by Leah Martyn
‘Right here.’
‘Oh...’ Darcie nudged in beside him, watching as he aimed his torch across to the other side of the well, locating their patients. She heard the girl’s subdued whimper and said quietly, ‘I’ll take Jessica.’
‘Thanks. I’ll see what’s happening with Lachlan.’
Swinging the trauma pack from her shoulders, Darcie hunkered down beside the injured girl. ‘Hi, Jess,’ she said softly. ‘I’m Darcie. I’m a doctor. Can you tell me where you’re hurt?’
‘It’s my arm. I’ve been so scared...’ Her teeth began chattering,
‘And you’re cold.’ Darcie unfolded a space blanket from her supplies and tucked it around the girl. ‘Did you hit your head at all?’ she asked, beginning to test Jessica’s neuro responses.
‘No. I’ve done some stuntwork. I know how to fall safely. But Lachy’s really hurt, I think.’ She squeezed her eyes shut. ‘Please...’ she whispered on a sob. ‘Can you get us out of here?’
Darcie felt put on her mettle. Quickly, she sifted through her options.
Both Jess’s neuro responses and pulse were fine but she needed to be got out of this hell-hole and into the fresh air. ‘I’ll just need to check your arm, Jess.’ Gently, Darcie removed the bloodstained T-shirt. She pursed her lips. Jess had a deep gash from the point of her shoulder to her mid upper arm. The site was already swelling and dark blue with bruising. It was still oozing blood. Thankfully, there was no artery involved.
OK. Mentally, Darcie squared her shoulders. She needed to show some initiative here. She took the girl’s uninjured hand and held it. ‘Jess, we have trained people waiting up top. I’m going to signal for one of them to come down with a retrieval harness and take you up. The paramedics will take care of you until I can get up there and assess you properly. Is that OK?’
Jessica nodded. ‘My arm’s throbbing...’
‘I’ll give you something before you go. Do you feel sick at all?’
‘Bit...’
Darcie nodded. ‘I’ll give you something to combat the nausea as well. You’ve been really brave, Jess,’ Darcie said, shooting home the painkiller and anti-emetic. ‘Now, let’s get you up and out of here.’
It was all accomplished quickly and skilfully.
With Jessica safely out, Darcie concentrated on helping Jack with their other casualty. ‘How’s Lachlan?’
‘Fractured NOF possibly. But we can’t diagnose accurately without an MRI. His belly appears soft so it’s safe to get a line in.’
‘I think he’s coming round.’ Darcie felt a rush of relief.
‘It’s OK, Lachlan.’ Jack’s manner was calmly reassuring. ‘You’ve fallen into a well, buddy. Knocked yourself out. I’m Jack and this is Darcie. We’re doctors.’
Lachlan sucked air in through his lips. ‘Leg...’ he groaned. ‘Pain’s epic...’
‘Yep. Hang in there, matey.’ Jack gently lifted the youngster’s head and applied the oxygen mask. ‘Will you draw up morphine five and maxolon ten, please, Darcie? We don’t want him throwing up on us. As soon as we get him stable, we’ll follow with fifty of pethidine. That should get him through transportation to the hospital.’
Darcie shot home the injections quickly.
‘Let’s start splinting now,’ Jack said. ‘The sooner we get this lad out of here the better.’
Darcie’s eyes were on high alert for any changes in Lachlan’s condition as she watched Jack place the supportive splints between the young man’s legs. ‘Bandages now?’
‘Nice thick ones,’ Jack confirmed.
‘This shouldn’t have happened, should it?’ Darcie said, working swiftly to bind Lachlan’s injured leg to his good one.
‘Not if the location scouts were on top of their game,’ Jack agreed gruffly. ‘I think I’ll be having a word to the Workplace Health and Safety people.’
‘Report them?’ Darcie felt a lick of unease.
‘Just doing my job, Darcie.’ Jack was unequivocal. He looked at Lachlan’s still form. ‘Whack him with the pethidine now, please. I’ll make my way back over to the opening and give the guys a shout for the stretcher.’
As Jack moved away from her peripheral vision, Darcie felt the cave-like atmosphere close in on her, her hearing fixed on every tiny sound. A fragment of leaf-like debris floated down and landed on her shoulder. She gave an involuntary shudder, shaking it off, feeling the nerves in her stomach crawl. The conditions in the well were awful.
Darcie pulled herself up with a jerk. This wasn’t the time to start losing it. She had a seriously ill patient depending on her skills as a doctor. About to draw up the drug, she stopped and froze. In a second everything had changed. Lachlan was gulping, his eyes rolling back in his head, his colour ashen.
‘Jack!’ Darcie’s cry echoed off the earthen walls. Instinctively, she ripped open Lachlan’s shirt and began chest compressions.
‘What’s happened?’ Jack’s bulk dropped beside her.
‘He’s arrested!’
Jack’s expletive scorched the air. He would have to intubate.
With the speed of light, he began zipping open sections of the trauma pack, gathering equipment. Centring himself for a second, he prepared to carry out the emergency procedure. And drew back sharply. He cursed under his breath. This wasn’t going to work. He needed more light...
But there was none. He’d have to make do, feel his way.
Slowly, slowly, he passed the tube down Lachlan’s trachea, attaching it to the oxygen. ‘Now, breathe for me, Lachy,’ he grated. ‘Come on!’ He waited a second and then checked the carotid pulse in the young man’s neck.
Nothing.
‘We’ll have to defib him.’ Jack reached for the life pack. ‘We are not losing this one, Darcie.’ Jack’s voice roughened. ‘I’m counting on you.’
Darcie’s expression was intense. Every compression meant life for Lachlan. Her heart began to pound against the walls of her chest, her pulse thumping in her wrists and throat. She began feeling light-headed, perspiration patching wetly across her forehead and in the small of her back. ‘Jack, hurry...’
‘This is a bloody nightmare,’ Jack hissed between clenched teeth. ‘Be ready to take over the bag when I defib,’ he snapped.
Darcie captured a rush of strength from somewhere. Whether Lachlan ever woke again could depend on their teamwork now.
‘OK—do it!’ Jack’s command rang out.
Almost in slow motion Darcie reached out and took over the Air-Viva bag.
‘And clear!’
Darcie dropped the bag and sprang back, willing the volts of electricity to do their work and kick-start Lachlan’s heart.
A beat of silence.
‘Jack?’
‘Nothing. Let’s go to two hundred. Clear!’
Darcie strove to keep panic at bay, aware only of its grip on her gut and the slow slide of sweat between her breasts.
‘Start compressions again, Darcie.’ Jack looked haunted. ‘I’m giving him adrenaline.’
Darcie nodded, not capable of verbalising her reply.
Jack’s mouth snapped into a thin line, his fingers curling round the mini-jet, which already contained the lifesaving drug. ‘Come on, baby—do your job!’ he implored, sending the needle neatly between Lachlan’s ribs and into his heart. ‘Clear!’ He activated the charge.
A breathless hush as they waited.
Into the silence, the trace began bleeping and then shot into a steady rhythm. ‘Yes...’ Jack’s relief was subdued.
Darcie slumped forward, her energy spent. She felt the threat of tears and held the heels of her hands against her eyes, gathering her composure. ‘Oh, sweet heaven...’
Jack’s arm came round her shoulders. ‘Hey...’
‘I’m OK...’
; ‘You’re not.’ Jack turned her into his arms and held her.
Darcie allowed herself to be held, feeling the warmth of his body mingle with hers, melting into him, drawing strength from his strength and...the maleness of him. A need she hadn’t known existed rose in her, but before she could wonder at its completeness she felt the swift stab of reality. She drew back sharply. What on earth had she been thinking of?
Lachlan was waking up, fear and confusion clouding his eyes.
‘It’s OK, Lachy.’ Darcie beat back her own confusion. She took his hand and squeezed. ‘You’ll be fine.’
Jack swallowed, clearing the lump from his throat. He felt as though an invisible punch had landed in his solar plexus. She’d felt so right in his arms. And he’d so nearly kissed her. Taken that soft, beautiful mouth with his. And kissed her. Idiot. He drew in a quick, hard breath. ‘Think a shot of midazolam is called for here, Dr Drummond?’
‘I’d say so.’ Darcie nodded, glad for the return to professionalism. The drug would act as a light anaesthetic and ease Lachy over the trauma of the next few hours. She turned away. ‘Would you do it, please, Jack?’ She wrapped her arms around her midriff, feeling hollowed out.
* * *
‘Nice work, guys.’ Zach Bayliss loomed out of the shadow, towing the collapsible stretcher. ‘Could have been a whole different story, couldn’t it?’
Darcie felt as though she’d been to hell and back. Swallowing hard on the tightness in her throat, she pulled herself upright. ‘He’s ready to move now, Zach. We’ve got him back into sinus rhythm but he’ll have to be watched.’
‘Understood, Doc.’ Zach was a seasoned paramedic. He knew well the battle that had been fought here and, for the moment, won. ‘Let’s get this youngster on his way, then. If you’re ready, Jack, on my count.’
In unison, they gently rolled Lachlan first on one side then the other, sliding each section of the supporting plinth under him and snapping the pieces together. A sturdy rope was attached to each end of the stretcher and almost immediately it was being winched safely to the top.
* * *
With Lachlan safely loaded into the ambulance, the emergency crew gathered around. It had already been decided Jess’s care could be safely managed at Sunday Creek hospital.
‘Where do you want Lachy sent, Jack?’ Zach gave one last look inside the ambulance and closed the doors.
‘The Royal in Brisbane is our best chance.’ Jack was already pulling out his mobile phone. ‘I’ll alert the head of the trauma team, Nick Cavello. He’ll coordinate everything from his end.’
‘CareFlight chopper’s landed at Pelican Springs.’ Mal Duffy joined the group.
‘We’ll take off, then.’ Zach sketched a farewell wave. ‘You’re OK with Jess travelling with you and Jack, Darcie?’
‘I’ve already settled her in the back seat,’ Darcie confirmed. ‘Take care of Lachy.’
‘Will do.’ Zach threw himself into the driver’s seat of the ambulance. ‘Thanks, everyone,’ he called, before starting the engine. Within seconds, the emergency vehicle was being manoeuvred carefully away down the bush track.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘JUST RELAX, JESS,’ Darcie said, as they prepared for the trip back to Sunday Creek. ‘We’ll have you much more comfortable soon.’
‘I’ll try to minimise the bumps in the road.’ Jack tried to inject some lightness into the situation and Jess gave a weak smile. ‘Hang in there, kiddo,’ he added gently. ‘You’re doing great.’
The return trip was covered mostly in silence as though each was busy with their own thoughts. As they reached the outskirts of the township, Jack said, ‘It’s still your day off, Darcie. I’ll assume Jess’s care if you like.’
‘Thanks, but that’s not necessary,’ she answered firmly. ‘Jess is my patient. I’d like to follow through.’
‘Fine.’ He glanced at her sharply with a frown. ‘We’ll need to debrief at some stage.’
Well, she knew that. Darcie rubbed at her collarbone through the thin material of her T-shirt. But if Jack had any thoughts of them debriefing about what had almost happened back there in the cave...
Soon they’d reached the hospital and Jack was reversing into the ambulance bay.
Dan Prentice, the hospital’s only orderly, was waiting with a wheelchair and Jessica’s transfer was made without fuss.
‘Oh, hi, guys, you’re back.’ Natalie hurried forward.
‘This is Jess, Nat.’ Darcie kept her hand on her young patient’s shoulder. ‘Could you take her through to the treatment room, please? I’m just going to grab a quick shower and then I’ll be back to suture Jess’s arm.’
A quick shower meant just that. And years of practice meant Darcie had the logistics down pat. When she got back to the unit, Natalie had Jess ready in a gown, had drawn up lignocaine and opened the suture packs. ‘Thanks, Nat. This all looks good.’ Darcie gloved, pleased her patient was looking more relaxed. ‘Little sting now, Jess,’ she said, injecting the anaesthetic and infiltrating the wound. ‘How’s your tetanus status these days?’
‘I had a top-up before I went on the film shoot.’
‘Good.’ Darcie smiled. ‘That’s one less jab we’ll have to give you.’ After several minutes she sought Jess’s reaction and judged the anaesthetic had taken effect. ‘Right, we’re set to go. Nat, would you flush with normal saline, please? And, Jess, feel free to chill out, maybe have a little doze?’
Darcie’s suturing was neat and painstakingly precise.
‘You’re so good at this,’ Natalie murmured.
Darcie gave a half-laugh. ‘I used to get hauled over the coals for being too slow.’
‘I think suturing is an art,’ Natalie maintained. ‘In fact, everything about practising medicine is an art—at least, it should be.’
‘Oh, if only that were true...’
Darcie inserted the final stitch. ‘That’s it.’ She stripped off her gloves and stood back to enable Natalie to place a non-stick dressing over the wound. ‘Jess, honey...’ She roused her patient gently.
‘Oh...’ Jess’s eyes fluttered open. She looked dazed for a second. ‘Am I done?’
‘Like a good roast.’ Natalie chuckled. ‘Dr Drummond’s done a pretty fancy job with your stitches.’
‘Thanks...’ Jess blinked a bit. ‘You’ve been really kind...’ Two tears tracked down the youngster’s cheeks and she wiped them away with the tips of her fingers.
Darcie pulled up a stool and sat down next to her patient. Poor kid. She’d been through a terrible ordeal. ‘I want you put everything aside and just rest now, Jess. Think you can do that?’
Jessica bit her lip. ‘I guess...’
‘And I’d like to keep you here overnight.’ And maybe for an extra one or two, Darcie thought. There could be residual effects from Jess’s fall that would only become apparent later on. She gave her patient a reassuring smile. ‘Now, can I call anyone for you—parents, perhaps?’
Jess shook her head. ‘My parents live in Sydney. No need to alarm them. I’ll call them when I’m up and around again. Mum would probably come racing out here and want to do my washing,’ she added with a spark of humour. ‘Where’s Lachy?’
‘We’ve sent him to Royal Brisbane. Dr Cassidy arranged that so I’m sure he’ll get an update on Lachy’s condition later today and let you know.’ Darcie stood to her feet. ‘Now, Nat will get you settled on the ward and I’ll look in on you a bit later, all right? If you need a certificate for time off work, I’ll take care of that as well.’
‘I’m not going back there.’ Jess shook her head firmly. ‘They can shove their job.’
Mentally, Darcie stepped back. There was a raft of separate issues here and after what had happened to her, Jessica was probably not in the right frame of mind to be making snap decisions ab
out her job. Obviously, she needed to talk things through but that could wait. Darcie picked up the notes. ‘Your arm will probably ache a bit after the anaesthetic wears off,’ she told her patient. ‘I’ll write up some pain relief for you.’
‘And don’t be a martyr,’ Natalie chimed in with a grin. ‘Just yell if you need something.’
* * *
Jack was taking his time about things. He’d hauled the trauma packs through to the utility room, repacking them and replacing the items they’d used. They were now ready for the next emergency.
Strictly, it wasn’t his responsibility, he conceded, but Sunday Creek wasn’t a big city hospital and everyone had to pull their weight wherever it was needed. Even senior doctors. Besides, he admitted a bit ruefully, he’d wanted to be a hands-on boss. Well, now he had that here. In spades.
Job done, he went back to the residence, showered and changed and made his way back to do a ward round. There were only four patients and it wasn’t an involved process. Returning the charts to the nurses’ station, he paused for a moment and then looked at his watch. A second later, he was striding towards the treatment room. Pulling the curtain aside, he poked his head in. Nothing.
‘Are you looking for me?’
Jack arched back. ‘Darcie...’ He blinked a bit. She stood there in pale blue scrubs, her hair twisted up into a topknot, her face scrubbed clean. She looked...wholesome and...gorgeous. He ordered his pulse to slow down. ‘I wondered if you needed a hand.’
‘All finished.’ Darcie gave a guarded smile. ‘We’ve put Jess on the little veranda ward. It’s cool and quiet. Hopefully, she’ll get some natural sleep.’
‘Good.’ He gave an approving nod. ‘I was just on my way to get some food. Care to join me?’
‘I’d kill for a cup of tea.’
Jack snorted. ‘You need something more substantial than that, Dr Drummond. Come on.’ He put out a hand in an ushering movement. ‘Let’s raid the hospital kitchen. They’re bound to have a few scraps left over from breakfast.’
A short while later they were tucking into the crisp bacon and fluffy scrambled eggs Carole, the hospital’s long-time cook, had whipped up.