Cheating Hearts

Chapter 51

She was distant at work the following day. Even Elliot had picked up on the changes within her. Connie wandered the corridors quietly thinking of how different this would all soon be. Lifting her eyes, she smiled gently as she saw Greg wandering up the stairs. "Hey..." "Morning."

He walked straight up to her, slipping his arms around her waist before pressing a kiss to her lips causing a stray tear to roll down her cheek. Pulling away, he placed his hands to her cheeks wiping it away. Both unaware of the eyes that looked on at them. "Why the tears?" Shaking her head he sighed letting her step closer to him, his arms enveloping her into a tight embrace.

Sam stepped away from the doors and back into the department slowly. Wandering to the main desk he picked up a folder as someone asked for Connie. "Mrs Beauchamp's busy with a patient right now." The nurse nodded before disappearing in search of someone else.

Elliot stopped behind Sam with a small frown. "Connie doesn't have any patients today, she's admin only-" "I know that, but they didn't." Wandering alongside him as they headed towards a side room, Sam sighed. "She was with Greg, something didn't seem right. I figured the last thing she wanted was someone interrupting." Elliot nodded in understanding as they parted ways returning to work.

Connie slipped her hand into Greg's, the cold air hitting her as they stepped outside. A shiver ran down her spine as they moved to stand along the side of the hospital. "You know, you'll be just fine without me right?" She smirked softly as she turned to face him. "Oh I know I'll be fine, I just don't want to have to admit that it's really over." Greg lifted a hand to her cheek with a smile. "You'll get back to ruling this hospital without a single care for me in no time-" "That's not true..."

Greg smiled sadly knowing it was going to be a lot harder than that for the both of them. "Well... What if I promise to call you, so much so you'd wish I would disappear?" "I wouldn't want it any other way Mr Douglass." Laughing to himself, he saw the flicker of a smile return to her face. "I love you when you smile." The corners of her lips turned upwards still as she lifted her eyes to meet his. "Always have..."

Resting her head to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her waist fitting together with her perfectly. "How about tomorrow night we have dinner? Spend my last night here just like we used to?" Smiling softly Connie nodded looking up to him. "I'd like that very much." Closing the space between them, he pressed a kiss to her lips, lingering. Connie held onto his arms as his hands pressed to the small of her back, the kiss deepening as they remained alone.

As the shift drove on, Connie sat at her desk continuing with the numerous amounts of paperwork she had to have finished by the end of the day. A gentle knock on the door roused her from her trance. "Come in-" She didn't lift her eyes to see who was there, instead continued with what she was doing. "Mrs Beauchamp?"

Her eyes darted upwards seeing Sam standing somewhat cowardly just inside her office. "Hey..." She clenched her jaw swallowing as he pushed his hands deep into his pockets. Connie's expression softened as Sam smiled over at her. "I just wanted to check you were okay..." Sighing she glanced away to the other side of the room, missing Sam move forwards to sit in the chair opposite her desk.

"I will be." She offered a small smile in response as her eyes drifted back to him. "You know where I am if anything was bothering you-" "Sam I..." She stopped as their eyes met, her breath catching in her throat. She hadn't explained any of this to him, in fact she had worked her hardest to avoid him the last few days.

Connie stood up, Sam expecting her to walk away from the conversation. She crossed the room, locking the door before returning to where he sat. Sitting down across his lap, she let her head fall to her hands. Sam placed a warm hand to her back as she leant into his chest becoming comfortable. Dropping a hand to her thigh, he squeezed it gently.

"It's not the same here anymore knowing that soon it's all going to change." Sam frowned lifting a hand to push the hair back from her face. "What's happened?" Shrugging gently she looked to him, tears in her eyes which he instantly noticed. "Greg's leaving for America." He sighed rubbing a hand over her cheek. Opening his mouth to talk, she spoke before he had the chance. "He asked me to go with him Sam..."

His face changed as her words sinked in. "You're not going are you?" "I'm scared to say goodbye to him Sam." He kept his hands either side of her face gently. "I thought that was exactly what you were going to do-" "But not like this... I wanted to stop lying to him but I don't want him on the other side of the world Sam."

He caressed her cheeks softly before she stood up from where she sat across his lap. Sam was instantly up behind her, reaching for her hands to turn her around. "Con please talk to me about this-" "Sam just leave it." She stepped away from him but he only moved to stand before her again. "Please don't leave-" "I don't want to lose him..." Her mind wandered to the child she carried and the uncertainty in her mind on who the father was. "I can't lose him right now." "What about me? Us? You can lose that?" "No! I don't know!"

Turning away she found fresh tears welling in her eyes. Sam sighed moving a hand against his forehead before taking her hands within his. "I love you Connie Beauchamp and I will fight for you until the end, please don't go." Her tears didn't stop as he stepped closer pushing his lips to hers. She responded briefly before breaking apart from him. "Please, I can't do us right now..."

Holding onto her hands, his grip loosened as he felt his world gradually slipping away from him. Connie noticed the effect of her words on him causing her to hold his hands a little tighter. "I'm not going. I mean I couldn't. I guess it's selfish of me really but I can't leave this place..." A small smile crossed his face as she watched his eyes find hers again.

"But right now, I can't think of this. Just give me some time to get my head around all of this." Sam sighed with a nod wanting nothing more than to be with her but he knew when she said something there was no point trying to persuade her otherwise. "Okay, but don't shut me out as a friend." She laughed nodding as he placed a soft kiss to her lips. "Do that to all your friends Mr Strachan?"

The pair laughed gently before Sam ran a hand through her hair. "Any time, call me okay? Don't do this alone." Nodding calmly she felt somewhat better for having had this conversation with him. She knew she'd want him, no, need him around when all of this was settled. It would just take a while to get used to.