Читать книгу Accidental Reunion - Carol Marinelli - Страница 8

LILA burst into the observation ward, her blonde hair flying, her bag falling off her shoulder.

‘Calm down, they haven’t started yet.’ Sue Finch patted the chair beside her. ‘I saved you a seat.’

‘Don’t you hate that?’ Lila rolled her eyes. ‘They tell us to be here at eight—an hour before our shift starts—and then they can’t even get it started on time.’

‘Just as well or you’d have been late—again.’ Sue grinned. ‘Luckily the Horse is stuck round in Resus, so your lack of punctuality will go unnoticed—this time,’ she added pointedly.

The Horse was the name Hester Randall, the nurse unit manager, was rather unaffectionately known by, due to the fact that the only time she showed any glimpse of being human was when she spoke about one of her beloved horses. Lila had started the nickname after a particularly bad dressing-down from her senior and it had soon caught on. ‘What kept you, anyway?’

‘I started watching the gymnastics on television, and before I knew it it was after seven.’

‘Since when have you been interested in gymnastics?’ Sue asked.

‘Since a couple of hours ago. I don’t know what all the fuss is about—it doesn’t look that difficult. I’m sure if I practised I could do it.’ She laughed at Sue’s incredulous look. ‘I’m serious. They were just dancing around waving a couple of ribbons.’

‘They practise for years—hours every day,’ Lucy Heath, another of the night nurses, pointed out.

‘Exactly my point.’ Flicking back the curtains pulled around the empty ward and seeing the coast was clear, Lila picked up a couple of finger bandages and unravelled them. ‘Watch and learn,’ she said to her delighted audience, and, executing a perfect pirouette, she twirled the ribbons as she danced around the room, egged on by the laughter coming from her colleagues. Too wrapped up in her impromptu routine, she didn’t notice the laughter had suddenly changed to a fit of embarrassed coughing.

‘When you’ve finished wasting the hospital supplies, Sister Bailey, perhaps we can get on with the evening’s lecture?’

Turning, Lila stopped in her tracks, her face turning pale as Hester Randall marched in, accompanied by a couple of medical personnel. Lila took her seat next to Sue, concentrating on rolling the bandages—anything rather than look up. It wasn’t Hester’s untimely appearance that had upset her; Lila was far too used to that by now. The trembling in her hands, the rapid rise in her heart rate, were exclusively due to the, oh, so familiar grin that had greeted Lila’s eyes as she’d spun around.

‘Before we start I’d like to take a moment to introduce two new faces that are soon going to become very familiar to us all. Yvonne Selles is the hospital’s new geriatric registrar, and will be delivering tonight’s talk. Yvonne has moved to Melbourne all the way from Scotland, so I trust you will do your utmost to make her feel welcome. The other new face belongs to Dr Declan Haversham, our new emergency registrar. Theoretically he shouldn’t be starting for another month, but as you know we are short of a night doctor for the next few weeks, and Declan has agreed to step in.’

Lila had known this day would come—that one day their paths would cross again. But the eight years that had elapsed since their last meeting, or rather parting, had almost convinced her that she was worrying unnecessarily. Almost convinced her that maybe she could get through the rest of her life without coming face to face with Declan.

It was no big deal, Lila tried to convince herself as she finished rolling the bandages. It was just an ex-boyfriend—hardly big league stuff; she could handle this!

But it was a big deal, she finally acknowledged. Eight years might have passed, but not a day or night had gone by when Declan hadn’t been in her thoughts. His tousled black hair, the grey eyes that crinkled around the edges when he laughed, or softened when he gazed into hers…Correction, Lila reminded herself, the same eyes that had mocked her when she had tentatively told him her plans, and the same cheeky grin that had turned into a scornful laugh.

Peeking up from under her fringe, she saw that he was staring directly at her. Feigning uninterest, Lila flicked her gaze away, but not before she saw a smile tug at the corner of his lips. That small glimpse was enough to tell her the years had treated him well. His hair was shorter, neater now, and he looked even taller, if that was possible. And the suit under his white coat had obviously set him back a bit. His eyes still crinkled, though, she mused, desperately trying to focus on Yvonne Selles’s lecture, and nothing could diminish the impact of those eyes on hers…

‘My intention is to highlight to the staff here the special needs of elderly patients in the accident and emergency department.’ Yvonne’s lilting Scottish accent forced the staff to listen more carefully. ‘Would any of you like to suggest what specific problems they might face during their time here?’

‘Missing out on their regular medication?’ Sue suggested.

‘Excellent. Their GP will have spent a lot of time educating them, insisting that they take their medication at a certain time, stressing the importance of not missing a dose. The elderly patients might suffer with dementia, might be confused, but they know that at six p.m. they have to take their blue tablet—or their insulin, perhaps. Then they come into Emergency and, lo and behold, a nurse tells them that as it isn’t prescribed they can’t have it, and, anyway, missing out on one dose isn’t going to cause a problem. It can take weeks to undo that sort of damage when in truth it could be so easily prevented. Can anyone suggest how?’

‘By getting them seen more quickly, perhaps,’ Lila suggested. ‘Even if not for a full assessment, at least a doctor could write up an interim order for their regular meds, enabling the staff to give them if required.’

She could feel Declan’s eyes on her and couldn’t help a small blush as she spoke. It felt surreal, discussing medical issues with him in the room.

‘Well done. Any other problem that comes to mind?’

Yvonne was looking directly at her now, and Lila had no choice but to make a suggestion. ‘Pressure areas?’

‘Another good point. Unlike the wards, the emergency department doesn’t have a routine as such. Emergency staff are busy dealing with the immediate and in some cases life-threatening problem that has caused the patient to present in the first place. So often elderly people lie on hard trolleys without the very basics of nursing care being addressed. By the time they get to the wards damage has been inflicted upon their frail skin. So what can be done?’

It was Lucy who responded this time. ‘Implement a system of assessing an elderly patient when they come in—if they need pressure area care then make sure it’s carried out regularly.’

‘It wouldn’t work,’ Lila said thoughtfully. ‘Maybe for a couple of weeks, but sooner or later everyone would slip back into the old ways. We could start doing four-hourly pressure area rounds, like on the wards. Anybody needing pressure area care would be treated then.’

‘A fantastic idea. What do you think, Hester?’

Yvonne turned and addressed the unit manager, who gave a thin smile. ‘Worth some thought, I’m sure,’ Hester agreed, though her tone could hardly be described as enthusiastic.

The meeting continued in the same vein. They bounced ideas off each other, trying to come up with solutions to the endless problems nursing threw up, but finally at ten to nine they were done, leaving just enough time to grab a quick coffee before the night shift started.

‘Thanks a bunch,’ Sue said good-naturedly as they picked up their bags. ‘If we don’t have enough work already, now the Horse will have us doing pressure area rounds. I came down to Emergency to escape all that!’

‘Sister Bailey, if I could have a quick word in my office?’ Hester’s voice was hardly friendly, and, forgoing any chance of a coffee, Lila turned and followed her boss down the corridor, closing the door behind her as Hester took a seat at her desk.

Anticipating a ticking off for her gymnastic display, Lila tried to keep her face impassive. Her lateness she could accept being told off for—after all, none of the staff knew the true extent of her mother’s illness. If they had she was sure they would have happily made allowances. However, Lila consistently refused to apologise for having a bit of fun now and then. Heaven knew, the staff worked hard enough in this department—between them they saw enough terrible sights to send even the most stable person searching their soul. Letting off a bit of steam at work did no harm, in Lila’s eyes; in fact, she felt it did a lot of good. It was a point she and Hester would never agree on, and one of the many reasons Lila preferred night duty. Away from the politics of days, away from the bureaucracy and the demands of admin, staff were able to get on with what they were paid to do—nurse.

But for now, at least, the waste of two hospital bandages wasn’t what Hester had on her mind.

‘I’ve been going through the applications for the night associate charge nurse position, and I see you’re not amongst them.’

As she sat down on the chair Lila’s impassive expression slipped for a moment. ‘I thought it would be a waste of time,’ she admitted honestly, after a moment’s silence.

‘Why? Don’t you want the job?’ Hester’s voice was crisp, her stare direct, but, undaunted, Lila looked her directly in the eye.

‘On the contrary, I’d love the position. However, I know that we don’t always see eye to eye on my methods of nursing—’

‘Your nursing methods don’t worry me,’ Hester interrupted. ‘I don’t doubt for a moment that you’re an excellent nurse. If I had any concerns in that area you’d have been gone long ago. What concerns me is your disregard for detail, your casual attitude to the rules, your lateness.’

Which was a backhanded compliment if ever Lila had heard one. Biting back a smart reply, she kept her voice even. ‘Which is why I didn’t apply for the job.’

Hester didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she flicked through the pile of résumés on the desk in front of her. ‘All of these are from external applicants. While I don’t doubt that their credentials are excellent, and while I agree I don’t always see eye to eye with you, Lila, I do think you’re a good nurse. I’m also paid to have foresight, and I can’t see it going down too well with the rest of your colleagues if I employ an outsider for a job you’re effectively already doing.’

Hester had a point there. Since Jane Church had left, more often than not Lila had been in charge of the department, and the rest of the night staff had been pushing endlessly for Lila to apply for the position permanently.

‘Now, I’m certainly not going to hand you such a senior position on a plate, but I definitely would seriously consider you if you decided to go ahead and apply. Who knows? When it’s you handling the stock-ordering and budgets, maybe a measly couple of bandages might take on a greater importance.’

Lila managed a faintly sheepish grin as Hester continued. ‘The applications close tomorrow at five p.m. It’s up to you whether your name’s amongst them. I’d better let you get back to the unit.’

Making her way back to emergency, Lila shook her head in disbelief. Hester suggesting she apply for the position was the last thing she had been expecting. Correction, Lila thought as she rounded the corner and saw Declan standing by the whiteboard, studying the patient list. Declan Haversham strolling back into her life as, of all things, the newly appointed emergency registrar was the last thing. How on earth was she supposed to deal with this?

As she approached the huddle of nurses taking the handover, painfully aware of his eyes on her, Lila took a deep breath. It was going to be a long, long night.

Once the handover was completed, as the nurse in charge it was up to Lila to assign the nurses their various roles for the night. It was quite a complicated task. Assessing the patients who were in the department, along with nurses’ capabilities, was a constantly evolving juggling act.

‘Sue, you take the obs ward, if anyone gets admitted, otherwise stay down in section A with me. For now start shifting some of the patients up to the wards,’ Lila said, writing swiftly on the whiteboard as she did so. ‘Lucy and Amy, you stay in section A with me, and help Sue. We’ll all cover Resus together. Gemma, perhaps you could close section B now and bring the patient list up here. And, girls,’ she added, calling back the dispersing group, ‘remember your para-training.’

‘Will do, Lila.’ Sue grinned. ‘Hey, what did the Horse want?’

‘What do you think she wanted?’ Lila said lightly. She certainly wasn’t about to divulge the real reason for Hester’s little chat. It would be bad enough not getting the job, without every one knowing about it! ‘You do realise I cost the hospital four dollars tonight, teaching you Neanderthals the finer points of gymnastics.’

‘And a real treat it was, too.’ Lila pointedly didn’t look round as Declan came over.

‘I never knew you were such a talented gymnast.’ She could hear the familiar dry humour in his voice, but still she didn’t look. ‘But then what would I know? I never even realised you were a nurse.’

Sue gave them both a quizzical look. ‘I’ll get cubicle four up to the ward, then,’ she said, leaving them to it.

For the longest time they stood there, both pretending to study the whiteboard. It was Declan who finally broke the silence. ‘So you were serious about nursing after all?’

Lila gave a curt nod. ‘It looks that way.’

‘I guess you must have got over your weak stomach?’

‘Not in the slightest.’

He looked up at her wry chuckle. ‘But you work in Emergency!’ His voice was incredulous, but Lila was used to shock when she admitted her weakness. Her response was well rehearsed.

‘Name one person who loves every aspect of their job.’ When he didn’t immediately answer Lila jumped right in. ‘See, you can’t! Emergency isn’t just about blood and gore—that’s just one aspect of it…’

A smile was twitching on his lips, and those smoky dark eyes were crinkling in that endearingly familiar way.

‘What?’ Her voice was defensive, an instinctive reaction to his response. She still read his face so well, almost knew what he was thinking.

‘You’re still as passionate as ever.’ He cleared his throat, as if realising the faux pas he had just committed. ‘I mean…’ His voice trailed off.

Passionate. The word hung in the air between them, conjuring dangerous images of long ago.

Images best forgotten.

Finally he found his voice. ‘How on earth do you cope?’

She swallowed hard. ‘Red cordial helps.’ Her words were light and glib, a deliberate attempt to lighten the increasing tension.

‘Red cordial?’

‘Any blood I see, I just imagine it’s cordial.’

He was really smiling now. ‘And does it work?’

‘Mostly.’

‘And when it doesn’t?’

It was Lila’s turn to smile now. Rolling her eyes, she pulled a face. ‘I just hope for a soft landing.’

‘You’re not serious?’

‘Absolutely. But don’t worry,’ she added quickly, ‘I always get heaps of warning, and I haven’t fallen on top of a patient yet—touch wood.’

‘Glad to hear it.’ There was a long pause as again they pretended to look at the whiteboard. ‘How’s your mum doing?’ His voice was gentle now, wary.

‘She’s fine. Well, not fine, exactly, but we’re managing.’

‘That’s good.’ The silence that followed was deafening. ‘Where is she now?’

Lila turned then, the look of contempt on her face clearly apparent. ‘At home, Declan, with me—where she belongs.’

‘But how…?’ His voice was bewildered now. ‘It’s been eight years. How do you manage? I mean with work and everything?’

‘I manage.’ She gave him the frostiest of looks. ‘That’s all you need to know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get on.’ But as she went to go his hand reached out and caught her wrist, gently pulling her back.

‘Lila,’ he said, not letting her go. ‘I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable—I had no idea that you worked here.’

Though he wasn’t holding her tightly, she was achingly aware of the force of his touch. Shrugging him off, Lila picked up a marker pen. ‘Well, how would you know? It’s not as if we kept in touch…’

‘Which was your choice, as I recall.’

Crossing out the name of the patient in cubicle four on the whiteboard, Lila scribbled in the new patient’s details. ‘I can assure you, Declan, your being here doesn’t worry me one bit. We’ve both got jobs to do. It doesn’t mean we have to be the best of friends; we’re just colleagues.’

‘No, but it would be nice if we could at least be civil. Who knows? With a bit of effort from both sides maybe we could be friends again. After all, we had some good times, Lila.’

She hesitated. Friends was the last thing she could ever be with him, but if she betrayed the strength of the emotions that were engulfing her now then surely that would only make things more uncomfortable. Forcing a smile, Lila turned and faced him, dragging her eyes up to meet his. ‘Sure—why not?’ she said finally, offering her hand. ‘Pleased to meet you Dr Haversham.’

‘Pleased to meet you, Sister Bailey. Tell me, would you be interested in catching up for a drink some time?’

Lila’s laugh was almost genuine. ‘Don’t push your luck, Declan. Friends at work is enough to be going on with, I think. Don’t you?’

* * *

By eleven p.m. the place was full, fit to burst. Not only were there a lot of sick people waiting to be seen and dealt with, but also the pubs were turning out and with them the inevitable fights and arguments that invariably found their way to the emergency department. The staff were all more than used to the organised chaos, and dealt good-humouredly with the constant stream, keeping a careful eye out for any likely sources of trouble.

‘I think I’ve died and gone to heaven,’ a young man slurred as the paramedics lifted him over onto a trolley. ‘I didn’t know nurses were so good-looking.’

Lila rolled her eyes as she pulled on her gloves.

‘Fight outside Kerry’s pub,’ the paramedic reeled off. ‘Terry Linton, eighteen years old, multiple lacerations courtesy of a knife; they all appear superficial and his obs have been stable throughout.’

‘Thanks, guys. Any more to bring in?’

‘But of course.’ He gave her a rueful grin, depositing soiled blankets in the linen skip. ‘No doubt we’ll catch you later.’

‘No doubt about it.’

Undressing Terry, Lila ignored his extremely unsubtle advances, concentrating instead on checking each wound carefully. The paramedics were right; they did look superficial—except for one across his left loin. Though small, Lila couldn’t assess the depth of the wound, and from the paramedic’s description of the knife there was every chance it might have gone deep enough to cause some internal trauma.

‘You ever been to Kerry’s? You should try it. They have a happy hour every night from five till six, drinks half-price—even those fancy cocktails girls like. I could take you when you get a night off. We’d have a real laugh.’

As Lila placed a wad of Melolin and combine over the leaking wound the tell-tale signs of flashing stars appeared before her eyes.

Why did blood have this effect on her? It was ridiculous that after all these years—after all the study she had done, the sights she had seen—for no reason, completely out of the blue, a small wound such as this could turn her stomach.

‘A real laugh,’ Lila said dryly, shifting her mind to Terry’s attempts at a chat-up. ‘I think I might give it a miss, thanks.’ Strapping the combine into place, she popped Terry into a gown and quickly recorded a set of obs.

‘Need a hand?’ Sue’s smiling face appeared at the curtain.

‘Please. I might move this one over to Resus. Can you give me a hand with the trolley?’

That stopped him in his tracks! ‘What are you moving me there for? I’m not dying, am I?’

‘No, Terry, I just want to keep a closer eye on you until you’ve been seen by the doctor.’

‘But Resus is where they put the real crook ones. I’ve seen it on the telly. You’ll be putting those electric shock things on me next.’

Lila grinned. ‘You watch too much television, Terry. Look,’ she said, slipping an oxygen mask over the young man’s face, ‘you’ve got some nasty wounds there. The trouble with knife wounds is that we don’t always know how deep they are until they’ve been explored. I’m just playing it safe by putting you in there for now.’

‘So I’m not dying?’

‘I certainly hope not—it makes far too much paperwork!’ Her humour relaxed Terry, and when she saw him smiling again Lila continued. ‘Still, you’re not going to be going home tonight. Is there anyone I can ring for you?’

‘No way. If my mum finds out she’ll kill me. If you think these wounds are bad just wait till she’s finished with me.’

Lila glanced at the casualty card, checking his age with the one the paramedics had given. Terry was eighteen, the decision was his, and, as was common in his age group, Terry had declined to give his telephone number.

‘Won’t they be expecting you home?’

‘No.’ He screwed up his nose. ‘They’ll think I’m staying at me mate’s. I mean it. I don’t want them told.’

‘Up to you,’ Lila said. ‘But, Terry, if you do become ill—and I’m not saying it’s going to happen; I ask this of everyone—can I contact them then?’

Terry looked at her suspiciously.

‘I promise I’ll only ring them in an emergency.’

‘Promise?’

Lila nodded.

‘Fair enough.’ After relaying the number, Terry sat forward. ‘Can you pass me jeans up so I can get some money out? I’ll get me mate to fetch me a drink from the machine.’

‘Didn’t those medical dramas on the television teach you anything?’ Lila said good-naturedly. ‘Nothing to eat or drink till the doctor’s seen you.’

Declan was tied up, so it was left to the intern, Diana Pool, to assess Terry.

‘They all seem pretty superficial, though I see what you mean about the one to his loin. I’d better refer him to the surgeons. I know Mr Hinkley doesn’t like knife wounds to be sutured down in the department.’

‘Good call,’ Lila agreed. Mr Hinkley was senior consultant of the emergency department and, though not the most exciting of personalities, he was a diligent and respected boss.

The trouble was that Jez, the surgical resident, though thorough in his examination, was less than impressed with the referral.

‘They’re fairly minor injuries. I’m happy for him to be stitched up and discharged.’

‘Fair enough. If you’re happy then so am I.’ Diana accepted back the casualty card Jez had hastily scribbled on.

‘Sorry, guys.’ Lila, anticipating trouble, had been discreetly hovering. ‘He’s a surgical patient now—it’s not up to Diana to stitch him.’

Jez pursed his lips. He was young and good-looking, and also far too used to getting his own way—only not when Lila was on duty. ‘Fine,’ he snapped. ‘If that’s the way you want to play it then I’ll do it myself, but can I at least have a nurse to help in Theatre?’

Lila’s voice remained calm, friendly even, but there was no mistaking the seriousness of her tone. ‘I’m afraid not, Jez. You know as well as I do that surgical patients can’t be stitched down in Emergency. Our theatre’s only designed for superficial wounds.’

‘Which these are.’

‘Not according to Mr Hinkley: ‘‘A stab wound can only be considered superficial when the wound has been thoroughly explored.’’ He’ll either have to go to the main theatre or be stitched up on the ward, if your boss agrees. It’s the department’s policy.’

‘Since when were you such a stickler for policy?’ Declan’s friendly tones as he made his way over broke the rather tense atmosphere that had developed.

‘When the policy concerned is in the best interests of a patient then I’m a stickler.’ Lila turned defiantly from Jez to Declan. ‘I have a young man with multiple lacerations. One in particular looks deep—’

‘It isn’t,’ Jez broke in. ‘Look, I’m happy for him to be stitched up, I’ve even offered to do it myself, but Sister here insists he goes up to Theatre or at least a ward. Considering that the rest of the surgical team are stuck in Theatre, it could be hours until he’s seen.’ He threw a withering look at Lila. ‘And we all know the department’s policy about patient waiting times.’

Declan grinned as Lila gritted her teeth. ‘So it’s stalemate?’

‘It would seem so.’ Lila found she was holding her breath. She knew she was right, and that Mr Hinkley and even Hester, come to that, would support her on this. But that wasn’t what was worrying her. Declan’s take on this mattered, and not just in a medical sense. If they were going to work together effectively as a team, if they were going to cast aside their differences in the name of peace, she needed his support here.

Her personal feelings, her innermost thoughts, didn’t apply—at least, she tried not to let them.

‘Can I see the casualty card?’

Jez handed it over, watching as Declan flicked through the notes.

‘You’re a braver man than me!’ Declan looked up. ‘I personally wouldn’t like to stand up in court and explain my findings based on these notes.’

‘He has superficial wounds,’ Jez insisted, though rather less forcibly. Declan was, after all, far more senior than him.

‘Appears to have,’ Declan said, his face suddenly serious. ‘As Lila pointed out, until the wounds are thoroughly explored by a senior doctor they cannot be called superficial. Now, I suggest you get your registrar down here, and if he doesn’t want to take the patient to Theatre I’ll repeat my argument to him. And one other thing,’ he said as he handed back the casualty card to a fuming Jez, ‘I’d try listening to the nursing staff a bit more if I were you. They can make your life one hell of a lot easier.’

As Jez flounced off to the telephone Lila realised a thank-you might be in order. But that didn’t stop it sticking in her throat. ‘Thanks for that.’

‘No worries. I meant what I said. The last thing a doctor needs is the emergency nurses offside, particularly the night team. If Jez doesn’t realise that then it’s time he learnt. Now, if there are any problems with the reg, be sure and let me know. How are Terry’s obs?’

‘Stable.’

‘Good.’

She knew she should go now—after all there were a hundred and one things that needed to be done—but for some reason Lila found her legs wouldn’t move.

‘I’ve just seen a Vera Hamilton. From the pile of notes outside her cubicle I assume she’s a regular?’

Lila nodded. ‘We all know Vera. What’s wrong tonight? Her leg ulcer?’

‘So she says. Frankly, I can’t see much to write home about.’

Lila laughed. ‘Vera’s a manic depressive. She works her way back to us about once a month under various guises, and her ‘‘leg ulcer’’ is the most common excuse.’

‘She just needs a dry dressing. I offered to do it, but she said you normally took care of her.’

‘No worries. I’ll get around to her when I can.’

The conversation was over, or at least it should have been, but he still stood there.

And to her utter surprise it was she herself who resurrected it. ‘Do you fancy a curry?’

‘Lila!’ Declan’s face broke into a grin. ‘I’ll have to defend you more often. A couple of hours ago you wouldn’t even consider a drink, now you’re asking me out for dinner.’

‘In your dreams.’ Lila grinned. ‘The staff have a whip-round about now and ring for a take-away. Tonight is curry night.’ She couldn’t be certain, but she was almost sure a hint of a blush crept over his face as he reached for his wallet.

‘How much?’

‘That should do it.’ Cheekily she grabbed a ten-dollar note from his hands. ‘And we don’t complicate things by taking individual orders. ‘Chicken Jalfrezi with saffron rice and Kashmiri naan are the go tonight.’

‘Sounds great. When do we get to eat?’

‘When you get rid of all the patients.’

* * *

Whether the delicious fragrance of curry proved an incentive, or whether it was merely the fact that Declan was a good worker, by three a.m. most of the patients had been moved up to the wards or stitched and sent home. A couple of patients remained, awaiting X-rays and bloods, and two or three of the city’s homeless slept soundly on trolleys.

‘I don’t know what it is about you,’ Sue said, laughing as she tucked a blanket around Henry, one of their regular tramps, ‘but all the down-and-outs seem to congregate here the nights you’re on. Could it have something to do with the breakfast you order them from the kitchen?’

Lila shrugged. ‘They don’t do any harm. I mean, they’re happy to wait in the waiting room until the place is quieter, and they all have ulcers and the like that do need to be treated. A few hours’ sleep on a warm trolley and breakfast is hardly a big deal.’

‘It would be if the Horse found out.’

‘I’ll deal with that when it happens. Come on, Sue, I’m starving.’

The curry was set up in the small relatives’ room at the entrance to the department. The position was ideal for confused and anxious relatives while their loved one was whizzed on to Resus. During quiet times it served also as an extra staffroom for the night crew. From here they had a full view of any new patients, could hear the tyre screeches of a car pulling up, and if the need arose any curries or pizzas were cleared away more hastily than if one’s mother-in-law had just descended for a surprise visit.

Peeling the cardboard lids off the foil containers, Lila managed a grimace at the rather unkempt plates.

‘Get your hands off me, you horrible man!’ Vera’s far from dulcet tones carried the length and breadth of the department.

‘I think Declan just tried to dress Vera’s ulcer.’ Lila laughed.

‘You never let him go without warning him about Vera?’ Sue choked. ‘The poor guy! What did he ever do to you?’

Spooning the rice onto plates, Lila kept her face hidden from Sue’s scrutiny.

‘He did plenty,’ Lila muttered, more to herself than to Sue. ‘He did plenty.’

‘She loves me really.’ Declan’s face appeared round the door and Lila flushed unbecomingly. How much had he heard?

She stopped furiously spooning curry as she realised one plate was receiving rather more than its fair share of chicken Jalfrezi.

‘The only person Vera loves is Lila,’ Sue said matter-of-factly, and with relief Lila realised Declan’s comments had been purely about the patient.

‘I told you I’d get round to her,’ Lila said tartly, handing Declan an overloaded plate.

‘Four hours ago,’ he said pointedly. ‘Look, I know you’ve been busy, and that her leg ulcer’s not serious, but it just seemed a shame that she was still waiting. I was only trying to help.’

‘Vera’s happy to wait,’ she explained with a cheeky grin. ‘More than happy. Normally I get around to her about six a.m.—about the time early breakfasts are served. The last thing she wants is to be seen and discharged.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me that?’ He gave a wry laugh. ‘But then that would have spoiled your fun, wouldn’t it?’

Lila scuffed at the floor with her foot. Hell, it had only been a bit of fun—so why was she suddenly feeling so guilty?

‘New boy’s tease,’ she said finally, knowing how hollow her words sounded.

Picking up his supper, he gave her a bemused look. ‘Well, I’m glad you enjoyed the cabaret.’

* * *

‘That,’ said Declan scraping his plate, ‘would have to be the best curry I’ve had in years. Is it always as busy as this here?’

‘Always,’ Lila said truthfully. ‘You wait for the weekend. Where were you working before?’

‘In a lovely county hospital in bonny Scotland. Mind you, I was in London before then—and that was an eye-opener, I can assure you.’

Lila deliberately didn’t look impressed. ‘I remember visiting an emergency room in New York when I was a flight attendant—it made here look like a picnic in the park.’

‘New York’s busy,’ Declan agreed. ‘Or at least it was when I was there. But you want to see the emergency rooms in Chicago—they’re constantly full-on.’

Lila picked up the last of the naan bread. ‘I’m not going to win, am I? So what brought you back to good old Melbourne?’

He was saved from answering as Jez appeared at the door, carrying flowers.

‘Lila, I come in peace.’ Handing her the bouquet, Jez gave her an embarrassed smile. ‘I nicked them from Admin on my way back from Theatre.’

‘How’s Terry?’ Lila asked, accepting the rather wilted offering.

‘Bled out on the way up to Theatre—a nasty wound to his kidney. Thankfully we were able to repair it. He’s in Recovery now.’

‘Then it’s just as well he wasn’t stitched and sent home.’ Lila couldn’t resist stating the obvious, but she was smiling.

‘Lesson well and truly learnt,’ Jez said seriously, and, ignoring the crowd of staff gathered, carried on talking to Lila, undaunted by his audience. ‘I think I owe you a proper thank-you. How about dinner some time?’

The sniggers from Sue and Lucy didn’t go unnoticed.

‘Thanks, Jez, but it might get a bit expensive. I mean, there’s Declan and Diana to thank as well. The flowers will do nicely.’

As he left, Lila returned to her seat amid the howls of her colleagues. ‘How do you do it, Lila? Gorgeous men dropping at your feet and you just kick them away.’

The only one not joining in with the laughter was Declan. Suddenly his empty plate was being examined thoroughly.

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Lila said softly. ‘Years of practice, I guess. I mean, it starts off with meals and flowers, but we all know how it ends up.’

Declan looked up, catching her eye as he did so. This time she held his gaze, her words directed at him alone. ‘And I’m never going to be let down again.’