I'm going somewhere with this, don't worry :P But to be honest, it's actually quite fun to write about people arguing.

Thanks for reading! :)

Chapter 48 – Thinking it through

Ellie didn't say a word to him the entire evening and when Brutus woke up the following morning, she had already left the bedroom. He could hear her talk to someone, probably on the phone, as he got dressed. By the time he came down the stairs, she had hung up and he found her in the kitchen, drinking her tea while looking out at the garden. She had made him breakfast. That was a good sign, wasn't it?

"Morning."

"Good morning," she responded mechanically without looking at him. Okay, so she still hadn't come around, perhaps that was also too much to ask for after just one night. If he had learnt something the last two years, it was that the Brent-women could be unbelievably stubborn.

"Who did you talk to just before?" he asked her, halfway through his scrambled eggs.

"My mum."

"Does she know that you want to go back to the hospital?"

"Mm-hm."

"Can't imagine that made her day."

Ellie turned her head towards him.

"And why not?" she asked in a ill-omened tone.

"That her only daughter intends to go back to the place, that nearly killed her," Brutus pointed out. "Parents have a tendency to worry about their kids' wellbeing, you know."

"Just for the record," Ellie responded, folding her arms tightly. "Neither my mum or my dad wants me to quit. That's entirely your crazy idea."

Brutus sighed.

"How is it crazy that I just want to protect you from further harm."

"This has nothing to do with protection," Ellie answered. "This is about you getting it your way."

"Right..." Brutus mumbled, thinking it was way to early for another fight. Ellie slammed her empty cup down on the counter and stared out the window again, so angry that she looked like she had knotted her arms together.

After a while she turned around and said, with no further opening: "I'm going home to my parents for a while."

Brutus glared at her. "For how long?"

"I don't know," Ellie said and left the kitchen.

"Is this your solution to what happened yesterday?" The words left his mouth, before he could think. "To run away from it?"

Ellie paused in the doorway and Brutus braced himself for more shouting, but she just looked at him and said calmly: "My parents have had a hard time too this last week. I owe them at least a proper visit and a thank you, for all they have done for us."

"You can't drive alone in your state."

"I'm taking the train."

She left. Brutus finished his meal, though he had lost his appetite, and threw the dirty dish in the sink, before following Ellie upstairs. She was already packing her suitcase.

"You're acting childish," he growled.

"And you're acting like you own me," Ellie snapped back. "Like your opinion is the only acceptable one in this house."

"Jeez, Ellie – it's not like I'm trying to turn you into a housewife, I'm just saying that there're tons of other jobs out there that doesn't involve crazy, knife-bearing hoboes!"

"But what if I don't want any of those!" Ellie responded angrily. "Huh? Doesn't that count for something?"

"Now you're just being obstinate..."

Ellie slammed her suitcase shut and threw him a flaming glare.

"And you are being selfish!" she hissed, before storming down the stairs.

"You are the one being selfish!" Brutus roared after her. "Putting your life in danger for a stupid job! How about the people you leave behind, if something happens to you! Have you even considered that for a moment?!"

"Of course I have!" Ellie howled back. "But if I live my life only to consider everyone else, then it's not really my life anymore, now is it!"

"Life is about making compromises," Brutus said bitterly, standing before her in the hallway. "Especially with the ones you love."

Ellie stared at him, like he had questioned her innermost feelings for him.

"You mean the world to me, Brutus, you know that, but you are not my entire world," she responded in a voice that shook of both anger and impotence. "I love you, but I also love my work, my colleagues and my patients and there's nothing I would rather do." She paused, her chest heaving in despair. "So please don't ask me to quit."

Brutus sighed heavily.

"I'm only asking you to think things through, once you have calmed down."

Ellie's features turned dark again. She clutched the handle of the suitcase.

"I have been calm," she informed him, ice cold, "but maybe you're right: Maybe I should think harder about this," she said, before she reached for the doorknob and left.