It's always you (Casualty)

028

Ainslee stayed right by her daughters bedside. It had been a couple of days since her operation and it had gone well. She was live. She was still severely unwell. But she was alive.

Iain had been struggling since the accident. He hadn't been to see Ebony at all which hurt Ainslee. She needed him there with her. And she was struggling with it all.

She looked up as Hannah walked in. "Hey. How's she doing?" She asked.

Ainslee nodded. "I think she knows Iain isn't here. She fell asleep about 4am after crying for her daddy. I know she misses him. But he won't come and see her. I don't know what's going on with him. But it's pissing me off," she told her sister.

Hannah looked to her. "Well I'm finished on my shift now. So if you want, I can sit with her while you go and talk to Iain."

"Don't you wanna sleep? You've been on a 12 hour night shift."

Hannah smiled. "Trust me. I'd rather be here," she told her as she sat down.

Ainslee nodded. She looked to her sister. "Thank you so much. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Honestly. Go and have a shower. Get some sleep. I'll be fine here with her," Hannah said as she hugged her sister.

Ainslee nodded and kissed ebony's head before she grabbed her stuff and left. She was trying to somehow make it all seem like it was going to be okay when she wasn't sure.

***
Ainslee walked into the flat. She looked to see Iain sitting on the sofa. She sighed as she looked to him. "Babe. Come on. Ebony is okay. She's alive. That's all that matters," she said.

"I almost killed my own baby. All for a stupid McDonalds. I'm a terrible father," Iain mumbled.

Ainslee sat with him and sighed. "You're not babe. I promise you. You're an amazing father ... it's hard. But you're struggling with what happened. You didn't cause the crash. The wanker who was speeding did."

Iain broke down crying in Ainslee's arms. She held him close. Knowing she had never seen him like this before. She was worried.

***
Connie walked into ebony's room to check on her daughter. "How's she doing?" She asked Hannah.

"She's fine. She's sleeping now. Had to give her some water," Hannah said.

Connie smiled. "I mean Ainslee. I know she's been here day after day. I know she hasn't slept."

Hannah nodded. "I sent her home. She needs to get some sleep and talk to Iain. Their relationship is strained. He's blaming himself for the crash. And Ainslee is trying to tell him it's not. They're at a crossroads right now," she told her.

Connie nodded and sighed. Hoping things would be okay for both Ainslee and Iain.

***
Ainslee woke after a few hours. She saw Iain sitting on the sofa still. "Babe. You need to try and sleep. It's not doing you any good," she said.

"How can I sleep when I'm the reason my own daughter is in a hospital bed?"

"I keep telling you. It's not your fault."

Iain said nothing as he stood up and walked off. Ainslee sighed. Not knowing how things were about to spiral out of control for her.