Moving

Chris Randall was lying on the bed in one of Roger Mannings's guest rooms, doing some last preparations for the next day's clinic run. She, Kate and Debby would stay at the Manning's property for three full days. When they arrived at the Mannings's earlier that day, they had been surprised by the fact that their host, a man nearing his sixties, had married a young woman, in her early thirties. Compared to earlier clinic runs, the atmosphere at the Manning's homestead, where Roger used to live with his younger, unmarried sister Helen, had completely changed.

In Coopers Crossing, there were also some major changes going on. Pilot Sam had married mechanic Emma and therefore was entitled to an RFDS house. Since no extra house was available, that would mean Kate would have to leave hers, the house she was not entitled to, but had been hers since it would not have been used otherwise. Kate had been very angry when she was told the bad news by Geoff. She had been given two options: move in with Mrs. Carnegie, in Sam's old room, or share a house with Chris. Finally, Sam and Emma had come with a third option: they would share Kate's house. It wasn't perfect, but it would do for now.

Suddenly Chris was interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door.

"I was right about Helen, wasn't I!", Kate exclaimed, while she and Debby walked into Chris's bedroom. "She hates Roger being married!"

"Well, she wasn't exactly brimming over with joy," Chris admitted, while Kate sat down on the bed next to Chris. Debby leaned over the foot of the bed.

"Roger wouldn't let her get a word in," Kate continued, ready for some gossip about their hosts.

"I don't think she wanted to," Chris suggested, not wanting to continue gossiping..

As Kate moved to lean against the foot of the bed, Debby walked around it and sat next to Chris.

"If I was in her shoes, I'd be moving out. I'd find somewhere else to live," Debby hinted.

"Why? It's her house just as much as theirs," Kate protested.

"Well, it's the whole thing of living with a married couple. I mean two's company, but three's a crowd! Whether you're living in a mansion or wherever you are!" Debby went on.

Kate finally got it: "Are you trying to say something Debby?"

"Well, now that you mention it," Debby grinned.

"You think I should move out of my own house and let those two newlywed upstarts run riot in my house?!" Kate would not be defeated that easily.

"Well, I know what I'd be doing," Debby said.

Kate smiled, starting to feel slightly uneasy. "What?"

"I'd be moving in with Geoff!" Debby stated like this was the only logical solution for everyone's problems.

At the moment Debby suggested Kate and Geoff living together, Chris realized she was not the only one who noticed the mutual attraction between the doctor and the nurse. She knew Kate and Geoff both denied it, and therefore she never discussed it with either of them. But now Debby put the cat among the pigeons. She carefully watched Kate's reaction.

At Debby's suggestion, Kate immediately turned crimson. She looked away, embarrassed, and afraid of what the other women might see in her eyes. She had been in love with Geoff Standish for a long time but was too frightened of her own feelings for him to admit it. She could not help thinking he might leave at any time, being a Sydneysider. Why would an excellent doctor like Geoff Standish be wasted in a town like Coopers Crossing? Besides, she did not know how he felt about her. She knew he gave her the occasional special look, but that's where it ended. And she was afraid of being hurt. Therefore, she chose to ignore her feelings for him.

"What a funny thing to say. In the first place, the town would throw a fit, and in the second place, why on earth would I want to?" Kate lamely protested, not able to look the other women in the eye.

The look Debby and Chris gave her, told her any further protests would be useless: they knew she was interested in Geoff, and there was no way she would be able to convince them otherwise. Admitting her defeat, Kate grabbed a pillow and hit Chris and Debby with it. Soon, they were in the middle of a pillow fight.

Suddenly, Helen came into the room, asking them for help since Roger had fallen ill. She looked distraught and Chris and Kate hurried to Roger's room.

Later that night, after Chris and Kate had stabilized Roger, Kate was in her guestroom, trying to fall asleep. She could not help remembering Debby's remark about her and Geoff. Was the attraction they felt so evident for everyone to see? Should she ask Geoff if she could move in with him? But what would that be like? Would she like living with Geoff? What would everyone think? Would they be living together as a couple? Or just as friends? Kate was not sure what option she preferred. What would it be like to live with Geoff as a couple? What would it be like to make love with him? After the one kiss, they had shared at the base, she longed to find out. But how could she even have these thoughts about a colleague! Disturbed and embarrassed by her thoughts, Kate finally fell asleep.

On Saturday morning, Kate walked to Violet's store in order to get some groceries to get through the weekend. The sun was already hot, and Kate regretted wearing a long-sleeved cardigan. She had thought about Debby's suggestion for a while and finally had come to the conclusion that maybe it was the best solution: Sam and Emma would have their space, and she and Geoff were forced to be open towards each other about their true feelings. Maybe she should drop by at Geoff's first. Kate crossed the street and walked into the street where Geoff lived. She walked into his garden (that needed some maintenance, she could not help noticing), and followed the tiled path to his front door.

She knocked. She could hear Geoff walking to the door to open it. He looked surprised when he saw Kate. She hesitated.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," he replied, still taken aback.

They walked inside, and Kate followed Geoff into his living room.

"Can I get you anything, a drink…?" Geoff asked, appearing to be unsure of why she came to visit him on Saturday morning. Normally, she would not dream of visiting Geoff by herself, afraid to be the talk of the town. But Kate did not think he would mind her dropping by. She knew he enjoyed her company, and she suspected him being in the same room she was more often than he should, professionally. But she had never told him how she felt about him, just like he had never told her about his feelings. But she knew they were there. And she knew he knew too.

"No thanks, I just wanted to ask you something, but you have to be honest with me. If you don't feel like it, just say so," Kate stated. She sat down on Geoff's red sofa.

"OK," Geoff replied, still unsure of what to expect. He also sat down, seeming anxious to find out more.

Kate felt hot. She took off her cardigan and could not help noticing Geoff looking at her skin-tight shirt a bit longer than he should. She felt strangely excited, not like her usual self.

"Geoff…eh.., I was wondering if I, eh... Well, you know Sam and Emma have moved into my house, or into their house I mean. I thought it would be a great solution for everyone, but it's not. It's too crowded, we all need our space…and Debby suggested, well..eh…I was wondering if I could move in with you…" Kate's face had turned crimson again, and she did not dare to look at Geoff's face. When she finally looked up, she noticed he looked both surprised and…was it enthusiasm she saw on his face?

"What do you think?" Kate finally asked him when he did not react.

"Well, ehm, that is unexpected," he managed to say. "Are you sure you don't prefer living with Chris? I mean, eh..you know people will start talking about us."

Kate felt strangely indifferent about being a potential subject of gossip. She felt scared and excited at the same time.

"I don't really care about what people say," she stated, surprising herself. When did she stop caring about what other people said?. "But how do you feel about it?"

A smile appeared on Geoff's face.

"As long as you're all right about it, I certainly am! Do you want to check out which of the spare rooms you'd like?" He got up and reached out for her hand. Kate took his hand, and together they walked into the hallway.

Geoff opened a door, and they walked in. Obviously, Geoff used it as his study. There was a large desk, and one wall was covered by bookshelves.

"If you like this room, we can move the books and the desk to the other room, no problem at all," he suggested. But Kate wanted to check out the other room first. This room was Geoff's guestroom. It was a simple room that needed some new decorations. It contained a large bed, a small dresser, and a wardrobe.

"How about this one," he asked her.

"Mmm…that is not what I had in mind," Kate replied and went back into the hallway. He followed her, watching her body move.

She walked to the next door and opened it. Inside was a large bed, covered by a grey duvet. One wall was covered by a large wardrobe.

"I think I like this room best," she stated.

"But that's my room," Geoff protested.

"Don't you want to share it?" Kate asked mischievously.

"Share it?"

"Yes, you silly man! Don't you think we have been evading this subject long enough?"

Suddenly she moved towards him and kissed him. She felt reckless, and she loved it. The moment her lips touched his, he started kissing her back and put his arms around her. Their passion increased.

"Do you want to try if the bed is large enough for both of us?" Kate asked. She could not believe she just said that! Just when she was about to drag Geoff into his room, onto his bed, she was startled by a loud ringing noise.

With a start, Kate Wellings woke up and it took her a few minutes to figure out she was staying at the Mannings' property, and that today would be the first day of a three-day clinic run.

God! How could she have a dream like that! Coming on to Geoff like she did in her dream, she could not believe it! She would never take the first step in telling him that she loved him. She was too afraid of being hurt. She had told Tom once that she liked him, but that had been easier since she had never felt for Tom what she felt for Geoff. And even that had been embarrassing when Tom told her he wasn't interested. Geoff made her extremely nervous, acutely aware of her own body, of every move she made. And very aware of his presence. She had never felt anything close to how she felt about him. And it scared her to death. At the same time, being the romantic she was, she longed for Geoff to make a move.

What was this dream trying to tell her? Should she make a move? Should she ask Geoff if she could live with him? But no, there was no way she was going to embarrass herself. She didn't even know what he thought of her! One day he would bully her; the next day, it seemed he wanted to kiss her! She didn't know what to think of him. Pushing away the memories of her dream, Kate got up and prepared herself for a long day. For now, Geoff would have to wait.