Ticket To Devon

[enzo_the_rhino]

Chapter Five

Title: Ticket to Devon
Fandom: Green Wing
Characters/Pairings: Carmac
Rating/Warnings: PG angst
Length: 558 words
Spoilers: Up to the special
Summary: Mac realises he has to give up work.
Disclaimer: None of the characters etc are mine. They belong to Victoria Pile and Channel Four.
A/N: There is art to go with this chapter

Chapter Six - Tears

Mac was slumped on the floor in the middle of their living room; leaning against the glass topped coffee table, which was strewn with a mixture of medical journals, children's books and the occasional part newspaper. His head rested on his knees, hair concealing pale blue eyes, arms holding everything together.

Juliet lay in her multi-coloured play pen, giggling happily as she knocked the dangling shapes spinning in the warm breeze. All her limbs were clothed in blue and yellow ducks but there was a wide expanse of pink flesh visible across her front.

 ***

This was the scene that greeted Caroline as she entered the room laden with shopping bags.

“Mac?” she asked concernedly. He prised his head off his knees and she saw the tear tracks smeared across his face. The shopping was left in the middle of the room as she crossed the floor to sit next to him. A comforting hand on his arm accompanied the next tentative enquiry.

“What's up?”

“The ceiling,” he said dryly. This raised a brief smile before the concern returned to Caroline's face.

“I couldn't do it.” He said after a slight pause, gesturing to where Juliet was still happily playing. “I can't dress my own daughter. The poppers - they were too fiddly.” He looked down at his hands lying on his knees, the sight of them sickening him. He had known this was coming but that never made things any easier.

                Caroline slipped her hand into his, entwining their fingers together. Not wanting to have to face to inevitable he turned to face the baby instead. Caroline’s eyes followed his as Juliet tried to grab a pink fluffy sheep.

“She’s getting clever and clever all the time I’m sure. I think she’s going to start walking any day now.”

“Before you know it, she’ll be all grown up. Who knows maybe she’ll become an even better surgeon that I ever managed.”

“Mac,” Caroline began softly, her eyes moving from the wriggling baby to the stationary man beside her, “We need to talk about work.”

“Work? Ah yes, can you still remember what that is? Been quite a while since you actually did any.”

“Are you trying to say that looking after Juliet isn’t work? Not to mention all the cooking and cleaning and…”

Mac interrupted her before her rant got out of control, “Hey, I was only joking. It’s what I do in uncomfortable, serious situations remember.”

This served to stem Caroline’s tirade, but the air was filled with the point they were both striving to avoid.

 

***

The tears from earlier had dried on Mac’s face, but as his considered the path his future was hurtling along fresh ones threatened to overcome him. He decided to break the silence which was becoming oppressive, “So I guess there’s a consultancy available again. Must be cursed that job – first Dr Mancoo, now me, hope whoever replaces me has more luck.”

“You’re taking this very well.”

“No one wants a surgeon who can’t hold a scalpel straight.”

“I do.”

He smiled, “Means you can go back to work though. If I’m here to look after Juliet you don’t have to be.”

“Won’t be the same without you there too.”

“You’ll have to get used to be not being around I’m afraid.” Mac replied, but it broke his heart to say it.

Chapter Seven