Chapter 17
It had been a long and hard day, but Shelagh had never felt more energized.
Patrick Turner was a man full of surprises! After their heated snog in his office and a lovely lunch in the cafeteria, Shelagh hadn't seen him all day. She had tried to say her goodbyes at the end of her shift but he had been held up in the delivery room with Nurse Dyer. So, at the end she had left him a sweet message on his desk, simply sighed with S, xoxox.
''Ready?'' Trixie asked when Shelagh sneaked out of Patrick's office, while her friend made sure the coast was clear. No matter that the hospital didn't officially prohibit relationships between co-workers, it didn't encourage it either. Plus, to be completely honest, Shelagh wanted Patrick to herself for a while. It was too fragile, too new to let anyone ruin it for them.
''Yeah, let's go.'' They had to stop by the shop to get some groceries and could not have been happier when they finally reached their place, almost two hours later.
''I can't wait to run myself a warm bubble bath.'' Trixie moaned as they were making their way up the stairway.
''Does that mean I'm stuck with making us something to eat?'' Shelagh playfully asked already aware she was. She didn't really mind, she loved to cook. And to be completely honest, Trixie's cooking wasn't something one would beg to have after a long day.
''Pleaseeee?'' Trixie turned to look at her with her pleading eyes, ''I'll do the dishes, I promise!''
''Like you did last week?'' Shelagh bit her inner cheek, remembering coming home to an even bigger pile of dirty dishes before she had left the place.
''I've said I was sorry. But Christopher was there and believe me when I say that doing dishes was the furthest thing from my mind. If you know what I mean.'' Trixie giggled when she saw she made her friend blush.
''Oh, alright, I'll make us something. But don't excep-…Trixie what's that?'' Shelagh suddenly stopped in place and pointed to a big puddle coming out from underneath their apartment door.
''Oh, shit!'' Trixie dropped the shopping bags she was holding and pulled the keys out of her purse. Unlocking the door as quickly as it was possible, she opened the door when a rush of cold water flooded their feet. ''Oh, crap! Not my shoes!''
''Trixie, forget about the shoes! Where is this water coming from!?'' Shelagh ran past her, checking the kitchen sink, before making her way into the bathroom. Where she discovered that the water was coming from inside the wall. ''Trixie, I think one of the pipes burst!''
''Oh, for god's sake! I told him there was some weird noise coming from the wall months ago!'' Trixie joined her in the bathroom.
''Told who?''
''Mr McGann, our landlord. He is useless, I'm telling you.'' Trixie said as she was already dialing his number. ''Perfect, just bloody perfect!'' she added when it went to voicemail. ''Shelagh! What are we going to do!? We are going to drown in our own apartment! I can't die! I'm too young to die!?''
''Stop panicking!''
''WHO'S PANICKING!?''
''Trixie! Just let me think!'' Shelagh raised her voice and it did the trick as Trixie stopped talking for a moment. At the end Shelagh did the only thing she could think of - turned off the main water stop valve under the sink and phoned Fred.
xXx
''You did the right thing.'' Fred walked out of the bathroom almost half-an-hour after Shelagh phoned him.
''That bloody McGann!'' Trixie almost cried, the water had ruined most of her shoes and it felt like the end of the world to her. ''He'll pay for each and every pair that got ruined!''
''So, what should we do now?'' Shelagh ignored her friends' moaning and focused on mopping the floor.
''You'll need to get a proper plumber to take a look. I did my best but I don't have the right tools with me.'' Fred explained, ''In the meanwhile, I'd suggest you two pack your things and move out for a while. By the look of this place, it will take that Mr McGann of yours a while to get it back to normal again.''
''I'll kill him!'' Trixie let go of the mop she was holding and walked out of the room to try and get hold of that Mr McGann again.
''Are you sure we can't stay?'' Shelagh tried, already aware there was no way they could. Their furniture and floor were soaked with water.
''No.'' Fred gave her a weak smile.
''Trixie is right, he is an idiot!''
''Yeah, he is!'' Trixie came back.
''Did you get him?''
''I did.''
''And?''
''He's said he'll stop over first thing tomorrow! Tomorrow! As if we don't have anything better to do!?'' At this point Trixie was almost screaming.
''But we both have work in the morning!'' Shelagh pointed out.
''I know!''
''Look, I'll meet him, alright?'' Fred calmed them down, ''You go to work and I'll talk to him, make sure he'll do the right thing.''
''Are you sure?''
''Yes.'' Fred hugged Trixie around her shoulder, trying his best to calm her down ''Now, get your things…we are getting out of here.''
''And go where exactly?'' Shelagh asked.
''We can stay with Christopher. I'll call him!'' Trixie quickly dialed his number. Following a brief conversation with her boyfriend, she let Shelagh know that his daughter Alexandra was staying with him this week, so if they wanted to move in with him Shelagh would have to sleep on a tiny couch.
''Look, you go to Chris and I'll take care of Shelagh.'' Fred chipped in when he saw Trixie wasn't keen on her best friend spending her night on an uncomfortable couch for who knew how long. ''We have a spare room.''
''Are you sure?'' Trixie asked Fred, but turned to Shelagh in the next moment. She didn't want her to feel as if she was dumping her in their moment of crisis.
''Well, if Fred is, so I am.'' Shelagh calmed her down. She didn't really mind where she would spend the night, the important thing was it wasn't somewhere wet.
''OK, then. Come on, get your things. I'll wait for you in the car,'' Fred said and walked out. Leaving both Shelagh and Trixie to find something dry to pack.
xXx
''Where are we?'' Shelagh asked about an hour later, as Fred parked his car in front of an unfamiliar looking building. Shelagh had thought they were going to his place after they had left Trixie at Christopher's, but apparently Fred had had something else on his mind.
''Fred, what've you done?'' Shelagh looked at him when he didn't answer her question.
''Well…I-I kind of lied to you.''
''What do you mean?''
''Reggie is staying with us and well, that spare room I was telling you about, it's kind of his for the next three weeks.'' Fred slowly said in hopes she wouldn't get upset.
''Alright, but where are we?'' Shelagh repeated her question, still having no idea why he had brought her here.
''At Patrick's…'' Fred whispered.
''Where?'' Shelagh could only hope she misheard him.
''I've brought you to Patrick's, alright?''
''FRED!? I can't…he can't…Fred!''
''No, no, it's alright! He knows you are coming! I texted him when I was waiting for you two!''
''FRED!?'' she slapped his shoulder.
''What?'' Fred started laughing, ''Come on, you like him and by what he told me, he is more than smitten with you.''
''He talked about me?'' Shelagh stopped for a moment and looked at him. Patrick talked about her with Fred!?
''He can't stop!'' Fred was telling the truth,''It's all Shelagh did that and Shelagh did this, every time I see him. So, do me a favour and get yourself inside, so he'll stop texting me about you every two seconds!''
''I can't believe you!'' Shelagh took her bag from the back seat and was about to get out of the car when she paused, ''Thank you.'' She placed a kiss on Fred's cheek and finally got out. This whole thing was crazy! But she had to admit to herself she was somehow excited to spend the night at his. But only a night! She would find somewhere else to stay tomorrow! It was only for tonight! She repeated as she was walking towards his front door, hoping Patrick was really okay with the whole thing.
Knocking on his door it took only a few moments for him to answer, but when he opened the door, Shelagh realized Fred was not telling the truth.
beta: weshallc THANK YOU!
