#thread: with peyton

[tfhxseth]

Reluctant Reunion

--closed thread for @peyton-arquette--

Seth liked being able to clear new people from their mandatory quarantine. He liked being able to give them the good news that they had a clean bill of health and they were now welcome to make the Crescent Hospital community their new home. It was usually a happy task. Seth had heard tales of some newcomers giving their discharging medics a hard time but he had yet to experience that for himself. His fellow medics were already discharging the other newcomers so Seth grabbed the file of the remaining one and started to make his way to their room. 

When he got closer to their room, he realised he should probably give their file a quick glance-over. It was good practice to know at least a patient’s name before talking to them. Nothing destroyed a patient’s trust in a doctor faster than a doctor who appeared to not know what they were doing. He leaned against the wall next to the patient’s door and opened the file.

Name: ARQUETTE, Peyton

Seth’s heart stopped.

He stared at the name as if such an action would change it. He checked the rest of the patient’s information and that only confirmed what he feared. In that room, waiting to join the rest of the community was his ex-wife, mother of their son.

On the one hand, Seth wanted nothing more than to hold Peyton again. He was extremely relieved to know with certainty that she was alive and healthy. But on the other hand, if she really was here, he was going to have to tell her what had happened to their son, Joshua. He had yet to tell a soul what had actually happened to him. Those who knew of him here only knew that he was dead; they didn’t know how he died or how it was Seth’s fault. As a doctor, he had experience of delivering bad news. The best way to do was to be honest and clear about the necessary details. But it was never easy. Peyton deserved the truth, no matter how awful it was.

He took a deep breath and went to the door. He held Peyton’s file in one hand. With the other, he knocked on the door and then opened it. 

“Hello stranger.”

[tfhxseth]

--closed thread for @peyton-arquette​--

The frivolity of the community party certainly helped Seth to momentarily forget that everything was just terrible. He was content to watch the others drink, dance, and merrily enjoy the night together, as if he was living vicariously through them. He sipped his water, proud that he had managed to resist the temptation of alcohol all night. The temptation remained manageable, even when he caught glimpses of his ex-wife, Peyton, mingling with the rest of the crowd.

Each glimpse was a reminder of their last conversation, in which Seth had revealed the terrible fate of their son. Since then, Seth had given Peyton space to grieve. He wasn’t certain if she even wanted to see him so he avoided her. All he wanted to do was hold her and apologise for not being a better father but he didn’t have the right to do such things until Peyton made it clear she was ready for them.

But despite his best attempts to avoid her during the party, he did run into her. After a long moment, Seth offered her a small smile. “Hello-” he was going to use his trademark opening line of ‘hello stranger’, something he used to say to her back when they were still together. But he stopped himself, realising it wasn’t appropriate. “-Peyton,” he completed the greeting.