AN: Hey everyone! It's been a while. I'm currently in self isolation because of this stupid cornavirus.. and I thought, what better thing to do with all my spare time? I'm back! So here's a short chapter for you whilst I try and find my bearings and get back into the swing of this. I hope you enjoy! Jade x


CHAPTER 38

When Cate's eyes opened, the room was alight with an orange hue from the rising sun. She stared at the wall for a while, enjoying the feeling of content she was experiencing. From behind, she could hear the gentle sounds of Juice's sleeping breaths. Cate turned her head and looked up at his face, his expression relaxed in his slumber. Their night had been spent enjoying each other, holding one another close in an intimate and primal dance. She had never felt so close to someone in her life, it was the first time she had experienced an intimacy quite like it and she wasn't sure what to make of it but she was choosing not to look to much into it.

A smile pulled at the corner of her lips, still swollen from a night of kissing. If you had asked her a month ago how she'd be spending her evenings, she wouldn't have one second thought it would be like this. For once, she was waking up to a feeling of happiness and content... not in a pool of cold sweat from a night of gory terrors. It was in that moment that the memories of what had happened the day before flooded her brain and her happiness was overcome with darkness. The supermarket shooting had been an unexpected turn of events, nobody could have imagined that happening. And that poor boy, he didn't deserve to have something like that happen to him.

Cate slowly and quietly sat up in the bed, trying her best not to disturb her sleeping lover. She rose to her feet, immediately grimacing at the pain that made itself known in her knee. "Fuck.." she whispered through gritted teeth, reaching down to rub at the area, although it provided no relief.

She limped over to the cabinet of drawers where her mobile phone was present, there were no alerts but that's not what she wanted it for. The time flashed up as 05:40. Far too early to be up and functional, but her mind was full of horror and her anxiety was slowly bubbling to the surface. There was only one thing she could think of doing to potentially try to calm herself down. With a look over her shoulder to make sure Juice was still asleep (which he was), she made her way towards the door, where she slowly twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door in an attempt to make as little noise as possible.

It was quiet in the clubhouse for a change. She imagined that after the events of yesterday, there was probably no valid reason to have a party. It seemed like serious business, and she wondered if the meeting Juice had been called to in the evening had anything to do with it? Did he know about the violent altercation that had taken place? Why it had happened? Who was involved? These were all questions she would be sure to ask him when the time was right. But for now, she was focused on quietly walking down the corridor without making any noise and disrupting any of the sleeping beasts from their slumber.

The first thing she noticed was how mild it was outside, as she stepped out from the clubhouse and pushed the door ajar behind her. The sun was slowly rising in the sky, birds were singing and there was a gentle breeze. It was a perfect morning. It made Cate wonder what the day might bring.

Fortunately, it was so mild that Cate didn't feel cold with her bare legs as she sat down at the picnic bench, pulling the long t shirt down over her thighs. Even though nobody was around, she still wanted to maintain some dignity if she could.

Glancing down at her phone, she went into her contacts and called the hospital. She put the phone to her ear with one hand, and rested her forehead in the other with her elbow propped against the wooden table.

"Hello St Thomas Hospital, how can I help?" The receptionist asked. Cate recognised her voice.

"Hey Carole, its Dr Phillips." Cate responded, it was only then she realised how tired her voice sounded. So she cleared her throat in hopes of somewhat fixing the problem.

"Cate! What a surprise. How are you doing? I heard what happened yesterday.." The receptionist began to go off and Cate could't help but close her eyes and sigh at how fast word spread in the hospital.

"I'm fine.. Thank you. I was hoping to speak to whoever's been on call in trauma?" She asked, not wanting to engage in any of the small talk.

"Sure.. I'll patch you through to the nurses station right now." The line then when silent, followed by more ringing as she was transferred through to a different phone.

"Good morning, Doctor Addams how can I help?" A cheery male voice sounded.

"Peter.. Good morning, it's Cate." She greeted her colleague, they worked together in the trauma department. "How are you?"

"I'm great, thanks for asking.. how are you doing?" he asked with sincerity in his voice. He must've heard about her involvement in the previous days' events.

"I'm doing fine, thank you.." she paused for a moment, and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm actually calling to see how that young man is getting on.. I was at the scene yesterday and he's been on my mind.." she admitted.

"Well.." Peter began, and a knot formed in Cate's stomach. She was dreading the outcome. Things hadn't been looking good for the boy and if he was to die, she knew she would take it badly. "He's actually holding up pretty well.. We took him in for an emergency laparotomy.. fortunately the bullet avoided seriously damaging any of his major organs but did cause a substantial amount of bleeding. We also removed the bullet from his shoulder and did a washout.. a chip in his collar bone but nothing too serious..." He explained and the whole time, Cate hung on his every word. "He's currently recovering well in the ICU.. he's still under sedation but we see no reason why he shouldn't make a good recovery." The doctor concluded and Cate immediately felt the weight on her shoulders lesson.

"That's brilliant news.." Cate began, sitting up straighter and clearing her throat again. "Thank you so much for the update." She concluded.

"Anytime.." He responded. "You take care, you hear me?" He finished in a light hearted tone which made Cate smile.

"And you." Cate replied before hanging up the phone.

She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky. She knew the boy wasn't completely out of the woods yet, but it appeared as though he was doing as well as he could be and was now in excellent hands. The news did make her feel ten times better.

After another deep breath to calm herself further, Cate pushed herself up from the bench and made her way back inside. It was still quiet and she was sure everybody who was there was still asleep. She made sure to make as little noise as possible as she crept back to the room which belonged to Juice. It looked as if he was still asleep and Cate couldn't help but smile slightly as she made her way back over to the bed and his sleeping form. She put her phone down on the bedside table and climbed back into the bed, covering herself with the blanket. She instantly cuddled up to Juice's side, resting her head on his chest and her arm over his waist. She heard him moan as he shifted in his position, stretching his legs and moving his arm to rest over her back.

She felt safe in his arms and she fell back to sleep in his hold.