"We need to talk." Patrick shifted nervously. Ellen looked up from the script she was reading, one eyebrow raised. Looking around she realized the set was clear.
"What's up?" she asked him, trying to sound lighthearted. Since her announcement they had danced around the entire subject, pretending there wasn't anything earth shattering to their relationship going on. It had been three days since she had told him her decision, and she had yet to talk to Shonda, but her mind was made up.
"I talked to Jillian. It's over." He looked at her defiantly.
"You what!" Ellen leaped off the chair she had been sitting on, before she lowered her voice after looking around to make sure noone had come in. "What the hell did you do?" she hissed at him.
"Calm down." He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, trying to guide her off the set to the trailers. "Let's talk about this in private."
Ellen whipped her head around to stare at him, backing away from his hand. "I'm not being seen alone with you Patrick, you're crazy! You can still fix things with your wife, you didn't tell her about us did you?" she was on the verge of crying.
"Ellen…. Do you honestly think she didn't know? I always suspected she knew, we just chose not to discuss it. She knows, she has known, and I didn't have to say anything about it. The kids are older now, they can survive a divorce. She didn't throw knives at me, it was very civil."
Ellen wanted to die. The last thing she wanted was to break up a marriage. To have the world ogling her and knowing she had ended a marriage. How could she ever spend time with Patrick again, everyone would analyze and surmise that she was the cause. "I can't talk about this with you." She told him sadly, wanting to die when she saw how sad he looked. She leaned down and gathered her tote bag, before she turned and jogged off the set to her car. She'd call the A.D and let them know something had come up and she couldn't shoot today, but she had to get gone before he followed her, she needed to think.
Patrick watched her run, in anguish. He knew she would be upset with him, but he had to do it. He'd wanted more time with her, exclusive time with her forever, and this pushing point was just the thing to propel things forward. Ellen and him belonged together, and he was tired of living a lie. Jillian had admitted she had known it was just a matter of time before they were finished, and they had been able to work things out in a civil manner. He had always thought she might have known about Ellen, and he admired her for hanging in there like she had. It made him sad to think about it, she was the mother of his children, and even though they hadn't been close in years, he still cared about her. She had told him she was going to start divorce proceedings at the end of the month, and had agreed to have split custody.
He knew Ellen needed to have some time to process everything that had happened. She often reminded him of a wild horse, not quite tame, and timid. She startled easily. He wished he could be there for her right now, so she wouldn't have to be alone. It made him sad that he was the cause, but he knew she had to realize they were meant to be together and work things out. He hoped.