Chapter Two: It's All About Her
I don't own the familiar ER characters of Chen/Malucci or Abby. I do own Emma Halliday and I do own her daughter Isla too. They are my creations.
Rated PG for mild and occasional swearing.
He hadn't thought so much about Emma and Isla in so long. He didn't know what had sparked it - whether it'd been the angry conversation with Chen or whether it had been triggered before then. Chen had successfully made him feel like shit about his actions. They were wrong. He knew that now. He hadn't known it then. He was young, carefree and cowardly.
"You all right?"
He heard the words, recognised the voice, but didn't turn to answer. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away from the older resident.
"Dave?"
His name echoed after him. He ignored it and kept walking. He wasn't even walking with a purpose, he was just walking to try and get away from the memories.
"Now there's a face I recognise only too well,"
Instantly, an image shot through his mind. He jerked his head up and scanned the hallway. Was he imagining it or not? It had been her voice. The sweet but slightly mocking tone she'd adopted when speaking to him, the voice he'd last heard those 5 long years ago.
"Emma?"
He whispered faintly, wondering if maybe he was crazy. No answer came. He figured he was imagining things. She wasn't standing there, her deep blue eyes
as hurt and accusing as ever, pain written all over her beautiful face. All that was in the hall before him was the normal comings and goings of County ER.
"You all right?"
The voice was softer, female this time. He looked at her, met her eyes with his own sad gaze.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing,"
She searched the hall ahead of them for any sign of what he looked so shocked about and found nothing out of the ordinary.
"I've been sent to look for you,"
She spoke again, spooked because he was.
"Yeah?"
"There's a woman in Admit won't leave till she's seen you,"
His mind spun. What? Who? Not Emma surely? He didn't believe in that kind of coincidence. That would just be too weird.
"What'd she look like?"
She drew her eyebrows together and looked at him, altogether puzzled by his reaction.
"Blonde, average height, quite pretty...what's this about? You coming or not?"
"I'll come."
A realisation hit Chen suddenly. He started moving back towards the desk but she remained frozen, watching him. It couldn't be...could it?
*****
"Now there's a face I know too well,"
The words were almost an exact echo of what he thought he'd heard earlier. His heart was beating double time. He raised his head and looked at his
visitor. This wasn't possible. Wasn't happening.
"Emma?"
He didn't know why he had to ask. He knew who it was. She smiled sarcastically, bitingly.
"Pleased to see me?"
She rested her hands on the admit desk and caught his gaze with her own intense blue stare. It was cold, hateful and chilled him to the core.
"What? Why?"
He stammered over the words, desperately aware that all eyes in the ER were fixed on his confrontation with this mystery blonde. Little did they know though.
"Is there anywhere more private? Everyone's gawping at us like we're a circus side show,"
He led her into the lounge. Abby left sharpish on the receiving end of a pointed look. Emma stood, never removing her chilling stare from him, and smiled
sarcastically.
"Well, I was a nursing student wasn't I?"
He struggled to remember. He realised he hadn't even known that. He really was the lowest wasn't he?
"Oh, yeah,"
He replied, unsure of himself.
"Aren't you gonna ask?"
He looked at her puzzled.
"About your child you half-wit? Remember her..oh, well, maybe not,"
"Emma...don't be like that...of course I remember,"
She ignored him and carried on, venting frustrations carried with her for 5 years now.
"Isla's fine. Not that you'll believe that of course. You always did think I was a liar,"
"I never...."
He nearly said "I never said that," but of course he virtually had.
"Never what? You said it, Dave,"
"I know I did,"
There was something desperately sad, regretful in his voice. She ignored it, kept up her icy facade.
"Still convinced she isn't yours?"
"Em - I was scared...it wasn't an accusation or anything,"
He never called her Em. Not once. It sounded too familiar. He didn't know what was going on.
"It damn well sounded like one,"
"Look...we need to....properly,"
"Talk? You said all you needed to 5 years ago, Dave, I'm fine on my own,"
She finished decisively. He stood, reeling in shock, considering her bitter tone. How could he blame her for hating him? He hated him most of the time.
"You working the ER?"
He changed the subject abruptly. How could they work together? It wouldn't work.
"Would it matter if I was? Surely you aren't still that immature?"
"Yeah, Emma, I exceeded all your expectations. I never grew up."
"Like an evil Peter Pan,"
"So are you?"
He demanded, suddenly angry. He may be many things. A loser, a bastard, a lowlife, but he wasn't evil. Evil meant something completely different to him,
something she didn't know. Her barbed comment hurt more than it was meant to.
"No, you'll be relieved to know. I'm at Mercy, thankfully. And before you ask, you aren't seeing her,"
"Emma...don't be unreasonable,"
"She's managed so far without a father. With a father like you, it'd be better for her if you stayed out of her life,"
How could he argue with her? He didn't expect her to be reasonable. He expected her to hate him. He expected her to be hateful, angry, vengeful. She
intended to hurt him the way he hurt her. He should have seen that coming shouldn't he? Every bad thing you do comes back on you threefold. It would be
better that he didn't see Isla. Deep down he knew that. Elsewhere, he was curious. He wondered about her, what she was like, who she was like. He hadn't been there, he'd excluded himself from her life, and now he'd just have to deal with the consequences.
I don't own the familiar ER characters of Chen/Malucci or Abby. I do own Emma Halliday and I do own her daughter Isla too. They are my creations.
Rated PG for mild and occasional swearing.
He hadn't thought so much about Emma and Isla in so long. He didn't know what had sparked it - whether it'd been the angry conversation with Chen or whether it had been triggered before then. Chen had successfully made him feel like shit about his actions. They were wrong. He knew that now. He hadn't known it then. He was young, carefree and cowardly.
"You all right?"
He heard the words, recognised the voice, but didn't turn to answer. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away from the older resident.
"Dave?"
His name echoed after him. He ignored it and kept walking. He wasn't even walking with a purpose, he was just walking to try and get away from the memories.
"Now there's a face I recognise only too well,"
Instantly, an image shot through his mind. He jerked his head up and scanned the hallway. Was he imagining it or not? It had been her voice. The sweet but slightly mocking tone she'd adopted when speaking to him, the voice he'd last heard those 5 long years ago.
"Emma?"
He whispered faintly, wondering if maybe he was crazy. No answer came. He figured he was imagining things. She wasn't standing there, her deep blue eyes
as hurt and accusing as ever, pain written all over her beautiful face. All that was in the hall before him was the normal comings and goings of County ER.
"You all right?"
The voice was softer, female this time. He looked at her, met her eyes with his own sad gaze.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing,"
She searched the hall ahead of them for any sign of what he looked so shocked about and found nothing out of the ordinary.
"I've been sent to look for you,"
She spoke again, spooked because he was.
"Yeah?"
"There's a woman in Admit won't leave till she's seen you,"
His mind spun. What? Who? Not Emma surely? He didn't believe in that kind of coincidence. That would just be too weird.
"What'd she look like?"
She drew her eyebrows together and looked at him, altogether puzzled by his reaction.
"Blonde, average height, quite pretty...what's this about? You coming or not?"
"I'll come."
A realisation hit Chen suddenly. He started moving back towards the desk but she remained frozen, watching him. It couldn't be...could it?
*****
"Now there's a face I know too well,"
The words were almost an exact echo of what he thought he'd heard earlier. His heart was beating double time. He raised his head and looked at his
visitor. This wasn't possible. Wasn't happening.
"Emma?"
He didn't know why he had to ask. He knew who it was. She smiled sarcastically, bitingly.
"Pleased to see me?"
She rested her hands on the admit desk and caught his gaze with her own intense blue stare. It was cold, hateful and chilled him to the core.
"What? Why?"
He stammered over the words, desperately aware that all eyes in the ER were fixed on his confrontation with this mystery blonde. Little did they know though.
"Is there anywhere more private? Everyone's gawping at us like we're a circus side show,"
He led her into the lounge. Abby left sharpish on the receiving end of a pointed look. Emma stood, never removing her chilling stare from him, and smiled
sarcastically.
"Well, I was a nursing student wasn't I?"
He struggled to remember. He realised he hadn't even known that. He really was the lowest wasn't he?
"Oh, yeah,"
He replied, unsure of himself.
"Aren't you gonna ask?"
He looked at her puzzled.
"About your child you half-wit? Remember her..oh, well, maybe not,"
"Emma...don't be like that...of course I remember,"
She ignored him and carried on, venting frustrations carried with her for 5 years now.
"Isla's fine. Not that you'll believe that of course. You always did think I was a liar,"
"I never...."
He nearly said "I never said that," but of course he virtually had.
"Never what? You said it, Dave,"
"I know I did,"
There was something desperately sad, regretful in his voice. She ignored it, kept up her icy facade.
"Still convinced she isn't yours?"
"Em - I was scared...it wasn't an accusation or anything,"
He never called her Em. Not once. It sounded too familiar. He didn't know what was going on.
"It damn well sounded like one,"
"Look...we need to....properly,"
"Talk? You said all you needed to 5 years ago, Dave, I'm fine on my own,"
She finished decisively. He stood, reeling in shock, considering her bitter tone. How could he blame her for hating him? He hated him most of the time.
"You working the ER?"
He changed the subject abruptly. How could they work together? It wouldn't work.
"Would it matter if I was? Surely you aren't still that immature?"
"Yeah, Emma, I exceeded all your expectations. I never grew up."
"Like an evil Peter Pan,"
"So are you?"
He demanded, suddenly angry. He may be many things. A loser, a bastard, a lowlife, but he wasn't evil. Evil meant something completely different to him,
something she didn't know. Her barbed comment hurt more than it was meant to.
"No, you'll be relieved to know. I'm at Mercy, thankfully. And before you ask, you aren't seeing her,"
"Emma...don't be unreasonable,"
"She's managed so far without a father. With a father like you, it'd be better for her if you stayed out of her life,"
How could he argue with her? He didn't expect her to be reasonable. He expected her to hate him. He expected her to be hateful, angry, vengeful. She
intended to hurt him the way he hurt her. He should have seen that coming shouldn't he? Every bad thing you do comes back on you threefold. It would be
better that he didn't see Isla. Deep down he knew that. Elsewhere, he was curious. He wondered about her, what she was like, who she was like. He hadn't been there, he'd excluded himself from her life, and now he'd just have to deal with the consequences.