The next day, Jill travelled through the corridor to reception, immersed in the file she was reading, and oblivious to what was happening around her. So it wasn't too surprising to anyone watching her when she collided with someone moving swiftly in the opposite direction. An elbow was jabbed into her stomach and a shoulder barged into her, knocking her to the floor. The wind knocked out of her, it took her a moment to realise what had happened. She heard someone shout her name and saw two pairs of feet connected to two trouser clad legs. She then felt two hands slip under her arms from behind her and lift her up.
Once she was standing, her eyes met those of two men she didn't recognise. There was also a pair of hands resting on her waist, belonging to the person who had picked her up. They then all started peaking at once.
"Jill, are you okay?"
"I'm sorry I-"
"It was my fault…"
They all stopped and breathed an awkward laugh.
"I'm sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you." The younger of the two men looked apologetically at her.
"I'm fine. It was my fault anyway; I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Jill," The pair of hands left her waist and Gordon moved to stand beside her. "This is Dr George Appleton," he gestured at the older man who looked about Gordon's age, "And this, is Craig Appleton, his son. George is Caroline's cousin."
She shook both of their hands. "I'm sorry for your loss."
They both smiled slightly, and then turned their attention to reception where Mr Rose was loudly proclaiming his love for golf.
This was nothing new to Jill and Gordon, so he fixed his attention on her. "You are okay Jill?"
"Yes I'm fine, thanks for getting me up." She gazed up and him and saw him begin to lead towards her. Knowing what he was going to do, she gently placed a hand on his chest. "Remember where we are." She murmured. "However," she lowered her voice even further, "There'll be plenty of time for that later."
"So this is the famous Jill." The voice made her jump slightly.
"Sorry?" She glanced from Dr Appleton to Gordon, to see him shaking his head almost imperceptibly at her. She tried to gain some information from him, but he had begun speaking to Craig.
As they were talking about topics such as Caroline and various things she that she had had no idea about, she, feeling more than a little out of place and unwelcome in the conversation, excused herself and entered reception, her destination before she'd been knocked off her feet.
"So what was all that about earlier?" Jill looked over the top of her cup of tea at Gordon as she took a sip. He just looked at her blankly however. "With Caroline's cousins?"
He shifted slightly on her settee before speaking. "They're staying in Whitby for a few weeks; Caroline's father owns a house there. They came to the hospital to see me, and then the kids are sleeping at their house for a few nights; it's a school holiday."
"They seemed to know me…" She trailed off, the line that Dr Appleton had thrown at her- 'So this is the famous Jill', still puzzling her.
"Yes well." He shifted again. "I've spoken about you to them."
"What, about us being together?" Surprise filled her voice.
"No, no, no." He hastily shook his head. "After Caroline had had her accident, whenever we spoke on the phone, I occasionally mentioned that you were looking after the children."
"Oh okay."
They lapsed into silence and she took another sip out her cup and gazed at the liquid in the bottom. Gordon placed his cup on the coffee table and reached out to touch her arm.
"Come here."
She obliged and slid from her end of the settee to the other end. He took her cup and placed it too on the table, then drew her towards him, so her back was pressed against his chest. He pressed his lips to her hair, which she had taken out from its previous ponytail so it lay in waves over her shoulders.
"I love you Jill." He kissed her head and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.
"I love you too."
Silence once again filled the room, and it was once again broken a few minutes later by Gordon. "I still haven't had my kiss from earlier."
She turned in his arms and brought her legs up so they were above his and dangling over the arm of the settee. Supported by his arms, she leant towards him, and touched her lips to his, deepening it after a few moments, allowing him to fill her senses. One hand wandered up to his chest, and the other ran through his hair. His hands ran up and down her back, leaving a tingling path. Eventually, they stopped, both breathless.
"Stay tonight Gordon." She whispered this, her eyes bright and pleading.
He reached up to cup her face with one hand. "I can't Jill; I have none of my things for tomorrow."
"You can go home in the morning you know." She smiled slightly.
He sighed. "The children might need me, the hospital might call."
"But…" Stopping herself, she swung her legs from the settee and stood up. She was going to say that the kids had two adults to look after them, and that Jeff was on call should the hospital have need. But she wasn't going to force him; if he didn't want to, he didn't want to. "Okay." She picked up their cups and carried them into the kitchen as tears started to fill her eyes. She just wanted to be held all night, she wanted to feel safe; she had suddenly felt vulnerable, the ever present thoughts of the letters becoming even stronger.
"Jill." He said from behind her, indicating he had followed her.
Hastily, she wiped a hand across her eyes, but didn't look at him; instead she busied herself with rinsing out the cups, giving only a nod in response.
"You can come back to my house, stay the night there."
"Not if you don't want me to."
He moved closer to her and touched a hand to her shoulder. "Of course I want you to." He gently turned her so she was facing him. "Hey." He gazed at her as he brought his hand up to caress her cheek. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine." Hers eyes slipped away from his for a moment and she bit her lip. When she looked up again, she saw his raised eyebrows and an unbelieving and concerned expression. "Anyway," she brightened her tone. "What happens if the hospital phones here?"
His arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her towards him. "If anyone asks, you can tell them you were spending the night with a charming, wonderful, handsome man."
"And modest as well." She joked, a smile creeping onto her face.
"So what do you say?"
"Oh, I don't know. I suppose I can't refuse a charming, wonderful and handsome man now can I?"
