He shifted his gaze to a parking area off to one side of the helipad, where there were four-wheel drive emergency vehicles, huge command centre trucks and even rescue service motorbikes parked.
‘You’re well equipped to respond by road. And did I read that you take charge of any major incidents?’
Don nodded. ‘We get dispatched to work with police and the fire service as command for any multiple casualty incidents or disasters. We also have single-crewed vehicles available at all times for first response if the local ambulance service is overloaded or they need advanced paramedic assistance for patient care. Those staff members are in addition to the helicopter crews. That’s where we’re starting you off for orientation.’
Cooper’s eyebrows rose even though he tilted his head to acknowledge the challenge. But Don smiled.
‘Don’t worry. We’re not throwing you in the deep end by yourself just yet. You’ll be double-crewed until you are comfortable with protocols and destinations, etcetera. In fact...’ Don checked his watch. ‘Let’s head downstairs. Shift changeover will be happening and there’ll be a good crowd to introduce you to, including the guy who’s going to be crewed with you for the moment. I expect they’ll all be having breakfast right now.’
‘Sounds great.’ Cooper took one more look at the stunning view of Wellington harbour in front of him with the skyline of the city visible to one side, past the cranes and ships of a busy port and rugged, forest-covered hills in the distance to the other side. ‘I still can’t get over this view,’ he said as he followed his new manager. ‘You must have one of the best offices in the world.’
‘Can’t complain,’ Don agreed. ‘But this location was chosen for more than the view it gives us upstairs. It provides the fastest access to pretty much everywhere we need to go. We’ve got a straight run into the central city, or over to the west coast, we’ve got the coastguard base two minutes away when they need a medic, and if we’re heading to the mountains or further north, the choppers just head straight for those hills, which is well away from the flight paths for the airport. That’s where the name came from. Aratika means a direct, or straight, path in Maori.’
‘Great name.’ Cooper let the door swing shut on the view behind him.
There was an enticing smell of frying bacon coming from the kitchen area of the staffroom on the second floor of this big, modern building and, due to the change of a night shift to a day shift, there was a large enough group of people to present a challenge in remembering all the names coming at Cooper. Paramedics, pilots, ground crew, which included mechanics and people that serviced and restocked gear—even an older woman who seemed to have the role of a housekeeper—Shirley. It was Shirley who was cooking the bacon at the moment.
‘Welcome to Aratika,’ she said to Cooper, with a warm smile. ‘Can I interest you in a bacon sandwich?’
‘Thanks...maybe later.’ Cooper wasn’t ready to relax enough to eat yet but everybody here seemed just as welcoming as Shirley, so far. It was disconcerting, a moment after thinking that, to find someone staring at him, their jaw dropping.
‘No way...’ He looked back at the newspaper spread on the table in front of him, flipping back to the front page.
‘That’s Joe,’ Don told him. ‘He’s the one you’ll be double-crewing with until you’re comfortable with how things work around here. Joe? This is Cooper Sinclair.’
‘And unless he’s got an identical twin brother...’ Joe looked up again as he got to his feet. ‘I’ve been looking at a picture of what you were getting up to yesterday afternoon. You just couldn’t wait to get to work, huh?’
‘Oh?’ Cooper’s smile froze halfway. It was a just a throwaway comment on behalf of his new colleague. There was no was Joe could know that he’d touched a deep nerve.
That Cooper had had an identical twin brother...
Joe gestured at the newspaper. ‘You’re a hero already.’
Cooper hadn’t seen any newspapers yet today. Or any television last night, for that matter. By the time he’d got through the traffic jam the accident had created and located the central city hotel that would be home until he found something more permanent, he’d been too wrecked to do anything but sort out his wet clothing, find something to eat and then crash for the night. At least he’d been able to contact Don and apologise for missing his orientation meeting at the base and it had been a relief to find that his new manager hadn’t been fazed.
‘Tomorrow’s another day,’ he’d said. ‘Can’t fault you for getting involved in an accident scene. Would have been disappointed if you hadn’t.’
Joe was looking just as laid back as he held out his hand. ‘Good to meet you, Cooper. Look forward to working with you.’
Cooper shook his hand. ‘Likewise.’
Don was reaching for the paper. ‘Front page? Oh... Nice photo...’
Someone had taken it from the top of the cliff with a good zoom lens. There he was, with that crying toddler in his arms, facing back towards the shore. Just a little out of focus in the background behind him, he could see Fizz heading back to where the car was teetering on the rocks, a splash of foam catching the sunlight dramatically in mid-air like a halo around both the vehicle and the woman.
‘Looks like you were enjoying yourself, mate.’ One of the pilots had stepped closer to look over Don’s shoulder.
‘I wouldn’t say that, exactly,’ Cooper murmured, but he had to admit there was a hint of something other than professional concern in his expression and he knew why as well.
That had been the moment when he’d been processing the way Fizz had dismissed his bid of taking charge of the situation. When she’d turned back to go and get the baby. When she’d cracked a version of what had become an old joke—Trust me... I’m a doctor... He’d been gobsmacked but undeniably impressed. Maybe that was the reason for that hint of a lopsided smile on his face and yes...it did look as if it could be interpreted as him getting an enormous amount of satisfaction out of what he was doing. It was just as well, he thought, that the picture hadn’t been taken a bit later, when they’d been holding hands as they’d hopped rocks to get back to shore—their wet clothes plastered against their skin.
He’d been right about that particular image coming back to haunt him. It had happened when he’d stood for a long time under the spray of that very welcome hot shower. It had come back with even more punch when he’d slid, naked, between the crisp sheets of his bed. If she ever got tired of being some kind of action woman, Fizz could probably easily get a job as a model. Tall and slim but with curves in all the right places. That long dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin that made him think she could have Mediterranean ancestry. Greek or Italian, maybe?
‘I heard about that job. I was in the ED when it came in.’
Cooper turned towards the speaker, relieved to have his runaway thoughts reined in so abruptly. It was a petite woman with blonde hair who was about his own age. What was her name again? Oh, yeah... Maggie.
‘Do you know if the patient was still stable on arrival? I think her name was Sonya. And if the kids were okay?’
‘Yep.’ Maggie nodded. ‘I was around for a while. I’d gone in with a kid from up north who was in status asthmaticus and I wanted to hang around until he was stable. I’m pretty sure the kids were fine. They got checked out and there were relatives to take care of them, including their father from what I gathered. They put a chest drain in the mother, took off about a litre of blood and fluid, gave her a blood transfusion and then took her off to Theatre. I don’t know what they needed to do to patch her up, though. You can ask Fizz next time she’s here. She went with her to Theatre.’
‘Fizz?’ Someone else, a bacon sandwich in hand, paused to peer at the picture. ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake...that’s her in the background, isn’t it?’
‘She was the first on scene,’ Cooper said. ‘I was yelling at her to stay back until the car
could be stabilised but she didn’t take a blind bit of notice.’
‘Sounds like Fizz.’ But Joe was grinning. ‘You’ll find she behaves better when she’s in uniform.’ His grin broadened. ‘Sometimes.’
The familiarity in his tone gave Cooper an odd beat of something he didn’t want to try and identify but could be related to envy, perhaps? Just how well did Joe know Fizz? And why was he even wondering about whether she was single or not? For heaven’s sake, he’d only just arrived in a new city to start a new job and a new life. Hooking up with someone hadn’t even entered his head as part of his immediate agenda. To contemplate the remote possibility of hooking up with someone he’d only spent a matter of minutes with, not to mention someone who’d pretty much ignored him to start with, who’d bossed him around like a minion after that, and had probably forgotten his existence the moment she’d walked away was...well, it was stupid enough to make it easy to dismiss in the same instant it had grazed his mind.
Don’s smile was tolerant enough to suggest that he, too, not only knew Fizz well but could excuse her lack of compliance with safety instructions. His expression reminded Cooper of a fond parent who made allowances for a wayward child. The attitude to the young doctor was intriguing. What did she have that made everybody who knew her prepared to forgive what came across as a maverick streak—something that was not usually acceptable in the emergency services community?
Don had already moved on from his amusement in relation to how well Fizz behaved herself when she was officially on duty. ‘Speaking of uniforms, we need to get Cooper here kitted out. Although...’ His gaze took in the black T-shirt, dark trousers and steel-capped boots Cooper was wearing. ‘Just a team T-shirt might be enough for the moment. And some overalls for a chopper callout, maybe. If there’s room, he could go as third crew at some point soon. He definitely needs a pager, though. Preferably before your shift is due to start.’
‘Come on...’ Joe signalled that Cooper should follow him. ‘I’ll introduce you to Danny downstairs who’s in charge of uniforms and pagers and suchlike and then we’ll find you a locker. The grand tour can wait until after breakfast if things stay quiet for that long.’
Even as he finished speaking, a loud beeping was heard and one of the pilots reached for his pager. Two of the paramedics, including Maggie, reached for theirs seconds later. All three staff members got to their feet and headed for the stairway that led to ground level.
Maggie wagged her finger at Joe as she went past. ‘That was your fault,’ she told him. ‘You said the “Q” word. Karma’s going to get you soon, as well, you know.’
‘She’s right.’ Joe sighed. ‘We’d better sort your pager out first, Cooper. We’ll be the next taxi in the rank before long. Let’s get you that pair of overalls until we sort your full uniform out properly.’
* * *
‘Phew...’ Felicity Wilson let herself sink into the armchair in the corner of the emergency department staffroom of Wellington’s Royal Hospital. ‘I thought we were never going to get a break.’
‘It’s been full on, hasn’t it? Thanks for staying on, Fizz, but you can get away anytime now. We’re fully staffed for the afternoon shift and we’ve caught up on the backlog.’
‘I’ll just have my coffee and catch my breath.’ Fizz smiled at her colleague, Tom—one of the senior consultants here. ‘I’ve already ditched my plans to attend a four-wheel drive club meeting. They’re just planning the next run, which is a sand forest gig that I’ve done before. I might wait until the CT scan results come through on that six-year-old kid that fell out of the tree. I hope he hasn’t got anything more than a mild concussion to go with his broken arm.’
‘Young Micky? He’s been a frequent flyer in here since he was a toddler when he fell off the couch and broke his collarbone. Apparently that was his first attempt at flying.’ Tom shook his head. ‘You have to feel sorry for his mother.’ His glance at Fizz was accompanied by a grin. ‘I’ll bet your mother had that worried look a lot of the time when you were growing up.’
‘I wasn’t accident prone.’
‘But you’re into dangerous pastimes. You probably jumped out of trees with a homemade parachute instead of falling out of them.’
‘Actually, no... I was quite a boring kid. Very well behaved.’
Tom shook his head. ‘So what happened? You grew up and just got a taste for things like hang gliding and off-road driving?’
Fizz shrugged. ‘Something like that.’ Yeah...she’d got a taste for an overdose of adrenaline, that was true. Who wouldn’t, when you discovered that it could blow anything else that you were feeling into oblivion?
Things like grief.
And having no faith in the future.
Mind you, it was such a long time ago that she’d discovered the potency of adrenaline as a mood-altering medication it was just a part of her history. A life-changing part, admittedly, especially when she’d eventually found a way of incorporating that kind of excitement into the job she loved so much. At least people were more likely to be impressed when you were putting yourself in danger in order to save other people and not just for personal escape masquerading as enjoyment.
‘And you always just happen to be where the action is happening. That picture of you in the paper a few days ago... Unbelievable... And you just happened to be driving right behind the woman who ran her car off the road?’
‘I saw it happening. Some idiot on a motorbike was trying to pass when he didn’t have room and she had to swerve. Her wheel caught in the gravel on the side of the road and she just lost control and went straight through the barrier.’ Fizz shrugged. ‘Hey...what can I say? Apparently I’m a trauma magnet.’
‘I guess it keeps life interesting.’
‘Yep...’ Fizz took a sip of her coffee, her mind slipping back to that incident the other day. To the adrenaline rush of getting that child and the baby out of that car. To that moment of fear when she’d been underwater and realising that she wasn’t going to get that safety belt undone and that, at any moment, the car could get displaced enough to trap her underwater.
She was no stranger to situations that were scary. She had chosen them, way back, when it hadn’t actually seemed to matter that much if she didn’t survive. By the time she’d got through to the other side of the darkest period in her life, she had every desire to survive but she still didn’t shy away from situations that she knew might be a little too risky, because she knew how good that rush of relief was when they were over. That sheer exhilaration that the odds had been beaten and you were still alive? It was definitely a kind of drug, that feeling.
Addictive...
And every time it added to her confidence in being able to rely on herself. It confirmed her belief that being totally independent was the only safe way to exist and it was okay, because life was still good. Better than good, in fact.
‘Anyway... I’d better get back.’ Tom drained his mug and then rinsed it out under the tap. ‘You in tomorrow, Fizz?’
‘No. Day off.’
‘As in a real day off, or are you doing a shift at the rescue base?’
‘Rescue base,’ Fizz admitted. ‘But you know what they say about a change being as good as a holiday, right?’
Tom was laughing as he left the staffroom. Fizz sipped her coffee again, her gaze drifting towards the big table in the centre of the room and to the pile of magazines and newspapers on one end of it.
It had only been a couple of days since she’d been in the background of that front-page picture. Was the paper still in that pile? Not that Fizz kept mementoes like that but, now that Tom had reminded her, she just wanted to have another look at that photo.
It wasn’t until she’d found the paper on the bottom of the pile that Fizz realised why she’d wanted to see it again. There was something about the man who was the hero of this image that was pulling her back.
Att
racting her...
And it had been a long time since she’d been aware of that particular kind of tingle. Had her self-imposed break from men gone on long enough to have run its course? Was she missing male companionship—not to mention great sex—enough to make it worth the risk of having to deal with someone who started wanting something more than she was prepared to offer?
More than she was capable of offering?
Maybe the attraction was simply there because they’d shared a dramatic incident and he’d been the one to tip the balance and make the good result of that rescue possible. Fizz could still feel echoes from that touch of his hand when he’d pushed hers aside to deal with unclipping that seat belt. And when he’d gripped hers to help her keep her balance when they’d been scrambling over those slippery rocks on their way back to dry land. How safe had that physical attachment to that big, solid man made her feel? Not that she needed anyone to make her feel safe but it hadn’t been unpleasant, that was for sure.
She could remember how deft his hands had been when he had been working with her to save that woman’s life on the beach. And that hint of laughter curling through a rather gorgeous accent when he’d said that her name suited her. It wasn’t just Cooper Sinclair’s accent that was gorgeous, either. Fizz stared at the photo. She’d noticed how big he was that day but she hadn’t taken any particular notice of his features—those intelligent eyes, that strong nose and chin. A mouth that looked ready to curl into what would probably be a cheeky smile at any moment.
Resisting Her Rescue Doc Page 3