‘I have the bougie—do you have the tube?’
‘I have the tube.’
Cooper attached the bag mask and delivered a breath as Fizz unhooked her stethoscope from around her neck to check the correct placement of the breathing tube by listening to lung sounds. She looked up and gave a single, satisfied nod as he handed the bag mask to one of the paramedics to keep up the ventilations.
‘All good,’ she said.
An understatement, Cooper decided. That whole, intense procedure had been completed in no more than about thirty seconds. And that was partly because they had worked together so well.
It wasn’t just their physical skills that meshed so well, either. Cooper got the impression that Fizz felt the same kind of connection and confidence in him that he did in her—that sense of recognition—as if they already knew each other?
‘I can’t get a femoral pulse,’ Fizz said a moment later as she checked their patient again. ‘Have you got a BP?’
‘Still dropping. Unreadable.’
‘He’s got a significant haemorrhage going on. You familiar with the REBOA procedure, Coop?’
Some distant part of his brain registered the fact that she’d shortened his name—as if she knew him so well he needed a nickname—but it didn’t shift his focus.
‘The insertion of the balloon catheter to occlude the aorta and stop internal haemorrhage?’
‘Yep.’
‘I’ve read about it. Seen video. It’s not something that was part of our protocols.’
‘There’s not many places that do it.’
Fizz caught his gaze and held it for a moment, a query in her eyes. He knew she was asking if he felt comfortable assisting her in what would be an advanced invasive procedure. His single nod was subtle but sufficient.
‘We’ll give him another unit of blood, but if his pressure doesn’t come up, I think that’s our next step.’
It was Cooper who took the next set of vital signs as the second unit of blood was pushed as fast as possible by someone squeezing the bag with both hands.
‘Systolic of eighty-five,’ he reported.
It looked like Fizz let out a breath she’d been holding. ‘Okay...let’s get going. The sooner we can get him to Theatre the better. Can we get a stretcher in here, please?’
With so many people available it was a quick task to package their patient on the stretcher and then carry him back to the helicopter. As the clamshell doors closed on the cabin and they took off, Cooper checked his watch to realise that they’d been on the ground for less than twenty minutes. They would have this critically injured person in the emergency department—maybe even in an operating theatre—well within the golden hour of dealing with major trauma.
He’d been impressed with Felicity Wilson the first time he’d seen her in action but right now he was blown away. It had been a privilege to work with her and he couldn’t wait to do it again. On a professional level, he had never worked with anyone that made him feel part of such a tight team and facing future challenges together was an exciting prospect.
It was another incentive to keep their relationship solely professional. This was an opportunity to work with someone who could push his professional boundaries and help him improve his skills and knowledge. Who would be stupid enough to risk that by acting on an attraction that could potentially wreck what held the promise of being an extraordinary working relationship?
* * *
‘He’s good.’ Fizz had dropped into Don’s office when they’d finally got back to base. ‘I’m happy to work with him as double crew any time and I’m sure any other HEMS doctor would agree.’
‘Good to know.’ Don nodded. He closed his laptop and slid it into a bag. ‘High time I headed home. I was just waiting to hear how the job went.’
‘It was a good challenge. We almost got to do a REBOA procedure for haemorrhagic shock.’
‘Wow...that doesn’t happen often.’
‘It was probably a good thing for our patient that it didn’t need to happen today. Having the capability to carry blood products with us made the difference there.’ Fizz was following Don down the stairs. She could hear the murmur of voices in the staffroom and wondered if Cooper was still here.
She hadn’t been entirely truthful in the assessment she’d given the base manager about Cooper’s performance. He wasn’t simply ‘good’ at his job. He was...well, he was something special. Fizz couldn’t think of anyone else she had ever worked with where it felt like half the communication was almost telepathic. Like that rapid sequence intubation. Whatever she had needed had been available without having to ask for it—as if she’d had an extra pair of her own hands, or that they’d been working as a team for years and years.
It almost made up for that annoying streak of taking responsibility for her safety, like the way he’d tried to steer her away from the broken glass she had been quite well aware of. She didn’t need to be protected. Didn’t want to be...
Except that, deep down, it was rather nice to have someone looking out for her, wasn’t it?
As if they cared? Or was it because Cooper thought she was feminine and therefore fragile? That was why it was so annoying, of course, but it was disturbing at the same time, because this Scotsman was big enough to make Fizz feel feminine and, if she was honest with herself, she kind of liked that as well.
He was still in the staffroom. The night shift crew members he had been talking to responded to a callout as Fizz entered, however, and Don headed home, after telling Cooper he was going to take him off being in a third crew, supervised position on the team.
‘You’ve had the tick of approval from both Fizz and Joe,’ Don told him. ‘And I know how high their standards are.’
Cooper grinned at Fizz as they found themselves alone in the room. ‘Thanks,’ he said.
‘What for?’ Oh, man... She was going to have to get used to that smile but it wasn’t going to be easy. It did something really weird to the pit of her stomach.
‘Giving me a tick.’
‘You earned it.’ Fizz glanced at her watch. ‘What are you still doing here? You should have clocked off an hour ago.’
‘So should you.’
‘I was finishing up my paperwork. It’s been a busy day.’
‘And I was restocking the kits. It was a good chance to get properly familiar with the storeroom and Danny was happy to stay on for a while and help. He’s a nice guy.’
‘Mmm. Weren’t you going to see that room in Maggie’s house this evening?’
Cooper looked surprised that she’d remembered. ‘I had a text from her, asking if we could put it off until tomorrow. She got held up at the dentist.’
‘Hope her mouth isn’t too sore. Which reminds me... I’m starving...’ Fizz headed towards the bench and the large biscuit tin that lived in one corner. ‘I wonder if any of Shirley’s cookies are left.’ She prised the lid off the tin. ‘Ooh...even better—it’s cake... Carrot cake, my favourite...’ She turned her head as she opened a drawer and reached for a knife. ‘Want a piece, Coop? Ow...’
The sound had Cooper on his feet in a split second. ‘What is it?’
‘Nothing.’ Fizz ripped a paper towel from the nearby roll. ‘I just nicked my thumb.’
‘Let me see...’ Cooper was right beside her now, holding out his hand.
‘No...it’s just a little nick. It’s nothing.’
Except the blood was soaking through the paper towel. She needed another one. Cooper was ripping one off the roll and folding it into a small square.
‘You need to put some pressure on it.’
‘I know that.’ Fizz gave him a withering glance. ‘I did go to medical school, you know.’
He had one hand circling hers, the other waiting with his pressure pad for her to give him access to her injured thumb. Dammit...he wasn’t going to give
up, was he? She didn’t want someone caring about her like this. Looking out for her to make sure she was safe and jumping in to take care of her if she was injured. Protecting her...
It could be that Cooper was taking the first step towards a relationship that was more than simply professional. Towards a friendship that she already knew she would welcome. She had decided, only this morning, that she would step back and wait for him to make that first move—because she wanted it too much?
But...this was weirdly nerve-racking. Scary, even.
Because Fizz knew that the attraction she felt for this man was not due to having been single for so long. Or that they’d met each other by sharing a dramatic incident. She recognised, on more than one level now, that Cooper Sinclair was special. That there was something between them that was very different from anything she had ever experienced before—even with the man she had chosen to marry.
Her nerves made it easy to back away from that attraction. To tap, instead, into the annoyance of having someone treat her as if she was in need of protection.
‘I’m a big girl, Cooper,’ she snapped. ‘I can look after myself. I don’t need you telling me to watch out for anything. Or watch me to make sure I put a safety belt on. I don’t need you to look after my damn thumb, either. If I’m stupid enough to do something careless, I’m quite capable of dealing with the consequences.’
His gaze was steady. He didn’t look at all put out by her snapping at him. ‘I know that,’ he said quietly. ‘But we’re part of a team, Fizz, and team members look out for each other. It’s not a weakness to let other people help, you know. And, yeah...maybe I go overboard a bit sometimes but that’s just the way I am. I...ah...lost someone once and it wouldn’t have happened if there’d been a bit more attention to some basic safety. I’m not about to let it happen again but it’s no reflection on how capable I know you are, believe me.’
There was something about that sincere tone of his voice that was making it difficult to keep hold of that annoyance. Or perhaps it was what he was saying—that the death of someone he’d worked with had affected him deeply because he’d cared about his colleague that much? She had sensed that he was a nice person from the first moment she’d met him. Big. Solid. Totally dependable. The kind of person you’d be lucky to work with or have as a friend.
Or maybe it was more to do with that steady gaze from eyes that she hadn’t looked at this closely before. Hazel eyes, with a warmth to their golden brown that made her think of...good grief...teddy bears? Yes...she could swear that she’d had a beloved bear when she was very young that had had eyes of exactly that colour. She’d gone to sleep cuddling that bear every night for many years...
Somehow, that awareness of the colour of Cooper’s eyes had made her let her guard down. He had gently pushed her hand away, had a look at the cut on her thumb and was now applying pressure to the wound himself.
‘It might take a few minutes,’ he murmured. ‘It’s quite deep but I don’t think it needs a stitch. We just need to stop it bleeding.’
‘Mmm...’ The sound was a little strangled. Fizz stared down at her thumb because she didn’t dare look up at Cooper again. She hadn’t been this aware of the sheer size of him since he’d been holding her hand that day they’d first met, to help her keep her balance on those rocks. It was something deeper than being made to feel feminine, wasn’t it? It was almost as if there was a much younger Fizz still inside. A child who cuddled teddy bears when she went to sleep. Who needed her hand held sometimes.
It actually brought a lump to her throat, along with a swirl of something like confusion. Fear, almost...and that was enough for her gaze to flick upwards again. What was it about this man that was so different?
She found that same steady gaze on her own.
‘Almost there,’ he said softly. ‘Another thirty seconds or so should do it.’
Fizz knew she should break that eye contact. She should also pull her hand away from his and look after her injury herself but she did neither of those things and that was undoing.
She couldn’t move. She couldn’t look away. She was powerless against the strength of a pull she’d never felt before. An attraction so fierce that what she wanted right now—the only thing she wanted right now—was for Cooper Sinclair to bend his head and kiss her.
Was she willing it to happen? Was that why she could see the way his eyes darkened as he seemed to catch her unspoken desire and reflect it back at her? Why his head started to drift down?
He seemed to catch himself with a jerk. It was Cooper who broke the eye contact. Fizz could feel him carefully peeling the wad of paper towel from her thumb. When he spoke, his voice was a little raw.
‘I think it’s stopped,’ he told her. ‘We’re all good.’
Fizz nodded as she stepped back. ‘I’ll go and find a plaster,’ she said.
Her voice sounded a little odd as well. Shaky, almost, and she knew why. Cooper had got it wrong, hadn’t he?
It hadn’t stopped.
Whatever it was between them was just getting started and Fizz had the feeling that, if it went any further, it would be a lot harder to stop than any blood loss from a small cut.
She would be playing with fire to give in to this attraction. This was the second time today that she’d had a momentary loss of control, even though she’d thought she’d taken heed of the warning the first time. If it was this hard to fight the pull towards this man when they barely knew each other, how hard would it be to control if it got unleashed?
The thought was a little terrifying.
But it was also more than a little exciting.
It wasn’t a physically dangerous situation but, oddly, it seemed to offer the promise of just as much of an adrenaline rush.
And Felicity Wilson knew only too well that she had a little bit of an issue with seeking out the thrill that came with the release of that particular hormone. She had it more under control these days, mind you. She’d harnessed it, to enhance her life instead of using it to escape things that had threatened to destroy her life.
This crush, or attraction, or whatever it was, was simply the rush of a different variety of hormones, wasn’t it? It was purely physical. She wasn’t falling in love with this man. For heaven’s sake...this was only the second time she’d seen him. She’d been dating Hamish for half their time at medical school before they had both realised how much in love in they were.
Fizz put two plasters on her thumb just to be on the safe side. As she reached to put the small first-aid kit back on top of the fridge, she slid a sideways glance at Cooper. He’d cut a slice of the cake and put it on a plate, along with a fork and a neatly folded paper towel as a serviette.
Good grief...he ate cake like he was at an afternoon tea with his grandmother? With a fork? Fizz had never eaten cake with a fork in her life. It didn’t fit with her impressions of Cooper’s sheer masculinity and it was another dip in what was becoming an emotional roller-coaster.
To be feeling such strong emotions was not normal. Fizz took her friendships with men as they came. If they went further than simply friendship it was great but if they didn’t that was no problem. Of course she enjoyed the chemistry of physical attraction and the satisfaction of great sex but she didn’t let it take control at a level that could disrupt her life.
She didn’t do planning for a future in a relationship or hope that it would become something significant because that was the best protection there was from disappointment or heartbreak. But she had wanted that kiss, hadn’t she? She’d been hoping for it enough to consider how exciting it would be to play with fire.
It was confusing, that’s what it was. And the best way that Fizz could find to balance that disturbing level of attraction was to try and find something to build a barrier. Something undesirable about Cooper. Like his over-protectiveness. Or the fact that he could do something as prim and proper as eating cak
e with a fork. That was kind of old-fashioned. Stuffy, even. Right now, Fizz was tempted to go and cut a slice of cake for herself and stuff it into her mouth using nothing more than her hand, right in front of Cooper. To let him know just how stuffy she considered him to be. How strait-laced and old-fashioned. Had she really entertained the idea of a friendship with benefits with him? He probably wouldn’t dream of having that kind of casual relationship.
She turned, in fact, to do exactly that with the cake, only to be faced by...by that smile... The one that gave him crinkles at the corners of his eyes and made his whole face light up.
‘Here you go,’ Cooper said, pushing the plate along the bench in her direction. ‘Enjoy...’
CHAPTER FIVE
‘FIZZ... I’M SO glad you’re still here.’
‘Laura...’ Fizz was startled to see her friend and workmate in the emergency department of the Royal as she came out of an office, a medical journal that she’d been wanting to read in her hands. ‘What on earth are you doing back at work? You finished an hour ago.’
‘It’s Harrison. I think he’s broken his arm.’
‘Oh, no...’ But Fizz was confused. ‘Where is he?’
‘Cubicle Three. He’s with Cooper. He drove us in. I came looking for you because I was hoping you might be able to see him. You know how he is with strangers—especially men.’
‘I know.’ Five-year-old Harrison was small for his age and could be easily frightened. ‘But he’s okay with Cooper?’
‘Amazingly so. I was a bit worried when he moved into the house because...well, he’s so big, isn’t he? But there’s something about him, isn’t there? And kids pick up on that sort of thing. It’s only been a week but you’d think they’d known each other for years. And he’d just got home when Harry fell. He looked after him right from when it happened.’
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