Kim was on the ward, changing a patient’s dressings. She also looked tired and as yet Gemma hadn’t had an opportunity to ask if she’d told Dean about the baby. The buzz in the staffroom when she’d arrived had all been about the party, and to Gemma’s irritation Alex looked self-satisfied and rather smug. But there had been no time for further speculation as the demands of the ward routine had taken priority.
Gemma found Dorothy Caton sitting beside her bed, looking tense and anxious. ‘Good morning, Dorothy,’ she said. ‘Are you all ready for your angioplasty?’
‘I suppose I am.’ Dorothy looked up. ‘The trouble is, I can’t remember what’s going to happen. My own doctor did explain it to me, but I’ve forgotten everything he said.’
‘Well, in that case, shall we take it from the beginning?’ Gemma closed the curtains, drew up a chair and smiled reassuringly at the old lady. ‘You know you have a blocked artery and that angioplasty is the name of the method we use to unblock that artery?’
When Dorothy nodded Gemma continued, ‘Firstly a special dye will be injected into your bloodstream then a thin catheter with a guideline is fed into the artery in your leg.’
‘Whereabouts will that go in?’ asked Dorothy.
‘In your groin,’ Gemma explained. Seeing Dorothy’s fearful expression she hastened to add, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be given a sedative to help you to relax and the whole procedure is carried out under a local anaesthetic. Then, using X-rays to detect the flow of dye, the doctor will feed the catheter through your circulatory system all the way up to your heart and into the blocked part of the artery.’
She paused. ‘All right so far?’ she asked, and when Dorothy nodded she continued, ‘He will replace the guide catheter with a balloon-tipped catheter which is then inflated.’
‘So what will that do?’ asked Dorothy fearfully.
‘It compresses the plaque, which is causing the blockage, against the walls of the artery,’ Gemma explained.
‘And then what?’ Dorothy was beginning to look less fearful.
‘The balloon is deflated and the catheter removed.’
‘And is this procedure usually successful?’
‘It has a very high success rate,’ Gemma replied. ‘We do a large number on this unit on cases where at one time only bypass surgery would have worked. Sometimes patients have to return for the procedure to be repeated,’ she went on, ‘but that is still preferable to open-heart surgery and far less traumatic. Listen, Dorothy,’ Gemma added gently, patting the woman’s hand ‘if you’re still worried I’m sure the doctor will be able to answer any other questions you may have when he comes in to see you.’
‘Thank you, Nurse,’ Dorothy began, ‘you’ve been very helpful.’
‘So helpful, in fact, I very much doubt there’s any more I can add.’ The curtains parted and Stephen appeared. It was obvious he had been listening to Gemma’s explanation of the angioplasty procedure, and as his gaze met hers Gemma felt the colour rush to her cheeks. She hadn’t seen Stephen since Alex had dragged him away at the party, and now as they looked at each other she felt her pulse race as she remembered the kiss they’d shared deep in the shadow of the trees on the tow-path.
‘Nurse has been very kind,’ said Dorothy. ‘When do you think I’ll be able to go home, Doctor?’ she added anxiously.
‘Probably tomorrow,’ Stephen replied. ‘Then you’ll need to rest for a week or so.’
‘Do you have anyone at home?’ asked Gemma.
‘No, I’ve lived alone since my husband died.’ Dorothy shook her head. ‘But my son and his wife said I can spend a few days with them.’
‘Well, that will be ideal.’ Stephen nodded with a smile. ‘Now, do you have any further questions, Dorothy?’
‘Will I have to go into the operating theatre for this?’
‘No,’ Stephen said. ‘We’ll take you down to a special X-ray laboratory.’
‘Will you be doing it, Doctor?’ asked Dorothy.
‘Yes, I will.’ Stephen confirmed.
‘And will Nurse be able to come with me?’ She glanced hopefully up at Gemma.
‘Well…’ Gemma hesitated, knowing her duties for that day didn’t include that of escort.
‘I’m sure that can be arranged,’ said Stephen quickly.
‘Oh, that’s good.’ Dorothy gave a huge sigh. ‘Nurse Langford has been so good to me.’
‘I don’t doubt that,’ said Stephen with a smile. ‘Nurse Langford is a very good person.’ He looked at Gemma and she found herself looking away in sudden confusion. There was no doubt that Stephen wouldn’t think she was such a good person if he knew her secret.
‘I’m going to go and have a word with Tristan before I do Mrs Caton’s angioplasty,’ said Stephen after Gemma had made sure Dorothy was comfortable and they had moved away.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Gemma replied. They left the female bay in silence.
‘You left the party early,’ said Stephen as they made their way down to the men’s bay. There was almost a note of accusation in his voice. ‘I looked for you to say goodbye but Mia said you’d gone.’
‘Kim was tired,’ Gemma explained quickly. She should have left it there, she knew, but some inner demon goaded her to say more. ‘I looked for you as well,’ she added.
‘Did you?’ He sounded amazed but at the same time pleased.
‘Yes, I came to say goodnight to Alex and to tell you I was leaving. I thought you and her were dancing but there was no sign of either of you.’ She did her utmost to keep her voice light but she feared that she too sounded as if she were levelling an accusation.
‘Alex asked where we’d been,’ he said. ‘I told her we’d been for a walk and had seen her father’s boat. I happened to say I liked boats—one thing led to another and she took me to her father’s study to see photographs of the other boats he’s owned.’
They walked on in silence into the bay. So that’s where he was, thought Gemma. All seemingly quite innocent but, no doubt, Alex hadn’t been able to wait to get him on his own.
Tristan was sitting up in bed. Alex was by his side, filling in his observation chart. They both looked up as Gemma and Stephen approached. Gemma chatted with Tristan while Stephen looked over Alex’s shoulder at the chart.
‘It looks as if we need to make a few adjustments to medication,’ he said, turning slightly towards Gemma.
‘I was about to report the changes,’ said Alex hastily. It was obvious she didn’t want Stephen thinking she was less than efficient.
‘Fine.’ Stephen turned his attention to Tristan. ‘So how are you feeling?’
‘Pretty good.’ Tristan nodded. ‘But I’m very tired.’
‘It’s early days yet,’ said Stephen, ‘but we’ll soon have you up and out of here and playing football again.’
Together with Stephen, Gemma and Alex returned to the nurses’ station where Stephen sat down at the desk and proceeded to study Tristan’s observation charts.
‘Problems, Dr Preston?’ asked Julie Miles as she bustled out of her office.
‘I hope not.’ Stephen frowned. ‘Tristan’s blood pressure was raised this morning. I’d like some blood and urine tests, please, as soon as possible.’
‘Of course.’ Julie nodded and looked at Gemma. ‘Would you arrange that, please, Gemma?’
‘Actually…’ Stephen glanced over his shoulder ‘…I’d like Gemma to accompany Mrs Caton for her angioplasty.’
Gemma was aware that Julie looked up sharply and that Alex turned and glared at her.
‘Is that a problem?’ asked Stephen looking from one to another.
‘Well, normally Alex would have gone down with Mrs Caton,’ said Julie.
‘Yes, I know.’ Stephen swiftly bestowed his most winning smile on Julie and said, ‘But Mrs Caton specifically asked for Gemma and I do think it’s important that we do all we can to ensure a patient’s peace of mind, don’t you, Sister?’
‘Well, yes, obviously.’ Julie was clearly
taken aback. ‘But—’
‘In that case, shall we get on with it?’ Without giving Julie a chance to say any more, Stephen looked up at Gemma.
‘Yes, of course,’ Gemma replied quickly.
As Stephen left the nurses’ station, presumably to go down to the X-ray laboratory, and Gemma fled back to the ward to prepare Mrs Caton, she was aware not only of Sister Miles’s faintly bemused air but also of the hostile looks she was receiving from Alex who, no doubt, had been looking forward to a cosy hour or so working alongside Stephen.
‘There, Dorothy,’ said Stephen, ‘if you look on the monitor you can see the catheter in your artery.’ It was some time later and the angioplasty procedure was progressing well.
‘I’m not sure whether I want to look or not.’ Dorothy gripped Gemma’s hand a little more tightly.
‘We’ve actually nearly finished,’ said Stephen.
Throughout the whole procedure Gemma, besides offering reassurance to the patient, had found herself watching Stephen, mesmerised by every movement made by his fine surgeon’s hands.
‘There we are—the balloon is inflated,’ he murmured at last, and Gemma dragged her gaze away from his hands and tried to concentrate on what was happening on the monitor as the inflated balloon compressed the blockage against the artery walls.
And later, when the whole procedure was over and the tubes had been removed and a dressing applied to the wound in Dorothy’s groin, Gemma found herself wishing she could stay with Stephen instead of returning to the ward. But that, of course, was ridiculous, and she gave herself a shake in an effort to pull herself together as the porters arrived to transfer Dorothy back to the ward to recover.
‘Thanks, Gemma.’ Stephen nodded as she turned to leave the laboratory. ‘I’ll see you later.’
Briefly her gaze met his but there was something faintly disturbing in his eyes and quickly she looked away. What had he meant by later? On the ward? In the canteen? Or something else, something away from the hospital? Her heart gave a lurch then she knew a moment’s panic. For a while, watching him perform the procedure on Dorothy, she had forgotten how impossible the situation was with Stephen, but now it came flooding back in its entirety.
The first opportunity Gemma had to talk to Kim on her own that day was in the staff canteen during their break. Kim was already there and Gemma carried her tray across and set it down on the table. ‘Mind if I join you?’ she asked. Not waiting for a reply, she flopped down into a chair. ‘My feet are killing me,’ she said, easing off her shoes under the table.
‘At least it’s a bit cooler,’ said Kim. ‘We must be grateful for small mercies I suppose.’ Peering keenly at Gemma, she said, ‘What’s all this I hear about you and Stephen?’
‘All what?’ asked Gemma innocently, knowing full well what Kim meant.
‘Earlier, on the ward,’ said Kim. ‘I thought Alex was going to commit murder when you went off to angioplasty with him. She thought she was going. She was dumb-founded when you slipped in and took over.’
‘It wasn’t any of my doing,’ protested Gemma. ‘The patient—Dorothy Caton—requested that I go down with her.’
‘That wasn’t the way I heard it,’ said Kim with a grin.
‘What do you mean?’ Gemma stared at her.
‘Well, Mia said it was Stephen who requested that you go.’
‘Only because Dorothy had asked for me,’ Gemma retorted, then with a sigh she added, ‘Honestly, what is it with everyone? They’ll read something into anything!’
‘You’ll never stop them gossiping, Gemma, you know that as well as I do,’ said Kim. ‘They love a bit of intrigue. And let’s face it, that wasn’t the only issue where you two were concerned, was it?’
‘What do you mean?’ Gemma frowned.
‘Well, I obviously wasn’t the only one who knew the pair of you went off for an evening stroll at the party,’ said Kim as she carefully peeled the skin from a banana and bit into it. ‘They were all buzzing about it this morning when I arrived.’
‘Honestly!’ said Gemma. She tried to sound indignant but she knew her cheeks had flushed, just as she knew that Kim had seen it and was amused by the fact.
‘You know what they’re like when they get their teeth into something,’ said Kim. ‘And with this, they have the added intrigue of Alex fancying him like mad and the fact that you knew him before…’
‘How do they know that?’ asked Gemma sharply.
Kim shrugged. ‘Goodness knows—maybe Stephen himself told someone.’ She paused. ‘It wasn’t me, Gemma, honest. I haven’t said a word to anyone.’
‘I didn’t think it was you.’ Gemma shook her head.
‘On the other hand, I can’t see what difference it makes.’ Kim frowned but at that point Gemma decided to end the topic of conversation. She didn’t want Kim probing too closely into the reasons why she didn’t want the others to know that she and Stephen had known each other previously.
Glancing over her shoulder and making sure they weren’t being overheard, Gemma leaned across the table, ‘Have you told Dean?’ she asked quietly.
Leaning back in her chair, a slow flush of pleasure spread across Kim’s face. ‘I have,’ she said.
‘And?’ asked Gemma expectantly. ‘How did he take it? I’ve been dying to know.’
‘He was over the moon,’ said Kim softly.
‘Oh, Kim, I knew he would be.’ Gemma leaned back in her chair and gazed at her friend. ‘I’m so pleased for you. Really I am.’
‘And that isn’t all,’ said Kim.
‘Oh?’ Gemma raised her eyebrows but she already had a feeling she knew what was coming next.
‘We’re getting married,’ said Kim excitedly. ‘He asked me to marry him as soon as he knew about the baby. He said he didn’t know why we hadn’t got round to it before.’
‘Kim, that’s wonderful.’ Gemma felt tears prick the back of her eyes but in her heart a stab of something so painful it could only be envy. ‘Have you told any of the others yet?’
‘No, not yet.’ Kim shook her head. ‘I wanted to talk to you first. But I think I’ll tell them now—maybe when we go back to the ward.’
‘How long will you continue working?’ asked Gemma.
‘As long as I can,’ Kim replied.
‘And will you come back to work after the birth?’
Kim nodded. ‘Oh, yes, I’ll have to—we couldn’t manage on Dean’s wages.’ She paused as if considering. ‘I suppose I’ll have to see about child care,’ she said after a moment.
‘The crèche that Daisy goes to is excellent,’ said Gemma. ‘You could come along with me one day if you like and see for yourself,’ she added.
‘Thanks, Gemma—that would be great.’
‘You’ll probably need to get booked in—their lists are always pretty full but I guess that just shows how good they are.’
When they’d finished lunch and returned to the ward it was to find that most of the staff, including Stephen, were congregated around the nurses’ station.
‘Perhaps I’ll tell them now,’ murmured Kim.
Suddenly Gemma wished she wouldn’ t—not with Stephen there. The last thing she wanted was talk of babies and weddings in front of him, but she didn’t have the heart to stop Kim. After all, this was her moment and Gemma didn’t want to do anything that would detract from that.
As they reached the station Kim cleared her throat. ‘As most of you are here,’ she said, ‘I have something to tell you.’ The others looked up expectantly and Kim carried on. ‘Dean and I are getting married,’ she said.
There were exclamations of surprise and delight from the others.
‘That’s wonderful!’
‘You’re a dark horse!’
‘When’s it to be?’
‘Congratulations!’
‘Thank you. Thank you.’ Flushed and smiling, Kim looked round at her colleagues. ‘But that isn’t quite all. I may as well tell you now because you’ll find out soon enough anyway—
I’m also having a baby!’
As Kim made her announcement Gemma carefully avoided eye contact with Stephen.
‘Oh, Kim!’ Mia predictably was the first to fling her arms around Kim amidst a further flurry of congratulations. Even Julie Miles looked pink and pleased, and Stephen gave Kim a hug.
‘Thank you,’ said Kim. ‘Thank you all…but listen, will you all join me in the social club after the shift for a drink to celebrate?’ Amidst nods and smiles from the others, Kim added, ‘Dean will be there—I’d already arranged to meet him.’
‘It’ll be quite a shock for the poor guy when all us lot turn up,’ said Pauline.
‘He’ll be delighted,’ said Kim. ‘And anyway, he’s getting used to shocks.’
The excitement amongst the staff extended itself to the patients, and when Gemma went to check on Dorothy before going off duty, Dorothy mentioned it.
‘Is it the little dark-haired nurse who’s getting married?’ she asked curiously.
‘Yes, that’s right.’ Gemma smiled. ‘Kim Slater.’
‘And is it right there’s to be a baby as well?’
‘Yes, there is,’ Gemma agreed. ‘We’re all delighted for her.’
‘And what about her young man?’ Dorothy was obviously enjoying herself now. ‘Do you know him?’
‘Yes, he’s a paramedic.’ Gemma straightened Dorothy’s pillows. ‘Here at Denby,’ she added.
‘Well, I think that’s wonderful,’ said Dorothy. ‘Thank goodness they’re getting married. You hear of so many these days that never bother but go on having babies anyway. To my mind that isn’t right at all. Why, in my day we wouldn’t have dared to get pregnant until after we were married.’ She paused. ‘Do you have children, Gemma?’
Gemma hesitated but only for a moment. ‘Yes, she said, ‘I have a little girl, Daisy.’
‘Oh, how lovely,’ Dorothy looked interested. ‘And your husband,’ she went on, ‘Daisy’s father—what does he do?’
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