Thanks to all the very lovely reviewers and alerters, this chapter is especially for you.
As always I don't own casualty, I've also (briefly) mentioned the BBC comedy series porridge which I don't own either.
Sam woke feeling better than she had in a long time, some how she had managed a whole nights sleep without waking up in a cold sweat from dreams of being I prisoner behind metal bars. Every time she had closed her eyes since being suspended she saw the opening titles to porridge with doors closing her off from the outside world, and no means of escape. She stretched out from her cramped position and promptly fell off the sofa landing on her hands and knees on the floor, she stayed there bewildered for a couple of seconds before recognising her surroundings as Dylan's boat. Slightly embarrassed at having fallen asleep she scrambled to her feet using the sofa to pull herself up like a small child then stumbled to the kitchen. She was surprised to find a note there from Dylan, he didn't do notes. Although this one only held two words so she wasn't certain it could be described as such, it simply said: EAT BREAKFAST! Sam smiled to herself, for Dylan that was about as caring as it got. He rarely wasted ink or time on something a trifling as an exclamation mark, unless of course he was particularly annoyed. She helped herself to a cup of coffee and slice of toast and marmite, knowing that he would check to see if she really had eaten.
Later after she'd been back to her flat to shower and change Sam walked into the ED for the first time since being suspended, she smiling to Noel and Big Mac who were chatting at reception and they returned her greeting.
"Hey Princess," Jeff and Dixie were returning to the ambulance with an empty stretcher but stopped when they saw her. "Long time no see, how's the suspension?" Jeff wrapped her in a fatherly hug that almost brought Sam to tears. It had been so long since she'd had any physical contact with anyone, the unexpected intimacy threw her off a little and she bit back a sob. She wasn't usually a cuddly person but received one from Dixie as well who commented that she'd lost weight but was interrupted when the radio summoned them to a shout, "Come out for a drink later?" Jeff shouted as he jogged in the other direction.
"Maybe," Sam nodded knowing it was unlikely that she'd actually go. It was strange she craved contact with the outside world but then withdrew when it was offered, maybe that was because there was only one person she wanted to be with and he was... Standing in front of her, and wearing scrubs. Dylan never wore scrubs anymore, something which saddened Sam greatly. She had always enjoyed the view of his behind in scrubs, this she was convinced was the reason he rarely wore them now. She smirked a little to herself as he approached her and she realised that he had the sleeves of his top rolled up like the 'cool kids' did, if he knew Lenny and Lloyd did it to show off their upper arm muscles he probably wouldn't bother. It wasn't an area in which he was particularly well endowed.
"Ready?" Sam nodded, anyone else would have asked how she'd slept. Or at least mentioned the night before but then Dylan wasn't anyone else.
"Yes, lets get it over with." She hated lawyers, she'd seen enough of them in the last few weeks to last her a life time. That was another reason now to delay the inevitable divorce.
They rode the lift in silence to the upper floor where the offices for non-medical staff were, Dylan glanced at Sam who was staring resolutely at the wall. Normally she wouldn't take the lift unless she was transporting a patient or she had no other choice, she always said that stairs were better excercise but he knew the real reason.
"Okay?" Sam nodded keeping her mouth a tight line, while Dylan had never been good at reading people somehow with her it was easy. Her faced relaxed briefly upon exiting the metal box but tightened up again as they reached the door to the room they were meeting the hospitals lawyers in.
They entered the board room and shook hands with the two lawyers who each stood to greet them before reclaiming their seats. They were almost identical and about as lawyerly as you could get, both wore grey suits with plain ties. Both had dark hair, shiny shoes, and both wore glasses with square black frames. The doctors took the seats opposite them, Dylan sat up straight while Sam slouched in her chair like a teenager. The slightly older lawyer spoke first, it seemed as though he was in charge but as neither doctor had bothered to learn their names the only way to distinguish them was by age.
"Okay, what we're going to do today is go over the case and work out what needs to be said."
"You mean we're going to get our stories straight?"
"If you like," the younger lawyer smiled at Sam who scowled back.
"But she's going to get off anyway, she didn't do anything wrong."
"We don't know for sure, it's the question of reasonable force." The older lawyer jumped in, "There was a case recently in Newcastle where 16 men followed one young man home and attacked him in his own front garden, his father came out to help with a bat of some sort and gave one to his son as well. The father and son both went to prison while the gang got off because it was decided they used more than reasonable force."
"But that's ridiculous, 16 blokes could have killed him. And it's not as though I had a weapon."
"No, but that's where things get complicated. As a member of the armed forces you are trained in combat so your body could potentially be classed as a weapon."
"This isn't some karate film, your acting as though she could kill someone."
"Doctor Keogh, please try to remember that we are on your side." Dylan folded his arms huffily "And given the fact That Doctor Nicholls was able to break a mans neck she probably could have killed him."
"I am here you know," Sam was getting fed up of being talked about rather than to. They may as well have told her to sit in the corner while the men sorted everything out. "and no, I couldn't have killed him." As the lawyers were talking she was starting to feel trapped, it was as though the room was slowly shrinking. Iron bars descending over the windows and the door, soon there would be no way out and shed be stuck inside forever. "I could never kill anyone, I do the saving." Her throat felt tight and her breathing rate increased, she had to get out. "I've seen what killing does to people and I don't want that ever to be me." With that she ran from the room and didn't stop until she could see sky.
"Is that normal behaviour for her?"
"Err..." Dylan was about to deny it but felt lying to a lawyer was never a good course of action "increasingly, excuse me." he left the room in
pursuit of his wife knowing exactly where she would have gone.
"Sam!" Dylan tumbled out of the door onto the hospital roof breathlessly having hoped to catch her on the stairs, he span around searching for her and panicked when he found her sat on the wall that ran around the roof to stop people from falling off and dangling her legs over the edge of the hospital. "Samantha, come down from there." he was terrified but somehow managed to only sound mildly annoyed, "it will be alright." She swung her legs around so although she was still sat on the edge she was now facing inwards,
"Do you promise?" Dylan paused for a moment, then held out his hand as though enticing her down.
"Yes," Sam took the proffered hand and jumped the short distance back to the roof. Before she even had time to recover from the jump she found herself ensconced in her husbands arms. "It will be alright." he stroked her hair soothingly,
"You should never make promises you can't keep, first rule of medicine. You taught me that." He released her from his embrace and brushed her hair back, resting his hands on her shoulders he looked her in both eyes.
"I promise." he pulled her back into a hug for a second before letting her go and stepping back, he felt suddenly awkward at the display of affection and not entirely sure where they stood with each other. "C'mon, we need to finish this meeting." Sam nodded and followed him meekly back towards the stairs, she hadn't been planning on jumping. If she had wanted to kill herself the hospital was probably the last place she'd do it. Her worst feat was to be trapped with no way out which was something that felt more real now than ever before, even when capture by the Taliban was a possibility. She had just needed to feel free which she always did on top of a building or mountain or sometimes flying. She saw every day in both her work as a doctor and in the army just how precious life was, she would never take her own. But at least she had provoked a reaction from her husband, even if it was unintentional.
The case of the sixteen guys being held off by a father and son with bats is a real one and they did both serve long stretches despite being first time offenders, actually I think they are still serving. It wasnt Newcastle though, I don't know where it was but a friend who works in the prison tells me things I probably shouldn't know.
And lawyerly is a real word I swear! So maybe I could get Dylany into the English language...
If you liked it please review. X