Hello everyone and Thank you very much for taking the time to read my Fic.

I apologise for the time-frame of this piece – I have had it in Limbo for a month or so whilst I was revising for my exams, however in this time a lot has happened with the Eddie and Luc characters and so this is based before the kiss they shared a couple of weeks ago.

I am a huge shipper for these two and hope to see more fics regarding them in the near future.

I do really hope that you enjoy it.

She remembered a time when she despised him; the way he spoke in ridiculous riddles, his social awkwardness and his solid professional composure, even when facing the toughest situations. She had danced on the roof of his caravan and she had screamed in his face on the ward and yet he stood completely unfazed.

He was consistent in what he did and how he did it.

To some, she would expect these qualities to be valued, particularly in the sometimes chaotic environment they worked in, and yet to her, a woman of passion and freedom she saw him as restricted, bound by some invisible rope and she often found herself wondering how he had come to be. She understood that feeling, that familiar restriction on her life; in her case the invisible rope was her alcoholic mother, but she had broken from it, she had escaped and vowed never to return and never become that person again. She was free. Yet, a stranger may be forgiven for thinking him to live more freely than she does; living in a caravan, spending his nights readings books and playing scrabble with his most serious commitment seeming to be his job, but she knew better than that, she understood him on a level that most cannot even comprehend.

She was fairly certain that he also knew this about her and understood her initial anger towards him probably before she even understood it herself – she saw herself in him, the part of herself that she didn't want to remember and didn't want to deal with and with this understanding came an acceptance of him and even of herself, something she had never been able to completely do.

With Liam's arrival, that neglected part of her rose to the surface once more, every time he would confront her and particularly when he mentioned their mother. It wasn't that she didn't love her brother, and she did in some way still love her mother, despite everything, but when she was near either of them all those memories of her past re-emerged and a tight constriction would spread through her chest, making it hard to think, to breathe. She would lose that feeling of freedom that she had fought for so hard and so long for to the point where she would hide herself away for several minutes in the changing rooms reminding herself of who she was now, desperately trying to deny the restriction she felt spreading through her body. I am free. I am free.

She heard the door open and his familiar footsteps enter the room. It had become a bit of a habit now, when it would all get too much for her and when she would retreat in here to escape and he would come to find her. Strangely, she had come to crave his presence in times of distress, and to his favour, he always seemed to come when needed.

She felt his eyes burn into her and yet found it difficult to return his gaze. She generally avoided eye contact with him in these situations finding that when she did the tension between them would increase dramatically. It had been building for weeks, she had denied it at the start and yet as time went by, and particularly with these meetings she found it harder to control her thoughts and feelings. She had never acted upon them, despite the fact that there had been many moments in the safety and privacy of this room where she could because she knew he was a professional and professionals don't become involved with other colleagues.

She hoped for him to speak first and yet after a minute's silence she let her eyes dart to meet his nervously as he stood tall in the corner in his pale blue scrubs, smiling lightly at her causing her stomach to contact and her palms to sweat. She retuned her gaze to the floor and felt the need to say something, anything that may help break this tension.

"I'll be back on the ward soon, I just need a minute" her voice sounding strained.

"Y'know he doesn't mean it..." she knew he was talking about Liam.

"You don't even know what he said" she stated, half laughing.

She felt him move closer and place himself next to her on the bench. The heat of him radiating against her skin, causing the hairs on her arms to stand on edge.

"You do realise that when you both shout at one another, most other people in the ward, in fact, most people in the hospital can hear you?"

"Right. Yeah" she didn't have to energy to try and appreciate the joke he had attempted; instead she just glanced at him momentarily and shot him a courteous smile.

"Are you okay?" This was a question that he asked her each and every time he came to find her here and to her surprise he always sounded generally concerned, as if he was actually interested in how she was feeling. She knew however that if the tables were turned she would have quit attempting to comfort a long time ago, labelling them a lost cause. It dawned on her then just how much patience he must have to consistently follow her down here and ask her the same questions over and over.

"You must get sick of asking that question. Always coming down here to make sure I'm still fit for work"

"That's not why I come" his voice very matter-of-fact and yet she could tell there was something deeper.

"Why do you come then?" she looked up at him and this time held his gaze, there was something so intense about him that she couldn't even understand. She felt her mouth turn to sandpaper as she waited with baited breath for his response.

He could say anything at this moment; she knew that she had opened a door that she had pushed shut for weeks. They had circled around each other, never once drawing attention to the fact that they shared a connection and that the tension building between them could actually mean something that neither of them was willing to admit. His eyes, brown and friendly held hers with a strength she found hard to match.

"I just think that I can help" his voice low and calm, but there was something else there that she could see, something he wasn't letting out.

She pushed harder "Why do you even want to help?"

He smiled lightly, almost as if he knew what she was trying to do "I'm sure you would do the same"

"I don't think so"

"I do" he voice soft yet defiant.

"What makes you say that?" she liked that he seemed to have this amount of confidence in her, more than she had in herself, but she couldn't understand what had led him to this conclusion - only sharing their working hours together and yet from this he was now acting as if he knew her better than she knew herself. Did he?

"You're a good person" he sounded so sure, as if he was speaking his own name. She stared at him in amazement, how could he say this with such certainty?

"You don't know me"

"I know enough" This statement, those three small words impacted her in an odd way, it reached her on a level that she thought had been lost years ago. Why he had this much faith in her, trusted that she harboured a good soul beneath it all and after everything she had been through filled her with a weird sensation – a mixture of joy and sadness, sheer amazement and total affection for this man and yet all she could do was stare at him blankly.

"So... Are you okay?"

His smile remained and she found that her only instinct in this moment was to lean into him, to show him how she was feeling, knowing that he would understand, that he was the only one who could relate to her in this moment. She wanted to show him how he made her feel and how he was the only one she wanted to follow her down to this dark corner of the hospital. She wanted to express the affection she felt for him in this moment and to make him feel as she did. She wanted him and every part of him. It felt almost animalistic within her, ripping away at her innards and gripping at her heart, causing it to ache for him, for he was the only cure.

She knew however, this could never be and though she tried to tell herself that it was due to his professionalism, she knew that it wasn't the case. She could kiss him now if she so desired knowing that he would respond because she could see it in his eyes, the way he looked at her, how he wanted her like she wanted him. She had seen it burning within him, that desire, every time he had followed her into this room and with every moment they had shared, but she had resisted him. It wasn't that she didn't want him, and it wasn't that she was afraid of the repercussions, she was simply afraid of hurting him. She didn't have much and what she did have she usually broke soon enough, every man she had ever had she pushed away until they were left wondering how they could have been so wrong to think that she was special, left feeling humiliated at how mistaken they had been and just the idea of doing that to him frightened her enough to pull back.

Her eyes began to burn out of frustration. How she had gotten into this situation was beyond her – she recalled that moment in history when she had resisted even the sight of him, changing departments as a result and wished to have that simplicity return to her life. She didn't understand how these feelings for him had developed, and yet now they seemed to be overtaking her every thought, making her life a constant battle.

She broke eye contact and fought back the tears, refusing them access to the surface and of course having seen this he gently raised his hand and let it take hers, caressing her knuckles soothingly, an intentionally friendly gesture and yet the air surrounding them changed, becoming heavier. In all the many moments they had shared within this room they had never once touched as intimately as this, they had broken a barrier and they were both aware.

Her eyes met his once again and her mouth dried instantly. Her mind raced for anything she could say that would release them from this moment.

"We should get back to the ward" to her own ears she could hear the quiver in her voice.

"We should..." his more a forced response rather than a command.

Neither of them moved, hands still entwined, eyes still locked. She could feel her raging heart beat against her chest, her mind racing with a million thoughts, arousal pounded through her veins. She knew she should pull away from him and remove herself from his sight, but something much stronger than her kept her in her seat with her eyes still buried beneath his. What if she let herself do this, give into the moment? He would never be completely safe with her, she was always going to be a risk, but then so was he – with no stings he could pick up his caravan and leave at any time, leave her. Nothing is without risk she thought in that moment and he must know this about her, as she did about him. They both had baggage weighing them down from a past long forgotten and she knew that this was the main reason why she felt safe with him and why she could lower her defences and trust him, something she had not done in a long time.

Her heart pounded in anticipation of whatever was to come.

A flicker.

She had seen it. His eyes for the smallest of seconds had left hers and had landed on her lips. They knew that the moment was theirs, ready for the taking and not even she had to power to prevent it now. They had gone too far and it was becoming inevitable. She could do nothing, her body frozen and her mind stolen by the moment. Her eyes never left his and she could see her feelings reflected in his eyes. He wanted her.

She felt him move towards her with the slowest and most cautious of movements. She could barely catch her breath and yet just as she began to close her eyes ready for the soft impact of his lips she sensed something changed in the air. He had removed her hand from hers and quickly stood from the bench, almost as if he had been startled. It was broken and they couldn't go back. He composed himself and opened the door - ready to leave.

"I'll see you up there, when you're ready" and with that he was gone and she sat alone once more.

This is the first of three chapters and I will hope to have the next one up some time next week. If you'd be so kind as to leave a review I would greatly appreciate it

Thanks again!