One Shots 'The nursery nurse'

Deathly Affair Part IV

The journey home was silent. Clodagh sat in the passenger seat and gazed out of the window, her brow furrowed slightly. Quinn, who was busy with her toy in the back seat, hummed quietly to herself. The journey, which was normally accompanied by conversation and laughter, was overshadowed by an uncomfortable silence today.

Sorscha felt the weight of Clodagh's gaze on her, couldn't help but notice the worried expression. It was as if she had something on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't seem to find the right words.

"You know," Clodagh finally began as they stopped at a red light, "I find it really strange the way Janice has been behaving today. Kind of...pushy. I had the feeling she was up to something. There's something about that woman... You can't trust her."

Sorscha froze for a moment. Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't bear the look in Clodagh's eyes, the subtle mixture of suspicion and worry. The thought that Clodagh might have suspected something made Sorscha nervous. She could not confess the mistake she had made - not now. Not like this.

" Oh, Janice is... well, she's just Janice," Sorscha said quickly, trying to diffuse the tension by simply dismissing the subject. "She's a bit... strange, but that's nothing new. Don't worry about it, Clo. We've got her under control, and besides, Marjorie will be back soon. Then she'll disappear back into her office and you won't hear or see her."

Clodagh looked at her sharply, her eyes narrowing. She knew Sorscha better than anyone, and she sensed that there was more to her than she was willing to admit. "I don't know, Sorscha," she said, the concern in her voice becoming clearer. " It's not just the way she's acting... I just can't put my finger on it. But I don't feel comfortable with her. And you're trying to play it down, but I can see that you're kind of worried. Something's not right."

Sorscha tried to remain calm, but something was boiling inside her. She knew she could no longer make excuses like this. There were so many things she couldn't say, so many things that stood between her and her wife. But she couldn't tell Clodagh the truth. Not yet.

"You're exaggerating, really." Sorscha said, forcing herself to smile. "Janice is just a difficult personality, that's all. But she's not the cause of anything. There's just a lot going on at the moment."

Clodagh looked at her for a long time, then sighed deeply. She didn't seem entirely convinced, but she said nothing more. The rest of the journey passed in silence.

When they arrived home, Clodagh took Quinn in her arms and the couple went into the house. Sorscha quickly disappeared into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. But the moment of peace was short-lived. As soon as Sorscha had put the glass on the table, Clodagh came into the kitchen and looked at her with a serious expression.

"Sorscha," she began, "We need to talk. I want to know what's going on with you. You've changed so much lately. You're distant, you avoid looking at me, I don't even know when we last kissed. When I ask you what's wrong, you lie to me."

Sorscha felt her throat constrict. She knew she couldn't escape. But the truth was too painful. She couldn't talk to her about what had happened. She couldn't tell Clodagh that she had slept with Janice in a weak, flawed momentary decision. It was too big, too embarrassing, too destructive.

" It's all right, really," Sorscha said, eyes lowered to the floor. " It's just a lot of stress at work, you know how it is. I'm just exhausted, that's all."

Clodagh took a step closer and put her hand on Sorscha's arm. " I don't understand, Darling. You are not like yourself. You're distant, I can feel that you're hiding something. Please, I want you to trust me. What happened?"

The words stung like needles in Sorscha's chest. She knew that Clodagh could see through her, that her lies were no longer enough. But the thought of telling the truth was just too terrifying. What would Clodagh think? What if she could never make it up to her?