by Lucy Clark
‘Good-o, Danny,’ Bob replied.
She began to clean Neil’s abdomen to get a closer look at the cut. ‘It feels quite deep in one part. I’ll need to debride and suture, at least to get him stable enough to move to Katherine.’
‘The cut on his arm ain’t too bad, Doc,’ Rudy replied.
‘Nothin’ feels fractured. He’s been real lucky. I’ll whack a bandage on for ya.’
‘Thanks. Bob? Where’s Bob?’ she called, and a moment or two later Bob appeared. ‘We’re not going to be able to move him too much so there’s no way we can transport him by car to the nearest plane clearing.’
‘OK. What have you got in mind?’
‘See if you can get a boat to take him to a more stable place for transfer to the plane. He needs to be moved as little as possible.’
‘Gotcha.’ Bob set to work again and she could hear him discussing with the elder the best way to do things.
‘Mac, I’m going to need your help to suture his abdomen.’ She pulled out a sterilised little package and started to open it.
‘Hardly the most hygenic conditions to do this in,’ he commented, glancing at the first-rate job Rudy had done on bandaging the man’s sprained ankle.
‘Nothing we can do about that, mate. We’ll get him sorted out properly at Katherine. Right now, though, I don’t want him to sustain any further internal injury when we move him. Rudy, watch his vital signs for me. Sebastian, work out a dosage for midazolam so he doesn’t wake up while we’re suturing him.’
A few minutes later, the procedure was under way. One of the searchers was primarily responsible for keeping the flies away as much as possible and another was holding the saline bag up so the fluid could drip into Neil’s arm via the IV. Rudy gave constant reports of their patient’s vital signs and Danny concentrated on debriding the wound and patching it up as best she could.
‘The boat’s just arriving now, Danny. How’s it going?’ Bob queried.
‘Almost ready to have him moved,’ she replied as she secured a white bandage to Neil’s abdomen. ‘Get the stretcher organised, Bob, and let Katherine know we’ll be there soon.’
‘Good-o.’
The transfer to the boat was not the smoothest of transfers but it was the best they could do under the circumstances.
‘Something’s leaking,’ she remarked as she noted the bloodstained bandage. ‘Obs, Mac.’ She cleaned the wound again and changed the bandage. Bob had come with them in the boat to oversee the transfer and was now in charge of holding the saline bag.
‘Did the trackers find anything, Bob?’
‘Yeah. Sorry, forgot to tell you with everything that’s been going on. Looks like our friend here went down to the water to fill his drink bottles and a croc came up and more than likely scared the life out of him. They found the imprint of the croc’s belly on the sand and also where our friend slipped and stumbled, trying to get away.’
‘Pupils are fine. BP is one-twenty over sixty. Pulse is fine. IV’s fine.’
‘Thanks, Mac. Bob, do the trackers know when it all happened?’
‘Yes. Some time this morning. Their guess is that he sprained his ankle sometime yesterday afternoon, which is why he couldn’t get back to his vehicle.’
‘Makes sense. So this morning he needs more water and, bam! Interlude with a croc.’ She finished putting on another clean bandage. ‘He’s been extremely lucky.’
‘That he has,’ Sebastian remarked, and as she glanced at him, she realised how exhausted he looked.
‘Betcha don’t see anything like this back home?’
‘No, Dannyella. I can safely say we don’t.’ He smiled at her, a tired but relieved smile. ‘Just as I’m sure you don’t get extreme cases of hypothermia.’
‘Touché.’ She returned his smile and Bob chuckled. When they reached the airstrip, the RFDS were waiting. This transfer went a lot smoother and by the time they reached Katherine hospital their patient had regained consciousness.
‘Glad you’re awake, Neil. I’m Dr Thompson and this is Dr MacKenzie. You’re in Katherine hospital and you’ll be fine.’
Neil appeared quite scared and she didn’t blame him. ‘We need to get a few X-rays to start off with and then we’ll get you to surgery and fix up that gash to your abdomen. Tell me, Neil, do you remember anything about this morning?’
‘Uh…no.’
‘Do you know your surname?’
He thought. ‘Tilby.’
‘Tell me what you last remember.’
‘I remember leaving my ute and walking towards the river to take some photographs. Oh, that’s right. As I was heading back to the ute, I lost my footing and twisted my ankle. I hit my head, too, and must have blacked out because when I came around it was dark. I had no idea which direction to go, so I stayed where I was.’ He thought hard again. ‘That’s about it. I guess I must have hurt my gut, too, if you’re saying that needs fixing.’
‘I see. Let’s get you to Radiology.’ Danny made a note on his chart for him to see a psychologist. He’d obviously blocked out the altercation with the crocodile and, quite frankly, she didn’t blame him at all. Still, he would need to deal with it.
Once he returned from X-Ray, she discussed the films with Sebastian. ‘It’s not too bad. Glad I put those sutures in otherwise it might have been worse.’
‘Good call,’ he praised.
‘Thanks. So, will you assist me?’
‘In surgery?’
‘Sure.’
‘Do you want me to anaesthetise?’
‘No, just assist. The hospital anaesthetist is here so she can do it.’
‘What about the hospital surgeon?’
‘I’ve checked and he’s gone to Darwin with another patient. It’s OK. I am on the staff here so I’m authorised to do the surgery.’
‘I have no doubt about that. Dannyella, I’d be delighted to assist you.’
She smiled at him, her heart beating wildly at the way he spoke. She wished he’d assist her in other areas of her life, namely her love life, but no. She had to push those kinds of thoughts from her mind, especially now when she had to get ready for Theatre.
The surgery didn’t take long and although it was fiddly in parts, it wasn’t too complicated. ‘Well done,’ Sebastian remarked as they degowned.
‘Thank you.’
‘I mean it, Dannyella. You’re a woman of varying talents and all of them are impressive.’
She felt herself begin to blush, and to escape closer scrutiny from him she turned and headed to the little kitchenette near the sister’s room. ‘Cup of tea?’
‘Thank you. That would be lovely.’ They relaxed, talking about the day’s events while they drank their tea before checking on Neil in Recovery.
‘It’s all under control, Danny,’ the sister replied. ‘Go on home and get some rest and take your gorgeous Brit with you. He’s already caused too much unrest amongst my nurses since his arrival.’ The sister smiled sweetly at Sebastian as she spoke.
Danny laughed. ‘Right you are. Come on, you gorgeous Brit. Let’s go.’
They walked outside into the coolness of the evening. ‘How do we get back to Dingo Creek?’ he asked, but Danny only smiled and pulled out her mobile phone.
‘We call a taxi!’ She punched in a set of numbers and waited. ‘Dad? Free for a quick pick-up from Katherine?’
By the time they arrived back at Dingo Creek it was very early on Friday morning. The day Sebastian was due to leave. When her father dropped them off in the wee small hours, they both went into her home.
‘Tea?’
‘No, thank you.’ He smothered a yawn and stretched. ‘I’m exhausted, Dannyella, and you are, too. I think I’d better get back to the pub.’
‘But you’ve only got four hours.’
‘I know.’
Danny couldn’t bear him to leave. She crossed to his side and wrapped her arms about him, never wanting to let him go. Her heart was pounding fast and she closed her eyes, trying
to block out the way he was making her feel and failing miserably. ‘Stay. Let’s talk. Let’s try to figure things out.’
‘Dannyella, I—’
‘I…I’m…’ She swallowed and pulled back to look at him. Taking a deep breath, she continued. ‘I’m falling in love with you, Mac. I’ve fought it all the way and, trust me, I didn’t plan this but…’ She shrugged. ‘Nevertheless, it’s there and I’m not joking this time.’
His gaze held hers for a heart-stopping moment. She had declared herself. She’d put her heart on her sleeve and now held her breath, waiting for him to say something.
Instead, he crushed her to him, his mouth taking hers hungrily. Possessive, passionate and perfect. He was everything she’d ever wanted in a man and she couldn’t have him. It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair. Pushing those thoughts out of her head, she leaned into him, wanting to hold him for ever…all the while knowing it was a fantasy.
‘Come with me,’ he breathed roughly when they finally broke apart.
‘Hmm?’ Her mind, her body—everything was in a complete daze.
‘Come with me,’ he reiterated. ‘To England.’
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘ENGLAND! Have you gone mad?’ Danny stepped back to look at Sebastian more clearly. ‘I can’t just up and leave here.’
‘I know that but come…at least for a holiday. A week. No. You’d better make it two weeks. One day to fly, two days at least to get over jet-lag. That way, you’ll have a good seven days in the middle of the travelling to enjoy yourself.’
‘But I’d have to get a locum and a plane ticket.’
‘I’ll buy the ticket. Just come over, Dannyella. Please?’
‘Why?’
‘Because the thought of never seeing you again tears me apart.’
‘It won’t work, Mac. We come from two very different worlds.’
‘I realise that but I have never felt for any woman what I feel for you.’ She was silent and he took her hands in his. ‘Think about it. That’s all I ask for the moment.’
‘OK,’ she agreed finally. He smiled and kissed her again. Danny pulled back, smothering a yawn. ‘We need sleep, Mac.’
‘That we do.’ He stepped back and took her hand in his, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. ‘And I need to pack and get ready for the flight.’
‘OK.’ She held his hand as he went to the door. Their arms were stretched out but still she couldn’t let go.
‘Sleep sweet, Dannyella.’ He wriggled his fingers free and walked down the street towards the pub.
The light brush of a kiss across her cheek had her waking up instantly.
‘Good morning, sleepyhead.’
‘Mac?’ Danny sat up and looked around her bedroom. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Waking you up. I brought breakfast.’
‘How much time do we have?’
‘Half an hour,’ he said solemnly. ‘Come on out.’ He walked out of her room, leaving her to follow. On her living-room floor, he’d spread a rug and had arranged orange juice, toast and scrambled eggs. ‘Your usual breakfast, m’lady.’
‘Do you have decent tea to drink?’
He wrinkled his nose and she laughed. ‘I hope you don’t mind me coming in here and organising this. I felt quite strange, not knocking on the door.’
She shook her head and wrapped her arms about his neck. ‘I don’t mind in the slightest. It’s perfect.’ She kissed him quickly. ‘Best of all, no flies.’
‘Let’s eat before those eggs get cold.’
‘Out here?’ They both laughed.
Twenty minutes later, she heard a faint beeping noise and realised it was Sebastian’s watch. He quickly silenced the alarm and swallowed the last mouthful of his tea.
‘It’s time to go get my things and meet that aeroplane.’ He had a long and tiring journey ahead of him today as after his flight to Darwin he would then leave for his journey back to England.
Hand in hand, they walked to the pub. Maisy beamed brightly when she saw them walk in together and as Sebastian went up to his room to collect his belongings, she started playing twenty questions with Danny.
‘So how was breakfast?’
‘Delicious. Thank you for getting up earlier to cook.’
‘My pleasure, lovey. I’m just glad you two have stopped keepin’ ya distance and seen sense.’
‘He wants me to go to England,’ Danny blurted out as she sat down at the bar. Burrying her head in her hands, she whimpered.
‘Wow. This is more serious than I thought.’
‘What do I do, Maisy? I have no idea what to do.’
‘How can ya even ask me that question? Ya go, lovey, and that’s all there is to it.’
‘Have you lost your marbles? I’ve never even been to England.’
‘So now’s your chance.’
Sebastian was coming down the stairs, suitcase in hand, cork hat on his head.
‘Got everythin’, lovey?’
‘Yes, thank you. I’m afraid I’m cutting my time rather short, which is unlike me.’ He put his bag down and came around the bar. Opening his arms, he gave the woman a hug.
‘Oh, get away with ya. What’s that for?’ she asked, blushing when he let her go.
‘For looking after Dannyella all these years.’
Danny noticed tears form in Maisy’s eyes at his words. There it was again. That olde-worlde charm which made women swoon at his feet. Was that what she’d been doing? No. She dismissed the thought as easily as it came. She’d done a lot worse than swoon. She’d fallen in love with him.
‘Please, continue to do so. It would put my mind considerably at rest.’
‘Hey. I don’t need anyone to look after me,’ Danny protested.
‘Shh,’ Maisy chided. ‘Leave the boy alone.’
Sebastian walked to his suitcase and picked it up. ‘We need to go, Dannyella.’ His tone was soft and filled with regret.
She nodded and put her hat on her head. ‘Let’s go.’
The short drive to the airstrip was made in silence. They climbed from her four-wheel drive and headed to the waiting plane. After handing in his luggage, he faced her. Taking off his hat, he held it out.
‘I want you to have this.’
‘A keepsake?’
‘No.’ He didn’t explain further and, instead, pulled her into his arms. ‘You’ll come to England.’
It was more a statement than a question but she nodded nevertheless.
He breathed in deeply, the air filling his lungs completely before he slowly exhaled. Behind them, the plane’s engines started to whir into life. ‘I’ll email you all the details. Just let me know the dates once the locum is organised.’
‘OK.’ She looked up at him. ‘I love you,’ she said simply.
His smile increased and his eyes twinkled with delight. Without another word, he bent his head and claimed her lips in a kiss full of promise. He could have stayed there for ever but someone tapped him on the shoulder and he realised it was time to go.
Reluctantly…she let him go.
Danny watched him walk to the steps of the small plane, turn and blow her a kiss. Then he disappeared inside, the flight attendant following him and pulling the stairs closed behind her.
Danny wasn’t sure how long she stood there, twirling one of the corks round and round her finger, but it was long after the plane had disappeared from her view.
Mac had gone!
‘Ya’ve gotta go some time,’ Maisy protested as the far-off din of engines could be heard. She started pulling beers. ‘Give me a hand, lovey.’
Danny did as she was told and started lining the beers up on the counter. So long as she was busy, she didn’t care. If she was idle then she started thinking about Sebastian. Nights were the worst.
‘You’re running yourself into the ground,’ Maisy persisted. The trucks started pulling up outside. Engines were cut and doors were opening and closing. ‘Fer the past four weeks, ya’ve been dillyin’ and dallyin’ way too
much.’ The first few blokes walked in, greeting both women warmly and wrapping their hands around the ice-cold beers.
‘Hey—pay up,’ Danny demanded, holding out her hand for the money. One guy grinned as he handed over the money. ‘So when are ya heading off to England, then, Danny?’
It had been the standard question on everyone’s lips ever since Maisy had accidentally on purpose blurted out that Mac had asked her to go.
‘Soon.’
That was her standard reply. The truth was that the longer she left it, the worse the situation became. At first she’d been so desperate to go she would have been on the next plane out of there but there had been paperwork to do, clinics to reschedule, patients to check up on, and all of this had taken time. Now she wasn’t so sure going to England would be the right thing to do.
Lately, though, the emails from Sebastian had become more insistent. He’d told her that he wasn’t going to let her off the hook that easily and he’d get her to England if he had to contact the hospital in Katherine and organise the locum himself. She didn’t blame him for his attitude.
Part of her wanted to simply keep on going the way they were—emailing every day. Chatting on-line once a week, which was a little difficult sometimes due to the time difference between their two countries. They’d been able to get to know each other a lot better via email and every morning when she woke up and every night before she went to bed she would download her messages and sigh with longing.
She was more in love with him now than when he’d left—and she was scared stiff to see him again. She poured beers with Maisy and joked with the men. She helped clean up until Maisy growled at her.
‘If ya go on polishin’ me counter like that, there’ll be no wood left, lovey. Leave it and come and sit down.’
‘It’s all right, Maisy,’ Danny said as she put the cloth down and washed her hands. ‘I’d better get going.’
‘Ya gonna come over here and ya gonna sit. Then ya gonna listen to what I have ta say. Understand?’
Danny grinned. ‘You haven’t used that tone of voice with me since I was fifteen years old.’
‘Well, ya haven’t been this dumb since ya was fifteen years old.’