A/N: I didn't do this before, but this is my disclaimer: I don't own ER or any of it's characters, though I invented Louisa and Will
Chapter Two – Changing Relationships
I'll admit that I was so wrapped up in my own problems, that I didn't even notice the point at which my parents' relationship began to change. I really should have been able to see what was going on and at least attempt to get things back on track. How the hell didn't I notice?
Before, for as long as I can remember, Mum and Dad have been extremely close, and they were able to hold our family together by loving us, their children, and each other. They have had some pretty rough situations to deal with during the time that they have been together, or should I say since they got back together again about 17 years ago, with them having been together for about a year, 6 years before that. But back then, the timing wasn't great; Mum had just got out of a rough marriage, and Dad still hadn't come to terms with the death of the family he had in Croatia before moving to America. But they have told me that they remained friends through the 5-year gap, and close ones at that. I still can't believe how they got back together! Apparently they had a bad day at work, where my Dad had a shouting match with another doctor, Clemente I think his name was, whilst my Mum was trying to save a little girl, and he wouldn't help her. Mum was so annoyed that she paid Dad a visit after their shifts, and shouted at him, and got all upset. From what they have told me, it seems that Dad had kissed her, and one thing led to another. But then the next day they decided that they wanted to remain friends, and not sacrifice that relationship. That didn't last for long though! When their old friend Neela got married, they decided that they couldn't live without each other, and then Mum found out that she was pregnant and told Dad on Christmas Eve. They were happy then, and we used to be a happy family until a couple of years ago.
I don't know exactly when everything began to change, I didn't even realise it was happening to begin with. However, the increase in the amount of rows they had got my attention, and I started to worry about what this could mean. I don't think that the original tension was picked up on by Will as he was only 12 at the time, but even he started to pick up on what was going on when Mum and Dad began to distance themselves from each other. They started working opposite shifts, and on the occasions when they did see each other, they could only argue. This completely disrupted the way our family lived; I may say that I didn't realise that my parents' relationship was failing, but I don't think that they noticed what was happening to me at school. This was far from our normality of helping each other through, and we all knew it.