by Sarah Morgan
‘You mean that the way your father and I care for generations of the same family.’
Before he could answer the doors to the surgery crashed open and a man shouldered his way in, a child cradled in his arms, a frantic expression on his face. ‘Quickly! I need a doctor. Someone help me—she’s really struggling to breathe.’
‘What happened, John?’ Anna was beside him instantly, a brief examination of the child revealing that her lips were swollen and that she was wheezing badly.
‘She’s got a rash,’ Sam murmured from next to her, his large hands lifting the child’s T-shirt and exposing her abdomen. ‘This is anaphylactic shock. I wonder what’s caused it.’
‘Let’s get her into my consulting room.’
‘I’ll get the drugs.’
Acting as smoothly and efficiently as if they’d worked together all their lives, they swung into action.
‘Do you know what happened, John? Any clues at all?’ Anna questioned the father as she took the child and laid her on the examination couch, trying to obtain a history that might help them work out what had happened.
John was frantic, both hands locked in his hair as he watched helplessly. ‘I don’t know. God, I just don’t know. We were on the beach, having a picnic—’
‘What were you eating?’ Anna took the oxygen mask from Sam and covered the child’s mouth and nose while Sam adjusted the flow. ‘Any food she hasn’t eaten before? Nuts maybe? Strawberries?’
‘No nuts. Hell— I don’t know what she ate. All the usual stuff, I suppose.’ He ran a hand over the back of his neck, his brow beaded with sweat. Then he glanced towards the door. ‘Michelle will know. She’s following with the baby. I came with Lucy because I can run faster.’ He took several shallow breaths, fighting for control. Struggling to be strong in the face of a crisis. When he wasn’t doing his job as a carpenter, John was the helmsman of the lifeboat and well used to dealing with emergencies. Just not in his own family. ‘Crisps. She ate crisps. I remember that because Michelle was nagging her to eat a sandwich.’
Sam attached a pulse oximeter to Lucy’s finger and checked the reading. ‘Her oxygen saturation is 90 per cent.’
‘Is that OK?’ John glanced between them, anxious for information. ‘Tell me that’s OK. Tell me she’s going to be OK.’
‘We’d like it to be a little higher, but the oxygen will help,’ Anna said calmly, holding the mask and stroking the little girl’s head to try and calm her. ‘Better give her some adrenaline and hydrocortisone, McKenna.’
‘Ahead of you, Riggs.’ Within seconds Sam had given the little girl an injection of adrenaline into her muscle. ‘I’m going to put a line in. I have a feeling we might need it.’
Without question Anna handed him the necessary equipment and then examined the little girl’s arm. ‘This looks like a good vein.’ She slipped on the tourniquet, tightened it and then shifted her position to allow Sam access.
In one swift movement he slipped the needle into the vein. No fumbling. No hesitation.
Anna hid her surprise. For someone who was out of practice, he hadn’t seemed remotely hesitant. And he hadn’t missed. She had to admit she was impressed. And relieved.
‘Here…’ She reached for some strapping to secure it. ‘Don’t want to lose that.’
‘Right.’ With a steady hand Sam gave the hydrocortisone and Anna checked the pulse oximeter again.
‘Her sats are up to 94 per cent. Her breathing seems a little easier.’
‘That’s good. Let’s see if this helps.’ He gave the hydrocortisone and at that moment the door opened and Lucy’s mother hurried in, white-faced and out of breath.
‘Glenda’s taken the baby for me. Is Lucy OK? What’s wrong with her? She was fine one minute and then she just collapsed.’ The questions tumbled out of her and, satisfied that Sam had Lucy under control, Anna hurried over to the distraught Michelle.
‘She seems to have had an allergic reaction to something, but the drugs are helping. We need to know what caused it, Michelle. What were you doing when it happened?’
Michelle Craddock looked at her helplessly, her face shiny from the heat, her hair damp from running. ‘Eating a picnic. Nothing exciting or dangerous. I just don’t understand what could possibly have happened.’
‘Could she have picked something up from the beach?’ Sam dropped the empty syringe onto the trolley and glanced at Anna with a question in his eyes. ‘Drugs?’
Her gaze held his. They both knew that during the summer months teenagers congregated on the beach in the evenings. The local police did their best to keep things under control but the odd broken bottle and syringe had been cleaned up the following morning by vigilant locals. Had the little girl picked something up from the sand?
Michelle was shaking her head. ‘She didn’t wander from the picnic rug. I would have noticed if she’d picked something up.’
‘Her vital signs are improving and her sats are good,’ Sam murmured, keeping a close eye on the child.
Anna was still questioning the mother. ‘What was the very last thing she was doing before she collapsed, Michelle? Try and think. It could be very important.’
‘Eating the picnic.’ Michelle glanced at her husband for help. ‘She was eating a ham sandwich, I think. No, it was crisps. Because I was nagging her about not touching the healthy stuff.’
John frowned. ‘Actually, that’s wrong, too.’ His brow cleared. ‘She was drinking, Miche. I remember now because her crisps fell onto the sand when she reached for her can.’
Sam glanced up. ‘Can?’
‘Fizzy drink.’
Sam’s eyes narrowed. ‘Had the can been open for a while?’
Michelle bit her lip. ‘Not really. A few minutes, I suppose. She’d certainly had a few sips from it. Why?’
Anna picked up the questioning, following Sam’s train of thought. ‘And did she drink straight from the can?’
Michelle nodded, her expression anxious. ‘Why? Why would that make her ill?’
‘Because wasps crawl into cans of fizzy drink,’ Sam said grimly, turning back to the child and checking her mouth and throat. ‘Our guess is that she may have swallowed a wasp.’
‘Oh, my God.’ John’s face was pale. ‘You think she’s been stung in her throat?’
‘Possibly.’
John closed his eyes briefly and then looked at his wife and shook his head. ‘We had no idea.’
‘Lucky you brought her here as quickly as you did,’ Sam said. ‘Her breathing is improving and her heart rate is good. We’ll get her transferred to the hospital and they’ll keep her in overnight just to be sure.’
‘Keep her in?’ Michelle stroked Lucy’s hair to keep her calm. ‘But if she’s better…?’
‘There’s a chance she might have a relapse,’ Anna explained, glancing towards the window. ‘I can hear the ambulance now. We’ll transfer her to hospital and they can take a good look at her throat.’
‘A wasp in the can. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that,’ Michelle groaned, shaking her head in disbelief. ‘And I think I’m such a careful mother.’
‘Accidents still happen, Michelle, and you’re a great mother,’ Anna said quietly, walking towards the door as the paramedics hurried in, guided by Glenda. ‘Hi, Todd. We need to get this little one to hospital quickly.’
She explained what had happened, gave him a summary of the care they’d given and then looked at Sam. ‘One of us ought to go in the ambulance with her. You or me?’
‘I’ll go,’ Sam said immediately. ‘You might be needed here. I’ll grab a lift back from someone.’
Now that the immediate danger to the child had passed, Anna swept her dark hair away from her face and gave a reluctant grin. ‘Good work, McKenna. Maybe you’re not as rusty as I thought.’
‘If that’s supposed to be a compliment then I’d say you need more practice.’ He returned the smile and straightened. ‘You didn’t do badly yourself, Riggs. Good teamwork.’
&nbs
p; Teamwork.
She frowned, slightly unsettled to realise that that was exactly what had happened. They’d worked as a team. A very effective team. And it wasn’t at all what she would have expected. In the pressure of an emergency there had been no dissention between them—in fact, they’d hardly needed to speak. Each had worked smoothly alongside the other, instinctively anticipating each other’s needs.
And then she noticed the camera. Her smile faded. ‘You’ve been filming? You filmed what just happened?’
A girl with a clipboard murmured something in the producer’s ear and Polly smiled. ‘It will make fantastic television. But obviously only with the family’s permission. And I agree that it was amazing teamwork.’ The producer stepped forward, an awed expression on her face. ‘The two of you were so slick. It was like watching a medical drama! Better, because it was real.’
Anna gritted her teeth and Sam drew in a breath, clearly anticipating a problem. ‘Anna—’
‘You shouldn’t have filmed without the patient’s permission.’
‘We put a notice up saying that anyone not wishing to be filmed simply has to say so.’
Anna glanced at the wall, scanned the notice and scowled. ‘Well, the Craddocks weren’t exactly reading the notices on the wall when they came in here, were they? They wouldn’t even have seen it!’
John Craddock rubbed the back of his neck and cast a glance towards his daughter, who was now sitting on his wife’s lap. ‘Can’t honestly say I mind if they show it, Dr Riggs. Not if it saves someone else. What do you think, Michelle?’
His wife gave a wavering smile. She was still very pale from the experience. ‘To be honest, I’m only too pleased for other people to learn the risks of not drinking straight from cans in the summer. It had never even occurred to me. And I worry about everything when it comes to the kids!’
Anna released a breath, unable to argue with that. It was an important health education message, that was true, and something that people often overlooked in the summer months when the weather was hot and wasps were abundant. ‘Well, I suppose if you don’t mind…’
John grinned. ‘Just tell me when it’s going to be shown, so that I can tell everyone who knows me.’
‘We’ll certainly do that.’ The producer smiled, standing to one side as the paramedics prepared to take Lucy to the hospital. ‘It’ll be part of our series on summer health.’
Sam picked up his bag, helped himself to a few extra pieces of equipment that he thought he might need and gave Anna a nod. ‘I won’t be long. I’ll just hand over and then catch a lift back.’
‘Fine. I’ve got paperwork to do anyway. We’ll delay that lunch. If there’s going to be a camera stuck in my face every time I turn round, I definitely want to be part of the discussion.’
In fact, they didn’t need to delay lunch for long.
Sam was back within the hour and the news on Lucy was good. ‘She’s stable now but they’re keeping her in overnight. Now, let’s get on with the meeting before the sandwiches curl. Glenda, are you joining us for this?’
‘Oh, Dr McKenna…’ Slightly breathless, Glenda glanced at them nervously, her hand shaking slightly as she smoothed her hair. ‘I was thinking of popping home in my lunch-break, if that’s all right with you. But I could come if you’d rather…’
‘Not at all,’ Sam said easily, giving her a smile that made Glenda visibly relax. ‘Have a nice lunch. See you later.’
Glenda vanished through the door so hastily that her bag tangled on the handle. With a murmured exclamation she tugged it free and hurried off without looking back, clearly in a hurry and very flustered.
Sam’s smile faded. ‘There goes a very stressed woman.’
Anna nodded, pacing over to the window and watching as Glenda virtually sprinted down the street towards the harbour. She knew that the receptionist would be home within five minutes. But why the hurry?
‘You’re right,’ she said quietly. ‘Something is very wrong and I feel very guilty that it took you to point it out.’
Sam strolled across the reception area and stood next to her. ‘Just one of the advantages of having an injection of fresh blood in the practice.’
‘Don’t.’ She glanced up at him, her expression troubled. For once she wasn’t in the mood to argue with him. ‘It worries me that I didn’t notice.’
‘Why should you have noticed? You’re not superwoman.’ He lifted a hand and brushed a strand of dark hair away from her face. The gesture was so unexpected that she jumped as though she’d received an electric shock.
‘Just because we’ve managed to be civil to each other for the past half an hour, don’t think you can take liberties, McKenna.’ Thoroughly unsettled by the sudden wild increase in her pulse rate, she glared at him and he glared back.
‘Just clearing your vision, Riggs. You need a haircut or you’re going to trip on the stairs.’
She resisted the temptation to lift a hand to her hair. She always wore her hair long and he knew it.
‘You know, it would make for riveting television if you let us film the two of you working together for the whole series.’ The voice of Polly came from behind them and they both turned. ‘There’s a tremendous chemistry between you. The room just pulses with energy whenever you’re together. And the best thing is that you two don’t even seem aware of it.’
Chemistry?
Anna gaped at her. ‘The sort of chemistry that causes an explosion,’ she muttered darkly, and Sam grinned.
‘I don’t think our Anna sees herself as a film star, Polly.’
The producer looked thoughtful. ‘Well, a lot of people are resistant to the thought of being filmed but once they get used to it they usually find they forget about the cameras and just get on with the job. That’s one of the reasons that these fly-on-the-wall documentaries are so successful. The viewers feel as though they’re genuinely part of what’s going on.’ The producer tipped her head on one side and narrowed her eyes. ‘Even without looking at what we just filmed, I can tell that you’re going to look fabulous on camera. Gorgeous.’
Anna glared at both of them. ‘I do not want to be filmed.’
‘Fine by me.’ Sam suppressed a yawn. ‘Personally I think it would be pretty hard to find your good side anyway.’
The smooth working relationship was gone. Back was the constant needling.
‘You are unbelievably shallow.’
Polly glanced between them and grinned. ‘If you’re both willing to suspend hostilities, the sandwiches are looking particularly tempting.’
‘Yeah, we’re ready.’ Sam strolled across the reception area and made for the stairs that led to the staffroom.
Aware that the producer was still staring at them in fascination, Anna followed more self-consciously.
Chemistry.
It was utterly ridiculous to suggest that she and Sam shared any sort of chemistry. And as for looking good on the camera—the whole idea was totally ridiculous.
‘It would be great if we could incorporate more of your accident and emergency skills, Sam,’ Polly was saying as Anna grabbed a cup of coffee and took her seat at the table. ‘I know we need the routine stuff, too, but a bit of that does get the adrenaline pumping.’
‘What accident and emergency skills?’ Anna helped herself to a sandwich. ‘Since when did you have accident and emergency skills?’ Then she remembered the calm, competent way he’d reacted to the crisis downstairs and something clicked in her brain. ‘What jobs have you been doing in London, McKenna?’
Polly smiled. ‘When he’s not doing his usual surgery and working for us, he does nights at the A and E department of…’ She named a busy London hospital and Anna put the sandwich back on her plate untouched, her eyes on Sam.
‘You’re working nights in an A and E department? Why?’
His eyes gleamed. ‘So that my medical skills don’t become as rusty as a garden fork, Riggs, that’s why. We see a range of conditions in the London practice but there’s no
thing like nights in A and E to hone your skills.’
She stared at him. ‘That explains why you were able to get that line into the child.’
‘I’ve done it a few times, yes.’
She glared at him. ‘You should have told me.’
‘You shouldn’t have assumed that I was useless.’
‘Now, now, children.’ Polly’s expression was amused. ‘It’s always fun to watch the two of you in action, but we’re already pushed for time so can we move on to the matter in hand? We need to discuss our plans for filming this summer.’
Anna bit hard into her sandwich and glared at Sam. But her anger with him for deliberately deceiving her was tinged with respect. The guy clearly knew what he was doing. And he was an impressive doctor.
It was just a shame that she wanted to strangle him.
That evening, despite the heat, Anna decided to go for a run on the beach. She always found exercise good for tension, and the tension in her life had rocketed ever since Sam had walked into her surgery.
Despite all their reassurances during the lunch-time meeting that the patients would love the idea of being ‘on the telly’, she still had serious reservations about filming. They’d agreed to seek permission from every patient but still Anna couldn’t quite imagine that people would want their lives exposed on television. For herself, she couldn’t think of anything worse. She liked her privacy too much and she never had been able to understand why some people craved public attention.
Despite the fact that it was past seven o’clock, the beach was still crowded with families and Anna jogged slowly down to the water’s edge and then lengthened her stride, enjoying the cool breeze blowing off the sea.
This was a popular surfing beach and the water was still crowded with teenagers determined to make the most of the waves.
By the time she returned to the McKennas’ house she was panting and uncomfortably hot. She ripped off her running gear and stepped straight under a cold shower, moaning with relief as the water cooled her heated flesh. Bliss. She was tempted to stay under the water all evening but her stomach was rumbling and she knew she had to eat something after such a long run.