Her Consultant Boss

by Joanna Neil

‘Yes, she does. She and my father parted company when Jenny and I were small children. She stayed on at the family home in mid-Wales because she runs her own bookshop in town and she didn’t want to uproot herself. Jenny moved away when she married because of her husband’s business, which is based here.’

  ‘And you went away to do your medical training. Lucky for Jenny that you’re around now and able to help.’

  ‘That’s the general idea. I wondered whether I ought to do more for her—like arrange for a community nurse to come in and talk to her. I’m worried about leaving her alone during the day when she has so much on her mind, what with her marriage break-up and Ben as well.’

  He nodded. ‘That sounds like a good idea. You could see how she feels about that, and perhaps have a word with her GP.’

  His glance flicked over her. ‘About the other day—I’m sorry that I was out of line. I don’t know why it happened, except that…you looked so sad when we were talking about Ben, and I suppose I wanted to comfort you. Things got out of hand, and I want you to know that I’m sorry for it. We have to work together and we should be able to be professional about things. I’m your supervisor and I should have behaved better. I overstepped the mark and I shouldn’t have done that. It won’t happen again.’

  ‘I understand. It’s all right. It doesn’t matter.’ Megan wanted to tell him that his kiss had made her feel more exhilarated in that one moment than she had ever felt in her life before, but she daren’t do that because he was making it plain that it had been a mistake.

  Sam was right, in a way. He was a consultant with a respectable front to keep up, and she was just a lowly junior doctor. They had to work together and it wouldn’t do to let things get out of hand. A hospital could turn out to be a hotbed of rumour and intrigue.

  She couldn’t forget it, though. It was as though he had awoken her to what might be, to feelings she had brushed aside before, thinking that they would never happen to her. She had never met a man who could stir her senses the way Sam had done.

  ‘I won’t say anything to anyone about it,’ she muttered.

  She turned to go, and he said quickly, ‘Before you go… I’ve spoken to the police about the car that’s parked alongside your flat. They’ll be sending along a tow-truck to move it later today, possibly this evening. It looks as though the car was simply abandoned there.’

  ‘OK, I’ll look out for it.’

  The car was still there when she finished work for the day. She looked out of her French doors and saw Jack and Jamie playing on the wide, open space alongside the building. It looked as though they were playing hide and seek around the car.

  She called out to them. ‘You had better come away from there, boys. A truck will be coming along to move it any time now.’

  She debated whether to go and have a soak in the bath, but decided to put the kettle on and make a snack for herself first. Perhaps a cheese salad and some crusty bread…

  The sound of screaming had her rushing back to the French doors to see what was going on. It was the horrible sound of a child in pain, and it was unbearable to listen to those shrill cries. Looking out, she saw flames soaring up into the sky. And there was smoke, too, thick and black, and it was coming from the back of the white car that was parked below her window.

  ‘Oh no!’ Someone was hurt and she knew she had to do something quickly. Where was her medical bag?

  She ran to fetch it and grabbed a jacket from the back of a chair, then hurried downstairs, fearful thoughts rushing through her head. How had the car come to be on fire, and who was it who was screaming? How bad was it? Was she going to be too late?

  When she reached the drive that ran alongside the building, she saw that a number of people were coming out from the buildings all around to see what was going on. A child was on the ground, rolling about, and Jamie was looking on, terror written all over his face.

  ‘I don’t know what to do—what shall I do?’ he was shouting. As she drew closer she could see that it was Jack who was in trouble. His trouser leg was on fire, and she dashed towards him, dropping the medical bag on the floor and throwing her jacket over his leg. She beat desperately at the flames, telling him, ‘I’ve got you Jack, I’m here, and I’m going to take care of you.’ She began to cough, and only then did she realise how close they were to the flames and the smoke.

  Someone called out, ‘You have to get away from there. It’s too dangerous. The car could explode.’ Then someone from the small knot of people, a neighbour from one of the local houses, was pulling her away and she saw that another man had lifted Jamie and was carrying him away from the building.

  ‘I’m a doctor,’ she said urgently. ‘You must let me see him. I have to do what I can to help him.’

  ‘I didn’t realise—I’m sorry,’ the man said, stepping back from her. ‘I had to get you away from there.’

  ‘It’s OK. Call an ambulance and the fire brigade,’ she said hurriedly, as she looked around for Jack. ‘Tell the operator that there’s a car on fire and that we’re dealing with burn injuries. Someone should go and fetch Jack’s mother.’ She picked up her medical bag and went to the boy, who had been lifted well away from the car and was resting on a grass verge.

  Joan was already on her way. As Megan knelt down beside Jack, his mother cried, ‘What’s happening? Is he hurt badly? Oh, no, no… Jack—my love, what’s happened to you?’

  Megan was inspecting the damage as quickly she could. It was the lower half of his right leg that had been affected, and already the skin was blistering. She estimated that the burns were of partial thickness, second-degree burns for the most part. They would be intensely painful.

  Opening her bag, she found a syringe and drew up an injection of morphine. ‘This will help you to feel more comfortable, Jack,’ she said. She turned hurriedly to Joan. ‘There are burns to his leg, and the fabric of his trousers is sticking to the flesh. We need to try to get his leg into some water.’

  Joan anxiously watched what she was doing, and Megan added, ‘I want you to go back into the flat and start running a bath of tepid water. Can you do that?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ She looked at Megan nervously. ‘You’ll bring him up to me straight away?’

  ‘I will. Hurry.’ Joan sped off and Megan saw that Jamie had stayed where he was, anxious to be close to his brother. Megan began to lift Jack from the ground, and two bystanders rushed forward to help. ‘Don’t touch his leg,’ she instructed them. She looked at Jack, worried about his pale features. He would be going into shock, and she had to do something about it.

  Joan was in her bathroom, and she had the taps running when they got there. Megan tested the water, not wanting it to be too cold because that would add to Jack’s shock.

  ‘That’s all right,’ she murmured. ‘We’ll just lower his legs into the water. Don’t try to remove his clothes, just let’s get that leg immersed. Carefully…’ She gently helped to lower the child into the water.

  ‘That does it,’ she said at last. ‘That’s fine. I’ll be able to handle him now, thank you.’ She glanced at the men who’d assisted her and asked, ‘Will you find out if the ambulance is on its way? Make sure that the paramedics know that they must come up here.’

  The men nodded and left. Megan worked quickly to put an intravenous line into Jack’s arm while Jamie and his mother looked on. It would be needed so that he could be given vital fluids, haemaccel and dextrose solution, which would counteract the shock and restore vital moisture to his tissues.

  Looking up at Joan, who was as white-faced as her son, she said gently, ‘I’m going to need to wrap up his injured leg. I shall need some cling film. That will keep the moisture in and it will prevent any infection from getting to the wounds. Do you have any?’

  Joan nodded. ‘I’ll go and get it.’

  She hurried away, and Megan said to Jamie, ‘Would you like to get me some towels so that we could wrap your brother up and keep him warm?’ Jamie would feel better if he had something to
do, she felt sure. The boy went to rummage about in the airing cupboard.

  Someone came into the room, and Megan looked around, expecting Joan or the paramedics. Instead, she saw Sam standing there. He was grim-faced, clearly concerned by what had happened.

  He said, ‘One of neighbours phoned me to tell me that the car had been set alight. I didn’t know that anyone had been hurt until I arrived here just now. What’s the extent of the burns?’

  ‘I’d say about ten per cent. Is there any sign of the ambulance?’

  ‘I thought I heard it in the distance as I was parking the car. The traffic is really bad at this time of the day.’ He looked at Jack, who had his eyes closed and was whimpering slightly. ‘How is he doing?’

  ‘I’ve given him a painkilling injection, but I need someone to hold him so that I can check his blood pressure and pulse.’

  ‘I’ll do that. You go on holding him and try to keep him warm.’ He reached into his own medical bag and wrapped the blood-pressure cuff around Jack’s arm. ‘Bear with us, Jack. We’ll get you to hospital as soon as we can, and we’ll help you to feel more comfortable.’

  Megan felt a flood of relief that Sam was with her. It was comforting to have him by her side, and to know that she wasn’t alone in looking after the boy. She trusted Sam, respected him, and took comfort in his efficiency.

  Joan returned with the cling film. ‘Here you are,’ she said shakily. ‘I hope there’s enough for you there.’

  Megan looked at the roll of film. ‘That will be plenty, Joan.’

  Sam said quietly, ‘His blood pressure is low, and his pulse is rapid.’ Megan wasn’t surprised. The poor little chap wasn’t doing very well. She didn’t have time to reflect on that because Sam was saying, ‘I’ll give you a hand to lift him out, and we’ll wrap up the limb as best we can. At least it will be moist.’

  ‘All right. I’m ready when you are.’ Together, they eased the boy onto a seat at the side of the bath, and while Megan held the child and kept him warm, Sam encased the limb in cling film.

  ‘He’s lucky that you were here, and able to help him.’

  ‘I’ll be happier when the ambulance gets here,’ she muttered. ‘They look mostly like second-degree burns, and he’ll have a better chance of recovering without scarring if we can get him to hospital quickly.’

  ‘At least there was no inhalation damage, as far as I can tell,’ Sam murmured.

  Joan said unhappily, ‘What will happen when he gets to hospital?’

  ‘He’ll be given intravenous fluids to replace those that he’s lost,’ Sam explained. ‘He’ll probably be referred to the burns unit, and the limb will be covered with special dressings that will soothe the injury and help it to heal. He might be given antibiotics to prevent any infection from setting in.’ There was always a danger in burns cases that the damaged skin would lose its protection from airborne bacteria, and the unit would pay special attention to keeping the wound clean.

  At last Megan could hear the sound of the fire engine and the ambulance drawing near.

  ‘Thank heaven,’ she breathed. Turning quickly to Joan, she said, ‘See if you can put together a few things in a bag for him. Anything that you think he might need while he’s in hospital. And pack a few things for yourself, too.’

  ‘I will. I’d better make arrangements for Jamie to be looked after. I’ll give his grandmother a ring.’

  ‘I want to go with you,’ Jamie protested, but his mother shook her head.

  ‘You can’t. You’ll be able to come and see him when he’s settled, but you must go and stay with your grandmother tonight. I’ll keep in touch with her so that you know what’s happening.’

  The paramedics were coming up the stairs, and Sam and Megan were kept busy, seeing to Jack’s transfer into the ambulance.

  Outside, Megan saw that the firemen were directing their hoses at the car, and also at the building itself. She frowned, and Sam said quietly, ‘It looks as though the fire has spread. Some of the timbers are alight.’

  Megan turned away and looked towards the ambulance. ‘They’re getting ready to leave,’ she said uneasily. ‘I want to go with them—follow them and see Jack settled.’

  Sam nodded. ‘We’ll both go. We’ll take my car.’

  She was relieved that he hadn’t given her any argument, but she sensed that he was every bit as upset as she was. It was always difficult when children were injured, and she ought to be used to it, working in paediatrics for much of the time, but it never worked out that way. It was always traumatic, and she had never been able to handle it as just another day’s work. Jack’s case was even more difficult to handle because she knew him, and he was her neighbour’s child, and she recognised that Sam must feel equally concerned. He was their landlord, and he felt a sense of responsibility towards his tenants.

  Jamie was still protesting, and Joan gave in, saying, ‘Just for a while, that’s all. I’ll have to get your grandad to come and fetch you from the hospital and take you home. You won’t be able to stay there for more than a little while.’

  * * *

  Jack was assessed as soon as he arrived at the hospital, and Megan was relieved to see him being cared for by a team of specialists. His mother was much calmer now, more accepting of what had happened.

  As they waited for information on the child’s progress, Joan asked Jamie, ‘How did he come to get hurt? What were you both doing?’

  ‘It wasn’t my fault, Mum,’ Jamie said quickly, his voice rising on a defensive note. ‘I didn’t do anything.’

  ‘I wasn’t saying that you did,’ Joan said flatly. ‘I just want to know how the car came to be on fire, and how Jack came to be hurt. I’m not blaming anyone. I just want to know what happened.’

  ‘It was an old car and nobody wanted it. We just thought it would be a laugh.’

  ‘What did you think would be a laugh?’

  ‘I didn’t do nothing bad, Mum. And Jack just put a rag in the hole where the petrol cap should have been. We didn’t think there was any petrol in there, honest, Mum.’ Jamie’s eyes were wide and frightened. ‘We didn’t think anything bad would happen.’

  ‘How did it catch fire?’ Joan persisted, driven by a need to know everything. ‘Did Jack get hold of some matches?’

  Jamie shook his head vigorously. ‘No. He found one of Dad’s old lighters. He thought it was empty because dad had thrown it in the bin. Dad said the flint wasn’t working and it was useless. Jack just flicked it next to the rag for a laugh—we didn’t think anything would happen.’

  His eyes were downcast, remembering. ‘Only the cloth caught fire, and the next thing we knew was the back of the car was on fire as well. Jack tried to jump back out of the way, but he wasn’t quick enough.’ He said shakily, ‘I’m really sorry, Mum. Is Jack going to be all right?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Joan said. ‘I don’t know.’

  Sam said gently, ‘He’ll probably have to stay in hospital for a week or two so that the doctors and nurses can help him to feel better. His leg will be poorly for a long time, and it will hurt him. The doctors will give him some medicine to help take the pain away. You were very lucky that you weren’t hurt as well.’

  Jamie started to cry quietly, and his mother put an arm around his shoulders. ‘Perhaps they’ll let us see him soon.’

  Sam and Megan stayed at the hospital for a while until a nurse came and told them that Jack was comfortable and his mother and Jamie could go and be with him for a while.

  ‘He’ll be transferred to the burns unit in about an hour, when we can be sure that his condition has stabilised. His blood pressure and pulse are improving, and we think that he stands a good chance of making a full recovery, given time.’

  Before she went away to see her son, Joan turned to Megan and Sam. ‘I can’t thank you enough for what you both did. You’ve been very kind to my children and me. Thank you so much.’

  They watched her go off with Jamie, and Sam said, ‘Let’s head for home, shall we? T
here’s nothing more we can do here.’

  Megan nodded, and he led her away and drove her swiftly back to the flat, parking in the drive where the fire engine had been. There was no sign of the burnt-out car, and Megan guessed that it must have been towed away.

  They got out of his car and Sam looked up at the building. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I don’t think there’s much chance of you staying here tonight. It looks as though your place has been gutted.’

  Megan followed the direction of his glance, and was horrified to see black timbers and a gaping hole where her French doors had been. ‘It looks dreadful,’ she said, her eyes were wide and unbelieving. ‘Perhaps it isn’t as bad as it looks inside.’

  ‘There’s only one way to find out,’ Sam said, matter-of-factly. ‘Let’s go and have a look, shall we?’

  Her whole body had gone numb with shock, and he must have sensed her shaken reaction because he put an arm around her and gently led her to the front of the building.

  ‘Come on,’ he murmured. ‘Let’s get this over with.’

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  MEGAN and Sam went upstairs to look at the flat. Sam went first, as though he wanted to shield her from what she might see. ‘I think you should prepare yourself for the worst,’ he said in a quiet voice as he stopped by her living-room door and surveyed the scene.

  She didn’t want to accept his view of things, but there was the smell of acrid smoke everywhere, and Megan was beginning to be afraid of what she might find.

  Sam must have guessed what she was feeling because he put an arm around her and held her close. The warmth of his body was comforting, like a protective cloak, and she realised that she was glad of his male strength and the simple fact that he was here with her, willing to support her.

  She pulled in a deep breath. ‘How bad could it be?’ she said. ‘The fire engine was here within minutes.’

  She was trying to comfort herself, but in the living room her worst fears were realised, and she looked around in silence, unable to find words to describe how she was feeling.