you?" Her tired and emotional face stared up at him sadly, he current vulnerability finally cracking through her armoured front. "Alright, you want to be involved, that's great." Stating matter-of-factly she continued upon noticing his deadpan expression. "So what happens on birthdays? or at Christmas? Hm? I'm just supposed to let your child experience the joy of having two parents and extended family whilst Will's is forced to watch on enviously?!" Her voice cracked tearfully, the sorrow and grief flooding out uncontrollably with weeks of internal worries and thoughts she'd been harbouring on her own. "Because I can't do that, I won't do that." She looked down quickly, annoyed at herself for getting upset in front of him. That was something that made her feel so weak and helpless and she hated it. Sam was stunned into silence, she'd unwittingly admitted it was Will's baby in her emotional outburst and his heart honestly felt pain for her. The sudden incoming sound of chattering women threw him into a panic following the moment of low-spirited quietness, coinciding with Connie's fearful look that more or less screamed for him to get out. Unfortunately, his timing was off and whilst darting through the doorway he came face to face with the group of dolled up Nursing staff.
"Sorry, wrong door." He smiled embarrassedly whilst pointing at the door on the opposite side of the corridor, indicating to them that he'd obviously intended to go into the Mens. The women just smirked between themselves, leaving him in silence once the door closed slowly in their wake. Needless to say they were slightly shocked to see Connie in there washing her hands. Luckily they weren't acquainted and thus hospital gossip didn't need to be worried about.
Back out in the large seating area, the speech-givers were just getting ready to hit the stage. Needless to say Chrissie looked incredibly irked at Sam's lengthy absence, quickly voicing it as soon as he sat down again.
"Where the hell have you been? You've been gone ages!"
"Sorry, there was a queue."
"For the Men's toilets? Of course there was." She huffed irately, immediately making the whole table feel tense and on edge. Elliot had since joined them having finally sorted his tie out with a helping hand from Connie. He shared a knowing look with Sam, which sadly was not overlooked by Chrissie, who just observed silently. Her suspicious mind only growing more distrustful when she glanced over to Connie's table to see her absent from her seat. Her eyes switched to the side of Sam's head, her mind racing with thoughts. Luckily for an oblivious Sam, the microphone began to squeak as the first person to speak took centre stage. He took a second to look over at Connie but she was still missing from her table, their unfinished conversation was still niggling away at him. He couldn't relax. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the immensely boring night ahead of himself.
But no amount of deep breathing could prepare him for what was about to come. It happened within the blink of an eye, the deafening sound of smashing glass and the loud rumbling of quaking movement through the building. It only seemed to grow in volume, now accompanied by screeching tyres as it all happened in a flash. Everybody's panic seemed to kick off all at once as an out of control tanker came ploughing through the foyer, destroying anything and everything it's path. In these few milliseconds Sam was just quick enough to grab Chrissie by the wrist, pulling her out of her seat as the vehicle continued to bulldoze through the building, no longer steering straight as it came careering through the room sideways. The screams and yells seemed to be the loudest in volume, which was both incredible yet terrifying. Upon grabbing Chrissie's arm, he'd pulled her away from the table and instinctively moved in the opposite direction in which the tanker was hurtling. Being humans, everyone seemed to have had the exact same instinct as a stampede of frightened and screaming people were bolting to the other side of the gigantic room. The wreckage had become almighty as the tanker still seemed to be moving towards them, crashing over tables, chairs and people. The sounds would haunt him forever, as it completely took out the foyer and bathroom corridors the ceiling was falling free from it's structure, raining down chunks of concrete, the chandelier lights going out one by one as they too fell from their fittings and joined the chunks of ceiling, falling dust, and bits of shattered furniture covering the floor until it's movements were gradually slowed by the amount of debris beneath it's wheels. The smell was another thing. A strong stench of fuel had immediately entered his nose, accompanied by an intense ringing in his ears as the loudness seemed to fade out. The ringing was quickly replaced by screams, wails and yells. He and Chrissie had only been lightly coated by the ceiling dust and glass from the lights, their dark clothing and his brown locks now an ashy grey. His breathing was loud and hard, quickly looking to Chrissie in the small amount of light they did have.
"You okay?" He more or less let his words out as a breathy whisper, his body in utter shock. Presumably she was the same, here eyes wide and a small knick on her forehead bleeding lightly. She merely nodded in response. Her eyes eventually scanned their surroundings, inviting him to do the same as they got to their feet cautiously. "Elliot." Gasping his name quietly he moved over to the grey-haired consultant, who looked a little stunned but otherwise unhurt.
"Sam, Chrissie." He whispered as the helped him up. "You're both okay? Thank God." He panted, looking around the room at the many, many wounded and deceased. "We should start making our way around, see to those in desperate need." Finally looking back to them, he was relieved to see Mark and Tricia finding their way over to them, treading carefully over the building remains beneath their feet. Mark had a nasty gash on his head but Tricia looked more or less in tact as well. They really had been the lucky table as Mark had implied earlier. Sam's brain quickly flew into overdrive, looking at Elliot with such intense concern that Elliot didn't even need to ask what was wrong.
"Connie." He whispered lightly before speaking again with more volume. "Connie, where's Connie?" His panicked body language sent Elliot into a frenzy too as his gaze moved back to the corridor leading to the toilets.
It was completely destroyed.