Roller coaster (saving hope/Joel Goran)

Chapter 20

For the next few weeks, Joel seemed to be snowed under with work. And that was an understatement.

He had been given the opportunity to take the chief of surgery job, and he did. It came with such a big responsibility and a large amount of his free time as well as work hours. Which didn't give him much time for Charlotte, usually he would go home and just fall asleep in her arms as they watched tv.

And Charlotte didn't even get to see him on the wards that often. She could feel her relationship with him slowly getting thinner.

And it hit her hard, especially at the moment, when she was sat in the bathroom stall, clutching a plastic bag to her chest.

"Charlotte just do it" Maggie called out from the outside

"I don't want to" Charlotte replied, she was scared

"You just pee on a stick, and it will show you, it can't alter the future or change the fact you might be pregnant" Maggie retaliated

"I guess you're right" Charlotte shrugged, taking the box out of the bag and she began to read the instructions.

-

"Hey you" Charlotte knocked on Joel's office door and walked in "I had a break and I brought you lunch, maybe we could actually get to spend some time together"

Charlotte placed the bag down on the table and emptied it, she bought his favourite ham salad sandwiches from the cafeteria, with a packet of crisps, coffee and a box of fruit salad.

"Charlotte I-" Joel began to say how busy he was and that he couldn't take a break

"No, I have something to tell you, I think it might be best to tell you know" Charlotte said, opening a packet of sandwiches and offering him one

Joel raised his hand to dismiss the sandwich and Charlotte put it down "I can't" he said

"You can, it's important" Charlotte lost her happy aura and became upset and annoyed with him

"I don't care if it's important, what's important is that I finish this paperwork in nearly enough time before I get another batch" he said sharply

"Joel, when are you actually going to take a break and spend time with the ones that love you" Charlotte retaliated, not feeling hungry anymore

"I can't" Joel said

"You can" Charlotte tried

"Charlotte please just leave" Joel stood up and raised his voice "you aren't doing any good here"

Charlotte stood up and aggressively collected all of the food to put into her bag "Joel, you've ruined a perfectly good moment, you need to learn not to be so cruel to the people you love" she said, almost on the verge of tears

"I-" he began to say sorry, to apologise to her

"No" she interrupted him "don't bother calling tonight, I'll cancel the dinner reservation"

She lifted the bag and stormed out of the door, slamming it behind her.

Joel sat back in his chair, rubbing his forehead. How could he be so stupid? All he had to do was sit down with her for at least 5 minutes.

He realised recently that he hasn't been giving much attention to her whatsoever and they've gone days, almost weeks without having a proper conversation.

He wanted to run out after her, to grab her and kiss her and apologise for how he's behaved. But that wasn't going to work, he had mounds of work to get through in an impossible time frame and his little act back then caused more harm than good.

And now he was too distracted to do his work and no matter how much he stared at it and how many words he wrote on it. It didn't seem to go away.

"Tough day?" A voice that sounded slightly like Charlottes sounded from the door. Joel shot his head up to look but was significantly disappointed.

"Dr Reid" Joel said "do you need anything?"

"I saw Charlotte in the staff room crying, I wondered if you were okay" she said

"Did Charlotte say anything?" Joel asked

"No I didn't speak to her, I was concerned how you were, you have been working a lot lately" Alex sat on his desk "nobody has seen you"

"I'm really busy" Joel said but he was immediately interrupted by Alex's lips pressed against his. He had ignored every flirtatious remark because he was too infatuated with his girlfriend.

But because he was stressed, he was so stressed and tense and he needed a release, something to take his mind off everything. And because Alex was there at that moment. Joel resorted back to his old ways.

He ascended from the chair and ripped Alex's doctor coat of, swiping the paper from the desk and pushing her back a little, so he stood between her legs.

Alex took off his coat and began to unbutton his blouse, showing off his bare chest.

"Oh my god" a foreign voice came from the doorway "what the hell?"

Joel immediately pushed away from Alex and stumbled for his shirt. "Charlotte please" he immediately said

She stood frozen in the door way clutching a small white bag with a little box inside. "Don't" she stepped back as Joel went to touch her and explain "I don't want to hear it"

Charlotte threw the bag in the bin by his door before running off.