Only minutes after Gordon left, a knock came at the door. "Come in." Jill called, sliding from the examination bed and walking into the main area of Gordon's office.
Lizzie entered, a cup of steaming liquid and biscuits in hand. "I thought you could do with a nice cup of tea." She said, moving past Jill to place them on the desk.
"Thank you." She smiled, touched by the thoughtfulness such a small gesture carried.
"Is there anything else you need doctor?"
Jill shook her head, and couldn't help but smile at the inquisitiveness in Lizzie's gaze; she was obviously dying to find out what had happened. But much as she liked the receptionist, she wasn't about to divulge the events of the afternoon; as she'd resolved earlier, no one would know, and that would make it a whole lot easier for her to forget.
"Doctor..." Lizzie began, tentatively, "what-"
But she was cut off as Matron entered, effectively shooing her away.
"Doctor, can I have a word?"
"Sure." Jill said as Matron closed the door then took a seat. Jill lowered herself into Gordon's chair, picked up the cup and brought it to her mouth, wincing as the hot liquid touched her lips.
"I realize you probably don't want talk about it," Matron began, "But I would like to know what happened, just to minimize disruption within the hospital."
Taking a large gulp of tea, and wincing again, Jill contemplated what she was going to tell Matron, she didn't need to know everything, of course, but she had to say something. She sighed, and took another swallow of the now cooler tea, before beginning. "A patient, Alex Heath, has been coming to see me for some time now, complaining of back pains. Today, I discovered he'd been faking the symptoms to get painkillers for Patrick Mavers. Patrick was his sergeant, they were prisoners of war in Burma. Of all the soldiers under his command, Alex was the only one that survived. And it seems Patrick had never gotten over the guilt. I went to see him this afternoon, and found him to be psychologically unwell..."
Here, she paused, lifting her gaze from the desk to Matron's face as she formulated her next words. The expression on the older woman's face was nothing like the stern one Jill saw the majority of the time. This was one of kindness, sympathy and encouragement. And Jill realized; she wasn't here in her capacity as Matron anymore, she was here as a confident, a friend almost. But much as Jill trusted Matron wouldn't gossip, she couldn't bring herself to tell her the full story, it wasn't something she would wish to reveal anymore. And so, she continued.
"Things got... well violent I suppose..." She paused again, 'violent' not really the right word, doing nothing to describe the horrors they had been sucked into, but she couldn't bring a more adequate one to mind. "Gordon arrived, looking for me. And things escalated... And, erm, the end result, as you probably know was that Patrick took his own life..." She trailed off, knowing it was obvious that she'd missed a huge chunk out of the account, but hoping she wouldn't be questioned on it.
Matron was silent for a moment, before she finally spoke. "Thank you for telling me that doctor, I know it can't have been easy. I'm not expecting you or Doctor Ormerod to see any patients this evening. After you've spoken to the police, I want you both to go straight home. You may both take a few days off if you need it."
Jill nodded, thanking her as Matron got up and moved towards the door.
"Jill... If you ever need anything, even just someone to talk to, my door's always open." This said, she departed, leaving Jill once again shocked at how much her colleagues cared for her.
She relaxed back into the soft padding of the high-backed chair, allowing her eyes to close as a sudden weariness overtook her body. All she wanted was to go home, and go to sleep in Gordon's arms. And ultimately forget any of it had ever happened.
