by Sue MacKay
‘Beau Cooper, twenty-one, stabbed with a broken bottle, significant wound to his face, minor cuts on both arms.’ Sally turned to the young woman who’d accompanied him. ‘Gina, here, is Beau’s girlfriend. She brought him in.’
‘Hi, Beau. I’m Molly, one of the nurses who’s going to look after you.’ She turned to Nathan. ‘This is Dr Lupton.’
Nathan moved up to examine the young man’s face. ‘Beau, tell me what happened when you were attacked. Did you fall to the ground, bang your head? Any details are important.’
‘I’m not sure. Two guys attacked me when I asked for my girlfriend’s bag back. They smashed a beer bottle and got me in the head, the arms and my leg. I stayed upright, didn’t hit my head on anything. That’s all I can tell you.’
‘How’s your breathing? Are you having any difficulty with that?’
‘Seems all right.’
Then the glass hadn’t cut through anything vital in his throat. Holding her hand up, Molly moved it from left to right. ‘Follow my hand.’
Beau’s eyes slid sideways, focused on her movements.
‘Good, your vision checks out.’
The curtains flicked wide and Hank joined them. ‘Nathan, you’re wanted in three urgently.’
‘On my way.’ Nathan turned to her. ‘I’ll be back when you’ve cleaned him up.’
After a quick rundown on what had happened, Hank said, ‘I’ll remove his jeans so we can check his legs for abrasions.’
Molly nodded. ‘Might as well. Though from the small amount of blood I don’t think there’s anything too serious in that region, but he needs to get out of the messy clothes anyway.’ The wound in Beau’s neck and face was deep, his neck had damaged muscles that would require surgery that couldn’t happen until the morning. She began swabbing the area, careful not to cause him any more distress.
Hank got Beau to lift his hips while he tugged the jeans off.
Their patient groaned but did as asked.
‘I’ll get you some penicillin next,’ Hank told him. ‘Who knows what was on that bottle?’
‘Get something to numb the pain too.’ Molly had finished cleaning the man’s neck and face, and dropped the swabs into a hazardous waste bin at the head of the bed. ‘I’m going to talk to Dr Lupton, Beau.’
Nathan was entering notes on a patient file on the screen. ‘How’s your man?’
‘I’ll be interested to hear what you say after you take a look at the neck and face wound. I think he needs surgery.’
Nathan’s chair rolled back from the desk and those long legs pushed him upward. ‘Any other serious injuries?’
‘Not really. Hank’s getting some drugs. The guy’s in a lot of pain and trying not to show it.’
‘The tough type.’
‘That’s because he’s a boxer,’ Beau’s girlfriend told them minutes later. ‘They’re expected to take the knocks without complaining.’
‘Why did those men have your handbag?’ Molly asked Gina as she handed Hank the painkiller drug and checked the dates with him.
‘Thought they were being clever,’ Beau snarled. ‘They reckoned they were better than me and could help themselves to my girlfriend.’
‘Don’t let them get to you. You’ll only upset yourself and I’d prefer you stay calm and get on with recovering.’ Nathan was at the side of the bed. ‘I need to look at your wound. That all right with you?’
‘Yeah.’ Beau nodded, then grimaced and swore.
‘Tip your head sideways. That’s it.’
After a thorough examination Nathan told his patient, ‘You’re lucky. There’s no serious damage, but a plastic surgeon will have to put it back together so you’re not left with an ugly scar. In the meantime I’ll put in a few temporary stitches to keep the wound closed, and the bleeding to a minimum.’
‘Thanks,’ Beau muttered, reaching out for his girlfriend’s hand, looking scared.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Molly said. ‘I’ll get the gear.’
Nathan told his patient, ‘This means you’ll stay in overnight.’
When Molly returned, Nathan was scrubbing his hands at the sink before pulling on gloves. She placed the suture kit on the small table next to him.
Behind her Gina was saying, ‘I’ll phone your mum, tell her what’s happened.’ Out of the corner of her eye Molly saw the girlfriend tighten her grip on Beau’s hand. ‘Love you,’ she added as his face screwed up.
‘Don’t call the olds.’
‘They need to know where you are. What if the police ring them?’
‘I suppose.’
‘Right.’ Nathan stepped up to the bed. ‘Let’s get this out of the way.’
Molly saw Gina’s face whiten. ‘Why don’t you go out to the waiting room to make that call? You can come back any time you like, just tell them who you’re with and they’ll open the security door.’
‘Thanks.’ Gina’s relief was obvious in her speed to get away before Nathan started stitching the wound.
‘Have you spoken to the police yet?’ Nathan asked Beau in an attempt to distract him from the tugging and snipping as he placed stitches along the edges of the wound.
‘Gina did. They’re going to press charges, so I suppose they’ll turn up here.’
As soon as Nathan had finished, Molly went to tell Gina it was all right to come back, and then she went to see a ninety-three-year-old who’d been found wandering in the rain in the gardens of the rest home where she lived. ‘How are you feeling, Mrs Grooby?’
The old lady opened her eyes and focused on Molly. Nothing wrong there. ‘I’m good.’
‘What about the last couple of days? Everything all right?’ She was gaunt and looked very pale. According to the rest-home staff she’d become quite vague lately, yet right now she was alert and beginning to watch everything going on out in the department.
‘I think so.’
The notes said Mrs Grooby had been disorientated when she’d arrived two hours ago. A medical event, or lonely and seeking attention? ‘I’m going to ask you silly questions. Can you answer them for me?’
‘Yes, dear.’
‘What’s our national animal?’
‘A kangaroo.’
‘What do people get from a library?’
‘Books, of course.’
‘Count backwards from ten for me.’
As the old lady muttered numbers in the correct order, Molly tidied up her bed cover and watched her patient. ‘No problem. You slayed the test.’
‘I heard all that. Nothing wrong with your mind, Mrs Grooby,’ Nathan announced as he strolled into the cubicle.
Was he following her around? He couldn’t be. Since it was a quiet night he could be trying to keep busy too. ‘She’s lonely,’ Molly said quietly as she passed him.
He nodded. ‘We see that often with the oldies.’
‘You two talking about me?’ Mrs Grooby’s eyes lit up.
Molly chuckled. ‘You’re too sharp for your own good. Would you like a cup of tea?’
‘Yes, please. And a biscuit?’
‘Of course.’ Molly headed down to the kitchen and sneaked a biscuit for herself while she waited for the tea bag to brew. Only an hour in and already she was hungry. It had to be a result of running around the basketball court Saturday and Sunday.
Mick stuck his head in the door. ‘There are two ambulances on the way in with an elderly couple who were in a multiple car pile-up. Nothing serious, mostly cuts and bruises, and shock. You and Hank take them when they get here.’
‘Onto it.’
The couple was shaken but alert as they were wheeled into adjacent cubicles and transferred from the stretchers to beds. The curtain between was pulled back and when Mrs Andrews tried to reach her husband’s hand, Hank and Molly moved the beds closer. ‘There you go.’
‘Some date this turned out to be,’ Colin Andrews winked at his wife. ‘Should’ve stayed home and watched the tele.’
‘I don’t know. It’s quite exciting in here,’ his wife returned.
‘Where were you off to?’ There was a storm raging over the city, and it was bitterly cold out. Molly had worn her puffer jacket into work.
‘It’s our fifty-third wedding anniversary, and we always visit the church we were married in on the day. We didn’t have time earlier what with all the family dropping in and out like we run the best diner in town.’
Mrs Andrews’s gruff voice made Molly glance at her. Something wasn’t sitting right.
‘Has anyone got in touch with a member of your family?’ Molly asked as she sponged the lady’s arms where small cuts from windscreen glass had caused bleeding.
‘You don’t want them descending on the ED,’ Colin answered quickly. ‘Too noisy.’
‘You can’t tell one without telling them all,’ his wife hastened to add.
When Molly lifted her patient’s arm she felt a tremor in the soft muscles. There was definitely something not quite right going on.
‘We’ll sort it,’ Colin growled.
Glancing at Hank, Molly saw he’d also got the sense something was wrong. But what could they do? Their role was to patch people up and send them home again, or pass them on to specialists and wards, not to solve family problems. ‘Right, I’m going to do a bit of stitching.’
‘Bet you’re not as good at it as Sylvia. She used to make wedding dresses for the nobs.’
‘Is that so? Then she can sew you back together when I’ve finished with her.’ Molly laughed. ‘Can I get you both a cup of tea while I’m at it?’
‘Best offer I’ve had all night.’ Colin smiled, relief underlining his words. So getting in touch with their family was a no-no.
As it wasn’t her place to interfere, Molly let it go with a heavy heart. Families were so important, and to lose one was beyond comprehension. When her mother had insisted she was wrong about Paul, that he’d never meant to hurt her, she’d felt she’d lost everything—her marriage and her family. Nowadays her mother was working hard at getting back onside, and as much as Molly wanted that, she was taking a cautious approach. ‘Tea along with the needles and thread coming up.’
‘Molly.’ Mike appeared round the corner of the hub. ‘Sixteen-year-old girl, overdosed on paracetamol. Resus, please. Hank, you okay in here?’
‘Sure.’
‘On my way.’ Shuddering, she sped along to the well-equipped room and straight up to the bed where Nathan, a junior doctor and another nurse were working with the teen while an ambulance paramedic was filling them in on the scant details.
‘The mother thinks she swallowed at least twenty tablets. When they found her she was unconscious, but has since woken and been throwing up.’
‘Resultant liver damage will be the biggest concern,’ Nathan explained to the other doctor as he listened to the medic reading out the obs she’d taken on the ride in. ‘If she’s been vomiting then I don’t think it’s necessary to pump the stomach. I’ll give her some charcoal to soak up any remaining traces of drugs in her digestive system.’
Molly began wiping the girl to clean her up. Along with the other nurse, they stripped her and dressed her in a gown and got rid of the grubby clothes.
‘Nathan, you’re needed next door,’ someone called.
‘Now we’re getting busy.’ He looked to Molly, a wry smile lifting his mouth. ‘That’ll keep us on our toes and too busy for anything else.’
‘Seems like it.’ She smiled back. Why did he have to be so sexy even when dressed in a boring green uniform? This should be the one time her mind didn’t drag up images of him looking like a centrefold, or holding her against his naked body, or sitting opposite her having breakfast in the café.
* * *
When he joined her and Hank in the café for coffee and sandwiches just after eight, she was glad they weren’t alone or she might’ve dropped her intention of keeping him at a distance—a very short one—while at work. He was near irresistible.
‘You survived my lot okay.’ Nathan bit into a thick bread roll filled with meat and a dash of salad. ‘They can be intimidating.’
‘I enjoyed myself, so thanks for inviting me along.’
Hank’s eyebrows rose, before he went back to checking his phone for messages.
‘You obviously like kids,’ Nathan observed.
Hadn’t they done this on Saturday? Because of her scar had he guessed there might be an issue with her infertility? ‘Who doesn’t?’
I’m not seeing where this is going.
‘Not everyone thinks children are the best thing since sliced bread.’
‘Certainly everyone in your family does. I’m only surprised you’re capable of walking without a limp. They used you as a trampoline half the time.’
‘I’m used to it. Though as they get bigger I’m going to have to tone down the level of bounce.’ He was watching her like there was no one else in the room, and certainly had no qualms about Hank knowing they’d spent time together.
Hank put his phone down and picked up his mug. ‘I’ve seen Nathan bruised and limping after a round of ball games with the Lupton bunch. He hurt for days, and got no sympathy from any of us.’
Nathan grinned. ‘You were pathetic, not joining in to help me out.’
‘A group of us were at Nathan’s for a barbecue when some of his family showed up unexpectedly. Those kids took over like they owned the place, and we had a lot of laughs watching Uncle Nathan do his impersonation of an active seven-year-old for hours on end.’
‘I know what you mean.’ Obviously she wasn’t the first he’d invited to his house. Why did she think she might’ve been when they were having a party there next weekend? It was his way of being friendly, and she’d thought there was more to it. Though he’d offered her the flat to live in. After kissing her. And now he’d made love to her. ‘Kind of cute, I think.’ She grinned at Nathan, who screwed his face up. ‘Shows he’s not always the boss.’
‘I’m getting another coffee. You two need any?’ Hank stood up.
‘No, thanks,’ Molly and Nathan answered simultaneously.
She watched Hank walk across the room, stopping to yarn with nurses from the general ward.
‘I missed you yesterday.’
Knock me over with a feather.
‘You did?’ Warmth stole through her, softening all those knots that had begun tightening since she’d seen how much he adored his nieces and nephews and heard how he wanted to add to the bunch.
‘Yes. I came that close...’ he held up two fingers only millimetres apart ‘...to driving over to your apartment late yesterday but I know you were busy at the charity shop.’ His smile hit her in the chest. ‘Anyway, I sat down on the couch, and didn’t know a thing until seven.’
‘You old man, you.’
‘You think?’
‘Not for a minute.’ This was fun, and relaxing, and she could do it for ever. Except—
Shut up, conscience. Let me have some fun before it’s time to get real.
‘Sorry I had to race away but that’s how it is.’ Now that she was getting a life.
‘It wouldn’t be if you moved into the flat.’
She hadn’t seen that coming. Leaning back in the hard plastic chair, she tried to lift the blinkers and study Nathan as others might see him. There was much to like, to trust, to love even. And she couldn’t help the way he turned her on, how she wanted to be with him more often. But, ‘Everything’s happening in a hurry. I need to keep my own space at the moment.’
‘Fair enough.’ His face lost its relaxed expression. ‘I understand. But I’m an impatient brute at times.’
‘The last thing you are is a brute, Nathan. Believe me, I know.’
He gulped, and sighed. ‘It was a loose term. I need to learn to be careful of my words around you.’
She shook her head. ‘No, you don’t. I need to lighten up. Though I thought I was doing okay.’
‘You know what? We’ve suddenly become serious. This isn’t the place to be mentioning what’s happened to you so let’s relax again.’ There was a plea in his eyes.
She nodded, more than happy to go along with him. ‘Done.’
‘So how many awkward questions did the sisters ask you?’
‘Not one.’ She’d been as surprised as Nathan looked. ‘Not usual?’
‘Not at all. My sisters believe there’re no rules when it comes to their brother.’ He drained his coffee.
‘Families know all the buttons to push.’ Would Gran have liked Nathan? She had no idea why but Molly thought she probably would have, and that gave her comfort.
‘I’m glad you had a good time and enjoyed being with the kids.’
‘Nathan...’ She swallowed. Every time he mentioned the kids and her in the same sentence the worry intensified. It was beginning to seem like she wouldn’t be able to have a few weeks of fun before telling him the truth. To be fair, that would be selfish of her. Sometime in the next few days they were going to have a full and frank conversation about her fertility—or lack of.
‘Hey, guys, we’re needed. All hands on deck. A van full of American tourists rolled on the highway and the first ones are expected here in ten.’ Mick was already moving away in search of more ED staff.
‘Mondays are supposed to be quiet,’ Nathan muttered before he took a last mouthful of his roll.
CHAPTER TEN
WHAT WAS MOLLY’S PROBLEM? She seemed all out of sync. One moment happy beyond description, the next eyeing him with trepidation. Nathan watched her calming a teenager whose friends had brought her in with numerous bee stings.
‘You’re not having a reaction.’ Molly wiped the girl’s arms. ‘Yes, you copped a lot of stings, which have been removed, and you’re hurting, but your windpipe is not about to close up.’
He stepped in. ‘Hi, I’m Nathan, a doctor. What Molly’s telling you is correct. If you’d had an allergic reaction your throat, tongue and face would be swelling by now.’ He hoped that backing Molly and playing it down would quieten the shrieking, shaking girl. ‘Just to make absolutely certain, let me have a look inside your mouth.’
