The Paramedic's Unexpected Hero

by Alison Roberts

  He read the message and then hit a rapid dial key.

  ‘What’s happening, Peggy?’ He listened for only a matter of seconds, a frown deepening rapidly on his face. ‘Okay,’ he interrupted. ‘It’s okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

  He had to pick up his helmet and he was walking fast through the corridors of the maternity wing. He still had his phone in his hand, ready to call or text Kelly to let her know he couldn’t make it. But...he hadn’t asked for her number, had he? He had no way of contacting her because he certainly didn’t have either the time or the head space to start searching for and ringing around all the ambulance stations on this side of town. Or to go to find someone who might know her contact details because of her involvement in the flying squad. It would have to wait until later.

  Ari could only hope that she would understand but if she didn’t that would be just the way things had to be. This was why he’d come back here. To be able to provide support for someone who needed him. The only woman in his life that he’d ever been able to trust completely, in fact, and that was why she deserved everything he could give her at the moment. It was also why he didn’t have space in his life for anyone else right now, possibly even a new friend.

  * * *

  ‘What can I get you, love?’

  Kelly smiled at the bartender, who had a strong Aussie accent. ‘I’ll wait, thanks. I’ve got a friend coming.’ She glanced sideways at the huge railway clock on the wall. She was a few minutes late herself so she had no right to feel disappointed that Ari wasn’t here already.

  ‘No worries.’ The bartender grinned at her. ‘Lucky guy.’

  Kelly shook her head. ‘It’s nothing like that. He’s just a friend.’

  Not even that, really. Or not yet. But the possibility was there. Of friendship. Of possibly—okay, a very small possibility but it had to be acknowledged—something more than friendship.

  And there were parts of Kelly’s body that felt like they were waking up after a very long hibernation. Tingly bits that were not at all unpleasant. Quite the opposite.

  The bar was quite crowded and noisy and Kelly was happy to sit on the bar stool and just relax in the convivial ambience as she let herself contemplate that tingle that had resurfaced at quite frequent intervals over the last few hours. It wasn’t freaking her out any more. In fact, she had identified something she hadn’t felt in so long it was almost a new concept in regard to her personal life.

  Hope...that’s what it was...

  The bartender went past, his hands filled with empty glasses. ‘Sure you don’t want something while you’re waiting?’

  Blinking out of that daydream, Kelly looked at the clock and was astonished to find another fifteen minutes had gone by. Still, she shook her head, although her smile was harder to find this time. The atmosphere didn’t feel so friendly after that either. Had people noticed her sitting here alone? Was some of that laughter on her account? Oh, God...maybe some of Darryn’s mates were in here and talking about her. Passing on those nicknames and a warning to stay clear of someone who was too stupid to live.

  Had she really thought that being around Ari the midwife made her feel safer? Well...that trust had been totally misplaced, hadn’t it? Right now, sliding off the bar stool, Kelly felt just as humiliated as she had when Darryn had reminded her of how worthless he thought she was.

  She’d been stood up. Nobody did that to someone they had the slightest respect for, did they?

  Not that she should feel this surprised. Or hurt. She knew better than to trust any man. Even one with soft, dark eyes that told her they could understand. That they wanted to know her story. That they thought she was something special.

  Kelly’s breath came out in an incredulous huff as she let the pub door swing shut behind her. Who was she trying to kid? They were especially the kind of men you couldn’t trust. The ones who got under your guard and sucked you in so fast they made you feel things that you thought you’d forgotten how to feel. Maybe even feeling those things wasn’t worth it, because when reality came along and smacked you in the face, it really sucked.

  ‘Hey...you’re going the wrong way, darlin’.’ A group of young men were heading into the pub but one of them had turned back. ‘Come and have a drink with us, why don’t you?’

  Kelly shook her head. And walked faster. There was only one place she wanted to be and that was her little basement flat where she lived alone. Where she had only herself to rely on.

  Where she felt genuinely safe...

  CHAPTER THREE

  Code Red... Suspected opioid overdose. Seventeen-year-old female who can’t be woken. Pregnant...unknown gestation...

  KELLY HIT THE switches for both the lights and siren on her SUV and put her foot down as she moved into a bus lane to get past the queued traffic at the intersection. The address wasn’t far away so she was already planning what to take into the scene and how to handle what was an all too common callout.

  Looking for the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose was a well-practised routine. Pinpoint pupils, cold, clammy skin, slow heart rate and, if more serious, cyanosis with blue lips or nails and respiratory distress that was enough to be causing gurgling or even no breathing at all so Kelly needed to be prepared to deal with a cardiac arrest on her own until an ambulance could be dispatched to back her up.

  Her radio crackled into life.

  ‘Control to Rover One.’

  ‘Rover One receiving, go ahead.’

  ‘Back-up from ambulance fifteen minutes away. Do you want a police unit dispatched?’

  ‘Ah...’ Kelly thought fast. The treatment for an overdose of this sort was straightforward with a dose of Narcan almost guaranteed to rapidly reverse the effects of the drugs taken. It also put the patient into withdrawal, however, and this could often cause a degree of agitation that put medics in danger of injury, perhaps from a flying fist.

  A tiny flash of memory was so lightning fast it didn’t interfere at all with Kelly’s thought processes but it still managed to generate a knot in her stomach. She’d coped with the threat of violence only yesterday from someone far more threatening than a pregnant seventeen-year-old girl probably was. Mind you, she hadn’t been alone and maybe she’d been braver than she might have otherwise been because Ari the midwife had been in the room and she’d known she had back-up. But, in reality, she had been alone—because Ari the midwife wasn’t as trustworthy as she’d thought, was he?

  That pang of disappointment hadn’t faded much overnight, had it? Kelly could feel every muscle in her body tensing as she pushed the unwanted emotion away. It helped enormously that the adrenaline from travelling towards the unknown with her lights and siren on was kicking in.

  ‘Negative, thanks, Control,’ she said. ‘I’ll assess the scene and let you know what I need in the way of any back-up.’

  Even an ambulance to transport the patient to hospital was not necessarily going to be needed and, in fact, could tie up a lot of time and emergency services resources if the patient didn’t want to co-operate. The main danger of reversing an overdose and then releasing the patient from care was potentially fatal rebound opioid toxicity when the effects of the reversal drug were wearing off, although recent research suggested that was extremely unlikely if the patient had normal vital signs and level of consciousness.

  The fact that this patient was pregnant might tip the balance for making that decision for Kelly, however. It could influence whether she gave the drug in the first place, in fact, because giving any drug in pregnancy was only indicated if really needed and where the benefit outweighed any risks. She’d also need to find out whether this girl was getting antenatal care and she might need to contact her general practitioner or midwife if she had one.

  And there it was again...an unwelcome reminder of yesterday’s case. Of a meeting that had been not just memorable for it being a male midwife but because
he had been a man who had both sparked and then crushed a glimmer of restored faith in the opposite sex. The opportunity for Kelly to use her air horn and blast a car that was refusing to pull aside to let her past was a rather welcome way to clear her head and dismiss what had happened yesterday. It was highly unlikely that a pregnant teenager who was a drug taker would have a midwife, anyway. It was far more likely that Kelly would need to activate back-up from Social Services.

  Today was a new start and, as always, Kelly’s complete focus was on the job she loved. She shut down her siren as her satnav told her she was almost at her destination and then killed the beacons as she slowed down to find the street number. It looked like it was that rather nice, rambling old house on the edge of a park, which was a little unexpected. Many calls like this came from deserted buildings being used by street kids or homeless people. Or had a resident found someone in the park behind the house? Kelly put her backpack on and picked up both the defibrillator and an oxygen cylinder.

  There was no answer to her knock on the door, so Kelly tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. She stepped into a hallway.

  ‘Ambulance,’ she called. ‘Where are you?’

  ‘In here...’

  The voice was that of an older woman—a little frail and quiet—but it was enough to direct Kelly to a room off the right side of a hallway. A bedroom that had a figure curled up with a duvet covering her body and another person sitting on the end of the bed.

  ‘I’m Kelly, from the ambulance service.’ Kelly put her gear down near the head of the bed. She was already assessing the girl lying there and she knew this wasn’t an emergency. The patient she’d been called to see seemed to be breathing quite normally and her skin was a good colour. The teenager opened her eyes to glare at Kelly as she reached to take her pulse, pulled her hand away and rolled over with a muttered curse.

  ‘I couldn’t wake her up before,’ the elderly woman told Kelly. ‘And...and I couldn’t find my patches... I got scared...’

  Kelly nodded as she pushed the button on her radio. ‘Rover One to Control.’

  ‘Control receiving, go ahead, Rover One.’

  ‘On scene. No back-up required at this stage, thanks.’

  ‘Roger that.’

  Kelly clipped her radio back to her belt and turned to crouch a little so that she was on the same level as the silver-haired woman who looked to be in her eighties. ‘What’s your name?’ she asked.

  ‘Peggy. Peggy Hammond. And that’s Stacey in bed. She just turned up on the doorstep yesterday. We haven’t seen her in years...’

  ‘Okay...’ Kelly didn’t understand what was going on here but there was more to it than an unhappy, pregnant teenager who didn’t want to get out of bed. Peggy looked beyond frail. She was very pale and her fingers were gripping the corner of the duvet as if she was afraid of falling. ‘Your patches, Peggy...what are they?’

  ‘Fentanyl.’

  ‘You’re in pain?’

  Peggy nodded. ‘I’ve got cancer, lovey,’ she said softly. ‘But don’t you worry about me. It’s Stacey who needs help.’

  ‘No, I don’t.’ The mutter from beneath the duvet was sullen. ‘I just need some sleep. I’m tired, that’s all. I didn’t take your stupid patches. I told you I don’t do drugs any more.’

  Kelly’s priorities had just changed. ‘I can give you something for the pain, Peggy. Can I contact your GP and arrange a visit as well?’

  ‘No...no, I don’t want to bother her. I’ll be fine. I’ve called my boy and he’ll be here any minute. I’m lucky he wasn’t too busy at work at the moment. He’s come back to London specially, you know...just to help look after me.’

  ‘That’s wonderful.’ Kelly couldn’t help returning the sweet smile she was receiving. ‘How many children have you got, Peggy?’

  ‘Dozens,’ came the surprising response. ‘But I didn’t give birth to any of them. Ironic, isn’t it? I was a midwife and I delivered hundreds of babies but could never have one of my own. So I started fostering instead. I could never turn a baby away.’

  ‘That’s an amazing thing to have done with your life.’ Kelly could feel a squeeze in her chest that could easily bring tears to her eyes. ‘So Stacey is one of the children you fostered?’

  ‘The last baby.’ Peggy nodded.

  ‘Stop talking about me,’ Stacey snapped. ‘Go away.’

  Peggy ignored the command. ‘I was nearly seventy then,’ she told Kelly. ‘I couldn’t have managed if I hadn’t had a lot of help from my oldest boy. He loved the babies, too. Do you know, the first time I ever saw him smiling was when he’d managed to stop a baby crying. Oh...’ She doubled over as she gasped in agony.

  Something like a sob came from under the duvet. ‘Shut up,’ Stacey shouted. ‘And go away. Why can’t you just go and die somewhere else?’

  There was a sudden, shocked silence in the room. And then, as Kelly got to her feet to help, reaching out to hold Peggy’s shoulders so that she didn’t slip to the floor, the sound of heavy, rapid footsteps could be heard on the wooden floorboards of the hallway. A figure appeared in the doorway. A very tall figure that was even more of a shock to Kelly than the teenaged Stacey’s cruel words.

  Oh, my God... Of all people... What on earth was Ari doing here?

  He looked just as shocked to see her. Or perhaps he’d heard what Stacey had shouted but his focus was instantly on Peggy. Kelly had to back away as he crouched in front of Peggy and put his hands on her arms.

  ‘How bad is it, Ma? Have you got a new patch on? Taken a pill to top up?’

  ‘I couldn’t find them, love. I thought... I thought Stacey had taken them. She wouldn’t wake up and tell me...’

  ‘I was tired,’ Stacey shouted. ‘Why wouldn’t I be when Ari kept me up half the night nagging me about baby stuff?’

  Kelly’s breath caught as she watched how gently Ari was scooping Peggy into his arms.

  ‘We hid your medicine in the biscuit tin last night,’ he told her. ‘When Stacey was having a bath. Did you remember that?’

  ‘Oh...no...’ Peggy’s frail arms were wrapped around Ari’s neck as he lifted her. ‘I forgot...’

  She looked so small and even more frail in his arms. When she laid her head against his chest with an almost inaudible sigh, Kelly actually had to blink back tears. She could feel the love between these two people and it was powerful enough for her to be caught in the glow. She’d never had someone who cared for her that much in her entire life. Her parents had been loving enough but distant. In the early days, boyfriends had seemed only interested in sex and more recently Darryn had been the final—and worst—of a series of disasters. To be held like that—to be able to let your breath go and relax, as if you had absolute trust that you were safe—how lucky was Peggy?

  ‘I told you I didn’t take them.’ Stacey’s head came out from under the covers. ‘I told you I wouldn’t take them but you didn’t believe me, did you? I hate you. I hate both of you. I don’t know why I came back here.’

  ‘Yes, you do, Stace.’ Ari’s tone was calm. ‘You were living on the streets and you had nowhere else to go and you knew it was the right thing to do to come and ask for help. I’m just going to get Mum sorted and then I’ll come back and talk to you, okay?’

  ‘Suit yourself.’ Stacey pulled the duvet over her head again. ‘Just don’t expect me to listen to you preaching.’

  Kelly stared at the shape beneath the bedding. She still had no idea of Stacey’s medical history or stage of pregnancy and hadn’t even recorded a single vital sign but she could be sure that there was no medical emergency to be dealt with in this room. Silently, she picked up her gear and followed Ari, hoping that he would let her help with Peggy’s care.

  Part of her heart was breaking for what was going on in this household. A woman who was facing the end of a life devoted to babies and children who didn’t hav
e the safety of a loving family. A teenaged girl, who had obviously struggled with drugs in the past, had been living on the streets and was nowhere near ready to become a mother. A man who could show such love for others simply by the way he touched them or the patience that coated his words to someone who wasn’t ready to listen.

  Was Ari Peggy’s oldest boy? The one who’d smiled for the first time because he’d managed to comfort a baby? Kelly was sure that he was. She was also sure that her first instincts about this man had been correct. Despite the way she’d been let down yesterday, he was trustworthy. More than that. He was someone very different.

  Special...

  So his priorities yesterday had been to be with his family instead of meeting someone for a drink at a pub? She had to respect that. It fitted right in with the impression of this man that she’d had from the first moment she’d laid eyes on him and the least she could do was offer any medical skills or access to other resources that might make the challenges Ari was facing a little more bearable.

  At the end of the hallway, a kitchen living area spanned the width of this old house. There was a big, scrubbed wooden table that looked like it had hosted countless family dinners, an old dresser cluttered with crockery and a massive corkboard on a wall that had so many photographs pinned to it that some were almost hidden. French doors at one end led out to a garden and inside there was a huge, battered old couch draped with colourful blankets made out of knitted and crocheted squares.

  Peggy squares, Kelly thought, a smile tilting her lips as she watched Ari put his foster mother down, oh, so carefully, on the cushions of the couch. Woollen squares that were handmade and as genuine and welcoming as everything else in a room that was very much the heart of a house. Strictly speaking, Peggy was not her patient and she should probably be contacting the ambulance service’s control centre to make herself and her vehicle available again for what could be deemed more of an emergency but she didn’t want to leave. It wasn’t just that she wanted to help in her professional capacity.