After all this time...A FLAC story

Chapter 1

The steam was rushing out of the kettle. Jac blinked aimlessly, focusing her eyes on the plume of steam in front of her. Jac's mind was drawn back to the memory of a week ago, cradling her best friend as he broke down over the death of his soul mate. Sighing, Jac took two mugs from the cupboard and proceeded to make two strong cups of coffee. She wished more than anything she could take away his pain. They had all known that Essie's death was inevitable, however no one expected it so soon or so suddenly.

Putting her hand gently on Sacha's shoulder, she handed him his mug of coffee. Jac had insisted Sacha come stay with her a week ago. She knew he needed her more than ever and she would do anything she could to ensure he got through this. It was a few days after Essie had been laid to rest. Since then Jac had taken some leave from work to be at home with Sacha. Today was the first day Jac was back on Darwin. Sacha had a meeting with Max to determine when it would be best for him to start his phased return to Keller. Jac knew the time wasn't right for her best friend, but he was insistent that he needed to take steps to getting back to the ward.

They sat in comfortable silence around Jac's kitchen table as they both nursed the hot coffee. Jac's mind had been buzzing with so many thoughts over the last few weeks. Whilst trying to come to terms with the loss of Essie and the impact it had on her best friend, she found her mind wondering to how things could have been so different. After all it was two people close to them who had been diagnosed with cancer. Even though Jac and Fletch had both moved on from their never to be romance. Jac still cared for him more than she would care to admit to anyone. Over the last week her mind had drifted to imagining how she would have felt if it was Fletch not Essie who had succumbed to the awful disease. It had played on Jac's mind to often, over the last few nights she had found herself thinking of him and what he meant to her as she drifted of to sleep. The thoughts made her feel uneasy. Had she made the wrong choice all those months ago? She knew she had to put these thoughts to the back of her mind. She needed to focus on Sacha and helping him recover from this.