Things were going so well. Jac was happier than she had ever been and everything was coming up rosy in her garden. Fletch was just glad to see that something was finally going right for her, she'd been through so much and even though he'd tried to be there for her, seeing her genuinely at ease was so much more than that.
They saw each other more than even normal couples did. The kids all got on so well and Evie was such a massive help.
More than anything, Fletch really did bring out the best in Jac. She was always at her kindest, at her least short-tempered, at her happiest, when she was with him. It was something about being around someone who liked all of those attributes that made her want to show them a little more often.
Everybody had noticed the difference. It wasn't public knowledge at the hospital yet but Frieda had suspected since day one, and Jac had given in and told Sacha eventually after a solid hour of pestering.
"Hey stranger," Fletch greeted as he let himself into her office. "Fancy lunch? I brought pastries."
"I've got a bunch of paperwork to get through before I head into theatre at two. I'm sorry, I'll see you later though," Jac replied, barely looking up from her desk as she answered him.
He nodded acceptingly and headed to the staff room to pop the pastries in the fridge so they would be fresh for her to take home tonight.
It seemed like she was even busier than usual the past few days, he felt daft for thinking anything of it but nevertheless, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering. He sat in his office for the entire afternoon, replying to e-mails and trying to figure out if he might have done anything wrong.
Jac poked her head in on him after she'd scrubbed out, a pleasant surprise.
"Sorry, I was so busy today. Serena's asked me to attend a conference in Edinburgh and apparently I'm not allowed to send Petrenko in my place so you're going to be on your own for a couple of days. Emma's staying at Jonny and Penny's," Jac explained. "I have to be there first thing in the morning so I'm going home to pack and then leaving straight away."
Wheeling his chair backwards, he stepped out from behind his chair and moved closer to her, taking her hand in his.
"It's a bit sudden, but at least it isn't for too long. I guess I'll see you when you get back then, make sure to text me when you get there so I know you aren't stranded in the middle of nowhere. The pastries are in the staff room fridge, if you wanted them for the journey," he offered, smiling tenderly at her.
She pulled her hand from his and tucked it into her jacket pocket, kissed him on the cheek and opened the door.
"See you on Wednesday, Fletcher," she responded as she walked away down the corridor.
It had hurt her to be so nonchalant in her farewell, but she was trying to tell her mind not to get attached. Every five minutes, she reminded herself that this wasn't forever. When she was with him, she upped it to every five seconds.
She didn't stop for the pastries, they would only make her think of him, and headed straight for the lift instead. Maybe a couple of days away from all of this would remind her that there was life before Adrian Fletcher and there would be life afterwards too.
The entire drive home and the entire time she spent packing, all she could think about was how abrupt she had been with him. Her aim was to stop either of them from getting hurt but it seemed like she was doing the exact opposite and she hated herself for doing that.
She tapped out a quick text to him after getting into the back of her taxi:
Jac: Sorry if that seemed like I was being a bitch, was just in a hurry x
Within a minute, he had replied:
Fletch: No worries, have a good journey x
It was getting harder to distance herself from him. Every time she did, it felt a little bit more like a bad decision. Emma was getting just as attached as she was, if not moreso, and that was only going to make things more difficult.
The train journey was surprisingly quiet and she spent the majority of it with her head buried in a book Sacha had recommended to her. While his taste in women, movies, and surgical specialties were all sub-par, he certainly did know where to find a good book.
A guy sat across from her was wearing a shirt that she knew Fletch would like, she told herself not to think about but ended up asking the man where it was from and logged it in her memory.
By the time she arrived in Edinburgh, it was 11:30pm and all she wanted to do was fall into bed. Serena had splashed out and gotten her a king-size room to compensate for the short notice, something she was endlessly grateful for.
As she plugged her phone into charge, she considered texting Fletch to tell him she had arrived and mindfully decided against it, cruel as she felt. Drifting to sleep, she forced her mind not to think about him though she was failing miserably and all she wanted was to call him and tell him how much of an awful person she was for doing this to him, to them.
The Naylor stubbornness kicked in and she rolled away from her phone, not ready to give in to temptation quite yet.
Fletch eventually gave in and went to sleep at 1o'clock, having presumed that Jac had forgotten to text and believing that she would have text if there was a problem. He couldn't help but worry, it was in his nature, but still he turned in for the night and hoped that he would wake to a text from her.
Of course, he wouldn't.
