Ideal Girl (Irish Girl, Hospital Romance 1)

by Jenny O'Brien

  ‘Now don’t you be giving me a hard time - you’ll need your sleep. Sister has scheduled you all for sessions with the physio-terrorists after breakfast.’ She hid her laughter by dimming the lights, only to race to the kitchen to catch the final score. Turning to the trolley, laden high with dirty cups she swallowed back any feelings of guilt. A draw wasn’t anything to get excited about now was it and she would have the pleasure of telling them all in the morning about Delaney’s red card in the last two minutes of play not to mention the streaker! She consoled herself with the thought that Mr Mac’s blood pressure was way too high already as she filled the sink with water. God only knows what the sight of a fine pair of double D’s bouncing around would have done to him!

  With the time speeding by Liddy was surprised she didn’t feel more tired even though, in the small hours it did feel as if she was walking through treacle. While the patients snored quietly this was a busy time for nurses with patients to turn, menu cards and breakfast trays to organise and linen trolleys to restock.

  When at last she saw the slim dawn breaking through the gap in the rooftops she heaved a small sigh of relief. In what seemed like no time at all the day staff had crawled onto the ward, all freshly pressed for their shift ahead and she could make her way down to the canteen for her breakfast. Not all of the nurses took advantage of the full Irish, but she knew from experience if she didn’t eat now she would wake up starving by lunchtime and she needed to sleep - eight o’clock would come around all too soon.

  Concentrating, as she was on carrying her tray to the night staff table she was only dimly aware of nearly colliding with a ‘white coat’ on their way to the coffee pot. She looked up to apologise, only to flush scarlet when she realised who it was.

  Well it would be!

  ‘Here let me take that for you, you look dead on your feet.’

  He wasn’t about to let her escape, he’d already taken hold of the tray and removed it from her grip. What was it with men anyway wanting to carry things for her; first Donal and now Mitch. Did they think she was incapable just because she was a woman or something? More likely it was due to the fact they both seemed to want to get inside her underwear. By telling her she looked like the walking dead, whilst trying to act all chivalrous was a way - a way of hacking her off big time.

  With nine pairs of eyes on them he led the way over to her packed table.

  ‘Thanks a bunch for Lucky by the way – He’s in the dog house big time.’

  ‘Oh, really?’

  ‘Really! He’s taken to bringing me presents in the small hours. Last night I spent ages chasing a mouse from out under the bed.’

  Despite herself, Liddy couldn’t hold back a smile as she visualised Mitch’s powerful physique scrabbling on the floor.

  ‘It’s not funny! I only managed to catch the little blighter when he crawled up the leg of my PJ’s. I thought he was going after my meat and two veg!’

  This was too much for Liddy. With eyes streaming all she could manage was a distorted ‘Say hello from me.’ before reaching her seat and putting her hands out to take the tray from him.

  ‘Er have you caught up with Sorcha yet? My brother is taking her to his Christmas bash.’

  She looked up briefly, still trying to get the tray back without spilling her tea. ‘Your brother?’

  ‘Yeah, Paul. Fancy coming along – we could make a foursome?’

  ‘When is it?’

  ‘This Friday – a bit short notice but….’

  All Liddy wanted was her breakfast and bed, instead of having to make snap decisions that needed her to think with a brain not frazzled by lack of sleep. Today was Wednesday morning and she was working tomorrow night as well – not much time to sort out a dress. Conscious of now ten pairs of eyes silently waiting for some sort of yes/no reply she decided on the safe option.

  ‘I’ll speak to Sorcha later and let you know.’ With one last jerk on the tray she won it back, but only at the expense of half her tea! Sitting down with a sigh she realised she was being talked to.

  ‘Hey Lid’s did you catch the game last night?’ said Bernadette.

  ‘Yeah, that was a vicious tackle – wonder will he be hauled up in front of the FA?’ She said, concentrating on mopping up her tea with a napkin. She sensed rather than saw Mitch standing still in front of the coffee machine. Perhaps he’d missed the game then, she thought, peeling the foil off her square of marmalade. Although, with all those boobs as well as balls flying around the place that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he made his way over to the doctors table, before pulling out her mobile from the bottom of her bag and starting to text her friend.

  ‘Hey Sorcha, R U really going out on Fri with M’s bro?’

  ‘Yes, blind date, M arranged - U invited 2. Frock tho?’

  ‘OK, ur on. What’s M’s no?’

  ‘Why not tell him?’

  ‘Nah will txt him l8tr lol x’

  But she didn’t. She kept putting it off and putting it off. Before she knew it she was cycling to work for her Thursday night shift and she still hadn’t been in touch.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  It was raining again, but at least the roads were deserted for once.

  Everyone has more sense than to be out on such a filthy night. They’re all where they should be at home with their families.

  She tried not to think about tomorrow evening. She really should have replied, but not knowing what to say she’d just left it. Sorcha would be fine on her own, more than fine.

  At handover she was pleased to hear all the men in bay three had been either discharged or transferred to the rehabilitation centre. It meant the nightshift would drag though - she’d much rather be kept busy.

  It was half past ten when all the patients were settled and Liddy was just about to start preparing the breakfast trays that the sirens started. It felt as if the whole of Dublin was suddenly alive with the noise of fire engines and ambulances. The nurses, craning their heads out of the windows, watched the steady stream of emergency vehicles light up the sky with their flashing lights.

  Slowly news of what had happened seeped out over the small radio in the ward kitchen. There’d been a large explosion at O’Dwyer’s biscuit factory, luckily empty at the time. It took another half an hour to find out that the block of flats nestling beside it had been badly damaged, with part of the south facing wall collapsed into rubble.

  As she continued filling the dishwasher she heard her name being called in the loud library quality whisper they all used on nights.

  ‘Oh there you are, you’ve been called to assist in A&E. Do what you can.’

  Liddy, mouth agape watched the staff nurse as she made her way back to the office - no doubt to boil the kettle!

  Why her? She might have passed her exams, but she was still only a student nurse until her registration came through. She turned her back on the half loaded dishwasher and headed downstairs with a spurt of speed. If it was that urgent let her finish the cups!

  A&E was situated at the other end of the hospital, past paediatrics and DPU. All the corridors were dark and, to be truthful a little scary at this time of night. She found her steps getting quicker and quicker, until she was all but running down the dimly lit passage; only to slow her pace to a sedate walk when she came within sight of the department.

  The waiting room was a hive of activity, having been turned into a temporary treatment area for the walking wounded. She gave a brief nod to Iris and another nurse she didn’t recognise who were attending to around twenty adults and children - removing glass splinters, gluing superficial wounds and applying dressings to numerous cuts and grazes. Despite such an overfilled room, all was silent as Liddy glanced at the pale shocked faces. Young children, still in pyjamas hugging an assortment of much loved toys, parents with grubby faces, deep lines etched around their eyes and an old couple huddled together in the corner. She continued to the triage area where she was immediately set to
work by Peter, the harried looking senior staff nurse whose role it was to assess and prioritize cases. Her first job was to meet the next ambulance that had just screeched to a halt beside the main entrance, but as the doors yanked open her heart sank.

  The paramedics looked like they were moving in slow motion as they manoeuvred the trolley out of the back of the ambulance and across the highly polished floor. She knew that the slower their entrance the more serious the case underneath. Whoever it was obscured by the regulation green blanket was seriously injured.

  ‘Alright love. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes! This lad here had his legs trapped under the rubble: he lost consciousness about five minutes ago.’ Said the burly ambulance man, starting to give her a comprehensive low down on how he’d been found and his subsequent treatment.

  ‘Thanks, bay five is free – you’d better get back.’ She added as she heard their bleeper going off.

  One glance at the boy lying so still on the trolley told her that he needed urgent medical attention from someone that actually knew what they were doing – and that wasn’t her! But as she ran out into the corridor she quickly realised that she was on her own; there wasn’t anyone free – everyone was tied up with similar complex cases. As her heart dropped further she realised the true meaning behind staffs’ words; she would do what she could. Quickly and efficiently she attached an oxygen mask to the teenager’s face, intensely aware of his youthful good looks smooth as if in sleep, but also acutely aware she needed to get a higher concentration of oxygen into him. She then set up the heart monitor, noting worriedly that his blood pressure was abnormally low.

  Okay, Okay Liddy think! You can do this. Low blood pressure – that means he’s in shock, probably bleeding but they didn’t say anything about…..OMG. Liddy had flicked back the end of the blanket and found the sheet he was resting on was now awash with blood. Her brain went blank as she stared in almost fascination as she saw it pumping from out under his trousers – not oozing: Pumping. Bloody hell, he’d severed an artery during the transfer – if she didn’t stop it now he was history.

  She needed to apply pressure, no – not pressure, a tourniquet to the top of his leg. But where, what? She threw a frantic glance around the room to finally fix on the blood trolley. Of course! With lightning speed she snatched up the strap and gently eased it under his thigh before pulling with all her weight and securing the clasp at the end. His leg would look like a sausage, but at least the bleeding had reduced to a tiny stream. What next? She stood looking at him as she tried to remember everything she knew about first aid. Oh hell, what was the time? She looked down at the watch pinned to her now blood stained tunic, whilst at the same time reaching for the indelible black marker that lived on the station. In big bold writing she wrote on his arm the time she’d applied the tourniquet. She couldn’t remember how long tourniquets could stay on without causing damage in their own right, but hopefully someone would have come to help by then. She heaved a sigh of relief, even as she tried to work out what else she could do. She looked around wildly for inspiration when her eyes alighted on the cupboard of IV fluids. That’s it – he’d lost so much blood and it had to be replaced. She quickly primed the intravenous fluid giving set with some normal saline only to pause before she gathered the cannulation kit together.

  As a student nurse she was way out of her comfort zone and she wasn’t qualified in cannulating patients - applying a tourniquet to a leg was child’s play by comparison. But she had to do something and there was still nobody else around. She glanced at the monitor, noticing his blood pressure had dropped even further, which was the only encouragement she needed. This boy was not going to die on her watch. She ripped open the alcohol wipe and cleaned the back of hand before choosing the same needle she’d seen Donal choose a couple of weeks ago and hands shaking… Suddenly her hands were covered with a much larger one and she looked up to find Mitch smiling down at her.

  ‘Well done, Liddy. Er would you like me to take over?’

  She’d never felt so relieved in all her life handing him the plastic tipped needle, but she wouldn’t allow herself the luxury of tears – there was too much still to do.

  ‘Thank you.’ The relief was evident in both her voice and her gaze.

  He inserted the needle without a hitch and started to collect blood samples. ‘Right, We need an urgent group and save as he’ll need a blood transfusion.’ He said, handing her three filled blood bottles. ‘Also we need some Mannitol if you can get some on your way back. Oh and the orthopaedic surgeon needs to be made aware he’ll need surgery ASAP. How long has….’ He suddenly spotted the large black letters. ‘Okay, we’ve got eleven minutes.’ He stared at her briefly, before turning his full attention back to his patient.

  She dropped off the bloods to pathology, left a message with switchboard to bleep the on call surgeon and was back within five minutes with two litres of Mannitol.

  On her return she found him staring down at the boy’s leg and, following his gaze she took a sharp intake of breath. The left leg was bad enough with a compound fracture surrounded by an open would with shards of rubble clearly visible but the right foot was so badly damaged they’d have difficulty in saving it. She went to the shelves to fetch some sterile sheets to cover the wounds and on the way back picked up another litre of fluid as the first litre was nearly through.

  ‘I’ll stay here Liddy, if you want to see if you’re needed elsewhere: you were brilliant, but I’ll take it from here.’ She turned to look at him and offered him a tired smile, wondering for the first time why he was here. She glanced at his clothing, noting the black jeans moulded to the muscular contours of his thighs before quickly moving upwards to the safety of his smart shirt, her thoughts clearly reflected in her face as she turned to go.

  ‘I was out for dinner and heard the sirens so I thought I’d see if I was needed.’ He said, casting a rueful look at his blood splattered sleeves.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  The night sped by. Two more stretcher cases arrived one after the other, but by that time the staff numbers had almost doubled as off duty staff arrived to help. Liddy was relegated to the important role of tea and sandwich maker while senior staff took over the hands on care, but she was sensible enough to know she wasn’t experienced or confident enough yet to cope with all that came through the doors that night.

  It was five am when the last ambulance rolled up and, by that time the waiting room had started to empty as patients’ left to stay with their families, or the emergency accommodation provided at a nearby hotel. Eight patients were hospitalised with Liddy’s being the worst by far, but at least he was holding his own.

  Despite the fact the department was emptying out there was plenty of clearing up and restocking to do as A&E had to be ready for another such emergency coming through their doors. As she started setting up the dressing trollies she was disappointed to realise Mitch must have left without saying good bye.

  Even though she knew he was probably off duty she couldn’t help feeling her heart twist in her chest. He’d said he’d been out for dinner. Who do you go out for dinner with if not someone special? The image of Simone popped out of no-where - Sexy Simone with blond hair down to her bum and spray tanned legs up to her armpits. She’d heard of the way she’d fawned all over him on ward rounds, always touching his sleeve, his shoulder, his back. She’d been told of the secret little smug glances she threw him at every opportunity and she knew, despite everything that Iris had been right.

  Maybe he’d left to go back to her place? She shouldn’t care now should she, not after what had so nearly happened. Her hand paused on its way to lift the last bag of Mannitol onto the shelf as she remembered the feel of Mitch’s body wrapped around her. With an insight born out of sadness she realised what a fool she’d been - then and now.

  She’d promised she’d let him know about tomorrow night. She could easily have texted, or even told him face to face just now, but she’d done neither. She’d just let it
go like everything else in her life. She suddenly saw a picture of herself, a future Liddy in a future time - face wrinkled and spine bent living some tragic heroine existence. If she didn’t start fighting for what she wanted that’s what she’d end up like!

  She continued to restock and tidy until she was called back to her ward in preparation for the day staff coming on duty.

  An hour later she walked out of the hospital as if she’d just worked a twenty four hour stretch instead of a mere thirteen. But her mind wasn’t on the poor boy even now wakening up to the reality of two broken legs. She didn’t spare a thought for the months of physiotherapy ahead of him, or the scars that would never fade. She didn’t know that her prompt action with the tourniquet had not only saved his life but also his leg. It would be scarred; it would be ugly but it would be there.

  Liddy blinked at the bright December light seeping around the clouds with the realisation it would soon be Christmas and just after she would be moving to France. She walked down the steps, head lowered from the biting wind that had blown up overnight, but instead of heading towards the bicycle park she turned left towards the doctor’s bay where she waited hunched into her duffle; rucksack at her feet.

  Was it seconds or hours later Mitch turned into the car park and pulled up beside her? She didn’t know. She only knew her hands were as frozen as her heart waiting as she was for the guillotine to fall. She hadn’t seen him to talk to alone since that morning in her bedroom and then she’d as good as booted him out.

  She watched him climb out of his car, a cautious smile on his lips.

  ‘Hello there – were you waiting for me?’ He said, taking her bone cold hands between his.

  ‘Yes. Er I never replied about tonight…’

  Oh, well I thought that it probably wasn’t your thing so….’

  ‘Mitch, I’d like to go, that is if it’s not too late.’ She stalled. She hadn’t even considered, until that second he might have invited someone else instead of her.