A/N: I don't like this chapter much :/ but I can't rewrite it again or it will just piss me off because I've already had a crap day. Thanks as always to everyone who has read and reviewed so far! :)
Sarah x
Jac sat in her office, seeing again the look on Serena's face. It was frightened and lost in a place she clearly didn't want to be. Jac couldn't help but feel slight guilty; she had, after all, persuaded Serena to stay when she had wanted to leave. She should have known there had been a reason. Whether she shared it or not, Serena almost always had a reason.
There was a light tap at the door. Jac cleared her throat and called out, "Come in!" A moment later, in stepped the one person Serena would definitely be unhappy to see: Edward. And he was worried. His usual arrogance had abandoned him in the face of the prospect that his ex-wife was actively hiding something from him and everyone else she knew. "Ah, Mr. Campbell," she smiled. "I don't think we need a gas monkey right now but thanks for stopping by."
He ignored her barb and sat down. "What's going on?" he demanded.
"I have no idea," she admitted; she went into her drawer and pulled out a bar of chocolate. "She's been funny all morning."
"Who's the woman?" he asked. Jac was genuinely surprised he didn't know who it was. She had expected him to be in on everything, not to be even more in the dark than she was.
"Serena's teacher from primary school," Jac said. "Her being here, it's freaked Serena out but she won't leave her side."
"She always was a bit of a glutton for punishment," Edward sighed hopelessly. "Doesn't do herself any favours, does she?" He had a point; if she had any sense at all, Serena would have been off this ward like a shot rather than coming back as quick as she left.
Jac eyed him suspiciously. How could the man have been married to a woman he clearly didn't even know properly? "So you don't know anything about it?" Jac concluded with as little hope as Edward had surmised Serena's ability to put herself through the wringer. "Nothing at all?"
"No," he admitted. "She's never mentioned primary school or going away with anyone, and I've never seen her so jumpy, either."
"Never?"
"Never."
Jac searched his face and attempted to discern whether or not he was telling the truth; she would not put it past Edward to lie if he thought it was in Serena's best interests. But all she saw was confusion; was this version of Serena the one he had married, or was she one hidden from him for the many years they must have known each other? That is, if they had really known each other at all. By all accounts he had cheated on her, and she seemed to have hidden a part of herself from him.
Frustrated, Jac snapped, "Why the hell were you two even married?!" It was a mere moment before she regretted it. She hadn't expected words to wound him like his eyes betrayed. "Sorry," she muttered. The word coming out of her mouth was nothing short of a miracle. She hoped even Edward, fairly new to this place, would have known apologies were few and far between from Jac Naylor. But since he was as confused as she was, she decided to swallow her pride and cut him a little slack.
"Because I love her," he said quietly. "That's why I married that madwoman."
Jac studied him closely at the use of the last word. "What do you mean by that?" she asked. He looked like he would have given anything to take that back.
"I know I said she was never jumpy," he began. "But she could be...unpredictable. She's even hit me in fear before. That look in her eyes was the same as it is now," he explained.
"She's hit you?" Jac repeated incredulously.
"Yeah," Edward sighed. "It wasn't domestic abuse or anything like that. It was only very occasionally, and only when she thought – mistakenly, might I add – that I would hurt her," he said firmly. "But I loved her anyway, because one flaw couldn't put me off her."
"And you never questioned her actions?" Jac demanded hotly. Hormonal temper rising at his stupidity, she half-shouted, "You never questioned why she immediately disabled you before you even got a chance to hurt her? She does it all the time! Granted, she doesn't hit people, but she shuts them down before they can say or do anything wrong!"
"Of course I did!" he shouted back at her. "But it was like getting blood out of a stone! The same with Adrienne. Whatever it was, they never spoke of it, and they did their utmost to keep it from me! So of course I had my doubts! I must have asked her a hundred times why she lashed out!"
"You should have tried harder," Jac informed him coldly. He didn't seem to get the message very well; she watched him as he asserted silently that he had given Serena his best before playing away and giving up. "Come with me," she ordered him. He did not stand up as she did. "Now," she growled. It was enough to force him out of his seat. He followed her to the ward and stood with her as she gazed into Mrs. Munro's room.
It was bizarre to see a Serena who was the underling, the bond between her and the woman she was talking to like none she had seen between Serena and any other person. And Edward knew it. "Even with her mother she tries to be the boss," he commented quietly. "Why isn't she being..." he trailed away, obviously unable to find the right word for his ex-wife's normal temperament. "Why isn't she trying?"
Jac found herself scrutinising Serena's every move as she smiled lightly, keeping Mrs. Munro talking and laughing weakly. Every so often she looked away and back again with fear like Jac had never seen in her before.
Bonnie passed her with a bright smile. "Hey, are you going to do Mrs. Munro's obs?" Edward halted her.
"Yeah," she replied.
"Tell you what. You look rushed off your feet," Edward smiled; his charm was almost disarming. "So I'll do that and you go get yourself a coffee and a giant slab of chocolate cake." Bonnie glanced at Jac, clearly unsure if she was to do as Edward, almost unknown to the nurse, said. Jac only rolled her eyes with a slight nod. Bonnie smiled and shrugged her shoulders before she pulled her phone out of her pocket and sauntered to the lifts.
Jac watched in slight horror as Edward proceeded into the room with a rather arrogant smile. She followed him hastily and tried to figure out if this was his way of getting it out of Serena.
With an uneasy smile Jac stood behind Edward and silently mouthed to Serena, "Sorry!"
Serena shook her head in bitter acceptance and looked away from them to the corner of the room; Jac glanced at the point the woman's eyes were fixed to. There was nothing there but an empty corner, and yet she looked haunted by it. Nobody spoke until Mrs. Munro broke the awkward silence. "So, who is this handsome man?" she asked with a smirk.
"Edward Campbell. One of our anaesthetists," Serena replied, her voice hollow and without the sarcastic humour she usually gained introducing Edward. She saw Edward's face and added, "Oh, I might as well tell you before he does. He's my ex-husband as well."
"You married a Campbell?" Mrs. Munro asked with a slight smirk. "Did I teach you nothing, my dear?" she let out a weak laugh.
"Yes, well, they say you learn best by experience," Serena retorted quickly. Jac watched as Serena met Edward's gaze; it was with astonishment that she watched as the harsh self-loathing in those dark brown eyes softened by a marginal yet momentous amount upon meeting his clear blue stare. "Anyway. I have to admit he's one of the more decent ones. For a Campbell, anyway. He's put up with me long enough," she added. Her silent exchange with Edward was darkly significant.
This was the first time Jac had been able to just stand there and observe the ex-couple. Of course, this situation was far from normal but Jac still did not miss the concern and perhaps the ghost of love penetrating the walls between them. Edward cleared his throat. "I'm just here to check your obs myself in case you do need surgery. I like to know what I'm dealing with in advance," he blatantly lied. If there was something Jac knew Edward was not to be famed for, it was his love for preparation. The look on Serena's face said it all.
Serena stood up. "Excuse me," she falsely smiled at Mrs. Munro; Jac felt her wrist behind pulled by Serena; she was doing the same to her ex-husband, yanking them out the door. Though she realised Jac fairly gently, Edward was pushed a good few feet away from them. "What do you think you're doing?!" she hissed at them. Well, at Edward. Whatever was going on in her head, she seemed to see fit to take it out on Edward.
"Preparing for the likelihood of surgery since Ric told me he's doing it and I'm the consultant anaesthetist on his ward," Edward replied calmly.
Serena let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Please! You've never prepared for anything in your life." Edward sighed and Jac watched him reign in his frustrations, leaving Jac to face Serena's wrath. "And you!" she said. "How dare you allow him to do this?!" Jac opened her mouth to speak but never got the chance. "This is your ward, Miss Naylor. You are a CT consultant and he is just the guy who knocks them out. You don't normally have a problem with pulling rank!" she ranted.
Annoyed at Serena's tone, Jac levelly retorted, "If you've got a problem then deal with it. Don't take it out on me." Serena was clearly taken aback by Jac's reaction, but she should have known better. Surely she knew that Jac Naylor didn't take that kind of crap, not even from her superiors. "Edward has every right to check on Mrs. Munro and you know it."
Serena glanced away, her eyes locked on the lifts. Jac looked and, again, found nothing out of the ordinary. Was Serena seeing something other could not? A figment of her own mind? "Serena?" asked Edward quietly. His hand fell onto her shoulder, his thumb tracing her collar bone, making Jac realise that, actually, Edward really did love Serena.
"Don't touch me," Serena muttered. With disdain in his eyes he let his hand drop as Serena turned her back on them and returned to Mrs. Munro. It was almost painful for Jac to watch them. There was more lost and broken between the two of them than she had ever realised, and enough cracks now visible to see that the end of their marriage had, just maybe, not been all Edward's fault.
"She's seeing things," Jac whispered, just loud enough for Edward to hear. "I'm sure of it. That's the third time I've seen her do that in under an hour."
It was with steely determination in his face that Edward stalked into that room and tried to gently pull her from her seat. It was plain to see he had had enough of watching Serena in a kind of pain he must have seen before. Jac stood at the open door as Edward's hand hooked around Serena's upper arm. "Edward, I'm warning you now. Touch me again and you'll regret it," she cautioned him. Her eyes were closed, like she was blocking out the world outside and locking herself in.
"Serena, you know he won't hurt you," Mrs. Munro pointed out. "I know it must be a nuisance, but if he needs to talk to you, just go with him."
Feeling the tension rise, Jac stepped into the room. "I know what he wants to talk about," Serena said, her voice repressed and intentionally placid. "I refuse to let him do that to me."
"Do what to you, darling?" the old woman asked gently. Serena did not answer but Jac saw her become more uptight as Edward's hand did not move. Upon their patient's face spread a look of realisation and worry. "Edward, let her go," Mrs. Munro ordered him. "You have to trust me. It won't do any good."
But Edward was not willing to let his ex-wife sink. That much was obvious as he tried to yank Serena up by the arm. In a split second she was on her feet, and Jac heard the sickening crunch of a fist on a jaw as Edward staggered back and lost his footing, stumbling to the floor.
"Serena, no!" Mrs. Munro shouted. "Come on. Calm down!" she commanded, calm and collected as she reached out for Serena's hand; she had done this before. Mrs. Munro had dealt with this side to Serena before. Jac could see it a mile away.
Hope this is alright!
Please feel free to leave me a review and tell me what you think of it!
Sarah x