Christmas-Day Fiancée (St Gregory's Hospital)

by Lucy Clark

  Glen pointed a finger at Natalie. ‘Dat lady.’

  ‘That lady? Yes, I think you’re right. This is Dr Natalie.’

  Natalie smiled at the boy. ‘Hello, Glen. I get to kiss teddy?’ At the boy’s enthusiastic nod, more warmth filled her heart. ‘I would love to.’ She held out her hand and Glen gave the bear tenderly to her. ‘Thank you.’ She turned the toy to face her. ‘Hello, Mr Bear. I hear you’ve got a sore back. That’s no good, but I see Dr Marty and Glen have put a bandage on you. That will help, but I’ve got something that will help even more. I’m going to give you a kiss.’ She carefully turned the bear over and tenderly kissed its back. ‘There.’ She looked at Mr Bear again. ‘How’s that?’

  ‘All better,’ Glen declared, and the smile that lit his face was as bright as the morning sunshine coming through the windows.

  ‘Where is he?’ A booming voice demanded, and Sister Dorset swept away to give whoever was making the commotion a piece of her mind. ‘No one’s taking my son away from me.’

  Everyone was looking in the direction from which the voice had come except Marty. He watched as Glen’s eyes widened in complete horror and the joy slipped from his face.

  ‘Nat, pull the curtain,’ he said briskly, and Natalie quickly returned her attention to their patient. ‘Everyone out,’ Marty demanded as Natalie swung the curtain around Glen’s cot. ‘It’s all right, Glen. No one’s going to hurt you.’

  Natalie was astounded at the difference in the child before her. To say he was scared was an understatement. Petrified beyond belief would better fit the description of the pale and shaking child. ‘Hold tight to Mr Bear,’ she soothed him, reaching her hand out to comfort him. He shied away, backing to the corner of his cot.

  When the commotion didn’t stop, Marty stood. ‘Stay with him, Nat. Sister may need a bit of help.’ Marty tried to leave but Glen cried out for him.

  ‘I’ll go,’ Natalie said. ‘You stay with him. He trusts you.’

  Marty caught her hand and squeezed it. She met his gaze. ‘Be careful.’

  She nodded and headed out to find a man who looked to be in his early twenties standing there, yelling at Sister Dorset. Sister, to her absolute credit, hadn’t even raised her voice but was a wall of steel against the man’s demands.

  ‘Please, Mr Hailstock. Calm down.’

  ‘No. You people are not taking my kid from me. He belongs to me.’

  ‘He needs medical treatment, Mr Hailstock. Surely you don’t want your son to be sick.’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with him. Never was. The woman just panicked and brought him in. Stupid idiot.’

  ‘If you’re referring to your wife, she did the right thing. Glen requires medical attention.’

  Mr Hailstock hitched up his pants, snorted and glared at Sister. ‘And you’re hardly a match for me. I could snap you like a twig.’

  Sister’s answer was merely to raise a disbelieving eyebrow. ‘You don’t want to do anything silly, Mr Hailstock.’

  ‘Stop calling me that and get out of my way.’ With one large arm he shoved Sister Dorset out of his way and barrelled on through. Sister landed on the floor with a thud, wincing in pain. Natalie had noticed Cassie on the phone and knew the ward clerk had called Security. Help wouldn’t be far away. Many parents and nursing staff had ushered their children back to their rooms, making sure they were safe.

  Natalie took all this in at a glance and realised with a start that Mr Hailstock, with Sister now out of his way, was now headed in her direction. ‘Are you next?’ he growled.

  Natalie had dealt with bullies before and, like Sister, there was no way she was going to let this man get to his son. ‘Who are you looking for?’ she asked, as though she was disinterested in the whole affair.

  ‘My kid.’

  ‘Which one in particular?’

  ‘His name is Glen, and don’t play games with me, girlie. I’m not in the mood. I’m not going to have any social worker freak telling me I can’t see my kid. He’s my kid. I can do what I want.’

  ‘Actually, that’s where you’re wrong and, besides, Glen’s not here.’

  That stopped him for a moment before he shook his head. ‘Nah. I saw his name written up there on that big white board. He’s in that room.’ Mr Hailstock pointed to the ward that housed four beds.

  ‘He’s not there. He’s been taken down to X-Ray.’ At her words, she saw the briefest flicker of hesitation in the man’s eyes.

  ‘Nah.’ The man pointed to the only bed in the room that had a curtain around it. ‘He’s in there. I know it. If he’s not, why is the curtain around it?’

  ‘Because I was just about to pull it back when you came in, making a fuss.’ On legs that felt like jelly, she forced herself to walk to the curtain, praying that Marty had performed some sort of miracle and made both himself and Glen disappear.

  She found the edge of the curtain and opened it a little, peering inside in an inconspicuous fashion. Marty was standing right around at the other edge of the curtain, holding Glen and Mr Bear securely in his arms. Their gazes locked and she realised they were both on the same wavelength. He nodded to her and she realised he was ready.

  ‘Come and see for yourself,’ she said to Mr Hailstock, and the instant the man moved closer to the curtain, Marty slipped out. ‘See,’ she said as she slowly drew the shorter part of the curtain back. ‘He’s not here.’

  Mr Hailstock put his hands to his face and growled with frustration. It was just the diversion they needed and while the angry man’s back was turned, Marty whisked the frightened child from the room. The other children in the room were crying in fright.

  ‘Now that you’ve seen for yourself, would you like to come and wait in the parents’ room until Glen returns from X-Ray?’

  Mr Hailstock shook his head. ‘But I—’

  ‘You’re scaring the other children,’ she said in her best no-nonsense doctor voice. ‘Now, either accompany me to the parents’ room or I’ll have to call Security. You’ve caused enough of a disruption in my ward for one morning, and I won’t have any more children frightened.’

  He snarled at her and stalked out. Natalie wanted to collapse in a puddle on the floor but she once more forced her body to comply with the signals her brain was sending out and followed Mr Hailstock from the room.

  ‘Which way to X-Ray?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Mr Hailstock. You won’t be allowed into the radiology department, but if you’d like to—’

  As she spoke, Mr Hailstock stopped walking and stared at the two security officers who had come into the ward.

  ‘Excuse me, sir, but we need to ask you to come with us.’

  ‘I’m not going anywhere without my kid.’ Then, to the horror of everyone around, Mr Hailstock withdrew a switchblade from his jeans and held it towards Natalie.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ‘SOMEONE find my kid. Now! Or else something bad’s gonna happen to the lady doctor.’

  ‘You don’t want to do that, mate,’ the security officer said, and Natalie watched as the man came slowly into the direct vision of Mr Hailstock. ‘No one needs to get hurt.’

  ‘That’s right. So get my kid and keep your hands where I can see them.’

  ‘All right. All right.’ He put his hands in the air. ‘No one needs to get hurt,’ he said again. The security officer looked over at Natalie. ‘Dr Fox. Where’s Mr Hailstock’s son?’

  ‘In Radiology,’ Natalie blatantly lied, unsure exactly what was going to happen next. How could she possibly signal to the security guard that little Glen was really in the next room with Marty and not in X-Ray at all? Oh, dear. What had she done? She’d thought she’d been protecting Glen by saying he wasn’t there and now if the security guard called down to X-Ray and they said he wasn’t there…

  Natalie shut her eyes for a moment, trying to get control over her thoughts. She was behaving like a bumbling fool, and she wasn’t a fool. It was her job to protect her patient and that’s what she’d done.

&n
bsp; ‘Hey!’ At Mr Hailstock’s shout, her eyes snapped open. He was now pointing his knife at the second security officer. ‘Why don’t you come around here and keep your buddy company? Right where I can see you. No sneaking up behind me, understand? Come on. Round you come.’

  ‘I was just making sure Sister here was all right,’ the security officer said, pointing to where Sister Dorset was sitting on a chair at the nurses’ station.

  ‘Don’t play the wise guy. Now, get over there.’ The security guard did as he was told. As he moved around, Natalie saw Marty come out of a room and slip behind Mr Hailstock. Her eyes widened in disbelief but she quickly schooled her expression lest she gave anything away. What was he doing? Where was Glen? He certainly wasn’t holding the boy now and although there were quite a few children crying, she couldn’t see whether one of them was Glen. She knew the three-year-old was all right otherwise Marty would still be with him.

  She glanced down at her hands and realised she was starting to tremble. She clamped her hands together, willing herself to remain calm and focused. She dared a surreptitious look at where Marty now was and realised at the look in his eyes that he was definitely up to something, and that something was removing the threat to the paediatric ward.

  ‘You!’ Mr Hailstock pointed his finger at Cassie. ‘Get on the phone and get my kid here now.’

  Cassie looked at Natalie for confirmation and Natalie nodded. She picked up the phone and dialled. ‘Lise? It’s Cassie. Listen.’ Cassie’s voice was wavering slightly and she cleared her throat. ‘Um, we have a patient down there. Glen Hailstock. Would you mind checking if he’s finished?’ Cassie paused a moment, then said clearly, ‘That’s OK. I’ll wait while you find out.’ She turned her attention to Mr Hailstock. ‘They’re going to find him.’

  Mr Hailstock seemed to calm a little at this news and the instant he heaved a sigh of relief Natalie saw Marty move. Where she’d thought he might charge across the room and knock the other man to the floor, he did no such thing. He just waltzed in, as though he’d just entered the ward.

  ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ he asked when he was just behind the boy’s father. Mr Hailstock swung around again, pointing the knife at Marty. Natalie sucked in a breath, terror and fear in her eyes. The knife was only a few centimetres away from Marty’s chest. With a quick lunge, Mr Hailstock could easily stab him through the heart.

  ‘Sorry, mate,’ Marty said jovially, and in one deft motion removed the knife from the man’s hand. He continued walking and placed the knife on the nurses’ desk. ‘We don’t allow weapons in Paediatrics. Not safe with so many children around. Now, if you want to wield a knife, I suggest you head on down to Theatres. Knives are allowed there.’ He glanced across at Natalie. ‘Aren’t they, Nat? Or have I got Theatres mixed up with another department?’

  He was so cool, calm and collected that for a moment everyone simply stared at him in stunned amazement, especially Mr Hailstock.

  The security guards sprang into action and wrestled the stunned father to the floor, but not without a fight. Everyone moved out of the way as arms and legs seemed to be writhing in all directions.

  In the next instant one security guard was thrown back and Mr Hailstock jumped up and headed towards the window. ‘That’s enough. Now, someone get my kid here or I’ll jump.’

  Marty frowned. ‘Jump? But we’re on the eighth floor, mate. That’s not safe.’

  Natalie smothered a nervous chuckle and quickly turned away in case the distraught man saw her.

  ‘That’s the idea.’ He pointed to Cassie. ‘Have they found him?’ Mr Hailstock was now quite agitated as he edged towards the window. They all watched him in stunned disbelief. The man was really serious. He honestly thought he could jump through the window. Surely he realised it was double-glazed, shatterproof glass? There was no way he could get out. ‘Have they found him?’ he yelled at Cassie.

  ‘He’s still being X-rayed.’

  ‘No. Get him here, now. I’m sick of this and I mean it. I want my kid.’

  The security guards were back on their feet and slowly walking towards him, one on either side.

  ‘Stop! I’ll jump. I swear. I’ve been through windows before. I know what to do. I’m not joking here.’

  ‘You don’t want to do that, Mr Hailstock,’ the security officer said. ‘Just come with us and we’ll arrange for you to see your son. No one needs to get—’

  ‘No!’ Mr Hailstock yelled, and ran for the window, crashing into it with his shoulder and head. The noise was deafening and Natalie jumped in fright. The glass bowed but didn’t break. In the next instant Mr Hailstock grunted in pain and fell to the floor. He didn’t move.

  Marty frowned and Natalie could have sworn she heard him say, ‘Huh!’ They both moved at the same time, edging over towards the man.

  ‘Just a second,’ the security guard said. ‘Let me check him.’

  They waited.

  ‘He’s out.’ The security guard chuckled with incredulity. ‘He’s knocked himself unconscious.’

  ‘Right,’ said Sister Dorset in her best commanding voice. ‘The drama is over. Everyone, see to your patients. Doctors, assess the damage to Mr Hailstock and arrange his transfer to a ward that accepts patients over the age of eighteen.’ With that, she bustled off to settle her brood.

  ‘Where’s Glen?’ Natalie asked.

  ‘With Jim, the orderly. He was in one of the other rooms and I managed to peel poor Glen off me and hand him over.’

  ‘Good. Mr Hailstock?’ Natalie crouched down. ‘Can you hear me?’

  Marty had his fingers on the man’s carotid pulse. ‘Pulse feels fast, Nat. Let’s check him. Cassie,’ he called. ‘Get an orthopod up here, stat.’

  ‘He’s really out,’ she said as one of the nurses brought over a trolley containing the equipment they’d need to monitor their patient properly. ‘Do his obs, please.’ Natalie accepted the gloves handed to her by the nurse and pulled them on before checking the bleeding wound to Mr Hailstock’s right temple. She pressed her fingers to the bleeding area. ‘Can I have some gauze and a bandage, please?’ Natalie said, and a moment later they were put into her free hand. She used the gauze pad to apply pressure to stem the bleeding before wrapping the bandage around Mr Hailstock’s head, keeping the gauze pad in place.

  ‘BP is 90 over 40, pulse is rapid, pupils equal and reacting to light, respiratory rate is rapid. Skin is quite pale, cold and clammy.’

  ‘The body’s having a delayed reaction to his mental anxiety,’ Marty said. ‘Get an IV line in to boost his fluids. Neuro obs every five minutes.’ He took the stethoscope from around his neck and listened to Mr Hailstock’s heart. ‘No arrhythmias. Now that he’s unconscious, his vitals should settle down.’ Marty put the stethoscope on the floor. ‘Let’s see what damage he’s done to his bones. The way he landed, that shoulder has got to be dislocated. I need a neck brace, a blanket and we’ll need a pat-slide from another ward to shift him onto the barouche,’ he said as he continued to feel along the man’s arm. ‘No sign of open fractures but I want his arm X-rayed.’

  ‘Mr Hailstock?’ Natalie called again, but there was still no response. ‘Skull X-rays as well just to check he doesn’t have a hairline fracture, although he’ll definitely need stitches for that gash just above his temple.’

  ‘What size needles do we need for the IV? Have we got needles big enough?’ Marty asked the nurse before shaking his head. ‘I’m not used to patients this big any more.’

  Natalie smiled and agreed. ‘Check what we’ve got and if necessary go to the next ward and get supplies from there,’ she told the nurse. Sister Dorset came over to check their progress.

  ‘We’re doing fine here, Sister,’ Marty reported. ‘How’s Glen?’

  ‘Sitting in his cot, clutching his teddy bear. I’ll be filing a report on Mr Hailstock and will need your input and signatures.’

  ‘Of course,’ Natalie replied.

  ‘Ortho’s on their way,’ Cassie reported.
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  Thankfully, Mr Hailstock’s vital signs had settled down by the time Richard and Beth walked into the ward. ‘Drumming up business for us?’ Beth asked Marty.

  ‘Why should Paediatrics have all the fun? We thought we’d share.’

  ‘How sweet,’ Beth said, bending down as she pulled on a pair of gloves.

  ‘What have we got?’ Richard asked briskly.

  ‘Male approximately twenty years old, right shoulder dislocation, suspected fractures to the right arm, scapula and a possible hairline fracture to the skull,’ Marty reported.

  ‘Laceration to the head just above the temple—will need sutures. Patient is stable but hasn’t regained consciousness.’

  ‘Good.’ Richard went to the desk. ‘I need an admission form.’

  ‘What on earth happened?’ Beth asked as she felt Mr Hailstock’s arm. ‘I need to see what damage is done to that shoulder before we relocate it,’ she mumbled, more to herself than anyone in particular.

  ‘What happened?’ Marty repeated Beth’s question. ‘My darling Beth, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.’

  ‘Try me.’

  So Marty explained what had transpired to an astounded Beth.

  ‘He pulled a knife on Natalie?’ Richard was amazed and for a moment forgot the forms he was filling in. Beth looked at her friend, stunned.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  Richard crossed to Natalie’s side. ‘Of course she’s not all right.’ He met her gaze and held it and she saw genuine concern which, for some reason, surprised her. ‘Beth, organise X-rays for Mr Hailstock, then organise for him to be added to the end of my operating list this afternoon.’

  ‘I’m on it.’ Beth smiled at Natalie. ‘Glad to see you’re OK.’

  ‘Mr Hailstock finally gets to go to X-Ray,’ Cassie said, chuckling.

  Richard took Natalie’s hand in his, surprising her further. ‘You must have received an awful fright.’

  She looked down at their hands and then back to him, amazed at his concern and open display of affection. She opened her mouth to talk but he went on.