During their second meeting, Siobhan and Viv mostly talked about their jobs. On several occasions, Viv made it clear to Siobhan that she could sense things that many people couldn't. As she looked into the blonds eyes and said "I can tell when someone's struggling, no matter how high a wall they've built" momentarily she thought she'd crossed a line. Siobhan's eyes had clearly filled with tears and as she struggled to regain her composure, she looked away. Eventually, Siobhan looked back over at Viv and simply said "everyone struggles sometimes I suppose." Viv desperately wanted to tell the blond that lying to herself and burying her head in the sand would never work, but she knew how much that would hurt Siobhan. The thought of hurting the unbelievably fragile woman sat before her made Viv feel physically sick. Night after night, she'd lie awake and despairingly hope that Siobhan was safe, despite knowing that she very likely wasn't. The sound of her cries would haunt Vivs dreams as she desperately tried to drag Roger away from her. No matter what she did in her dreams, she could never save her and he always won.
That Thursday, when Siobhan walked into Marjorie's office, the nursery manager audibly gasped. The blond looked so drained and pale and as she sat down in the visitors chair, Marjorie could tell that she was moments away from fainting. She rushed around the side of her desk and threw herself onto her knees in front of Siobhan before grabbing her hand and asking "what's wrong my love? You look so poorly, what's the matter?" The blond raised her head slightly and replied "I have a chest infection." As soon as she'd said that, Marjorie heard the rattling sound her chest made as she struggled to breathe in. It sounded so painful and it made her own chest hurt. "What are you doing here? You should be in bed, that sounds awful Siobhan."
Truthfully, Siobhan wanted nothing more than to be in bed but she didn't have that option. She'd been advised by her doctor that the infection was bacterial and as such, it wasn't contagious. That morning, Roger had told her that she was being pathetic before yelling that he didn't have time for her dramatics. She was needed at the nursery to help organise the upcoming merger and he certainly wasn't going to cover for her. When she'd asked him why her antibiotics weren't where she'd left them, he'd taken great pleasure in telling her that he'd thrown them away, snapping that she 'didn't need' them. His cruelty never failed to shock Siobhan and as he'd stormed out of the house she'd asked herself out loud "why would you do that?"
Now as she sat before Marjorie, she felt so humiliated. The nursery manager was looking at her with so much genuine concern and it was making Siobhan want to throw up. Suddenly, Marjorie's eyes darted over to the window and she startled Siobhan by standing up abruptly. "Wait here my love, I'll be back in a minute." As she rushed out of the office, Siobhan closed her eyes momentarily and tried to focus on her breathing. It wasn't long before she heard Marjorie's voice outside in the corridor "I'm sorry to catch you like this, but I'm really concerned and I know that you're a nurse." There was a moment of quiet before Viv replied "no don't worry I'm happy to help, I'd literally just dropped Jamie off so it must have been fate."
As soon as the two women entered the office, Siobhan felt a wave of calm wash over her. She was so exhausted and she knew that her defences were totally down but in that moment, she really didn't care. Viv crouched down in front of her and gently asked "Siobhan, can I put my hand on your chest?" The blond nodded and continued to look into the nurses eyes as she placed her hand over her heart. Viv kept her hand there for several seconds before placing it over Siobhan's ribcage just above her stomach. When she applied slight pressure, the blond made a noise that shattered Vivs heart completely. She took a deep breath before she finally spoke.
"Siobhan, do you know you have a broken rib?"
YOU ARE READING
TO SHIELD A SERPENT (TNN - SIOBHAN/VIV)
Fanfiction**WORK IN PROGRESS** How can Viv help Siobhan?
