Thank you to everyone for your reviews of the last update. I'm glad that people have been getting behind this fic, it means so much. Extra special thanks to Meggi, Anny and Ficmouse for sharing the last few weeks for me and being so supportive.

Here we go, chapter 5.

For better, for worse

Chapter 5

Thursday 1st March 2012

Zoe and Sam stood silently across the small room staring over Dylan's silent form at each other, both with arms folded tightly across their chests and blank expressions on their faces. Despite their limited contact thus far, both women felt this instinctive need to be cagey and uncommunicative with the other and protective over their own individual connection with the still unconscious patient, despite an obvious shared affection for the grumpy man.

A loud rapping noise caught both their attentions, but on seeing that it was Nick Jordan banging on the window from behind them, Sam turned away, assuming it would not be her that she required and shifted her gaze back to Dylan. Zoe reluctantly went to leave the room to join her former partner, but on seeing her move Nick furiously shook his head and gestured towards the younger girl.

"I think he wants to see you," Zoe stated, indicating towards the Clinical Lead and causing Sam to turn back around to face him. He gestured at her to come to join him in the other room and after looking briefly from Dylan to the female who was staring at her, uncertainty at Nick's request etched across her face, Sam hastily exited the room and headed into the main resus.

"I have a call for you," Nick's voice boomed from where he had moved the other side of the room. "Your boss I believe," he added as she reached his side and took the phone he passed her.

"Major Sam Nicholls speaking sir," she spoke into the phone, turning away from the watching consultants stare. "Yes sir," she responded to a question obviously just posed to her, before querying, "Corporal Henderson passed on my message I assume?" There was a short pause as she listened fixedly to the strong words from her senior officer. "I can provide you with an update on his condition if that would be preferable sir?" she asked and upon apparently hearing an affirmative reply, spun around so that she was facing the direction of Dylan's room. She felt happier knowing that she could see where he was, plus any comings and goings from his bedside, and as she thought carefully about her words she twirled the phone cable between her fingers to provide her with a distraction.

"He has been fully assessed and has no known CT or neurological complications," she began, quickly getting back into the methodology required to provide a comprehensive summary of Dylan's condition as if he was just another patient. "He has had GS and ortho consults and they have identified possible spinal damage to the L1 to L5 vertebrae, but so far there is no indication this is anything more than localised swelling. There is free fluid in the lower abdomen, with a possible ruptured spleen and kidney or bladder complications. Furthermore he has multiple displaced fractures of the right tibia and fibular, with additional significant distension of the right ankle. He is currently awaiting admission to a surgical ward and a theatre slot to both manage any internal bleed and reset the broken leg bones."

She stopped speaking almost as hastily as she had commenced, as if listing the number of injuries had brought home to her the potential severity of the situation Dylan had found himself in. Sam's eyes met Nick's briefly and she recognised the look of surprise and amusement at her fully inclusive description of Dr Keogh's current status. She was brought back from her momentary lapse of concentration on the phone by the male voice barking in her ear.

"Sir, assuming that there are no complications in theatre and he regains consciousness on schedule then I see no reason I cannot re-join the unit on Friday and therefore there is no need for any further disruption to the schedule," she advised, pausing again to hear his sharp response. "Yes sir, I will call directly at 12:00 hours tomorrow with a further update on the circumstances," she continued, adding one further remark before hanging up the phone. "Thank you sir."

Sam replaced the handset into its casing and allowed herself a sharp intake of breath at finally having one less task to worry about. She immediately steadied herself and strode back across resus, determined to return to Dylan's bedside and that woman as quickly as she was able.

"You're in the army?" Nick questioned, following her from the room and prompting Sam to hesitate slightly.

"My boss sometimes requires more proof than other people's as to where I am," she retorted, flashing him a sly smile. "Look, I need to get back to him," she added, pointing in the direction of the smaller treatment space and leading the way back to Dr Keogh's side. Nick couldn't help but notice that since her arrival in the department the young woman had failed to use either Dylan's name or refer to him by his relationship to her, and he wondered if that was a deliberate act to prevent whatever connection they actually had from becoming public.

The two of them re-joined Dr Hanna in the private room and as Nick's curiosity was now piqued, he felt the need to continue their conversation.

"So how long have you been in the army then?" he asked, noting immediately that Zoe's expression changed to one of disbelief upon hearing that intriguing piece of news.

"A few years," Sam responded simply. "I'm a medic, been out on a few tours with a unit. It's one of the reasons I've not been around much since he arrived in Holby," she furthered her original statement, looking at the unmoving patient on the trolley.

"Where are you based when you're in England?" Nick questioned, knowing full well that the girl would surely have had leave from her army duties in the last year and wondering why she would not have made herself known in Holby at any time since Dr Keogh's own arrival in the department.

"St George's in Tooting was my latest post," she answered. "They have an excellent trauma centre there," she added almost as a secondary thought to make known her specialist abilities in a particular area of emergency medicine. "I've done a lot of short term placements around the country though. When I'm not needed by the army they send me on secondments all over the place."

Silence descended on the room as the two other doctors took on board Sam's comments and what that may have meant for her relationship with Dylan and the frequency of contact this may have allowed her to have with him.

"Sounds like you've been busy then," Nick responded with a smile, reasonably impressed with this particular doctor and her level of experience. "You got here hellishly quickly from London though?" he probed, realising that something about her situation made little sense at that moment.

"I was actually due at pre-deployment exercises in Somerset today, hence my call to my commanding officer earlier and them checking out my story with you," she said, referencing the contact from the senior ranking army commander. "I've been in the Brecon Beacons on endurance training with some of my unit. In fact we were just about to jump on a train at Cardiff heading for Salisbury when Noel called me," she explained. "It's quite lucky you called when you did to be honest, because if I had made it to the exercise I wouldn't have had access to my phone for a few days and I doubt he left any other number for me."

"Pre-deployment exercise?" Nick questioned. "You going somewhere?"

Sam nodded, before replying, "Yeah, Camp Bastian. Nine months of hell in Afghanistan. I'm due to leave next week."

"Bit different to the NHS," Nick said, as both he and Zoe struggled to keep the shocked look from their faces at the thought of this young looking girl being posted out to treat wounded soldiers in a warzone.

"Very different to a sleepy West Country E.D." Sam countered, smirking at her fellow doctors as she knew her comment would get a defensive rise out of them.

"We have our moments Sam," Nick retorted, allowing himself to smile at the cocky attitude that vaguely reminded him of his own young arrogance from years before.

"It's so strange," Sam spoke again, a more serious tone to her voice and returning her gaze yet again to the sleeping man. "He taught me everything I know about medicine, but we turned out to be very different doctors. He likes nothing more than complex cases that require feats of deduction I don't even pretend to understand, whereas I am more of an action, major incident kind of girl. It's why the army suits me, I like the danger."

Before either Zoe or Nick could reply to that statement or acknowledge the wistful look that had crossed Sam's face, Linda came through the door with a mug of coffee in one hand and balancing a chair in the other. She passed the cup to Sam, who accepted it gratefully and immediately took a sip of the steaming liquid. The nurse then placed the chair carefully next to Dylan's bedside and tipped her head in Sam's direction, indicating it was hers if she required it as she felt the woman may be present in the department for quite some time to come.

"Sam was just telling us she was in the army," Zoe spoke suddenly from across the room, moving to position herself immediately to the other side of Dylan's bed from where the girl herself stood and finally re-entering the conversation. "She's a medic."

"Really?" Linda quizzed, eyebrows raised questioningly. "Dr Keogh must worry about you when you go off to war," she added.

Sam allowed herself to laugh out loud at that statement, shocking the others with her reaction. "God no," she replied. "When he wakes up he'll want me out of the country just as much as I want to be gone," she clarified.

"I guess that's what big brothers are like though," Linda replied and a look of confusion quickly spread across Sam's face. "He is your brother right?" the blonde nurse asked.

"No," Zoe butted in, responding before the woman herself was able to. "She's not his sister; she's his daughter, aren't you?"

All three E.D. staff immediately felt the wave of sarcasm that Sam's eye rolling emitted on hearing that particular suggestion.

"Grumpy, you must really have aged in my absence," she said, barely attempting to conceal the scornful tone in her voice as she directed her words in Dylan's direction. "Because I'm not getting any younger and she," Sam said, gesticulating at Zoe, "she thinks you're old enough to be my dad."

"I'm not his sister," she retorted pointedly at Linda. "And I'm certainly not his daughter," she added, locking eyes on the other female doctor with venom dripping from her voice.

"Then who?" Zoe began to question, but was immediately cut off by the younger medic butting in.

"I'm his wife," she stated slowly, as if talking to someone unable to understand her words. "I'm Dylan's wife," she added, pausing. "So who exactly does that make you?"

The atmosphere in the room noticeably dropped a number of degrees at the coldness of her words with none of the others having a comeback for that unexpected declaration.

"Thank you for the coffee Linda," Sam spoke, before continuing, "But if you don't mind, I'd quite like some time alone with my husband," She sat down on the provided chair and took a further sip of her coffee, focusing intently on her husband before adding dismissively, "Thank you."

Sam did not need to look away from Dylan to know it was the female doctor who stormed out of the room first, with the nurse following closely behind her. She could only hope that when he awoke her husband would not be too angry with her for managing to turn his entire world upside down whilst he was completely incapable of preventing her from doing so.

Catty Sam? Oops, but what would you say in her shoes?

Thank you so much for reading and reviews are much welcomed, because they always make me smile :)

I think the next update will be up tomorrow or Thursday, so look out for that. Callie x

PS - To anyone who is asking about To Look Out For You, I promise the wait is nearly over and it will be updated shortly.