by Jax Burrows
She was conscious of the staff, moving quietly but efficiently around Resus. Theresa kept throwing glances their way. She hadn’t spoken to her that morning. Another joy in store; apologising for her white lie.
Casey must have been thinking of their colleagues, too, as he stepped back but spoke without raising his voice. ‘We need to talk.’
‘I know, and we will, I promise.’
‘Will you have dinner with me? Tonight? We’re on the same shift, and I’ll try to get away in time. I can pick you up at seven.’
‘You want to take me out to dinner?’ She hadn’t expected that. She had wondered the previous day about Casey’s love-life. He obviously wasn’t married as he didn’t wear a ring, but he must have a partner, or at least a girlfriend.
‘Yes, if that’s okay with you. There’s so much I want to ask you and we can’t really talk with Jade there. And Jess and Craig. In a restaurant, surrounded by people, we can be civil to each other.’ He smiled. How could she say no? But she needed to know in what capacity he was asking her.
‘Is this a date?’
He seemed amused by her question as his mouth twitched and his green eyes danced with mirth. ‘It can be a date if you want it to be, Lexi.’
‘No, I don’t! Of course I don’t. It’s simply the opportunity to talk about Jade and arrangements for you to see her. That’s all it is.’
He nodded but was still laughing at her. ‘Yes, of course, I concur.’
The red phone rang and all the staff in the immediate vicinity turned towards Pete, the Charge Nurse who answered. The man was busy scribbling something down on a notepad that was kept next to the phone. He then moved to the intercom and spoke, ‘Code red, adult trauma, ETA ten minutes.’
‘Here we go,’ said Casey, his body tensing and his whole demeanour changing from the teasing, sexy guy of a minute ago to a competent, alert team leader. ‘Right everyone, get ready, you all know what to do.’ He walked over to the charge nurse and they stood talking together.
Lexi felt the familiar thrill of excitement and slight sickness as the adrenaline started to flow. Code red meant that the paramedics had evidence that the patient was in danger of bleeding to death. What happened in the first hour of the patient being treated could make a huge difference. If the staff got it wrong, or missed something, a person’s life could easily be cut short. It wasn’t called the “golden hour” for nothing.
*
‘This is Alice, thirty years old, she was T-boned by another car. Had to be cut from her car.’ Casey listened intently as the paramedic gave the report on the patient who had just been brought in. She was in a bad way and, as he listened, his mind was already busy with the order of emergency treatment she would need.
‘Top to toe, GCS of 13, blood pressure ninety-five over sixty, no head injury, bruising from seat belt, closed tib and fib injury on left, haematoma left forearm, pelvis asymmetrical, receiving oxygen.’
‘Okay, thanks Mike.’ The paramedics left, satisfied they had given the trauma team all the information they could. Casey watched as one of the doctors checked her over, calling out his findings. Casey made a decision based on the information he was rapidly processing. He was most concerned about her low blood pressure. ‘Right, pelvic scan to be done, stat. She has a weak radial pulse and I suspect she’s bleeding into her pelvis. Can we have one unit of blood, please and then we’ll continue resuscitation in the scanning department. We need to know now what’s going on with this lady’s pelvic injuries. If the pelvic fracture has caused lacerations, she could have extensive internal bleeding.’
The blood transfusion was an attempt to stop her going into cardiac arrest. The layman would worry about the blood loss they see externally, but Casey knew that most people who bled to death did so inside their own body cavities.
The team worked quickly to hook up the bag of blood and get a line inserted for fluids and medications and to draw blood for testing. When she was ready, they moved off as one towards the lifts to take them to the scanning department.
As team leader, Casey’s policy was never to tell his staff what to do, but to let them get on with the work they were trained for and be there when he was needed. Ultimately, the buck stopped with him, but he was happy with that when he had a good team around him.
Casey watched Lexi as she worked quickly. She was focused and didn’t even look up; she kept her attention on her patient. She was a good nurse and his admiration for the lady was growing steadily. He tried not to think about Jade as every time he thought about the little girl, his emotions went into melt-down. He needed to be focused now and concentrate solely on the patient in his care.
Alice’s scan showed that her pelvic fracture had lacerated surrounding tissues and stopping the internal bleeding was their main concern. Apart from the tibia and fibula injury to her lower leg, she had no other major injuries. She needed surgery, so she stayed in Resus until a theatre was available for her.
‘Right guys,’ Casey said when he had returned to Resus, ‘let’s clean this place up.’ Five minutes later, the red phone rang again. ‘Leytonsfield A&E.’ He wrote down the details of another adult trauma that was on its way. This time a builder had fallen off a roof. Casey sighed. It was going to be a busy day.
Chapter Four
‘You’re not going to wear that, surely?’ Lexi was getting ready for her dinner with Casey when Jess came into her bedroom carrying a pile of freshly ironed clothes.
‘What’s wrong with it?’ She studied herself in the full-length mirror, frowning at the frumpy woman who glared back at her.
‘Nothing, if you were going for a job interview, but a black skirt and white blouse doesn’t exactly scream “sexy”. And put your hair down, it looks lovely flowing over your shoulders. You can’t go on a date looking like that.’
‘It’s not a date. Dr O’Connor and I are merely going to discuss arrangements for him to see Jade.’
‘In an Italian restaurant, on a school night?’
‘How do you know it’s going to be Italian?’
‘It’s that new place that’s opened in the Precinct, I bet. Everyone’s raving about it. Dead expensive.’
‘Well wherever he’s taking me, it isn’t a date.’ Maybe if she said it often enough, she would start believing it herself. Part of her wished they were going on a date. To be wined, dined and pampered by an attractive man would be a rare treat, but tonight, they would have a quick meal and then he’d bring her home. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down with Casey. She didn’t know him well enough. In fact, she hardly knew him at all.
Jade came running into the bedroom, closely followed by Craig.
‘Right you two, help me find something pretty for Jade’s mummy to wear tonight. A nice dress and some killer heels.’
She went over to the wardrobe and started rummaging around. Jade followed her, whilst Craig sat cross-legged on the floor staring at his phone and humming quietly to himself.
‘I don’t think your son is interested in my attire,’ said Lexi.
‘Well, I bet the gorgeous doctor will be. How about this?’ She pulled a dress out of the wardrobe and waggled it in front of Lexi. It was one of her favourites; a dark blue wrap-around with three quarter sleeves and a low neckline. She had a lovely silver pendant that was just the right length, falling neatly into her cleavage. She could wear that and her blue court shoes. The dress came to just above her knees and clung to her figure, accentuating all her good features, such as her bum. She had always liked her bum, though would never admit that to anyone.
‘Maybe. It’s got possibilities.’ Who was she kidding? It wasn’t as if she had a whole wardrobe to choose from. She only had a handful of dresses.
‘Try it on. Turn your back, Craig.’ He did as he was told while Lexi took off her blouse and skirt and pulled the dress over her head.
‘There you go, it looks lovely. What do you think, Jade?’
‘You look bootiful, mummy.’
‘Oh, thank y
ou, angel.’ She kissed her daughter and stroked her silky blonde hair. ‘You’ll be okay with Jess and Craig tonight, won’t you sweetie?’
‘Yeah, we’re having popcorn.’
‘I thought we could watch “Frozen” as a treat before bed.’
‘Again,’ muttered Craig from the floor.
‘Well, next time, you can choose, okay? Now, let’s go and start the popcorn and leave Lexi to get ready.’
The three of them made their way down the narrow stairs to the ground floor with a great deal of excited chatter from Jade.
Lexi and Jess had rented a stone cottage with three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, a kitchen and open-plan living-room with a massive old stone fireplace downstairs. It was centrally heated, but Lexi sometimes lit the fire as it created a welcoming ambience. The September evenings were already getting chilly.
Jess and the kids would spend the evening in front of the TV eating popcorn and drinking juice, whilst she would be in a fancy restaurant with the most gorgeous man she had ever met, trying to be knowledgeable and sophisticated and not drop food down her dress.
What would they talk about apart from Jade? Did she have enough interesting conversation to last three courses? Or would he talk, and she listen? The image of a pair of green eyes gazing intently at her suddenly made her nervous. He had only seen her socially on one occasion, and then she had been acting a part. Pretending to be a sexy siren to give her courage. She was hopeless in social situations and being dumped by her boyfriend had drained her of the little self-confidence she’d had.
Tonight, he would see her as she really was. What would he think of the real Lexi? Did it matter? He wasn’t interested in her anyway, just his daughter.
She got dressed quickly and pulled her hair away from her face to apply her make-up. A light foundation, minimal eye shadow, but a dark blue liner and mascara to accentuate her eyes. A pink lip gloss and light blusher and she was done. There, that would have to do.
She stood in front of the mirror and fastened the silver pendant, then stepped back to admire her reflection. It was a Yin Yang design, the two pieces fitting perfectly together.
She slipped into her shoes and brushed her hair. After selecting a jacket from the wardrobe and opening the bedroom door, she heard the doorbell chime.
‘I’ll get it,’ Jess shouted.
She listened to the sound of the front door opening and Jess politely saying “Hello”. When she heard the reply, his voice sent tingles through her entire body. Even at this distance, his presence had the power to turn her to jelly. She would walk sedately down the stairs, hopefully without tripping in these heels, then greet him as any sane woman would greet her dinner companion for the night.
Taking a deep breath, she made her way downstairs, but when she caught sight of Dr Casey O’Connor, dressed for a night out, her knees nearly buckled beneath her. He had looked hot at the Summer Ball in his tuxedo, but he looked equally spectacular now. He wore black trousers and a white shirt open at the neck, with a black leather jacket. He looked positively edible.
‘These are for the ladies,’ he said, handing herself and Jess a huge bunch of flowers each. ‘And these are for you two.’ He gave Craig a game for his Xbox and Jade a doll. It was a ragdoll with a blue dress and blonde pigtails. Jade said thanks in a shy voice.
‘Oh, how thoughtful, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble,’ Lexi said, trying to be polite, but the look that Casey gave her stopped her from saying anything more.
‘It’s no trouble,’ he replied. Of course, it wouldn’t be. Jade was his daughter and showering her with presents could be one way he made up for the lost years. She would have to put him straight. Spoiling her wasn’t the right way to go about getting to know her. They had a lot to talk about at this meal.
‘Say “thank you” Craig,’ said Jess.
‘Thanks, that’s really cool,’ said Craig before retreating to his place on the sofa.
‘Thanks for these. Nobody ever gives me flowers.’ Jess seemed overwhelmed as she stroked the petals of the exotic blooms. Brownie points to the doctor. ‘In fact, I’ll just put them in water. Where are you going? Just out of interest,’ Jess asked as she moved towards the kitchen.
Casey looked at Lexi. ‘I thought we could go to Rocco’s in the Precinct, if that’s okay. I’ve heard good things about it.’
Jess raised her eyebrows at her with a barely suppressed grin but said nothing.
‘Yes, that sounds perfect. Shall we go?’
‘Right.’ He opened the front door and waved goodbye to them all.
‘Bye everyone.’ She kissed and hugged Jade, then walked out of the cottage and saw the silver BMW outside. Could this date get any better? Then she remembered that it wasn’t a date. Well, not officially, but it was the closest she’d come to one for a long time.
As Casey held the passenger door open for her, he whispered, ‘You look beautiful.’
‘Thanks,’ she whispered back. It was going to be an interesting evening.
Chapter Five
Most of the Italian restaurants Lexi had frequented were noisy, exuberant places with badly drawn murals of Tuscany on the walls, cheap wine and red and white check plastic tablecloths. She usually ordered pizza and ice-cream. However, as soon as she stepped over the threshold of Rocco’s, as Casey held the door open for her, Lexi entered another world. It was the height of sophistication with a décor of dark wood, soft lighting and silver candelabra on the tables. A spiral staircase linked two floors and, by the murmur of voices and clinking of cutlery on plates, there were more tables for diners upstairs.
A waiter, dressed all in black, showed them to a table for two, tucked away in the corner. ‘Is this okay for you, sir?’ he asked Casey.
‘Perfect. Thank you.’
The waiter held their chairs for them as they sat, then Lexi picked up a menu to give her time to get her breath back and her heart rate under control, but when she saw the prices, her heart rate threatened to shoot through the roof. It hadn’t occurred to her, when Casey asked her to dinner, to check that he would be paying for it. Or would they pay for their own meal? If that was the case, she would only have a starter.
The wine waiter left them the wine list and Casey picked it up and scanned it. ‘What would you like, Lexi? Do you have any preference?’
‘I’m happy to leave it up to you.’ She wasn’t used to dining out and didn’t want to order the wrong thing. Casey took the hint and ordered a bottle of Lambrusco Rosso Amabile with the meal and a French Martini as an aperitif.
When the wine waiter had gone, Casey smiled at her. ‘Do you want to order now, Lexi, or do you need more time to think?’
Lexi’s head was spinning. She just wanted time to stand still, so she didn’t have to think. She wanted to drink in the sight of the gorgeous doctor, hear his sexy voice and admire the way he was in complete control, but he was watching her, those penetrating green eyes fixed on her face, and waiting for her reply.
‘Um…, I think I’ll go for the lemon and saffron marinated chicken breast, and the calamari as a starter.’
‘I’m going to start with calamari too, then have the fillet steak with cavolo nero, roast garlic and a pine nut polenta. I’ll think about dessert later.’ He closed the menu and put it on the table. ‘That’s settled then.’
Almost straight away the waiter came over to take their order and another waiter brought their French Martini.
Lexi took a sip and groaned in ecstasy. Vodka, raspberry liqueur, pineapple juice with a twist of lemon. It tasted scrumptious and she wished she could have more than one, but it was an aperitif and they had the wine to drink yet. She didn’t want to get drunk in front of Casey. That would be the ultimate humiliation. She needed him to know she was a good mother to Jade. Good mothers didn’t get drunk.
‘You’re not as I remember from that night.’ She looked up to find Casey watching her with narrowed eyes.
‘I’m not? In what way?’ Then she was acting a r
ole, now she was being herself. She had changed in other ways over the last four years. She was a mother now and Jade was her reason for living. Her life had purpose whereas before, it had none.
‘I don’t know…’ he said, ‘you’re more serious, not quite as… well, “out there”.’
She wanted to giggle. Out there? What was that supposed to mean anyway?
‘I suppose we’re both different to the way we were that night. Neither of us were looking for anything but a good time for a few hours.’ “Good time” was an understatement. It was the second-best night of her life. The first being the night she gave birth to Jade.
Casey was quiet for a long time. ‘Why did you leave like that? Why didn’t you stay and say goodbye? I woke up and you’d gone.’ He didn’t sound accusing, just sad.
‘I just thought it was for the best under the circumstances.’
‘And those circumstances being…?’
‘That it was a one-night stand, nothing more. I was trying to save us both embarrassment.’
‘And it didn’t occur to you that maybe that one-night stand could have turned into something more?’
She was saved from answering as the waiter served the first course. She was relieved but puzzled. Had Casey wanted to see her again? Is that what he was trying to say? That was hard to believe.
It wasn’t until she started eating that Lexi realized how hungry she was. The calamari were delicious; cooked in batter with a dipping sauce. She glanced at Casey who was eating his meal with relish. He was obviously a man who enjoyed his food. What other appetites did he have, apart from the obvious one? She nearly choked on her squid as a vision of Casey making love to her with passionate abandon entered her mind, unbidden.
‘Are you okay?’ Casey asked in concern.
‘Yes fine,’ she croaked, ‘went down the wrong way.’ She sipped her martini and tried to control her rampaging thoughts.
