All in

Chapter 5

Audrey pulls her phone out of her bag as she exits the conference room, her breath catching in her throat as she takes in the list of missed calls, her heart pounding as she clicks on the first name on the list, bringing her phone to her ear.
"Audrey, hey." Deran says as he picks up the phone.
"What's happened?" She asks, running her hand through her hair. "Is it Craig? Is he ok?"
"He's in Mexico," Deran starts, speaking over Audrey as she tries to jump in. "Smurf caught him trying to drain his wound at home. Sent him off to Mexico with Baz."
"Jesus Christ," she mutters, running her head over her face. "Should I go and meet them there? I can leave here in like an hour."
"I doubt there's much you can do." He replies gently. "Baz is probably off with Lucy, and Craig'll be with the doctor. I'd just finish off whatever you need to do and then come home, Aud."
"Ok. Yeah. If you're sure..."
"There's nothing you can do Aud, it's in the doctor's hands now."
"I can get an earlier flight out tomorrow?" Audrey suggests, heading back towards her hotel room, ready to pull out her laptop and book a new flight home.
"You decide. I doubt they'll be back for a couple of days at least. Just let me know when you're landing and I'll come and get you from the airport." Deran offers, knowing Audrey would be anxious to get home and be there for Craig when he returned.
"Thank you. I'll send you through the flight details." She replies, saying a quick goodbye before hanging up and stepping into the elevator.

Audrey sighs as she paces the rug in front of the bed in her hotel room, the TV playing quietly in the background from her failed attempt at taking her mind off worrying about Craig. She picks up her phone from where she had tossed it on to the bed, dialling Craig's number as she brings her thumb to her mouth, biting on her nail as she waits for the call to connect.
"Hey baby, me again. I just...I just need to know you're ok, Craig. Just send me a text if you get this? Please? I love you. So much." She lets out a string of curse words as she ends the voicemail, immediately dialling Baz's number instead, knowing before the voicemail tone sounds that he wouldn't pick up either.
"Baz, please, please, just pick up the god damn phone. I've been trying to get through to you for hours...I just need you to tell me if Craig's ok. Or if he's not. Please, Baz. Call me?" She begs, dropping on to the edge of the bed, letting her head drop into her hands in frustration.

After an early morning flight back home, Audrey finds herself on the sofa back at Smurf's house, impatiently waiting to hear word on Craig.
"They're almost home." Smurf says to Audrey, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"He's ok?" Audrey asks, her head snapping around to look at Smurf who nods at her.
"He's ok." She repeats, cupping Audrey's cheek with her hand as she lets out a sigh of relief. "Why don't you go and wait for them outside? Go sit with Pope and J. I don't think they'll be too much longer." Audrey nods, pushing herself up from the sofa to head out to the pool where she drops down on to a chair beside Pope, facing the gate while she waits for Baz and Craig to return.
By the time the brothers pull into the driveway half an hour later, Audrey was still perched beside Pope who had tried, and failed, to make a conversation with her. The minute she hears the main gate open, she's off like a flash, straight out of the gate leading to the pool and into the driveway where she catches sight of Craig in the front seat. He's hardly out of the car when Audrey rounds to his side, throwing herself into his arms, Craig barely managing to catch her with his one good arm as she tucks her head into his neck, legs wrapped around his waist.
"Hey baby," he says softly, holding her body close to his for a moment before she drops her feet to the floor again. Audrey pulls away slightly to look Craig in the eye, taking in his appearance before raising her hand, letting it fly across his face in a hard slap. She registers Baz's shocked laugh on the other side of the car, but her eyes remain fixed on Craig as he tweaks his jaw, raising a hand to rub at his stinging cheek.
"You deserved that." Baz calls over his shoulder as he heads back into the house, laughter lacing his voice. Craig runs his hand over his jaw once more as he turns to Audrey.
"What the fuck, was that for?" He growls, eyes still wide with shock.
"For being stupid." Audrey states, moving to lean against the car. "I told you, to keep that god-damn wound clean."
"I tried! It got too bad!" He protests, shaking his head. "It's done, Aud. It happened. It's sorted."
"Yeah, after you almost fucking died, and I had to find out from your brother, in the middle of a conference weekend, that Baz had had to rush you to Mexico!" She shouts back, temper flaring.
"What do you want me to say, Audrey?" Craig asks, stepping up close to her, faces inches apart. "Huh? What do you want me to say?" Audrey doesn't reply, instead, she cups the back of Craig's head, their lips crashing together in a heated kiss. Craig pulls away first, albeit reluctantly, to take Audrey's hand in his, quickly pulling her towards the house where he leads her to his room, slamming and locking the door behind them.