Coming Home to Katoomba

by Lucy Clark

'You did mention yesterday that you were planning to make changes.'

  'Correct.'

  'Let me just caution you not to move too fast. This isn't some big city hospital where protocols are changed weekly. People here are used to doing things one way and one way only.'

  'Then they're going to have to get used to doing things differently because the differences I intend to employ will bring about better working conditions and better time-management strategies, and those two combined will bring about happier and more productive workers.'

  'I suppose you changed the way things were done at your last hospital?'

  'Yes. If something works well, why not implement it? I believe in transformational leadership.'

  'What?' Stephanie was amazed to find him so worked up and passionate about this. Still, she felt as though he'd waltzed into the hospital, taken a brief look around and was now trying to put his stamp on things as quickly as possible. Perhaps that was part of his contract? Perhaps it was part of the reason he'd been hired? It was no secret that she'd applied for the job of Director and, apart from the rosters, she'd have loved doing it, but she wouldn't have been changing things, especially not immediately after taking over the appointment.

  'It's the process of cultural and philosophical change. Right now, those patients who come to A and E and are not priority-one cases can spend hours in the waiting room. Implementing my new strategies will change that. Time management is a huge issue affecting hospitals all over the world, and if this new model of management works, why not use it?'

  'Who developed it?' Her arms were crossed defensively.

  Oliver straightened his shoulders and met her gaze fair and square. 'I did.'

  She nodded slowly. 'So you intend to change things right now?'

  'Why not? The sooner staff get used to the new regime and see for themselves how it works, the better this department will be.'

  'So you're the knight in shining armour, riding in here to save us all from mismanagement.'

  'Something like that, yes.'

  She glanced at the clock behind him and quickly stood up. 'I need to go.'

  'Of course.' He noticed the way her gaze didn't linger on him as it had earlier on. Instead, she stood, shrugged into her coat, wrapped her scarf around her neck and picked up her bag and briefcase.

  'Do you need me to come back afterwards or can you restructure by yourself?'

  'You're mad about this,' he stated.

  'I'm annoyed you're jumping in straight away and not giving yourself time to settle in and at least get to know the staff. People don't take to change very well.'

  'They never do. Even in big city hospitals, Stephanie.'

  She walked to the door, a frown still on her face.

  'If you wouldn't mind coming back, I could still do with your help.'

  'Ha,' was all she said before she walked out, closing the door firmly behind her.

  Oliver closed his eyes for a moment. He was weary and although he was looking forward to seeing Kasey tomorrow, he wasn't looking forward to the inner turmoil his recent visits with his daughter had brought. The sooner he began implementing changes at work, the sooner they'd be functioning the way they should and the sooner he could give Kasey more of his, time.

  One thing he had to do today was to convince Stephanie he was right. She was his ticket to the rest of the staff accepting the changes and he needed her on side.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Stephanie pulled her car into her brother's driveway and couldn't resist the urge to slam the door after she'd climbed out. She locked the car and stormed up to knock on Stephen's door, but he opened it before she could get that far.

  'What's the matter?' He was dressed in his old painting clothes.

  'Ooh, that man.' Stephanie walked past him, through the house, straight through to the lounge room, where she slumped onto one of the sofas.

  'At least I know you're not talking about me.' He sat down next to her and waited. Stephanie took his hand in hers.

  'You're so good to me. I'm so glad you're finally here.'

  'Steph? You're starting to scare me. Whenever you get all mushy like this it means something's not going your way.'

  'It's him.' She let go of his hand and pushed away, standing to pace the room.

  Stephen thought for a moment before nodding. 'The new director. What's his name?'

  'Oliver. Oliver Bowan.'

  'Right. The one all the nurses were drooling over yesterday at Emergency.'

  'Were they drooling?' Stephanie looked bothered.

  'Even Nicolette thought he was good-looking.'

  'Oh?' She changed tack and grinned at her brother. 'You don't look as though you enjoyed that revelation. Does it bother you that Nic might fancy someone besides you?'

  She knew her words were making him uncomfortable and was glad to have a break from her own emotions even for just a few minutes. 'Last I saw, you were taking her home earlier this morning.'

  'Hmm.' Stephen stood and walked out of the room. She followed him into the 1970s decor kitchen, glad to see he'd started removing the orange, brown and purple swirling wallpaper. 'Croissant and coffee to start with?' He took two cups from the cupboard.

  'Answer the question, Stephen.'

  'What question is that, Stephanie? You haven't asked me one.'

  'Not verbally.' She grinned. 'How do you feel about Nic?'

  'I hardly know her.' He poured coffee. 'Besides, we're soon to be professional colleagues so you'll just have to content yourself with the two of us being friends.'

  Stephanie laughed at the idea. 'Friends? Yeah, right.' She leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. 'If you're waiting for my blessing, you have it. I can't think of anyone else who is more perfect for you than Nic.'

  'Steph,' he growled.

  'If, however, you need to delude yourself for a bit longer, then that's fine, too.'

  'Steph!'

  This time she acknowledged his warning tone. 'OK. Just don't leave it too long. She's a beautiful woman and some other man might snap her up.'

  'Stephanie!'

  'All right, all right. We won't talk about it any more.'

  'Thank you.' He shook his head and smiled at her. 'Now it's my turn to grill you. Why does Oliver Bowan have your knickers in a knot?'

  'He doesn't.' She accepted the coffee and sat down at his kitchen table. 'My knickers are perfectly fine.'

  'Glad to hear it. Then why does he make you so mad?'

  'He wants to change everything.'

  'At the hospital?'

  'Yes.'

  Stephen nodded. 'His prerogative.'

  'Today? Does he need to change things today? The man wasn't supposed to start until Saturday, but as he's now here he wants to get down and restructure the entire department.'

  'Why does that bother you so much?'

  'It doesn't bother me.'

  'Sure, Steph.' He didn't believe her. 'Why does it bother you so much and does it have anything to do with the happy sensations I was experiencing a few hours ago?'

  Stephanie put her coffee-cup on the table. 'He kind of kissed me.'

  'But you hardly know him.'

  'That's not all. He's staying in Gregor's house.'

  'What? With you? Why?'

  She explained about the estate agent mix-up. 'And that's not all.' She grimaced, knowing how her over-protective brother was going to take the news about Oliver's daughter. As she expected, Stephen hit the roof.

  'You can move back in here. We'll drive round now and get your stuff.'

  'No. It's fine.'

  'It's not fine.'

  She stood and placed a hand on his arm. 'It is fine. I'm fine. Although he makes me a little frustrated at times, I kind of, well...I kind of like him.'

  'You kind of like him. He kind of kissed you and he kind of has a daughter. Is he really divorced? Can you trust anything this man says?'

  She shook her head. 'I'm not going to discuss this with you any further. I'm not moving back here becaus
e you have your own life going on and I'm not going to cramp your style.'

  'There's nothing to cramp. I've already told you, Nicolette and I are just friends.'

  'Right. Forgive me for not believing you.' She reached for a croissant and pulled it apart. Thankfully, Stephen sat back down and watched her for a moment before following suit.

  'I'm sorry,' he said eventually. 'I didn't mean to jump down your throat.' He raked a hand through his hair. 'I just know how hard it's been for you to have relationships, especially during the past year with me overseas.'

  'And now you're here and you know how much I value your opinion.'

  'So you don't mind if I check this Oliver guy out?'

  She laughed, feeling better. 'Just be subtle...well, try at least.' She took a sip of her coffee. 'I know the man I eventually marry must understand the relationship we have, and I know that's partly the reason none of my previous boyfriends went the distance. Besides, with you not being around last year, it made it impossible for me to get a second opinion.'

  'And now I'm here you feel as though you can take a chance?'

  'If it ends in disaster you'll pick up the pieces and help me get back on my feet again. After all, that's what brothers are for.'

  'You're not the most experienced person when it comes to relationships, Steph, and I mean that in the most wonderful way. You're so giving and accepting and that's when you end up getting hurt.'

  'You think that because Oliver's not only been married but has a child he's going to run rings around me?'

  Stephen nodded. 'He has experience in relationships that you don't.' He took her hand in his. 'You really like him?'

  'I do.' She gazed at her brother. 'We have this... connection.'

  'When I saw you at the accident site, you didn't seem too impressed with him.'

  Stephanie couldn't help the smile that spread over her lips. 'Oliver thought you and I were dating. He became a little curt with me.'

  'He was jealous? But he hardly knows you.'

  Stephanie laughed and kissed her brother's cheek. 'Oh, I've missed you so much. Now, are you going to feed me, or are you going to feed me?'

  Stephanie was on her way back to the hospital, her stomach full of food, when her cellphone rang.

  'Stephanie, where are you?'

  'Oliver?'

  'Who else would it be?'

  'Plenty of people,' she countered as she pulled her car to the side of the road so she could talk. 'What's up?'

  'We've just had a call come in and I need you to go out on retrieval.'

  'There's no one else?'

  .'Meaning?'

  'Well, it's my day off so I'm kind of low down on the list to be called in.'

  'I wouldn't have called you if I didn't need you.' His voice had that haughtiness in it and she instantly knew he was annoyed. It surprised her how well she knew him so quickly. 'Where are you?'

  She sighed, resigning herself to a 'Clayton's' day off— the day off you had when you weren't having a day off! 'I'm ten minutes from the hospital.'

  'Just get here,' he barked, and disconnected the call. It seemed the ogre from last night was back, and this time he didn't have the excuse of being misinformed.

  When she arrived at the hospital, she parked her car and headed for his office. No sign of him. She went to A and E but still couldn't find him. She bumped into Jade. 'Have you seen Oliver?'

  'He's in the tearoom, waiting for you, so he can start briefing everyone.'

  'Thanks.' Stephanie grimaced and rushed to the tearoom, not wanting to hold things up any longer.

  'Ah, Dr Brooks. Glad you could join us. Now we can begin. Two bush walkers have become lost in the mist around Jamieson Valley. Not only that, they took a wrong turn and ended up on the Golden Path, which is apparently closed. Now, you would think that would be enough for our intrepid explorers but, no, they wanted more excitement. They decided to climb their way up the closed path, and when the mist rolled in one of them slid, causing the other to follow, and both are now badly hurt. The reason we know all this is that they've dialled 112 on their cellphone and contacted emergency services. The call came through approximately ten minutes ago.

  'David from police rescue will be co-ordinating the search and needs the medical team in place and ready for action.' Oliver consulted a sheet of paper. 'Arnold?'

  'Yes.'

  Oliver looked at the man who had answered. 'You'll be on point. You'll be liaising directly with the police rescue squad, as well as managing the whereabouts of our people.'

  'Hey, tell me something I don't know,' Arnold teased, and people smiled. 'I'm the point guy and I'm good at it,' he said in his best Dirty Harry voice. Stephanie risked a glance at Oliver to see how he'd taken this answer to his instructions and was surprised to find him smiling as well. She released an unsteady breath, glad he'd been able to find his sense of humour.

  'OK.' He handed out a few more jobs, people nodding and asking a few questions to make sure they knew exactly where they were needed. 'Stephanie, you'll be with me.'

  'Ooh,' Arnold said, and made a few kissy noises. Stephanie could feel her face beginning to grow hot. She was used to Arnold's teasing and should have half expected it, but again was concerned how Oliver might take it.

  'Oh, keep quiet,' Oliver told him, his smile still in place. 'You're just jealous because she doesn't get to stay with you.'

  'You've got that straight,' Arnold replied, and winked at Steph.

  'All right, people. Let's get moving. The ambulance leaves in ten minutes.' As people bustled out of the room, Oliver's gaze met Stephanie's. 'Got a second?'

  'Only one. The ambulance leaves in ten minutes.'

  He came and stood beside her, straightening the papers he held in his hand. 'How was brunch?'

  'Good.' She glanced down at the paper and noticed he had the preplanned lists she'd written regarding allocation of staff for emergency procedures. 'I see you've been working hard.' She motioned to the notes.

  'Yes. In fact, I'd just finished browsing through them when the call came through, so they've been very helpful.'

  'We'd better get moving if we're going to make that ambulance,' she said.

  'I know. Listen, the reason I wanted you with me was because—'

  'I'm a brilliant doctor. I know.'

  'No, seriously...'

  'Oliver, you don't need to explain.'

  'I just don't want you or the rest of the staff thinking I'm playing favourites.'

  'You mean you're not?' she replied, feigning surprise. That small, sweet grin she was beginning to love spread across his lips.

  'It's just I mentioned to Lauren this morning about our accommodation mix-up—as you suggested we should— and she told me she was surprised a girl like you was my type. Now, I have no idea what that means, neither do I care, but I wanted to give you a heads-up that the grapevine rumours have already started.'

  Stephanie tried not to wince at the label. A girl like her. Terrific. She filed it away. Now was not the time. 'Hence Arnold's reaction?'

  'Exactly.'

  'OK.' She shrugged. 'Thanks.' She headed out of the room, forcing her mind to focus on the tasks ahead.

  She was one of the last to get into the ambulance, her bright orange retrieval suit matching those of her colleagues, and, as she had yesterday, she chose the transport Oliver wasn't in. Yesterday she'd chosen it because she'd wanted the distance from him. Today she needed everyone to see that they were just colleagues, nothing more. But you are something more, the little voice inside her head said, and she frowned, brushing it away.

  'So...' Kevin, the paramedic, said. 'I hear you and Oliver are sharing a place.'

  Stephanie smiled, knowing the rest of the staff who were travelling with them were almost holding their breath with excited anticipation to hear what she was going to say. 'Yes. It's only for a few weeks until he finds permanent accommodation. In fact, his daughter arrives tomorrow, along with the housekeeper-cum-nanny. I'll either be hibernating i
n my room or doing double shifts at the hospital.'

  'Sounds like a plan,' Kevin remarked, and after that, nothing else was said. Discussion turned to the possible scenarios they might find. Stephanie was pleased with the information she'd managed to relay and was proud of the, way she'd done it—without letting the rest of her colleagues see exactly how much their new boss really affected her.

  When they arrived, David had a headset on and was speaking rapidly to one of his staff. He motioned for Stephanie to come over and, without saying a word, held out an abseiling harness to her. She immediately put it on.

  'Going somewhere?' Oliver asked as he sauntered over. David spoke intently to his staff member and held out a harness to Oliver as well.

  'Looks like, wherever it is I'm going, you're coming, too, boss.'

  'Looks that way.'

  'Right.' David turned his attention to them. 'The bush walkers have been located. Nothing too life-threatening, from what my people can see, although if they stay down there much longer, they run the risk of hypothermia.'

  'Stabilise and evacuate?'

  'Got it in one. I thought we might need a few extra of your people to go down but the two of you will be sufficient. Once you're down, let Arnold know what you need, he'll get it together and we'll get it down for you. Getting them out is going to be a different matter. We're going to need to venture a few kilometres back the way they walked this morning before we can hook up the ropes to get them out. The tree foliage is too dense here.'

  'OK,' Stephanie said as David put a hard hat on her head, making her earrings tinkle. 'What's the best way to get down?'

  'There's a disused walking path over there. That'll take you about half of the way, and from there we've rigged up a rope you can hold on to while you navigate to the bottom. They're not far from there.'

  He handed Oliver a walkie-talkie. 'Give us a shout if you run into trouble.'

  Oliver tucked the communication device into a pocket in the retrieval overalls. 'Let's grab the emergency medi-kits from Arnold then we're ready.'

  It was another five minutes before they set off, the medi-kits secure inside their overalls to ensure their hands were free.

  'Ready to rock 'n roll?'

  Oliver smiled. 'Ladies first.'