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‘What about coffee in town one night, maybe a movie?’
As she opened her mouth to refuse his offer and to call for an orderly, a deep voice echoed behind her.
‘Dr Seymour, I think I can safely speak on behalf of the rest of the hospital staff, including management and the board, in telling you that we would be eternally grateful if you would arrange your private life in your own time. There’s a roomful of people waiting for treatment, if you haven’t noticed, and if you stop to chat with all the male patients who flatter your ego, I’m afraid we could risk some of the others up and dying on us!’
He turned to walk away, then paused in mid-step. ‘Quite frankly, Dr Seymour, I wasn’t keen about this RMO exchange. It’s an irritating disruption to a busy department and from what I’ve seen this morning, I doubt I’ll be convinced otherwise.’
‘I... I...’ Beth fell over her own words with nerves. ‘I was just trying to explain to Mr...’ It had happened again. Her mind went inexplicably blank. It never happened to her. She was always in control, remembering names had never been an issue. What was happening? Her composure had suddenly taken a leave of absence.
‘Mr Somers,’ the A and E consultant added snidely, looking at the case notes under Beth’s arm. ‘And, Dr Seymour, try to remember names. It’s a professional touch we encourage Down Under.’
‘As I was saying,’ she returned quickly, ‘I was just explaining to Mr Somers that he needed to go to Pharmacy.’
‘Well, the message wasn’t getting through, was it?’ he replied curtly. Then with his dark brows knitted and his arms folded across his ample chest, he stared in silence at the patient. Beth wasn’t sure whether it was his towering stature or threatening demeanour, but something made Mr Somers move quickly through the gap in the curtains and out of sight.
‘Well, that didn’t seem so difficult, Dr Seymour. I wonder whether we should put your problem down to a lack of assertiveness. Or perhaps you weren’t in a hurry.’
Beth found his unremitting and unjust criticism more than she could handle. She paused for a moment before replying. She wanted to gather the last shreds of composure she possessed. Australia was supposed to be different. A new start where she would be valued as a doctor and also as a person. She had to make that clear now.
Finally, with a calm that belied her still shaky confidence, she challenged her aggressor. ‘You’re wrong with both suggestions, Dr Harrison. It appears that Australian men are not astute enough to get the message when it’s delivered politely. But don’t worry, I’m sure I can alter my delivery to suit the occasion. I learn quickly.’
She watched as the corners of his mouth curved slightly. Not a full smile, but Beth was relieved to see it at least wasn’t the face of a man about to end her medical career. In fact, to her surprise, she found herself thinking it was a very handsome, almost roguish face. The blue eyes that had threatened her only minutes before now seemed to sparkle as they lingered on hers. She felt her pulse quicken and blood flow into her cheeks. Conscious of her blushing, she abruptly turned her gaze from him, trying to concentrate on her case notes, but still she felt strangely distracted by his presence so close to her.
* * *
Matthew liked her spirit. She had just stood up to him, and not many people could do that. They cowered to his seniority and his reputation, but Beth hadn’t flinched when she’d given back as good as she’d got.
‘OD in Priority One,’ called a nurse as she raced past them.
Beth felt a firm hand on her arm. ‘Well, Dr Seymour, let’s see just how fast you learn!’ He directed her into the corridor and with hasty steps they followed the nurse.
‘I can learn while running. I hope that’s fast enough.’
Matthew gave a wry smile, which she took as affirmation. Without further debate she followed him into a room filled with nursing staff and an attending doctor already working on stabilising the patient. Beth recognised the young doctor from the lift. It was Dan Berketta.
The young male patient he was attending lay on the barouche looking deathly pale. An intravenous line had already been inserted into his forearm and as the patient was unconscious Dan inserted a Guedal airway to prevent the patient’s tongue from obstructing his airway. One nurse took over the bag resuscitation while another cut down the length of his shirt. With the patient’s bare torso exposed, Dan immediately began cardiac compression.
‘Suspected scenario, Dr Berketta?’ asked Matthew Harrison as he put on latex gloves and threw a pair across to Beth.
‘Heroin overdose, the girlfriend told us,’ Dan replied, his voice gritting with the force he exerted on the patient’s chest. ‘The paramedics administered oxygen and Narcan en route. He was here five minutes when he ripped the IV out and attempted to leave. He made it about three feet before he arrested on the floor.’
‘Still no pulse,’ said a nurse.
Beth moved closer to offer assistance as Dan continued with the compressions.
‘No improvement,’ came the nurse’s update.
Immediately Dan reached for the defibrillator paddles, his eyes constantly returning to the heart monitor.
‘Everyone stand back,’ instructed Dr Harrison.
The nurse already had the paddles smeared with conducting paste.
‘Now!’ Dan held the paddles to the man’s chest. The young man’s back arched with the surge they generated.
Eyes turned to the heart monitor. Still no beat registered. ‘Increase to three hundred.’
‘Three hundred,’ the nurse confirmed.
‘Clear again,’ Dan called as he threw his weight behind the pads once more. The man’s body convulsed with the force.
‘We have a trace,’ the nurse called.
‘Competent work, Dr Berketta,’ Beth heard Dr Harrison say, as he reached for the patient’s chart. ‘But let’s not be overly confident yet. Get someone from Cardiology down here to see him. I want five-minute obs, full biochem and haematology work-up and a drug screen, and one of the nurses should let the girlfriend know we’ll be holding onto lover boy for at least twenty-four hours. Let’s just hope he used a clean needle.’
‘Bit late for that,’ said Dan, slipping off his disposable gloves and untying his surgical gown. ‘The blood results from his last OD are in his file. He’s hep C positive. Not that he knows yet. According to his notes, he’s been out of the country and they haven’t been able to make contact.’
‘I’ll leave it in your hands, Dr Berketta, but arrange for a counsellor to be present when you inform the patient of his condition,’ the consultant cautioned.
Beth closed her eyes for a moment and clenched her trembling hands. She didn’t even know the man on the barouche but an incredible anger swept over her. She couldn’t help but notice his expensive clothing and conservative haircut. He wasn’t a street junkie. Everything about him was in conflict with the popular image she’d once had of a heroin addict.
As she watched him lying there with an oxygen mask covering his pallid face, Beth controlled her impetus to shake him to his senses. To ask him why he was throwing away his life. To find out what drove him to do it. What void was he filling with drugs? Beth found it so sad and so frustrating.
She felt a firm hand on her shoulder and turned her eyes to see Dr Harrison’s face lowered to her level as he spoke. ‘Had any contact with ODs during your training, Dr Seymour?’
‘Too much, I’d say.’ She had seen so many young lives destroyed by drugs. It seemed to be almost an epidemic during her training in London—including one of her fellow medical students, who had been a close friend all through school.
‘It’s a sad fact of life in the city.’
‘And that means it’s acceptable?’ she retorted loudly, a little too loudly, she quickly realised.
‘No, but it means there’s nothing you or I can do except patch them up and let them get back on the street to score their next hit. Although,’ he paused ‘...by the look of the manicure and haircut on this one, he’s a corporate user. A yuppie with a habit.’
Beth felt her body stiffen. His words cut deeply as she thought back to her friend who’d been three weeks away from graduating when he’d overdosed. ‘It’s a stupid waste of a life and we get to clean up the mess they leave behind.’
Matthew observed his new medical colleague as she stood deep in thought. She obviously had strong views about what she had witnessed and she wasn’t afraid to come out with what she thought. Despite her small stature, she was neither a walkover nor a wallflower. She was forthright and almost commanding. It was a refreshing change.
He also noticed she was pretty, a fresh, natural beauty. He hoped despite her somewhat innocent looks she would be equipped to handle the rigours of A and E. First appearances would lead him to believe she would do just fine but perhaps treating her harshly while she might be suffering from jet lag had not been entirely fair. Despite her almost palpable anger at the situation, she looked truly shaken.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle tap on her shoulder and words she hadn’t expected. ‘Dr Seymour, maybe I was a bit hard on you earlier.’
Beth stared in silence.
‘I’m offering an apology for my previous behaviour. Make the most of it because, believe me, it’s not something I do very often.’
She couldn’t believe her ears—this seemed totally out of character, given everything she had heard about the man and the callous way he had treated her earlier.
‘Look, the truth of the matter is I’ve had a lousy morning. What with one resident off sick and a fourth-year medical student tagging behind me like Casper, I guess I took it out on you.’
‘There’s no need—’ Beth began.
‘No, it’s your first day here, I could have shown some empathy. Let’s face it, you shouldn’t think of me as an absolute son of a—’ He stopped in mid-sentence. For some strange reason, and against his better judgement, he actually cared what Beth thought of him. ‘Well, let’s say you shouldn’t completely despise me, like the rest of them do, until at least your second week here.’
CHAPTER TWO
IT WAS ABOUT seven o’clock in the evening when Beth headed for the doctors’ lounge. Vivian, an attractive ashen-haired nurse who had arrived for the afternoon shift, convinced her of the need to take a tea break.
Beth had managed to slip away in the afternoon for half an hour for lunch and that had doubled as time to put her feet up. But that had been almost six hours ago and she could feel the hunger in her stomach starting to stir. The thought of waiting for the lift or walking up three flights of stairs to the staff cafeteria after ten hours on her legs had her slip some coins into the slot of a vending machine and retrieve two chocolate bars for her late supper.
‘You’re not setting a good example to the patients. What happened to the three well-balanced meals a day?’
Beth was stopped in her tracks by the same dogmatic voice that had started her day.
‘You’d be better off with some fruit or at least a protein bar,’ Dr Harrison continued before she had the chance to reply.
Trying hard to keep her heavy legs from collapsing, she turned to him. Then she wished she hadn’t. He stood before her in a dark grey suit and crisp white cotton shirt, which contrasted starkly against his tanned skin and black wavy hair, which he wore slicked back. This further emphasised his softly chiselled features. A red silk tie and highly polished leather shoes completed his outfit.
Beth drew a steadying breath. He looked gorgeous and she felt like nothing on earth. She glanced down at her creased slacks and shapeless consulting coat with iodine splatters and wanted to disappear into an invisible black hole in the tiled floor. She had long since given up on her hair and had just let the curly wisps take on a direction of their own. How unfair was nature to let him bounce back and look so good after a full day’s work? The musky scent of his cologne stirred senses she had thought were asleep.
‘A night on the town?’ she enquired as she tried to stifle a yawn.
‘A celebration of sorts, actually.’
‘Well, I hope you have a nice time,’ she answered softly.
‘I will if my date turns up on time.’
Beth thought better of staying around chatting to the handsome consultant. If he was anything to set standards by, his date would be ravishing, and after the long day she had put in she’d rather not be introduced. She would only feel like the third, and definitely shabby, wheel.
‘Well, if you’ll excuse me,’ she began, ‘I’ll be going. I’ve only got a few minutes’ break and I really need to sit down.’
‘Certainly,’ he said, giving her a sideways glance. ‘You look like you could do with the rest.’
Beth just smiled and headed for the doctors’ lounge. You look like you could do with the rest, she repeated in her mind. Why hadn’t he just said, ‘God, you look awful’ and be done with it?
As she made her way down the corridor, she heard the seductive tone of his voice, then a soft female laugh. Unable to hide her curiosity, Beth turned her head and watched as a tall blonde, wrapped in a strapless red evening gown, slipped her arm through Dr Harrison’s. Beth felt a stab of envy. She wasn’t sure whether it was the woman’s disgustingly expensive designer dress and jewelled shoes or the man with her that really appealed. Then she laughed to herself at how terrible she would look with either after such a long day, and she headed into the lounge for a much-needed half-hour rest.
To her dismay, the vision in the dinner suit filled her mind. Looking that good, she decided, should be a crime. Then she thought back to their meeting that morning, and despite his arrogant attitude Beth couldn’t deny her unexpected and unwanted attraction to her boss. He was handsome and inherently sexy, that was undeniable... But there was something else. She wasn’t sure what intrigued her about the man but as she felt her eyes slowly closing, she shook her weary head and climbed to her feet. Now was not the time to drift off to some pleasant reverie about her picture-perfect boss. The last thing she needed was to be found sleeping on the job.
Beth stretched her aching muscles and made her way back to A and E. She had not quite reached the swing doors when her beeper went off. The sound of hurrying footsteps in the opposite direction signalled an emergency arrival. Beth rushed through the doors and fell in step with the paramedics and the barouche. A nurse hurriedly attached a stand to the drip that one paramedic held.
‘What do we have?’
‘Female, hit and run, ten years of age. Vital signs okay, BP ninety over fifty, suspected fractures both legs. No other signs of injury. We’ve administered pethidine, IV, for pain relief.’
‘Bay five,’ Vivian called.
Beth nodded, then turned her attention back to the paramedic. ‘Parents?’
‘No, she was alone at home. A neighbour saw the accident and called us. Apparently she was looking for her cat and ran onto the road. Her name is Tania Grant.’
Beth smiled down at the young girl. ‘Well, then, Tania, apart from your legs, does it hurt anywhere?’
The child’s eyes glistened with tears as she shook her head.
‘Okay, I don’t want you to worry about anything. I’m going to have a look and make sure there’s nothing else wrong while nurse Vivian tries to contact your parents.’ Beth gloved up while the paramedics parked the barouche in the bay.
‘Now, Tania,’ she began softly, ‘do you know where your parents are tonight?’
‘Yes, they always go to the same place to eat on special occasions.’
‘Do they often leave you alone when they go out at night?’ Beth asked as she reached for her stethoscope.
‘No, never... That’s cold!’ she protested when the metal touched her chest.
‘Sorry, sweetie, but I need to listen to your heart for a minute. While I do, could you tell the nurse where she can contact your parents?’
The tall, ashen-haired nurse reached into her pocket for a notebook and pencil and jotted down the name of the restaurant. ‘I’ll go and call them.’
Satisfied with the child’s vital signs, Beth turned her attention back to the injured legs. ‘Now, Tania, I’m going to need an X-ray of both of your legs to see what damage you have and a couple of other pictures while we’re there. I’d like to wait for Mummy’s and Daddy’s—’
‘He’s my stepdad,’ the girl cut in.
‘Fine, your mummy’s and your stepdad’s permission, but I don’t think they’d mind under the circumstances, so as soon as nurse Vivian gets back, she’ll take you around to the X-ray department and I’ll see you back here in just a little while.’
Tania nodded. Beth smiled as she brushed a stray wisp of blonde fringe from the little girl’s forehead. ‘So you’re not left alone often?’
‘No, this is the first time. My stepbrother, Tom, was supposed to be home with me, but his friend who lives next door called and asked him over to watch videos. I didn’t want to act like a baby and make him stay with me. If Mittens hadn’t sneaked out when Tom left, I wouldn’t be in this trouble.’ She started to cry.
‘Shh,’ Beth said gently. ‘You’re not in trouble, but I suspect Tom might be.’ She reached for Tania’s file, noted her vital signs and wrote a request for X-rays. ‘Vivian shouldn’t be much longer, I’m sure, then you’ll go straight around to Radiology.’
‘But I want my mummy with me.’
‘Well, let’s hope she can make it here in time.’
No sooner had she finished than Vivian walked into the room and over to Tania. She patted the little girl’s hand. ‘Your parents are on their way. They said they’d be here as fast as they could, but the restaurant is in the foothills so it could take twenty minutes.’ Then she turned her attention to Beth. ‘Dr Seymour, her parents gave consent for any diagnostic tests and treatment that you feel are necessary, so I called Radiology and they’re waiting for Tania. Oh, and Dr Huddy told me to let you know your shift is finished. He’ll take over in here.’
‘I’m sorry, Tania, we can’t really wait for Mummy,’ Beth replied as she gently put another pillow under the child’s arm to support the IV. ‘But Vivian will take really good care of you and a lovely doctor called Simon will be treating you when you get back.’
The girl burst into tears. ‘I don’t want to see someone else,’ she sobbed, and tried to tug at her wrist where the intravenous line had been inserted and taped. ‘I want you to take this thing out of my hand. It’s hurting me and I want my mummy.’
Beth encircled the little girl’s hands in her own. ‘I know it’s uncomfortable, sweetie, but the medicine in the bag up there is helping to stop the pain in your legs.’ She wiped the tears from Tania’s cheeks with a tissue. ‘Mummy will be here very soon, and then you’ll feel much better.’
Beth glanced down at her watch. She was almost past exhaustion but she was loath to leave the girl so distraught.
‘How about I take you around for that X-ray, then we can wait together for your parents and you can tell me about Mittens. You know, I had a cat when I was your age but about the worst she did to me was give me a bad scratch. She certainly never put me into hospital!’
Tania gave a little smile and agreed to go with Beth for the X-ray.
