#geilis and gin

[listentothewordsyousay-blog]

Flu (chapter 6)

Empty

The week from Christmas to New Year was a blur of illness and death. After the dawning of the New Year, the spread of the flu seemed to slow. Gradually, the targets were met; fewer people were admitted to hospital, fewer people died. Finally a cocktail of medications was found to be effective and the pandemic was officially downgraded.

Claire found it a privilege to return to medicine again, to hold answers in her brain and cures in her hands. The hospital felt like home again, although the thought of her own home sat in her heart like a stone. The single medics with no dependents had been asked to volunteer to remain in their hospital accommodation in case of a recurrence; she had gladly signed the form and even more gladly fell into her bunk at the end of each day with only the usual bone-tiredness.

The medical staff were lectured by shouty army-types about maintaining strict infection controls, but the mood had noticeably lightened. A demonstration of the correct method of removing scrubs was accompanied by a wolf whistle from the back of the lecture hall and an impromptu phonetic rendition of the introductory chords of ‘Hot Stuff’. The resulting hilarity drowned out the officer as he vainly tried to maintain some semblance of professionalism.

Jamie wiped tears from his eyes and emitted a sound which could only be described as a giggle. ‘I thought he was going to hurl the board duster at me,’ he whispered to Claire. ‘My maths teacher fired one at me once and hit me square on the nose.’

‘What for?’

‘Talkin,’ he grinned. ‘I was trying to flirt with the pretty girl sitting next to me.’

‘Did it work?’

He grimaced and made what she could only describe as a Scottish noise. ‘Nah. And the duster gave off a cloud of dust and I had to sit there like Caspar the Friendly Ghost until the bell rang’.

Choking back giggles of her own, Claire jumped when Geilis poked her squarely in the back and dropped a folded note down. In keeping with the theme of teenage behaviour, Geilis had drawn two heart bubbles with a J and a C, annotated with ‘kissing in a tree’. She had also added ‘empty in ward 75 tonight?’

The officer had resorted to full parade volume by this point, preventing a reply. Claire nudged Jamie and pointed to the message. He snickered before catching her confusion. ‘Tell ye later’.

An empty, Geilis explained to Claire, was when one’s parents went away on holiday and foolishly entrusted their teenage offspring with an empty house. The initial mood of the Ward 75 reunion was more sombre, as one by one the team reassembled in the dusk and performed a silent roll call.

Glasses were raised and toasts made to honour the memories of Angus’ girlfriend and Rupert’s two siblings. Colleagues were commemorated through tales of hazings, miracles and long-forgotten nights out. Friends and lovers were introduced in spirit, their souls commended into the hands of someone or something more than them, reminded that they’d meet again.

In the haze of Geilis’ home-poured measures, Jamie and Claire had long abandoned the pretence of just sitting next to each other. She was lying on his lap, his arms wrapped around her. At some point, as the sing-song was getting started, they wandered off to the Ridge hand-in-hand to sober up under the stars. 

‘I can’t go home alone, Jamie,’ she whispered eventually. 

‘Good. I can’t either.’

[jack-andthestalk]

Stuck on you. Chapter 2, The Fox.

Thanks to @pissedoffsoka13 for the moodboard and to @balfeheughlywed for giving me grief 😂❤️

Gellis was watching me cautiously; we were walking out of the hospital after a long shift that left me bone weary tired, ears buzzing and eyes stinging from the dry hospital air.

 I wasn't in the humor to be treated like her prey, spluttering out "Wot! Is there something on my face?"

 She raised her eyebrows "yer a tad testy for one, but there is something else off with ye that I just canna put my finger on...." she looked me over.

 Eventually she gasped "Fuck are ye pregnant?"

 "NO!" I almost yelped, "what is wrong with you? Off course I am not pregnant! Are you saying I have gotten fat!"

 "nay" she replied suspiciously, tapping her index finger against her chin in contemplation.

 "there isna a pick on ye...but ye have dark circles under yer eyes and yer fierce quiet...a bird has eaten more than ye the past few days..."

 "well I’m not...I just had something on my mind that has taken me over a little" my voice had gone almost hoarse, I knew Gellis wouldn't leave it at that but my mind couldn’t conjure up a fake story.

 "mmm" she mused, "last time I seen ye like this was over the red fox"

 We don't talk about that.

 I didn't answer but just the mention of his name made my cheeks fuse red.

 "Christ it’s him!" she stammered.

 "What has happened and dinna tell me nothing, cause I ken full well he is involved."

I sighed deeply knowing that there would be no avoiding her prying eyes once she was on a scent.

 "I bumped into him on the tube, a few days ago"

 "and" she pressed.

 "and we spoke briefly, he told me he has moved to London and that is it really"

 "well well well… in all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, he walks into yers......i dinna believe it for a minute"

 I narrowed my eyes "don't be daft Gellis, it isn't my town...he didn’t come here because of me"

 "oh aye he did", she said smiling and nodding “he fucking did!”

 Her voice almost took on a mythical quality when she whispered "he wants ye back Claire, I always told ye...I saw the way he looked at ye."

　

"Well" I said flatly "I am sure he has looked at others just the same"

 "No he hasn't" she said with certainty "ye were soul mates whether ye believe it or no...I ken he fucked up...but there is only you for him Claire"

　

My stomach flipped, she was just trying to make me feel better.

 "God you are quite the philosopher this evening aren't you, Cmon!" I tugged her arm out the door and into the cold London evening.

 We stood in the entryway, rubbing our forearms, trying to shield ourselves from the icy air, I heard Mary Hawkins’s voice calling through the automatic doors

“Claire…Gellis hold up, I have to introduce you both…” before I had time to turn my head she was at my side “a new physiotherapist joined the team today…” I lifted my head to smile at her. “This is Jamie…he…will be working...” her voice just became a buzzing sound in my ears as I looked beyond her and saw “Jamie standing tall at her shoulder, a shy smile upon his face. That Prick!

Before Mary could continue with her introduction Gellis cut across her…”Ach we ken James Fraser well Mary dinna trouble yerself with introductions.” Gellis moved quickly squaring up to Jamie, “and imagine meeting ye here wee fox mmm?”

Jamie swallowed, a red crimson burning up his cheeks. He knew there was no telling what Gellis would do or more worryingly say. Mary unaware of the tension building just smiled “oh of course Scotland” looking from Jamie to Gellis, thinking their Scottish roots was the common ground.”

 “Claire” Mary continued “have you met” her hand out indicating Jamie, Before I had time to reply Jamie took a step back from Gellis, made an attempt at an apologetic smile to me and said “Claire kens me Mary, thank ye”.

Mary looked from Jamie to me now “Oh I see…well then at least you will have friends at the hospital….” Jamie just stood stock still taking me in, without moving to look at Mary, eyes intent on mine “aye, we go way back.”

 Silence descended upon us and Gellis cleared her throat, “Well then Jaaamie…what brought ye to London?”

“A change” he replied gruffly not meeting her eye. “hmm” she snorted “I’d say that!”

I felt a large arm wrap around my shoulders. Cathal

“Hey Babe…sorry I’m late.” Oh God!

Gellis face lit up with mischief “Ach Cathal there ye are now…have ye met Jamie…a new Physio in the hospital”

Cathal put out a friendly hand to Jamie he matched him in height and build, his arm swung casually to meet Jamie’s.

 “Pleasure mate…hope these ladies don’t give you too much grief.” I felt bile rise in my throat.

Jamie’s eyes narrowed slightly “dinna worry mate…”  Jamie’s pronunciation of mate stilted, mocking.

…I have kent these ladies along time…I know their tricks” Jamie finished.  

I bit my bottom lip, looking to the ground. Trying to silence the buzzing in my mind.

“Oh right cool, how do you know each other?” Cathal was playing absently with my finger tips, holding them up to his chest. I saw Jamie’s eyes linger on the motion, then look away.

Gellis opened her mouth to respond, I beat her to it.

“Jamie is an old friend from University” I croaked out.

 I saw Jamie’s jaw flinch. I denied him, denied what he was to me. Tried to pretend I didn’t once know him under the most intimate of terms.

“Oh cool, bet you could tell a few tales Jamie, wha” Cathal joked. It was lost on Jamie who had lowered his gaze so that he was stuffing his chin under his coat, in an attempt to keep warm.

 His wounded eyes met mine under his lashes, only a second and I looked away.

I brushed it off, I owed him nothing, what the hell was he doing working at this hospital anyway. I could hear Cathal chat with Gellis, but it was just background noise I really wasn’t aware of anything but Jamie’s body language, which I knew or at least used to know by heart.

“God its cold” I said to no one in particular. “Lets go Cathal hmm?”

I nodded to Geilis and Mary.

Cathal tucked me into his chest, his hand rubbing my shoulder blade over my coat.

 ——————————————

Geillis POV

 I almost felt sorry for the wee fox, I thought for a minute he was going to fall to his knees after Claire walked away, but he gathered a semblance of composure, bid Mary goodbye, turning to me and looked me square in the eye.

“who is he Gellis?”

 “I think I introduced ye…did I not my little red fox or were ye no listening”

He bristled but didn’t back down.

“His name is Cathal” I said reluctantly, “He is a firefighter…a good guy” He kicked something invisible with the tip of his foot and I saw him swallow hard.

“is she happy?”

“aye” I said honestly “she is……now”

His head nodded but I thought he was incapable of speech. “it took a long time Jamie�� I offered feeling I needed to offer more, had to be fair to the lad he should at least ken the truth of it.

“Why are ye here?” I asked.

“I had to” he said simply.

“For god sake man ya ken this is yer own doing” I pleaded, I couldn’t bear to look at the brokenness in him.

“Aye…I ken” he said in almost a whisper and walked away.

“Come see me tomorrow Fox”, I shouted after him, “il show ye around”

He didn’t look back.