by Lucy Clark
‘Just as well Security were here to deal with things. They know how to get through to people like that.’
Natalie frowned at his words, her throat now beginning to work. ‘But it wasn’t Security, it was—’
‘Never mind. It’s over now.’ He gave her hand a little squeeze and edged closer. ‘I think I can even shuffle my schedule and make your department Christmas party tonight. That should help you get over your shock. Not a nice thing to happen but, then, this is a nasty world. Anyway, I’d better go. We’ll talk later.’ He dropped her hand and walked out, not looking back.
Natalie just stood there and stared at him, totally confused. Hadn’t he got the message? Didn’t he realise she’d called their relationship off? Why was he coming to the Christmas party tonight? She didn’t need any help getting over her shock and if she did, it wouldn’t be from him.
‘Nat?’
She didn’t move.
‘Nat?’ Marty’s voice finally broke through and he placed his arm about her shoulders. ‘Hey.’ He came to stand in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders. ‘You all right?’
Natalie finally focused on his gorgeous blue eyes, bringing her back to reality. ‘Yeah. I’m OK.’
‘You sure?’
‘Yes.’ She smiled at him. ‘Except for being mad at you for putting yourself in danger.’
‘I knew what I was doing.’ He waved away her concern.
‘Are you all right, Dr Hero?’
He grinned and slung an arm around her shoulders. ‘Absolutely. After all, I am Dr Hero!’
‘Oh, no. Now it’s going to go to your head,’ she groaned as they walked to the nurses’ station. ‘Seriously, Marty.’ She turned to face him and he dropped his arm. ‘You are all right, aren’t you?’
‘Yes.’ He met her gaze and she could see for herself that he was indeed fine about the whole thing. ‘Of course,’ he said as he straightened his shoulders and placed his hands on his hips in a superhero pose, ‘I am Dr Hero. Here to save the ward from unwanted visitors.’ He was thinking more about Everley as he spoke, rather than Mr Hailstock. ‘Taking them by surprise is my speciality. I am courageous and fearless.’
‘Dr Williams,’ Sister Dorset said from behind him, and Natalie laughed when Marty jumped. When he turned to grin at Sister, Natalie realised he’d been playacting. ‘Will you kindly get back to work? The orthopods are taking care of Mr Hailstock and we have a ward round to finish.’
Again, Marty’s cool, calm and collected demeanour came to the fore. ‘Not just yet, Sister.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ She glared at him.
‘Not until I’ve had a closer look at your wrist.’
‘My wrist is fine.’
‘No, it’s not,’ he said softly, as though he were dealing with one of his young patients. Once more, Marty was completely baffling Natalie in the way he was handling things. ‘If you’ll please come with me to the treatment room, I’ll have a quick look. Dr Fox, would you care to assist me? After all, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a wrist this…’ He hesitated and smiled sweetly at Sister. ‘This mature for quite a while, and a second opinion would be appreciated.’
‘Of course,’ Natalie replied. Sister Dorset glared at them both before walking stiffly to the treatment room. Marty followed her, grinning confidently at Natalie as if to say, Winning this bet is going to be a cinch.
‘That man is way too perfect.’ Cassie sighed romantically once Marty had disappeared from view. ‘Everyone likes him, the staff, the patients, and now even Sister Dorset seems to be taking a shine to him.’
‘Yes.’ Natalie frowned as she headed to the treatment room. She wasn’t quite sure what she could do to sabotage Marty’s chances of winning their bet and at that moment she wasn’t sure she wanted to. If he did win, what would he propose? All she knew was with Marty anything was possible.
‘Now, Sister Dorset,’ Marty said as he washed and dried his hands before pulling on a pair of gloves, ‘how’s the range of motion?’ He tenderly took Sister’s hand in his and gently checked it, watching her eyes in case she grimaced.
Natalie, too, was watching carefully as she washed and dried her hands. ‘Please, tell us if it’s tender, Sister.’
‘It’s fine,’ Sister maintained briskly.
‘I don’t think it needs an X-ray,’ Marty declared. ‘Nat? What do you think?’
Natalie pulled on a pair of gloves and gave Sister’s wrist a brief examination. ‘I don’t think it’s fine, Sister is putting on a brave front. But neither do I think it needs X-raying. Nothing feels broken, although resting it for the next few days wouldn’t go amiss.’
‘I’m well aware of first-aid procedures,’ Sister Dorset retorted.
‘Then I can rely on you to adhere to them,’ Marty said firmly as he took an elastic bandage from the cupboard, then hunted around for an ice-pack. ‘Where are the ice-packs, Nat?’
‘I’ll get one,’ she said, and disappeared out the room.
‘So, is all this to get into my good books, Dr Williams?’ Sister asked as Marty started to wind the bandage around her arm.
‘Meaning?’
‘Meaning I believe you have a bet going with Dr Fox.’
Marty was taken aback and concentrated on his bandaging before smiling at Sister. ‘No pulling the wool over your eyes, is there? Although I’d just like to add that even if there wasn’t a bet, I’d still have rendered first aid.’
Sister nodded, acknowledging his words.
‘Besides, I didn’t think you listened to hospital gossip,’ Marty continued as he secured the bandage. ‘Do you think you’ll need a sling or will you honestly try not to use it too much for the remainder of the day?’
‘I do not need a sling, Doctor, and neither do I actively listen to gossip, but sometimes it is rather hard not to overhear. I’d just like to warn you that I’m no pushover and although you may have been born with a barrel of natural charm, you will only get to call me by my first name when you have earned that right. Bet or no bet. Do I make myself clear?’
Sister glared at him and Marty couldn’t help but smile, genuinely liking Sister Dorset more and more. ‘Perfectly, Sister.’
Natalie came back into the room with the ice-pack. ‘Here you are, Sister.’
‘Thank you, Doctor.’ She put the ice-pack on her wrist and then glanced at them both. ‘May we return to the ward round now or must I sit in the treatment room for the next fifteen minutes?’
‘Will you be good?’ Marty asked. ‘Do as the doctors have told you?’
‘I will.’
‘What do you think, Nat?’
‘I think we can trust Sister.’
Marty looked at the sister. ‘Yes, I think we can trust Sister,’ Marty said pointedly, and watched as Sister Dorset’s lips twitched with humour before she quickly regained her composure.
‘Thank you. Let’s get on then, staff.’ She stood and headed out of the treatment room.
‘You do like living dangerously,’ Natalie said with a laugh as they took off their gloves and quickly tidied the treatment room before following Sister out.
‘Just trying to win that bet.’
‘Is it working? I’m only asking so I know whether or not I need to resort to underhand tactics.’
‘I’m not at liberty to say.’ They finished ward round without further complication then Marty looked towards Glen’s room. ‘I’m going to go check on Glen.’
Natalie nodded. ‘Do you think he might need a sedative?’
‘He may do. It depends how distraught the poor kid is.’
‘I’m going to head to the playroom and spend a bit of time there. After all the drama we’ve had here, I need a bit of downtime.’
‘Good idea.’
They headed off in different directions and Natalie was pleased to find several children enjoying themselves in the playroom. Some were drawing, some were making more Christmas decorations for the already crowded Christmas tree at the entrance to the ward. Others were playin
g with little plastic building bricks that snapped together. Georgina, who was eight and a half and had been admitted with a fractured tibia three days previously, had built a Christmas tree with the bricks and was starting on some square boxes for presents.
‘Well done,’ Natalie praised her. ‘You’re very clever with them.’
Georgina was trying to get two red bricks apart, without much success. She held them out to Natalie. ‘Can you get these apart for me, please?’
‘Sure.’ Natalie had to use her fingernails to get them apart. ‘Wow. They’re tough.’
‘Yeah. Sometimes I use my teeth to separate them.’
‘Try not to,’ Natalie warned her. ‘But I know what you mean. I remember playing with those sorts of bricks when I was your age and they’re just as tough now as they were back then.’
Georgina continued making her presents, her leg in its cast propped up on some pillows and her crutches to one side. Natalie sat down at one of the tables and picked up a piece of paper. While she talked to the children, she folded the paper a couple of times into a rectangle and then started to cut. When she’d finished, she carefully pulled and opened it, making a line of paper dolls.
‘Wow, Dr Nat. That’s so cool.’
‘You can decorate that and we’ll put it up around the ward,’ she said, handing it to one of the girls to colour in.
‘Dr Nat is very talented,’ Marty said as he walked through the door and took up a chair opposite Natalie. He, too, folded some paper and began to cut, but his paper dolls came out looking a little different from Natalie’s smooth-shaped ones. ‘Hmm. You’re going to have to give me another lesson. It’s been years since I’ve done this.’
Natalie showed him and the other children what to do and soon they were all cutting out paper dolls. She even cut one lot with Santa hats.
‘They’re so cool,’ one boy said.
‘Cool Santa.’ Marty nodded his head. ‘And he’ll need to be cool, coming to Australia. It’s way too hot here for his red velvet suit, but he does insist upon wearing it.’
Georgina laughed and in the next instant started choking. Natalie and Marty were out of their chairs in an instant. Georgina kept trying to suck air in.
‘Try and cough,’ Marty said, his voice calm and controlled. Natalie took Georgina’s hand in hers.
‘It’s all right, Georgina. We’re here to help you.’ Natalie looked at the rest of the children in the playroom. ‘She’ll be fine. Can one of you get a nurse for me, please?’ No sooner had she voiced the request than most of the kids left the room. Georgina was still gasping for air.
‘I’m going to pick you up,’ Marty told her. ‘Then I’m going to firmly hit you between the shoulder blades and hopefully we’ll remove the obstruction.’
Natalie helped him get her up and quickly stacked a few chairs together, giving the usually small chairs extra height so Georgina could lean over them.
‘All right. Try and cough if you can.’
Natalie shifted Georgina’s torso so she was leaning well over the back of the chairs, her head down, before Marty gave four sharp blows with the flat of his hand between the girl’s shoulder blades. On the fourth blow Georgina coughed again and out came a small red building brick.
‘There we go,’ Marty said triumphantly. ‘Dr Hero strikes again.’
‘We’re lucky Dr Hero was around,’ Natalie said to Georgina as she helped the girl upright. The child looked at her before bursting into tears. ‘Oh, darling.’ The little girl buried her face into Natalie who immediately put her arms around her. ‘It’s all right. It was frightening and it’s over. You’re fine now.’
One of the nurses came into the room as Marty scooped the offending brick off the floor. ‘It’s smaller than my thumbnail,’ he said as he held it out to the nurse. ‘Wash this, will you, please?’ He grinned as he handed it over, then turned his attention back to Georgina. ‘Don’t worry about it, Georgie. Let’s get you back to bed and perhaps order some ice cream to soothe your sore throat.’
Georgina lifted her head momentarily from Natalie and looked at Marty.
‘Ah, I thought the mention of ice cream might do the trick. Think you can walk on your crutches or do you want me to get a wheelchair to take you back to bed?’
‘Wheelch—’ She stopped and swallowed, grimacing at the pain in her throat.
‘Wheelchair it is,’ Marty replied. ‘Be back in a moment.’
Natalie looked down at Georgina. ‘We’ll give your mum a call and let her know what’s happened, then we’ll see about ordering you some ice cream. Let me see if I can guess your favourite flavour. Don’t talk, just nod or shake your head.’ She sat the girl down on one of the chairs and started guessing different flavours. Georgina shook and nodded her head as appropriate.
‘Um…’ Natalie thought of a different flavour just as Marty came back in with a wheelchair. ‘What other flavours of ice cream can you think of?’ she asked him. ‘I’ve done vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Pineapple and butterscotch.’
‘Banana?’ Marty asked, and Georgina nodded enthusiastically.
‘Oh, yeah! Dr Hero is on a roll,’ he said, puffing out his chest.
‘Dr Hero might need help keeping his ego in check,’ Natalie suggested with a smile. Once Georgina was in the wheelchair, Marty pushed her back to her bed while Natalie carried her crutches. When Georgina was settled, Natalie performed an examination of her throat and declared that everything was fine. ‘A bit of banana-flavoured ice cream, if we can possibly find it, and you’ll be back to your usual self in no time.’
‘And I’m never going to put one of those bricks in my mouth again,’ Georgina whispered emphatically.
‘Glad to hear it.’
Natalie and Marty headed to the nurses’ station to update Georgina’s notes. ‘Have you called her mother?’ Natalie asked Cassie.
‘Just got off the phone with her. Do we need an ENT registrar up here?’
Marty shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. Nat’s checked her out and, apart from being frightened, she’ll be fine.’
‘OK. I’d better call down to the kitchen to see if it’s too late to get some ice cream sent up with the lunch orders.’
Natalie looked at her watch. ‘Is that the time?’
‘Lunchtime already, is it?’ Marty asked. ‘If we’re quiet, how about we go have lunch together and then tackle the afternoon with gusto?’
‘OK.’
‘Just let me check on Glen again and I’ll be all yours.’
Natalie forced a smile, glancing quickly at Cassie who, although she was on the phone, raised her eyebrows and grinned. Marty headed off and a moment later Cassie put down the phone.
‘Ice cream has been ordered for Georgina.’
‘Thanks.’
Cassie motioned to Marty. ‘Is he always this jovial?’
Natalie thought for a moment. He certainly hadn’t been jovial in Fiji and there had been many times at school where, after she’d begged him to be serious, he’d oblige. ‘There is a serious side to him,’ she eventually replied. ‘He’s good to have around in an emergency and always keeps his head.’
‘As any good doctor should,’ Cassie remarked with a smirk. ‘I’m glad there’s more to him than just laughter, although I think it would take a woman years to unlock it.’
Natalie thought about Cassie’s words as she walked to the cafeteria with Marty. It was true that Marty held himself back when he dated, but he certainly didn’t do that with her. With the kiss they’d almost shared in the car park, did that mean he saw her as something more than a friend? She knew he trusted her but was he willing to trust her with his heart?
Was that what she wanted?
CHAPTER SEVEN
THANKFULLY, the afternoon passed without further drama and finally Marty drove Natalie home so she’d have time to bathe and change before he picked her up for the Christmas party.
Once she was in her dress, she changed her earrings, putting on a pair of dangling C
hristmas trees that had little flashing lights in them. They didn’t match her dress but it was Christmas after all. She paused, her gaze dropping to a very special box which held a piece of very special jewellery. Slowly she reached out and picked it up. Opening it slowly, she ran her finger over the bracelet inside, thrilling at the touch. This was the Christmas present Marty had given her on their last day of school. Should she wear it tonight? She usually only wore it on special occasions and this was certainly a special occasion.
Natalie took it out of the box and put it on. It was pretty and quite inexpensive compared to some of the jewellery she’d bought or been given as an adult, but it was her absolute favourite. Her new emotions towards Marty made her feel highly self-conscious about wearing it. Would he think she’d worn it just to get his attention?
She took the bracelet off and placed it back in the box, which she then put back in her drawer. She heard his car engine in the driveway, which snapped her back to reality. Quickly she finished brushing her hair and slipped on her shoes before collecting her bag and heading downstairs.
When she opened the door, he stood before her, looking incredible in a dark suit. Natalie’s jaw hung open as she appraised him. It was the first time since…well…ever, she realised, that she’d seen him formally dressed. ‘You’re wearing a tie,’ she declared, and instantly realised what a stupid thing that had been to say.
‘Yes.’ He pulled at it, obviously uncomfortable. ‘Why do we have to swelter in this get-up and you girls get to dress in skimpy things?’ He gestured to her dress, his gaze travelling the length of her. ‘Which will keep you cool,’ he finished, his voice a little thicker.
‘Why do you get to wear comfortable shoes and I have to wear these potential ankle-twisters?’ she argued right back.
They paused, neither of them speaking, but their bodies were certainly talking to each other.
Marty broke the moment, clearing his throat. ‘Ready to go?’
‘Uh…yes.’ She picked up her bag and keys before checking the town house was locked. She was a little disappointed that he hadn’t said anything about her dress. It was burgundy in colour and ended at mid-thigh, with a scooped neckline and shoestring straps. Then again, she hadn’t said that he’d looked nice so perhaps he was equally as annoyed with her for not paying him a compliment.
