Jac knew what she was going to do the moment she saw Joseph Byrne pack away his belongings into the boot of his car. She couldn't let this go, not yet anyway. Desperately, she turned around and dashed past a gawping Sacha, her golden hair tumbling to her shoulders, and out of the door with a thud. Racing across Keller Ward, she was completely oblivious to her chaotic surroundings until the drawling and only too familiar voice of her Swedish rival forced her to a halt; a sickening feeling of trepidation lurched in her stomach, she couldn't be delayed. Not now. There was too little time, too much at stake.
If Henrik Hanssen had been paying absolute attention, he would have noticed the panicked expression that flit so rapidly across her striking features, just milliseconds before. However, the only thing that defined her features now was an air of haughtiness; a mock expression that Jac Naylor had mastered many years ago to masquerade her inner feelings, an expression that she was now accustomed to.
"Ah, Ms. Naylor. There you are. You were expected in theatre twenty minutes ago" A statement drenched in sarcasm, his speciality.
Rolling her eyes characteristically, Jac uttered a hurried, breathless reply "Yes Mr Hanssen, but I have a matter of national importance to be dealing with right this minute. It's a consultant's emergency..." And, with no further explanation, Jac sped away again towards the lift, leaving Hanssen standing there, mildly perplexed at her outlandish behaviour. He was not a man to be ignored.
Doors opening. The voice of the lift echoed monotonously through the Hospital entrance.
Mentally storing all of the Hanssen-related insults she was able to conjure in the time spent standing in the lift, Jac burst through the doors in a frenzy, past the empty cafeteria and through the automatic doors into the car park. Into the pouring rain.
He was still there. Leaning against his car door, Joseph Byrne seemed to be in a state of reflection. Jac's heart was now somersaulting; it was thudding so hard that it felt like it would escape her chest at any moment. She wasn't used to these feelings at all. With her maroon scrubs nearly drenched through with rain, and her adrenaline pumping, all she could do was stand there and wait.
It felt like an eternity, but Jac Naylor had only spent a few minutes standing there, watching. She didn't really know what she was doing anymore. What would she say to him? A torrent of emotion suddenly overwhelmed her, resulting in any coherent thought she may have possessed minutes before being flung, once again, into disarray. It seemed hopeless. Yet, as if on cue, Joseph Byrne turned around to face her and, despite the blanket of darkness that shrouded them both, his gaze met Jac's at once, seemingly, alluringly, beckoning her forward.
And that's what she did, she walked towards him.
Her pace quickened, faster and faster, until she was positioned a ruler's width away from her handsome nemesis. He just stood there, stunned; Jac Naylor's natural beauty, alongside the fiery intent in her wide green eyes, caught Joseph off guard and he took a long, shuddering breath, his eyes refusing to stray from hers. Not for one second did his eyes stray from hers. Finally, the long, tormenting silence was broken and Jac whispered the words: "I just needed to see you. I needed to do this". The tone of her voice was silky soft and Joseph was mesmerised.
However, the powerful slap across his face that ensued awoke him immediately from his dream like state.