Part one
22nd June 2005. Some where in Australia:
Tina's hands shook as she put the phone down. She couldn’t believe that after all these years her friend was coming to see her. The friend who had left it nearly four years without a single letter or phone call had suddenly decided to announce that she was arriving in the country. As she ran this idea through her brain again and again Tina realised that it probably wasn't true. Chloe Hill wasn't the sort of person who just turned up out of the blue with no given reason; no Chloe must have another reason for flying half way around the world. Tina's mind was in over drive trying to work out what exactly must have happened that would mean she was the only person Chloe came to see when it was much cheaper and easier to talk to one of her mates in Holby. "You're the only one who'll understand." Chloe had told her when she asked this question. Tina didn't have time to wonder on what exactly she'd meant because at that moment Sean and Lou walked in.
"Good day?" Asked Sean, looking fondly at Tina's now obvious bump.
"Yeah," she replied "But I had the weirdest phone call from Chloe asking her to pick me up from the airport. She sounded quiet upset though so I think I ought to go."
"Well I suppose you better go then." He said, sounding more than slightly confused. "But you'll have to take Lou with you 'cause I'm working tonight."
"OK then." Grumbled Tina. Not really looking forward to the idea of taking a two year old on an hour and a half trip to Sydney.
The journey itself wasn’t actually that bad as Lou fell asleep almost as soon as they got in the car. But all the silence gave Tina some un-wanted time to wonder why she was doing this and weather it was the right thing to do. I mean at one point in her life Tina would have described Chloe as her best friend but back then she was just a silly little nurse who used to sit around giggling and talking about boys. Chloe had been a laugh and someone to go out clubbing with but Tina wasn't like that any more. She'd grown up a lot since then and now she was a senior nurse, a wife and a mum. Maybe Chloe had grown up too but that seemed doubtful. And they hadn’t exactly parted on great terms as even though she'd forgiven Chloe for what she'd done it had almost ruined every thing between her and Shaun, and Tina just couldn’t forget that.
'What if Chloe's still got feelings for Sean and she's come all the way over here to see him again?' Tina wondered out loud.
'No' She said after a sort pause. 'Chloe's not like that, don’t even think like that.'
Part two
Sydney airport
Tina got slowly out of the car and rubbed her sleepy eyes trying to keep herself awake. She got the pushchair out of the boot and tried to wake her sleeping child, unfold the pushchair and find Lou's dummy all at the same time. It would have been so much easier just to be sitting at home with Lou tucked up in bed, watching the telly but instead she was stood in a freezing cold car park with a screaming two year old and it was all for Chloe. She'd better appreciate this. Thought Tina.
Once she was inside the airport it was another struggle to find Chloe as she was in luggage collection point, which according to the map was over the other side of the building and up a flight of stairs. When she did eventually find the right stairs she realised that as per usual the lift wasn't working and the only people who were around to help were a drunk old man and a teenage couple who seemed to be stuck to each other's faces and they were all far to busy to help her up the stairs. So the six-month pregnant woman, screaming two-year old, Nelly the elephant and a rather large pushchair were left to make their own way up the stairs. And they all managed it in about twenty minutes except Nelly who was dropped and had to be retrieved after they reached the top.
Tina found Chloe sitting on her case near a load of closed shops looking abandoned.
"Chloe!" She yelled running over and hugging her friend. "How are you?" She asked. "You look well." She lied. In fact nothing could be farther from the truth. Chloe had large dark rings under her eyes that looked like she hadn't slept well, if at all, for at least a month. Her hair was matted a looked like it could do with a good trim or at least a wash. She'd put on a bit of weight since Tina had last seen her and all her fashion sense seemed to have gone out the window as she was wearing a baggy black t-shirt and grey jogging bottoms.
"I'm fine." Chloe replied and Tina looked at her suspiciously. "Well actually…" Chloe managed to stammer before her bottom lip started to shake and tears started to well up in her eyes. Tina knew she was treading on thin ice and decided she could get the full story back at home.
"Tell me later." She said sympathetically and Chloe nodded as they began the walk back to Tina's car.
Part three
The drive home seemed to take double the time it took to get there. Tina thought to herself and she knew that it wasn’t really helped by the awkward silence filling the car. Normally Tina would have the radio on in the car but Louise was sleeping peacefully beside and she didn't want to disturb that so the car was filled with the silence and un-asked questions. Tina was dying to know so many things like why Chloe had run away and what it was that only she would understand and was worth getting so upset about. But Tina held her tongue knowing that there would be plenty of time to find out all about it later.
And she was right, as soon as they got back there was plenty of time to chat. Once Lou was tucked up in bed they had the whole of the house to them selves. Tina went straight to the fridge and got out a box of chocolates and a bottle of wine. They both sat down in the squashy chairs by the fire and began to relax and feel like they'd never been apart. After an hour or so of polite chit chat Tina finally got up the courage to ask Chloe what she'd been wondering since the phone call.
"What's wrong Chloe?" She asked gently "What made you come here?"
"Guess." Chloe said with a small smile.
"A man?" Tina asked, already knowing the answer.
"Got it in one! You really do know me too well." She laughed to hide her embarrassment at being so see through.
"Which man was it? Any one I know?" She asked passing Chloe a tissue to mop up the mascara that was leaking down her face.
"No you didn't know him. His name's Jason and he came to Holby a few years after you left. We had to leave only a few short months after we'd bet because of some problems with the law."
"The police? Chloe this guy seems extremely dodgy. I mean what kind of trouble with the police? Is he a criminal or something?"
"Well it's kind off a long story but the end result was me helping a convicted prisoner (who also happened to be his brother) escape from a+e. I still to this day don’t know how I managed to get dragged into that whole mess but I did. So of coarse I had to run away from the police otherwise I would have lost my job and maybe even gone to prison. I couldn’t have coped with that." Tina's mouth dropped open. All this had happened and her friend hadn't even told her. It had been years ago and she had only just found out.
"Umm…. So what made you come over her in the end?" Tina asked expecting to hear a story that involved car chases, drug smuggling and The mafia.
"He chucked me out. He says I was having an affair with one of his mates." Chloe sobbed.
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