A/N: As it turns out, my Biology teacher was absent today (phew!). So this is the result of my free lesson.
Please do review, it'd mean a lot to me as I'm finding it hard to find inspiration for Chapter 10 .
Thanks, and enjoy!

Kirsty
"Kirsty, you really don't have to be here. It's not too late, we can still go home if you want." I sighed as I pulled down the hem of my sky blue top and zipped it up the side.
"Adam, I've already told you. It's absolutely fine, I can handle it. Besides, I'm bored just staying in all day now. I need some ED action." He leaned against the his locker as I piled my casual clothes in my own. The bruises all over my body were mostly all gone, but I still wore a white long sleeved shirt underneath my scrubs just to be sure. I was a little worried about the awkward conversation me and Tess were to have later on, but Adam had assured me that he would be there in a flash should he be needed.
I suppose in a way, the prospect of being able to tell someone other then Adam was a relief- not that he hadn't been great. He'd been an absolute star for all the help he'd given me, but he knew as well as I did that I needed to be able to talk to other people as well as him.
"Okay, if you're absolutely positive." I nodded, giving him a warm smile and putting a hand on his arm.
"I am, believe me. It's okay Adam, you don't need to worry all the time. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." He returned my smile, and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
"Yeah," he sighed. "That's what I'm worried about.

It didn't take long for me to get back into the swing of the ED. I'd forgotten how hectic life there could be, and after two RTAs, three dislocations and a burn victim I was pretty much ready to call it a day. Unfortunately, my shift was far from over, so instead I asked Tess for an early lunch break. I figured she'd let me off considering my... Situation.
"Yeah, of course Kirsty." she confirmed my prediction. "Oh, and we'll have that chat later, okay?" I nodded and flashed her a worn smile before making my way to the staff room and putting the kettle on. I was the only one in there, so I took a couple of aspirin and sat with my head in my hands. Maybe it is too soon to come back to work... I thought, looking up at the clock. But before I could even pour myself a cup of much needed coffee, my mobile started to ring. Wondering who it was, I pulled it from my pocket. The words 'Number Withheld' were flashing on its screen, so I answered it just to see who it was.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kirsty." Warren. Who else? I was about to hang up, but instead I decided to see what he wanted first.
"What do you want Warren?"
"I just called to ask when you are coming home?" There was a pause in which I tried to collect my words together and find something satisfactory to say. "Well Nita's ill, if you even care about that." He continued. I sighed, and ran a hand through my hair.
"Okay, well you know where we the medicine is. Just keep her hydrated and-" he cut me off, his tone low.
"But she doesn't want me, she wants her mum." I sighed again, closing my eyes exasperatedly.
"I'm at work though Warren, I can't come home now!"
"Yeah, I figured you'd say something like that. It's fine, she knows you don't care anyway." I bit my lip guiltily, weighing up the choices of whether to go home and have to face Warren, or stay at work and betray my daughter once again.
"Okay," I finally agreed, after what felt like an eternity of silence. "I'm on my way." Pocketing my phone, I grabbed my jacket from the back of a chair and left the staff room, debating whether to let Adam know or not. In the end, I decided against it, knowing that he would try and stop me if he knew. I figured that with Nita home, Warren couldn't do anything to me. So I walked out, keeping my head down so nobody would spot me and wonder where I was off to.

"Warren? Nita?" I called as I let myself in and pushed the door closed behind me. No one answered, so I went up the stairs and put my head round the door to Nita's room. I smiled fondly at the bump underneath her bundle of blankets, and moved forward to sit on the edge of her bed. "Hey, sleepyhead" I peeled back the cover to see her face, only to find that the lump that I had presumed to be my daughter was just a clever arrangement of toys and clothes to look like her. 'Oh God' I thought, as the realisation that Warren had tricked me into coming home hit me.
"You decided to come then?" I whirled around at the voice. Warren was standing in the doorway, his hands balled into fists. I swallowed anxiously.
"Warren, where's Nita?" he chucked lightly.
"Oh, so you do care about your child then. Could have fooled me!" I clenched my own fists, worry starting to gnaw at the pit of my stomach.
"Don't play with me Warren, where is she?"
"Don't worry, she's fine. She's at school, and then she's going to a friend's." I ran a hand through my hair.
"Why did you trick me here then?" he took a step towards me, and I in turn took a step away.
"Because I knew you wouldn't come otherwise." I was becoming impatient, and my tone emphasised this.
"Yes, but why?"
"So we could talk, Kirst." he came and sat on the edge of Nita's bed, and patted the covers next to him. I ignored his invitation to sit down, instead backing up until I was close to the wall. 'I wonder if I can make a break for the door?' I thought. Warren sighed, presumably sensing what I was considering.
"Please, Kirsty. Give us a chance, eh?"
"I've given you plenty of chances already. And you always ruin them." he hunched up, his arms folded across his stomach.
"I know I've screwed up before, but I really think I can change-" I cut him off mid sentence.
"Can you really, Warren? Or is this just another one of your games?" he sighed again, and I even thought I saw a tear glimmering in his eye.
"I know I've treated you badly in the past Kirsty... But I really want you to forgive me. I'm trying to be a better person. A better husband." Silence fell between us, and for a few minutes I looked around Nita's room, re-familiarising myself with the posters of boy-bands she liked, and the pattern on the ceiling. Tension hung thickly in the air, and Warren's voice cut into it like a knife to butter when he spoke again. "So who've you been staying with then?" I looked up, my nerves beginning to waiver.
"What?" He got to his feet.
"You heard me. Whose house have you been staying at all this time?" I said nothing, backing further towards the wall as he took a couple of steps in my direction. "Kirsty," he repeated, his voice low and threatening. "Whose house was it?" I barely had time to reply before he slammed his fist into my ribcage, taking all the breath from my body and causing me to double over. I cried out in pain as he struck me, and I was sure I'd felt a bone crack underneath his force. "Tell me!" he demanded, and I shook my head, still blinded by the immense pain his punch had caused.
"No! You can't do this to me Warren!" I ran towards the door as quickly as the pain in my side would allow it, but he caught me just as I'd reached the top of the stairs.
"Tell me!" he roared in my face as he shook my shoulders, hard. 'Kirsty, you idiot! You shouldn't have come here in the first place!' I told myself as I looked into his piercing eyes, absolutely terrified. He brought his hand back, and slapped me hard around the face. The sound reverberated around the landing as I staggered back, lost my footing, and tumbled down the stairs.

Pain erupted all over my body, and I screamed in agony as I felt bones fracture and bruises form as I landed at the bottom of the stairs. Warren was still standing at the top, a look of pure horror written across his expression.
"I didn't mean to! Kirsty, I didn't mean to!" he panted as he joined me at the bottom. At that point, I was beyond caring; the pain was so intense and I could feel blood beginning to pool underneath my body. I was barely conscious, and Warren's figure was blurry as he leaned down and shook me.
"N-no..." I sobbed. "Ambulance, please!" He ignored me, instead pacing back and forth along the hallway.
"What have I done? Oh shit, what have I done? I didn't mean to!"
"Please, ambulance..." I gasped as my vision began to fade.
"I've got to get out of here!" Even in the state I was in, I could tell he was panicking. I tried to call after him as he grabbed his jacket and limped out of the front door, leaving me barely conscious at the bottom of the stairs.
"Please..." I whispered, as the ground opened up and swallowed me whole.

Adam
"Anyone seen Kirsty?" I asked for the umpteenth time as I reached the reception desk.
"Nah, sorry mate." was the standard reply I kept receiving, and I can't say I was thrilled to get it again. I groaned as the pool of uncertainty and anxiety in the pit of my stomach increased, and checked my watch. I'd only just finished my shift, only to find that Kirsty wasn't waiting for me as we'd agreed. Nobody could account for her whereabouts, and I was starting to really worry. I had a terrible feeling I knew where she'd gone, and as I ran out to my parked car I had only one destination in mind: The house she and Warren used to share.
Not caring about speed cameras or traffic tickets, I drove as fast as I could without endangering those around me, and within fifteen minutes I'd pulled up outside the house. There was no car in the driveway, so I backed into the space and, slipping from my seat, rushed to the front door.
"Anyone home?" I shouted as I hammered my fist on the wood. Nobody came and I heard no answer, so I continued to shout through and knock for the next couple of minutes- but to no avail. Felling myself on the verge of panic, I slammed my weight against the door, trying to break the lock and force it open. A few more attempts, and I still appeared to be getting nowhere, so I instead reached for a large stone on the ground, and hurled it at the hall window with all my might. The impact of the stone caused nearly all the glass to fall in splinters from the window frame, so I was able to crawl through without cutting myself too badly- not that I cared as I laid eyes upon the girl I loved, lying in a pool of her own blood at the foot of the stairs.
"Kirsty!" I dashed forward and fell to my knees before her, automatically going into doctor mode as I checked for a pulse, weak and irregular, and for the breathing that was barely there at all. I reached for my phone and dialled 999, my voice cracking as I phoned for the ambulance that could save Kirsty's life if it got there in time.
"Kirsty, can you hear me?" She was completely unresponsive; not surprising considering the amount of blood loss she'd suffered. Her skin was ashen, and she was cold. "What has he done to you?" I murmured, tears beginning to fall down my cheeks as I took her pulse again. It was getting weaker, and an icy chill gripped my heart as I realised that the very little breath she had left in her fragile body had run out, and she was no longer breathing. "No..." I started crying properly as I carefully turned her onto her back, tilted her head back, and taking a deep breath to steady myself, put my lips to hers and began CPR.

Please, don't do this to me...