Hello everyone! I was a big Casualty fan back in the day so whilst I've got the time I wanted to write a little something about my favourite pairing! I don't really know where I'm going with this story. I will probably add a few more chapters, but once this idea popped into my head I just had to write it down. This is set in a universe where Sam never returned as a paramedic and got killed off.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Casualty, just my OC mentioned.
25th July 2027
The ED was filled with the usual hustle and bustle, streams of patients coming in and out with differing cases. Dylan sighed heavily as he placed another stack of files down onto the counter. It felt like it had already been such a long day, and with a quick glance at the clock Dylan realised he was only half way through his twelve hour shift.
"Great…" he mumbled quietly under his breath before grabbing another file and heading over to the cubicle that housed his next patient. Slowly drawing back the curtain, Dylan was met with the face of a blonde teenaged girl sitting on the bed, cradling her left arm. Dylan stopped in his tracks, the sight of the young girl catching him off guard. She looked so familiar, exactly like…no it couldn't be. Shaking that thought from his mind, he put it down to mere coincidence. Dylan flipped open the cover of the file and searched for the name of his patient to identify who she was.
Name: Sophie Samantha Nicholls.
D.O.B: 17/06/2015.
Next of kin: Samantha Nicholls (mother)
Dylan's eyes widened with alarm, coming to the realisation that this young girl was in fact Sam's daughter. Running his finger gently over her name on the piece of paper, the young girl's voice suddenly snapped Dylan from his thoughts.
"Everything okay, Doctor?"
Dylan finally met Sophie's gaze, his grey eyes meeting her blue. Swallowing deeply, he finally greeted the young girl. "Sophie. I'm Doctor Keogh." He took a few steps into the cubicle and placed her file onto the bed. "Now, can you tell me what happened to your arm?"
Sophie kept her gaze locked on his as she spoke. "I was in P.E at school and we were playing football. Our team - the girls, were beating the boys, of course, but then I went to tackle, tripped and fell on my arm. I think it's broken." Sophie glanced down at her arm before carrying on speaking. "All the signs are there. The pain increases with movement, it's swollen and it's bruising."
"Do you mind if I take a look at your arm?" He asked softly, to which Sophie nodded her head, allowing Dylan to do a quick examination.
"Right, I'm going to send you for an x-ray and get you something for the pain. I do believe you are correct and your arm is broken. But I just want to make sure." Dylan explained and watched as Sophie's face lit up with a smug grin, despite the pain she was feeling. The grin on her face reminded him so much of her mother whenever she had proven him wrong and seldom admitted defeat to her.
"My Mum's a doctor, so I've been surrounded by medical textbooks and stethoscopes my whole life." Sophie chuckled a little, noticing how Dylan's face hadn't really moved from a state of shock since he arrived in the cubicle.
"Have your parents been informed that you're in hospital?" Dylan queried, picking up her file once more and flipping through her notes.
Sophie nodded at his question. "My teacher Mr. Brown brought me in. He called my Mum and he's outside waiting for her to arrive. My Dad's not been around for years." The last part of the sentence flowed from her lips so easily. Dylan wondered just how long her father hadn't been in her life. So many questions were rattling through his brain that would remain unanswered. Who was her father? Was it Tom? The dates lined up for it to be him, but what had happened between him and Sam? Were they divorced?
All of these thoughts got a bit too overwhelming for him and he needed to get out of the cubicle as quickly as possible. "I'll go and order you that x-ray." Dylan swiftly turned to make a quick exit.
"Did you know my mother? She used to work in this hospital years ago. Her name's Sam. Sam Nicholls."
Dylan stopped in his tracks and felt his stomach twist hearing her name, the name of the woman whom he'd never really gotten over. If he was completely honest with himself, he never stopped loving Samantha Nicholls. Dylan could feel his grip on the file tightening, his nails making little half moon dents into the paper. Without turning around, the reply spilled from his mouth before thinking. "No." Dylan scurried off, leaving a slightly confused looking Sophie, gawking at the doctor who had fled from the cubicle.
Dylan made his way back to the middle area of cubicles, ordering the x-ray before clinging on to the edge of the counter for dear life. Knuckles turning white, breathing a little heavier, the thought of seeing his ex-wife started to make him nervous. Would she be happy to see him? He hadn't seen her since she had left Holby all those years ago. So many times he had wanted to pick up the phone, or send her a text message to check in to see how she was, but he always chickened out. She had moved on from him, moved on and married Tom, Sam didn't need him in her life. Anyway, she probably didn't have the same phone number anymore.
Before Dylan could think anymore, the familiar voice of Sam capture his senses. "Sophie! Darling, what happened?"
With a swift turn, Dylan witnessed Sam rushing over to the bed and settling on the edge, fussing over her daughter. For some reason, the sight in front of him made his chest loosen and feel warm. He had always known Sam was maternal, but seeing her interact with her daughter confirmed it for him. Children were never on the cards for them, what with him working many hours and her fighting off in a war zone, the timings never worked out. With their past and everything that had happened, his alcoholism and her affair, he was glad there weren't any children mixed up in it all.
"I'm okay Mum, honest. I'm waiting for an x-ray. We're pretty sure my arms broken though." Sophie reassured her mother, forcing a smile.
"We?" Sam asked, a brow lifting at her question.
"The doctor treating me. He went to order the x-ray for me."
"Which doctor was it?"
During this conversation between Mum and daughter, Dylan had subconsciously started moving towards the cubicle. "Err…that would be me." Dylan stuttered and watched as Sam practically leapt off the bed, turning around and taking in the sight of him. The two of them stared at each other for what seemed like a lifetime before Sam finally had the courage to speak.
"Dylan?"
A small smile appeared on Dylan's lips, a smile that not many people had been privileged enough to see. He only really saved that smile for her. Dylan cleared his throat a little before replying. "Hi, Sam." Taking in her appearance, Dylan noticed that even though her hair was tied back, it was shorter with a slight wave to it. It suited her just as well as the long straight hair she used to have. Although Sam was now in her early forties, he thought she hadn't aged at all. She was still as beautiful as he remembered, even more so now if that was possible. "Y-You look good."
Sam chuckled slightly at his comment. "Thanks, so do you."
"Wait. You two do know each other?" Sophie's words tore Sam and Dylan from their thoughts. "Wait a minute. Dylan? This is Dylan? Your ex-husband Dylan? But, why did you say you didn't know my Mum earlier when I asked you?"
Dylan stood there, unable to form a coherent response to Sophie's question, not one that would make sense anyway. He didn't know why he'd said no. He'd probably said it out of panic, out of worry that Sam wouldn't be happy to see her ex-husband again.
Sam could sense Dylan's struggle, so she turned to her daughter, cradling her face with both hands tenderly. "It's okay, Sophie. It's just, Dylan and I haven't seen each other in a very long time. Long before you were born." Sam explained and Sophie nodded at her mother's words.
Feeling a little awkward again, Dylan rubbed at the back of his neck. "Someone should be along to take you to x-ray soon." He spoke before retreating out of the cubicle, feeling utterly terrible for denying to have ever known Sam to her own daughter. What was he thinking?
Once Sophie was finally taken up for her x-ray, Sam found herself sitting in a small waiting room with her head in her hands. Her right knee bounced in a steady rhythm, jolting her whole body up and down with its movement. Even though she knew that Sophie would be okay, Sam hated the thought of her little girl being in any pain.
Sam had been so focused on staring at the same spot on the carpet she hadn't even noticed Dylan coming in and sitting down next to her. The sound of him taking a seat pulled her from her trance and she shifted up and sat back in the chair.
After a pregnant pause, Dylan finally broke the silence between them. "I'm sorry about what I said to Sophie before, about not knowing you." Dylan muttered quietly.
"Well I never. The great Dylan Keogh, saying sorry. That doesn't happen too often." Sam quipped, trying to make light of the situation as they sat patiently waiting.
Dylan didn't know why he made this next move, but he reached a hand over to place it gently on the crook of her arm that was nearest to him. Sam flinched ever so slightly at his touch, but what he didn't expect her to do was place her hand on top of his, lacing a few of their fingers together, relaxing at his touch. Gaining some confidence, he gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "I mean it Sam. I'm sorry. I-I guess I just didn't know what your reaction to seeing me would be. It's been what…fifteen years?"
With a nod of her head, Sam confirmed his thoughts. "2012. That was the last time we saw each other." Sam finally felt brave enough to look at him, feeling her blue eyes blurring with tears. "I've missed you, Grumpy. You haven't changed a bit." The term of endearment spilling from her lips easily, as if no time had passed.
"Neither have you. You haven't aged at all."
Sam scoffed playfully at his compliment. "Come off it Dylan. I'm forty-three years old with a twelve year old daughter, of course I've aged."
"Sophie's a good kid, she's very clever."
"She's too clever for her own good sometimes. But I've really lucked out with her." Sam spoke proudly of her girl, Dylan noticing her face light up as she spoke about Sophie.
"She's the spitting image of you too."
Sam huffed a laugh at his words. "Poor kid."
Dylan tutted at her response and nudged her shoulder with his own. "Now you know that isn't true, Samantha." A silence soon fell over them again, but it wasn't awkward at all. It almost felt comfortable. "Listen, you can tell me to get lost for asking, but Sophie told me that her father-"
"-Is no longer in the picture. He hasn't been in our lives since Sophie was five years old." Sam cut him off before Dylan got a chance to finish his sentence. He could feel her tensing up a little, and she shifted so her hand uncurled from his. Dylan shifted his weight in the seat, mourning the loss of her hand in his as Sam carried on speaking. "Tom and I divorced when she was five. It's just been the two of us for the last seven years. We're managing fine."
"I'd never doubt it for a second that you'd manage, Sam." Dylan leant forward to try and meet her eye line. "I always knew you'd be a great mother."
Sam closed her eyes for a brief second, pushing her bottom lip between her teeth. "Thanks Grumpy." She uttered gently, turning her head to meet his gaze. "You always know what to say."
"Not always." Dylan whispered as he noticed Sam's gaze never faltered from his.
A small smile tugged at Sam's lips as she toyed with her next suggestion, knowing the last time she had asked this, he had rejected her. "Listen, when my head isn't all over the place, do you fancy going for a coffee sometime? Or dinner maybe? We've just moved back into the area for my work. I'm at St James' hospital now. What do you say?"
"I'd like that."
Sam's face lit up at her ex-husbands words, not expecting that answer at all. "Great. We'll get something organised." Sam announced, sitting back in her chair, enjoying the comfortable silence that hang between them.
I hope you enjoyed! M x