The Consultant's Accidental Bride

by Carol Marinelli

  ‘It’s OK, Leah, don’t try and talk.’ His voice was calm, his eyes holding hers for a second as he picked up the phone. ‘Get an ambulance up to room 204. Tell them there’s a doctor present and a female patient with a suspected pneumothorax.’ The poor person on the other end couldn’t have realised the might they were dealing with as they obviously asked a question. ‘Just do it!’ Cole roared, making even Leah jump, but, sensing her tension, he turned back to her. ‘She wanted to send for the hotel’s GP,’ he offered by way of explanation. ‘Just sit tight for a second, Leah, I’ll get my bag.’

  Thank heavens he was tidy.

  Strange, the things you thought when you were struggling to pull air into your lungs, strange how your mind focused on irrelevances rather than face the dire truth. For Leah it was easier to focus on the fact that had her life depended on finding her bag in the next couple of minutes, she might just as well have laid down and died there and then.

  Thankfully her dress was backless so there was nothing to remove, and as Cole listened to her air entry she felt the cool steel of his stethoscope as he pressed it against her back.

  ‘I need to listen to your chest.’

  Leah would have loved to have argued, loved to have told him she was fine. And as irrelevant as it was at this moment, the fact that her bust was jacked up with several metres of surgical tape wasn’t exactly the image she had been hoping to portray. Dying with shame or lack of oxygen, Leah couldn’t decide which, she moved forward. His hands located her zip almost instantly, which was no mean feat considering it was concealed in the seam at the side. Cole was obviously a man who knew his way around a woman’s dress, Leah thought, but it was her last stab at humour, her last attempt at self-preservation as the lights seemed to dim, the stars that were flickering in her eyes flashed brighter for a second then dimmed, the counterpane she was gripping so tightly seemed to slip out of her hands as she lurched forward. She struggled to fight it to stay awake, to beg Cole to do something, to tell him that she couldn’t die here—not in a stranger’s bedroom, not half a world away from home, with her breasts wrapped in tape, not when Kathy was just…

  ‘Leah, you have a pneumothorax.’ Cole’s voice seemed to be coming at her through a fog. ‘That’s why you’re having so much trouble breathing. A rib must have punctured your lung. Now, I can’t wait for the ambulance to get here so I’m going to put a needle in. It’s going to hurt,’ he warned. She could feel his fingers working their way down her rib cage and the coolness of the alcohol as he swabbed her skin. ‘It will only hurt for a second,’ he implored, ‘and after that you’ll feel much more comfortable.’

  She would have nodded, told him she understood what he was saying, she’d go through anything just to breathe again, but there was no strength left. A pain so vile, so intense Leah truly thought she would vomit, suddenly ricocheted through her as the needle pierced her chest, broke through into her lung, but just as she thought she would surely die, that surely it was all over, she felt the delicious feeling of air dragging into her lungs, the heady taste of oxygen as it seeped through her body and slowly, slowly her world came back into focus.

  ‘You’re all right now.’ Cole was strapping the needle into place as he spoke. ‘Just stay very still while I secure it. An ambulance is on its way.’

  ‘Thank you.’ It seemed such a paltry offering, but it was the only two words she could come up with. Even they were too many for Cole.

  ‘Don’t try and talk,’ he said crisply. ‘Once the ambulance gets here they’ll give you some oxygen. You must have fractured a rib when you fell.’

  ‘I feel better now,’ Leah said faintly, but Cole begged to differ.

  ‘Well, you don’t look it.’ Lifting her legs up onto the bed, he grabbed at pillows, making a massive arch around her, and the bliss as she lay back was indescribable. But the oxygen had obviously reached Leah’s brain now as the indignity of sitting naked from the waist up hit home.

  Cole must have read her mind. ‘I’ll just cover you up,’ he said, heading for the wardrobe and grabbing an ugly beige blanket.

  ‘Can you—?’

  ‘Get rid of the tape?’ Cole finished for her as a smile so small it was barely there inched over his lips. ‘So that’s why there’s never any when a doctor asks, the nurses are too busy swiping it!’

  It was the last of his smiles, the last glimpse of the man she was just starting to know, before the doctor took over as the paramedics roared into the room, smothering her in leads as they strapped an oxygen mask on.

  ‘Let’s just get her to Melbourne Central,’ Cole said impatiently as the inevitable questions started. ‘I’ve only got a Gelco in her, she needs a proper chest tube and an X-ray.’

  Something in his voice told Leah he wasn’t about to be argued with and she was right. In no time at all she was bumping along on the metal stretcher, screwing her eyes closed in embarrassment as they wheeled her out through Reception and into the flashing ambulance.

  ‘Thank you,’ Leah said again, pulling off the mask and attempting a brave smile.

  ‘You can thank me later,’ Cole replied, climbing into the ambulance behind her and sitting on the tiny seat. ‘Let’s just get you to the hospital.’

  He didn’t have to come, but Leah was so glad he did, so glad there was, if not a familiar face, at least someone who wasn’t a complete stranger sitting beside her as the ambulance sped through the dark streets and the wailing sirens told Leah she wasn’t quite out of the woods yet.

  Even though it was the other side of the world there was a strange comfort to be had in the familiarity of the emergency room, the efficient triage nurse listening intently to Cole’s brief handover as they whisked her straight into Resus. Her dress was removed in a second, along with her shoes, and bundled into a bright yellow bag, the monitors bleeping into life as they were turned on and strapped to her.

  ‘Hi, Cole!’ A rather senior-looking doctor had finished listening to her chest and addressed her escort. ‘I thought you were supposed to be on a night off.’

  ‘When do I ever get a night off?’ Cole responded dryly.

  Only then did it dawn on Leah they were actually at his hospital and, worse still, in his very own department.

  ‘Leah, my name’s Samuel Donovan, I’m the consultant on tonight. Now, I know you’re still having a lot of trouble breathing so I’m going to get the history from Cole for now if that’s OK and I’ll talk to you when you’re a bit more settled.’

  Leah nodded her consent, an in-depth discussion the last thing she needed right now.

  ‘I just want to check, though, whether or not you’re allergic to anything.’

  Shaking her head, Leah gripped the mask tighter.

  ‘Any drugs, sticky tape, any reactions to anaesthetic?’

  ‘She’s an emergency nurse, Samuel, I think we can take it as a no!’

  ‘OK.’ Samuel relented, but only for a moment. ‘Any operations?’

  Leah nodded, bringing her hand up to her cheek, her words so husky they were barely audible.

  ‘Fractured cheekbone, about eighteen months ago…’

  Samuel nodded. He patted her on the shoulder and turned his attention back to Cole. ‘So what’s the story?’

  ‘We were at a wedding and she fell against a stone staircase. Initially I thought she was winded but she deteriorated pretty rapidly. I’ve just put in a temporary needle, she’ll need a proper chest tube.’ He caught her frantic eyes above the oxygen mask. ‘And some decent pain control.’

  ‘Sure.’

  Whatever they gave her, it worked pretty fast. Finally each breath wasn’t such a supreme effort. She was vaguely aware of the chatter going on around her, the cold of the X-ray film behind her back as a portable chest X-ray was quickly taken, the slight sting of the local anaesthetic as they set about inserting a chest drain. Even though Leah braced herself for a repeat of the previous agony she had endured, the chest tube entering wasn’t nearly as bad as she had anticipated.

>   ‘It’s done now,’ Cole said gently, when the tube was finally stitched in place. ‘Try and get some rest now.’

  ‘I’d like a quick word first, if I may,’ Samuel broke in, but Cole shook his head impatiently.

  ‘She’s exhausted. Surely she can rest for half an hour.’

  ‘I really do need to talk to her.’

  ‘I’ll be fine.’ Leah looked up. ‘I feel much better now.’

  Cole gave a small shrug, looking over expectantly at Samuel, waiting for him to start taking the history, but when Samuel asked him to wait outside even Leah found herself frowning.

  ‘We shan’t be long, Cole,’ Samuel said firmly. ‘I’d just like to talk to Leah alone.’

  ‘Sure.’

  Even the nurse who was hovering by the monitors was asked to wait outside, and when they were finally alone Leah turned her bemused face to the doctor.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Nothing.’ Samuel cleared his throat. ‘I just thought it might be easier for you to talk without an audience. Now, do you want to tell me what happened tonight?’

  ‘Like Cole said, we were at a wedding, waving off the bride and groom. Everybody moved forward and I toppled against the staircase.’

  ‘The paramedics said that they were called to a hotel room.’

  Only then did the sudden need for privacy dawn on Leah and she shook her head frantically, appalled that Samuel thought Cole could have done this to her.

  ‘No, oh, no, I fell, I really did. I asked Cole to get me away from everyone. I couldn’t bear people watching, especially at a wedding.’

  There was the longest silence, Samuel chewing his bottom lip as he stared at her chart.

  ‘Leah, I know this is difficult. It’s hard for me too. Cole is my colleague and a friend after all. But you’re my patient and it’s my job to ask these questions. If there is anything you need to tell me, now would be a good time.’

  Again she shook her head.

  Again Samuel didn’t look convinced.

  ‘There are several old rib fractures on your chest X-ray. They look fairly recent, say eighteen months or so old—around the time you fractured your cheekbone?’ He pushed gently. ‘Were you in a car accident?’

  Leah shook her head but tears were starting to fall now.

  ‘Were you beaten?’

  A tiny nod was all the answer she could manage for a moment or two, but, realising the awful situation she had put Cole in, she struggled against her emotions and 50 milligrams of pethidine to clear his name.

  ‘I only met Cole yesterday. None of this has anything to do with him. He was just doing what any doctor would have done tonight when I fell—he saved my life. The old fractures happened in England…’ She was starting to get distressed, the alarms going off as she started to cry.

  ‘It’s OK, Leah, I believe you,’ Samuel said gently. ‘But you do understand why I had to ask. I’ll arrange for a social worker to come and talk to you on the ward.’

  She struggled to argue, to tell him she didn’t need a social worker poking her nose in, that she was fine, just fine, but she simply didn’t have the strength. ‘Just take a couple of nice slow deep breaths,’ Samuel said gently. ‘That’s the way.’

  The nurse was back, concern on her face as she came over and checked the monitors, followed by a rather uptight-looking Cole. ‘What the hell did you say to her?’ he demanded. ‘Look at the state she’s in…’ His voice trailed off as he eyed the X-ray on the overhead monitor, the old fractures and Samuel’s red cheeks pretty much speaking for themselves.

  ‘I’m sorry, Cole,’ Samuel said finally when the silence had gone on for way too long. ‘You know as well as I do that I had to ask.’

  ‘Oh, Cole,’ Leah moaned, when they were finally alone. ‘I am so—’

  ‘Don’t,’ Cole said in a clipped voice. ‘I’ve had Samuel grovelling for the past half-hour. I really don’t need a repeat.’

  ‘But even so,’ Leah said. ‘I’ve put you in an awful situation.’

  ‘I’ve been in far worse.’ Cole shrugged. ‘And even though I haven’t told him yet, Samuel was completely right to ask you. Too many times women come through the doors of an emergency room and because their husband’s a doctor or a policeman or whatever, no one wants to get involved and do the tough asks. I’m sure you’ve seen it for yourself.’

  Leah gave a glum nod.

  ‘Samuel did well,’ Cole carried on. ‘He put the patient first, which is exactly what we insist upon here, and I’ll tell him the same tomorrow.’ His voice softened, his eyes concentrating on Leah’s reaction as he spoke. ‘Do you want to talk about it—the old fractures I mean?’

  She didn’t.

  ‘It might help,’ Cole suggested, when Leah shook her head. Tears were filling her eyes now, the realization of her situation only really starting to dawn.

  ‘I’m supposed to be flying…’

  ‘I’ll ring the airline as soon as I get home.’ Cole said quickly. ‘If you give me your parents’ number, I can ring them too. It’s daytime in England so at least they’ll be spared a call in the middle of the night.’

  ‘But with this type of injury…’ Her mind was working ten to the dozen, the appalling facts speaking for themselves as she did the sums in her head, begging for a respite, praying that she’d got things wrong. But when Cole took her hand and looked her in the eye, when he put on his doctor’s voice as he addressed her, Leah knew there and then she was doomed.

  ‘You can’t fly, Leah,’ Cole said firmly.

  ‘For how long?’ she begged.

  ‘It’s hard to say,’ Cole said evasively, but Leah wasn’t having any of it.

  ‘Oh, come on, Cole, cut the doctor talk. I need to know.’

  ‘OK.’ His eyes met hers and Leah felt her heart plummet as he carried on talking. ‘Six weeks at best.’ He gave a tiny shrug. ‘But I think three to six months would be more realistic. Leah, this is a serious injury…’

  He must still be talking, Leah registered. She could see his lips moving, hear the occasional reference to cabin pressure, the risk of her lung collapsing in mid-flight, but it was all too much to take in.

  Her luggage had been sent on, Kathy would be out of the country by now, all the friends she had made were in Brisbane, her bank account was practically empty…

  She was stuck, stuck in this foreign country with no money, no friends and nowhere to stay, with a kaput lung to boot.

  Panic welled up in her as Cole begged her to stay calm, to take slow deep breaths. ‘It will all be OK,’ he insisted, his words assured, his tone matter-of-fact. ‘Everything’s going to be fine.’

  ‘How can you say that?’ Leah sobbed. Never had she felt more alone, more scared, more vulnerable, and there wasn’t a single thing she could do, not even the tiniest piece of driftwood to cling to as everything familiar was swept away. Her mind searched for answers, for some shred of comfort, but there was none to be had and Leah turned her panicked eyes to Cole. ‘I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘There’s nothing you can do,’ Cole said gently, easing her back onto the pillow. Picking up a hand towel, he ran it under the tap before gently wiping her tearstained cheeks. ‘Except to lie back and concentrate on getting better. Things will all seem better in the morning.’

  ‘Oh, no, they won’t,’ Leah muttered, but his soothing words were actually helping. She could feel her heart rate slowing, her breathing coming more easily now.

  ‘Yes, they will, Leah,’ Cole said. ‘The main thing is that you’re going to be OK. The other stuff is mere details, and nothing that we can’t sort out.’

  We.

  Closing her eyes, Leah was vaguely aware of him pulling a blanket up around her shoulders, his deep, low voice relaxing her. And even though he surely couldn’t mean it, that the we he referred to would surely change in the morning, that the pile of problems that had landed in her lap would be hers alone to sort out, it was nice just to give in for a while, to put her problems on hold,
to accept his words of comfort and let sleep finally wash over her.

  Maybe Cole was right, she mused as his voice faded into the background, as the constant bleeps droned on in the distance.

  Maybe things really would seem better in the morning…

  Not better exactly, but after talking to her parents and sister things certainly seemed brighter.

  ‘I’m actually glad that you’re not coming home,’ Kara said with a giggle. ‘I don’t mean it like that,’ she added quickly. ‘Of course it’s awful that you’re sick and everything, but guess what?’

  Leah wasn’t exactly in the mood for guessing games but she went along with it anyway. ‘What?’

  ‘Paul and I are going to move in together. He hasn’t been living here, though, well, perhaps the odd night here and there,’ she rattled on. ‘But we’ve been looking for a flat for ages and there’s nothing, nothing we can afford, so if it’s OK with you, we’ll stay at yours till you come home.’

  ‘That’s fine,’ Leah sighed. It wasn’t as if she had much choice.

  ‘We’ll pay rent, of course,’ Kara added, and Leah nearly dropped the phone in surprise. Kara never paid for anything, she was constantly trying to borrow a fiver, and hearing her actually volunteer to pay rent was more of a shock to the system than having a chest tube inserted. ‘It will be like a trial run.’ Kara’s excited voice chattered on. ‘It will do us good to see if we can really afford to take on a mortgage, so don’t worry about a thing.’

  ‘She’s right,’ Mrs Jacobs said, grabbing the phone and taking it from her younger daughter. ‘You just concentrate on getting better. Dr Richardson explained everything very nicely and he also said the last thing you needed right now was to get worked up over small details. Now, your dad and I will wire you some money over. Have you thought of anywhere you can stay?’

  ‘One of the youth hostels has single rooms,’ Leah answered. ‘I was going to ring them after I’d spoken to you. It’s not exactly luxurious but it’s a bed and it’s clean and they’ve even got a small canteen so I won’t have to worry about cooking.’