' "You look..." "Beautiful, I know. Can we move on?" '
Amidst the shadows of the little town of Charming, this chaotic and dangerous scene steps in Giselle Telford, a woman dead set on escaping the shadows of her past to embrace an uncertain future...
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They pull up in front of the hospital just as the morning shift is fully awake.
Nurses coming in with coffees, tired families sitting outside smoking, that weird in-between hour where everything feels fragile.
Giselle grabs her bag, then pauses. She opens it, rearranges things quickly. She pulls out another bag and hands it to Frank through the window.
"Yesterday's clothes are in there," she says quietly. "Burn them. And get rid of the gun and the knife."
Frank takes it, frowning a little. "That careful, huh?" He studies her face. "You think Weston's gonna talk to the cops?"
She shrugs, like it's nothing, like her heart isn't still racing. "I don't know. But Zobelle wants to be buddies with Hale's brother. Better safe than sorry."
That does it. Frank nods, no more questions.
"Let me know how your dad's doing," he says as she opens the door.
She pauses, half in, half out of the car, then looks back at him with a small, tired smile. "Thank you. For tonight. And for putting up with me."
He huffs. "You were a little terrifying. But I got you." more serious.
"You let me know if anything changes."
"Yes ma'am," he replies, deadpan.
She snorts softly, closes the door, and takes one last deep breath before walking inside.
***
The hospital smells like disinfectant and bad coffee. The lights are too bright, the air too clean for the kind of night she's had.
Giselle straightens her jacket, lifts her chin, and forces herself to move forward.
She's halfway to the desk when a familiar voice stops her.
"Giselle?"
She freezes for a split second, then turns.
Tara stands there in scrubs, hair pulled back, eyes tired but gentle. It's been a while since they've really seen each other. Too long. And now it's weird.
"Tara," Giselle says, exhaling. "Hey."
"I heard about Chibs," Tara says softly. "I'm so sorry."
Giselle nods, jaw tightening. "Yeah. I was just about to ask how he's doing."
Tara hesitates, then steps closer, lowering her voice. "I checked earlier. He's out of surgery. He's critical... but stable."
That's all it takes.
Giselle closes her eyes for a second, relief crashing into her so hard her knees almost give out. She swallows thickly. "Thank you. Really."
There's an awkward beat. Old history hanging in the air. Tara shifts her weight, clearly unsure how to handle her.
