Hot-Shot Doc, Christmas Bride / Christmas At Rivercut Manor

by Joanna Neil / Gill Sanderson

  Alison glanced at her. ‘You don’t mind the two of us seeing one another outside of work? I know how keen you were on him.’

  ‘Nah. I was just keen on the illusion. Drop-dead gorgeous and at the top of his profession, too…who wouldn’t be hooked? But it was just idle fantasy.’

  Idle fantasy and illusion…Alison mused on that. Wasn’t that exactly what she had been guilty of while she’d been letting her feelings run away with her?

  ‘He had to go back to the hospital,’ she said. ‘A motorcyclist came off his bike.’

  ‘Oh, I heard about that. It was on the local radio. A couple of cars skidded, trying to avoid him, and several people were taken to hospital. That’s not good this side of Christmas, is it?’

  ‘No, it isn’t.’

  Alison made coffee for both of them, and they sat by the kitchen table and chatted for a while, nibbling on cookies. The phone rang, and she brushed crumbs from her mouth, going to answer it.

  ‘Alison?’ Josh’s voice came over the line, and her heart made a quick jump.

  ‘It’s good to hear your voice,’ she said. ‘How are things? How is the motorcyclist?’

  ‘He’ll survive. He has a head injury and a few broken bones, but we’ve managed to stabilise him, so that’s a relief.’

  ‘I’m glad. Does that mean you’ll be able to go home now?’

  ‘No…’ He hesitated, and Alison was immediately on the alert.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  She glanced across the room and saw Katie mouthing a query—‘Josh?’ She nodded.

  ‘There were a few more people who were injured when the motorcyclist came off his bike.’ He paused once again, and then asked, ‘Are the children asleep in bed?’

  A frisson of alarm rippled through her. ‘Yes, they are. I checked up on them a few minutes ago. Why? What’s happened? Has something happened to Tom and Martha?’

  He let out a slow, heavy breath. ‘I’m afraid so. It’s nothing too serious…I mean they’ll have to stay in hospital for a couple of days, maybe a little longer for Tom, but they’re worrying about the children. They don’t have any relatives living close by. Do you think you could make arrangements so that Jason and Rachel will be looked after?’

  Alison reached for a chair and sat down. Katie, after seeing how shaken she looked, came to stand beside her, listening in.

  ‘I’ll sort something out. What happened? How bad is it?’

  ‘They both have concussion and possible whiplash injuries, which is why we’re keeping them under observation. Martha has a dislocated elbow, caused when the steering wheel jerked her arm, and Tom has injured his knee. We’re not sure quite how much damage has been done, but he suffered a nasty twisting motion and it’s swollen. So far we’ve done a physical examination and taken X-rays, but I suspect he has a meniscal tear, so he’ll probably need surgery.’

  ‘Oh, no. I can’t believe this is happening. Just when things were starting to go well for them.’

  ‘Yes, it’s bad luck all round.’ There was the sound of another voice in the background and he said, ‘Anyway, I have to go and check on a patient. I’ll see you in the morning.’

  He cut the call, and Alison stared blankly ahead for a while. Katie shook her head in bewilderment.

  ‘It doesn’t seem fair, does it?’ Katie said in shock. ‘Just when things were beginning to go right for them. Did I hear him say it was a meniscal tear?’

  ‘That’s right. It’s been one thing after another, hasn’t it? Apart from the pain and discomfort they must both be suffering, it means Tom won’t be able to work for several months. It’s not the sort of thing that will heal up on its own, is it?’

  Katie shook her head. ‘He could have a repair operation once the swelling goes down, but the waiting list is probably six months long.’ She closed her eyes briefly, thinking about it. ‘That poor man. He doesn’t deserve any of this.’

  ‘No, he doesn’t.’ Alison pressed her lips together as she contemplated the enormity of what had happened. ‘I have to think of a way to tell the children. That isn’t going to be easy, is it? They’ve only just started to think that there’s something to look forward to.’

  She thought about it at various intervals through the night, while she tried to get some sleep on the couch in the sitting room. Would Fraser agree to look after them until their parents were able to come home?

  Fraser came round to the house first thing in the morning. ‘Katie told me what had happened,’ he said. ‘Have you told the children yet?’ Chaser, still half asleep in his bed in the corner of the kitchen, lifted one eyelid.

  She shook her head. ‘They’ve only just started to wake up. I’m concentrating on making breakfast and getting them off to school on time. I still haven’t worked out what to say to them.’

  ‘You have to go to work, though, don’t you? Do you want me to take over? I’ll take them to school, and fetch them when it finishes. Between us we’ll sort something out.’

  She gave him a hug. ‘You’re a treasure,’ she said. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘What are you two doing here?’ Rachel said, coming into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

  ‘Where’s Mum?’ Jason looked around. ‘Has Dad gone to work? He’s left his toolbox over there.’ He absently reached down to pat Chaser on the head as the dog bounded around his feet.

  Alison tried to appear cheerful, so as not to alarm them. ‘Sit down and have some juice, and I’ll explain what’s happening,’ she said. ‘I’ve put your cereals out for you, so you can make a start while I see to the toast.’

  ‘Did they finish all their shopping?’ Jason asked. ‘I wanted a fire truck for Christmas. I wonder if they bought me one?’ His eyes widened. ‘Or a ray gun? I definitely want a ray gun.’

  ‘You’re always thinking about yourself,’ Rachel chided. ‘I think something’s the matter with them…Why else would Allie be making our breakfast?’ She looked solemnly at Alison, waiting for her to answer.

  ‘You’re right,’ Alison said. ‘Your mum and dad had a bump in the car last night, when they were coming home, and they’ve been hurt a little bit. Your mum’s banged her elbow, and your dad has hurt his knee.’

  ‘Are they in the hospital?’ Jason’s eyes were round and unblinking.

  ‘Yes. They have to stay there for a little while.’

  ‘Who’s going to look after us?’ Ever practical, Jason was concerned about the fundamentals.

  ‘I’ll take you to school and bring you home,’ Fraser told him. ‘After that we’ll work something out. You don’t need to worry.’

  Rachel was clearly thinking on a deeper level. She came over to Alison and rested her head against her. ‘Will my mum and dad be all right?’

  ‘I’m sure they will,’ Alison said, putting a protective arm around her.

  After breakfast she cleared away the dishes, and left the children in Fraser’s care. She was anxious to get to work and look in on Tom and Martha, find out how they were bearing up.

  Martha, she discovered, was sitting in a chair next to Tom’s bed. Her arm was in a sling, and she was wearing a soft supportive collar around her neck.

  ‘It was just a partial dislocation,’ Martha told her. ‘They gave me a sedative and painkillers, and Josh and a nurse manoeuvred the bones back into place. I have to wear the sling for about three weeks, and after that they say I’ll need physiotherapy. It doesn’t feel too bad.’

  ‘That’s something, at least.’ Alison noticed that both she and Tom had saline drips attached to their arms. ‘It doesn’t look as though they’ll be letting you go home for a day or so,’ she said.

  Martha made a face. ‘No. We both had wounds that meant we lost quite a bit of blood. I think they want to make sure our test results are normal before they’ll release us.’ She pulled in a deep breath. ‘Tom had an MRI scan, and Josh told us the shock absorber part of his knee is torn. He’ll need an operation to put it right. We’ve no idea what’s going to happen about his job.’
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  ‘It could have been worse,’ Tom said, and Alison guessed he was trying to put a brave face on things since Martha was becoming anxious. ‘We’re still alive—and the presents we bought are still intact, so I’m told.’ He looked anxiously at Alison. ‘Are you sure the children are okay?’

  ‘They’re fine. They both want to make cards for you at school, and they’re planning to surprise you with a snowman in the back garden. That’s if they can persuade Chaser to leave it alone.’

  Tom laughed. ‘We heard from the police that we can officially keep him, since no one has staked a claim. I don’t know whether to be pleased or to start taking anti-depressants. Did I tell you he tried to eat our Christmas tree? I brought it down from the loft, getting ready to put it up in the sitting room, but while I was working out what I’d done with the base he tore a chunk off the top. It’s such a mess I haven’t had the heart to put it up.’

  ‘It’s in the shed,’ Martha said. ‘Tom reckons that’s where the dog should be. In disgrace.’

  Alison chuckled. ‘I’m glad to see that you’re both managing to keep your spirits up, anyway.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘I have to go. I’m on duty now. But I’ll drop by and see you again as soon as I get a free moment.’

  Josh was not anywhere to be seen when she went back down to A&E, and she guessed he was taking a break after his unexpected spot of night duty. She missed him. She wanted the chance to talk to him properly, to find out whether her feelings for him were truly misplaced. Was he going to be staying around, and if so had he changed his mind about relationships not lasting?

  It was easy to understand why he felt that way. Having witnessed his parents’ acrimonious divorce, and suffered the aftermath, who could blame him for losing faith in the possibility of true love? It was just that she didn’t think she could cope with a loose-ended relationship. She had realised that she was an all-or-nothing kind of woman.

  For the next several hours she tended to the patients who were unfortunate enough to come into the emergency department. Most were straightforward accident victims, but one was a man who had just returned from a trip abroad and discovered an insect bite that had started to give him a good deal of trouble.

  Alison suspected a parasitic infection, and referred him to the tropical medicine consultant.

  She was typing up her notes when her pager bleeped, and she saw that she was being called to the women’s surgical ward. She frowned, wondering what was afoot, and then remembered the nurse who had told her about Mrs Brackley.

  Was Rees back in the hospital, visiting the woman? She finished dealing with the open file, and then hurried up to the ward to find out what was happening.

  ‘Hi, Alison,’ the nurse greeted her. ‘I thought you’d like to know that the young man is back here today. He looks a lot happier than usual, and his hand seems to have healed up nicely. At least, he isn’t wearing a dressing on it any longer.’

  ‘Thanks for letting me know,’ Alison said. She peeked along the ward, debating whether to take a chance and disturb him, or wait until he came out of the bay.

  She waited, chatting to the nurse about this and that, until after a few minutes Rees emerged from the bay and started to walk towards her.

  ‘Rees, it’s good to see you,’ she said, and he came to a sudden halt, as though he was surprised to be acknowledged.

  The nurse moved away, going to check on her patients. ‘Doctor?’ Rees stared at her for a moment, and then his mouth curved in a smile. ‘Hello. I wasn’t expecting to see you up here.’

  ‘No. Nor me you.’ She gave him a fleeting scrutiny. ‘You’re looking good,’ she said. ‘How are you? Has your chest infection cleared up?’

  ‘Yeah. I’m doing okay,’ he answered with a shrug. ‘Your friend Jack set me up in a hostel with some other lads. It’s good there. You were right. He’s okay.’

  ‘I’m glad to hear it.’ She looked at his hand. ‘I see you’ve had your stitches taken out. How does the hand feel?’

  ‘It’s good.’ He demonstrated how he could open and close his fist.

  ‘I’m pleased about that.’ She looked beyond him to the bay he had come from. ‘I see you’re visiting someone? Is everything all right?’

  He nodded, and then his mouth flattened. ‘I don’t want it to get out that I’m here. You won’t tell anyone, right? You won’t tell Jack?’

  ‘Of course not…unless you want me to. Is there a problem? I’m sure Jack would help you if he could.’

  He looked doubtful. ‘I can trust you, can’t I? You won’t say anything to anyone?’

  ‘You can.’

  He seemed to relax a fraction. ‘It’s my mum, see. She was beaten up, and we had to get away because my stepdad would have come after us. He punched her, and then he went for her with a bottle, but I managed to stop him.’ He pulled in a ragged breath. ‘I hit him over the head with a broom handle and he fell down. I pulled my mum outside the house and my mate helped me take her away from there, so he couldn’t find us. Then I called the ambulance.’

  ‘Is that how your hand came to be injured? You got in the way of him attacking your mother?’

  He nodded, but he was looking scared—as though he had said too much.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell anyone?’ Alison was baffled. ‘The ambulancemen, for instance?’

  ‘Because I’d hit him…my stepdad, I mean. I think he was only dazed, because he fell and he’d had too much to drink, but I didn’t go back to find out. I thought the police would lock me up. I wouldn’t be able to look after my mum then, would I?’

  Alison laid a gentle hand on his arm. ‘Rees, you were defending yourself and your mother. You were doing what you had to do. Your injury and your mother’s injuries are proof of that.’

  His expression was uncertain. ‘What if I hurt him badly?’

  ‘Your friend would be able to tell you if he’s all right, wouldn’t he? Haven’t you seen him?’

  He shook his head. ‘I’ve not been back.’

  ‘Then I think you should tell Jack what happened, just as you’ve told me. Let him deal with it for you. He’s had experience of this kind of thing. He’ll help you, I promise.’

  They started to walk towards the door. ‘You really think so?’ he said.

  ‘I do.’

  She parted company with Rees by the lifts, and when he headed down the stairs to the rear exit of the hospital she took the lift down to A&E. She hoped he would confide in her friend Jack.

  Josh was back in the department, looking at the MRI scans of Tom’s knee.

  ‘What’s the verdict?’ she asked, going to stand alongside him.

  ‘His best chance of decent recovery is to have keyhole surgery to remove the damaged portion of the meniscus. That way, with physiotherapy, he could be back at work in around four weeks. A more complicated repair would mean several months before he could return to work, and it might not achieve a particularly good result.’

  She winced. ‘Either way, he has a long wait ahead of him. I checked the schedules for surgery, and most of the surgeons have waiting lists.’

  ‘Hmm. There’s another possibility, of course.’

  ‘Is there?’ She sent him a puzzled look. ‘Apart from private surgery I don’t see what option there is. And you know as well as I do that he can’t afford that. He doesn’t have medical insurance.’

  Josh made a wry smile. ‘Oh, ye of little faith. There are ways of sorting these things out.’

  ‘There are?’

  ‘Oh, yes. You perhaps aren’t up to date with the details because you work solely in A&E, but the health service has been buying in services from the private sector for quite some time. Some people are fast-tracked for things like MRI scans or eye treatment. At the moment there’s a drive to clear orthopaedic surgery cases, among others, and that’s where I come in. I can arrange for Tom to be put on my operating list.’

  She stared at him open-mouthed, prompting him to smile and bring up a curved fist to gently close her jaw. �
��I’d do the operation without charge, but Tom’s a proud man and I have a strong feeling his pride would get in the way of him accepting…Or he would put himself in the difficult position of making sure he paid the charge at a later date. This way seems the easier option.’

  Alison managed to find her voice at last. ‘If we weren’t in a public place, I’d kiss you.’

  Flame sparked in his eyes. ‘And if I didn’t have a ton of urgent work to get through I’d whisk you out of here and take you up on that offer.’ His mouth curved as his gaze drifted over her. ‘Only I’d probably want to do a whole lot more than simply kiss.’

  A tide of heat flooded her cheeks. ‘You’re only saying that because Tom’s incapacitated and can’t watch over me,’ she said with a teasing smile. ‘You’re forgetting that my brother’s still around to make sure your intentions are honourable.’

  ‘Oh, shoot.’ He contrived to look crestfallen. ‘You’re right. He’s looking after the children, isn’t he? And those two youngsters have a way of cutting in on the act too.’ He shook his head. ‘Never mind, I’ll figure something out.’

  She didn’t know whether that was a threat or a promise, but either way she couldn’t help thinking it would be good to have Josh hold her and kiss her and tell her that everything was going to turn out just fine.

  She had her doubts. Josh wanted her, that was for sure, but he had made no mention of love or commitment. Perhaps those words weren’t in his vocabulary?

  And as to the rest…Christmas was just a few days away, but it was nigh on cancelled in several households. Her grandparents, her parents, and now Tom and Martha were struggling to find a reason to celebrate. And what of Rees and his mother? And poor Fraser, who still didn’t know whether he had a career in pharmacy ahead of him.

  And the weather was closing in. A steady fall of snow had blocked the roads and led to police warnings for people to stay at home where possible. As if she could do that.

  She finished the rest of her shift, trying to keep her mind occupied with positive thoughts. Her patients would recover from their injuries. She would see to that. She put them first and gave them the best care possible.