Back to normal

She's back

Fletch stood gazing out of the staff room window. It was early and the city was just waking up. He took a mouthful of coffee and pondered over the last three weeks. The last three weeks since he'd thought he was going to lose Jac. Three weeks since she'd held out her hand to comfort him when he broke down about her nearly dying and wouldn't have been able to take back the awful things he'd said before she collapsed.
"Fletch don't" she'd said
He'd spent every spare moment at her bedside. Holding her hand each day with some kind of silent agreement. He would keep her up to date with the ward and other hospital gossip and keep her entertained with stories about the kids. They'd spent hours together, never once acknowledging their joined hands, never coming even close to the conversation that they'd needed to have before she left, before Abi, before the Gaskell trial.
Abi had seen it, Petrenko had seen it but admitting it to each other? That would involve the ice queen allowing herself to feel. And now here he was, back to square one, Jac had been discharged and was stubbornly insisting that she came back to work. He would see her later, back on the ward, reigning over her kingdom.
He sighed heavily. Back to normal, back to a working relationship and nothing more. I mean did he really think he stood a chance with Jac Naylor? Sometimes they shared just a moment where he allowed himself to hope but mostly he was met with sarcasm and irritation.
"Hey" a familiar voice said behind him. Before he could answer or turn around he felt a small hand on his shoulder
"Hi" he smiled, turning now.
"You're back, How you feeling?"
"Pretty good actually. You look deep in thought"
"Oh you know staffing rotas, shortages the usual" he lied
"Of course" she said "I'll see you on the ward round later"
She walked away. Would he ever be able to tell her that staffing rotas couldn't be further from his mind.