by Lucy Clark
‘Why didn’t you tell me before now?’
‘Well, I, er…Well I didn’t want to…er…influence you or prejudice you.’
‘Against a colleague?’
‘You must have met him by now. You must have. He’s tall, dark and handsome and he told me he was expecting a new boss in the department.’
‘Does he know I’m your friend?’
‘No. I didn’t say anything to him either, and when he picked up the girls yesterday afternoon I tried to sort of hedge around to see if he’d met you, but he didn’t say a word.’
‘Why is it all such a big secret? I mean, why not let either of us know before I started in the department?’
‘Because…’ Sara sighed again. ‘Well, because I thought he might be perfect for you.’
‘Perfect, eh? In what way?’ Jennifer’s eyes met Jasper’s before she looked him over, taking in the chambray shirt which fitted over his torso to perfection, highlighting those perfect arms and broad shoulders. His tie was his university tie and as she looked him over he brushed his hand through his hair. When her eyes met his again she could see the humour displayed there as well as a veiled hint of desire, indicating he’d enjoyed her appraisal. He even gave her a little wink, forcing her to ignore the way her heart rate increased at that one look from him. Friends. They’d decided to be friends.
‘You know what I mean.’ Sara’s exasperation was starting to build to an all time high. ‘Perfect for you to date.’
‘Oh, I see.’ She couldn’t help but chuckle as Jasper put one hand behind his head and the other on his hip, striking a pose. The man was so free and funny. She liked it.
‘Why are you laughing? Jenn-i-fer?’ Sara’s tone was dark and Jennifer knew she was in trouble because Sara rarely used her full name.
‘Hi, Sara,’ Jasper said, his tone warm and inviting.
‘Jasper? You’re there!’
‘I’m here.’
‘Have you got me on speaker?’ Sara demanded.
‘Yes.’
‘Jennifer Alyce Thorngate, you are in a massive amount of trouble when I see you next, and don’t even think of staying at the hospital until two o’clock in the morning because I’ll be waiting for you when you get in.’
‘If you say so, Sara Elizabeth Jones.’
‘So I take it you two have met and figured out I wanted to get you together so you thought you’d have a little bit of payback, right?’
‘Right,’ they said in unison. At that moment Jasper’s pager went off and he checked the number.
‘A and E.’
Jennifer nodded. The next moment her own pager beeped. ‘Listen, Sara. We’ve got to go.’ She checked the information on her own pager. A and E. ‘An emergency’s just come in.’
‘A likely story,’ Sara grunted. ‘OK, but, listen, get Jasper to check out that colleague who wants you to buy the house.’
‘I’m the colleague,’ Jasper told her as he stood. ‘The house two doors down from mine is for sale.’
‘Oh.’ Sara was surprised and then Jennifer heard smugness enter her tone. ‘Oh, well, in that case, go right ahead.’
‘I’ll see you later, Sara.’ Jennifer rang off, rolling her eyes as she picked up her stethoscope.
‘What?’ Jasper asked.
‘Did you hear her tone?’
‘What tone?’ They headed out of her office and down the corridor.
‘That smug tone of hers that says, “Ooh, Jasper and Jen will be living within two houses of each other and working together and spending so much time together that my matchmaking efforts will work and I can take the credit for them getting together.” That tone.’
‘Oh. Well maybe Sara’s right?’
Jennifer stopped short. ‘What? No. I’ve told you I’m not re—’
Jasper laughed and beckoned for her to follow. ‘I’m only teasing. Gee, you’re an easy mark. Come on. Let’s see what sort of mess has come into A and E that we need to fix up.’
They rounded the corner into A and E and walked over to Maryanne, the orthopaedic registrar, who was expectantly waiting for them. ‘What’s going on?’ Jasper asked.
‘There’s been a multiple MVA reported. Ambulances are on their way in, and reports regarding the number of casualties and possible injuries.’ Maryanne directed her comments to Jasper and then to Jennifer and then back to him. It was as though she wasn’t quite sure who was in charge. Well, Jennifer knew it was up to her to make sure everyone in this hospital knew exactly who was in charge of Orthopaedics.
‘Right. Jasper.’ She turned to face him. ‘Once Triage Sister has organised the patients, I want you and two of the registrars to take the most extensive of the multiple trauma cases, which will no doubt include a pelvic fracture.’ She quirked an eyebrow at him. ‘I’ve heard you’re the expert when it comes to them.’
Jasper inclined his head in a sort of bow, acknowledging her words. Jennifer turned to Maryanne. ‘Have you called anyone else in?’
‘Louise and Allan were just finishing their shifts so I’ve asked them to stay.’
Jennifer nodded. ‘You’re with me, Maryanne, and the service registrar on duty as well. Make sure any interns are being put to good use. I don’t want to see anyone standing around without a job to do.’
‘Yes, Doctor.’ Maryanne snapped to it.
‘Jasper, you take treatment room one, I’ll go into two. We’ll work from there. Now, if we could take a look at the reports which are coming in, please?’ She held out her hand for the papers and was in the middle of scanning the third one when the wail of the sirens could be heard getting closer.
‘Action stations,’ she murmured.
‘What did you say?’ Jasper asked, a smirk on his face.
‘Nothing.’
‘Yes, you did. You said, “Action stations.’”
‘Perhaps I did.’ She put the piece of paper from she’d been reading back onto the desk, then turned to look at him, lifting her chin slightly, the action causing Jasper’s smile to increase. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her do that and he’d realised it was usually when she was uncomfortable. It was cute. ‘What?’ she asked when he continued to look at her, making her feel highly self-conscious.
He shrugged a little and stood from where he’d perched himself against the nurses’ desk. ‘Nothing. I guess it’s just not something I’d expect you to say.’
‘Why, not?’ she asked as they both headed over towards the treatment cubicles.
‘Well it’s sort of…I don’t know…a military expression.’
‘And you don’t see any resemblance between the military and a hospital?’ she quizzed.
Jasper chuckled. ‘I’m not denying that. I was just surprised to hear the words come out of your mouth. That’s all.’ He looked down at her as though excited about a new discovery. ‘I like that about you. You’re so different from other women.’ With that, he headed into treatment room one whilst she went to number two.
While she pulled on a protective gown and gloves, Jennifer couldn’t believe how warm his words made her feel. It had been an extremely long time since any man had said such sweet things to her and it was wonderful. Although, she rationalised, he was around females a lot, not only here at work with colleagues but at home with his daughters. He was obviously a father who was used to giving little compliments, to stroking the fragile female ego, and she’d probably do well not to put too much weight on what he said.
She’d come back to Parramatta hoping to find healing, to find the real Jennifer again, and accepting Jasper’s easy banter and teasing was a good start. He had the ability to make her feel the way she had back in medical school before the weight of the world had been thrust on her shoulders. Arturo’s death had affected her life because when he’d died she’d felt as though all of the life had gone out of her as well. If it hadn’t been for close friends, such as Sara and Matt, she might have faded away into nothingness. Thankfully, though, she’d held on and now, coming back to Parramatta,
back to where it had all begun, she was really starting to feel like her old self…willing to get out there and try to find her life once again. And Jasper was helping her.
Her first patient was wheeled in and she pushed all thoughts of Jasper to the back of her mind. The hours ticked by and after she’d seen one patient, ordered tests and X-rays, she moved on to the next. Apparently a truck had lost its brakes coming down an embankment on the freeway, and had not only collected the cars in front of it but also a few on the other side of the multiple-lane highway. Several cases had been transferred to Sydney General Hospital but as the accident had happened closer to Parramatta, their hospital would be responsible for the most urgent cases.
Eight hours later, just after midnight, Jennifer received a phone call as she was suturing a wound after inserting a nail that would stabilise the patient’s femur.
‘Dr Thorngate,’ the scout nurse said. ‘I have Eddie on the line. He says if you’re free, could you meet him in Emergency Theatre Two, please? He needs your assistance.’
‘Right. Thanks. Tell him I’ll be there in ten minutes.’ Jennifer looked across at Maryanne. ‘You can close here, then you may as well grab a quick drink and check the status of future patients who may require our services tonight.’
‘Yes, Dr Thorngate.’
Jennifer stood back from the table and put the instruments down, leaving the theatre staff to carry on while she pulled some extra energy from her already depleted reserves and went to assist Jasper.
When she entered Theatre Two, Jasper looked up from the table.
‘Where have you been? I was told you’d be here in ten minutes.’
Jennifer’s eyes widened at his tone and she quickly glanced at the clock. ‘It’s only been ten minutes.’
‘It’s been thirteen.’
She headed over, realising that if he was quibbling over a few minutes things probably weren’t going too well. ‘What do you need me to do?’
‘Hold this retractor,’ he ordered. The patient was a large man, covered in tattoos, and from what she could recall from when he’d been brought in had suffered a comminuted fracture of the right femur and fractures to the scapula and humerus. The pelvis, according to the X-rays that were up on the viewing box, showed a dislocation to the right acetabulum and an undisplaced fracture of the left acetabulum.
‘I thought you were going to wait to deal with the pelvis in a few days’ time, when the fracture had had time to settle a bit.’
‘Oh, everyone’s a critic.’ Jasper’s tone was heavy with fatigue and sarcasm.
‘I was simply making a comment, Jasper.’
‘No. You were criticising. Suction.’
‘Hardly, but if that’s the way you want to take my comments, don’t let me stop you.’
‘I won’t.’
‘Well, in that case, do you mind telling me what you’re doing? This sort of fracture is best left for a few days or sometimes even a week.’
‘This is you not criticising?’ He glanced up at her and Jennifer saw that his earlier fatigue had been replaced by veiled humour. It was then she realised he needed to debate, to discuss, to enliven his mind through the fatigue, and that what he was saying wasn’t what he really meant. It wasn’t the first time she’d come across this sort of method to help the surgeon to stay alert. Personally, she preferred to have music on in her theatre, and not the soothing strains of classical music like most of her peers preferred. She was a rock ’n’ roll girl.
‘Yes, it is,’ she retorted, lifting her chin in the way that he liked. Ah, she was quite a woman. ‘Are you going to make something of it?’
He could see in her eyes that she understood what was happening, that she knew she was helping him to relax, and he thoroughly appreciated her efforts. ‘I might,’ he said, then chuckled. It was a good moment. The atmosphere when she’d walked in had been so taut she could have cut it with a scalpel, but now that Jasper had released his own tension, everybody else seemed to relax a little more, making it easier to concentrate.
‘However, I’d like to state for the record that I hadn’t planned to deal with the pelvis right now but I had no choice. I need to pin this section to increase stability. I’ll revisit it in about a week’s time.’
‘Fair enough. Retract further,’ she said to the nurse. ‘Angle the light a little to the right, please.’ Jennifer took a good look. ‘Can we have some music on?’
‘Eddie doesn’t like to work to music,’ Theatre Sister remarked crisply.
‘What do you like listening to?’ Jasper asked. ‘Strauss? No, I know. How about Beethoven? His “1812 Overture” would be enough to wake the patient up, let alone keep the surgeon alert.’
‘Well, I don’t think we want the patient regaining consciousness just yet, Jasper.’
‘Good point. So what tickles your fancy? Er…I mean, as far as music goes,’ he quickly added, and a few of the staff laughed. Her eyes met his across the operating table and the look they shared in one brief second was enough to let her know he didn’t only mean music.
‘I’m a rock ’n’ roll girl.’
‘Really? Dr Thorngate, you are full of surprises.’ He looked over at the scout nurse. ‘Do we have any rock ’n’ roll for Dr Thorngate?’
‘We do, Eddie. Dr Thorngate still has a CD here from yesterday.’
‘But, Eddie?’ Theatre Sister was taken aback by his request.
‘It’s in the patient’s best interests.’ His tone was calm yet clearly brooked no argument. ‘Dr Thorngate needs to stay alert and awake so she can keep the rest of us in line.’
‘Hmph.’ Theatre Sister wasn’t at all happy and a few minutes later the first few opening bars of ‘Johnny B. Goode’ came through the speakers.
They worked on, stabilising their patient’s fracture before Jasper did a final check and announced himself satisfied. He left Allan to close the wound and headed out with Jennifer, both of them degowning.
‘Is there more?’ Jasper slumped into a chair. ‘Please say the answer is no.’
‘I’m not sure.’ She walked over to the phone on the wall and called through to the nurses’ station. ‘Is Maryanne there?’
‘Yes. I’ll put her on,’ the nurse said. While Jennifer waited, she looked over at Jasper who had his hands laced behind his head and his eyes closed. He was stretched out across the chair, his long legs crossed at the ankles, but the way he was lounging made the top of his scrub shirt rise up and his scrub trousers dip down. Her eyes were automatically drawn to the firm muscles of his lower abdomen and she realised that although she liked his firm arms and broad shoulders, the rest of him seemed to be just as fine. Nice. Very nice.
Jennifer turned her head, averting her eyes as she spoke to the registrar on the phone, but Jasper couldn’t believe she’d just given him a thorough once-over. It had been brief yet breathtaking; careful yet caressing, sweet yet sensual. She may have given him a quick appraisal earlier, when they’d been teasing Sara, but this had been real. Desire had flared in her eyes and it was obvious that she liked what she saw. As far as he was concerned, it had been a long time since any woman, sneaking a glance at him, had made him feel as though he were a teenager again, but that was how he felt.
He watched Jennifer as she quickly reached for a piece of paper and pen and scribbled some notes down. Even in baggy theatre scrubs, she looked good. Her hair was still pulled back into that bun, the style she’d worn day in, day out, and while it might be practical, especially when they were in Theatre, he was becoming more than curious to find out what she looked like with those dark locks of hers flowing free and lovely.
When she hung up, he sat up straighter in his chair. ‘What’s the verdict?’
‘Theatre One. Patient requiring open reduction and internal fixation of three fractured limbs.’
‘Really?’ he groaned, his body heavy with fatigue.
‘I’ll take it.’
‘No, it’s all right. I can do it.’
‘Seriously, Jasper,
it’s fine.’
‘It’s all right,’ he repeated, meeting her gaze. ‘Can’t have the new boss thinking I’m a wimp.’
Jennifer smiled. ‘Hardly.’ She held out a fist towards him. ‘I’ll play you for it.’
‘Pardon?’
‘Rock, paper, scissors?’
He blinked, doing a double-take. Was she serious? First he discovered she liked rock ’n’ roll when she operated and now she was making a decision about who was going to do an operation by using the rock, paper, scissors method. She was…enigmatic.
‘Is there anything else urgent that needs doing?’
‘Just triage cases.’
He thought for a moment then nodded. ‘The registrars can handle those.’ He stood and held his hand out palm up. ‘Paper. Paper wraps rock.’
‘Hey, we hadn’t started,’ she complained, but stopped short as Jasper actually wrapped his hand around her fist. The touch was enough to ignite the flame that had been on a slow burn for the past two weeks.
Jasper looked into her eyes, not removing his hand. ‘Why don’t we both do it? We’ll get through it faster.’
‘Uh…actually…’ Jennifer sucked in a breath. His hand was warm and comfortable and she liked it far too much. She swallowed and cleared her throat. ‘Why don’t you head home? I can deal with it. Shouldn’t be too much longer and, well, you know, I have my music to keep me company. Go home and get some sleep. The girls will no doubt wake up bright and early tomorrow.’
‘It’s fine,’ he said, leaning in a little. It was as though he could see her reaction to his nearness and he wanted to prolong it. ‘The girls are asleep and I’m more than used to being woken up bright and early after only a few hours’ sleep.’
His eyes were becoming intense now and Jennifer knew she wasn’t strong enough to handle it. It was as though this thing between them was slowly increasing in intensity. Something that was more than either being colleagues or friends. She wasn’t sure what it was and she didn’t know if she wanted to find out.
Edging back, she removed her hand from his touch and took a few steps away, needing distance. Her mind searched for something to say but for a few seconds it appeared to be blank. Thankfully, she recalled what he’d just said and almost pounced on it.
