Hiya!
At last, here is the first chapter of my fanfic, which has yet to be given a suitable title. I know you all know the drill already, but every action/event of the fanfic is entirely fictional.
Feedback of any kind is welcome.
Btw, I tried having a line free between each paragraph but it somehow made things tricky. I will make the paragraphs more clear if you wish.
Just let me know and I'll sort it out.
Enjoy!
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WESTLIFE FANFIC
(c) By: Heidi (c)
CHAPTER 1July 26, 2016Rain had started teeming down as the Aer Arann-plane from Dublin finally touched down at Sligo Airport at 1.30pm, running approximately 30 minutes late. The passengers left the plane, making straight for the airport building in a hurry so as not to get soaked.
Phew! At last. I was beginning to think that I’d never even get here at all! Heidi thought to herself, letting out a hugh sigh of relief as she got inside and began walking towards the baggage claim along with the rest of the passengers from her flight.
Let’s hope there will be no more troub… Her thoughts were abruptly cut off.
”Ladies and gentlemen,” a female voice called out through the public address system, ”We have a very important announcement to make. There is currently a problem with the conveyor belt at the baggage claim. The baggage from the two planes that have arrived in the past half hour, is being stored on two separate plane trolleys on the outside, waiting to be loaded on to the conveyor belt. Engineers and technicians have been called to the area, and are expected to begin their work in a few minutes. We apologize for the inconvenience, and will get back to you once everything has been sorted. Thank you for your attention.”
Great. Just what I need now. NOT, Heidi thought sarcastically to herself, standing just a few feets away from the baggage claim area.
Another thing to add to my list of today’s endless problems. Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. The 34-year-old, who was a trained teacher, went to sit down on a bench nearby. Stroking her shoulder-length, brown hair gently, she began thinking about the reason that had brought her to Ireland.
Having been through a bitter divorce in her native Norway, she had felt the need of moving on and having a change. Furthermore, she wanted to take on new challenges where work was concerned. As soon as the divorce was finalised, she quickly made a phone call to one of her very best friends, a woman a year her senior called Charlotte. The two of them had been close friends for years, and still were. Due to various reasons, however, they had only been able to see each other once a year for the past five years, having seen each other more regularly before that. On the phone, Heidi had told her friend that the divorce provided her with a whole new range of possibilities – and the chance of change. Right there, right then, a decision was made: She was going to move to Sligo. For good.
Today, two months later, she was finally here. In Sligo, Ireland.
This was where she wanted to be.
It had not been all plain sailing, however. What was supposed to have been an amazing day to mark the start of a new era of her life, had been anything but nice so far.
It had been a nightmare: Trouble at the check-in at the main airport in her native Norway meant that her 7:00am flight to Dublin would be heavily delayed. The flight touched down in Dublin an hour and a half late, which led to her missing out on her original flight to her final destination. She had to be re-booked to another flight. The re-booking went fine, and she arrived safe and sound.
Seven hours, she thought to herself.
It took me nearly seven hours to get here. And more problems appear. Great. By now, she’d started to feel really tired. Taking off her beige coat, she put it on the bench and lay down, using the coat as a soft pillow.
Aaaah, how nice it’ll be trying to get some sleep. She yawned, before falling fast asleep.
20 minutes later, the sound of a female voice on the public address system arouse Heidi from her sleep.
”Ladies and gentlemen,” the woman said. ”We’re pleased to announce that the conveyor belt is now up and running again. It appears that a metal object had got stuck in the system, causing a halt in the process. The metal object has now been removed, and the baggage is currently being loaded on to the conveyor belt. We ask that the passengers proceed to the baggage claim. Thank you for your attention.”
Walking into the baggage claim area, Heidi could see it was buzzing with people, all waiting for their bags and suitcases. She had only brought three suitcases and a big bag with her.
”Excuse me, ma’am,” a male voice said to her. A hand patted her shoulder as the voice spoke.
Heidi, who was wearing a beige coat, a black top, a pair of white pants and a pair of white shoes, turned around to face a man whose eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. He was wearing a red baseball cap.
”How may I help you?” she asked.
”Well, it’s more like how may
I help
you,” the man replied.
His voice was recognisable. She was certain she’d heard it a million times before. But she couldn’t see who it was, because his face was very well hidden.
”You see, I saw you losing this on the floor as you went to retrieve your baggage,” the man explained politely, handing her a black leather purse.
Receiving the purse, Heidi gave him a friendly smile in return. ”Thank you very much. I am grateful.”
”You’re very welcome,” the man replied, before looking at his watch. ”I’m sorry, but I have to go or else I’ll be late. Have a nice day!”
Before she even knew it, he was long gone.
I’ve heard that voice before. I clearly recognise it. It’s way too familiar not to be remembered, she thought, jogging her memory.
But I must be fooling myself. My brain must be playing games with me. Surely the man that handed me my purse can’t have been Mark Feehily! There’s no way it could have been. Or could it?
As she was stood there trying to get to the bottom of it, her baggage finally appeared. She went to retrieve it, then put it on a big trolley before leaving the area and moving on to the Arrivals Hall.
Walking through the gates, she was greeted by someone familiar, who was dressed in a black leather coat, a white top, a pair of black pants and a pair of black boots.
”CHARLOTTE!” she said out loud with sheer joy in her voice at the sight of her friend. Holding the trolley tightly, she ran towards her.
The joy was mutual. Charlotte, a fellow Norwegian, gave her friend a warm, welcoming hug.
”Welcome to Ireland, Heidi! Welcome to Sligo! Welcome to your new life,” she said, beaming with delight over being permanently re-united with her friend.
Being deeply touched by the warm welcome, Heidi began welling up in tears. They were tears of joy, as she was so happy.
”Thank you so much, hun! It great to finally be here. I….”
All of a sudden, she cut herself off.
”Wait a minute,” she said, as if she’d just come to remember something. ”Didn’t you tell me on the phone two days ago that none of you were able to pick me up, due to work commitments?”
At this stage, Charlotte was grinning proudly. ”Well, ’said’ is the key-word here. You see, sweetie, I only said that in order to be able to give you a special and surprising welcome.”
Heidi started laughing. ”Ha, ha. That sounds like you, alright! So you’re actually not working today?”
”That’s correct,” Charlotte confirmed, her blue eyes twinkling. ”Kristin is in Limerick this week, attending a management seminar. She’ll be back home on Friday in the evening sometime. Meanwhile, her shop is being run by the assistant manager. The other girls are at work as we speak. Well, with the exception of Gemma, that is. She’s been in Dublin for a few days, to attend her cousin’s wedding. The wedding was on Saturday. I think she’s on her way home now, at least she is due to get back here today. But I have the entire day off. It was already in the rosters, but it just means that I’m at your disposal.”
35-year-old Charlotte, simply known as ‘Chaz’ among friends, was a doctor within the Medical Department at Sligo General Hospital, at which she’d been working for three years now. She’d been living in Ireland since the month before turning 25, and went to medical school just a couple of months after settling down there. Helping people had always played an important role in her life; she loved helping others. When the chance to study medicine in Ireland turned up, she never hesitated for a second.
“That’s great,” Heidi exclaimed, still smiling.
“Do you need a hand with the baggage?” Charlotte offered. “I am going to drive you to your new home, give you a guided tour and then help you organize things. How about that?”
Heidi’s face lit up even more. “Thank you, hun. I’d love that.”
The two of them exited the airport building, walking towards the car park in which Charlotte’s black Toyota Corolla was parked.
“I can’t wait to see my new home,” Heidi said as the finally got inside the car. “I am so excited. I was quite surprised when you and the others actually bought the house for me. You didn’t have to do that, you know?”
Loud laughter.
“I know,” Charlotte said, grinning once they left the airport area. “But we really wanted to give you such a treat, partly because we love you and think you’re an amazing friend, but also because we know you’ve been going through a difficult time what with the divorce and everything. You deserve a major treat, we all agreed on that.”
“Once again, thank you,” Heidi said. “You have to let me return the favour, though! I’m not taking no for an answer. I love you all. And you're amazing friends! How’s work?”
A huge smile formed on Charlotte’s lips. “I love my job. I could never be an accountant, an office worker or anything like that. I want to be among people I can help directly. Not once have I regretted my choice of career. I chose the right path. Besides, my boss and my colleagues are truly amazing. I feel priveleged to work with them.”
“That’s nice,” Heidi commented, happy for her friend. Charlotte had always been very caring and helpful, so it was not a big surprise that she’d ended up being a doctor.
“Oh, and there’s this guy I can’t wait for you to meet,” Charlotte said all of a sudden. “He’s amazing! You’ll like him! Everyone does.”
“You have a boyfriend?! Wow, that must’ve happened quite recently considering you haven’t told me about him until now,” Heidi said.
Charlotte started laughing again. “No, no, he’s not my boyfriend! In fact, he’s happily married to his childhood sweetheart. She’s a hair-dresser, and she is really lovely. The guy and I are colleagues, but also friends. He and his wife live in the same street as I. And because he has a shift starting this afternoon, you won’t get to meet him until tomorrow night, if everything goes according to plan. But you’ll definitely get to meet him this week, that’s for sure.”
“So, come on. Who is he?” Heidi asked, curious about the mystery man. “You’re being very cryptic!”
Instead of answering, Charlotte put on a CD.
“Aaaawh, Westlife!” Heidi said happily at the sound of the song ‘Us Against The World’, one of the band’s last hits before they split. “I wonder where some of them went. I am well aware that Mark is still a singer, but what happened to the other three? Where did they go? They can’t possibly still be in the entertainment business, because I haven’t seen or heard of them since the band split up.”
Charlotte still wasn’t answering, she just kept driving and singing along to the song that was being played.
But Heidi was having none of it. “Chaz, come on. I can tell you’re hiding something. What’s going on? Why won’t you tell me what the other three are doing?”
“All in due time, sweetie. All in due time,” Chaz replied cryptically.
Realising she wasn’t going to get any answers at that moment, Heidi decided to concentrate on listening to the music as they drove past several houses, other buildings and a beautifully shaped bridge. She loved the surroundings, it looked fantastic.
A little later, they finally arrived in Carraroe in Co. Sligo, a pretty area not far from Sligo City. Heidi gasped at the surroundings, she really couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“Wow,” was all she managed to say. “It looks fantastic!”
“You like it?” Charlotte asked, smiling. “I knew you would. But there’s more, it gets even better.”
Further up the road, the car finally stopped outside Heidi’s new home; a beautiful, white two-storey house. The entrance door was white on the outside. The window sills and the door frame were blue. She loved it, absolutely loved it.
“Welcome to your new home, sweetie,” Charlotte said, handing her the keys. “You do the honours of going in first, then I’ll show you round. There’s a garden at the back of the house. We’ll get to that eventually. The house is fully furnished, by the way.”
Heidi walked inside, and once she entered, she was completely taken aback.
“Wow,” she gasped happily, walking on the parquet flooring. A big wardrobe of pinewood were stood a few metres away from the entrance- and exitdoor. The stairs were of pinewood as well, just how she liked it. In her opinion, the pinewood matched the light-blue walls perfectly.
“Wow,” she repeated. “Did you paint these walls?”
“Yes. The girls and I took it in turns,” Charlotte explained. “But due to our working hours, we also had to arrange for a group of volunteers to help us, to ensure we would finish everything in time for your arrival. And as you can see, we made it. Come on, you have to see the rest.”
As they were about to proceed to the living room, the door-bell suddenly rang. They both went to see who it was.
“Gemma!” Heidi said delighted, having opened the door. “Please, come on in!”
“Thank you,” the blonde-haired child-carer, at almost 39 years of age, said. “I need to sit down. I’m feeling tired and unwell,” she continued, while taking off her black jacket and her white trainers. She was coughing and having trouble to breathe properly.
Charlotte could see that something was wrong.
With the help of her Norwegian friend, she gently brought Gemma into the living room, before helping her onto the sofa.
“What’s the matter, hunni?” Charlotte asked, having sat down next to her friend who was originally English.
“I’m... I’m feeling unwell,” Gemma said to the other two, noticing the looks on their faces.
“When did this begin?” Charlotte wanted to know, being the caring friend she was – but also going into the doctor-mode.
“It began last night, when I was still in Dublin at my cousin’s,” Gemma explained, struggling to control her breathing.
“I thought...I thought it would pass by eventually, and so thought nothing more of it,” she continued, not hiding her fright. “When I...When I came back home half an hour ago, the breathing problems had suddenly appeared. The journey back home was a struggle, it made me more tired than it should have. I know I should of gone to see someone about it yesterday, but...”
Charlotte put a finger to her mouth. “Ssssh. Don’t talk. Try to relax instead, OK? I know it’s hard, but you have to try and relax,” she said, worried about her friend’s condition.
Feeling warm, Gemma removed her favourite pink pullover. She did her very best trying to relax, but there was no doubt she was struggling.
“I’m going to be taking your pulse,” Charlotte explained, lifting her friend’s left hand and then looking at her watch.
She was instantly alarmed, now knowing that something was indeed wrong. Gemma had an irregular pulse, and the warmth on her hands and her forehead revealed she’d also spiked a fever. For obvious reasons, though, Charlotte was unable to perform a full-scale medical check-up. By this stage, however, the suspicions were already there.
“Heidi,” she said calmly, but with a serious facial expression, “I need you to sit with Gem for a while. I have to give my colleague a call and ask him to come over. You’ll get to meet him a bit sooner than planned, and under other circumstances than planned. His shift doesn’t start until 3pm, and so I believe he is still at home.”
As a doctor, the 35-year-old could of taken on this case herself. However, considering she was a close friend of Gemma’s, she decided it would be best that she act as a friend only, rather than being her doctor. The child-carer needed her to be a friend; it was as simple as that, really.
“I’ll be right back, girls,” Chaz said, going into the kitchen to make the call.
Meanwhile, Heidi stayed with Gemma, holding her hand and comforting her. If truth be told, however, she was just as worried as anyone else. She knew, though, that it was important to keep calm.
Within two minutes, Charlotte was back.
“I just finished talking to him on the phone. He’s on his way. I’ve explained the whole situation, and we both agreed that he take on this case.”
“How long does it take for him to get here, then?” Heidi asked.
“Well, he actually lives in another street in this area. He happens to live in my street, two houses away from mine. It only takes less than five minutes to get here.”
They three of them all waited patiently and in silence for his arrival.
‘Ding-dong!’
Surprised, Heidi got up from the sofa. “Wow, he’s here already?! That was quick.”
“I’ll get that, thank you,” Charlotte said, asking her fellow Norwegian to sit down. The champagne-blonde woman had every intention of surprising her friend.
Opening the door, she asked the man to come inside.
“Thank you so much for doing this,” Chaz said, speaking in hushed tones.
“No problem. No problem at all. I’m glad to help,” the man replied, his voice low as well. He’d been told to keep his voice down, to hide his identity a little longer. He also knew why he had to do that.
Once his shoes had come off, he and Chaz went into the living room together.
Seeing the man entering the room, Heidi gasped. The man was 5 foot 9 inches tall, with short dark hair, and had the most beautiful brown eyes she’d ever seen. There was no need to ask herself who he was; she knew it straight away. She’d met him a couple of times, when Westlife were still Westlife.
“WHAT?!” she exclaimed, a little too loud.
She realised was shouting, and calmed down to speak again, now using her normal voice.
“Shane Filan?! THE Shane Filan?! Hold on, I don’t get it. What is he, the former Westlife-member, doing here, in my house? You don’t actually know him, do you? He probably noticed I’m a new inhabitant in the area and wanted to come by to say hello.”
An eerie silence appeared, only adding more confusion to her already confused face.
“Chaz, what’s going on? Where is that guy you said you’d phoned?”
No one answered, they just looked at her.
All of a sudden, Heidi gasped once more. It finally hit her.
“Are you telling me... Are you telling me that Shane Filan is....?!”
She stopped talking, and just looked around her.
Charlotte smiled quickly at her friend’s reaction, then went back to being serious again.
“As a matter of fact, yes, I do know him. And yes, he’s my colleague.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Heidi exclaimed, shocked at the revelation. She really hadn’t seen this coming at all. “You actually work together?!”
“Yes,” Charlotte confirmed. “We’ve been working within the same department at SGH for two years now. I started in 2013, then he joined our staff 12 months later, having graduated from medical school. Mind you, there are other doctors at our department as well. We’re only two of them.”
Completely astonished by this, Heidi simply didn’t know what to say. Instead, she just looked at everyone.
“I can tell what you’re thinking,” Charlotte said, reading her mind. “You want to know how on earth I’ve managed to hide his identity from you for so long. Well, it’s quite simple, actually. For starters, you were unable to come down here on the two previous occasions we met. Some of the girls and I had to visit you in Norway, remember? Also, I knew you wanted to move to Ireland, because you’d been talking about it for a while, saying how much you wanted to get away from it all. That’s how I managed to keep this a secret. I wanted to surprise you, and it’s obvious I made it.”
The 34-year-old finally broke her own silence.
“You certainly did. Wow.”
“Anyway, the reason why I called him over,” Chaz explained, “is so he can tend to Gemma. I know him very well, and I totally trust him. I can’t take on this case myself, as you know. That’s why it was so important for me to find a doctor in which she and I could both trust. And he’s that person. She’ll be safe in his care.”
Walking over to the sofa, Shane immediately shook hands with the new inhabitant.
“Hello. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Looking up at him, Heidi smiled. “Nice to meet you too, Dr Filan,” she replied, being formal. “My friend over there,” she said, pointing to where Chaz was standing, “really surprised me. She’s good at that, isn’t she?”
“Sounds like her, alright!” the 37-year-old agreed. “And like her, I love my job. But the years with Westlife will never be forgotten about. The lads and I had such a great craic, and we’ve made some great, unforgettable memories. Those years were amazing. But when it all came to an end, we felt the time was right to move on and do something else. Well, Mark is still a singer, as I’m sure you know. But the rest of us are doing something totally different. Becoming a doctor was the right choice for me. And by the way, you get to call me Shane. Among friends, everyone calls me by my first name.”
Heidi was at a loss for words by now. This wasn’t happening. Was it?
I must be dreaming. I’m only imagining things. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Shane said politely, butting into her thoughts, “I have a patient to take care of.”
The brunette nodded, as by way of confirming she understood. She left the sofa, then went to sit down in a brown armchair on the other side of the coffee table. Pinching herself, she knew that she wasn’t dreaming at all. This was actually happening. Right here, in her very own living room. Shane was a doctor, definitely.
“Hi,” Shane greeted his patient, looking directly at her. “I’m told you’ve been feeling unwell lately. I promise to take good care of you. First and foremost, however, I will have to re-take your pulse. I know you’ve already been through it once, but as it’s part of the procedure, I will have to do it as well.”
“OK,” Gemma replied. All she wished for, was to get rid of whatever it was that she suffered from. Nothing else. And if that meant people had to re-take her pulse, then so be it. Besides, it wasn’t just someone random who treated her. It was Shane Filan. Sitting upright on the sofa, she stayed calm while watching him go about his duties.
Having put the details to paper, the dark-haired doctor turned to the child-carer once again.
“This is a routine-question, but I’m going to have to ask you nevertheless. When was the last time you had anything to eat?”
“Yesterday afternoon. Felt too poorly to eat after that,” Gemma replied, before coughing again and then putting a hand on her chest. Then she lay down in that part of the sofa that wasn’t already occupied.
“I need to know where you’re in pain. Can you show me, please?” Shane asked, still looking at her. He was very concentrated.
Everyone looked on in silence as the sick woman carefully ran a finger from her neck through to the chest.
Shane made some more notes about Gemma’s condition, before lifting a finger up before her face.
“I want you to look at my finger and focus on it completely,” he told her before starting to move it back and forth a few times.
It quickly became obvious to everyone that the patient was struggling to follow his move. She was in a poor condition.
“I’m going to have to measure your temperature now,” Shane informed her, picking up a brand new thermometre from the pocket of his black leather jacket that was beside him.
Gemma looked at him as he did this. She knew that if she hadn’t been pale at that stage, she most definitely would have been blushing.
Shane gently put the thermometre inside her mouth, and a threatning silence appeared as everyone waited for the result to come through.
Shortly afterwards, Shane finally removed the thermometre to have a look at it. Considering the patient’s condition, the result was far from surprising. But things weren’t looking good; he knew that.
“Chaz, may I have a few words with you, please?” he asked, standing up from the sofa and motioning for her to follow him. The tone of his voice indicated deep worry.
The two doctors went to another corner of the room, engaging in conversation.
“I’m deeply worried by her condition. Not only does she have an irregular pulse; she’s also spiked a fever. Furthermore, something is blocking her airways, preventing her from breathing properly,” Shane said.
“I know. I’m worried as well,” Charlotte replied.
“I have a few suspicions already,” Shane explained. "But her condition means we will have to rush her to the hospital.”
Charlotte nodded. The suspicions were still lurking at the back of her mind.
Going back to the sofa, they were ready to tell the patient what was going to happen next.
“Sweetie,” Chaz said gently, “Shayz and I have been discussing your condition, and we’re both deeply worried. Due to your current condition and based on what he has found, we agree that you be rushed to the hospital. Among other things, you will need oxygen and an IV.”
When she heard this, Gemma was quick to reach out her hand and tighten her grip around the hands of her female friends. She was shaking.
“Your condition requires hospital treatment,” Shane explained calmly. “We will have to do a full-scale medical examination, and we need to run some tests as well. Your condition means we must monitor you.”
-To be continued-