A/N Wow, thank you all so much for the reads and reviews, they were all very sweet :-) I'm getting there :-) But it's ok because it's nearly Christmas, I have a lot of work to do to keep me occupied and out of trouble, and all you lovely people to write for! Hope you enjoy this chapter
'No no no, why are you here, get away from me' she panicked, her voice raising slightly.
'I'm just here to put things right...' He began, but as he looked down, he saw the baby. He had been expecting Ollie to have lied about Zosia's pregnancy, but he noticed how much like Zosia she looked, she was beautiful, and he couldn't help but smile.
'Get away from us-' she blurted in a panic.
'I see congratulations are in order, Ollie did tell me you were expecting but I didn't believe him' he said. 'She's cute, looks just like you-'
'Get away from us' she demanded, stepping away, picking Freya back up and holding her daughter into her closely.
'I'm not trying to cause trouble, I'm just here to-'
'To what?!' Zosia snapped, 'to tell me that you're a changed man and that you're sorry?!' She shouted, her voice raising.
'I am sorry, Zosia, I just need you to hear me out-'
'I owe you nothing!' She spat, bitterly. 'You have no idea what you've put us through'
'Zosia, you need to calm down-'
'No, I will not calm down, you need to get away from me!' She got louder and louder, and as Seb noticed people start to look around, he decided to leave. He knew as well as Zosia that he was not supposed to be there.
Meanwhile on Darwin, Elliot had entered the viewing area of Ollie's theatre and pressed down on the intercom. 'How is it going Mr Valentine?'
'Not bad thanks Prof, I think we've found the problem' he replied, and then Elliot spoke again
'Ms Naylor is coming in to take over, you need to come with me...'
'What's going on?' He panicked, and Elliot shook his head sadly.
'It's best you come with me...' He replied mysteriously, not wanting to draw too much attention to their problem...
'What is it Elliot?' Ollie asked worriedly as he tore off his surgical scrubs and gloves as Elliot propped the door open for him.
'I'm worried about Zosia...'
'You too, huh?' Ollie replied- he knew he'd been right to trust his instincts that Zosia was being paranoid, hormonal...but something told him that this was an even bigger problem than he gave it credit for...
Back in the car park, just as Seb stepped away, seconds later Ollie and Elliot came outside. Their attention was immediately called to a hysterical Zosia clutching Freya to her chest, crying, and glancing quickly around the car park to see where Seb had gone. When they spotted her, they ran towards her, having each expressed their concerns to each other before...
'Zosia, it's ok, shhhh' Ollie comforted as he pulled Zosia into him to calm her down as Elliot reached to take Freya so that Ollie could hold Zosia in protectively.
'What happened?' Elliot asked, gently rocking Freya who had started to cry.
'H-he was here' Zosia wailed, out of control and sounding hysterical. 'He was right here, seconds ago, and then he disappeared' she continued, pointing to where Ollie stood. 'Ollie I'm scared'.
'Where did he go Zosh?'
'I don't know, he was there and literally a second later, he wasn't...' She cried, as Ollie pulled away and he and Elliot paced hurriedly around to see if they could see him around any corners or hiding behind any cars. They were in the middle of a relatively empty car park, and it would have taken longer for Seb to truly get away than for them to reach Zosia when they saw her...and he was nowhere to be seen. Granted, he was good at slipping away undetected, Ollie thought to himself spitefully, but thinking about it logically, he could not have escaped without one of them seeing him...Ollie's face fell into a sad, sympathetic smile. Zosia's hormones, her bipolar, was it really possible that she was imagining things? He'd read about psychosis, and despite all the exciting things happening in their life, Seb's sentence was never far from her mind...
'Zosia...it's ok...' He tried to comfort her, stroking her arms gently and reassuringly, but she snapped.
'No it bloody isn't ok! He's back! And now you think I'm mad don't you?!' She shouted, and Ollie recoiled.
'No, I don't think you're mad-'
'Yes you do! You think that I'm hormonal, psychotic, but I swear, he was here!' She pleaded, desperate for him to believe her. Elliot stood nearby frowning sadly- he too had doubts about Zosia's mental state, and wanted to help...
'Why don't you come inside Zosia? We'll go to the office, and we'll talk about it properly' he offered, and Ollie looked at him gratefully. He knew Elliot had the same concerns he did, and they didn't want to scare or alarm Zosia.
'And you'll keep us safe?' she pleaded, looking at them both vulnerably. Elliot and Ollie nodded, and thankfully for them, she reluctantly nodded and started to take small steps towards the hospital entrance with both men standing by her side.
As Ollie kept Zosia and Freya entertained in the office, Elliot asked security to check the CCTV footage to see if they could find Seb and where he might have gone, if he was there in the first place...
'Are you feeling ok Zosia? Been taking your medication?' Ollie asked, holding Freya.
'You know I have' she snapped.
'It's just, neither Elliot nor I have seen him, and we checked everywhere he could have gotten to in the time of us getting out and finding you...'
'Why are you so determined to make it seem like I've lost my marbles?' She asked, standing up.
'You'll see him on CCTV, you'll see' she sulked as she sat back down, convincing herself that she was right. Of course she was right...he was there...he was right there...
Elliot appeared back at his office looking deflated. When he entered, both Zosia and Ollie stood, having not spoken more since Zosia made it clear that they were wrong. When he came in, he approached Zosia slowly and placed his hands on her arms, gently. 'Zosia...'
'No, no no he was there!' She pleaded again, this time tears in her eyes.
'I know...I'm sorry we doubted you...the trouble is, the cameras lost him after he left the hospital...'
'But he's surely still registered at his address-' Ollie suggested, and Zosia scowled at him.
'Oh so now you want to help' she spat, 'you didn't believe me Ollie'
'Zosia, we were just being logical-' he tried to explain before Elliot shot him a look to stop talking...if only for his own sake. 'I'm sorry' he finished, and Zosia sat forcefully.
'So what now?' She asked, desperately. 'He isn't even supposed to be out...not yet...'
'Some prisons do resettlement programs' Elliot explained, having talked to the security guards about the situation. One of them used to work in a prison and had explained this.
'Surely he shouldn't have been contacting Zosia?'
'Well that's the thing ' Elliot explained. 'We'll have to contact the prison and find out what to do from here...'
That night, Zosia was cold towards Ollie. She was still very upset that he had not believed her and tried to dismiss her worries. They sat through dinner in silence and bathed Freya in silence, and as they got ready for bed, she crashed around the bedroom, avoiding eye contact and making it very clear how pissed off she was. Ollie sat in the bed and took a deep breath. 'Darling, I'm sorry' he said for what felt like the thousandth time. 'It was wrong of me to dismiss you'
'Yes it was' she responded, simply and with little expression.
'At least the prison know he contacted you, and will be punishing him accordingly.' He reminded her, but she remained quiet. He decided to change the subject. 'Shall we go out for dinner tomorrow? My treat' he asked, hoping she would warm towards him eventually...he couldn't stand the atmosphere. She sighed deeply.
'Ollie?' She responded, as she sat on the bed.
'Yes darling?'
'I love you ok, more than you'll ever know. But your lack of faith in me today has really upset me' she replied, honestly. Ollie nodded in understanding.
'I know...and I'm really, really sorry'
'How are you going to make it up to me?'
'Sorry?' He asked, confused by the sudden change of tone.
'You've been an arse, how are you going to make it up to me?' She replied with a small but cheeky grin.
'Umm...' He thought, still confused and now a little wary. 'By...paying for dinner tomorrow night?' He replied. Zosia nodded thoughtfully, and something told Ollie to continue. 'Aaaand do all the night feeds for the next month...and nappies...aaaand...' He continued as Zosia nodded. 'Punch Coulter in the balls if I ever see him again?'
'Yeah...all of that will do...' She teased before he kissed her. She relaxed into the kiss and smiled. 'You know, I would have accepted just dinner tomorrow night but as you offered the rest, I'd be a fool not let you spoil me' she teased, and Ollie knew he'd be in he doghouse if he disagreed. Instead, he kissed her and held her as they settled down to sleep...which wasn't for long, as Ollie had a night feed to do and nappy to change after an hour...