Part 9

It was the day of her nursing assessment and Liv was experiencing a healthy mixture of nerves and excitement. She had to follow one patient from admission, to diagnosis and then treatment, whilst being assessed on her patient care and medical notes. Once passed, she had one more written exam to complete for the year, before proceeding to her finals. This was an important day for Liv, and with that in mind, Franklin had gone out of his way to be incredibly sweet, by bringing in an energy boosting breakfast for her to eat and giving her a good luck card. She liked Franklin, he was easy to be around and uncomplicated. Since the night she followed him back to his flat, they've slept together a few times now, and it's been nice. Quinn was right, Franklin did provide a good sense of relief and distraction from Fitz. But despite Franklin's obvious keenness for them to develop into something more than "friends with benefits", Liv however, is reluctant to commit to more. She's just not ready. And for now, Franklin at least seems willing to go along with the pace she has set, although, he's clearly holding out for more.

"You'll be fine Liv- you're a great nurse, you should sail through this assessment." He encourages, before giving her a hug and planting a kiss to her forehead… "Thanks Franklin." She replies, stretching upwards in his embrace and treating herself to a few pecks of his lips, until they are rudely interrupted. Eli clears his throat, in mild irritation, effectively pulling them apart… "Sorry Dr Pope, she's all yours…" Looking rather sheepish, Franklin turns back to face Liv… "Look, I better go, my shift's about to start… So, I'll see you later tonight, right?"

To celebrate, he had made them reservations for dinner after work.

"Yes, I'll see you tonight," She smiles at him brightly, actively ignoring her father's chagrin as they both watch and wait for him leave. Of course, as soon as Franklin's out of ear shot her father pipes up… "So, what's that all about?"

"Nothing," she replies innocently; giving very little away… "Franklin brought me breakfast, that's all…"

"Liv, you should be focusing on your assessment today." He chides, but then in a softer tone adds… "Which is why I came down here looking for you- I wanted to wish my baby girl good luck…"

"Aaaaw thanks dad." She grins widely, grateful for the change of direction; the last thing she needed to hear was any elevated concerns he may have about who she is dating, or as the case may be, sleeping with.

He quickly ushers her out the room… "Right then, off you go- I don't want you to be late… Oh, and Liv…"

"Yes Dad?"

"I'm proud of you".

She cannot help but beam in response to his words. It has been a long time since she's heard her father say those words to her, and to be honest it feels awesome.

Unfortunately, much to Liv's disdain the positive start to her day was about to take a colossal nosedive.

Starting with Quinn, who comes down to see her at lunch, with worry etched all over her face.

"Hey Quinn. What's up?"

"Liv, can I talk to you in private for a sec?"

"Yeah sure?" She gets up from her desk and follows Quinn into a private room. Quinn wastes no time in telling her what wrong… "Liv, have you spoken to Franklin today?"

"Yes, I saw him this morning, why?"

"Well, I know this is completely unethical and a major breach against patient/doctor confidentiality, and I'll probably be suspended if management were to ever find out that I told you this; but, Harrison called me from the lab department, concerned, that he'd been sent a urine sample, to be tested for Chlamydia… Nothing out of the ordinary really, except for the fact that the sample belongs to Franklin!"

"What?!"

"Yes, and then I remembered you said you'd been up all night and again, early this morning, frequently needing to pee… Which, seeing as it's your assessment today, we both attributed it to nerves, but now I'm not so sure Liv?"

She feels sick to her stomach. "Please tell you're kidding me…"

"I wish I was Liv… Look, whether he has it or not, which I hope for your sake he doesn't, I think it would be wise for you to get yourself checked out- because the earlier you catch these things, the easier they are to treat."

Liv shakes her head in utter dismay… "I know, but… Why? Why did this have to happen today, of all days; for goodness sake, I'm in the middle of my assessment, I can't leave my patient…"

"Yes, you can- it won't take you long Liv, you should go now, whilst you're still on your lunch break… and I'll cover for you, until you come back."

"I don't know Quinn… Are you sure?"

"I'm positive… now go!"

Immediately and without any further hesitation, Liv quickly makes her way to the clinic and speaks directly to the nurse in charge, who kindly rushes her in front of all the other patients, and advises, that whilst she needs to test for Chlamydia, it would be wise to test for everything else… "If you've exposed yourself to one Olivia, you've exposed yourself to them all… therefore I will need your blood, urine and swabs."

After being told that she will get her results pushed through as soon as possible (just one of the many perks from working in the hospital), Liv returns to AAU in almost a daze… Only to walk in on Quinn, with her hands prised to shock her patient with the defibrillator…

"CLEAR!"

Liv's patient was having a cardiac arrest. This was bad, very bad indeed. Fortunately for the patient (and Liv), Quinn's quick response had successfully brought the patient back from the brink. But subsequent tests now showed that her patient had MDMA in her system, which was not present in her system earlier… It would appear, that in Liv's absence her patient had ingested the drug. And regrettably, this was going to cause huge ramifications for her assessment, because Liv had failed to monitor her patient properly.

Feeling despondent, and extremely angry with herself- an hour later- when she spots Franklin strolling into AAU; no doubt in search of her- she finds she's not exactly in the mood to play nice.

Oozing in positivity, he approaches her smiling… Not for long, she thinks.

"Hey Liv, how are you getting on?"

"Terrible! No thanks to you…"

He looks at her utterly perplexed… "What do you mean by that?" He asks in confusion.

"Well, my patient overdosed on MDMA, whilst I went to the clinic to get tested for Chlamydia… You know, that sexually transmitted infection, that if left untreated, could leave a woman infertile!" She reels, pointing her finger into his chest.

"Hey, hold on… how did you…? Look, I was going to tell you about it…"

"Really… When?!"

Discretely, Franklin pulls her aside… "Liv please, don't be like that- I'm not that kind of guy. I swear to you, I only found out today. If you want, I can show you the messages I received from my ex this morning, telling me that she has it… But I wasn't worried, because I know I used protection with her; plus, I don't have any symptoms… so I'm sure I don't have it."

"But you're not certain…" she accuses him in anger.

"I only got myself tested to be on the safe side- Obviously, I know Chlamydia is a big deal, and if my results confirmed I did have it, I would have told you immediately… You've got to believe that Liv…"

"Actually Franklin, I don't have to believe anything you say to me…" She retorts in a clipped fashion; she is literally steaming with rage and she's acutely aware that if she doesn't walk away soon, in a matter of seconds her fist will be colliding with his face… Dismissive, and in no way apologetic about it, she tells him to leave her alone… "Can you get out of my way… I'd like to get back to my job, whilst I've still got one…"

Reluctantly, he steps aside and lets her pass; considering all that has transpired, he appreciates that she needs some space from him right now. However, if she thinks he's about to step aside for good and allow her to walk away from him- then she's surely mistaken, because he's more than prepared to fight for her; in fact, he'll do whatever it takes to win her back. And although she's not ready to hear it; at least to himself- he's not afraid to admit that he's falling hard for her. He is developing major feelings for this girl- and they're the sort of feelings that you don't dare ignore or run away from.

She just needs time.

As her shift slowly winds down to an end, she realises she's only moments away from finding out if she has failed her assessment or not. She's trying to remain positive, but she has serious doubts about her performance today. She's certain that she'll be required to repeat the semester.

Just when she thought things were getting better…

"Olivia, please come in…" She gives her a wry smile and follows the senior nurse into her office; ignoring the faint vibration of her cell phone, which has just gone off in her back pocket.

It's a message from Franklin…

Liv, I got my results, it's negative, I don't have Chlamydia. I can only apologise for not telling you sooner, but I honestly didn't want you worrying about it unnecessarily. The last thing I wanted, was for it have a negative impact on your assessment. I still have my fingers crossed for you, and I pray that you pass- because you've worked so hard for it. I hope that you'll allow me a make it up to you. Please forgive me Liv, and understand that I would never willingly do anything to jeopardise your wellbeing... I care too much for you to do that to you x

It had been a day of emotional rollercoasters and roundabouts, with the cherry on top being told that she had indeed failed her assessment. She knew it, but she's gutted all the same. She's dreading telling her parents that she's failed; especially her father- although she will wisely leave out the reason as to why she left her patient unattended. Fighting back her tears of disappointment, she heads towards the staff room, in need of some time alone, somewhere to hide away and recollect her thoughts for a minute. Tucking her feet underneath her, she curls up on the sofa and then, almost as in an afterthought, she retrieves her phone from her pocket and reads Franklin's message. Despite him revealing that his doesn't have Chlamydia, meaning that thankfully she doesn't have it either; she still can't help but feel disheartened by the whole ordeal; so she decides to cancel their dinner plans. Franklin was only supposed to be a bit of light-hearted fun, but in the space of a day- their dynamic had dramatically transformed into a situation that she no longer wanted to be a part of. She's already had her fair share of drama this year with Fitz, so the last thing she wants to do is to sign herself up for more with Franklin. Therefore, the next time she sees him, she going to call it quits…

"Time to go home" she thinks allowed, getting up and heading to her locker to grab her stuff. But before she even gets a chance to plug in the combination to her lock, she's bombarded by a breathless Quinn… "Liv, my goodness, there you are… I've been looking all over for you… How did it go?"

"Not good- I failed my assessment…"

"Oh Liv, I'm so sorry… Damn, I wish I didn't open up my mouth now…"

"Hey- stop right there… It's not your fault… Shit happens, I guess…" She shrugs dejectedly… "Look, I'm about to head home, do you want anything from the supermarket, I'm thinking wine and popcorn for dinner!"

Quinn, gives her a tight smile, still feeling incredibly guilty… "Sure, why not, I'll be clocking off in an hour, so buy a few bottles… I think we need it after today… Although, before you leave, that nurse from the sexual health clinic has been trying to pin you down for the past half hour or so- I suppose she has your results… you should go and see her first…"

"Naaaaaah it's fine, I'm clear, Franklin got his results, he doesn't have it, so I'm good…"

"I don't know Liv, she seemed quite persistent in trying to catch you before you left, I think you should pop in and see her before you split… just to make sure…"

"Okay, fine… I'll stop and see her on my way out…"

Quinn pulls her in for her a much-needed hug… "Good, good… it's worth going to see her Liv, even if it's only for your peace of mind."

Peace of mind... Sadly, that statement couldn't be further from the truth.