Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing this. Hope you aren't all too mad at me for hurting Dylan!

Here is chapter 2, hope you enjoy.

For better, for worse

Chapter 2

Thursday 1st March 2012

Nick slammed down the phone in resus with frustration at the lack of cooperation he had just received from his former colleagues up in general surgery. His E.D. was in a state of chaos, which should have come as no surprise to him given the fact they had been a doctor down over the past few weeks anyway, but that was before the added complication of having one of his consultants lying unconscious strapped to a bed in his department and a second barely maintaining her composure as she treated a patient across the opposite side of the room.

Zoe knew that she was struggling to hide her distress at seeing Dylan looking so incredibly broken and vulnerable lying on a trolley, but she was trying to focus on treating the other party from the accident that had caused such injuries in her own partner. The semi-conscious driver had so far only been able to provide brief details of what had occurred, but it appeared that he had been without blame as the initial police inspection of the crash site had indicated that a tyre had burst causing his car to spin out of control without warning. She had heard his frantic description of the moment he had hit a man out walking his dog and her mind had played his words on repeat ever since, each time forcing her to imagine the sickening crunch that would have occurred as Dylan was hit almost full on in his stomach. He had apparently had no time to save himself, although she knew that when he awoke it would be Dervla's disappearance that concerned him the most, the dog having last been seen making a run from the accident site upon the ambulances arriving.

Nick watched his colleague deep in thought as she continued her assessment of the individual who had caused Dr Keogh's injuries. He had yet to break it to her that far from being a simple accident it appeared that the man she was so carefully examining had been speeding quite considerably immediately prior to the crash and police intelligence had indicated the car was stolen. Given that the man was in an even worse state that the doctor lying across the room from him, level of consciousness aside, Nick had advised the police that he was physically incapable of leaving the department and that due to the tension and upset it would create for the already stretched E.D. staff group it would be for the best if they did not arrest him until he was admitted to a ward upstairs. He had never quite been so grateful as he had at the moment they had agreed to his request, because the team was barely functioning as it was and whilst Dylan may not have personally endeared himself to anyone other than Dr Hanna in recent months the Clinical Lead was well aware how loyal his staff would be to their own in the face of someone who had caused one of them harm.

Dr Hanna had been the first to meet the paramedics as they barged through the ambulance bay doors, but in the same moment Jeff had called out to all concerned that the man strapped to their trolley was Dr Keogh, Dixie had ushered Zoe away from the commotion and held her back until the second patient had arrived. The dazed and confused state of his former lover was an image Nick Jordan knew that he would not shake for the longest time and it had been for that one simple acknowledgement of how much she cared about Dylan that he had shooed her away every time she had tried to help with the assessment of his condition, sensing that her mind was far too focused on her personal connection to her colleague to provide the detached medical care such a case would require.

"Everything alright?" Charlie probed, appearing beside him at the phone.

"Keller is shut to new admissions for the foreseeable and theatres are backed up," Nick all but snapped in retort, before realising his error. "Sorry Charlie, not your fault I know. They can take one of them now, the other is just going to have to wait."

"And they want to prioritise him?" came the sympathetic question in reply, gesturing at the driver as he did so and eliciting a nod from Nick in response. "I remember a time when an injured colleague would have taken precedence above everything else, but not these days eh?"

The two men turned round and leant back against the counter top, watching Zoe busily writing notes on her patient's chart however her mind and stare lay firmly elsewhere. Linda crossed the room from Dylan's bedside to join her, reassuringly patting Dr Hanna's arm as she did so.

"Do we have next of kin details for him yet?" Charlie asked, pointing in Dylan's direction and Nick shook his head in response.

"Zoe?" he called over, but she made no indication that she had heard him. "Dr Hanna?" he asked, trying for a second time to get her attention but it was only when Linda touched her hand and motioned over in his direction that Zoe looked up and on seeing his signal made over to join him and Charlie in the corner of the room.

"We need to get in contact with next of kin for Dr Keogh," Nick started, trying to keep his voice steady so as not to alarm her. "Do you have any ideas on who we should call? Mother, father, siblings? Is there anyone you can think of?"

Zoe turned her head slightly to look in Dylan's direction before returning her gaze to the Nick and Charlie, who were both looking at her expectantly.

"We haven't gotten round to doing any meet the family introductions yet, sorry. I've got no idea," she said sadly, as if it was the first time she realised just how little she actually knew about Dylan's life away from his work and relationship with her. In fact she could not recall him ever mentioning family or close friends, or anyone other than his beloved and now missing canine companion. "I'm not sure if Dylan even has a family," she added as an afterthought, more to herself than the two men standing in front of her.

"Can we get Noel to dig out the emergency file and track down Dylan's next of kin as a matter of priority then please Charlie?" Nick asked of his colleague. The senior nurse nodded and quickly departed, resting his hand briefly on Zoe's shoulder as he did so. That simple act of compassion caused her to almost buckle under its weight and Nick found himself drawing his former partner into an embrace he hadn't been anticipating he would need to provide or that she would be willing to receive.

"Listen Zoe," Nick spoke as he loosened his hold on the woman and held her at arm's length in front of him. "Keller can only take one patient and of these two Dylan is definitely in a more stable condition." He could see that she was about to argue with him and whilst he wholeheartedly agreed with her that Dr Keogh should have some priority to be transferred under the circumstances, he knew that hearing that was not going to help her. "You know as well as I do that it's just a waiting game with Dylan now. The orthopods aren't going to start anything until they're sure any bleeding has been stopped and the GS guys upstairs have reviewed the scans and are happy to give him a bit longer under observation before they cut him open." He knew that every word he had uttered was no less than true but he couldn't help but feel slightly duplicitous at hiding from her the potentially irreparable nature of some of her partner's injuries, despite feeling it only right that Dylan or his next of kin were first to hear that information.

Zoe glanced back over at her own patient, who she knew was much more likely to bleed out from his injuries than the man she cared about just a few beds away. The harsh reality of hospital policy might dictate that the driver had to be the first patient to be admitted to a surgical ward she couldn't help but wish that the opposing decision had been made. However a small part of her was vaguely relieved that Dr Keogh would be remaining in the E.D. for a little longer, as she trusted her own colleagues far more than those in the main part of the hospital to provide him with the first class care he deserved. She had already overheard Nick arguing with various departments on a number of occasions so far to ensure Dylan had been able to access every test, scan and consult he required in record time.

"Linda?" Nick called over to the blonde nurse. "Can you arrange for Mr Young to be sent up to Keller as soon as possible please, they are expecting him. And then can you get Dylan moved into next door," he asked, gesturing at the smaller room to the side of resus. "He is likely to be with us for a little while longer, so if Tess and Charlie can spare you I'd like you to stay with him full time until he can be moved upstairs."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll sort it," Linda responded in her strong Liverpudlian accent, surprise evident in her tone that she had been entrusted with the not insignificant responsibility of caring for their injured colleague.

"Zoe, if you feel up to it we could really do with a hand clearing the backlog in cubicles," Nick started again, turning his attention back to the female at his side and receiving a glare back from her in reply. "I know you want to stay close at hand, but there is nothing you can do for him now and we both know you will welcome the distraction of being busy," he added, referencing a time in their past when it had been him she had been so concerned about.

"I'll take over from Dylan in CDU," Zoe eventually responded, reluctantly agreeing that she would feel far better if she was able to be productive and strangely taking a sense of comfort from the fact that she would be caretaking her partner's treasured bolt hole in his absence.

Without waiting for any further comment, Nick propelled the woman away from resus and back out towards reception where she was almost instantaneously joined by Scarlett, who seemed to have been thrust in her direction by Charlie upon deducing Nick's intention for Zoe to be back out treating patients in the department rather than brooding by Dr Keogh's bedside.

"Found those details yet?" Nick called over in the direction of the reception desk as he watched Dr Hanna and Nurse Conway heading over towards CDU, the young nurse obviously trying to offer her older colleague a degree of comfort as they left.

"On it," Noel stated in reply as he found the document he was looking for and scanned down the list until he located Dr Keogh's name. It had been the second time in a matter of months that he had been in the position of needing to use these details, with the last occasion being the night of the fire when he had all but dialled the first number when he had heard Dr's Keogh and Hanna had been rescued and Ruth, Jay and the missing girl had been found safely atop the hospital roof.

"Mrs S Keogh?" he asked himself aloud and Big Mac appeared on the other side of the reception counter, studying the document upside down with interest.

"Mother or sister?" he suggested in response to Noel's words, but neither could comprehend Dylan having either in his life. "Are you going to tell them about the missing dog?" Big Mac queried, but Noel gestured at him to be quiet as he had already dialled the mobile number of the mystery Keogh relation and the porter settled against the desk, waiting to establish quite who the receptionist would be speaking to.

"Hello?" Noel spoke into the phone upon hearing it connect. "Is that Mrs S Keogh?" he continued before pausing. "Oh right, Samantha did you say? This is Noel from Holby City Emergency Department. I'm phoning in connection with Dr Dylan Keogh," he continued, before hesitating at hearing her response. "Yes, he works here. I'm actually a colleague of his," he added, finding those words brought a slight smile to his face. "I'm phoning to inform you that Dr Keogh has been involved in an accident. We're currently treating him in the E.D. and you are listed as his next of kin, so…"

He stopped speaking abruptly and Big Mac leaned in to hear a female voice speaking fairly determinedly on the other end of the phone, before Noel again responded. "Of course Samantha, we look forward to seeing you shortly. Do you mind telling me? " He waited again, before adding as an afterthought "I think she put the phone down."

"Who was that then?" Big Mac questioned before Noel could even replace the handset. "She sounded like a feisty little thing."

"Name is Samantha Keogh, no idea what relation she is to Dylan though," Noel admitted sheepishly. "She hung up before I could ask her. Definitely not his mother though, didn't sound anywhere near old enough. Little sister perhaps?" he wondered aloud.

Nick reappeared by the reception area on his way back from cubicles to check on Dylan and Noel caught his eye, "Dr Keogh's next of kin is on her way. She'll be here in an hour."

"Thank you Noel. Good work," Nick answered before striding back towards his still unconscious patient, momentarily allowing himself to wonder quite how difficult any member of Dylan's family would be to manage given how impersonable the man himself had always been.

So, Samantha is on her way...

Hope you enjoyed, reviews will always be welcome. Next part should be up in a day or so. Callie x