Healed by Her Army Doc

by Meredith Webber

‘What do you mean about joining the SDR team? Our SDR team?’ she whispered back at him, tension adding anger to her words.

  ‘Just that!’ he said. ‘Mind you, I’m exaggerating slightly. It takes a while to get out of the army but, looking ahead, I was at the hospital talking to Blake today when the call went out, and I thought I might as well come along. Though not in time to stop you putting yourself in danger.’

  Kate shook her head. Nothing he’d said made any sense to her, but she doubted this was the time to be considering it. Right now they needed to stay safe—to keep the child safe.

  She could hear the negotiator still talking, although Angus’s whispered words had all but blotted the negotiations out.

  Now it was her thoughts making it difficult to understand him.

  But something must have happened because black-clad men—and possibly some women—heavy with bullet-proof gear—were carrying the injured swiftly into the shadows on the ground floor, while muted sounds from above suggested another group was approaching the man.

  The negotiator kept talking, and Kate realised he was distracting the man’s attention and possibly using the noise of the bullhorn to cover the slight movements on the second floor.

  It was only later that evening that Kate saw what had happened on the news channel, five men converging on the gunman and putting him on the ground, relieving him of his weapon, searching and then handcuffing him, finally leading him away to a waiting police van.

  In the shopping centre, someone had yelled the all-clear and chaos had erupted as people who’d been separated during the evacuation searched for their friends or relations, oblivious to police commands to remain calm and seek police help in their search.

  Angus had disappeared as silently as he’d approached and Kate wondered if he’d been a dream, although his whispered words still jangled in her head. Had he really said something about getting out of the army?

  But why?

  She found a frantic mother and reunited her with her child, both of them in tears, and went looking for whatever members of the SDR team who might still be around.

  Sam and Paul were by the van that they used in the city and she returned to the hospital with them.

  ‘Blake went to the hospital with a critically injured man,’ Sam explained. ‘He’d lost a lot of blood because of the stand-off. If we could have got to all those injured faster than we did, there’d have been less chance of anyone dying, but as it is this man and a younger woman are both listed as critical. Kate, you’ve been in SDR longer than I have, is there any training for this kind of thing? Can we as a response team do more?’

  Kate thought about it, then said, ‘I don’t think so. We all have our roles in these crises, although that’s the first hostage situation I’ve been in. But generally speaking the police have jurisdiction, especially in the city, and they have an elite squad that responds. A special squad from the army is the next lot called in, along with the fire and ambulance services—or maybe they come before the army. But we’re there to treat the injured and in things like mass shootings there could be plenty of those.’

  ‘Too many to be worrying about other aspects of the situation?’ Sam said, and Kate nodded.

  But once back at the hospital it was hard to settle into work, with images of Angus, and whispers of the strange things he’d said, foremost in her mind.

  The page requesting her presence in the ED came as a relief. She really didn’t want to be operating on anyone without her mind one hundred per cent on the job.

  Down there, it soon became clear that most of the damage was collateral. People cut by broken glass when a shot had shattered a shop window, others injured by flying masonry chipped from a wall near them by a bullet.

  Several people had been hurt in the panic to get to safety, and all in all the place was chaotic.

  The nurse at the triage desk saw Kate walk in.

  ‘Cubicle twelve,’ she said. ‘Cuts from flying glass.’

  Kate moved towards the cubicle—the curtained room providing some privacy but certainly not soundproof, which was how she couldn’t avoid hearing a deep, familiar voice from the cubicle next door.

  Undoubtedly Angus, which made as little sense as his earlier SDR conversation.

  But she had a patient, the clothes the woman had been wearing already replaced with a gown, and on a drip to replace blood loss, provide pain relief and mild sedation, but the woman’s wounds were from more than flying glass.

  ‘Someone pushed me through a window,’ she said weakly, and, lifting protective cotton pads on her arms and legs to see the damage, Kate knew it would be a long job.

  She looked at the nurse assisting her.

  ‘We’ll need to flush every wound very carefully to see there’s no glass embedded in it. Some we can close with strips but others will need stitches. Could you start that while I check that none of them are bleeding badly enough to be treated immediately? If not, we’ll start at the top and work down.’

  Kate checked all the wounds, irrigating them as she worked, pleased that they were mostly shallow.

  But the face was important. She didn’t want to leave the woman scarred for life—a permanent reminder of a terrifying time.

  Together, they washed and stitched and dressed the woman’s wounds, Kate especially careful to minimise any scarring.

  ‘So this is what general surgery is all about,’ a voice said quietly, and Kate froze for a moment, before turning to see Angus, dressed as she was in bloodied scrubs.

  A thousand questions rattled in her head, not one of which she could ask right now. Instead she had to concentrate on her patient, giving her all her attention, so distractions like her body’s reaction to Angus had to be hastily slapped down,

  ‘I might see you later,’ he said.

  ‘What’s he doing here?’ she asked the nurse when she’d tied off the last stitch in her patient’s cheek.

  ‘Something about joining the ED in the near future—checking the place out,’ the nurse replied. ‘Gorgeous, isn’t he?’

  Too gorgeous for his own good, Kate thought, but as the nurse’s explanation left her more bamboozled than ever, she ignored it too.

  Somehow she got through the day, although an eight-hour shift had turned into fourteen hours, with brief stops for coffee and food to keep her going. She had admitted the woman with the myriad glass cuts, wanting her kept on IV antibiotics for a few days in case there was any infection.

  The woman’s husband was with her when Kate came to check on her patient before leaving the hospital, profuse in his thanks for all she’d done.

  ‘Visiting hours are over so I’ll walk out with you,’ he said, and she stepped outside while he said goodbye to his wife, waiting because she sensed he wanted to talk to her.

  ‘Will the wounds heal?’

  The question burst from his lips when they were only yards from the ward.

  ‘They will,’ Kate assured him.

  ‘But completely? No scars?’

  Kate shook her head, suddenly exhausted, but the man was concerned so she had to explain.

  ‘Can we grab a coffee? It’s only machine stuff and any resemblance to coffee is purely accidental but I need a hot drink and we can sit in the visitors’ chairs and drink it while we talk.’

  He hurried to get them both a cup of weak, warm liquid, carrying both to a small seating area by the elevators.

  She took a sip, grimaced, but forced a little more down.

  ‘She’s had multiple injuries, but it’s mostly shock we’re worried about now. Some of the deeper cuts may leave scars but I’m reasonably certain her face will be okay. Some scars will leave faint white lines for a while, but nothing that can’t be covered by a fine film of make-up.’

  The man gave a sigh of relief.

  ‘It’s not that she’s vain or anything, but she always looks aft
er herself. She goes to the gym, only eats the right foods and looks after her skin. She’d be devastated if she was badly scarred.’

  It was Kate’s turn to sigh.

  ‘You have to remember that they will look bad at first—red and even puckered—but give it time, use the creams she’ll be given when she leaves the hospital, and they should all end up minimal at the most.’

  ‘Oh, thank you,’ the man said, abandoning the coffee and getting to his feet, bending to give Kate a hug of gratitude before heading for the lift.

  ‘Do all the men you meet give you thank-you kisses?’

  Kate looked up to see Angus looming over her.

  ‘Why are you here?’ she asked, far too tired to explain what had just happened, and far too confused to work out what was happening with Angus.

  ‘They told me in the ED you’d come up with your patient.’

  She knew she was frowning.

  ‘So?’ she asked.

  ‘I came to find you. I want to talk to you.’

  ‘Oh, Angus, I am so tired I’ve been wondering if I’ll make it home or if I can find a spare bed somewhere here to sleep, if only for a few hours.’

  She studied him, trying to read the expression on his face.

  Nothing there.

  So she added, ‘I’m really far too tired to talk about anything.’

  ‘Then I’ll walk you home.’

  And talk even if I don’t want to listen, Kate thought.

  She shook her head.

  ‘I’m going to find an on-call bed—there’s sure to be a vacant one somewhere in the hospital. I just need to crash for a few hours. Can we talk later?’

  Although did she really want to talk to him?

  This thing about getting out of the army, maybe joining the SDR, stuff she’d heard in snatches today was making her feel very unsettled. Was it something to do with the Snowy situation? Did he feel his tent had failed?

  Could he be doing it for her?

  Surely not!

  Just thinking about it made her feel worse.

  ‘Tomorrow morning, breakfast. I’ll meet you at Luigi’s at seven.’

  Kate bit back a groan and nodded, but as she got rather shakily to her feet, Angus was there, holding her elbow, steadying her, so close that, even exhausted, her body responded to his with all the usual fervour.

  ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘I’ll get a cab, see you home. You’ll sleep better there.’

  He took her home, asking the cabbie to wait while he went up to the apartment with her.

  ‘You don’t have to come in and undress me,’ she said, as he took the key and unlocked the door for her. ‘I’ll go straight to bed.’

  ‘You’d better,’ he told her, then dropped a kiss on her lips and disappeared back along the corridor to the elevator.

  Once inside, she showered and fell into bed, her mind wanting to go over the strange things that had happened that day—mainly the strange Angus things—but sleep claimed her immediately, a deep, dreamless sleep...

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  KATE WOKE AT SIX. It was habit from as far back as school. And now if she was on duty at seven she had plenty of time to get ready, and if she wasn’t on until nine she could go for a run first.

  She was contemplating the run when something echoed in her brain—words—a meeting. Angus!

  He wanted to talk and she was wary about the talk.

  Slowly, the events of the day and the stray snippets of Angus stuff filtered back into her conscious mind.

  It took a while to get out of the army—talking to Blake about the SDR—checking out the ED. Oh, hell! That explained her wariness, although surely he wouldn’t be doing this because of her.

  Please let it not be about her...

  She loved him desperately but if he was doing it for a wife and family—well, that made her stomach ache.

  And the alternative that it might be about some other woman only made her feel worse.

  She forced herself out of bed and dressed hurriedly.

  Seven at Luigi’s!

  At least she’d find out.

  * * *

  Angus couldn’t recall ever feeling this nervous, not even when mortar shells were exploding around him.

  Nervous, and excited!

  Everything was falling so neatly into place. Only this morning he’d had a text from Blake about an apartment in the building where Kate lived with Alice. Three bedrooms, up for sale—once owned by another Bayside doctor. He could move in and rent until the sale went through...

  So why the nerves?

  Because Kate had seemed a little strained last night?

  But he could put that down to the long and traumatic day she’d had.

  Kate!

  He smiled to himself, pleased with all he’d managed to organise in such a short time.

  He reached the café before her and found a quiet table on the pavement, looking out over the beach. Then there she was, walking towards him, not smiling—well maybe a small pretend smile—but she’d still be tired.

  He stood up to greet her, took her in his arms to kiss her, felt her stiffen, turn a little so his kiss hit her cheek.

  Tired?

  She sat down, ordered coffee from the hovering waiter, then turned to him.

  ‘So, talk!’ she said, and Angus felt his throat tighten and his mouth go dry.

  This wasn’t how he’d planned it.

  ‘We should get our breakfast order in before it gets too busy,’ he said. ‘We should tell the waiter when he brings the coffee.’

  ‘One slice of banana bread toasted,’ she said, and although he wanted to tell her she should eat more than that for breakfast, he had finally caught on that this was not the joyous reunion he’d somehow imagined.

  He gave the orders, watched as she stirred sugar into her coffee and took a sip, looking at him over the rim of the cup, eyes making the same demand.

  Talk!

  ‘I don’t know how much you took in of what I was saying yesterday. It was all so chaotic, and nothing definite’s been organised yet, but—’

  She put down her coffee, tilted her head to one side, and looked at him—really looked.

  ‘Angus, start at the beginning. Start with the army.’

  His hands seemed to be shaking so he put down his coffee cup. He’d have liked to reach out and take her hands in his but hers were still firmly wrapped around her cup.

  ‘I’m getting out,’ he said. ‘I’ve done enough.’

  ‘But your tent?’ she protested. ‘You wanted to go wherever it went. It was your dream from the very beginning.’

  She sounded perplexed, which was understandable, although he had hoped for a little excitement...

  ‘I’ve got others who know as much about it as I do. Now we know it works and with a few modifications after the Snowy experience I’ll go to China where they’ll manufacture them, but after that I’m free.’

  ‘Free?’

  Still perplexed!

  ‘Free to take a job here at Bondi Bayside. Apparently, they’ve had locums working in the ED since someone called Luc Braxton left and the job’s mine if I want it.’

  Still no sign of excitement. He was starting to feel jittery. This wasn’t going at all the way he’d planned.

  Long silence, Kate studying him, expressionless now.

  Then—

  ‘Why are you doing this, Angus?’

  She didn’t know!

  Couldn’t guess?

  Had he been mistaken about how she felt?

  Had the love he’d been slow to recognise but was now strong enough to move mountains—and get out of the army—been one-sided?

  That thought made him feel very hollow, so hollow he knew that answering, ‘For you, for us,’ would be a big mistake.


  He took a deep breath.

  ‘Finding out about the baby, it spun me off course. For days I felt...not lost but completely disoriented. For the first time in my life I didn’t have a compass in my head telling me exactly what lay ahead. Yet I did know what lay ahead—things I’d spent what seemed like for ever planning, going with the tent wherever it was needed. Suddenly it wasn’t enough.’

  He paused, looking at her across the table, wondering if any of his words were making sense to her.

  ‘I thought maybe it was because the tent had been successful and I needed a new project, or maybe the deaths down in the Snowy had affected me more than I’d thought. I haven’t been much fun—a bear with a sore head had nothing on me as I mooched around the place, snapping at people who’d done nothing to deserve it, and generally making everyone around me miserable too. I was seriously considering counselling when I began to realise it wasn’t me at all, it was the army.’

  ‘The army?’

  ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love the army. It’s been my life—my dream since I was a child—given me so much, but suddenly I knew I didn’t belong there any more. It was time to leave,’ he said firmly.

  And that was true. He’d had enough of army life, and wanted something more, something settled, normal. And if he didn’t find it with Kate—

  He wouldn’t go there.

  Their breakfast arrived, just in time to ease the tension that had suddenly built like a thick cloud between them, but as he watched her butter her toast and cut it into neat squares his heart knew he wanted to see her do that again—and again—if possible every morning for the rest of their lives.

  * * *

  Kate picked up a small square of toast, not really wanting to eat it, sure it would taste like sawdust, she felt so uptight.

  Angus hadn’t said it, but she was reasonably certain that this whole idea of leaving the army and coming to work at Bayside was something he’d done for her.

  And her heart ached inside her, that he would make such a sacrifice. No one who’d spent any time with Angus could help but know how much the army, and particularly his tent, meant to him.

  He’d asked her to marry him, and she’d reminded him that he’d learned from past experience that the uncertainty of army life, particularly his army life, was too hard on relationships—too hard on a wife and children...