What We Hope For

Four

BEFORE WE START

Dear Readers,

Thank you for having read this far, that must mean I'm doing something right! 😆

I really do appreciate your votes and comments. They mean the world to me and essentially make me a better writer because I get a better idea of what works and what doesn't.

P.S. I sat and battled with this chapter for a week so I hope you enjoy it! I really wanted to capture the bond between Emma and Darryl as well as their individual problems. I also wanted to give a better perspective on their personalities. 

Enjoy and thanks a million! ❤💪

Yours sincerely,
-V
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Emma exhaustedly entered her room to find Darryl sitting at her desk, the same desk where she, and the many Dawsons who had owned the desk before her, had spent countless hours studying for medical exams. "One day your children will use it too," she remembered her father saying excitedly years before when the desk had first been passed on to her and despite all of the expectations that went along with owning the "Dawson Desk", Emma liked knowing it was in her room as it signified her belonging.

"Hi birthday girl," Darryl greeted Emma as he stood up to embrace her as she entered the room.

"Hi," Emma said tearfully.

Darryl noticed the unopened envelope tucked under Emma's arm. "You don't have to open it tonight, darling," Darryl suggested to his fiancée.

"If not now, th-"

"Then tomorrow," Darryl pleaded with his hazel eyes which were simultaniously maticulously surveying Emma's fatigued body. "I have to go back to the hospital soon to stand in for Doctor Hudson, but I just wanted to check on you first and check that you got to bed ok."

Darryl was planning on specialising in Oncology which was viewed in a more questionable light than  Cardiology was, the prestigious field which Emma was destined for. The one thing that Darryl loved most about Emma, was the fact that she did not once question the fact that he wanted to become an Oncologist as others did. "That must be a very difficult job," they would say or they would simply smile at him and say that he was a very empathetic man. Emma knew the reason behind his choice, she knew it without him having to tell her. She knew that when his mother had died of breast cancer when he and Emma were in twelfth grade, it had a significsnt impact on his life as well as his soul. Darryl knew that he could not have saved his mother from her death which only filled him with the desire to save other, much like his mother, as best he could.

"Thank you," Emma smiled as she slid the envelope onto the "Dawson Desk". Emma felt that both of these objects stood in complete opposition with one another, realising this, she picked up the envelope once more and shoved it into a drawer. "I know that you've been really busy at work lately and I really appreciate you making the time to come to the party. I'm sorry it's so late. " It was already midnight. "I don't know what I would've done if you weren't here, honestly," Emma let out a painful chuckle.

"Em," Darryl sympathised as he embraced Emma once more. Being as tall as he was, Emma always felt comfortable when they hugged. Their hugs had probably been one of her most favourite experiences in the past four years they had spent together.

"Try not to think of it tonight. Tomorrow will be a new day and you will be able to process everything properly," Darryl suggested as he wiped his black hair off his forehead. Emma admired Darryl for the rationality he never faltered to think without. He was always able to approach matters cautiously and strategically like the rest of her family. Emma, on the other hand, always felt like more of an optimist than a realist, which made her approach of analysing difficult situations seem weak in comparison to their's. Sometimes, although she struggled to admit it, Emma feared that Darryl was more of a Dawson than she was.

"You're right," Emma sighed with slight relief.

"I always am," Darryl smiled as he checked his watch. "I should probsbly get going, but I'll come by tomorrow morning after my shift, if that's ok?"

"Yes, of course! See you then, good luck."

"You too, darling,"  Darryl shut the door.

Emma hesitantly looked at the drawer where the envelope hid. She decided to turn off the light and got into bed.