Unexpected Correspondence
Chapter 2
The next day Kitty rose early, feeling refreshed. She dressed quickly, her fingers lightly touched the letter she had put in her apron pocket as she pulled it out again to make sure she had received it and not just dreamt or imagined it.
Shuffling to her left caught her attention, and she quickly put the letter back into her pocket. The sound had only been Rosalie shifting in her sleep, but Kitty did not take her letter back out. Her friendship with Rosalie was still fragile, and Kitty did not want to risk another fall out that might occur if Rosalie awoke and questioned her about the letter. Rosalie might have come to terms with Kitty's divorce, but whether she would also to be able to accept Kitty leaving behind a daughter would be another matter, and it would be too difficult for Kitty to explain to her why it hadn't been possible for her to stay with Sylvie.
Kitty left the tent and went to the board to see where she had been assigned that morning. Once at the ward, she was immediately put to work changing bandages. It felt strange to see the blood and grisly wounds after reading Sylvie's letter. The letter had been a reminder of her old life and getting back to work had been an abrupt return to the present. She was no longer the ignorant, sheltered girl she had been, which was darkly amusing considering that a few years ago she had thought that her marriage had shattered any pre-existing illusions about the world.
Her gloomy thoughts didn't last long though, she could not change the past but she could hope for a future that included her daughter. Kitty hadn't realised how noticeable her good mood was until Miles, who had been examining a few patients on the ward, remarked "You're cheery today, have you suddenly realised your irrevocable love for me?" The words were typical of Miles, but the tone had the same oddly subdued and slightly bitter inflection that she had observed over the last few days. Thomas had noticed as well, but neither of them could figure out the cause for Miles's strange mood. Unsure how to respond, she rolled her eyes and hoped that he would return to his normal self soon.
Shortly afterwards, Kitty found an excuse to leave the awkward situation in order to collect more bandages from the supply tent. Bracing herself for the usual struggle, she started trying to push the cart through the door. Progress was slow until an unexpected pair of hands caught the other end and pulled the cart through. Kitty stepped through the door and came face to face with a very familiar pair of blue eyes. "Thank you," Kitty said with a smile, as she glanced quickly around the room in case anyone else was present for the exchange.
"No problem." Thomas replied. They had spoken a few times since their rendezvous in the woods but this was the first time since that they had really been alone, and Kitty was struggling to maintain her composure when all she really wanted to do was kiss him senseless.
"You look really tired." Kitty observed, eyeing his hair which was the same unruly mess that it had been the night of the concert when she had slapped him and he had grasped her by the waist. As before, her fingers itched to smooth the dark hair back to its normal neat position.
"I was working all night, the new influx of patients meant that I was doing back to back operations."
"What time does your shift end?" She asked sympathetically.
"Three o'clock, how about yours?"
"Two o'clock, although it usually runs over."
"Do you want to meet at twenty past three?" He asked.
"I would love to, but are you sure you wouldn't rather catch up on sleep?" Somewhat selfishly, Kitty couldn't help but want to meet up with him. He was the only one other than Matron who knew about Sylvie, and Kitty felt like she would burst if she didn't share her news with someone.
"I can sleep later, I would much rather speak to someone who isn't unconscious for a little while. Miles's silence is driving me mad."
"I thought Miles's incessant chatter was driving you mad." She teased lightly as she collected the bandages and placed them on the cart.
"It was," he agreed, "but the silence is slightly more worrying."
"Understandable. Anyway I have to go," Kitty kissed him quickly on the cheek, she felt him tense in surprise at the sudden contact before relaxing just as quickly. "I'll see you at twenty past three, in the woods, correct?" He nodded and helped her to push the cart through the doorway again.
AN: The response to the last chapter was brilliant and all the reviews were really sweet. As you can see option 2 had the highest number of votes so the story is now officially set a few days after episode 6, hence why Miles is moody in this chapter. Miles's moodiness will probably be resolved in a separate one-shot as I feel the scene would feel a little out of place in this story.
So originally this chapter was much longer but my OCD on chapter length got the better of me so the second half has been allocated to Chapter 3 which I will probably post tomorrow after I have corrected a few more little parts. If there's anything in particular any of you want to see, mention it in the comments and I will see if I can include it.