Flac - Hello Stranger

Reunited

Well well it has been while I know... hehe
This chapter is a sort of conclusion chapter but I expect there will be one more to tie things up though I haven't decided whether it will be a good ending or... well, we all know how Holby likes to break our hearts:)

With the help of the fire crew, Jan and Iain managed to get Jac out of the smouldering wreck seconds before the wall closest to them collapsed in on itself. More smoke filled the air and the fire crew began focussing on securing the wreckage. Meanwhile, the paramedics had Jac pushed into the back of the ambulance, Jan jumping in the driver's seat and Iain sitting in the back, keeping an eye on Jac's oxygen saturation. Jac was struggling to remain awake but she was determined to see Fletch was ok. She reached out and grabbed Iain's wrist as the ambulance started up.
"Wait... Fletch... can't leave him" She mumbled
"Ruby's taken Fletch to Holby already. I'm sure he'll be waiting for you when we get there"
"If you're lying to me I'll have you struck off" She threatened, weakly
Iain chuckled "I don't doubt it"

The ambulance has reached Holby and Iain had handed Jac over to Dylan. She had been assessed, had an MRI and had her leg bandaged and she still hadn't see Fletch. Iain bumped into Connie and Ethan on his way out.
"Jac's with Dylan in ITU" He gestured across the ward
"Oh that's great," Ethan smiled "I'll let Fletch know, he's desperate to see her"
"Urm, actually Ethan" Connie began "Don't. They've both been through an emotional trauma and they are both in pretty rough states, the last thing either of them need is another person to worry about"
"But-"
"Just, keep them apart for a bit please. Let Dylan know"
Connie walked off, her heels clipping against the floor.

****

"Dylan" She asked as he was dressing her burns "Where's Fletch?"
"Urm, I don't know if I'm honest" he mumbled
"I've been here for over an hour and I am fine. What's going on? Is there something you're not telling me?" She pushed
"I have got no idea what you're talking about, -right Louise can you finish this off please? Thanks" Dylan left the cubicle without another word. The nurse began to finish up her dressing, fingers delicate on the skin of the woman she had heard horror stories about, the mighty Jac Naylor.
"I don't suppose you'd know anything?" Jac scowled at this nurse, she hated new people.
"'Fraid not" she shook her head

That's it. She was sick of being told what to do by patronising nurses. Jac pushed the sheets back and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Luckily, she was still dosed up on painkillers so her leg wasn't too bad but it did make walking hard. She debated getting a wheelchair but nobody would let her leave the cubicle. As she placed her bare feet on the cold floor, she pushed her weight onto her legs and winced. It wasn't going to be easy to get past the nurses station unnoticed but she would just have to hope that everyone was busy.
Slow steps got her as far as the AAU corridor, where she knew Fletch would be taken after a trapped ankle. She looked up and there he was. His clothes were torn in places, burnt in others and his hair was out of control. Bruises were scattered across his shoulders which were revealed from gaps in his shirt and his face was littered with scratches and cuts. She looked at him differently this time. Not just because he looked so different, but because she had come to the realisation when she was stuck in the wreckage, that she really couldn't live without him. And even if she could, she didn't want to. He had made each wretched day of pain on Darwin better just with his smile and pathetic jokes.
The corridor was almost deserted and Jac looked so small in such an empty space. No heels, no make up, hair cascading across her shoulders and stroking her bruised cheeks. The black blouse she had been wearing was mostly in tact, with the exception of part of one sleeve and her jeans were clinging to her legs with the fabric that was left. Fletch could see the burn on her right thigh and was surprised she could walk, well, it was Jac Naylor.
She took a step forward with her good leg, testing the waters, and Fletch copied. If either of them had been in their right minds, they would have run towards each other and embraced after such a traumatic experience, but they weren't. A few hours ago, Jac had thought he was dead and Fletch had driven away from the burning building she was still trapped in. The realism of them both being here together was almost too much but they took another step forward, never breaking eye contact. Jac's lips trembled.
"You're ok" She stated, walking slowly forward
Fletch smiled slightly "So are you" He approached her
He could see how much pain she was in, emotionally and physically, and they simultaneously stumbled forwards as Fletch scooped her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and scrunched her eyes closed, burying her face into his shoulder.
He sighed as he held her close. His semi-conscious brain had been dreaming all sorts of horrible scenarios in the ambulance as they drove away from the pub, and a part of him genuinely believed he wouldn't see her again. But here she was, in his arms.
"God Jac you scared the life out of me back there"
Jac held onto him tighter
"Me? I thought you were dead, Fletch."
"What?" He pulled back to look at her face
She swallowed " The man from the fight. He was dead and I... found him, under the rubble. He was unrecognizable and... well I thought..." she trailed off
"You thought it was me?" He finished
She nodded, sliding her arms back around his shoulders.
He pulled her back into the hug and held her tightly, affectionately stroking her back with his fingers. "It's okay, we're safe now"

At the nurses station, Iain was filling in some of the paperwork from the fire. Jacob approached him
"Mate, have you seen Fletch?
"Ur no I haven't, not since I handed him over"
Robyn overheard and chipped in
"He's with Ms Naylor. He thinks he sneaked off but I made sure he got there ok."
"Is there something going on being those two?" Jacob asked aloud
"Well they were at the pub together and Fletch seemed very concerned about her" Iain smirked
"Yeah but Jac Naylor? The way I heard it, she doesn't exactly do romance"
"Yeah well we all thought that about Mrs Beauchamp until you waltzed in all, charming" Robyn rolled her eyes
"Yeah what is it with nurses and punching above their weight?" Jibed Iain
"Nah nah nah, don't tell me you weren't punching above your weight with Lily, though" Jacob added
"He's got you there" Robyn nodded
"Yeah whatever" he waved them off
"Right" Jacob began "Fletch really should be resting..." He moved towards Jac's cubicle
"Jacob! Leave them alone" Robyn insisted
"Five minutes." He replied, reluctantly and left the ward.

Jac and Fletch had left the embrace and were both perched on the edge of the bed in Jac's cubicle, Fletch's crutches propped up next to him. They sat in silence, slightly facing each other, enjoying each other's company and being at a slight loss for conversation.
"That man" Jac began " We couldn't save him"
"I know" Fletch nodded sadly
"But, he was alive before the explosion and... I dunno... if we'd got him out quicker or-"
"Hey, there was nothing we could do. With the burns he had, he could have died a lot slower and more painfully than he did"
Jac was silent but nodded, looking down.
She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. His face looked different. She didn't know whether it was the soot or the multiple scratches but she suddenly saw how he looked at her. All, caring. Not pity but adoration. He looked at her like she never thought anyone would.
Fletch had never cared about a person like he cared about Jac. She made him want to give up everything just to be there for her. And now, she seemed to look at him the way he always wished she would.
Jac tilted her head slightly as Fletch bent his head forwards. She closed her eyes before his lips grazed hers, it was heaven. They were both exactly where they needed to be. Jac leaned in and kissed him, her hand lifting to rest on his chest. Fletch kissed her back, his hand reaching to graze her jaw line. It was slow, each of them just taking in the other's presence. Jac loved him. In a way that she hadn't loved anyone since Joseph, and, what made it 100 times better, is that he loved her too. She knew it. A tear slipped down Jac's already tear-stained cheek as she kissed Fletch, and he felt it fall to his lips. He pulled back, looking at her.
"You ok?" He worried
Jac nods several times
"Yeah, yeah, it's just... so much has happened in the last few hours."
Fletch nods in response
"Shit, the kids! Fletch!"
"You think I would've forgotten? What do you take me for?" He smiled "I spoke to Evie on the phone, reassured her that we were all fine. Everyone's in bed and she's going to come and see us tomorrow" He took her hand, Jac smiled and shook her head gently, letting it fall onto Fletch's chest. He wrapped his arms over her back.
It felt weird. Good weird. Letting herself be comforted by Fletch. It wasn't like her at all and, though she knew Fletch liked her vulnerable side, she wasn't sure she did. She didn't want to be pretending to be someone she wasn't.
"I need you to know that this is not me. The bitchy, cold, manipulative ice queen is still who I am. So if you think I'm going to be a completely different person for you... someone emotional, who openly feels stuff, you're wrong."
"Jac." He replied "Yes, I wish you could be open with me about things and have the ability to convey actual emotions," Jac's face fell "but, rest assured, after all this, the real you is the one I fell in love with"
***Spoiler for Tuesday 23rd October***
AGHHHH IN ONE MIND I AM SO PLEASED THAT THEY ADDRESSED THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THEM BUT ON THE OTHER HAND... JAC HOW TF COULD YOU DO THAT TO HIM?!?!