Here is Friday's bonus chapter!
'Connie,' a deep voice next to her said softly: Jacob wrapped an arm around her carefully, 'Connie, I'm here now.'
He noticed the marks on her throat and the small cuts along her arms. Her hair had come loose again and her legs shook, objecting to holding her up for much longer.
'Connie, what the hell happened?'
Connie fell to the ground and broke down, tears falling from her face. Jacob sat with her, stroking her hair and holding her tightly. He rocked her softly and whispered words of encouragement until she had cried herself out.
The two sat on light blue chairs facing the theatre doors, waiting for Jac to come out.
'A man came in, we were talking, and he came in. He told us he had a gun and that we had to get down. Jac tried to talk to him, but he hurt her and I passed her the knife and he grabbed me and she saved me and he… he pushed me outside and I had to treat a patient or he was going to... hurt her again. She died and I ran to Fletch's phone to call the police and he stabbed her, Jacob. He stabbed her and she's going to die.'
'No. Connie, listen to me, you've done everything that you could. You did everything right, you saved her, you brought her back. It's going to be fine.'
She nodded silently, already facing back to the doors of the theatre. She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand and her eyes felt heavy: she struggled to keep them open.
'You look exhausted. Are you going to let me check you over? And then why don't you try and get some sleep?' Jacob suggested.
'No! I'm not leaving her,' she answered.
'Hey, we don't have to go anywhere. It's ok, stay sat there.'
Jacob left to find a first aid kit and began cleaning Connie's cuts. He gave her an ice pack for her neck and some paracetamol.
'Are you going to try to sleep now? Here, put your head on me. There you go, I'll wake you up if anything happens.'
She tucked her legs up underneath her and settled on Jacob's shoulder, trying to force sleep that she didn't want to come.
'Connie, Jac's out. She's ok.' Jacob gently shook her awake.
Serena came out of theatre, 'She's ok. We had a few complications, and her blood pressure is a bit too low but she's stable, for now.'
Connie hugged Serena tightly and whispered,
'Thank you. Thank you so much.'
'That's quite all right. I was just doing my job.' She patted Connie on the back, who went to follow Jac down the corridor back to the ward.
Jac
'Jasmine?' Jac held her sister's hand as she lay on a bed outside the AAU theatre. She heard the monitor beep, a sense of dread filling her as she realised how this ended. 'Jasmine, please don't go. Don't leave me again. Please- stay with me,' she cried, knowing there was nothing she could do.
The dream changed. She saw a young girl with messy brown hair cowering before a tall man. He reached out to her, but she flinched and tried to run away. He grabbed her wrist and she tried to pull away but he was too strong.
'Jac!' she whispered as she realised she was watching. As she had done all those years ago, Jac turned away from Fran, unwilling to watch what was going to take place.
The dream changed again. She walked into her office and saw someone on the floor with bright red hair. A man stood over her, a knife in his hand, and he brought it upwards, preparing to stab her.
'No!' Jac leaped forwards and caught his wrist before he could do any harm. He turned his face to look at her, and she saw his eyes. She looked at the woman on the floor and realised it was her. Panicking, she felt like the knife was being stabbed into her again while she heard Connie screaming somewhere above her.
Jac forced her eyes open, blinking in the bright light. A monitor screamed above her, not unlike the one that had warned them of Jasmine's death. For a minute, she thought she was back in the dream and she fought against the blanket that was tucked around her.
'No. No, get off. Please, just leave me alone. No!' she shouted as she thrashed from side to side.
'Jac, it's me. Don't worry, you're safe.' She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 'I've got you, and I won't let anything happen to you, I promise,' Connie said. Jac continued to fight against her dream, the monitor still warning that her heart rate was too high. Reluctantly, Connie reached for something on a trolley behind her. Jac felt a sharp prick in her arm before the drugs forced her back into a restless sleep.
Jac jolted herself awake, but the room remained hazy from the drugs. She looked around and realised where she was. Through the door, she could see the nurses' station. Fletch sat at a computer, though he was just staring blankly at the screen. Chloe and Nicky were talking to a patient and Jac was alone.
She noticed the blood pressure cuff around her left upper arm and the cannula in her hand. She felt the knife run down that arm again and she ripped both the cannula and the cuff away. She took the pulse oximeter off too and sat up slowly. Her head swam but she fought to stay upright. Carefully, she swung her legs round and placed her bare feet on the cold floor. Jac gripped onto the bed and stood up, taking a few shaky steps. Kian burst into the room.
'Jac, no. You need to get back into bed. C'mon Naylor,' Kian said. Jac took another step towards the door: she didn't know where she was going but she couldn't be on this ward any longer. He reached out his arms to guide her back into bed, but she jerked away from him.
'Jac? It's me, it's Kian. Let me help, ok? We need to get you back to bed...yeah?' He kept his distance but left his arms outstretched in case he needed to catch her.
Jac backed slowly into the corner of the room, her breathing heavy and fast. She felt the wall behind her, knew she was cornered and threw her arms above her head, shielding herself from any more damage.
'Jac, it's ok. It's fine, I'm here.'
'Connie?'
'Mmm hmm. Come on, ready to get back into bed?' Connie held out her hand and tried to help Jac back up. 'I can't lift you. Can we get Kian back to help?'
Jac nodded. Connie called Kian and together they got Jac back in bed, Connie reassuring her the entire time. When Madani had gone, Connie sat in the chair beside Jac's bed and they sat together for a moment, comfortable in each other's silence. She saw the dressing on Jac's chest and shuddered at the thought of how bad it could have been.
'What did he do to you, Jac?'
She meant it as a rhetorical question, so she was surprised when she heard Jac take a breath and begin to talk to her.
'I know who he was.'
'What? You knew him?!'
