Very quickly written, so not the best sorry!
Connie rounded the corner to find Jacob waiting for the lift. Of course he had to conveniently be there at the same time, just the man she was trying to avoid.
She contemplated taking the stairs, the shift so far had been awkward with him, she wasn't sure she could handle another awkward encounter.
She quickly dismissed the thoughts though and followed him in, standing opposite him, both facing each other with their backs against the wall.
Jacob turned away when he realised who had joined him in the lift and he faced the doors, watching them close and confine the pair in this small space together.
It was silent for a moment as the lift began to move, both could feel the tension that surrounded them, as it had all day.
"Did you take yourself off the drug case?" Connie's sharp voice broke the silence.
"Yeah." Jacob replied bluntly, without looking at her.
"Because you don't want to work with me?" Connie asked. She knew she had hurt him, she was hurt too. But she had done this for Grace, she had promised to put her first, even if it meant losing Jacob.
She could sense that he had been trying to avoid her, she wasn't surprised that he didn't want to work on the case with her anymore.
Jacob didn't answer.
Connie rolled her eyes. What, he couldn't even talk to her now?
"Well?" She asked.
Jacob exhaled deeply. Connie had told him to back off, he was doing exactly as she wanted. What more did she want?
He finally turned to face her and took a step towards her. "What do you want from me?" He asked, an angry tone to his voice.
"We nearly died. We were this close." He shouted. "And I just can't switch my emotions on and off like you."
Connie was shocked at his outburst. He sounded so angry, his face was close to hers.
But she could hear the hurt in his voice. It wasn't hate, it was pain.
Did he really think she had done that? He really thought she had just switched off her emotions, switched off her feelings for him. She couldn't if she tried. She was trying, for Grace's sake, to suppress the feelings, but they were still there.
"Yeah, I'm not ok." He said, his voice now softer.
She looked up at his eyes, full of sadness and despair.
She had done this, she had told him they couldn't be together.
"But you're not the person I talk to about that anymore." He said quietly.
Connie couldn't do this anymore. The pain in his voice was too much. He sounded so upset, there was something so enticing about his vulnerability.
She wasn't the person that he shared his pain and hurt with anymore. Instead, she was the person that had caused him hurt and pain.
Neither dropped their gaze, just studied each other's faces.
"You really think I can just switch off my emotions? You know, this isn't easy for me either. My emotions and my feelings, they haven't changed." Connie said sharply.
He wasn't the only one hurting here, she was in a difficult position herself.
Jacob shook his head. He was the one that had been left with a petty explanation. She was the one ending this relationship, because she couldn't say no to her daughter. She hadn't even tried to talk to Grace about it, just jumped straight to her daughter's wishes.
"So why are you doing this Connie? If you feel the same, why can't this work between us."
Connie glared at him. He knew why she was ending this, he knew that she needed to prioritise Grace right now.
"I have to think about Grace, she's my daughter Jacob." She said bluntly.
"What about me Connie. What am I? Was I just here to keep you company while your daughter was away, here to be disposed of now she's back? Not important enough to fight for." Jacob sighed.
Connie looked away. He couldn't be further from the truth.
With Jacob, it was something so special, so different from anything before. Of course he was important to her.
But he was right. She hadn't even tried to fight for their relationship. She had been so focussed on Grace, that she had let her make decisions for her, let her ruin the happiness she had with Jacob. She should have tried to talk to Grace and help her understand that even if she was with Jacob, she wasn't going to be pushed aside.
Connie looked back at Jacob, who was still watching her, those brown eyes still full of sadness.
She reached up and cupped his face in her hands. "You are important Jacob, and that's why I'm going to fight for you, for us." She smiled.
"What about Grace?" Jacob frowned. He was confused by Connie's sudden change of heart.
But Connie didn't reply, just placed her lips against his.
Connie pulled back and wrapped her hands around his neck. "Grace is important, and I want to keep her happy. But you staff nurse Masters are also important. I'm going to do what I should have done when she first told me to end it with you, I'm going to talk to her, explain to her that I'm never going to prioritise my boyfriend over her."
Jacob ran his hand down her cheek. "So I'm your boyfriend again?" He grinned.
"You never stopped being my boyfriend really." She smiled.
She couldn't let him go, not even for Grace. He made her happy, and she couldn't let anything ruin this.
