* * *
Surgery went smoothly. Whilst Ivy hoped she’d always be able to cope with any surgical emergency, it gave her confidence knowing there was someone else who could step in to help if required. They bantered easily, and she could see a number of staff exchanging glances above their masks. Ivy talked out loud, listing what she was doing and what she could see. It was what she would normally do when teaching students, but she was just outlining everything to reassure herself, and allowing Travis to add anything he felt she might have missed.
When she’d closed he stripped off his theatre garb and put his hand on her shoulder. ‘Well done. Textbook case.’
And she felt it. That connection again, even though she had a theatre gown and scrubs between his skin and hers.
‘Thanks for the support,’ she said simply. ‘It’s appreciated.’
The nurse anaesthetist released the brakes on the trolley to push Rena to the post-op room. ‘I can take over here and monitor our patient.’ She glanced at the clock. ‘Hurry on up, you two, before the mess stops serving.’
Ivy turned instantly. ‘Oh, no, you go, Ellen. Grab some dinner while you can.’
Ellen shook her head. ‘I have a green kale smoothie. New diet, folks. Go and live the dream for me and eat some real food.’ She rolled her eyes, laughing as she pushed Rena through to the next room.
It seemed awkward to refuse to go and eat together when there wasn’t much time left. Travis held the door while Ivy stripped off her theatre gown and washed her hands again. ‘Shall we?’
She nodded as they walked down the corridor, ignoring the fact that she could smell his aftershave. The mess was half-empty and they grabbed what was left on offer and sat down at a table. Most of the staff from the medical department had already eaten dinner and left, so there was no one to cushion their conversation.
He waited until they’d sat down before he spoke. ‘I’ll sort things. I will.’
She held her breath, waiting for him to continue.
‘How do you feel about waiting?’
The question blindsided her. ‘W-waiting?’ she stuttered.
He nodded. ‘Yup, waiting. How do you feel about it?’
A whole wave of emotions swept over her. She turned her eyes to meet his. ‘What exactly do you mean by waiting?’ Her skin prickled at his words.
His voice was low and throaty. ‘I mean, is that something you would even consider? I like you, Ivy. You know I do. Our connection feels real. It felt real even before we met, and now? Even more so.’ His fork pushed his food around the plate. ‘I like the thing that we’ve got going.’ He corrected himself, ‘Or had going. I’d like to see where it could take us. I’d like to hope that at some point we might actually have a future together.’
She felt frozen. She hadn’t expected him to come out with that. They’d flirted, connected, and she’d had all the same hopes too. But was it realistic? Or were they just fooling each other this might actually have some potential.
The tick-tick of her career potential was still ticking loudly in her head. There was still so much she wanted to achieve. Would she still be able to focus her time and energy on that, as well as committing to a relationship?
Despite her words a week ago, she did still have that little piece of her heart hoping. Travis had seemed like he might actually be perfect for her. She’d spent her last few years avoiding any relationship entanglements. Could she really be contemplating one now? It was a huge leap for her. But she got the impression it might be a leap for him too.
‘I haven’t fallen asleep with a woman for the last four years. I haven’t been relaxed enough to do so. But my nightmares and flashbacks have also never been so bad.’
‘You’re blaming me?’ she asked with her hand on her chest.
He shook his head fiercely. ‘No, of course not.’ He set down his cutlery and put his hand on his own chest. ‘I’m blaming me. Not you. You’re the first person I’ve been relaxed around. The first person I’ve felt a real connection with, and the first person I’ve opened up to.’
She couldn’t breathe. They were sitting in a half-filled mess hall with chatter and laughter all around them, but all she could concentrate on was him.
He spoke again. ‘You’re the first person who’s made me stop and question if I’m sick.’
She knew how big those words were. She knew how much they meant.
Deep down, Ivy understood that Travis had never said those words out loud before. He was finally admitting he’d been in denial.
So she went with her heart instead of her head.
She moved her hand across the table and intertwined her fingers with his. ‘I’m glad you want this, Travis. But you have to be sure you want this for you, not for me. You have to want to fix yourself.’
He nodded. ‘I do. I really do. And I understand you might not want to wait around for that—because I’ve no idea how long that might take, or if I can even do it.’
It was those words that tore at her heartstrings—that convinced her his motivations were good. The I word. It was the one she’d wanted to hear.
She gave him a small smile as she squeezed her fingers in his. ‘I think you might be worth waiting for,’ she replied in a small whisper.
CHAPTER NINE
THE LOW-LEVEL SIREN sounded in the middle of the night and Travis sat bolt upright. For a moment he was back on the ground behind a wall as shots were being fired around him. It only took him a moment to gather himself before he was on his feet and out into the corridor.
He marched quickly to the sick bay. ‘What’s happening?’
One of the medical corpsman was grabbing some equipment. ‘We stopped to assist a US vessel with engine trouble. But apparently some of the crew are sick.’ He looked at Travis and shook his head. ‘I’m sure we’ll be able to cope. From what I hear, it doesn’t sound too serious.’
There was a groan nearby. Travis moved into the ward area. There was an unfamiliar face curled up in one of the beds.
Jan, one of the nurses, gave him a nod. ‘Abdominal pain,’ she said. ‘Just waiting for the ultrasound machine.’
‘Any other symptoms?’
She shook her head. ‘Not yet. He came in with cramps a few hours ago. We’ve taken some bloods.’
Travis gave a nod just as the man sat upright in bed and vomited everywhere. Both he and Jan jumped back, then exchanged glances. A few of the other staff scurried over and donned gloves and aprons.
‘I know what happens next,’ Travis murmured, as the man jumped from his bed.
‘I need to use the bathroom,’ the man said as he headed for the patient toilet.
‘Lock down this area,’ said Travis quickly. ‘Is this one of the men from the rescued vessel—or is this one of our crew? He needs to be isolated in a single room and essentially barrier nursed right now.’
The staff moved quickly. They all knew exactly what this could mean for an aircraft carrier. Any kind of norovirus outbreak could be devastating for the working of the carrier.
‘Jan, once the situation is under control we’ll need an emergency meeting of the medical team. We need to control this situation.’
Tony came walking in behind him. ‘There’s six of them—and they are all like him.’ He nodded to the guy now back on the bed. ‘He was sent up for pain relief. I did say to put him in a single room.’ He sighed and shook his head and looked at Travis. ‘Sorry.’ Then he groaned. ‘But we don’t have six single rooms. We’ll have to put them all together and term it a red zone.’
Travis looked at Tony. They both knew that staff could already have been infected by being in contact with any of the men from the ship. If he didn’t get this under control...
* * *
One hour later his whole team was in front of him—including Ivy. She looked immaculate as usual, her hair tied back and clean blue scrubs in pl
ace.
‘Hi, folks, we think we could have a potential outbreak of norovirus—or something similar. All six men from the vessel that was just rescued are potentially infected. Since we didn’t know that when we initially rendered assistance, we now need to track, trace and isolate any members of our crew who have been in contact with them and monitor them over the next seventy-two hours. We all know the potential here. We have to try and contain this outbreak.’
Ivy exchanged a glance with him. ‘Have you briefed the captain?’
He nodded and gave her a painful smile. ‘Just back from doing that.’
She winced. She knew exactly how much of a rollicking any SMO would get while telling a captain that his ship with over five thousand crew could be carrying an infectious virus. He nodded at several of his staff. ‘Everyone, full protective equipment while working with affected cases. Limited personnel in that ward. Report any development of symptoms.’
He took a deep breath. ‘Okay, folks, there will be an investigation into why we allowed these men onto our vessel in the first place. I want you all to know that I support you. If we’d actually known what the problem was, we could have put some precautions in place. However, five of these men are clinically dehydrated—this seems a particularly ugly strain of norovirus—and we’ve already had to put them on IV fluids.’
‘Do you want to break us into teams?’
Tony put his arm up straight away. ‘I’ve already had contact. I’ll continue to look after the patients.’
But Travis shook his head. ‘No, you’re our first case of isolation. You’ve been exposed and will likely develop the condition yourself.’ He nodded to Ivy. ‘You lead the track and trace team. Find all our personnel who had contact with the men on the vessel and find a space for them to spend the next few days.’
Ivy looked at a list on her lap and pulled a face. ‘I’ve already started. Most of the personnel were from Engineering. They went on board to try and help with the breakdown.’
Travis held in a groan. ‘Perfect. Captain will love that when I tell him.’ He shook his head but held up his hands. ‘It is what it is. Incubation is around forty-eight hours but can be longer. If our staff have no signs or symptoms, they can be released back to their normal stations after seventy-two hours. Until then they go nowhere. First sign of any symptoms, they get shipped up here. To me.’
Ivy frowned. ‘You’re going to staff the ward?’
He nodded, hands on his hips. ‘I was here when the first guy started vomiting. I didn’t have any direct contact like Tony. But...?’ He held up his hands. ‘Droplets. There is a chance I’ve already been exposed. It makes sense for me to continue to work in here, alongside the other staff, where we’ll be wearing full PPE.’
Norovirus was the kind of disease that felled cruise ship passengers and meant that ships were refused docking in ports. Having an outbreak on board the Coolidge would be disastrous.
Travis handed her a piece of paper. ‘I’ve sketched out a plan of how we might have to isolate people around the ship. We have provisions to make the medical bay larger if we have to.’
She took the paper from him, her hand brushing against his.
Regret flooded through him again. ‘Ivy—’
She held up her hand. ‘Work, Travis. Let’s prioritise work right now. We can chat later.’
He gave a nod of his head. He understood exactly why she felt this way. And he knew he needed to address the problem. He’d been allowing worries about his career to stop him taking the next steps, but as he breathed in and caught the orange-scented shampoo that Ivy used, his career was the last thing on his mind.
His job didn’t define who he was, or who he could be. He’d spent the last few years making excuses why relationships didn’t really work out for him. Never allowing himself to fall asleep next to a woman was likely to be a huge factor. One that he’d been carefully ignoring. That wasn’t a way to live. It wasn’t a way to love.
And everything about Ivy made him feel like he was heading in that direction. The fact he’d fallen asleep next to her told him everything he needed to know. Even if his brain hadn’t caught up with it yet, his body was telling him this was the woman he wanted to be around. He’d known straight away she was bringing up demons for him. But no one else could deal with those demons but him.
He’d even sent another few emails to his friend in San Diego about the private practice offer. Asking more questions, exploring the area more thoroughly, in a way he’d never really been motivated to before.
But it seemed that dealing with Ivy and his career contemplations would have to wait—for now.
‘Okay, folks,’ he said. ‘Let’s get to work.’
CHAPTER TEN
‘HE ASKED YOU to do what?’ Liz’s disbelieving voice was shrill.
‘Wait,’ sighed Ivy. ‘He asked me to wait.’
‘And you said yes?’ Her tone let Ivy know exactly what she thought of that.
Ivy was beyond tired. Tracking, tracing and isolating had led to some interesting discoveries about what the personnel on the ship really got up to. As a result, she now had one hundred staff isolated in special quarters. All they seemed to do was complain. It had been forty-eight hours and all she wanted to do was sleep. But she’d been dodging Liz’s messages for the last few days until finally CALL ME NOW! had appeared on her phone screen.
‘I thought something was wrong,’ she said, and sighed as she sagged back down on her bed.
‘Something was wrong. My best friend was deliberately ignoring me. You only do that when you’ve done something you know I won’t approve of.’ There was a tiny pause. ‘I get you’re at close quarters with this guy, but do you really think you know him well enough to make that kind of decision. It sounds kind of serious to me.’
‘It sounds serious to me too,’ Ivy admitted. ‘But...’ she shifted on her bed, uncomfortable ‘...I can’t explain it. I just feel kind of connected to him, in a way I never have before.’
‘Careful,’ warned Liz. ‘You sound as if you’re getting kind of sappy. What happened to my own Boudicca? Mistress of all around her and heading for the top job? The girl who vowed she didn’t have time for a relationship.’
That prickled. ‘She’s definitely still here,’ said Ivy defensively. ‘Just because I might like a guy, it doesn’t mean he’ll get in the way of my career.’
‘Really?’ Sarcasm dripped from Liz’s voice. ‘Because it sounds to me like Mr Wonderful has told you he’s not all that wonderful and asked you to hang around until he feels better.’
Ivy tried to butt in, but Liz just kept on talking.
‘And what if he never gets better, Ivy? Are you supposed to wait forever?’
‘He hasn’t asked me to do that at all. He just asked me for some time to get some help, and then see how things go from there.’
‘Girl, have you listened to yourself? While I get it that you’re in a tiny space and feelings might be amplified because, for the first time in forever, there is a man with a hint of potential around you, what if you wait, and then finally get together, and the spark dies—like it does for a lot of romances? And you’ve wasted time and energy, and in the meantime your real Mr Wonderful has drifted on by?’
Ivy squeezed her eyes closed in frustration. ‘But what if he’s Mr Wonderful and I don’t give him the chance to fulfil his role in my life?’
Liz gave the biggest sigh in the world. ‘Oh, girl, you’ve got this bad.’
Ivy finally laughed. ‘Let me assure you, I’m still focused on my job. I’m still chasing my dream. Travis will not get in the way of that. I wouldn’t let him.’ She rolled over onto her back and looked up at the grey ceiling. ‘But can’t a girl have a few dreams while she’s waiting?’
‘Sounds like you’ve made up your mind.’
‘I have,’ she admitted.
Liz was silent for
a few moments and then she spoke again. ‘I hope he’s worth it, Ivy. I really do. Because the guy that gets you has to know just how special you are.’
Ivy knew Liz was only being protective. And she liked it. She was her best friend, and when she met Travis it was important to her that Liz and Travis liked each other.
‘Thanks, honey. See you later.’
She’d barely finished the call when a text appeared on her phone.
Sleeping yet?
Travis. It was Travis. She glanced at the clock in her cabin. It was nearly 1:00 a.m. Whilst she might have been dying to snuggle up in bed, her brain had just been sparked awake again instantly.
She answered quickly.
Is there a problem on the ward?
No. Awake, but tired. Have a host of people around me, but miss you.
Her heart missed a few beats. Wow. When he wanted to be, this guy was good.
She didn’t wait to reply. That was the thing about being sleepy. There wasn’t time to craft answers. She didn’t have the brain space for it right now.
You’re still on the ward? Why aren’t you in bed?
His reply took a little time to appear.
One of our staff has been infected. He’s diabetic and we can’t get him stabilised. Sliding scale and insulin/dextrose infusion isn’t helping at all. Think I’ll need to stay here all night.
She replied instantly.
You need to sleep. But maybe not in full view of everyone. I can come and take over if you like.
No way. Don’t want you exposed to this.
Part of her felt warm and cosy about that response, but part of her wanted to do her job.
You can’t treat me differently from anyone else and you can’t be on duty twenty-four hours a day. Where’s Tony?
As soon as she sent the message she could guess the response that would appear.
Man down. He had no PPE when he made first contact. He started vomiting a few hours ago. He is NOT happy being in bed in the ward, but I insisted.
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