Rapid Response

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘Sit down.’ She made the woman sit on the banking then took a wad of lint out of her bag and placed it over the gash on her forehead. ‘Hold this there and keep some pressure on it to stop the bleeding.’

  The woman didn’t say a word but she did as she was told so Holly left her. The rules were quite simple in this type of situation: the walking wounded should be given minimal treatment so that time could be spent on the severely injured. It might appear heartless but she couldn’t afford to waste precious time attending to someone who really didn’t need her help. There was an elderly couple huddled together nearby so she ran over to them next.

  ‘Are you hurt?’

  ‘My arm…’ The old lady showed her a blue-veined arm and Holly winced when she saw that the bone was protruding through the flesh.

  ‘That looks nasty.’ She took a dressing out of her bag and gently placed it over the wound to minimise the risk of infection. ‘Try to keep your arm very still. I know it must be terribly painful but there isn’t much I can do for you here, I’m afraid. You’ll be taken to hospital as soon as the ambulances arrive. Is there anything else wrong with either of you?’

  ‘No, no,’ the old man assured her. ‘We’re fine. It’s the people in the coach who need your help, dear.’

  ‘I’ll do all I can for them,’ Holly assured him as she stood up. ‘You just stay there and someone will be with you very shortly.’

  She ran straight over to the coach but it was impossible to see inside it because it was lying on its side. She tossed her bag onto the chassis then scrambled up after it and carefully made her way to one of the windows. She could hear people calling for help but it was difficult to tell how many were trapped inside the vehicle.

  ‘So what have we got?’

  Suddenly Ben was there and Holly felt her heart leap when she swung round and discovered how close he was. He was kneeling right beside her and it would have taken very little to tuck her hand into his and lay her head on his shoulder…

  She recoiled in horror and saw his expression darken but there was nothing she could do about it. An hour ago she’d claimed to be immune to him and it hadn’t been an idle claim either. She’d spent months shoring up her emotions and hardening her heart against the memories because it hadn’t been her fault that they’d split up but his. He had fallen in love with someone else so there’d been no point dwelling on the good times they’d had. She had torn up the photographs, thrown away all the silly little notes he’d been in the habit of leaving around the flat for her to find and had erased every trace of Ben Carlisle from her life.

  She’d done a good job, too, because she hadn’t thought about him for—oh, at least two months. She had been confident that Ben was out of her system but if that was true, why had she responded to him just now? Why had she longed to touch him, lean against him, snuggle into his arms and play the loving little woman when it had got her absolutely nowhere first time around? Was she so pathetic that she needed to have the message hammered home to her again?

  Ben never loved you. He just used you. You were a convenience to him, good in bed and more than willing to provide him with sex!

  ‘Damn it, Holly, don’t do that!’

  Holly jumped. ‘Do what?’ she muttered, struggling to rid her mind of that taunting little voice.

  ‘Look at me as though I’m some kind of…of ogre!’ He glowered at her. ‘Working with you is going to be a nightmare if you insist on walking round with that massive chip on your shoulder. What happened between us is history and it’s about time you got over it!’

  CHAPTER TWO

  BEN couldn’t remember another time when he’d felt like such a louse. Apart from when he’d told Holly that lie, of course, and ‘louse’ wasn’t the word he would have used to describe himself then. He held his breath as he watched myriad expressions cross her face before she finally settled on anger. Good! He could put up with anything she cared to dish out so long as he didn’t have to see her looking so stricken.

  ‘Don’t flatter yourself, Ben Carlisle! I got over you a long time ago and there’s no chip on my shoulder, I assure you.’

  ‘Then let’s get on with what we’re here for.’

  Ben crouched down and peered inside the coach. He could feel the waves of antipathy emanating from her but steadfastly ignored them. It was neither the time nor the place to deal with this issue because, despite what Holly had said, there definitely was an issue. Holly had been deeply hurt by the way he’d behaved two years ago and it was still having an effect on her. If he did nothing else then he would have to find a way to set her free so that she could move on.

  The thought of exactly how Holly might choose to do that was unsettling. Even though Ben knew that he’d forfeited any rights where she was concerned, he hated the thought of her being involved with another man. Fortunately for him, the present situation was too grim to allow him to worry about it so he put it out of his mind while he focused on the problem of finding a way inside the coach. One of the windows further along from where they were kneeling had shattered during the crash so he pointed towards it.

  ‘I need to get inside so let’s try over there.’

  Holly stood up then had to grab hold of his shoulder and steady herself when the coach started to rock. The vehicle had stopped before it had reached the bottom of the embankment and there was a very real danger that it could start moving again if they weren’t careful.

  ‘Take your time,’ Ben instructed. ‘If this thing rolls over then we’ll go with it. I don’t fancy being squashed flat under several tons of metal.’

  ‘I don’t suppose the passengers who are stuck inside fancy it either,’ she shot back, obviously still furious with him.

  ‘I’m sure they don’t,’ he replied mildly to defuse the situation. Holly had a fiery temper and he didn’t want to run the risk of her getting hurt because she wasn’t thinking clearly. ‘So let’s take it nice and steady for all our sakes.’

  She shot him a smouldering look but, nevertheless, did as he’d suggested. Ben breathed a sigh of relief when she crouched down and began to inch her way forwards on her hands and knees. However, his relief was short-lived because from this angle he suddenly realised that he had a perfect view of her pert little bottom.

  He ground his teeth as a surge of purely male appreciation swept through him. Holly is just a colleague doing a job, he reminded himself sternly as he followed her along the coach. He must focus on that instead of letting himself get carried away by how attractive that lurid shade of green could look in the right circumstances. Holly was wearing one of the regulation uniforms that had been issued to all the members of the rapid response team. It was similar in style to his own flight-suit and had knee pads and umpteen zippered pockets. Nobody would have classed the garment as sexy but, then, few people had been privy to the view he was currently enjoying. Holly’s taut little derrière did wonders for the baggy garment!

  It was a huge comfort when they reached their destination at last and Ben could concentrate exclusively on the problem of getting inside the coach. He peered through the window then turned to Holly. ‘I should be able to get through there with a bit of luck. Can you pass me the bag once I’m down?’

  ‘OK.’

  She didn’t waste time by asking questions, just moved aside to give him room to lower himself through the opening. It was a bit of a squeeze because his flight-suit was extremely bulky but he knew better than to take it off. The fabric it was made from had a twenty-second fire resistancy and that could be vital to his safety.

  Holly lowered the Thomas pack down to him then swung her legs through the opening. Ben shook his head when he realised that she intended to climb down into the coach as well. ‘I can manage. It’s a real mess in here so you stay up there.’

  She ignored him as she wriggled through the window and lowered herself into the coach. Ben glared at her. ‘Didn’t you hear what I said?’

  ‘Yes, I heard. And when Sean tells me that you’re in charge t
hen I’ll do as you say. Until then I’ll make up my own mind about what needs doing, thank you very much.’

  She squeezed past him and went to check on an elderly woman who was lying by the door. Ben swore under his breath but he knew she’d made a valid point. He had no right to issue orders or expect her to carry out his wishes. Two years ago he’d been her boss although he would never have dreamt of pulling rank. It had been such a pleasure to teach her and watch her growing increasingly confident. However, the time he’d had to take out of his career while he’d undergone treatment for his illness had set him back and he had to remember they were on an equal footing now.

  It was another adjustment he would need to make in the coming weeks and it wasn’t going to be easy, but he had to forget about their past relationship and concentrate on the demands of this job. Gaining back some of the ground he’d lost was important to him and he wasn’t going to let anything stop him. He glanced at Holly and his mouth compressed. If Holly could handle this situation then, by heaven, so could he.

  ‘I can’t find a pulse.’ Holly frowned as she pressed her fingers against the artery in the driver’s right ankle. She waited a moment then shook her head. ‘No, still nothing.’

  ‘We’re going to have to get him out of there,’ Ben replied curtly. ‘He’ll lose that leg if we can’t restore the circulation pretty soon.’

  ‘See if you can get one of the fire crew to cut him out,’ she suggested, pushing the hair out of her eyes with a grubby forearm. Her hands, encased in a double layer of gloves, were covered in blood and there was more blood soaking through the knees of her uniform. The driver had been trapped in his seat by the steering column, which had buckled during the impact. He’d suffered a serious injury to his right thigh and had lost a lot of blood. They had rigged up a drip but as fast as they were pumping fluid into him, more blood was gushing out. Holly reapplied pressure to stem the flow but she knew the driver wouldn’t survive if he wasn’t freed soon.

  ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

  Ben got up and scrambled over the tangle of metal that had once comprised the first few rows of seats. One of the firemen was using an oxyacetylene torch to free a young woman who was trapped in the third row and the noise was deafening. They had managed to get most of the injured out now so there was just the driver and the girl left. She looked up when Ben came back and her heart sank when he shook his head.

  ‘No go. They daren’t use any more cutting gear in here because of the risk of fire. Apparently, the fuel tank is full and the build-up of heat could ignite it.’

  ‘Great! We’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed that they get that girl out soon so they can start on the driver next.’

  Holly looked round when she saw Nicky Brunswick making her way towards them. Nicky had been monitoring the young woman and Holly grimaced when she saw the worried expression on the paramedic’s face. ‘Don’t tell me—more problems?’

  ‘Looks like it.’ Nicky rolled her eyes. ‘It only turns out that she’s seven months pregnant and her waters have just broken.’

  ‘Oh, that’s just what we need!’ Holly exclaimed. ‘How long will it be before they manage to free her, d’you know?’

  ‘Another five minutes or so,’ Nicky began, then groaned when a scream rang around the coach. ‘Oh, please, don’t let that be the baby arriving already!’

  ‘You take over here while I go and see what’s happening,’ Holly instructed. ‘You’ll need to maintain pressure to control the bleeding.’

  ‘It doesn’t look as though he’s got that much blood left to lose,’ Nicky observed darkly. ‘It’s like an abattoir round here.’

  ‘And how would you know what an abattoir looks like?’ Holly demanded as they swopped places. She and Nicky had become good friends during the training sessions. They’d got on so well, in fact, that they’d decided to share a flat. Now she grinned at her friend. ‘I don’t know who you’ve been dating recently but a visit to the local abattoir certainly isn’t my idea of a fun night out.’

  ‘Depends on who you go with,’ Nicky replied archly.

  ‘The man hasn’t been born who could get me to a place like that,’ Holly retorted. ‘I expect a lot more than that from anyone who hopes to take me out on a date.’

  ‘So that’s your secret, is it? Treat ’em mean and keep ’em keen?’ Nicky laughed. ‘It certainly seems to work if Josh is anything to go by. The poor guy is totally besotted. I’ve heard nothing but Holly this and Holly that ever since you two met. It will be wedding bells soon if I’m not mistaken.’

  ‘Rubbish! Josh is just a friend,’ Holly replied tartly. It was complete nonsense, of course, although she couldn’t stop herself glancing at Ben to see how he’d reacted to the comment before it struck her what she was doing.

  She turned away, praying that he hadn’t noticed. It was none of Ben’s business what she did! She was a free agent and could go out with a dozen different men if that was what she chose to do. She didn’t need his permission or his blessing. Ben had made his choice two years ago and he hadn’t chosen her.

  It was sobering to realise the effect that decision had had on her life. As she made her way down the coach, Holly found herself thinking that Nicky was right in a way. Her attitude towards men had hardened in the past two years. When she’d been with Ben she’d been perfectly happy to fall in with his wishes and had tailored her life to fit in with his, but she didn’t make that mistake nowadays. This was her life and she intended to live it her way, and if that sounded selfish, she wasn’t going to apologise for it…

  But was she really happy? a small voice whispered. Could she honestly claim that she didn’t feel as though she was missing out by adopting such a hard-nosed attitude? Didn’t she sometimes long to be in a relationship again where the other person’s needs were more important than her own?

  Holly took a deep breath. She’d made up her mind how she intended to live her life and she was going to stick to it. She went straight to the young woman and crouched down beside her. The noise from the oxyacetylene cutter was tremendous and Holly could well appreciate why the poor soul looked so scared.

  ‘I’m Holly Daniels and I’m a doctor at Dalverston General Hospital,’ she shouted above the roaring. ‘Can you tell me your name?’

  ‘Charity Adams.’

  ‘So, Charity, Nicky tells me that your waters have broken. Is that right?’

  ‘Yes. I’m only seven months pregnant, too, so the baby shouldn’t be born for ages…’ Charity stopped talking and groaned. ‘Oh, that hurts!’

  Holly grimaced. ‘It sounds as though you’re in labour but I’ll need to take a look at you before I can be sure.’

  She stood up and quickly explained to the firemen that she needed to examine the girl. They turned off the torch and tactfully moved aside while she removed the protective blanket that had been placed over Charity and helped her out of her underwear. Her heart sank when she saw that the woman’s cervix was fully dilated because it meant the birth was imminent.

  ‘How long will it take to free her?’ Holly asked one of the firemen.

  ‘Just a couple more minutes.’

  ‘Then let’s get on with it. We need to get her out of here as fast as we can.’

  Holly looked round when Ben came to join her. She drew him aside so that Charity couldn’t hear what she was saying. ‘The baby’s on its way. I’m hoping we have time to get her out of here before it arrives but it’s going to be a close call from the look of her. She’s fully dilated.’

  ‘I’ll tell the ambulance to stand by. I’m just going to organise a stretcher, ready for when they cut the driver free. We don’t want any more hold-ups.’

  ‘Good idea,’ Holly agreed. She frowned as he moved away because she couldn’t help noticing how grim he looked. Obviously, the situation with the driver in particular was extremely worrying but she had a feeling it wasn’t that which was bothering Ben most of all. Had it been that reference to her and Josh perhaps?

  Cha
rity gave another loud groan and Holly put that foolish thought out of her head. Ben had had his chance so why should he care if there was a legion of men interested in her?

  The girl was in a great deal of pain but it was far too risky to administer pain relief at this stage when the baby was so premature. The normal analgesics used during childbirth could cause respiratory problems in pre-term babies. Whilst it might be acceptable to use them in the safety of a well-equipped maternity unit, they didn’t have that luxury here. She would have to rely on talking Charity through the birth.

  ‘Try to work with the pain and don’t fight it,’ she advised, taking hold of the girl’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. ‘I want you to try and breathe nice and slowly—big deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth…That’s it. You’re doing great.’

  Holly looked up when the fireman tapped her on the shoulder and told her they were ready to remove the seat. Ben came back just then and between them they managed to help Charity out of the gap. They had to stop when another contraction began but as soon as it was over, they set about getting her out of the coach. A ladder had been set up through one of the windows but Charity stopped dead and refused to carry on when she realised that she was going to have to climb up it.

  ‘I can’t get up there!’ she wailed. ‘What if the baby comes?’

  ‘Holly will be right behind you.’ Ben put a comforting arm around her shoulders. ‘She won’t let you fall and she certainly won’t let anything happen to your baby.’

  ‘But it’s almost here. I can tell!’ The girl clung grimly to the metal rungs, shaking her head when Ben tried once more to urge her up the ladder. ‘No! I can’t do it and you can’t make me!’

  ‘Maybe we can deliver the baby here,’ Holly began, but Ben didn’t let her finish.