Chapter 3: Send Me An Angel

A/N: Hi guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter. :) I'm excited to see what people think of the story so far. I'm trying my best to write the characters how I would think they would act, but hey I can't be 100% correct on that kind of thing. Haha.

Fitz had thrown up three times since he got to his room. Straight bile burning his throat each and every time. Finally he thought his stomach had settled as Clare entered. In her hands a thick folder and something else he couldn't quite make out, and on her face a wide smile. God he hoped she would always smile.

"Hi. How you feeling?"

Was she oblivious to the stench of vomit? Surely his pale skin and puffy cheeks pointed to it. "Like shit."

She nodded, "I brought you some lemonade. Hopefully to help settle your stomach if you need it. The first few weeks are always rough. So one of our jobs here is to help with the worst of your withdrawal symptoms," she sat beside him, "now we've got some important information to cover."

He tried to concentrate on what she was covering from the folder but the slight warmth of her beside him was too much to handle. When was the last time he had been this close to a woman? One that wasn't popping pills, one that had healthy skin, and a smile resembling an angel? Surely he would learn the rules ad regimen by failing to accord to them. What would Clare look like scolding him? He couldn't imagine such a gentle person getting mad, but he was sure there was some fire to her. She couldn't do this job without some. Anticipation surged through him like a lightning bolt.

"And that's all. This folder is for yours to keep, so feel free to look over the rules whenever you need to. Any questions? Concerns?"

Pausing, he decided he'd test the waters a bit, "yeah, one. Why did such a pretty lady like you end up working such a scummy job?"

Clare practically turned into a tomato at this, it seemed as if she was choking on her own words. After a period of time of this half choking, half spluttering, Fitz had figured she wasn't going to respond to the question, until she managed to spit out a few words.

"This job isn't scummy. Also, you can't be saying things like that, it's not appropriate. And against the rules, had you been listening to what I was saying. Now, I'll be back later to do a final check-up before dinner."

She stood up abruptly, turning with a little too much force causing her to stumble over her own feet and fell right into Fitz's awaiting arms. Holding on tight, he took the moment to relish the feeling of her body on his. That fantastic ass right up against his crotch and his arms nestled right under her chest. She was even warmer this close. So hot he could swear he felt his skin start to burn up.

"Looks like you're falling for me Clare. A little inappropriate don't you think?" A smirk spread across his face.

She pushed herself out of his arms. The look on her face was undoubtedly one of anger, but the blush still remained on her cheeks and he definitely saw some warmth in her eyes.

"This is your first day, so I won't say anything about this to the head nurse. However, this is your final warning. I don't want this to become a regular occurrence."

Immediately she rushed to the staff bathroom. How could she have gotten herself so close to the new patient? Even though she hadn't purposefully tripped up, she admits she may have lingered a little too long on his lap before pushing herself away. There was just something different and a little wonderful about being wrapped up in the arms of someone so strong. How had Fitz managed to keep himself so strong despite dealing with his addiction?

"What would Eli think?" The terrible thought circled her brain over and over again. It was okay though, she wasn't really interested in Fitz, she was sure of it. He may be physically attractive, and she supposes she was okay with saying that, but he was nothing like Eli. Eli who was sweet and caring and when he made her blush it wasn't from embarrassment, it was from pure adoration. Thinking about Eli and how he made her feel was enough to ground her.

"I just hope Fitz learnt his lesson and won't try anything again. Otherwise I will have to have a very awkward conversation with Emma."

Sometimes Eli felt like he was on a cliff, and if he looked down for too long he would have the urge to jump and destroy his entire life. As he sat as his desk after a particularly draining session with a patient, he felt his feet on the cliff's edge. Jumping in this case, would be destroying his office, telling everyone what he really thought of them and then quitting. Leaving without any guilt or remorse for the shitty things he said. He would take Clare with him of course, saving her from all the creeps who stare at her like meat and the violent patients who saw her as some kind of punching bag. He had been saving up money for years now, they could afford to run away, leave everything all behind.

However, he walked away from the edge. Clare would never forgive him if he just upped and quit his job for no reason other than sheer impulse. In fact she would probably give him a lecture about whether he was taking his medication. He was of course, sometimes, when he could remember. Okay, so maybe not all of the time. As he got older it just didn't make sense to keep taking them every single day. He was a therapist now. He knew what he was doing. He wasn't manic. He wasn't depressive. He was absolutely fine.

Touching the helix piercing on his ear, he thought of Clare. His sweet precious Clare. Sometimes he thought she was too good for him. Even now, after all the years they had been together. She was like this elusive being. Too good and too pure for this Earth, an angel sent down to fix all his problems. From hoarding, to his bipolar, to everything in between. Oh how he remembered how she had stayed up with him all night, cleaning his room with him, gently pushing him to get rid of objects, but understanding when he needed to keep some less than normal objects.

"You know you're allowed to keep some things that may seem a bit unconventional. It's just what has proper sentimental value and what's just garbage?"

He held in his hand a small envelope, empty now, but the handwriting of his late ex-girlfriend covered it all. Song lyrics, random thoughts, whatever she wanted him to know at the time sprawled all over the small bit of paper.

"I want to keep this, I don't have much of her writing left. Hell I don't even know where the letter went, or if there was even a letter attached."

"Alright," Clare smiled up at him from the floor, now partially empty and definitely in a need of a serious vacuum, "let's just find a proper storage place for it and not underneath a half empty bucket of popcorn, which you're definitely no keeping mind you, eh?"