Chapter Twelve

I came out of the hospital desperate for a cigarette. I hadn't smoked since I was fourteen but as the waves of stress began to recede, I wanted nothing more than to take up the habit. Instead, I paced up and down, ignoring what was going on around me.

An infection. That was all it was. Little Daisy had caught an ear infection. It sounded like the most simple thing, that a few glasses of water and an early night and she'd be right as rain. But it had almost killed her.

I had spent a week by her side, watching her slip in and out of consciousness. Sarah sat on the other side of the bed and for the time being, we put our differences aside. All either of us cared about was that our little girl got better.

It was touch and go for a long time. The first day was the worst. Mr Reyholm had given me the news that Sarah was already at the hospital with her. I raced there to find my little bundle of joy unconscious, her lips blue. At that point, they thought it was meningitis. It was another hour before they were able to discount that possibility.

I was relieved but only a little as we were still trying to find out what the hell was wrong with her. In the end, it took two consultants talking quietly to each other while we waited. Finally, they told us the news. An ear infection. It didn't seem serious enough a description for something that kept her unconscious for almost six hours.

It was the high temperature, apparently. Her little body was doing its best to protect itself by shutting down. They put fans around the bed, dosed her up on all sorts to bring her temperature back down. When she opened her eyes again, I couldn't have been more relieved.

That was only the start of it though. It was another five days before she was finally well enough to go home and I don't think I slept more than a couple of hours the entire time.

Now she was back with Sarah. They'd just left in a taxi and I was standing outside the entrance to the hospital feeling close to collapse.

Only when my hands stopped shaking did I climb into my car. I'd not cried the entire time I was in there but in the driver's seat, I lost it, sobbing my heart out with sheer relief. She was all right. It was like it had never happened. She was already back to her usual talkative self. Sarah had made no snide comments. I'd even had her version of an apology. The word sorry wasn't mentioned but that wasn't the end of the world. I think we'd both realised there were more important things than arguing.

When my tears were all gone, I drove home, dragging my feet upstairs and into bed and not waking up for fifteen hours. It was Friday when I went back to university. I had a meeting with the department head and H.R to discuss my absence. It was formal but they both mentioned how happy they were that all seemed well again.

The only thing that needed resolving was Donna. I'd last seen her walking away from my office. I managed to slip her a quick email on my phone. It was all I had time for. Now I needed to meet with her and explain.

She was in the afternoon lecture. She looked up in surprise when I walked in, as did the rest of them. "I'm back, I'm afraid," I said as I dumped my bag on the desk. "Have to do some real work once again."

There was a groan from the room but I only had eyes for Donna. She was smiling nervously at me from the front row. "Are you okay?" she mouthed silently.

I gave her a slight nod in response before getting started. It was like I'd never been gone. It was like me and Donna hadn't happened. Everyone saw the professional at the front of the class. They didn't the man falling for the young woman on the front row. Nor did they see the man who'd thought his entire world had been destroyed.

An ear infection. Such a little thing.

At the end of the lecture I was going to let Donna go with the others, talk to her in the office later. I wanted to clear my thoughts first.

But she lingered in the doorway and looked back at me so I did what I should have done in the first place. I told her to stay.

She walked over and stopped in front of me. "I guess you want to know where I've been?" I asked.

"Only if you want to tell me."

I summed up my week. Her expression changed to one of shock as I talked and when I was done, tears welling in my eyes once again, she wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight.

"I'm so sorry for you," she said into my ear.

We walked out of the lecture theatre together and ended up sat on a bench under a tree near the library.

"I've been thinking," she said when we were both sat down. "While you were away."

"You have?"

"About us, I mean."

"I see." I was certain she was going to tell me we'd made a mistake, that we should forget what happened, pretend it never was.

"I think if you help with my assignment and I get to the end of my degree then..."

"Then what?"

"Do I have to spell it out?"

"Donna, I've no idea what you're talking about."

She sighed. "You know, for a university professor, you can be pretty stupid at times. You want to be with me, right or wrong?"

"Right," I said, glancing around me to see if anyone might hear us.

"Good," she said with a smile. "I wasn't sure. Well, I want to be with you but if we do it now, we both get in trouble, right?"

"Right."

"So we wait until I graduate. Then nobody can say anything, right?"

I looked in awe at her. "Why the hell didn't I think of that?"

She shrugged. "What do you reckon?"

"Does that mean I have to keep your hands off you until summer?"

"Think how good it will be when summer comes."

She smiled, getting to her feet. "We have a deal?"

"We have a deal.