The Family He Needs

by Lucy Clark

  During dinner, she asked about his sister Vanessa.

  ‘She’ll be thrilled to know you’re back East. She’s tried on several occasions to track you down but with no success. Unfortunately, she and her family are away overseas for the next two weeks, but when she gets back we must go to Brisbane to see her.’

  ‘Must we?’ He was already making decisions for her. The instant the thought entered her head, she rejected it. Zac had never pushed her into anything, situation or otherwise, that she didn’t want to do. It had been Ian who had wanted to take away her independence and she’d vowed that never again would she ever let a man have control over her mind. She would dearly love to catch up with Vanessa but whether or not she did it with Zac would need to be seen.

  ‘It’ll be just like old times,’ he said, and smiled his winning smile at her. Julia smiled back politely and looked away, trying not to succumb to his natural charm. Later, as they were served coffee, she said, ‘So, tell me about the orthopaedic department.’

  ‘No.’ Jeffrey held up his hand. ‘No shop-talk tonight. We’ll have plenty of time for that on Monday morning. This is supposed to be a date,’ he said. ‘And a very good one at that, if I do say so myself.’ He grinned at them all and Mona leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  ‘You’re always right, my dear,’ she said.

  ‘I wish you’d stop telling him that, Mona,’ Zac said, a teasing note in his tone. ‘It makes Jeffrey think he can boss us all around at the hospital.’

  Mona laughed. ‘Well, he can, Zac, dear. He’s the director.’

  ‘That he may be, but telling him he’s always right gives him an awfully big ego so that when he makes a mistake—’

  ‘If,’ Jeffrey corrected quickly, a smile on his face.

  ‘When,’ Julia and Zac said in unison, before laughing.

  ‘When he makes a mistake,’ Zac continued, ‘it makes him unbearable to work with!’

  ‘Well said,’ Julia agreed, and they all laughed. She could feel herself slipping back into the past, enjoying his company when she really didn’t want to. Typical Zac. Even when she’d been mad, he’d still been able to raise a smile from her.

  When it was time to leave, they all walked out to the car park together. It was almost eleven o’clock and she was surprised at how fast the evening had gone, especially when she’d initially been thinking of ways to escape early.

  ‘I’ll take Julia home,’ Zac told Jeffrey and Mona.

  ‘Ah, that’s not necessary,’ she replied quickly. ‘I can take a taxi. I don’t want to impose,’ she clarified.

  ‘Nonsense,’ Jeffrey said with a frown. ‘It’s no imposition. Right, Zac?’

  ‘None at all.’

  ‘It’s all settled, then.’

  Julia reluctantly agreed, not wanting to make more of a scene than she already was. ‘Thank you for a lovely evening.’ Julia kissed both Jeffrey and Mona goodnight.

  ‘Give Edward a kiss from me,’ Mona said softly, and Julia tensed slightly, wondering whether Zac had heard or not. She drew back from Mona and looked up at him. He was shaking hands with Jeffrey and laughing, so she presumed he hadn’t heard.

  ‘See you on Monday,’ Jeffrey said, before ushering his wife to their car.

  ‘I’m parked over here,’ Zac said as he motioned to a deep green Jaguar XK8. He held the door open for Julia and waited until she was seated before walking around to the driver’s side. His stride was confident, another thing that hadn’t changed. Had anything? Sure, there were a few distinguished grey hairs at his temple, but externally he was exactly as she remembered. Was Mona right? Had his opinions changed over time?

  The car itself, with its two doors and soft top, declared he was a single man who liked to live life in the fast lane. That’s how he’d been in med school and she wondered whether Zac still held to the opinion of never having a family.

  He turned and smiled at her and she brushed the thoughts away, intent, for the moment, on just enjoying his company. ‘Would you like me to take the top off the car? You know, cruise along, enjoying the warm January breeze?’

  Julia shook her head. ‘It’s me, Zac. You don’t need to impress me with your fancy sports car.’ She leaned a little closer and whispered, ‘I know you, remember.’ Her gaze flicked from his eyes to his lips, the sensual moment enveloping them both. ‘I know the real Zachary Carmichael.’

  ‘Promise me you won’t tell anyone,’ he joked. He started the engine as they both pulled their seat belts on. ‘So, tell me about your life, Jules. What have you been doing for the past decade?’

  It had been a long time since anyone had called her Jules and she felt pleasure at hearing it again. When she didn’t say anything, he asked, ‘Where do you live?’

  She told him and he turned the car in that direction. ‘Nice and close to the hospital,’ he said, and she nodded.

  ‘Mona chose the house mainly for its location.’

  ‘You’ve known them for a while?’

  ‘About six years. Jeffrey and I worked at the same hospital in Perth for several years. It was through him that I met my ex-husband.’

  ‘So you did get married.’ He nodded as though he’d expected it. ‘Sorry it didn’t work out.’

  ‘At least say it like you mean it.’

  ‘So what happened?’ The question was asked lightly.

  ‘I guess it was the tiny fact that he thought he could sleep with whomever he wanted while I thought the two of us should be exclusive. After all, we were married.’

  ‘I see.’ The words were spoken slowly as though he was putting his own interpretation on it.

  ‘What do you see?’ she asked him, deciding to take the bull by the horns.

  He glanced over at her and then back to the road. ‘That you’re probably not too good at trusting men any more.’

  Julia laughed without humour. ‘Nope. Not too good at trusting them at all,’ she agreed. ‘Jeffrey and Mona were a great support and helped me through the divorce.’

  ‘They are a great couple and perfectly matched.’ He stopped at a red light and turned to face her. ‘I am sorry you’ve been hurt,’ he said with sincerity.

  She willed herself to be strong and not fall for the tenderness he was offering. ‘Yeah, well, I’m finally starting to see a pattern. I seem to be attracted to men who can’t commit. You were honest but were afraid of commitment and while Ian was happy to commit, he wasn’t too honest.’

  Their gazes held and Zac brought his hand up to caress her face, his thumb gently rubbing over her mouth. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said tenderly. ‘I’m so sorry I hurt you.’

  Julia was mesmerised by him but forced herself to pull back. He dropped his hand. ‘Yeah, well…I got over it.’

  The blaring of a car horn behind them snapped them back to reality and they both turned to see that the light was now green.

  Zac set the Jag in motion and just as they crossed the intersection the light turned amber again. ‘So…’ He cleared his throat. ‘There’s no special…man in your life right now?’

  Julia frowned and hesitated. Had he heard Mona telling her to kiss Edward? His mobile phone shrilled to life, saving her from answering. He quickly pulled over to the side of the road and answered the call.

  ‘Dr Carmichael,’ he said into the receiver. He paused for a moment. ‘Where?’ Another pause. ‘We’ll be right there.’ He disconnected the call and looked over his shoulder to check the traffic before indicating and turning the car around.

  ‘Problem?’

  ‘That was Jeffrey. MVA at a major intersection not far from the restaurant we were at tonight. A minibus full of tourists crashed with a semi-trailer. Jeffrey’s called the police and ambulance and together with Mona, they’re trying to organise things.’ Zac increased his speed slightly, watching the traffic carefully. He was a good, safe driver and she was thankful that that hadn’t changed.

  Within five minutes, they were passing the restaurant and he continued onwards. Soon the traffic started to ban
k up because of the accident. Zac pulled off the road and parked the car half on the kerb. Next he switched on his hazard lights and cut the engine. They both climbed from the car at the same time, Zac only stopping to collect his medical bag.

  ‘At least with Jeffrey in charge, things should be well organised,’ Zac mumbled as they covered the remaining distance to the accident site.

  ‘He can also lend a hand. He may have gone into administration but he’s still a qualified medical doctor,’ she added. ‘It might even give us a chance to boss him around for a change,’ Julia said, and Zac turned to smile quickly at her.

  ‘Yes. Maybe we can be right for a change!’

  CHAPTER TWO

  ‘STATUS?’ Zac asked as they crossed to where Jeffrey was kneeling by a man who was lying on the ground. Zac opened his bag and handed Julia a pair of gloves, before pulling on a pair himself.

  Julia looked up for a moment to where Mona was surrounded by a few people, all talking to her at once. All were Japanese tourists and in their early to mid-twenties. It was then that Julia recalled that Mona spoke the language. What a stroke of luck!

  ‘He went through the windscreen of the minibus,’ Jeffrey stated as he moved away so that Julia and Zac had more room. Zac knelt beside the patient and introduced himself.

  ‘I’m Zac and this is Julia,’ he stated, but the man had a vacant look in his eyes as though he didn’t understand a word Zac was saying.

  ‘Check him out,’ he told Julia. ‘Can we get a translator over here?’ he asked Jeffrey.

  ‘I’ll get Mona.’ Jeffrey nodded.

  Julia checked the patient’s vital signs. ‘Stable,’ she reported to Zac. Next she ran her hands over his body, checking for fractures. ‘From what I can tell, he’s dislocated his right shoulder and fractured his left tibia. Right wrist also doesn’t look too good. Facial lacerations,’ Julia murmured as she carefully checked around his skull.

  ‘Mona’s on her way,’ Jeffrey said when he returned. ‘This guy’s the worst of the lot and, as you can hear, his breathing is very raspy as well.’

  ‘Asthmatic?’ Julia asked.

  Jeffrey nodded. ‘Mona’s spoken to the driver.’ He pointed to a man sitting on the side of the road, his head buried in his hands. ‘He said this guy here was wheezing and starting to panic. He was heading for the hospital when the accident occurred.’

  ‘We’ll have to keep a close eye on him,’ Zac said as he, too, checked the patient out for fractures. ‘You’re all right,’ he soothed, seeing the terror and uncertainty in the man’s eyes. ‘Right femur doesn’t feel too good either. Julia, there’s some saline in my bag. Let’s get an IV set up and stabilise him while we wait for the ambulance.’

  ‘What’s the ambulance’s ETA?’ Julia asked Jeffrey.

  ‘I called them before I called you, so hopefully soon.’

  ‘I’m here,’ Mona said, her tone holding a thread of weariness. She crouched down beside Zac.

  ‘Patient’s name?’

  Mona spoke in Japanese and Julia noticed how the patient relaxed a little. ‘Ishimaru,’ she told them. ‘Aki Ishimaru.’

  ‘Good. Let him know that we’re doctors and we’re waiting for the ambulance.’ Zac waited while Mona spoke. ‘Confirm that he’s asthmatic, please.’

  ‘Zensokuga arimaska.’

  Aki nodded sadly before closing his eyes and whispering, ‘Zensokuga arimaska.’

  Mona gave him a concerned look before she looked to Julia and Zac, ‘Yes, he does have asthma,’ she confirmed.

  ‘OK. We’re going to give him something for the pain now. Does he have any allergies?’

  Mona spoke again and then translated. ‘He’s not allergic to anything.’

  Zac nodded as he drew up an injection of morphine. ‘We’ll need to monitor his asthma closely,’ he murmured to Julia, who agreed.

  Zac explained how they needed to stabilise Aki’s femur and had Mona translate. ‘If that’s all for the moment,’ Mona said as she stood again, ‘I can hear someone calling for me.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Zac said. ‘Jeffrey, you check out the other patients while we stabilise this man. Scissors,’ he said to Julia, as Jeffrey left them to it. Julia dug around in his medical bag and pulled out a pair of heavy-duty scissors. Zac cut through the man’s denim jeans to allow access to the injury on the right thigh while Julia continued setting up an IV line. The femur was their top priority as their patient could quite easily bleed to death from such an injury.

  Julia inserted the cannula into the man’s left arm, then made sure the saline was dripping at the correct rate before performing the neurological and neurovascular observations again.

  ‘This femur is a mess,’ Zac said after he’d revealed the wound. ‘We need to get him stabilised before he loses any more blood.’

  They worked methodically together and just before they were finished Jeffrey came back.

  ‘Is one of you free? Mona says another patient has just lost consciousness. She apparently hit her head quite hard on a window when they crashed.’

  ‘We’re almost done,’ Zac murmured. ‘Julia, you take the other patient. I’ll stay here and monitor this one.’ After a few more minutes, the soft-tissue damage was stabilised and Julia could go.

  Jeffrey led her over to where the woman had lost consciousness in the middle of the road. Traffic was still heavily banked up and some motorists had volunteered to redirect the cars until the police could get through.

  Julia heard the wail of sirens in the distance and was thankful that help had finally arrived. Zac only had limited emergency supplies in his bag and she hadn’t thought to bring her own. After all, she was supposed to be on a date!

  ‘Can you hear me?’ Julia said as she crouched down beside the woman. ‘Has she lost consciousness before?’

  ‘Not that I’m aware of.’ Jeffrey looked at the woman’s friend and asked him, but he just shook his head and shrugged.

  ‘Get Mona to translate and double-check,’ Julia requested. She checked the woman’s pupils with Zac’s medical torch and was pleased to note they were equal and reacting to light. She continued to perform the observations, and when she’d finished she looked up at Jeffrey.

  ‘Pulse rate and breathing are both slightly rapid but nothing to be concerned with at the moment. Her hands are a bit clammy but that’s to be expected. I’d say concussion but we’ll need to watch she doesn’t go into shock. I’d like her to have a skull X-ray when she gets to Emergency.’

  Mona came over at Jeffrey’s urging. She looked exhausted, Julia thought, but knew her friend would be fine when this ordeal was over. Mona asked the woman’s friend the question and Julia was relieved when the young man shook his head quite emphatically.

  ‘Good.’ Julia took the woman’s pulse again.

  ‘Wait a minute,’ Mona said as the man started talking again. ‘He said she vomited just before she fainted.’

  Julia nodded. ‘That’s normal with concussion. Can you hear me?’ she called, and the woman started to rouse. Her eyelids fluttered open momentarily. ‘Do you remember where you are?’ Julia asked, but the woman didn’t understand. Before she could ask, Mona had translated and told Julia that the woman remembered the bus crash.

  ‘Need a hand?’ another voice said from behind her, and she turned to see a woman in a paramedic’s uniform.

  ‘Most definitely.’ Julia was thankful help was finally there. ‘Can you check her blood pressure for me, please, and watch for signs of delayed shock? Otherwise, at this stage, treat her for concussion.’

  ‘Sure thing.’ The paramedic crouched down beside the patient and fitted a portable sphygmomanometer around the patient’s arm and checked her blood pressure.

  ‘Julia!’

  The urgency in Zac’s tone alerted her and she hurried to his side.

  ‘His breathing is worse.’ Zac turned to address the paramedic who had just set up a unit of blood to transfuse the patient. ‘I need oxygen—eight litres—and a bronchodilator through a ne
buliser mask.’

  The paramedic nodded before sprinting back to the parked ambulance.

  ‘Help me lift him up,’ Zac said to Julia, and together they elevated their patient. When they had him elevated, he said, ‘I’ll hold him, you do his obs. It’s all right, Aki. Deep breaths,’ Zac encouraged.

  Julia monitored Aki’s respiration rate and took his pulse. The paramedic returned with the oxygen and bronchodilator as well as an oximeter and portable sphygmo.

  Julia finished listening to the man’s chest, not liking what she’d heard. ‘Very moist in those lungs. The left lobe sounds worse than the right,’ she informed Zac. ‘Let’s get the oxygen going and get an oximeter reading.’

  They waited for a few seconds. ‘Oxygen saturation is eighty-five per cent with oxygen running. We need to start the bronchodilator medication,’ Zac commented.

  ‘Can you hear me?’ Julia called to Aki, and slowly his eyelids fluttered open but only for a moment before they closed again. ‘This is a bronchodilator drug,’ Julia told the patient. ‘This will help relax the muscles in your lungs. You need to breathe deeply,’ she tried to encourage. They fitted the mask over his mouth and nose. ‘Deep breaths,’ Julia encouraged as she, too, took a deep breath.

  Aki sucked in a raspy breath but at least he knew what to do.

  ‘Let’s get Aki ready to transfer,’ Zac said a few moments later. ‘The sooner he’s on his way to hospital, the better.’

  As they were getting him into the ambulance, another one arrived. Julia went across to speak to Jeffrey while Zac gave a quick hand-over to the other paramedics. ‘Zac and I are going to take Aki to the hospital.’ She pointed to the ambulance where the patient was safely ensconced.

  Mona came up behind her husband. ‘Whew! I’m exhausted but, still, there’s work to do. You off to Theatre with Aki now?’

  ‘Yes,’ Julia replied, and touched her friend’s arm. ‘Take a deep breath. You’ll do fine.’

  ‘Off you go,’ Jeffrey said with a nod in the direction of the ambulance.