Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I am so grateful for all the support with this fic - it is making me a very happy girl :)

Anyway, we now move on to the next day... here is chapter 6.

For better, for worse

Chapter 6

Friday 2nd March 2012

Zoe leant her head against the glass window of the private side room that hospital management had finally located for Dylan late the previous evening and watched the two sleeping occupants with a heavy heart. The injured man had barely regained consciousness before his condition had deteriorated somewhat and the GS team had rushed him into theatre in the early hours of the morning, something she herself had been made aware of when Nick had roused her from the disturbed sleep she had fallen into on the sofa of the office she occasionally shared with him. Dr Hanna was quite sure that they had both only made it through the majority of today's shift thus far on a mixture of auto-pilot and coffee given how sleep deprived both her and her Clinical Lead actually were.

She had felt unable to go back to her flat last night as if nothing had occurred and Dylan wasn't lying unconscious on a hospital bed, mainly because in the past two months it had been rare for them to spend more than a few hours apart due to their shared working pattern and her semi-permanent residence aboard his houseboat. However as much as she had wanted to be the one by his side, that position had been taken by another and whilst the young woman who had identified herself as Dylan's wife had not expressly forbidden her from being present in his room, as yet Zoe felt unable to cross that particular threshold and potentially face Sam's wrath all over again.

She jumped slightly as she felt a hand rest gently on her lower back and stepped back to see that Nick had joined her on the corridor looking every bit as weary and drained as she herself felt.

"I thought I might find you here," he stated quietly, before drawing his friend into a comforting hug. He held her tightly in his arms, wondering how it had come to be that for the second time in as many days this felt like the right course of action when in recent months the two of them had drifted apart. Nick found his view shifting to the window to where Sam was curled up on a chair by Dr Keogh's bedside, having finally succumbed to the exhaustion evident in her eyes early that morning when she had staggered down to the E.D. to advise him her husband was being taken into emergency surgery. He had wished in that moment that he knew her well enough to offer her the same soothing reassurance he was now providing to Zoe, but Sam appeared to be completely alone in the world and after the outburst she had directed towards her rival for Dylan's heart she had totally shut down emotionally in front of his eyes, seemingly unable to cope with the enormity of the situation they all found themselves in.

"He lied to me," Zoe spoke suddenly, shaking herself free of the comforting grasp and turning her attention back to the window. Nick found himself unable to offer any suitable response to that statement, well aware that the only person who could provide answers to the mess that had been created had yet to awake and was oblivious to the devastation that had been caused to both Dr Hanna and Dr Nicholls in his absence.

"It's as if everything I thought I knew suddenly isn't true anymore," Zoe continued, not waiting for Nick to offer any further comment on proceedings. "Twenty-four hours ago I would have told you Dylan and I were beginning to get serious. I mean we've practically been living together, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about him," she continued irately, before pausing and taking a deep breath to control her emotions. "Now I don't feel like I know him at all. She's turned up like she's supposed to have been there all along and suddenly she's in charge of anything to do with his care like I don't even exist. They have this whole history I knew nothing about and she obviously still loves him. She's even in charge of that damned dog for God's sake," she added, anger evident in her tone. "Why did he lie to me? How could he not tell me he was married Nick? Of all the things not to tell me, why did he choose to leave that out?"

She rubbed her eyes and held her head in her hands, knowing that it wasn't her current companion's fault she was in this position.

"I just wish I knew where I stood," she added sadly. "It's all just such a mess."

Nick instinctively put his arm back around her shoulders and allowed her to lean against him. He doubted that this situation would be resolved any time soon given that it appeared Dylan was going to require further surgery and therefore Sam's presence was likely to continue for a while yet to come. However he was also very much aware that the man's physical recovery was only one part of the issue that faced Zoe at that moment, with the entire department abuzz with news that the mystery daughter had turned out to be anything but.

He was sure that it had taken Linda no more than fifteen minutes to spread the startling news across the length and breadth of the E.D. but in truth he had been surprised it had taken her that long if the haste of her departure from Dylan's room had been any indication of the level of her excitement. Already that shift he had had to separate Dr Lyons and Nurse Andrews on a number of occasions when he had found them gossiping in corners about Dr Keogh's secret wife rather than being vaguely productive with their working time, but despite having to act as the tough task master he could understand exactly why everyone was so interested in this turn of events.

Even in that fearful moment earlier in the day when he had seen Samantha appear so incredibly vulnerable at the thought of her husband requiring admission to theatre she had been reluctant to engage in conversation with him about the finer details of her relationship with Dylan. In fact he had only elicited from her that the two of them had married some years before and that she was currently twenty-six years old, making her twelve years younger than her spouse and providing them a significant enough age gap to raise eyebrows even if the concealment of her existence hadn't already done that. Nick had established from his brief conversations with the woman that she was no keener on talking than her husband and the only question she had so far asked him, about the status of Dr Keogh's relationship with Dr Hanna, had been rhetoric given that he knew she had already appreciated from Zoe's presence and demeanour that the two medics were more than just close friends. He had noted a definite sadness in her character when he had failed to deny that this was the case, but it was the crushed acceptance in her response that she and Dylan had been separated for some time that had caused his own heart to break, something he had found unusual as he barely knew the girl himself.

Sam suddenly stirred from her sleep in the chair, snapping into an upright position and visibly wincing at the pain that shot through her body at the unexpected movement of much stiffened muscles. Almost instantly upon her eyes opening she locked her gaze onto Dylan's still sleeping form, as if to check that he was still both present and unchanged in condition, before turning her attention to the two consultants staring at them through the window to his room, managing despite the weirdness of the situation to remain wholly expressionless under their intense scrutiny.

Forcing herself out of the chair Sam smoothed down her clothes, stretching out her arms and legs as she did so and then moved over towards the doorway of the room. She quietly opened the door and joined them in the corridor, before running her hand through the tousled mane of hair that had long since been allowed to flow freely rather than be restrained by a tie.

In the awkward silence that followed it was clear to Nick that his two female companions were each taking in the other and inwardly comparing themselves to their supposed rival for Dylan's affections. The similarities between them were unmistakeable, as they both wore their confusion, worry and oddly enough guilt at the current set of circumstances like a mask across their faces. However it was also evident to him at how very different the pair were, with their age, physical appearance and dress both striking them out as poles apart from the other. Despite her tiredness, Zoe looked every inch the competent medic and she maintained a degree of professional composure that belied how Nick knew she was feeling within herself, something he recognised anyone who knew her less intimately than he did would be unable to see. He couldn't help but notice that in her outwardly detached state Sam appeared even younger than her years that day, with her crumpled jogging bottoms, strappy t-shirt and messy hair making her look considerably less mature than her counterpart.

"He has been drifting in and out of consciousness all afternoon," Sam spoke, her voice confident despite the uncertainty both of the others present could see in her eyes. "They reckon he'll wake up properly soon," she added, before looking away and staring back into the room that had become her place of residence over the last day. "I've been monitoring is obs since he came back from surgery and there is clear improvement in his stats. I talked to his consultant earlier and there are indicative signs he will quickly make a substantial, if not full, recovery."

"That's great news Sam," Nick responded, trying to keep his tone reassuring for the benefit of all concerned. He knew that both females were qualified doctors and therefore were quite capable of understanding the situation without support from him, but it felt more appropriate to treat them as friends and relatives of a patient rather than expect them to rely on their own medical knowledge given the highly emotive state they mutually found themselves in.

"Has your shift finished?" Sam asked, turning her attention towards Zoe but not anticipating receiving an answer from her directly.

"In an hour or so," Nick replied, realising with little surprise that Dr Hanna would be unlikely to do as she had yet to verbally acknowledge the younger woman's presence with them in the corridor.

"Well when you've finished would you like to come and sit with him for a while?" she asked again, her eyes having remained firmly on Zoe despite it being the male of the trio that actually was providing her with answers. "I think he'd like you to be here when he wakes up. It would be good for him to see a friendly face."

There was something about the way that point had been put across to her by her lover's wife, who was standing nervously chewing her lower lip and twirling a strand of her loosened hair around her fingers, that made Zoe finally recognise that the girl was not only talking specifically to her but was also offering her the opportunity to spend some time with the man she had not yet forgiven but nonetheless couldn't get out of her head.

"I'd like that," she responded simply. "Thank you. I'll come back when my shift is over," she added, realising that it must have been quite a difficult suggestion for Sam to make as the words alone implied that Dylan would be choosing to see Zoe herself rather than his own wife when he finally roused from his slumber.

The two women nodded at each other in a simple gesture of understanding, despite the limited number of words that either had actually spoken aloud.

"We should be getting back to the E.D." Nick chimed in, aware that the conversation had reached an impasse and feeling it would be important for the two to part on these better terms where they appeared to have shown the merest of grudging recognition of the other's existence in Dylan's life.

Dr Hanna went to walk past Sam and head back towards the department, finally dropping her gaze from the woman's eyes. However as she passed Sam reached out momentarily and rested her fingers on Zoe's lower arm, squeezing slightly in a clumsy attempt to extend the hand of friendship.

"About what's happened," she said, her voice hushed and fleetingly turning her head to meet Zoe's intrigued look with an embarrassed half-smile, before continuing thoughtfully, "I'm sorry." The word of apology hung in the air between them with neither quite being sure whether the admission was meant in relation to Sam's harsh words the previous night, her own connection with Dylan, the impingement this might have on Zoe's future relationship with the man or Sam's very existence in the first place. Nevertheless the emotional weight and defeated tone behind it made it quite apparent to both Dr Hanna and Nick Jordan that it could have covered all of those particular options and even more besides.

Zoe returned Sam's half-smile before continuing her journey down the corridor, desperate not to allow the younger woman to see the demonstrative impact that one statement and her earlier gesture of acceptance had had on her, in that it had shown they were not enemies and in fact both wanted the very same outcome, which was for the man they loved to be fully recovered.

"Thank you," Nick whispered to Sam, as he watched Zoe depart realising from her posture that she was struggling to hold herself together. "I think she needed to hear that," he added, before briefly resting his hand on the younger doctor's shoulder.

Sam just shrugged in response, refusing to meet his gaze in fear of letting him see how horrendously difficult she had found it to reach out to Dylan's new love and finally acknowledge after fourteen months apart from him that their marriage was truly over, as well as recognising he had heeded her advice to move on with someone new. She re-entered her husband's hospital room and checked the readings on the equipment by his bedside, satisfying herself that there had been no deterioration in his condition in her short period of respite from the monotonous bleeping sound of the medical machinery, a noise she was well used to given her profession but that had taken on an increased significance in the past twenty four hours given her love for the man in the bed it was closely monitoring.

Nick watched the girl from the window as she made all the necessary observations any medical practitioner would on reassessing a patient and wondered whether trying to treat the man as a case rather than her husband was Sam's way of coping with the unfortunate set of circumstances, as it had become obvious to him that she was just as uncomfortable with feelings as Dr Keogh was. She collapsed heavily onto the seat she had awoken in only minutes before, but immediately turned her head away from him and Nick could tell from her shaking shoulders that she was determined not to let him see that she was crying. He momentarily touched the glass that separated him from offering her comfort, before deciding it best that he leave her alone, knowing she would not thank him for intervening when she was feeling so vulnerable.

Sam felt Mr Jordan's gaze upon her for a while as she deliberately busied herself staring at the items on the cabinet next to Dylan's bedside. She took deep breaths to try and control herself, not wanting the senior consultant to see her tears. However as the feeling she was being watched lessened and she turned to confirm he had departed, she allowed the emotion she had been repressing ever since she had received that call the previous day to finally overtake her and she descended into a weeping mess of streaming eyes and wracking sobs.

A flicker of a movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention a couple of minutes later and Sam frantically wiped her face with the arm of her hooded jumper from the back of the seat to destroy any evidence of tears. She took hold of Dylan's moving hand with her own and held it tightly, hoping that being aware of his having company may be enough to bring him back from his unconscious state.

Dylan's eyes flickered before sharply closing again at the harsh brightness of the light immediately above him. He blinked anxiously a couple of times until the contrast of the room became more bearable and then finally prised open his eyes, unable to do any more than stare straight at the ceiling above him.

"Samantha?" he mouthed silently. "Sam?"

Dylan's awake! Hope you enjoyed this update, reviews as always are welcome especially as they make me smile muchly!

The next update should be with you on Friday I suspect, mainly because I need to work on my update for To Look Out For You First!

Thank you for reading. Callie x