Carly was both exhausted and freezing after her jaunt up to the mountains. She promised herself that she'd never climb a snowy hill again, something she found a little ironic. When Jack had put the idea in her head of travelling, and how much Lee disliked it, she'd thought about wanting to go see the Alps. Now though, she was content to just get a framed picture of them for the house and hang it in the living room.

Despite her current feelings though, she was still going stir crazy as she still waited for Phil to return from his vacation. She did what she could in the Johnson's house when they were away to work but somehow doing dishes and laundry didn't keep her mind at ease for long. Not even vacuuming did that.

It was this feeling of uselessness that brought up her next big idea.

Regardless of her suspension (or "break" or whatever you wanted to call it), Carly was still contracted to the University of Vermont Medical Centre and therefore she wasn't legally able to work anywhere else, or at least without getting paid.

As far as she was aware, the law didn't say anything about volunteering.

So she now found herself working at Allegheny Hospital for the first time in three years. Although it felt weird, nothing had really changed about the place. Except for the main receptions new paint job, that is. Carly figured that no matter where they were, sick people were usually the same.

Only a couple of the nurses that she had worked with before were still here but as she became integrated into their team once again, she felt as though she'd never been away.

Despite making no money for the three days that she'd been volunteering, she was reminded of how much she actually enjoyed working here. Before she'd came to Pittsburgh after finishing her nursing degree, Carly had never seen a place like it, and technically she hadn't left by choice either. She just chose to not go back.

She knew it was only because she was finally able to work without looking over her shoulder and worrying about a certain doctor giving her grief, but a part of Carly was beginning to wonder what it would be like to move back to Pittsburgh.

She knew it wouldn't happen though. There were far too many factors, such as Lee's aging mother having already given up her original care home to be closer to them and the mortgage on their own mansion-like house.

For Carly it was now just a case of what might have been. And probably for Dr Hunter too.

Her new fantasy was quickly ended though when Phil finally returned and the two met in the centre of the city's Mellon Park.

It was still almost a blizzard which meant their meeting place was certainly an odd choice but Carly was so desperate to solve the mystery of Jack Hunter that she doubled up her layers of clothes, put her hat on, wrapped her scarf around herself as tight as it would go and just went along with it.

"Finally!" She cried in a friendly tone as she saw Phil approaching the bench she'd been not-so-patiently waiting by. She stood up, placing her half drunk Starbucks cup on the ground as she rushed to greet her former work colleague. It hadn't warmed her up at all.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Phil spoke apologetically. "The traffic hasn't gotten any better since you left!". Carly felt like pointing out that the traffic hadn't affected her journey but knew that wouldn't be very productive. Why was it that she could hold her tongue now but not when Jack was irritating her?

Carly hugged Phil quickly before sitting back down. Although she liked working with him, he was definitely someone who, like most medicines he distributed, was best taken in small doses. He looked much older now than he had then, with a few wrinkles starting to appear on his face. Although Carly had always thought that no one looked young in winter. It took no prisoners.

"How was your trip? And where even were you anyway?" She couldn't believe she hadn't asked yet.

"It was fantastic! If you ever get the chance, you definitely need to go on a cruise around Asia!" Phil smiled as he sat down beside her.

"If I had your cash, I'd never come back!" She tried not to let her jealousy sound too obvious.

"If I had a dime for every time I heard that!" Phil laughed.

"Then you'd be even more loaded" Carly sighed.

"I've always liked you Carly. You've always been so intelligent!"

Was it really a compliment if this guy was calling you intelligent?

For the first time, Carly was now trying to picture what Phil and Jack were like when they were coming up in the medical business together. She couldn't imagine two more different people. She couldn't see them being friends but she knew all too well how people changed over the years. It had been at least two decades since Phil and Jack had last met each other. Regardless of what had happened since then, she couldn't see how Hunter could tolerate him for one second.

"How is Lee? Is he with you?" Dr Davis interrogated. He'd always liked Lee even if the feeling wasn't reciprocated.

"No he's still in Vermont, working away as usual. You know how much he loves to work"

"Still a workaholic I see. I some people never change" Phil sighed.

Carly Dawson knew that Phil was one of those people.

"So look, I'm sorry to dive straight into it but its freezing and I kinda want to be put out of my misery here. What's the deal with Doctor Hunter?" Carly quickly changed the subject. She didn't want someone as nosey as Phil talking about her private life.

"Oh of course! What a character he was!" Phil laughed again. He was far too chirpy for someone who was supposedly jet lagged.

"By character do you mean dick?" Asked Carly curtly.

"Not at all! He was the life of the party! Always pulling pranks and heading out to clubs! For a while we weren't sure that he was even going to make it through the medical school!"

"Really?" Carly gasped.

"Oh yeah! He was an incredible guy!". For the second time, Carly thought she was talking to someone about a different Dr Hunter.

"How's he doing now?" Phil continued.

"Well . . ." Carly shrugged. She didn't know how to put it without offending or alarming someone who was potentially a friend of Jack's.

"Ah. I see. So he's still like that huh?" Phil gave her a knowing smile. Some things clearly didn't need to be said.

"So you know how . . ." She struggled to find the correct words.

"Difficult?"

"Yes, how difficult he can be" Carly confirmed.

"Yes, I know all too well. He wasn't always like that though"

"So what changed?" Carly cried in near exasperation. "How could he go from being this . . . fun loving, party guy to being the biggest jerk on the planet?"

"Well . . ." After a pause, Phil began the tale.

*

After hearing Dr Davis story, Carly saw everything in a whole new light. She couldn't believe what she had heard. It had changed everything. She had to phone Lee right away, even if it was late now.

"Carly" He said after answering on the second ring. Lee sounded either like he'd just woken up or he'd just finished his tenth alcoholic drink of the night.

"I'm so sorry to wake you but it couldn't wait"

"Is everything ok?" Lee asked, now more attentive. Maybe he wasn't sleeping after all.

"I'm fine, but I really need to talk to you. I finally found out why Hunter's the way he is! Why he's such jerk!" She sounded both excited and shocked, as if her inner emotions were at war, trying to decide which one should be of more importance.

She was about to begin recounting the story that Phil had told her earlier but Lee cut her off almost instantly.

"I know. Carly, I know"

"What do you mean?" She asked. Lee paused before finally responding.

"He told me. He told me everything"

_______________________________________________________________________________

Welcome back Phil! What did you guys think of his return? Was it too short? Do you want to see him again?

And sorry for keeping the mystery about Doctor Hunter going but next chapter we all find out the truth so keep reading!