The morning was cold. Drizzle traced down the windows of the cars parked in the lot at All Saints Western General Hospital.
"Nicholas McMahon, 56...gunshot wound to the lower abdomen." Cate called as she and Mac wheeled a patient into Emergency. Vincent and Frank exchanged glances.
"What do you think?" Frank asked as they wheeled the patient. Vincent peered again at the extensive wound, a bloody chasm.
"Just by looking at it…I'd say a temporary ileostomy."
"Big job, huh?" Charlotte asked, joining them. She answered her own question: "Damn straight, it's a big job. Perforated ilium…"
Back at the desk, Nelson breathed a sigh of frustration, the phone clasped to one ear. Regina waited impatiently behind him.
"Nelson, I know you're busy, but Frank isn't going to be happy if I don't get these—"
"Yeah, I know, Reg. Sorry," Nelson interrupted bluntly. "But I've been on hold for thirteen minutes trying to get hold of a Malaysian interpreter and—" His expression changed suddenly and he rolled his eyes, talking into the telephone receiver once again. "Yes, thanks…we need someone to translate English/Malay in the ED of All Saints…"
"Reg, I need you to contact the family of Nicholas McMahon. And have you phoned down to Radiology yet?" Frank demanded. Regina quivered slightly, then snapped back into composedness.
"Of course." A blatant lie; Frank only snorted.
"When are we expecting Sister Sullivan back? This place is chaos. I run an Emergency Ward, not an asylum." He strode away bad-temperedly.
"Ah, you've gotta love it," Von smiled dryly. "Always willing to point out the problem, never stopping to fix it." The ward was chaotic. Paperwork was unattended to, mostly being attended to by Nelson and occasionally Frank. Ward staff were edgy and patients seemed to be entering thick and fast. It would only be a matter of time before people began to crack under the pressure. Suddenly the doors to Triage swung open and Terri walked in, fifty-two minutes late and seemingly dressed for work. Von, Nelson and Regina looked up simultaneously and Regina immediately began to babble hysterically. Nelson tuned out to her incessant chatter and studied Terri carefully. She looked okay. Not great, but okay. She was slightly thinner than she'd been before the accident, and she looked pale, but she smiled warmly.
"How do you feel?" Nelson asked, reaching over to hug his colleague.
"Great. I feel great," she answered with certainty, but he could tell she was lying. She didn't look ready to come back to work. Suddenly he was concerned. Dan rounded the corner, carrying a patient's charts, and stopped short.
"Hey! Good to see you!" He exclaimed, then added, "Frank's going to have a field day."
"Frank will do nothing of the sort," a voice called out grumpily from his office.
"Nice to see you too, Dr. Campion." Terri answered amiably, walking to his doorway. Frank stood up and blinked as though he expected a mirage of some sort.
"Are you back here to work today? How do you feel?"
"I'm fine." Frank didn't see through her voice. He was more than thrilled to have her back on his staff, maintaining order and productivity in his workplace. "Sorry I'm late." He waved away her apology.
"Don't overdo it, okay?" He warned her, apparently concerned. Both Terri and Charlotte possessed the innate ability to bring out his softer side, and now sympathy showed on his face. Terri nodded, smiling, and closed the door behind her, finding herself face-to-face with Vincent.
"Terri," he greeted her, concern similarly plastered on his face. "You didn't tell me you were coming back to work today…how do you feel?"
"Listen, can we keep this down? And maybe talk in a place other than outside Frank's office?" she answered softly, walking directly toward the staff lounge. He followed her, much to the interest and amusement of the remaining staff still gathered around the desk—Charlotte, Nelson, Regina and Von.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Face burning, Terri closed the door swiftly behind them.
"Could you have made it any more obvious?" she said quietly, but angrily. She raked her fingers through her hair, pacing irritably around the room. Vincent was momentarily silent. "I'm fine. I appreciate it that you care. I'm thankful that you're looking out for me. But now there's going to be all sorts of rumours going around and I don't need that. Do you know what people will say? Terri's only just broken up with Jack. Now she's with Vincent. The ex-nun gets around." Vincent grinned and stroked her face.
"I think you're being paranoid." He suggested, still smiling as his hand caressed her face; his fingers traced down her neck…Terri was impatient and in no mood for romance.
"We never looked twice at each other until now," she said sharply, her blue eyes anxious. "People are going to notice everything." Vincent moved in closer, his hand finding the small of her back and pulling her toward him.
"Then we'll have to keep this professional." They embraced, so close he could feel her heart beating. Kissing him slowly, Terri almost gave into temptation. All her ethical ideas were fading, and a semi-familiar feeling ignited deep in her veins.
"This isn't professional," she whispered suddenly, pulling away. She adjusted her shirt and Vincent couldn't catch her eye. "…This isn't professional." she repeated, leaving him alone in the staff lounge.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Charlotte was walking toward her car, fumbling in her handbag for her keys. The end of another long day; her head throbbed dully and she was slightly nauseous. She just wanted to get home and crawl into bed.
"Charlotte!" She turned around to find Vincent walking toward her. She smiled and located her keys. Collapsing into the driver's seat, she rolled down the window. He leaned in close.
"How do you feel? I haven't spoken to you for a couple of days," he asked, genuinely concerned.
"Okay. No morning sickness, but by the end of the day I'm a wreck," she admitted. And then grinned mischievously, teasing him. "How's things with Terri? That was a pretty public display of affection this morning." He shook his head.
"I didn't mean for it to come across that way. I was just playing, you know, the concerned colleague. And now she's pissed off...was it really obvious? Does everyone else know we're together? "
"No. I was only joking about the public display of affection." Charlotte answered, smiling. Vincent nodded and looked relieved.
"Hate to change the subject, but…have you told Jack yet?" It was Charlotte's turn to soften.
"No. I've been thinking for days about what to tell him. I just don't know what to say. And it's hard to know whether he wants to be a part of this…" Her voice trailed off and she swallowed hard. A lump had formed in her throat.
"Well, you won't know until you've asked him," Vincent answered. Leaning awkwardly into the car, her tried to hug her. "I'll talk to you later."
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
The house was quiet; a contrast to her hectic day. Charlotte dumped her handbag on the bench and contemplated Vincent's advice. Before she was consciously aware of doing it, she picked up the phone. She punched in Jack's phone number, ignoring the churning in her stomach and the lump in her throat that threatened to become a sob. Cupping the phone to her ear with her shoulder, she checked her watch. 6:08. She was hungry, but didn't have the energy to cook. Delivered pizza held a lot of appeal. So did hanging up before Jack answered.
"Jack Quade speaking." At the sound of his voice, her stomach turned to lead.
"Yeah, hi…Jack, it's Charlotte," she started, trying to regain her composure before he made a wiseass comment. "Listen, we have to talk. In person. Can you come over?"
"What, tonight?"
"Yeah." There was a pause and Charlotte cringed. She hated crawling to Jack.
"I thought we were over this whole thing," Jack said finally. Charlotte shifted uncomfortably; glad he couldn't see her face. Silent tears were rolling down her cheeks. She took a deep breath.
"Just do it. Please," she added, struggling to keep her voice normal.
"Okay. I just got home. I'll be there by 7:00."
"See you then." She hung up, hands shaking, and sat down hard on the couch. Taking deep breaths, she held her head in her hands. She showered quickly, changed out of her work clothes, and lay down on her bed.
She was awoken by the sound of her doorbell. Shit. Jack. She checked her reflection quickly for red eyes, and then opened the door.
"Thanks for coming," she said.
"No problem." He followed her into the kitchen and living area.
"You want something to eat? Coffee?" she asked, praying he'd say no. She felt sick, and a knot was forming in her chest.
"Thanks, but I just had one." They sat down, opposite each other, on couches. The blood was pounding in Charlotte's head. Stay calm. This isn't anyone's fault. It's just something that happened, and now Jack deserves to know.
"I guess this is about that night?" Jack guessed, prompting the conversation. There was no sidestepping or fooling around. Charlotte had to just say it. Just tell him. It was too hard.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is," she started. She had no idea what she was going to say, and it came out all wrong. She was trying to stay brave, and defensive, but it came out sounding apologetic. And she hated that; hated that it sounded like it was her fault and she had a reason to be sorry. "Look, I know the timing's really bad. And I know we said that we'd put this behind us and forget about everything but I can't. And there's a reason...and I'm so sorry, but…" She couldn't look at his face. She was so ashamed. At least she hadn't started to cry yet. Her brave façade was still intact.
"What? What is it?" Jack asked, his voice a little hollow. Like he already knew.
"I'm pregnant." There was an empty silence and Jack stood up suddenly and began to pace.
"Shit. Shit, shit. Jesus Christ," he said. "How could we let this happen?" Charlotte was suddenly angry with him. Her unshed tears and shame dissolved away and she felt pure anger. Whether they liked it or not, there was now a child involved in this. And it was their responsibility to make that child feel loved.
"I didn't mean for it to be like this," she snapped. Jack looked incredulous.
"What—isn't this what you wanted?" he asked, as though she'd planned the entire thing out.
"No. It was hardly my first choice scenario. But it's done now. We can't take it back," she said, the anger and resentment rising in her throat. Jack stopped pacing and stared at her. Hard. "We can't change it. And you know, one of us has to tell Terri. She has to know."
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Asked Jack, frustrated. Charlotte stood up to face him, so angry that her hands shook.
"I want an answer from you, Jack. I don't care if you walk away right this very second. But you have to grow up, and take responsibility." Her voice was raised. Jack looked irritated.
"It's a big thing, Charlotte. I can't think right now. I need go away by myself and think. Of course I'll give you answers. As many as you want. And I'll think seriously about the responsibilities involved. It's just…it's a big thing."
"Don't you think I know that? Of course it's a big thing. It's my life now," shrieked Charlotte, almost hysterical. Jack turned to go.
"You know what, this was a bad idea." He let himself out quietly, and Charlotte sank down onto her knees, exhausted. She picked up the phone, her hands still shaking, and dialled Vincent's number.
"I told him."
"How did it go?" Charlotte stared at the floor. Her chest burned and tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks.
"I can't do this," she sobbed. "I can't do this any more. I want to start again. I want to fix this mess." Vincent was silent on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry. I have to go," she said quickly through her tears, punching the 'off' button.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
When Vincent let himself into her house one hour later, she was fast asleep on the couch, an empty glass and bottle of white wine beside her. Tucking the blankets around the woman he'd once sworn his love to, he wanted to take her in his arms. He wanted to rock her back and forth and tell her that everything would be okay. Instead, he left quietly, locking the door with the spare key behind him.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
In her own house, Terri sat in the rocking chair that held so many memories of Mitch. She glanced at the clock: 10:57. She'd been waiting for Vincent for hours. He was supposed to have been there at seven-thirty. Sure, they'd had that disagreement that morning, but that hadn't been serious. She still thought he'd have come. Her house was quiet and listless without him. Her hands felt empty, with no one to hold. Terri wondered where he was. Holding a half-full glass of wine, she rose from her chair and went to bed, lying restlessly for hours more before she drifted off at last. Even in her dreams, she semi-consciously worried for hi s safety; wondered where he was and what he was doing.
Unbeknownst to her, Vincent was only kilometres away. He'd forgotten about dinner. In fact, dinner was the last thing on his mind as he drove away from Charlotte's house. He wanted to help her, but he knew her better than anyone else. Charlotte would wake up tomorrow with a fresh frame of mind. She'd go to Jack, assert herself, and feel better. Vincent smiled slightly to himself, just thinking of her. His mind wandered to Terri; her beautiful face. He wondered if she was still angry with him. Yawning, he felt so frustrated. There were so many problems, so much that he couldn't fix. And lately, control seemed to be slipping right through his fingers. As he executed a right-hand turn into his street, a fresh thought entered his mind.
Dinner with Terri. He'd forgotten.
He sighed to himself as he unlocked his front door. Tomorrow's just another day. He didn't believe it though. Tomorrow would be the same as today. Silently he prayed that one day, everything would be wondeful again.
In another house, not so far away, Terri had woken from her fitful sleep. She made a similar kind of wish, and pulled the bedsheet tighter around herself In her empty bed.