Dutchy sat in the hospital waiting room, he had been having problems with his shoulder since he got back from Afghan but since he went crashing in to the table when Jess had told him she had passed her final medics assessment he had been in more pain and it was causing him more grief.

"Dylan Mulholland" a voice called.

Walking in to the bright consulting room he sat in front of the consultant.

"so I can see from your notes you have been having problems with your shoulder including several dislocations"

"yeah I was shot in Afghanistan 18 months ago. It was okay little, pain but it's gotten back in the last few weeks I fell in to the corner of a coffee table and since then it's gotten worse" Dutchy said

Standing over his shoulder the consultant began examining the shoulder moving it feeling the muscle and movement from the bone

"when you Dislocate the shoulder do you have to have it manipulated or will it pop back in on its own?"

"normally I can get it back in to place, without intervention"

"right well I can feel there is a lot of tension and the joint is very crunchy so we will get you in for a x-ray and a MRI scan so we can see what the damage is and then we can go from there"

"right, this isn't going to take long is it because I need to get home" Dutchy looked at his watch. No one knew he was here and he didn't want Jess to worry.

"sorry but it's going to take a while. We will do the MRI scan first as that takes the longest. If you go down to imaging then they are waiting for you and I will speak to you in a bit" the doctor smiled.

Following the directions from the outpatients waiting room to the imaging department Dutchy got lost once or twice but eventually found it on the second floor. After handing the paper from the consultant he had seen downstairs the nurse on the desk lead him through to a large room.

After putting one of the horrible hospital gowns that tie at the back on, he was led in to the huge room where the MRI scanner was. Lying on the table he stared straight up as the scanner began moving around.

"Mr Mulholland Keep still please and try and relax" the technician called from behind the screen. "it will help us get a clear image"

"sorry" he called taking some deep breaths he closed his eyes. He had never been claustrophobic but lying in this machine did make him weary of the enclosed space he was in. It was a long day after the MRI he was sent straight through to the X-ray room to have X-rays on his shoulder from every possible angle. The radiographer clicked on each of the pictures looking at them closely but giving no indication of what was wrong

Sitting back in the main waiting room was hard. He picked up a newspaper someone had left on the chair next to him. He wasn't that interested in what was in there it was all depressingly sad news as usual.

"Dylan Mulholland" a nurse called

Walking back in to the consultant's room he sat back in the chair.

"Mr Mulholland, looking at your scans and X-rays I can see there is extensive damage to the soft tissues and Scapular and the joint." He turned his computer slightly pointing to the badly healed fractures on the X-ray. "the only way to sort this is surgery. We will need to pin the shoulder to stop it from popping out of place. Unfrotunatly other than removing the scar tissue from the muscle there isn't much else we can do"

"right well if I have the surgery how long will I be out for?" Dutchy asked

"Mr Mulholland with your shoulder you won't be fit for front line active duty..."

Dutchy sat there staring at the computer. He could hear what was being said around him but he couldn't quite take it all in. The navy was his life all he had ever known was being a sailor and life at sea.

"...now I am going to get you booked in for the surgery as soon as possible and we will see if we can sort out that shoulder. is there anything you want to know?"

Snapping back to reality dutchy looked up "I don't think so no" he half smiled standing. He just wanted to get out.

"okay you will get a date for your operation through in the post." the consultant held his hand out shaking Dutchy's hand. "i will see you soon" he smiled opening the door.

Walking out Dutchy sat in his car just staring out. He had no idea on what he was going to do. He couldn't do this to Jessica. If she knew what he was going through then she wouldn't want to leave and be Brillant. After he had the operation, he wouldn't be able to drive for several months and would require extensive physiotherapy and he wouldn't want her sticking by him through that.

He was brought back to reality by the loud ringing of his phone. Looking at the caller ID he saw it was Jessica.

"hey," he called hoping he sounded normal

"hey where are you I've been trying to call you"

"yeah sorry had my phone switched of."

"so where are you?"

"just in town. Everything okay?" he asked

"yeah. Fine. You on your way back?" she asked

"yeah I will just nip to Coles get something for dinner what do you fancy?"

"umm pasta," she called

"pasta It is then. Shouldn't be too long"

"see you later then"

"yeah" he sighed "see you later" he called in to the dead phone

It was killing him what he was about to do but it would kill him more to see her put her life on hold for him. Ferrying him to and from physio and being his nurse maid when she could fly so high. Pulling out of the hospital carpark he drove off down the road. It had to be done.

so this is set after chapter 9 but before chapter 10. this is why Dutchy left Jess. hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think. the next chapter will be a serious flash forward xx