Chapter 2

"Ruth, are you gonna do anything today or just sit there looking miserable?"

Ruth looked up to Kelsey standing over the bench she was sitting on in the hospital garden.

"Zoe sent me to look for you, you're break ended fifteen minutes ago," Kelsey informed the confused looking F2.

"Oh, I didn't notice the time, sorry," Ruth lied. She had actually been hoping that she might be forgotten about and not had to go back to work.

Kelsey shook her head and walked back to the E.D. Ruth slowly got up and started to slowly walk towards the doors thinking about how things would be better for everyone if she hadn't woken up from that coma. She felt pretty sure that Abs had had enough of trying to make a decent person out of her. She just didn't understand why he cared so much, everyone else who had encountered her frosty personality had just avoided her and stayed out of her way.

It was quiet day in the E.D and Ruth hated days like these. At least when it was busy she had something to take her mind off how miserable she felt most of the time. Times like these left her alone with her thoughts, which troubled her. Why couldn't she be happy?

Upstairs on the wards Jac was doing the rounds. She hated this part of the day as she found talking to the patients hard, be it good news or bad news. It was probably her lack of bedside manner and her disbelief in making any connection with the patients at all. She'd never let herself grow attached to anyone since the death of her parents, everyone she met left her eventually as would the patients.

She wished she could make enough of a connection to just to gain their trust, they always looked terrified when she talked to them. But she just couldn't do it, she didn't have Maddy Young's reassuring smile or Sam Strachan's heart-warming eyes, even Joseph Byrne was blessed with posh accent to please the patients. Jac on the other hand was blessed with terrifying cheek bones and a sharp tongue.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she finished up with the last patient. At least soon she would be in theatre doing what she loved and what she was good at. The truth was whatever awful things Jac had done you couldn't call her a bad surgeon. She often took stupid risks to benefit her career but she nearly always came out successful.

As she walked to the lift to get her morning coffee that she rewarded herself with after the rounds everyday, Lola Griffin, walked into the ward with an announcement.

"The emergency department has phoned and confirmed a major incident at a block of flats. They need as many doctors down there as possible and requested that some of our surgeons go."

Jac listened carefully to the announcement. Perhaps this would be a chance to prove herself and get that promotion she'd been desperately seeking for so long. This was her chance to play the heroine.

"I'll go," she replied enthusiastically. Everyone looked at her confused. They were all thinking, what the hell is she up to now? Lola took a moment before nodding and asking Joseph to go with her.

"Keep her out of trouble and watch your back, you never know what she's got up her sleeve." Joseph nodded as Lola offered a warning.

Jac heard these words as and she couldn't deny that it hurt her a little bit. She was never going to be given a chance to prove herself anything but bad and Lola's words dented her blackened heart.