Thank you for reading, reviewing and tweeting about the last chapter, I'm always pleased to hear what you think of my fics and I'm glad you are all interested in where this story is going.

Here is chapter 10.

For better, for worse

Chapter 10

Saturday 3rd March 2012

"Are we going to talk about this?" Sam queried, after the two of them had sat together in silence for at least five minutes. She had to admit that although she had been anticipating some of Mr Jordan's words, the newly mentioned complications of temporary bouts of paralysis and potential urinary incontinence were weighing heavily on her mind. She had already considered that it was likely Dylan would be a poor patient with a broken leg, given her recollection of how much he had complained when he had been suffering with flu and a chest infection a few years before, but she couldn't begin to comprehend quite how he was going to come to terms with the situation he found himself in. She knew her husband well enough to be aware that he did not like to be reliant on anyone and therefore it was apparent to her quite how difficult he was going to find needing to be cared for.

However she well understood his need to be discharged from the hospital before the next operation, given that it was likely to be four weeks away. From her own experience of working in an E.D. she had heard all the same horror stories as every other medic about being an inpatient and whilst she would always reassure a newly admitted member of the public that it would all be fine, if she was in the same position she would be taking any opportunity possible to flee from the confines of hospital living.

"There is nothing to talk about Samantha," Dylan finally replied dismissively, despite taking some comfort from her ever present fingers laced in with his own. "The easiest way to get around this issue about my discharge is for you to tell them you will stay with me until I recover, but then as soon as I am settled on the boat you can head on back to the army," he continued. "I'll be fine with Dervla."

"You know sometimes I despair of you," Sam said disparagingly. "You heard what he said Dylan; you need proper care and support. I know you think you're the only competent doctor ever to have existed, but you are going to have to let someone help you out here," she argued. "I can't believe that even you would be that stupidly ego-centric as to put yourself at that much risk."

"It isn't like I have anyone to ask," Dylan said quietly. "And I am not about to pay out the extortionate rate it would cost for some jumped up ex-public schooled newly graduated private doctor to pop in and change my dressings twice a day," he added more forcefully.

"You do realise you haven't actually asked me to stay, don't you?" Sam asked, her tone uncertain as she was unsure quite how that point would be received by her husband. The two of them made momentary eye contact and the intensity of their gaze caused Dylan to look away.

"No," Dylan replied simply. "You need to get back to the army. You can't miss your posting date; you're the one who always said how important that was."

"This is important too," Sam countered seriously, trying to push her husband into acknowledging the enormity of the situation that now faced them both. "If you need me to be here, then I will be here. The army will just have to understand that my husband being hospitalised takes priority over anything else. I've seen soldiers flown back for less than this to be honest and I'm not even supposed to be on this posting to be fair, I offered to go back early because there wasn't really anything to stay in England for. A few weeks or months won't make that much difference."

"I don't need you," Dylan retorted, still unable to process the circumstances he found himself in or quite how reliant he was about to become on those around him for even the most basic of tasks. The nature of his injuries were such that he knew he was in for a significant period of being incredibly uncomfortable and highly embarrassed on every examination and whilst he was certain it would be Samantha he asked for if he had wanted someone by his side, at that particular moment he didn't want to need anyone, not even her. "Besides, doesn't he need you?" he asked, a cruel and sharp tone to his voice.

"There is no he Dylan, hasn't been for a long time," Sam replied sadly, finally saying the words aloud despite having wanted to present an image of someone who was happily sorted and moved on from him. "It was never going to last was it? I mean he was my commanding officer and he was married, it didn't exactly have all the hallmarks of a long-term commitment now did it?"

"You were married too," he remarked pointedly in response, still not willing to meet his wife's gaze.

"Only technically if I recall correctly," Sam reminded him harshly and Dylan snapped his head round to stare at her for that observation. "Look, this is stupid. I'm more than willing to stay and care for you until you're back on your feet," she started to explain. "The hospital would surely deem me capable given that I am also a doctor. I do seem to remember promising to be there in sickness and in health at one point in our pasts."

"You did," Dylan answered. "But then you didn't stick to the rest of the vows did you, so what makes this one so important?" he added irately. "I mean whatever happened to 'forsaking all others, be faithful' and 'to love, honour and obey'? I'm pretty sure you missed out on standing by a whole load of those."

Sam allowed her features to fill with a look of mock-offence at that remark despite feeling like she had been slapped, but also found herself vaguely impressed that he could actually remember the words at all given how quickly they had rushed into the ceremony. "I seem to remember you eventually relented and let me take out 'obey', because you knew I was never going to listen to you anyway," she remembered aloud. "And neither of us was any good at the 'for better, for worse' bit either."

Dylan finally looked away from his wife at that point, having come to realise he had been staring at her the entire time she had been speaking. He knew that he had been unduly tough on Samantha by bringing up her fling quite so pointedly, especially when he had never stopped feeling accountable for the fact it had occurred in the first place, having been the one to push her away quite so strongly beforehand. He was also aware that she was quite right that they shared mutual responsibility for failing to stand by each other in the bad times as well as the good ones, but he laid the blame for that squarely at the decision they made to marry in haste.

"I can't ask you to stay because it would never be fair of me to even ask you to do that, not after everything that has happened," he finally said despondently, but hopeful nonetheless that his wife may still know him well enough to read the implication of his words.

"You are so unbelievably stubborn and pig-headed, you know that right?" Sam retorted, rolling her eyes at the fact she was going to have to force him to accept her help, despite it now being obvious to her that he wanted it in the first place. "If you want to stay stuck in this poxy hospital for the next few weeks then fine, but if you want to go home, back to your boat and to Dervla, then I have already said I will stay."

"That would be an agreeable solution then," Dylan replied shortly, still not making eye contact with his wife but this time in fear of allowing her to see quite how relieved he was that they had reached an agreement over this. He also couldn't help but feel a sense of contentedness that of all the people in the world that he would accept having to rely on, which were very few in number he had to admit, it would be Samantha that would be by his side throughout this process.

"I mean, unless you would rather have Zoe do it?" Sam probed, suddenly wary that she may have overstepped some invisible line that existed in her separation from Dylan. "I don't quite know where I stand with that at the moment."

"I'm not exactly sure Zoe and I are at the bed baths stage yet," Dylan said, a bemused smile suddenly appearing on his face at the very thought of it in spite of the seriousness of the situation.

"Fair enough, as long as you're sure," Sam answered. "I know you're not exactly keen on the idea of anyone looking after you," she started, trying to allay any fears he may have. "But I'm not anyone, and it isn't like you've got anything I haven't seen before," she continued, bringing a smile to both their faces. "We've always had each other's back; I don't think that has changed in spite of everything else."

"Indeed," Dylan responded, contemplating that fact and wondering quite how it could be that fourteen months on from the breakdown of his marriage he and his wife were now on better terms than they had been at any point since their wedding day. The irony of that was not lost on him, given all they had been through in the intervening period.

"Are you going to tell Zoe?" Sam asked, before reddening slightly. "Sorry, stupid statement. I mean, you'll have to tell her won't you?"

"Of course I'll tell her," he confirmed, but from his tone Sam was easily able to tell that this was a conversation he was not looking forward to. She could only hope that he did it with slightly more diplomacy than he was known for, because the last thing she wanted was to disrupt the already fragile and begrudging truce she had called with the other woman, especially as it looked like she would be staying in Holby for the foreseeable future until Dylan was recovered enough to cope on his own.

"I, um, need to make a call," Sam stated, before feeling the need to justify her escape. "To my commanding officer so I can explain what the situation is and what we have decided. I need to give them enough notice that they can make alternative arrangements."

She stood up from the chair and made from the room as quickly as possible, suddenly finding the significance of the decisions they had just made slightly overwhelming. She pulled the door closed behind her, not wanting to give her ex-husband the opportunity to call her back into the room and leant against the wall, pulling her hands up in front of her face to shut out the world around her.

"You okay?" Mr Jordan's voice called down the corridor towards her and she looked up to see him striding purposefully in her direction.

"Fine," she responded, staring downwards and feeling reluctant to meet his gaze. "I'm going to do it," she added looking back up, but on seeing the expression of confusion etch across the consultant's face she continued, "I'm going to stay and take care of Dylan, we've agreed that is the best course of action all round."

"Right," Nick said, feeling unsurprised at the conclusion they had come to but worried about the situation nevertheless. "It's a lot to take on Sam, especially with things how they are between you."

"I'm well aware of that thank you," she shot back defiantly, making confident eye contact with the man who was still watching her in concern.

Nick took in the young woman's determined expression and found himself impressed by her steely attitude once again. He could tell she was already aware quite how rough it was going to be on her to do this, but she was going to do the right thing regardless no matter what the cost to her.

"Alright," he answered. "I'll look into sorting things out here so we can make this happen then," he continued, carefully choosing his words. "Just so long as you know it's okay to find this tough and you aren't expected to be superwoman. If ever you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll be here okay? Just give me a shout anytime."

Thank you for reading. Reviews are always welcome. The next part will be up in a couple of days.

Callie x