Chapter 7

Landon sighed and headed towards the elevator. He just turned the corner when he collided with someone who had been barrelling round the corner almost at a run.

Landon stumbled but regained his balance quickly. The person glanced at him to see if he was injured and started to head off again.

"Hey!" Landon said.

The guy turned back.

"Aren't you at least gonna apologise?"

The guy shrugged. "Sorry man." And turned again.

"Excuse me!" Landon called.

The guy stopped and snapped, "What?"

Landon blinked, surprised by the attitude. He looked more closely at the guy now he was still. He was older than Landon around 38, had soft, silky looking brown hair. He was wearing faded jeans with an open beige shirt over a blue t-shirt. He acted mean, but Landon figured he was probably harmless. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Gil," he said impatiently. "Why?"

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Landon asked.

"I'm the nurse who was in surgery with you a couple of days ago. And I helped your dad out the other day."

"You? But…why were you running round the corridor. This a hospital, not a race track."

"Well, duh." Gil said. "Have you ever tried balancing being a nurse and a single parent?"

"Um, no." Landon said. "I…" he searched for something to say. Somehow he knew he had to keep this guy talking; to know him. To know each other. "I want to apologise for snapping the other day in surgery. You were a great help."

"Really?" Gil asked. "You think so?" For the first time in weeks, Gil's face broke into a smile.

"I do." Landon smiled back.

"Thank you. Doctor…?"

"Carter. But call me Landon."

"Thanks… Landon."

An idea struck Landon. "Hey, do you wanna go for a drink?"

"Ah, I can't." Gil said. "My daughter Sophie... she's not very well. And I've gotta pick her up from school."

"What's wrong with her?" Landon asked, growing concerned.

"She has leukaemia. And she's stopped responding to treatment."

"What?" Landon said, astounded. "How old is she?"

"16." Gil sighed. "She's too young… it can't be her time soon but she's weak…"

Landon's heart skipped a beat. This was too surreal.

Thank you, to everyone who reviewed chapter 6, cos when people review it lets me know that people are reading and I'll see a point in updating. Please continue with the reviews, they really do make me post more! And I've thought of a storyline to go on which I'm hoping everyone will like!