(no subject)

[oom: after this episode of Casualty, which gave the mun not a character bleed, but a character haemmorage. I think I was more scared than he was...]

Guppy goes out of the hospital doors, red-faced. He can’t believe that he has been such an idiot. He turns right and heads for the home he rents from his boss, or likely now his former boss. Half way down the road he changes his mind, not wanting Abs to question him, and diverts towards a local park. He just needs somewhere to think on his own. He sits down on a bench looking at the pond.

How can I have been so stupid as to trust my father? Now I’ve thrown everything away. How could I have believed that Harry would be involved with that drugs trial?

A splash makes him look up. Ducks fly away, squawking as a man cycles hurriedly away on a bicycle. A plastic bag bobs to the surface for a second. It is moving; clearly there is something inside thrashing around. Guppy jumps to his feet and dashes over as the struggling bag goes under the water. Hoping it isn’t too deep he wades into the water and fishes around for the bag. It’s freezing. He has to put his head under to reach it, but gets hold of the bag and pulls it up to the surface.

A crowd of people watch from the side as he wades out and undoes the bag. It has stopped moving. Reaching inside he pulls out a tiny black kitten. There is a small gasp from the onlookers. Its eyes are closed and it isn’t breathing. Feeling its neck gently, Guppy finds a pulse.

He does what any compassionate doctor would do. He kneels down and gives the kitten the kiss of life.

A child in the audience starts to cry; the rest hold their breath. After six breaths into the tiny creature the kitten coughs up a load of water and opens its eyes. There is a cheer from the onlookers. Guppy looks up, only just noticing the audience. He then scoops up the kitten, grabs his bag and goes, red-faced, without a word.

The kitten doesn’t struggle, but clings to him, terrified, a tiny black ball of soggy fur. Guppy goes to his house and unlocks the door. He squelches in, removing his shoes.

"Do you want a cuppa Guppy?"

"Yes please Nina." Guppy goes upstairs and grabs a couple of towels, then heads back to the kitchen.

"I think this little fella could do with warming up too. Have we got a hot water bottle."

Nina turns around. "Goodness Guppy, you’re soaked". She sees the kitten. "Aww, he’s adorable!"

The little kitten endures being snuggled by Nina as Guppy relates the tale. She laughs

"You gave him the kiss of life? You angel!"

"It’s a he?"

"Yep, are you going to keep him?"

She hands him back the kitten and he wraps it in the towel.

"I don’t know. Is it allowed in the tenants’ agreement?"

"I don’t think there’s anything saying you can’t. Why don’t you ask Harry; I’m sure he won’t mind." She looks at him.  "Guppy what’s the matter?"

Guppy sits down, cradling the kitten. "Harry and I have fallen out big time. He threw me out of his office. I thought he was part of the dodgy drugs trial and accused him. I’ve never seen him so angry."

Nina blinks. "Well apologise. He’s not a monster."

"I did. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me."

He looks down at the floor. The kitten plays with his hair.

"Well try harder." Nina replies unsympathetically.

Guppy puts his head in his hands. He is in the unusual position of being able to lead two lives at the same time. He has screwed up in this one and been totally freaked out by the other. The stress is starting to build up. Nina however has only seen one of his lives, and his reaction makes her angry. She pulls one hand away and slaps him hard.

"For goodness sakes Guppy! You’re not a kid any more, you’re a grown man. Get a grip! You act like every little thing is the end of the world. Haven’t you noticed that everyone else has their fair share of misfortune? Life doesn’t revolve around you; our whole department gets things rough. Selena was stabbed. Jim died! Were you around for any of the others? Fin, Simon, Jack, Patrick, Andrew, Tom, Ewart, Anna, Kelly and no doubt others that we haven’t heard of, all dead. The chap who used to be in charge of paramedics before Josh is dead. Nicky has a paralysed arm, Charlie has been shot and had a pulmonary embolism in his time, Abs has been beaten up twice and you have the bloody nerve to complain about a silly argument with Harry.

The kitten burrows into his shirt as he listens, speechless, to fiery Nina’s outburst.

"Plane crashes, train crashes, helicopter crashes, RTCs, shootings, hostage situations, stabbings, bombs, explosions, you name it, we’ve had it. The kids call it the Holby Curse it’s so bad. And you just sit there whining…"

"Nina!"

Nina and Guppy look towards the door to find Abs, the third housemate and Nina’s boyfriend, in the doorway.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asks, coming and kneeling in front of Guppy. "Why are you so wet mate? Let me have a look at that scratch."

"It’s fine thanks." Guppy gets up, takes the kitten and slams the door. Abs turns to Nina.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"I slapped him, okay?"

"What! Why?"

"Just trying to knock some sense into him. He’s pathetic."

"Nina! You don’t hit people to give them self-confidence. Besides which he’s just been in the most massive row and you know what Harry is like when he’s angry. It may not be a big issue when you compare with all that stuff you were saying, but he has the right to have a tough day just as you or I have. You shouldn’t slap him for that. You shouldn’t slap him at all, even if he is bigger than you. I bet he wouldn’t even have said anything if you hadn’t asked him."

Nina hugs Abs. "I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. He’s just such a muppet."

"It’s him you should apologise to, not me."