"…and not only were you stupid enough to mix your love life with your work, but you actually had the nerve to bring it into work with you!" Max continued his tirade. "Disturbing my department with your private affairs, and wasting my time too! Involving two other members of the team with your problems… well, haven't you got anything to say?"

Patrick rolled his eyes. "If you'd let me get a word in edgeways."

"Don't give me your attitude, Patrick, this is really not a good time," Max warned him between gritted teeth. Patrick had been spoiling for a fight for months. The arrogance of the registrar irritated Max beyond belief, and this was the perfect opportunity to let rip.

"Look, I'm sorry for wasting hospital time," Patrick nearly choked on the apology. This was technically none of Max's business! What right had he to tell him how to live his life? "But this isn't what it looks like…"

"No, I'll tell you what it looks like," Max interrupted him. "You've sent an SHO, a brilliant SHO, off home in tears. Personally, I don't know what Lara ever saw in you, but that's her call. You've also not only wasted a nurse's time, but you seem to have managed to completely divide the team. That is what it looks like." He shook his head. "And you don't care, do you? You actually couldn't give a toss about Lara, about Lucy, about the patients, about the reputation of this department… What is your obsession with driving away good SHOs, Patrick?"

Patrick looked at Max sharply. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, first Holly, now Lara," Max shrugged. "Seems to be a pattern emerging."

"Holly left because of Tom Harvey!" Patrick exclaimed angrily. "Or had you forgotten that? That Holly was being stalked by him, someone who was right under our noses all along! If it hadn't been for me…"

"If it hadn't been for Dan, none of us would have known," Max reminded him. "Don't go claiming victories for yourself now, Patrick!"

"I'm not claiming anything!" Patrick growled. "And you're wrong, Max, so wrong… I care about this department, that's why I thought it would be better off without you! And believe it or not, I care about Lara. A lot." He looked at his watch and checked it against the clock on the wall. "Now if you don't mind, my shift finished three minutes ago, so I'll be off now." He slammed out of the door, hoping he wasn't too late to make it all up to Lara.

Before he'd even gone ten paces, Max had wrenched the door open after him. "I think you're forgetting something Patrick."

"And what's that?"

"We're short-staffed… no SHO… if you care about the department so much, prove it," Max challenged him. "Do a double shift."

Patrick turned to face the consultant slowly. "You're joking."

Max raised his eyebrows in answer.


"Dillon, you didn't have to come round," Lara insisted, as Dillon poured them both a glass of wine. "I'm fine, honestly. I'm a tough cookie, you forget that." She took the offered glass. "At least I know the truth now, don't I?"

Dillon shrugged. "It was still rough on you. I told him he should have told you."

Lara looked at Dillon quickly. "You knew?"

"No! No, I just heard the rumours like you did. I know it wasn't any of my business but I just thought he needed telling. And you're far too proud to ever do that," he added, with a faint smile.

Lara sighed and sat down on her cream leather sofa. "I still can't believe it, you know. I mean, I know he used to play the field, I've seen him with dozens of women. I just though this was different this time, I thought…" She shook her head. "No point going over it is there? It was a bad idea from the outset, we both knew it. Proved us both right. End of." She knocked her wine back in one go. "More?" she offered Dillon.

He shook his head. "No thanks, you have it. You need it more than I do."

Lara laughed. "Cheers mate." She settled back into the cushions. She trailed a finger around the rim of the glass thoughtfully. "Do you think he loves her?"

Dillon nearly choked on his wine. "What? Lucy? Oh, God, I don't know, Lara. It's Patrick, he…" He shrugged. "I doubt it."

"Do you think she loves him?"

"Lara, I don't think this is a good idea," Dillon said patiently. "This isn't going to help things."

"I need to know, Dillon!" Lara said urgently. "I need to know if I was passed over for a quick shag or if this is the real thing. Do you think they'll get together now?"

Dillon stood up look. "Lara, I don't want to get into this. I don't know about any of this. My guess is no, but who knows? Maybe I should just leave you to it." The doorbell rang.

"Shall I get it?" Dillon offered.

"If it's Patrick, I don't want to see him," Lara said determinedly. "There's nothing he can possibly have to say to me that I want to hear."

"Okay." Dillon nodded. He headed for the front door as the doorbell rang again. He opened it. Lucy jumped backwards from being about to press the button again.

"Dillon!" she said in surprise, and he could have sworn he saw a guilty look pass across her face. She bit her lip awkwardly. "I… I didn't expect to see you here."

"Likewise," Dillon replied coldly. "I really don't think this is a good time, I'm not even sure why you're here."

"I want to speak to Lara," Lucy said firmly. She'd got this far, there was no way she'd be turned away at the door. She had to see Lara, she had to do something. Patrick was right, she couldn't manage this without him, she wasn't coping at all. Without Patrick… things would go back to the way they were before, and she wanted to move on. She'd never known how much until the last few days. If doing this one small thing meant Patrick would continue helping her, she had to do it.

"She doesn't want to speak to you," Dillon said. "Seriously, Lucy, you have got a hell of a nerve turning up here like this. How did you even find the address?"

"I pulled in a favour." Lucy dismissed it. Paying Jack ten quid to give her the address was probably highly immoral, but was a vital part of her plan. Jack had seemed delighted with the idea that he might be aiding World War Three.

"Well that doesn't matter," Dillon insisted. "She doesn't want to see…" He trailed off as he heard Lara coming down the hall to join him.

Lara regarded the woman, no more than a girl really, on the doorstep. Patrick's other woman. Why couldn't she feel some sort of hatred for her? Why couldn't she inject some sort of anger into her voice as she spoke?

"What are you doing here?" she asked, suddenly feeling very tired.

"I need to talk to you," Lucy repeated her request.

"I've already told her you don't want to see her," Dillon informed Lara. "I'll get rid of her for you."

Lara looked at Lucy again. What harm could it do to listen to what she had to say? How could she feel any worse than she already did? "You've got five minutes," she said. "Dillon was just leaving."


Patrick parked his car on a double yellow line, and for once didn't even care about the dodgy looking kid on the pavement. God couldn't hate him enough to get his car scratched today as well as everything else. He half walked, half ran along the street to Lara's house. Reaching the door he took a deep breath and knocked.

There was a long wait until he finally heard footsteps. The door opened.

"Lara! Thank God!" he began and then looked. Lucy was standing behind Lara. He was momentarily speechless, all his long speech suddenly erased from his head.

Lara took the opportunity to get in first. "Lucy was just leaving. She's explained a lot." She paused before adding, "You better come in."